Wild Kingston and stitching.

Friday is usually my fun day, do some sewing day but today I had a work commitment in the morning, however I had a plan. Once I'd finished my morning meeting I would be free to go shopping. Quickly winding backwards to the morning I didn't need to be there until 9:30 but John and I arrived early so we could go to a delightful coffee shop near work. They serve the most delicious almond croissants and it's been ages since we last treated ourselves. A great way to start the day. The meeting was interesting and when it was over we headed back to the car so we could go into Kingston upon Thames. This is one of my favourite places to shop. From where we parked we needed to walk across the town to the first shop we wanted to visit. On the way we found a new public art exhibition by artists Gillie and Marc called Wild Kingston. It features ten wildlife inspired sculptures that are intended to help stimulate discussion about conservation. We didn't see all 10 sculpture on this occasion but here's what we saw.

I really liked this next one.

I had to take a photo from each side of this one. I love that he has his tea or coffee cup at the ready.

The small children were enjoying stroking the tortoise.

We only saw 5 of the sculptures so I will need to track the rest down. The exhibition is running until July 2026 so I have time to get photos of the rest.

When we got home I wanted to get the frog stitchery I was working on, finished. It's taken a little while but here it is completed. I love having a Friday finish.

I have one last stitchery to complete and then I can start work on making the blocks.

Tomorrow John and I are going to Minsmere nature reserve to do some bird watching. I've consulted the weather forecast and it is predicting a lot of rain. Fortunately the reserve has a good cafe and also quite a number of hides where we can shelter from the weather if needed. We are going by coach so at least I don't have to drive. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for some dry weather over the day.

I'm linking my finish with Finished or not finished Friday at Quilty Girl. Now to get the last block stitched.

Take care

Lyndsey

Trying something new

This month I have a short list of things I would like to do. There's no point in having a long list since the month is rather short and there is a lot going on already, birdwatching, our visit to the Victoria and Albert museum and I've added in a visit to the orchid festival at Kew Gardens. I would like to do a couple of longer walks over the month and by longer I mean probably about 5 miles. I would also like to update our bedroom. It's been a few years since the last time it was updated and our tastes have changed. I'm currently thinking about paint colours or do I want to wallpaper as well as new rugs and a new lighting system. I'm not sure this is something that will happen this month but there are various options under consideration.

Last month I used double ended knitting needles for the first time. I'm not sure why I hadn't tried them before and I really liked that the sleeves of the baby cardigan didn't have a seam running down them. Having learnt a new technique in January I decided to try something new in February. I might even consider trying something new to me each month this year. Anyway this month I decided I wanted to try spinning. My mother had a spinning wheel but she didn't use it which always seemed a bit of a shame. I didn't particularly want to spin on a wheel, instead I fancied trying a drop spindle. Even as a child I can remember wanting to try spinning but the Disney film of Sleeping Beauty had put me off spinning wheels, the witch was just too scary for me!  I ordered the drop spindle and some fibre as a kit 

.

The kit included 100g white wool, 25g hand dyed wool, 25g hand dyed wool blend and 25g dyed Blue Faced Leicester sheep wool. The kit came with instructions but the pictures were small so I visited YouTube. I watched a few videos to find the consensus of how to use the drop spindle. Different people give the information differently and I was particularly interested in the hints and tips people give. I am now as well prepared as I can be to get started. I'll let you know how I get on in a later post.

Meanwhile my large frog stitchery is going well and should be finished in the next couple of days. I'm using the floss from my stash and where possible using up left overs. All embroidery projects seem to create lots of left over threads. My idea is to use up as much of the leftovers as possible before buying new. I'm working on the same process with my fabrics and yarns.

I totally forgot that I had used a pen that is removed with heat. I went to press the fabric and suddenly realised I was removing the pattern. Fortunately the iron wasn't that hot! I also need to take the photo in daylight so you can see the colours properly. I'm happy that the stitching is progressing well. I want this and the remaining block stitched by the end of the month

 as my one monthly goal.

I'm working all week this week and so I won't get to the quilted jacket until Sunday. That gives me time to pull out the wadding I need and to reread the instructions for the pattern.  It will take more than one sewing day but I should be able to update you next week. This is my Chookshed challenge for the month.

The basket weave blanket I'm currently knitting is now about three quarters complete so could be finished this week. The blocks from the January scrap challenge just need to be sewn together into a quilt top for a child and I need to sort out my green scraps for this months challenge.

On Sunday my daughter and family came to visit and she gave me permission to share a photo of their new addition. He is so cuddly.

I hope you are all having a good week.

Take care

Lyndsey

February plans.

The first day of February and I'm wondering what the weather will be like. I've had enough rain during January and would greatly appreciate a little more sun. I'm enjoying the fact that daylight hours are slowly increasing even though I'm still driving to and from work in the dark but by the end of this month that will have changed

The Chookshed challenge for February has been announced. This month is number 8. My number 8 is to make up the quilted jacket that I've planned to sew for a while. I used black and white fabric squares to create the fronts and the sleeves. The main pattern pieces are already cut out. Below are the two fronts and the back fabric.

Here are the sleeves and the fabric lining. The sleeve will have cuffs added.

I have the wadding I need for this project so I just need to get started.

February is National Embroidery month in the UK. That feeds in nicely to the various stitching projects I have on the go. I will use the month to complete the frog stitcheries so I can start on the quilt blocks. Finishing the frog stitcheries will be my one monthly goal for February.

I should finish the frogs at the latest by mid February and then I will work on the embroidered table cloth. I have other embroidery to work on as well including the star trek cross stitch and the sashiko on the Japanese style quilt. For now the frogs are my priority. I've started on this first one but keep forgetting to take a photo. I'll do that later.

This second one will be started as soon as the first one is finished. My goal is to finish both this month.

Next Saturday we have a bird watching trip. Since it has been raining for what feels like months I'm feeling a little ambivalent about the trip. At least the nature reserve we are visiting has a large and comfortable cafe. The end of the month is our planned trip to the Marie Antoinette exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum. The exhibition is all about her fashion style. There are other things that happen this month but I'll tell you about them nearer the time.

Take care

Lyndsey

Where did January go?

I'm feeling a bit ambivalent about January. Sometimes I feel that it was a good month for getting things done and then I'm thinking, 'did I finish anything? Did I put effort in to try and take a walk each day or did I spend my time being a couch potato? I think the best answer is to round up what happened in January.

First it rained a lot here in London UK and was at times very frosty but no snow.  The pond in the park froze and the ducks and swans were very happy when the weather warmed up and it melted. I enjoy taking a walk round the park and pond during my lunch break and the sun really lifts my mood after the rain.

The most exciting event for our family was the birth of our second grandson on the 16th. His older brother adores him and all the family are doing well. They are coming to visit tomorrow and we are looking forward to cuddles. I finished two pieces of baby related knitting, a blanket and a cardigan. Since then I've been knitting another baby blanket, using the basket weave pattern, to use up remainder of the yarns. I've got quite a stash of yarns that I've been given over the last few years and I'd like to use some of them up to make room for other things. The blanket has grown since I took this photo.

My Chookshed challenge for this month should have been starting my brothers quilt but my sewing machine needed to go for a service so I switched my projects around. Instead of starting the quilt for Alex I've been working on the hand stitching for the frog quilt. I finished two more stitcheries.

Currently I am working on one of the two large pieces. I've left this piece till last.

This is the one I'm working on and I should finish it this weekend. I haven't take a photo of my progress yet.

I should have all the stitcheries done and be able to make a start on the pieced blocks in February. I wonder what the number will be for the February Chookshed challenge?

This year I am joining in with the 2026 scrap challenge. I decided I'd try and make a donation quilt as I had a lot of blue scraps. I decided to make it using 9 patch blocks as I already had a lot of blue 2 and half inch square cut. I'd made some earlier in the month but by the end of this afternoon I had 25 of the 27 9 patch blocks I need. I also had some six and a half inch blocks of blue .

The top 9 patch looks green but is blue when seen in person. I need to start sewing the top together .

This afternoon I stopped sewing and went to the kitchen to make a cake, another tray bake, but this time a citrus traybake with glace icing.. I forgot to take a photo of the whole tray but here is a photo of two pieces.  The top should have grated zest of half a lemon and half an orange on it but the zest clumped together and I gave up. However the cake is delicious. So far this year I've made a cake or traybake each week and they have all been different. I think next weekend it's time I made a chocolate cake.

We had planned to go away for a weekend this month but we cancelled as the month was really busy with one thing and another. We were both pleased we cancelled as it gave us a  bit of space to do some jobs we had been putting off. Since we didn't go away we were able to go to an art exhibition and go for a longish hike. I've written about both of these in previous posts. We celebrate Burns Night last weekend with haggis and neeps and the dinner was delicious.

In February we have tickets for the Marie Antoinette exhibition at the Victoria and Albert museum.  This is what the write up about the exhibition says. 

'A complex fashion icon, Marie Antoinette's timeless appeal is defined by her style, youth and notoriety. Explore the lasting influence of the most fashionable (and ill-fated) queen in history'

I'm really looking forward to this exhibition.

Also this month there is Chinese New Year. I love Chinese food and China Town in London has some fabulous restaurants. Years ago, back in the late '70 and early '80 one of my friend's family owned a restaurant in China Town and our group of friends were always invited to join the family celebrations. It was a lot of fun.

All in all I'm looking forward to February, it should be fun.

Take care

Lyndsey

National Hobby Month 2026

So last week rather escaped from me. I was busy at work and at home and I seemed to constantly be in motion doing something. I had no problem with keeping up to date with work but I was very tired in the evenings and I didn't even keep up with reading my favourite blogs. Never mind I'll catch up today.

I've been a little disappointed over the month as here in the UK January is national hobby month. This is the perfect time to try something new or pick up a hobby that I haven't done for a while, but this year I've not had the time. However all is not lost as I have managed a few bits and pieces. One of my hobbies is baking but in recent time I haven't been doing much as I wanted to lose some weight. However at the beginning of last week I decided we had a small glut of apples and I could use them up by making an apple tray bake. When cut there are 16 slices.  This tray bake was yummy.

On Saturday I made a loaf and another tray bake. This time it was a coffee cake. Again this makes 16 slices. The topping is made with mascarpone, icing sugar and coffee. I think there is one other ingredient but I can't remember without looking up the recipe. Again this bake is yummy. In fact it disappeared faster than the apple one. Maybe it's because my family are all addicted to coffee. I'm the odd one out as I usually drink tea.

I've been knitting recently. Having finished the baby blanket for my daughter I wanted to use up the rest of the yarn so I started a simple basket weave blanket. This blanket will be a donation to a local children's charity called Little Village. By the time this blanket is finished I should have very little of either yarn left. I have a lot of different yarns that I was given quite some time ago and I would like to use up as much as possible this year. That would provide some vital space for other hobbies e.g. quilting dressmaking and embroidery.

Yesterday I finished the cardigan I was knitting for my new grandson. I'll take this with me the next time I visit but I need to block the cardigan first.

Over this year I want to try new things, e.g. goldwork, different embroidery styles or tatting. I decided I could try one new thing a month so this month I discovered how to knit using double ended needles. It took me a little time to feel comfortable with the technique. The initial few rows caused me the most trouble. Younger daughter has asked for a pair of knitted socks since I now know how to use the double ended needles.

Sewing and quilting are my anytime hobbies but for me knitting is a winter activity, especially if I'm using thicker yarn. The same is true for crochet. Holding knitting makes me feel warm and in summer definitely causes me to over heat.  Embroidery on the other hand feels perfect whatever the weather and smaller embroidery pieces are just so portable.

I finished this frog stitchery this weekend. I altered the position of the mouth so I need to remove the marker pen.

Sorry about the shadow of my phone. Tonight I started on one of the larger patterns. Here is how far I've got. I will be doing some more stitching once I've finished this post.

I couldn't decide where to start so the lily pads seemed a good place. There is this piece and another of similar size to finish up the stitching. I've already pulled the fabrics I'll be using for the pieced blocks and I may start putting some together at the weekend.

That's all for now as I want to get back to my stitching. At the moment I have a lot of different stitcheries to work on. 

Take care

Lyndsey

A visit to an exhibition.

It's only January 18th but I'm already behind with my blog posts. Thank goodness I didn't make any new year resolutions as I would have broken them already! Last Sunday, 11 January, John and I went to an exhibition at the Tate Modern in London, showing the work of Emily Kam Kngwarray. We managed to get tickets on the last day.

Emily Kam Kngwarray (1910 - 1996) was an Aboriginal Australian artist from Alhalker in the Sandover region of the Northern Territory. Her paintings are very powerful and they gained her worldwide attention. She is considered one of the most significant contemporary painters of the 20th century. I had seen pictures of her work and found them fascinating and i was excited to see them in person. She practised in batik and painted on canvas.

This was the information at the start of the exhibition.

There was also information about names and languages.

This first picture was titled Awely and painted in 1989  using acrylic on canvas.

Here is a photo of the artist.

 The paintings are based on Dreaming and here is some information to explain what it is and what it means to the Aboriginal Australian people.

This piece was one of her early batiks. This one is on silk

and this one on cotton. Both pieces are untitled.

In the next room there were several batiks on display.

The next picture is of her first painting made in 1988-9 acrylic on canvas and is titled Emu Women. 

The following are my favourite pieces on display. I didn't take photos of the titles

A close up of the long length of batik in the next photo

These pictures made me feel very happy. Listening to the people around me I found they felt the same way. The exhibition was very large and I have shared just a small number of the pictures and batiks. By the time we finished we were tired and needed refreshment so we headed to the cafe for coffee.

As we walked back to the station I looked back and took a photo of St Pauls Cathedral across the river. The views of the cathedral dome are protected and no taller buildings can be built that may block the view.

We had wanted to visit Southwark Cathedral, which is near the station on the south of the river but being Sunday there was a service about to take place, so we decided to go home instead.  We'll find time to fit in a visit some time this year. 

I have a few plans for today, I want to make some bread and an apple tray bake, I want to fit in some more stitching on the frog quilt, finish the baby cardigan do some sorting in my sewing cupboard. The list goes on and on so I know I wont get it all done but a girl can dream.

Take care

Lyndsey