Dinosaurs.

 The last two weeks have been very busy as students attended their induction and enrolment. There is always a  lot of things to sort out, some administrative, which can be completed quickly.  Other problems take a lot longer to deal with but have to be slowly untangled. Today was the first day of teaching, but Monday is my none teaching day, so I finished checking that I have everything ready for the next 4 weeks. By 4p.m. I'd finished everything I needed to do and so headed home.

My plan for the evening was to stitch the dinosaur blocks into six panels. These will eventually be sewn together with sashing to make the quilt top. I lay the panels on the bed to take a photo. I couldn't get the full set of dinosaurs in the picture, the violet ones are missing from the bottom.

Finishing the quilt top will have to wait until Friday evening and then it will be time to think about the quilting. I will take better photos later in the week but I was very pleased to have the panels sewn together.

I spent quite a lot of time last week, knitting. The front of my jumper is growing slowly but with any luck I will have it finished before winter. 

My embroidery hasn't been so lucky. I made a start on it but I need a good light so stitching in the evening is not working out so well. I need to buy a new electric cable for my magnifying light, since Twiglet ate his way through the old one when he was teething a few months ago. This is all I've done so far. I'm pleased I got any of it done.

Tomorrow is the first of October. If I'm to get some of my projects finished before the end of the year I need to get a wriggle on. I have some new projects I want to start but I'm trying to finish a project before starting something new.

Take care

Lyndsey

Working on various projects.

Last week was very busy at work as it's enrolment and induction time for the new student intake. Some of the work spilled over into my personal time which is annoying but I am able to take time back. It wasn't all bad as I managed to complete some stitching on my embroidered table cloth. Nowhere near as much as I would have liked but all stitches added help to get it completed. I also don't have a planned deadline for completion so I'm just enjoying working on it whenever I can.

I have also been working on knitting my jumper. Unfortunately knitting causes my left wrist to ache if I do too much so I've learnt how much I can do a day and generally don't exceeded it. Fortunately it does grow very quickly so I should have it finished before the weather gets too cold.

I'm not sure if I share a picture of the pattern. In case I didn't here is the one from the pattern book. I chose the same green as the pattern as I don't any jumpers in a green and I love the colour of the yarn.

Yesterday, having completed some household chores I had time for some sewing. I decided I would set up the quilt sandwich for the Thomas quilt. I started by turning the duvet cover inside out and cutting carefully along the seams. I cut away the minimal amount of fabric possible.

Next I ironed the back and front and cut the wadding. I had to open a new pack of wadding that was quite a lot larger than I needed. Man handling a large piece of wadding is always tiring. Eventually I got it all nicely aligned and smooth. The quilt sandwich is made and when I get some time I will be stating the quilting. 

Quilting this is going to be interesting as my grandson is obsessed with Thomas and particularly his livery. I can't just quilt round the shapes as this won't leave enough stitching to keep the layers together but little one may get annoyed if I add shapes into the paintwork of his favourite train. I think I need a discussion with my grandson.

Finishing the quilt sandwich I planned to make a couple more of the T Rex dinosaurs. I started by cutting all the pieces for the four remaining colours having decided I would work on all four at the same time. I didn't manage to complete them but got quite a lot done.

For two of the dinosaurs it is a simple task of sewing the top half to the bottom half and they will be finished. Unfortunately I made a mistake with two of the top halves. I sewed the top piece on upside down. Oops!

I need to unpick the top pieces and resew the right way up. It's such a pain to make a mistake so close to finishing the blocks.

Today is slow Sunday stitching and my aim is to complete the next flowers on the right of the photo. I've done my knitting time for the day. I'm linking this post with Kathy from Kathy's Quilts for her Slow Sunday Stitching link up. I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone is working on.

Tomorrow I am taking a day off work as I'm attending a local quilting and sewing event. I'm not sure what it will be like but it should be fun.

Take care

Lyndsey 

Purchases and projects

Whilst we were away at the weekend we visited my favourite quilt shop, Midsomer Quilting. The staff are delightful and the shop always provides great fabric choices and inspiration for future projects. The shop was busy and the chatter was very lively. Several customers were choosing fabrics for large quilts and everyone seemed to get involved, offering suggestions . As always there was a quilt on display to enjoy. I didn't get the name of the maker but it is a beautiful quilt. It's one of those quilts you could revisit many times and always see something different, things that you've never noticed before, such as the people, dogs, little birds and the caterpillar.

I bought some wadding to use on a new project and also the backing fabric for the dinosaur quilt and some fat quarters. I love the backing fabric for the dinosaurs and I will also use it for the binding. The yellow and orange fat quarters will be used in the Grandmothers garden quilt.

Katy had been given a duvet cover but she wants it made into a quilt, hence the need for more wadding. This is for my grandson who is totally train obsessed, especially if the train is Thomas.

The fabric on the back is fun as well.

I'll get the quilt sandwich made this weekend and then decide how to quilt it. I'm also planning on getting the remaining 4 dinosaurs made. In addition I have a blouse and a dress cut out and waiting to be sewn together. I could really do with several extra hours in a day. 

A couple of weeks ago I  pulled a muscle in my neck. I'm not sure how I did it but it could be linked to the set up of my work computer, or using too big a pillow to sleep on. Whatever caused the problem it is playing havoc with getting on with my various projects. Sitting and working on my embroidery means my neck starts to get sore and the same applies to my knitting. I've got some exercises that I need to do several times a day so I'm hopeful it will heal fairly quickly.

Today has been a long day at work as I arrived before 8 am and didn't leave until 7 this evening. I'd love to sit and chill out with my knitting but instead I'll be going off to bed quite soon. Tomorrow I'm going to spend some of my time at work planning my holiday and blocking time out of my diary for sewing.

Take care

Lyndsey

A walk at Stourhead

Yesterday was a glorious day in Somerset UK. The sun was shining and it was beautifully warm. There was a fabulous blue sky with fluffy white clouds. A perfect day for a walk. The drive there was enjoyable even though we got held up with traffic going to Frome show. We last visited in June and I took this photo of the gateway covered in Virginia creeper.

Just three months and this is how it looked yesterday, such a beautiful colour.

We headed towards the house as our walk started very close by. As we arrived this was the view we got of the livestock in the meadow. We walked around the metal fence until we came to a kissing gate. It warned us to keep to the path and ignore the animals which included a bull and cows with calves. I'm not sure what their meeting was about but they didn't bother us at all as we headed diagonally across the field.

Looking back we could see the animals and house across the field. We climbed over a stile and into a small wood before reaching the road.

Once at the road we walked a few yards and crossed the road in front of Drove Lodge. This lodge was built in 1811, with 5 rooms. The lodge is situated on the eastern side of the park in front of Stourhead mansion. Alongside it is a track or drove which may have been used by drovers before the park came into being.

The path we now walked along was fairly straight with beech trees on either side. This is the route the drovers took.

A little further along I could see this hill. I had to take a photo as it looks like it has a face. Two eyes with bushy eyelashes, a nose and a wide mouth.

We were gradually climbing and came to Beeches  Clump where we found this memorial to a RAF crew who al lost their lives when their plane crashed having left Raf Zeal.

Looking around there were a lots of patchwork fields with a town in the distance.

We had been walking up hill but now we were heading downhill before we climbed the hill in front of us.

There were blackberries in the hedgerow.

and very pretty harebells 

Looking back we could see the route we followed. In places the path was very steep.

We watched  a paraglider for a while and also watched several gliders being towed up to then enjoy the thermals. There were also enthusiasts with their remote control model aeroplanes.

At the top of the hill there was a trig point. Trigpoints are the common name for "triangulation pillars". These are concrete pillars, about 4' tall, which were used by the Ordnance Survey in order to determine the exact shape of the country. They are generally located on the highest bit of ground in the area.

As we started our walk back we came across this mile stone. It was a little difficult to read.

We spotted this cute donkey in a field with sheep.

There was a second donkey hiding in their shed.

I like the shape of the dead tree and it still looked majestic.

One last view of the hill with a face plus I loved the colour of the stubble.

By now we were walking in Stourhead village, where I saw this green dog.

We entered Stourhead garden to have one last look at the lake before we headed back to the hotel. 

We also saw this tree that had decided it wanted to be the first to change colour for autumn.

    

Back at the main visitors centre we treated ourselves to some carrot and orange soup. It was delicious. Our final visit was to the garden centre and gift shop. We found three plants that we wanted and also some biscuits to take home . Our walk was 6 and a half miles and very enjoyable. 

Today we had a slow day as we were a little tired. Rather than visiting somewhere on the way home we decided to drive straight home. However we did visit my favourite quilt shop. I'll tell you about it tomorrow. When we got home older daughter and husband plus son were visiting. It was lovely to see them all and we planned an outing for next weekend.

I need to get myself organised and then get ready for bed as I am in work tomorrow. I've done a little knitting this afternoon but I want to try and finish the book I'm reading before I go to sleep. Only a few pages left.

Take care

Lyndsey                                                        

A trip away

This weekend John and I have travelled away from London to spend time in Somerset, staying at our favourite hotel, The Holcombe. We tend to stay have two or three times a year to recharge our batteries and prepare for the next busy season of work or family activities. This visit is two weeks before the start of the next academic year and in 2 weeks time I will have 3 new groups of students. I still have a lot of preparation to get everything set up and ready for them but also I needed to get a good rest and have some space. We travelled down yesterday and we stopped off to visit Lacock.

Lacock is a village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England. The village is owned almost in its entirety by the National Trust and is a firm favourite for film and TV producers, notably for its picturesque streets and historic cottages, untouched by modern alterations. It played the part of Meriton in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. We visited Lacock last year and had planned to visit again to do one of the walks in the area. The weather yesterday was sunny and warm, absolutely perfect for a walk. The walk started in the car park and would take us across fields to circle the village. We started walking along the road and were able to get a good view of Lacock Abbey.

Lacock Abbey is a country house with monastic roots, and was once home to William Henry Fox Talbot, inventor of the photographic negative. When we last visited we spent time in the Fox Talbot museum which was very interesting. We soon turned off the road , crossing a stile into a field. I wanted to see the river so headed towards the bridge that we had just walked over. I was very taken with the shape of the arches.

We got ourselves back to the path we needed to follow and found we were walking between fields of corn (maize). It's a common crop in this area.

The clouds were white and fluffy and there were martins and swallows perching on the electric wires. I couldn't get a good photo of them as I didn't have the right lens on the camera but we stood and watched them through our binoculars for a while.

There was a lot of Himalayan Balsam along the route, it looks very pretty but is a very invasive plant.

For much of the walk we were walking alongside the river Avon. There are 5 rivers named Avon in England and two of them are in Wiltshire, one of which we were walking alongside. We saw some teenage boys playing and swimming in the river and a little further on we saw this weir, where another river joined the Avon.

For a while we moved away from the river and walked through fields with horses and cows in them. All the livestock were far too busy doing their own thing to be bothered with us.

By now we were circling back towards the village and as we came down a hill we found a ford across the road. Fortunately there was a path (on the right of the photo) so we didn't have to go paddling.

Looking back down the road.

When we visited Lacock last time we didn't have time to take a look in the church. so this was our first stop. I was interested to read this information board.

I took photos of four of the kneelers 

By this time we needed a nice cup of tea before heading back to the car to continue our journey. Later in the evening, from the hotel window I took a photo of the sunset.

Today we visited Stourhead and again we took a walk around the area. I'll tell you more tomorrow. Now, it is almost time to go down for dinner.

Take care

Lyndsey