Chookshed Challenge #10

 This is not a finish but, I am much further forward than I expected to be! All quilted now and ready to have straps added and binding across the top sections before closing up the sides.

I have a lovely wide Laura Ashley selvedge from the lining fabric which I am going to incorporate into the straps and more of the script fabric I have used for the gusset. I also have scraps of leftover binding which I can use along the top but will need to cut something wider for the sides to contain the bulk.

Happy to set this aside now for a little while and looking forward to getting started on next months challenge.

FNSI February

 I have spent the week mainly working on my selvedge blocks and finished the last one on Thursday evening. Just in time for me to spend my Friday afternoon trimming them and machining them together.

These are the two sides of my large tote bag - the blocks are 8" square finished so 24" x 16" - and I managed to get the base strip attached and everything layered for quilting before it was time to clear up. Lots of quilting to do next time I get the sewing machine out, but happy with my Friday progress.

My stitch journal progress for this week.

Earlier in the week we had a sunny day promised so set out for Killerton House where there is a new 20's costume exhibition. Also it's a good time to see the spring flowers in the grounds. However, the weather worsened the closer we got and we decided to stop off at The Antique Village We had a lovely time wandering round looking at the antiques, vintage and retro items. And sampling the soup and cheese scones from the cafe.

I came home with these delightful little items for my collection.

This gorgeous little pin cushion is mosaic Tunbridge ware from around 1860. The collar around the middle is beeswax, a feature I have not seen before.

The acorn thimble holder is also Tunbridge ware from around 1820 and it came with the thimble although that is of a later date.

The thimble is an early Charles Horner steel lined thimble, something I had not heard of. In 1884 Charles Horner patented the steel lined silver thimble which later became known as the 'Dorcas' thimble. The early ones were marked with PAT which you can just see on the side of mine.

That's all my news for now - hoping to get some knitting done this week - I have cast on my second Trailblazer sock and would like to make some progress.

Wishing you all a good week.

Skipping over the weather....

..... we will start with my Stitch Journal for the week, and playing with Fly stitch variations for a few days.

A bit of lace going on today but I might fill in that gap around the heart and semi circle as well.

I finished the first of my Trailblazer socks (Winwick Mum pattern) and am very happy with the pattern and colour. It helps that it uses the Winwick Mum basic sock pattern which I pretty much know off by heart now.

But mainly this week I have been focussed on my Chookshed Challenge - selvedge blocks. I now I have eight blocks complete - 4 more to go!

Happy with how these are looking and I have a plan in my head for turning them into a bag - maybe next week.

We did pop out one day and stopped at the church of  St Etheldreda at St Audries.

 

After a browse round inside - this window glowed beautifully

and I loved these decorated organ pipes -

we couldn't decide if it was warmer out or in! Whichever, we decided against heading to the coast and headed home instead! At least the temperatures are set to increase next week.

Happy stitching

FNWFs February

 As usual thanks to Cheryll for organising our Friday night cyber stitch - you can see who else took part here.

First up for the afternoon was my stitch journal and I added these little snowdrops.

Earlier in the week I came across this delightful snowdrop tile design by Christopher Dresser which I knew would be perfect for my journal.

The first week of February is looking like this

After visiting a friend in the afternoon I settled down with some quilting for the evening. I have been cracking on with Wings this week and have almost finished my quota for the month.

Which will leave me plenty of time to play with my Chookshed Challenge. I had a practise run earlier in the week and have made my first selvedge block.

I used a 9" square of batting and will trim to 8.5". I will need 12 of these to make a tote the size that I want so I need to get busy. Sadly I can see that I shall not be making a huge dent in my selvedge stash!

Also this week I completed my little tree skirt embroidery. Another cute little design.

So that is me up to date - happy stitching everyone and I look forward to reading lots of FNWFs posts.

The End of January

 And I for one am sad that the month is over when all around seem to be rejoicing that February is here and that the 'long, dark' month of January is over! For me January is a great month for brisk chilly walks and lots of cosy sewing and knitting. A time to recoup after Christmas and plan for the coming year - which will no doubt be over before we know it. Anyway less of my moaning and more about what I have been up to this week.

Another fun week with my stitch journal.

The TAST stitches for this week were Raised Chain which I had not tried before You can see two versions at the bottom of the photo. We had some strong wind last weekend, hence the windswept tree.

And here is a picture of my roll for January.

Love how it is turning out. However I can now see that the thread I have is not going to last the year although I have plenty of fabric and lace etc. I can't replicate the threads I dyed using plants from the garden in St Victor but I also have threads dyed with tea, coffee onion skins and black bean water which I can try to reproduce. The other problem I have is that they were solar dyed and that is not going to happen at this time of year. So I am going to try standing my jam jars in the airing cupboard to give them some  warmth. My first jar is underway - we have a casserole with black beans tonight and the soaking water plus some alum and a selection of threads is safely stowed away for a month. Fingers crossed.

My knitting has progressed this week and I turned the heel last night. I also have the next border of Wings marked up and ready to quilt.

We had a nice trip out in some sunshine yesterday - to Stogumber a village about 20 minutes drive from us. We wanted to look around the church of St Mary's which is right in the centre of the village.

When I first looked at the front of the church I was not very impressed - I thought it very unattractive.

However from the rear you see the lovely warm pink stone that has been used for the building.

I found some nice textiles inside. This piano cover caught my eye first.

No accompanying information of course! Then across the other side of the church this hanging below the organ pipes.

I love the rich William Morris style decoration in the altar and choir area.

To the right of the choir is the tomb of Sir George Sydenham, father in law of Sir Francis Drake.

A sad sight in the graveyard was this tree which had blown over in a storm before Christmas.

According to the lady who befriended us in the church, the rings have been counted and it was over 200 years old - a big tree as you can see!

Right this post has been far too long! so time for me to go.

Have a great week.

Chookshed Challenge #10

 My challenge for No 10 is to make a largish tote bag using my collection of selvedges to make blocks.

Not sure how far these will go but I am sure there are more than I can cope with in a month! Need some planning time though before I get started.

Good luck everyone. xx