Merry Christmas

 

This time of year always makes me realise how lucky I am to have such a wonderful, loving family! For four days before Christmas I had Faye and her husband over from Germany staying with us. On Christmas Eve they left to spend Christmas with his family and my son arrived early evening to be with us until now (its Boxing Day evening). And I've had a lovely time - just being together!

Not only have I had a wonderful time, but I received some lovely crafty gifts.  Faye who is amazing at crochet bought me some wool to crochet a bag and made these wonderful crochet decorations. She does a great blog and you can see more of her crochet HERE. A girlfriend also bought me the knitting loom and some 'Hand Made by Sarah....) labels to sew on my creations. My friend knows me so well!

DH bought me this lovely book. It is by a wonderful Australian lady who uses wool felt flowers, birds, owls and animals on her quilts.  I love it and I can't wait to start one of them!

Enjoy the rest of Christmas and here's hoping you have a healthy, peaceful and Happy New Year!!

12 Days of Christmas

Last week we went to Mottisfont Abbey in Romsey.  They always do a beautiful Christmas display and this year the theme was 12 Days of Christmas. 

Here are three French hens.

And seven swans a swimming!

The displays took us around the grounds, except we couldn't find nine ladies dancing.....until we went into the house.

And here are the nine ladies dancing!  These beautiful models are made by The Royal Ballet before the real costume is made. They are absolutely exquisite and apparently Darcy Bussell owns several models presumably of the costumes that she eventually wore as a principal ballerina. I wish I had taken photos of which ballets they came from but I remember there was Giselle, Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake (only another six to try and remember!)

December

Chill December brings the sleet,

Blazing fire and Christmas treat.

This months creative embroidery class based on the above line from the Sara Coleridge poem The Months of the Year is a stump work fireplace! It took all day to do this bit so I'm probably not going to finish it this side of Christmas, but that said I had a really good day and thoroughly enjoyed learning the technique! Most of the class had pictures of there own fireplaces and the ones that were brick work looked fantastic.  My fire surround is marble so I'm putting off how to colour it at the moment and I must admit I decided not to put the recessed arch in either.  But what I am looking forward to is dressing it with a Christmas garland and bunting! Below is a picture of my actual fireplace (as you can see I've used an artistic interpretation!)

Our class room looks out over a sea inlet at Mudeford and the sunset yesterday was stunning! What you can't see in the photo is the thirty or so swans swimming on the water.

Red work Christmas Heart

We have just come back from spending a few days in Salisbury with the Motor home. It's the first time we have used it when its been really cold and I'm happy to say we were snug and warm! This morning we woke up to bright blue sky and a hard frost on the ground. The campsite looks over a huge playing field and Old Sarum. It's an Iron Age hill fort with 2,000 years of history attached. We took the dog for a walk around the site and from the top of the moat we could look across Salisbury to the beautiful cathedral. Its been a lovely few days and I've come home refreshed and ready to face another week of work!

I'm off to put up the outside Christmas lights and then I shall settle down to an afternoon film (I'm definitely ready for some Christmas movies now) and some sewing. While I was away I did manage to finish my little gingerbread man red work and over the next couple of days I will make it up into a heart to go with the other two. I have linked up to Kathy's blog for Slow Sunday Stitching where you can see what other people are sewing today!

Red work heart

I don't have a great deal to show since my last post. Working three days a week in the café at the Garden Centre leaves me feeling incredibly tired! This weekend Father Christmas arrived, accompanied by a marching band, which means the shop has been heaving with excited children clutching gifts from Santa and being given treats in the form of very sugary cakes and pop (which obviously adds to the hyperactivity of the young ones!)  Don't get me wrong I love Christmas, but (and I'm sorry there is a but) it's too early. What's wrong with starting Christmas in December?  Give it another week and I will be ready..... honest!

What this all means is I've had little energy for sewing and because I was working this Sunday I had no time for relaxing for Slow Sunday Stitching.  I am however working on a small red work heart from Dandelion Designs and the wonderful designer Mandy Shore.  This is the third one I've made and they make a lovely addition to my Christmas decorations.

Slow Sunday Stitching

I LOVE Sunday's, I always have, even as a child! I would cross the road to my best friends house and spend some time with her before returning home for lunch and then snuggle up on the sofa and watch an old film or musical. Fifty years on I'm lucky enough to still see my three best friends and today we are meeting up for lunch and knowing us it will be a noisy affair! But I also know what I will do when I get home......yes snuggle up on the sofa and watch an old film, the difference being from when I was a child is I will also be doing some hand sewing!

Over the last week or so I have been basting my Grandmothers Garden quilt and I finished doing that yesterday which means today I will have my first taste of hand quilting. I've thought a lot about the pattern I am going to use and I think I'm going to keep it simple and just quilt around the flowers and leaves, but who know by the time I get the hoop on I might have changed my mind!

I also finished my little Robin Wreath.  I loved making him, there is something really nice about working with felt.

I will link up with Kathy's blog for Slow Sunday Stitching so you can see what other people are stitching today!

Robin Wreath

I'm feeling a bit Christmassy today! So I thought I would post a photo of progress so far on my little Robin Wreath.  He's rather cute! I've a bit more work to do on him (must give him some eyes, poor little chap and make him a branch to sit on).  But I rather like him!

Have a good day.

Creative Embroidery

Dull November brings the blast,

Then the leaves are falling fast.

The above line comes from the poem The Months of the Year by Sara Coleridge and its the basis of the Creative Embroidery classes I will attend for the next year!

This piece was layered using wadding, purple fleece, organza and of course the different fabrics and textures for the leaves. It was then machine quilted randomly and then I cut away the organza on most of the leaves to leave a lovely puffy square of fabric that I will probably turn into a cushion.  Great fun!

Catch Up!

Wow, how fast is time galloping by? We're in November already! I seem to have little to show, although I have nearly finished my canvas work, which I hope to complete either this evening or if I get a chance to do some Slow Sunday Stitching, tomorrow!

I also got a chance to prep some felt for a Christmas Wreath.  Eventually there will be a little Robin to hang in the middle. I might even work on that tomorrow. Which ever I do I recommend you pop over to Kathy's Blog on Sunday to see what other people are inspired to sew at the moment!

I visited a quilt shop earlier this week and picked up some wadding, more fabric to piece a back and some Aurifil thread for my Grandmothers Garden hexi quilt. That means I now have all the components to start hand quilting. I just need to find time to piece the back, layer it up and of course baste it!  What I need is a week off to get started!

Here is a photo from Kingston Lacy in Dorset of the Japanese garden that I took earlier this week. Aren't those colours glorious!

Have a good day!

Pumpkins!

With Halloween just round the corner I thought I would share some photos I took at the Jucker Bachilhof Farm in Jona, just outside Zurich Switzerland earlier this month!

Aren't they wonderful? I will share some more photos from the farm later in the week!

Canvas work and EPP

I've recently picked up my canvas work again after a gap of several months! I am working on getting the bead work completed but I admit I'm finding the beads a bit of a fiddle and tedious, but as you can see by the top left hand corner I've nearly cracked it with just a large square and a couple of small squares to complete. So my aim today is to sit and watch a film (maybe a musical - what's not to love about a musical on a Sunday afternoon) and get the last beads sewn on!

I've also made a couple more 60 degree stars and sewn two of the 8 star units together. So far so good! I am linking up with Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching (goodness it feels like an age since I last did). Take a look at what others are hand sewing at the moment, its sure to give some inspiration if any is needed!

Have a wonderful day!

PS I've just linked into Kathy's blog and she has featured four amazing La Passacaglia quilts (I am totally in love with them......could this be my next project?)

Hexies

I didn't realise how long its been since I have last posted! But I have been a busy girl.......apart from working part time in the coffee shop, I have spent the last three long weekends away. I've visited Salisbury (we go there fairly regularly but we really like the city and the walking from the campsite is lovely), We spent five days with my brother and SiL in Switzerland, being thoroughly spoilt, walking and we travelled a rather spectacular UNESCO train journey up into the mountains to St. Moritz and then last weekend we were in Glastonbury (another nice campsite for good walking).  During that time I have been gradually building up my 60 degree stars and I will photograph them and do a show and tell soon.  Then on Friday I realised I hadn't been into my sewing room for what seemed like weeks and oh what bliss it was!  I gave it a really good tidy and then decided to add a border to my grandmothers garden to try and stabilise the edge.  I just happened to have a half metre of plain green which seemed to fit in really well with the garden theme.  All I have to do now is get the wadding, backing fabric and find some thread to start hand quilting it.....not much then!

60 degree diamonds

I don't have a lot to show for two weeks worth of sewing because two weeks ago I started working part time in a garden centre coffee shop! And it's all been a bit of a shock to the system.....it's been 18 months since I last worked! But it's good fun, the people are really nice and it is only until Christmas.

I have done a few more diamonds and started to sew together a second group of stars. Slow progress but some progress is better, I guess than no progress.

60 degree diamonds

Yesterday we finally got a good down pour of rain. We needed it so much. Unfortunately it was timed with me loading the car up with garden waste to take to the council tip! Still never mind, that's a job done for another week! Today there is a chill in the air (not an unpleasant chill after the heat we've had) but I noticed when I walked the dog through the wood this morning how many leaves are already on the ground - Autumn is on its way!

Last Sunday I did some more 60 degree diamonds for Slow Sunday Stitching and I think this week I may well start joining them together. My EPP bible 'Quilting on the Go' suggests doing that every eight stars. That way it frees up more templates. There could of course be a flaw in that plan because at the moment I'm picking out my all time favourite fabrics which means I might be left with the ones I'm not quite so in love with!

The binding also went onto the little sewing kit and I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

Tomorrow I will link up with Kathy's blog for Slow Sunday Stitching to see what other people have been sewing!

Have a nice day.

60 degree diamonds!

Three days of birthday celebrations (and the hot, hot days and nights) has left me feeling really tired! I've spent the last few days being rather lazy. But what I have done is cut lots (and I mean lots) of 60 degree diamonds for my travel/memory quilt project. I emptied all the fabric from my boxes and started to cut three diamonds from nearly every piece of fabric that I own. It's been a trip down memory lane, discovering little bits of fabric that I used years ago to make various quilts. And like every quilter who is addicted to collecting fabric I have quite a few fat quarters of fabric untouched, just waiting for the right project.  Well this feels like it might be the right project!

This is supposed to be my holiday, motor home project, but I am itching to start sewing and I suspect this will become my travel anywhere project, including sitting in the evening watching TV project!

I've managed to complete five stars already and I just love the process of English Paper Piecing. Its very satisfying when a star comes together and one completed star is easily achievable in an evening.

Tomorrow is Sunday and after walking the dog I will probably sit and watch the Belgium Grand Prix on TV (I'm missing the Olympics already and can't wait for the Paralympics to start) and maybe sew a couple more of these. I will link up with Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching. Hop over and take a look at what other people are hand sewing today!

Birthday parties!

It's been a bumper week and weekend. Faye and her husband came to stay for a week which was lovely. We did lots of walks on the beach with the dog and visited a number of cafes for coffee and cake! It culminated with a surprise party on Saturday for DH, organised by the children and their partners. They put lots of work into the party, with Faye organising the food, invitations, making the bunting and organising lots of balloons and my sons girlfriend making 60+ cupcakes! It was a huge shock for him and he had no idea what was going on despite Faye's husband nearly giving the game away twice! It was lovely to see family and friends. Lots of them stayed in the New Forest area for the night which meant we could have Sunday lunch with DHs sister and brother and nephews and nieces, in a lovely fish restaurant on the sea front (a couple of miles from where we live). Unfortunately Faye had to be back in Germany on Monday for work so the children all left at lunchtime. Monday was actually his birthday (you know one of those big 0 birthdays) and I had planned a lovely long walk that took in a tea shop where we were going to have a cream tea.  That was shelved when his brother and sister and their spouses turned up with everything for a BBQ in the garden. They did all the cooking (and loaded the dishwasher before they left) and even bought a couple of bottles of Prosecco with them. It was great and DH had a fabulous 3 day festival of a birthday!

I don't have a lot to show for the week, although I did quilt my hexies and cut the shape for the sewing kit. I've also made the bias binding for it and now things have settled down a bit I will sew it on and hopefully finish it today.

Hexies and 60 degree diamonds

It's been a very (very) busy last few days. We travelled into Essex, with our motorhome for a few days with family and friends and had such a fantastic time! I prepped some fabric to start my new EPP project. The plan is that this project will stay in the motorhome to be worked on as we travel around the UK and Europe (so it is definitely a long term project). Every star I make will be surrounded by neutral 60 degree diamonds where I can write where I was when I made it and the date - A travel quilt. The idea came from the 'Quilt as you go' book and despite being busy I managed to do a couple!

While watching the Olympics (which have been fantastic) I've sewn the tiny hexagons together for my little sewing case. I need to quilt them next...watch this space!

Butterfly Sampler

Last Sunday I got all the antennae finished on my Sue Spargo Butterfly Sampler, the binding and a label! It feels like a huge Ta Dah moment, especially as it has been sitting in my UFO box for an eternity! And I'm so pleased with it. I've hung it in my work room as an inspiration when I need a different stitch.

Like most people who sew or quilt, I always seem to have lots of unfinished projects on the go.  But I'm just not inspired my any of them at the moment - and if I'm honest I really want to do another EPP project.......so with that in mind I sent off for a couple of supplies!

Some 60* diamond templates (a long term travel project for the motor home), some hand quilting needles for my hexie quilt (can't believe how small those needles are - but that's what You Tube suggested) and a thimble (never, ever worn one but apparently you can't hand quilt without one!). I still need some other bits and pieces (quilting hoop, wadding and backing fabric), but as this will be a winter project those will come as and when I find them.

I really needed to scratch that hexie itch so yesterday, while watching the Olympics, I started to baste some tiny 1 1/4" hexies to make a little sewing kit to keep in the van with my next project (I mean a girl can never have enough sewing kits!). This time round I've read the book 'Quilting on the Go!' by Jessica Alexandrakis and know the correct way of basting them, so I'm very grateful to the Slow Sunday Stitcher who recommended the book to me! I'm off to watch some more of the Olympics and baste more hexies. Take a look at Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching to see how other people are relaxing and what they are sewing today!

Tilda House quilt and Butterfly sampler

Last Sunday I sat down and managed to get another background block stitched. This project has been going on for a number of years and unfortunately I've still got the boring bits of stitching to do. But I will plod on with it because once that's done I can start attaching the little houses and then it will come alive!

But I'm not going to work on this today I'm going to continue with my Butterfly sampler.

This has also been sitting in my UFO pile waiting to be quilted. It's from a Sue Spargo Craftsy class and I really enjoyed learning the different embroidery stitches and picking the colours and threads.  All it needed was the quilting! So inspired by another Slow Sunday Stitcher who is also doing the class, I sat down during the week and started to quilt! (I actually tried hand quilting it with a perle 8 thread but it detracted from the butterflies.) I also ran out of yellow thread, which was annoying because there is only a small amount of quilting left to do, but I will finish stitching it this morning and then I can spend the rest of the day sewing the antenna on each one and maybe even get the binding done!

I have link up with Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching blog so you can see what everyone else is sewing today.

Dorset and cream teas!

On Wednesday we went out with DHs Nordic walking group for there annual long walk. We did a circular walk of several miles along the Dorset coast and ended up back at a pub for lunch. It was a really nice day, not too hot as there was quite a bit of cloud cover, which made walking just right! A very pleasant day!

And this afternoon we meet up with another group of DHs friends for a Vintage Afternoon Tea! It was suggested we wear something vintage.  Not sure what constitutes vintage but I had a dress that's about 10 years old and I still love it, so wore that! There were also hats and feather boas on the backs of all the chairs.  What must we have looked like?  But it was good fun.  I can honestly say I don't want to eat another piece of cake for at least a week! (and coming from me that's saying something!)

Lots of lovely finishes!!

I've always loved Sundays, even as a child! Today is no exception and thinking about what I've done so far today I would say it's a perfect day. It started off with a lovely long walk (just over four miles) from Beaulieu to Bucklers Hard along the river. We were there nice and early so not too hot and not many people around. When we get to Bucklers Hard there is a nice little café to have coffee and cake (we shared one so I haven't really broken my diet) and then the walk back, where we can stop off at a lovely garden centre to look at the plants, where my DH bought me this pot of succulents. I love the weird shapes and wonderful colours. I have an old Butler sink that I've got prepared but just hadn't found a plant centre that stocked enough variety for me to get started, so I'm delighted with these!

We just got back to the car as it started to rain which means when I get home I won't feel guilty if I sit down and do some sewing.  So all in all a perfect Sunday!

Last Sunday I managed to get my Elizabethan Tudor rose finished (yes those pesky petals are done).

And during the week I finished the insertion stitch project. Its a shame the colour is washed out in the photo. Not sure what this will be in the end but it's another project completed.

Also finished some socks for a girlfriends Birthday. Its very satisfying to be able to tick several things off my UFO list. I have linked up to Kathy's blog for Slow Sunday Stitching so you can see what other people are working on this Sunday and I'm off to work on my Tilda House quilt, which I haven't looked at for ages. Hopefully by next Sunday I will have something to show!

Elizabethan embroidery

Not a lot of sewing got done last Sunday because there was so much too watch on TV! Andy Murrey won at Wimbledon and Lewis Hamilton won the British Grand Prix so all in all it was hard to concentrate on sewing (and that Brussels stitch needs all my attention). So today for Slow Sunday Stitching I am hoping to get those pesky petals done!

I also wanted to say thank you to everyone who left a comment on last Sundays post. I got some great advice on how to move forward with my Grandmothers Garden quilt and its really motivated me to get going with it, so thank you everyone! I was also recommended a book by Mia called Quilting on the go which I managed to get from my local library and its an excellent book......the only trouble is I now want to start another English paper pieced quilt! I can argue very easily to start another one, I mean after all I need something to do that doesn't take too much brain power while I'm watching television!

I don't have too much to show for this week. I've had my lovely daughter over from Germany so we have been doing some serious retail/garden centre/coffee shop therapy and its been bliss! But I can show my sashiko bag finished. Its a nice sturdy bag and I am pleased with the  way its turned out. I'm cracking on with trying to get some projects completed!

Enjoy the weather and have a wonderful day.