Catching up with projects

Last week was a bit of a washout. A cold that worsened to a chest infection was not what I needed just as the weather got colder. I'm now feeling much better but I didn't have much energy for doing anything. The thought of doing any quilting made my arms ache without doing anything and even reading my favourite blogs took a lot of effort. On Saturday I pulled out my embroidery and spent a little time stitching. I didn't do very much but I'm happy with what I achieved.

Over the weekend I completed the knitting on the front of my jumper and I cast on the first sleeve. I spent yesterday evening knitting and watching TV with two dogs at my feet. Twiglet was a bit miffed that I wouldn't let him sit on my lap but unfortunately he wriggles too much and gets tangled up with the yarn.

Today I'm working from home as I have marking to do. That means I have no travelling time so I decided it would be the perfect opportunity to make my Christmas cake. I like to make a rich fruit cake and it takes a little time to get it all set up before you can start the mixing. First I lined the cake tin.

Next there is a lot of weighing out of the dried fruit. I had bought whole glace cherries and so I had to cut them and I also cut up the almonds as I could only get whole almonds. Eventually everything was ready.

The mixing is very quick and then the cake has to cook. It takes 3 hours and so I got on with my marking, just checking the cake at hourly intervals. The smell is delicious as it cooks. Once it's cool I will wrap it in foil and store it. I usually add brandy once a week which makes the cake very moist. I do warn everyone that it has alcohol in it. The cake is also spicy with cinnamon and mace in it.

We love Christmas pudding as well and on the weekend of Stir up Sunday I will make three Christmas puddings, one for us, one for older daughter and one for a friend. Stir up Sunday, which is the last Sunday before advent ( November 24th this year) is the traditional day in the UK when Christmas puddings were made. Traditionally Christmas pudding are steamed to cook them but you can also cook them in the microwave which is much quicker. However steaming does ensure they stay nice and moist.

Since neither John or I were feeling well we decided to get out a jigsaw. This is a new puzzle which we started during last week and this afternoon, once I'd finished work, we got on and finished it.

There is just so much to look at in this puzzle. Lots of birds.

and I love the deer and other animals.

This evening I want to do some planning as I have a baby quilt to make for a friend of older daughter. The baby is due in early January and she knows she is having a boy. If I had time I'd also like to make a toy, well two so that big sister has one as well. I need to spend a little time going through my fabrics and decide on the design.

I'm hoping to feel more like sewing by the weekend as I have two quilts that need quilting. I also have a blouse cut out and waiting to be stitched. Now I think it's time to take a nap.

Take care

Lyndsey

A weekend away part 3.

I've been unwell for the last few days with a bad cold and haven't felt like doing much at all. Trying to sort out my photos for a post proved stressful so I left it until I felt slightly better. In the meantime I've been picking up my knitting and doing a few rows, having a short nap and repeat! Anyway let me tell you about the last day of our short break. 

We drove the short distance to Studland Bay.  This is yet another place we had both been meaning to visit for a long time. The day was perfect. The sun was shining and there was a gentle warm breeze. The sea was calm. Looking across to our right and out to sea this is what we saw as we headed down towards the beach.

We decided to walk just up from the beach and along a path that took us by the beach huts. Most of them were closed up but I like the different colours used. The bracken was changing colour but most of the trees still had green leaves rather than autumn colours.

We went down onto the beach for a while as the dunes were roped off. There could have potentially been ground nesting birds still with young. The tide was going out and there were quite a lot of people walking their dogs. The dogs were enjoying playing and swimming in the sea. Once past the roped off area of dunes we turned into them to continue our walk.

The gorse was giving a beautiful display and there was several different types of heather..

At times the gorse disappeared and left grass covering the sand.

There were several paths to choose from and so we meet very few people, which was lovely as we both enjoy the quiet.

At one point I saw something small move by my feet and further investigation showed it to be small sand lizard. Having become aware of them I saw many more. Sand lizards are one of the UK's rarest reptiles. 

We came off the dunes and continued along the beach until we  were almost at the entrance to Poole harbour. The beach was getting busy by this point and time was passing so we turned to walk back to our car. On the walk back we watched this large vessel making its way towards the harbour. As it got closer in it had a bevy of tug boats around it. 

The cafe back at the car park was very busy and so we decided to stop on route for a late lunch. The journey home was good with no hold ups and I finally managed to get a good picture of autumn leaves. This was at the service station on the M3 at Winchester where we stopped. Along the motorway the autumn hues were amazing but it proved difficult for John to get a good picture.

As I haven't been feeling at my best this week I haven't done very much sewing but I have managed to finish the front of my jumper. Just two sleeves left to knit. I'll start the first sleeve this evening. Tomorrow I'm hoping to get back to doing the quilting on the Thomas quilt and I'm still debating how to quilt the dinosaur quilt. I also need to get on with some Christmas sewing I have planned.  Tomorrow I have to take Twiglet for his regular grooming session, but apart from that I have some catch up time.

Take care

Lyndsey

A weekend away part 2.

Day 2 of our weekend away was beautifully warm and bright. After a delicious breakfast we set off for Abbotsbury swannery. I'd never heard of a swannery before so I was interested to find out more. It all started with the Benedictine Monastery of St Peter being founded at Abbotsbury in the 11 century. Like all monasteries it had to be self sufficient and so the monks grew vegetable and caught fish. In addition from about 1393 they farmed the swans on the Fleet lagoon and this continued until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539. A few years later Giles Strangways bought the land , including the swannery and the Strangways family was granted the privilege to claim ownership of all swans hatched at the swannery. Swans are large birds and therefore provide a lot of meat.

Over the centuries swans have been used for many purposes such as food as the meat was seen as a delicacy and luxury food. The female swan's flight feathers were used to make quill pens and for hat decorations whilst the down was used to stuff quilts and pillows.

Apart from Abbotsbury there are three other private owners of mute swans. These are the Worshipful Company of Vintners and the Worshipful Company of Dyers, who have ownership rights on a stretch of the river Thames and the Mayor of Maidstone has ownership on the River Medway. All other mute swans in England are the prerogative of the Crown.

There were mute swans of all ages plus Mallard, Widgeon, Coots, Tufted ducks, Pochard, Teal and Canada geese. The swans were all mute swans (but they do make a noise) My grandson thinks the juvenile swans have got dirty. I have told him their feathers will be white when they are grown up but he insists that they need a good wash.

The day was perfect for a walk around the swannery. The blue sky was so different to the leaden sky of rain earlier in the week.

There was also one lone Whooper swan. Whooper swans are large like the mute swans but have yellow on their beak instead of the red orange of the mute swans. The mute swans live in England all year round but the Whopper swans travel from Iceland and other colder areas in search of food. This could be the first of many Whooper swans to visit or it could be on it's way further south for the winter.

We had lunch in the cafe before heading to Lulworth Cove. Both of us have wanted to visit the cove for some time but it is better to avoid the area during the summer months, due to the number of visitors.

The cove was very calm at the time we visited, with children happily playing on the pebble beach and splashing around in the clear water.

The rock formations were amazing. I found the drops rather scary. I used to like heights when I was younger but now I feel a little queasy.

Two smaller coves and beautiful rock formations.

We enjoyed our walk at Lulworth and ended our visit with a delicious ice cream. The sun was starting to set as we headed back to our hotel. We had booked our dinner at an Italian restaurant and it made the perfect end to a great day. Tasty food and good wine. We walked back to the hotel in the dark, this time avoiding the sea front as the wind had got up a little and the temperature was much cooler. 

I'll tell you about day three tomorrow but for now I need to go and cook dinner.

Take care

Lyndsey

A weekend away, part 1

 Last weekend John and I were away. We went to Swanage on the Dorset coast and had planned some walking, bird watching and generally relaxing. The last few weeks have been very busy with work, family, two dogs and other activities. We needed space to just be the two of us. On the Friday we planned to stop at Kingston Lacey to see the house and have a walk in the grounds.

The house was built by William John Banks, a wealthy land owner, between1834 and 1855 in the style of a venetian palace. Over the years it has been remodelled by different members of the family to suit the changing times and styles. All of the furniture and items within the house including an amazing art collection is as it was when the family lived there. The estate is now in the care of the National Trust.

As we climbed the stairs to view the rooms I took a picture of part of the garden and grounds. We didn't get to walk round the grounds as we had left London late in the morning and so had limited time. I did enjoy the reds and oranges leaves. The autumn colours this year have been amazing, especially as many trees are still holding onto their leaves.

I took a picture of the dining room as the table had been decorated for Halloween but unfortunately the sun was so bright it cast shadows over the scene. I did like the dinner service being used in the display. This tapestry was to one side of the chimney breast.

In the Spanish room there was a lot of art on view. I found the room rather dark and over the top but other people really like it. I did like these 3 panels which have flowers to show the season. I didn't take a photo of the 4th season but I'm not sure why not.

The walls in this room were covered in leather panels with tooled work on them. This in part is what made the room feel heavy and dark to me.

In the next room there was several settees covered with tapestry/ needlepoint

and this delightful Indian cabinet. The cabinet was made in around 1760 in the east Indian port town of Visakhapatnam, a centre for textile and furniture making. The town became well known for creating inlaid ivory work. 

I didn't take photos of the main bedrooms but I liked the ones in the attics. This room was for a child.

The attic bedrooms had been decorated to look like the inside of a striped campaign tent. The rooms for adults would have been reserved for bachelor guests.

On the way out of the building we visited the wine cellar. There was a lot of dust on the bottles.

Having toured the house we visited the stable cafe for some tea and cake before continuing our journey to our hotel. We had to contend with some road closures and some drivers on their way home from work were getting a little ratty. We arrived at our hotel with time to chill out before goin in search of dinner. No expensive restaurant for us. We headed to a fabulous fish and chip shop we know and sat on the promenade enjoying our meal while watching the tide roll in and the sky slowly turn dark. We took the long route back to the hotel and enjoyed a glass of wine to end our day.

Tomorrow I will share what we did on the Saturday and Sunday. For now I want to get on with some slow sewing since it is Sunday. I also need to plan my sewing month as I didn't get time to do that yesterday.

Take care

Lyndsey

November already.

This year is rushing along. It seems only a few days ago that I was planning what I would work on during October and here we are in November.  I have so many things I want to try and finish before the end of the year so I really must get my act together. Where to start? Time to consider what I achieved last month. My Chookshed challenge for October was to work on my Afghan that I started in one of the covid lockdowns.

                                                 

  I wanted to make this 10 by 10 squares. I had a box of squares to use.

I enjoyed joining the squares together whilst watching TV. I haven't quite finished all the seams but I'm happy with the progress. This was planned as a baby blanket, however, I have been asked to make it slightly bigger.

I have really enjoyed taking part in the 10 months of the Chookshed  challenge. I am so pleased that it's going to continue next year.  Here's what I worked on over the year. My January challenge was a donation quilt.

In February I wanted to progress the Red Manor house quilt by completing the next round, which was applique. In the end I added two borders and Missy wouldn't move when I was trying to take a photo.

In March my challenge was to start the double wedding ring quilt. I needed a lot of practice with all the curves but I did manage to make a start .

For the April challenge I finished the cat embroidery.

The May challenge was to work on the next set of dinosaurs. This quilt has now been sandwiched and I will start quilting it soon.

The June challenge was to complete the sashiko embroidery. I enjoyed working on this piece.

Another month and another challenge. This time I worked on my Grandmother's garden quilt to add the red round. I had to make some more flowers before I could attach them to the quilt.

In August I completed the Indigo quilt.

September was embroidery on the tablecloth I was given at Christmas.

I'll need to think about the possible challenges for next year. 

Today has been a very tiring day. I tell you about our weekend away and our visit today in my next post.

Take care

Lyndsey