A rainy Sunday is perfect for stitching

LD 2.11 broke into a wet and very overcast day in London. During the night the wind had been strong. We were woken at 2.30 by the banging of the back door. The rain has made the door swell and so it is difficult to shut properly and even when shut, currently I can't get the lock to work. As I headed up to bed I reminded John he needed to check and lock the door but he forgot and so we were woken by it banging as the wind blew it open and closed. Fortunately we live in a safe area of town. Yesterday we managed to complete our 4 mile walk without getting too wet. The rain started as we were already heading home. It's annoying when it rains at the weekend and is dry on a work day but working from home does give some ability to move work load around so we can go out for our daily exercise during the light. The clocks went back at the end of October and it's still fairly dark when the alarm goes off at 6 and all the parks and the cemetery where we walk close at 4. It does get difficult to fit in a walk during a week day so planning my diary is really important. Oddly the lockdown is helping here. On December 2nd when it is due to end (possibly, maybe) it will only be 19 days before we reach the shortest day of the year and during this time all our teaching is online. This is to allow students to be tested for covid 19 and if needed isolate before heading home for Christmas. Over Christmas and New Year I don't really notice the short days and by the time you go back to work in January the days are already starting to draw out.

Yesterday the sewing machine stayed silent. I had meant to make the lavender bags but I wanted to finish reading my book so I curled up in a chair with Scamp on my lap and read  a hundred plus pages. That put me in the mood for hand stitching. Over the week I've been stitching the millennium sampler and I've made it down to the bottom right corner of the border. The spitfire at the top still has to be finished.

Later today I'll work on the bottom border, parts of which have already been done

I have also made a start on the cornerstones. I completed one ages ago and decided I'd complete the top and bottom right cornerstones before moving on to complete the border. I've folded the fabric so you can see the completed cornerstone and the one from the top right of the sampler that I started work on last night

I picked up Luna Lapin to work on yesterday. I had made the legs and the body was stitched in part so that I could add the legs and the base. Here's what I had at the start of yesterday.

I attached the legs and the base of the body, which meant I could stitch up the main body leaving an opening for the stuffing. Having stuffed it I then closed the opening. I also made an ear. The second one will be made today. I need the ears completed before I can make the head as they have to be stitched into the seams. The pointed part of the body goes into the head.

The rabbit comes with clothes patterns and of course I will be making the clothes. You can't gift a naked rabbit when it's supposed to be a fashionable young lady rabbit about town.  

I have a deep purple piece of felt for her coat, and need to decide on fabric for her dress and underwear. I'm also looking forward to making her scarf from some of my quilting scraps.

I might be turning my machine on briefly this afternoon as Richard has asked me to make a dust cover for his new computer he's built. It's huge, is water cooled and operates at an amazing speed. I measured the case last evening and have found the fabric. It's all straight seams  and should sew up very quickly.

Picasso has been very helpful and decided he needed to help me out with my tea drinking. He loves tea and will almost have his nose in my cup before I start to drink. I used to worry he'd burn himself but he hasn't come to any harm yet

Later this evening I will continue working on the sampler for the main part but I will make Luna's second ear and stitch the head pieces together. All of Luna Lapin is hand stitched.

I'm linking this post with Kathy from Kathy's Quilts for her Slow Sunday Stitching link up. I'm going to make more tea and see what everyone has been stitching this week.

Take care

Lyndsey