A hot and slow Sunday.

Yesterday, being Saturday,  was the usual run of catching up with household chores but we made time early in the day for a trip to the wetlands centre at Barnes. We planned an early visit as we knew the day was going to be very hot and because the centre is a good place for a family outings, it would be crowded later in the day. At this time of year there often aren't many birds to see but the area has a lot of dragon and damsel flies which are fun to watch and look very pretty. It was also ablaze with wild flowers. 

There was an Oystercatcher with a chick in the shingle on one of the little islands, a good number of black headed gulls with older youngsters. Away from the water the small brown birds were sitting amongst the leaves and singing. They would occasionally flit to another tree but you had to be quick to see them. The water lilies were just starting to open.

We ended our visit by enjoying coffee and cake sat watching the swans. Back at home and having finished the chores I got to work sorting out and measuring my fabric stash.  I have a range of fabrics, some for dress making, some upholstery and of course quilting fabrics. Over time they have got a little muddled. As I put them back in the right storage space, I'm writing down the size of the fabric and sticking in a sample piece. That way I can check what I have before I go out and buy any more. Whilst sorting I found two pieces I'd bought to use as quilt backing. They'll come in useful at some point. I found some floaty fabric which will make a great blouse. So having finished my sorting for the day I set to cutting out the blouse pattern. Casso came to help but didn't appreciate how slippery the fabric was. As he stepped onto it and started to make himself comfortable, the fabric started to slip and he landed on the floor, in a tangle with the fabric. He soon recovered and got back onto the table where he settled on top of the offcuts and refused to moved until he had tamed them.

Recently Casso has been wearing a collar. He always used to get them off but we decided to try again as so many people are feeding him and it was making him ill. he is an old cat and he has kidney problems and as a result is on a special diet. He is also an oriental cross and has the lean body of an oriental cat so people think he needs feeding up. Now he has a bright read collar with 'Please do not feed me' written on it.  Since he hasn't been getting extra food from people his health has improved.

Today I needed to work on the cushion I'm making.  I started by sewing the back pieces for the cushion cover. These are each made from 6 squares. One side of each section was hemmed.

Next I added the 2.5 inch squares to the centre panel of the front. 

When I started this project I wasn't sure about the fabric. It's vintage style and I like brighter and more modern styles. However the colours and patterns work well together so I'm happy.

I cut the fabrics for the hexagon flowers and I've stitched one together. I will work on the remaining 3 flowers tonight when I chill out at the end of the day.

I still need to cut the rest of the applique pieces but I want to get the flowers made first.

I'm linking this post with Kathy from Kathy's Quilts for her Slow Sunday Stitching link up. Pop over and see what everyone is working on. Now I need to get those hexies sewn together so I can start the applique on my cushion.

Take care

Lyndsey