Quick catch up!

 Getting ready for a short holiday here so just a few pictures of what I have been up to - actually not very many!

I have finished my Chookshed Challenge for the month - a nice easy one really, don't know why it has taken me so long!

This was the quilted panel I had from many years ago.

And it is now a cushion, here shown gracing a couple of new to me chairs that my neighbour had no use for.

Having used hand dyed fabrics for the applique and border I just had to go into my stash to find something to complement them. Procion dyed fabrics all seem to blend together well I find. This piece was the back of an old cotton shirt that I had dyed magenta and was the perfect size. I love the markings you can get from crumpling the fabric into the dye.

The second picture looks like a tulip to me. Anyway, there was the perfect zip in my stash and an hour later the cover was made.

Here is my stitch journal from the last couple of weeks.

My secret stitching is complete and I have made progress on the latest pair of socks and the crochet blanket - sorry no pics.

Just a few pictures from a recent visit to Dunster Castle although we only did the river walk round to the cafe. It is always very noisy by this bridge as the water rushes down from Exmoor. Always amazing to see how quickly the Gunnera grow, and how big the leaves are!

This little robin came for a visit while we sat there.

So that is all my news for today - short and sweet! Have a great weekend.

FNWFs May and other things!

 The car was booked in for a service on Friday afternoon so I went along with some quilting to do and sat in one of their comfy chairs drinking their very good - for a machine - coffee. Two hours later, all was well and I had completed quite a bit of quilting. Sadly I cannot show you as it is 'secret stitching'!

In the evening I worked on my stitch journal - that last lollipop tree was my Friday stitching.

And my stitch journal pictures for April

Many thanks to Cheryll for getting us together on Friday - always lovely to see what everyone is doing.

This week has seen a couple of new starts, first up a new pair of Winwick Mum basic socks. And by the way, if you have knitted a pair of WM basic socks over the last year then there is a great giveaway - this is the link Winwick Mum you need to read through the post for details.

I am using King Cole Zig Zag yarn which I have never used before so am looking forward to seeing what pattern emerges as I knit.

Another new start this week has been a Ripple Blanket using Lucy's lovely pattern I aim to use up some of my autumnal DK wools. No hurry with this one, just as and when. Maybe not so much over the summer should we get any warm weather!

On the subject of which, it has been a warm week here with temperatures of 26/27 degrees. Most un April/May like. Cooling down now though but it has not rained for a while.

Completed this week was my tree skirt roundel

these sew up nice and quickly.

I just had to initiate a major search for my Chookshed Challenge #8 as it was not in the box I had expected it to be in! However, having found it I now also know where #5 is, when we get to it!

So this is my #8

and it just needs making up into a cushion cover. It's just under 18" square so a decent size. I made it many years ago when I was trying out applique and never finished it because I didn't have a home for it. But I think I may have found one now. The fabrics were all Procion dyed with hand applique and hand quilting.

That quilting looks amazingly neat and tiny but the fabrics were all cotton lawn which makes for easier stitching.

So I think that is all I have to tell you this week - hope you all have a good week.

Chookshed Challenge April and the last week

 Happy to say that my Chookshed Challenge is finished and I have enjoyed working on this one in April.

This is the Wild Strawberry Scissor Point Cover, kit by Sue Hawkins

I already had the magnet needle holder which I made last year and they are going to live together in my hand quilting kit bag. Sue is always very generous with thread and I am hoping I may have enough left overs from both kits to make a matching thimble holder. Watch this space.

While working on this at Quilt group I was offered another of Sue's kits by a lady who had purchased it but didn't feel up to making it. Of course I said Yes Please!

This could be one for next years Chookshed list!

Also finished this week are the Winwick Mum Trailblazer socks which I started back in April.

I made these using West Yorkshire Spinners Passion Fruit Cooler 4ply sock yarn.

I think that is enough finishes for one week! I have of course been working on my Stitch Journal every day - here is my progress since my Easter post.

Happy stitching everyone.

Wings and Pretty Things - a finish!

 Way back in February 2021, Michelle very kindly sent me her notes for the beautiful Wings and Pretty Things quilt that she was making as I had said how much I too would love to make one. I found a beautiful range of fabrics called Rue 1800 designed by Three Sisters for Moda on an English website and ordered a selection.

I added in a few fabrics from my stash that worked with them and off I went.

Fast forward four years and I have a completed quilt!

During that time we not only moved house but also moved countries. But I loved doing all the applique - each block is different - and the hexagons, slowly building to a finished top in October 22.

I worked on the quilting over the winter of 23/24 and again 24/25 adding the last stitch in March. This month it was bound and I have finally been able to get some photographs. The one above in Show and Tell at my quilt group and the following in our garden. I will just say here that I don't think I have ever been able to capture the beautiful colours of the fabrics in my photographs! You will just have to come visit and see the real thing!

All hand applique and hand quilting.

I am of course absolutely delighted with my finish and have loved every step of making this quilt and a very special Thank You to Michelle for sharing her beautiful design.

See you soon for some more finishes!

AWOL!

 Well I hadn't expected to be gone for so long! I usually write at weekends but two weeks ago I had a cold which knocked me out for a couple of days and then last weekend I had a lovely few days away in Spain.

The occasion was the marriage celebrations of my nephew in Marbella, a truly global event and a wonderful day. My nephew and his wife flew in from Brussels - Marbella is her home town - and the celebrant, my brother, drove along the coast from Gibraltar.

Niece No1 flew in from Ghana via Morocco with her daughter

and niece No2 came from Melbourne with her eldest son.

Lovely to have all the family together for a while. Other guests came from around Europe, Argentina and Africa.

The dress was very Spanish and looked gorgeous with this traditional shawl.

I managed to creep into this one - I am lurking behind the groom!

Sadly it rained so we could not be outside under the pagoda. But there was live music to accompany the ceremony.

Beautiful flowers

and the food and wine flowed! There was live entertainment - the bride has a great voice

and dancing late into the night!

Some secret stitching happened and I made this little lavender heart for the bride.

In other stitching news Wings is finished - but no chance for photos as the weather has turned wet again.

My stitch journal progresses through April

and I am making good progress with my Chookshed Challenge.

Hopefully normal service will be resumed next week, in the mean time Happy Easter and I hope you have a great week.

March Stitch Journal and Aprils Challenge

 Just so quickly another month is over. First of all a picture of this past weeks stitches and I was on a couching roll!

And here is the whole of March.

Had a really lovely surprise when I opened up one of my dye jam jars at the weekend. These gorgeous greens came from red onion skins!

The two darker threads and the darker fabric are silk which takes the dye differently. The right hand lace was an ecru viscose, the rest are cotton and linen. Very happy with these as I have not had a darker green before. Stashing these away now for next years stitch journal.

And while I am here I can show you my #4 for the Chookshed Challenge. It is this lovely canvas work scissor keep. A great choice as I have a couple of flights coming up and this small project will be a perfect project to take with me.

Happy stitching

FNSI March

 And my main aim was to get my selvedge tote bag finished - my Chookshed Challenge from February. And I did! I got the sewing machine out for a couple of hours in the afternoon and then spent the evening hand sewing down the bindings. Tah Dah

It's 24" x 18 with a 5" gusset so nice and roomy. The aim is to use it for transporting quilts when I go to my patchwork group but I am sure it will find plenty of other uses.

I saved a couple of nice selvedges for the handles.

Good to have another challenge finished and out of the way.

I have been working on my Stitch Journal again this week.

Doesn't look like much progress but there are three days additions in the last section. That picture is looking a bit bleached - sorry.

We had a couple of days away at the beginning of the week and met up with friends at Stourhead on Monday, a halfway meeting point as they live on the outskirts of London. It was a cold day! Very chilly wind but we braved the gardens. Our men have hip and knee problems so we made use of the National Trust guide and his buggy for a trip around the lake. He was very knowledgeable and agreeable to stopping when I wanted to take a photograph too. 

The garden was originally designed by the owner Henry Hoare in the mid 18th century with various buildings - temple, grotto, cottage etc - set around the lake, some of which still exist. At the moment there are masses of daffodils flowering everywhere.

This is a scale copy of The Pantheon in Rome

and this is a cottage which was evidently lived in even though it seemed just to consist of one room.

The building you can see below is a grotto which we sadly didn't get to visit.

By the time we had finished our ride we were more than ready to head back to the cafe for some warming hot chocolate!

Fortunately Tuesday was a lovely sunny day and we headed to Lullington for our friend to search the graveyard for ancestors - no luck sadly. But the church was well worth a visit with it's Norman arches

and beautiful font.

Already more photographs than I had anticipated but must just show you the last place we visited - Heavens Gate with it's fabulous view of Longleat House.

Thank you for sticking with me this far - normal service will be resumed next week! Have a great week.