Conkers and hexies

Yesterday I posted a photo of the conkers (seeds of the horse chestnut tree) I had prepared for a game at Guides. I've had a couple of comments from people who haven't heard of this game so let me enlighten you. First you need to collect a nice big round shiny conker - and you need a friend who does the same. In the USA the conkers are known as buckeyes.

To play the game you first need to make a hole through the conker and thread a piece of string through. I used a small hand drill onto a wooden board but if you use a skewer and hold the conker in your hand you need to make sure not to cut your hand. You need a strong knot at the end so the conker won't pull off. The sting needs to be long enough to wrap round yourhand twice and hang down 10 inches. 

To play the game the first player wraps the string around their hand and lets the conker hang down. The conker is held at a height to suit the other player and it must be still. The second player wraps their string round their hand so the conker is secure. They then hold the conker in their other hand and pull it back to make a strike. The conker is released and hopefully it hits the hanging conker. The players take it in turns to try and break their opponent's conker. The game ends when one conker breaks and the player with their conker intact is declared the winner. 

The girls loved learning how to play the game. None of the conkers broke during the games so we decided who had won by who managed to hit their opponent's conker the most. The girls were pleased to take their conkers home.

Today there was very little sewing time as I was working all day. However this evening I did manage to fit in some hand stitching on the turtle quilt binding. I managed to stitch down about half of the binding. i love the way it looks. I was also finishing sewing in the ends.

This quilt will be finished in time for a Friday finish tomorrow. I also spent a little time cutting out the fabric for one of my extra hexie blocks

I will work on this block on the train tomorrow. If I stitch on both the outward and return journeys this block will be finished.

Today at lunchtime I spent a little time sorting through the files in the craft folder on my computer.I found some great embroidery patterns from Red Brolly that I'd downloaded but forgotten about. I printed them out and decided which to work on first. These patterns are free for personal use. I can't wait to get started on this one.

There are also some scrumptious recipes to make. Mmmm I can see a cake in my future this weekend. 

For now i must to go to bed as I need to be up at 5.45 so I can get my train. Roll on 7 pm tomorrow evening when I'll be home and I can finish the binding. 

Lyndsey