60 degree diamonds and Blue Tits

I've been working on getting all the 20+ 60 degree stars added to my travel quilt and I must admit it has become a bit tedious!  What I should have done while I was away was too join the stars together in groups of 5 or 6 and then added them to the quilt when I got home.  Still it's a lesson learnt!  I've still a few to add, so later today for slow Sunday stitching I will try and finish them off (although there is a quilt show on locally which I will visit this afternoon). I've also noticed looking at the photo that you can't see any of the place names and dates on the white diamonds - but they are there!

On Friday we went to Mottisfont Abbey, a National Trust property and saw this rather splendid House for the birds and insects.  

And inside were a family of Blue Tits.  Mum (or Dad) were busy popping in and out. But trying to get a photo was impossible!

Yesterday when I went out into the garden I came across this little fella. He was fast asleep, obviously exhausted (maybe he had only just left the nest?) So we left him in piece to recover and kept the dog inside and when I looked about an hour later he had gone!  A happy ending I hope!

Here's one I made earlier!

 I admit I am a bit of a hoarder and the same goes for fabric (but then again aren't we all?) Sometimes I get some fabric that I love so much that I don't want to use it because when its gone that's it! I am also a great fan of Tiffany.  I have a huge poster hanging in my stairwell of one of his picture windows that I bought many years ago at the Metropolitan museum in New York (there is a great collection of his work there) and I lovingly carried it home on the plane in my hand luggage for fear of it getting squashed in my suitcase.... actually I don't think it would have fitted in my suitcase!  So when I was asked to make a slightly bigger bag than the one my SM already had I thought it was time to use it.  I used the Anita's Arrowhead block that I got HERE and came up with this.  It was made back in January before I went on holiday to Portugal and I only discovered the photo when I was trawling through my pics last week.

Leo the Lion

I've spent the evenings this week trying to complete the pathway/border on the mystery stitch a long, but despite all my best efforts I'm still not quite there.  So instead of seeing a progress photo of 'A Peacocks Garden' I thought I would show a picture of a completed Leo the Lion!  Finished late last year but for some unknown reason I didn't post.

 He will go very nicely with Pisces the fish.  I will frame them in hoops so should be a quick and easy win. 

I am linking up with Kathy for some slow Sunday stitching although I'm not too sure what I am going to work on for the rest of the afternoon but I will put a Doris Day DVD on the TV (in homage to her passing this week at the ripe old age of 97).

Have a good week!

Slow Sunday Stitching

We have had a busy week with guests staying until Friday.  We visited a local food festival yesterday (we took the train and then walked around and put nearly 9 miles on my fit bit!) but ate some delicious food washed down with real ale. And today we took the dog for a lovely long walk in the forest.  On the return part of our walk we passed a man with a Raven on his arm.  This bird was only 7 weeks old (and already huge) but he was out with his family and trying to socialise the bird!  Apparently a Raven in captivity can live up to 70 years and eventually it will have a wing span of 5 feet.  I have never seen one up close (I've seen them at the Tower of London and we have nesting pairs at Corfe Castle which is about 30 miles from us). It has beautiful feathers that are blue black and will eventually have emerald green mixed in. Pity I didn't think to take a photo! Interesting man to talk too, but I'm not sure how far he will get to walk with his family as I am sure everyone will stop and talk to him!

 Last Sunday I sat and finished this months part of the mystery stitch a long.  I'm rather liking it at the moment and the colours are definitely growing on me.  Today when I eventually sit down to do some hand stitching I hope to get a bit more of the border completed (February's is the only outstanding month now).  I have linked up to Kathy's blog for some Slow Sunday Stitching, so hop on over if you can!

 I also decided I wanted to get back to my sewing machine (I feel I've neglected it a bit lately). So I retrieved this book off the shelf and gathered together the fabrics I bought when I was last in American - which I think was about 6 years ago for this very project!  I hope its not too ambitious for me because it requires very careful cutting and sewing and if I am honest I prefer a pattern that is a little forgiving (if you get my drift).  The centre fabric is my main piece and the fabric at the top of the photo probably don't quite fit in.

 Every fabric has to link with it neighbour and be placed in colour value.  I can see by the black and white photo that I probably haven't achieved that! YET! Do you like my positive attitude?  Lets see where it gets me!

Door stop

 At last weeks craft class we made door stops!  I spent the day hand sewing the red work panels and blanket stitching the heart and butterflies.  It was a lovely relaxing day and I am pleased with the end result.  It is filled with 500g of Basmati rice (that's all I had in the store cupboard) and then back filled with toy stuffing.  Hopefully it will be heavy enough to stop the door slamming when the front and back doors are open!

A Peacocks Garden

Oh my goodness how the week seems to fly past and here we are on another Sunday and I am thinking about doing some slow Sunday stitching!

I managed to get April completed before the end of the month and I've made a start on May.  This month it is slightly easier because there are no colour choices to make, it is just a matter of including some of the already used threads to try and make it a harmonious picture!  So my plan for the rest of today is to finish May and maybe make another start on February (the path around each component).  If I get any time left over I can then carry on with adding the 60 degree diamonds to my travel EPP project (I've run out of papers and need to free up some)  I am linking up with Kathy's blog over HERE for slow Sunday stitching where you can see lots of lovely projects being worked on!  I am also adding a photo of some lambs because I am feeling very spring like today (despite the chill in the air, the sun is shining and the sky is blue) and the farm at the top of the road has lots of lambs frolicking in the field (probably to keep warm)!