All the hard work was worth it.......

It's arrived! The day we've been waiting for!

When we finally got to see the final result - it's a proper real life book! More importantly, our book!

We knew it was on it's way - and Nic arrived extra early almost lynching the postman when he turned the corner towards Halfpenny Home HQ! But what a scary moment too!

As only a handful of copies are available at the moment we've only been allowed one copy to share between us - and so far we've managed not to fall out! Nic even slept with it by her side on that first night!!!

Seeing our names, and name of the shop, on the front cover was a really special moment. There were more than a few squeals of excitement!

The book has been stroked, sighed over and has even been baptised with champagne courtesy of Harriet!

Gavin Kingcome's photography has really captured the essence of Halfpenny Home and it is so exciting to see the familiar surroundings in print for all to see!

We should probably end with an apology for our self indulgence and over use of exclamation marks - we hope you'll forgive us!

Jacqui & Nic

xxx

PS It's out on 10th March (UK) end of March in the US!

Swedish Market

The day of the Swedish Market dawned, and with it a beautiful dusting of snow with further flurries during the morning - thank goodness we didn't have to travel far! We set up in the barn along with the other stallholders - helped along with mugs of tea and Swedish Christmas carols playing in the background.

The market opened at a very civilised 11am but we feared the weather may put people off! In fact, it seemed to do the opposite and people were queueing to get in! Just after we opened, Ulfie appeared with trays of 'fresh from the oven' cinnamon buns. The aroma was sooooo enticing.....we couldn't resist.

An added aroma, and very welcome winter warmer was the vodka infused gluh wein, also prepared by the Swedish chefs. It really hit the spot and I have to say, it was the best I have ever tasted. Guaranteed to get you into the festive spirit!

We thought the red gingham tablecloth would add an extra cheery touch to our display.

Alex, of The Natural Selection had a grand display of working timber kit machines which are really different - as well as a host of other lovely stocking fillers. You can check out her website at http://www.natural-selection.co.uk/.

The wooden painted reindeer and Christmas Trees proved popular - we just love the gorgeous green velvet ribbon adorning the reindeer along with their tinkly bells.

There were vintage items for sale too!

And Pat made this absolutely stunning scandanavian inspired bird and leaf garland - taking the idea from "Scandinavian Needlecraft" by Claire Youngs (CICO books). There are 10 birds, each hand embroidered in the centre with a different design. Just beautiful.

We had a lovely, busy day and after packing up our wares, managed to get home just before the sun was setting.

Hope you've had an enjoyable, if wintry, weekend.

Jacquix

Country Crafts from the Studio of Halfpenny Home!

Visitors to Halfpenny Home have been inspired by some of the many craft titles that CICO books have produced. In particular, the Cabbages & Roses Home Made Vintage has sparked lots of creative makes at the studio in recent months.

Imagine then, how excited we were when CICO asked us to write a craft book for them! CICO are part of Ryland Peters and Small and produce beautiful craft books with lavish photography. As you can see, we've been enjoying just a small selection of these! Our book is going to be produced under CICO's Green Home series, which sits perfectly with the ethos of Halfpenny Home!

We have been asked to produce 35 projects with step by step instructions. We are very privileged to be working alongside a really great photographer, Gavin Kingcome (www.gavinkingcome.com), who has provided the photography for a number of the River Cottage Handbooks.

It's been a really brilliant excuse to play with lots of creative supplies and we have also asked some Halfpenny Home friends to help us. Laura, who makes soap and Sam, who every summer becomes Peg the Dyer at Kentwell Hall, Long Melford (www.kentwell.co.uk)

So thank you to all our Halfpenny Home friends and followers for all your enthusiasm, inspiration and support.

Nic & Jacqui x