May comes to an end

 All too quickly it seems to me! However, since I last wrote we have had a lovely holiday in Cornwall and I will try to post about this later in the week. Now after a week at home and with the garden looking reasonable again - why does everything grow so quickly when you are away! - I have spent the last day decorating and have a few more days to do.

But sewing continues whenever possible and of course every day on my Stitch Journal. Here are my contributions for May.

Sock knitting has continued sporadically

as has the crochet ripple blanket.

I have opened a few jars that have been solar dyeing, some more interesting than others! I had high hopes of some pink from avocado skins but ended up with a deep pinkish brown

much darker than in the photograph which looks very beige.

Dandelion flowers, lavender leaves and sambucus leaves have all produced similar pale yellow results but as I found before, silk always comes out darker. Also I found some silk carrier rods lurking in a drawer and have been adding those and they take up lots of dye.

Bamboo kitchen towel has also been successful and I love that small bits of leaf become embedded into it.

I have also been playing around with my sketchbooks and following some online art courses which have been fun and interesting.

I will be back tomorrow with my Chookshed Challenge project for June so see you tomorrow.

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.