FNWFs July and Chookshed Challenge #9

 Many thanks to Cheryll for our get together last night - the link is here to see who took part.

I of course, worked first on my stitch journal and earlier this week I started on a new one. The fabric I am using is something I picked up from a charity shop and is probably cotton. It was a bag 18" wide and I am not sure of the other dimension however when I got it apart - it was very firmly stitched together -  it is over a yard long. I am wondering if it was a nightdress case. The flap is embroidered with thickish white thread which I plan to work with/over when I get to it. I purchased online another spool - not as nice as the previous one as it has been smartened up although it is old. This one holds a strip of 6" fabric which was convenient as I was able to cut my fabric neatly into three. Anyway, less waffle, more pictures!

and a close up of this week

Bottom right is todays stitching which was inspired by our visit earlier today to the kitchen garden at Knightshayes.

The rest of my Friday was spent watching cricket - test match followed by T20 - and so sock knitting was ideal and I am now making good progress on my second sock.

This months Chookshed Challenge no is #9 and on my list that is to make last years stitch journal pages into a book.

These are the pages

and the plan is a zigzag book. I have it in my mind, and hope it will work in practise! Anyway, I have made a start on the front and back panels. The first one will will have 2024 embroidered on it but so far all I have done is the border using Reversed Buttonhole Bar starting with a fairly random row of buttonhole.

This is as far as I have got with the back panel

I mentioned earlier that we visited Knightshayes today and I will leave you with a few pictures from the lovely kitchen gardens. Have a great weekend.

A busy week

We have been in the UK for a week now visiting family and friends. The weather has been surprisingly good and kind to us so we have had a few interesting days out.

On Tuesday we visited amongst other places Clevedon where the Marine Lake/Tidal Pool has recently been renovated. Lovely to see it all looking clean and in use again. The pool is washed by the sea on high tides. There were plenty of brave swimmers about when we visited, although they all seem to be congregating in the far corner of this picture.

There is a great view of Clevedon Pier from the lake.

We spent a day in Sidmouth shopping and visiting family and then went on to Lyme Regis where the evening sun gave this great view of the town from the Cobb.

The youngest member of the family insisted on taking us to Wooky Hole. The caves were first opened up to the public in 1927 and this year new tunnels mean that another large cavern has been opened to the public. It features this beautiful and unusual stone formation and is the only place in the world where this particular formation is found underground.

This little dragon found his way in there too!

The Witch of Wooky Hole is a large stalagmite vaguely resembling a witches face. Supposedly the witch was turned to stone by a monk from nearby Glastonbury. We passed the Wooky Hole cave aged cheddar maturing on our way through the caves.

Following the cave tour which takes about 40 minutes the rest of the site is a theme park with various exhibitions, dinosaurs, mirror maze, penny arcade etc. Lots of references to Witches too and a 4D film show which was great fun.

We have also visited Knightshayes, a National Trust property. The house is Gothic Revival, built in 1869, and has been restored to it's original design by the NT.

I loved the house - there are some gorgeous ceilings, lots of wood panelling, an incredible amount of canvas work seat covers and pictures. Lots to see. But the gardens are stunning. We followed the Easter Egg route through the woodland garden which was full of spring colour.

The organic kitchen garden has been restored too. It is walled with turrets in the corners. It is also on a slope.

Thank you for making it through this picture heavy post - I hope you have enjoyed seeing my pictures.

Happy Easter - I hope you have a great weekend.