A mixed week

 And I don't just mean the weather although it is just warming up again after a cold spell. But I have had a varied week of sewing which is just how I like it.

I removed my sample from it's rust and tea bath after 24 hours and I am glad I did as my finished sample has turned out darker than I expected. It took a couple of days to dry out and then I had to rinse it and leave it to dry again. So here it is - the undyed sample first.

As I said, it is much darker than I expected and I would have preferred something a little more subtle, but it is a sample and I really like the effect. So more of this to come I think. Next time I will try just tea and maybe another sample with just rust and water to see what happens. Lots to try and I also want to try Susan's salt dyeing. This is something I have done on paper but never thought to try on fabric.

On Tuesday my quilt group had an all day session and I took the opportunity to layer up this RSC top from a few years back.

I then joined with some of the other ladies in making some decorations for our Christmas stall later in the year.

We also had a very interesting talk from a couple of ladies who work for the local council's Care Leaver's department. We have made quilts and blankets for Care Leavers in the past and it was good to hear how they are put to use. We were also given a list of items that they would be grateful for to give the care leavers - as well as a blanket or quilt, cushions are welcomed as well as gloves, hats and scarves. So plenty for us to contribute.

This months RSC is complete.

I got the sewing machine out for an afternoon and completed this Christmas cushion cover which has now been put away - hopefully, come Christmas, I will remember where!

And while I had the machine out I made a start on ditch quilting the RSC Dresden quilt between the blocks. I plan to finish the ditch quilting and bind the quilt then put it away for hand quilting at a later date.

I then had a hankering to do some drawing and got my Inktense pencils out to have a go at a Gaillardia that we had flowering in the garden .

Very happy with this so then I started to add water. In the next picture you can see the petals that have been brushed with water which look much darker.

I need to finish these off now and add a few leaves. Maybe darkening off some of the petals in the centre.

We are almost halfway through the month and so my stitch journal is also nearly halfway.

If you can spot the silver thread you will see that it is very messy and a mistake - the rest of the skein has gone in the bin! A horrible thread. But I have left it in place as a reminder.

Well that's all from sunny Somerset, see you next week.

Friday Night With Friends

 And here we are in September! Autumn is beginning and we are starting to clear the garden of plants that have gone over. Thinking about planting bulbs for the spring and feeling thankful for the rain we have had over the last few days and moistening our very dry ground.

Lovely to join in with everyone yesterday for another Friday of sewing. Thanks to Cheryll for organising and you can pop over here to see what everyone was working on.

As usual I started after lunch with my Stitch Journal. We have these little 'pebbles' to fill in this month and I am enjoying working in the round again. I especially love the ones that have finished up with a dimensional look, like shells or urchins. Black (and grey and silver) is of course this months RSC colour.

No work on my Boro flower panel this week - I got side tracked by a Stitch Club video from Textile Artist.org. They usually do a freebie in September and this one really interested me. It is by Deb Cooper who creates beautiful work using recycled fabrics, plant dyes and rust. Well, I do love a bit of rust so how could I resist.

Basically the technique uses fabrics and threads in natural fibres and neutral colours. I have spent this week putting together a small sampler - aprox 6" x 12" - using cotton, linen and silk fabric scraps and threads using a variety of stitches. Deb includes torn papers and found objects too. I must say I loved doing this and also love my sampler - so much so that I had to be really strong and strict with my self to move on to the next stage! Here is my completed sampler.

Next stage was to bundle it up with some rusty nails and a small lump of rusty metal I found in the garage

sorry about the poor lighting! And it is now soaking in hot strong tea for 24 hours.

Well, we were told 48 hours is better but I can't wait that long especially as you have to leave it to dry out before unfolding! Come back next week for the results.

Next up I needed to make a start on my RSC log cabins. The strips are cut but first I needed to embroider the little Joy in the Ordinary block from Jennifer. Here it is today after I pressed and trimmed it.

Tonight I shall be sewing log cabins.

Also this week I managed to complete two socks.

Now, I don't usually knit two socks at a time but when I started the ones on the left (which use Amethyst and Wildflowers yarn from West Yorkshire Spinners) they were going to be in this Treasure Socks design. However, after knitting the leg I decided it was all too tight, even though I had knitted very loosely. So I went back to my usual basic sock pattern. Meanwhile I had also started the sparkly sock on the right as light relief from the pattern. Anyway, that is the story of these socks, two down, two more to go.

So I think that is me all caught up and I am looking forward to seeing what everyone else worked on last night.

Have a good week.

End of an orange month

 And I have enjoyed my oranges, lovely to play around with some different threads and how warm and cosy orange is! Probably not appropriate for some parts of the UK which have seen high temperatures but here it's been in the low 20's. Very pleasant it has been too. Dry though and cracks are appearing in the garden and the grass is browning in places.

Anyway, back to orange and here is my Stitch Journal orange page completed and pressed ready to go away.

It is nice having different shapes to work in each month - next month is ovals but no RSC colour yet, hopefully it will come by tomorrow so I can make a start!

Over the last couple of weeks I have been working on my Boro flower panel and it has progressed nicely.

I have finally finished the blossom on the tree

and added some flowers to the right hand side.

It's filling up just as I imagined. Going to start on the left hand side next. 

I have had it in mind for some time to make a table runner for some friends. They are keen Magic Lantern collectors and I thought a lantern would make a great design for the runner. This week I finally planned out my design on squared paper and have most of the lantern put together using EPP. I just need to get to an LQS for some brassy gold fabric to make the lenses that need to go on the front. The doors also have 'portholes' which need the gold fabric too. Anyway, here it is so far - I plan to applique it to a cream background.

I have been busy knitting in the evenings whilst TV is on - football is back! Two pairs of socks on the go - I may have a finished sock or two next time I blog.

In the meantime

Happy stitching!

FNSI in August

 And here we are, half way through August! Many thanks to Wendy for organising FNSI every month. You can pop over here to see who else took part.

My day was quiet. After a morning in the garden it was nice to sit and stitch for a while in our conservatory which, as temperatures have dropped, is now a comfortable place to sit in the afternoon.

First up of course was my Stitch Journal which is filling up far too quickly!

Friday's segment was the pointy one top left.

Then I pulled out my Flower Panel which I hadn't touched since my last post. I set to adding some flower stalks and leaves ready for a few flowers. This was fun to do but I need to add flowers soon otherwise I will have forgotten what my plans were!

And I think those leaves are going to need an outline!

This week I have been finishing off a few more Field |Journal blocks. These are very quick to sew but the preparation takes me some time.

So that's it from me for now, it was a lovely afternoon with cyber friends and I would say that I am looking forward to next month but I don't want to wish the time away!

Have a good week.

RSC - an orange August

 And orange is looking good so far. My log cabins are finished in good time and looking very, well, orange! The sweet little embroidery embroidery is from Jennifer.

I am also enjoying my orange Stitch Journal page. Larger sections to fill this month but they are filling up nicely I think.

I am linking up with Angela for Scrap Happy Saturday.

Thanks for popping in and have a lovely weekend.

FNWFs August

 And a month has gone by since my last post! More on that later but first of all thank you to Cheryll for hosting our Friday - as usual you can pop over here to see who else took part.

My first job for the afternoon was to work on my Stitch Journal. Into August now which is an orange month and a new panel to work on. Here are days 1 and 2.

My next job was to prep my RSC log cabins which didn't take long - not many orange fabrics in my stash to procrastinate over! Anyway here they are all cut and ready plus the little stitchery traced out and ready to sew.

Next I amused myself by adding the pieces of lace and ricrac to this panel which has been in hiding since at least last summer I fear.

I have been working this week on the French knot blossom and have run out of thread now - fingers crossed that the batch currently dyeing in a jam jar in the greenhouse will come out a similar colour!

Finally I had a leisurely knit while the TV was on in the evening - this yarn is knitting up very nicely I feel.

So what has been happening this month? Well Philip went into hospital for a 'routine' gall bladder removal and should have been home the next day. But due to complications ended up spending 11 days in hospital. So lots of visiting for me, books read and this pair of swallow socks got finished.

I also made this cute little pair to use up some robin yarn from a pair I made earlier in the year.

And finally my RSC aqua for July. These log cabins were finished

and my aqua Stitch Journal page.

So that is me, all caught up and hopefully I shall be back with you again soon. Have a great weekend.

FNWFs July

 And we say it every month - where does the time go! As I said to someone this morning, it rushes by because we are enjoying what we are doing, simple as that!

Many thanks Cheryll for organising our evening again - pop over to Cheryll's place to see what everyone was working on.

It was a late night and an early Friday morning for us but Yay!! we have a new government! At long last, well overdue. Nice to be able to vote again and although our party did not win, we did get the MP we wanted who I think will be very good for the area. So all in all a happy day. Watched the new PM arrive in Downing Street and make his first speech at lunchtime and then it was time to sew!

First up my Stitch Journal for the day. We are into Aqua this month - and also going very floral!

That oddity for day 2 is supposed to be cricket stumps! we spent the day at the Somerset County Ground with friends watching the talking all through the cricket. Well we do only meet up with one couple once a year.

Anyway, enjoying my flowers for July.

Just had the toe to knit up on a sock so I got that finished next and all sewn up. I started these way back last winter and then put them aside for a couple of commissions. Nice to have these finished and ready for the winter.

The pattern is Easy Lace Sock by Winwick Mum and uses this yarn in a colourway called Starry Night which is no longer available. I got mine at a bargain price from a local charity shop.

The top picture is the true colour.

So moving on and another night of football meant that I was able to crack on with my RSC log cabins for the month. Although I found I only had one piece of foundation fabric cut so could only do one. I finished the embroidery from Jennifer, pressed it and away I went. I had already cut the strips. My Aqua's do all tend more towards dark and medium but I think they will be OK.

More football tonight so maybe the next two will get done!

Have a lovely week everyone.