A good weekend.

This weekend John and I went to visit my brother. The drive isn't too arduous as it is mainly on the motorway and it was running smoothly as we set off on our journey. We stopped half way through the journey for coffee and a short rest and still made good time. The sun was shining and it was lovely to see the trees coming into leaf. We had left home relatively early as we had all decided we would go out for a late lunch at a restaurant once we'd arrived. For once everything run to plan, no major road works along the way and we arrived ready to enjoy the weekend. My brother and his partner live on boats which are moored next to each other.

Fortunately the weather was calm for the whole weekend so no being buffeted around by the wind. Lunch was very leisurely and delicious. Back at the boat we caught up with family news and gossip and we chatted and drank wine late into the night. 

On Saturday we decided to visit Stonehurst Farm. The weather had gone rainy so we didn't want to venture too far from base.  The farm also had a small motor museum which was very interesting. This bus is used for rides on special open days.

The person responsible for the museum wasn't on duty and so we had no information about the vehicles. However John and I did reminisce about the cars and vans that we remembered from our childhood. I certainly remember the baker coming round in a van like the one below.

This car did not fit into my memory particularly but I knew there was an old gentleman in the village where we lived who occasionally drove a car like this.

These two looked fun.

My brother spent some time reminiscing over this Austin Healey frog eye Sprite. He'd owned one himself a while back.

I really liked the toy pedal car and I remember my older brother and me arguing over who was going to drive our pedal car. He always won.

As it was also a working farm there were animals. The lambs were very cute.

This ewe had three lambs and the farm were worried she might not be able to look after them all.

This group of ladies had been bought down from the hills to lamb and there were two ewes in labour.

The pigs were cute but this sow seemed to be worn out by her offspring. I'm not surprised I found it very hard coping with one baby at a time. This group were very noisy.

This little family were very peaceful,

When the sow opened her eyes and saw us she left her sleeping piglets and came for a good scratch on her back. She really enjoyed it and grumbled when I stopped and said goodbye to her.

There were also cows, donkeys, ponies, rabbits and guinea pigs. The small children were enjoying having cuddles with the rabbits, and there were several demands to have one as a pet. When our children were small we had rabbits and guinea pigs and also hamsters. The children would look after them for a while but got grumpy with needing to clean the hutches and feed them once the novelty had worn off.

The farm also had a cafe and we enjoyed lunch there. The baked potato with chilli con carne was very tasty and the apple pie and custard was amazing. It was getting late as we headed back to the boat. We had managed to stay dry over the day. We always seemed to be inside a building when the rain fell.

We had another quiet evening on the boat sipping wine and chatting. I sat and did some knitting and as a result I have nearly finished the left front of my cardigan.  I also took my crochet with me but I didn't work on this project.

On Sunday we enjoyed porridge for breakfast and coming up to mid day we left to travel home. the journey back was good apart from a holdup for road works on the motorway. It was lovely to see my brother and his partner and we plan on visiting more often than we have done. When we got home Missy and Twiglet gave us a very excited welcome. You would have thought we'd been away for weeks rather than two nights! They did eventually quieten down.

Today I have a few bit to do and then I want to get on with some sewing. I hope you all had a good weekend.

Take care

Lyndsey

Preparing a pattern

On Sunday evening I pulled out the Japanese style quilt as I had received the sashiko thread that I needed to start the next round of this quilt. 

I want to do two piece of stitching for the sides and below you can see the pattern I'm hoping to follow. This is in a book I have by Susan Briscoe. I also have a really useful source book for sashiko patterns that she wrote. I think this will work on the two sides.

The diagram below is of one koi. To create the panel you turn the fish pattern over for the second fish. It will be facing the other way. I like the colours that have been used for the fish panels and I will be using similar colours of thread.

I still have four pictures of Japanese ladies from the original panel and I need to decide how I am going to incorporate them into the quilt. I have several different ideas but I need to decide which one will look the best. Here isa view of the original panel

Over the next couple of days I'll finish copying out the fish patterns so I can get on with the stitching.

At the stitch festival on Saturday I spent some time talking to Caroline whose stand sold sashiko patterns, templates and threads. She had stitched some covers for her display. Whilst we were talking to her she was busy stitching a pattern for a bag she was making.

There were several stands offering stencils for sashiko patterns. The certainly make it easier than drawing the pattern out yourself.

Last night I spent some time stitching on my tablecloth. I have such a small amount of stitching to complete the second side. Unfortunately I was too tired to finish it completely. There is a butterfly on each side but I'm leaving them until everything else is completed.

This morning popped into my local sewing shop as I needed a couple of zips. I saw this fabric and had to buy it. I have a child's summer dress to make.

From Friday I am on two weeks holiday and this evening I've started to put together some visits. I booked tickets for April 1st to go to the Turner and Constable exhibition at the Tate Britain. I also want to visit the William Morris Museum in Walthamstow. Here they celebrate designs and work from all the Morris family. I don't want too many outings during the holiday as I have a lot of sewing I want to get done and two dogs who are looking forward to a couple of long walks. Just two days at work and then....

Take care

Lyndsey

The stitch Festival

Yesterday I spent the day with my friend Michelle at the stitch festival at London's Business Design Centre in Islington. Unlike the Festival of Quilts or the Knit and Stitch exhibition, the stitch festival doesn't have an exhibition of quilts or embroidery or other stitching crafts on display in a separate area. It is essentially a show that celebrates independent businesses and give visitors the opportunity to see and buy a wide range of crafts. There are also a wide range of workshops to attend or free demonstrations and talks. There is a lot to see and a large choice of fabrics, threads and other notions to buy. I like the show because it is a quick journey for me to be able to attend and it has businesses I want to buy from. Yesterday it was busy and at times we seemed to be going against the streams of people but it was fun talking to the exhibitors, checking out the fabrics and embroideries and Michelle had booked us into a workshop.

I had gone with a budget, part of which was for food and drink. As I didn't have a long list of items I needed to buy I went home having spent well within my budget.  It makes me feel good when I don't over spend and the left over money will go into my budget for spending at The Festival of Quilts. There were a couple of bits I did buy.

Early on in the day I visited a stand with crochet patterns. I was just browsing but then I saw this pattern and couldn't resist it. Made for a baby or young child, the dog opens out to become a play blanket or could be folded so the child can play with the dog and cuddle it.  There were a lot of other animal style patterns but I liked the dog pattern. I have also ordered the yarn I need to make it. 

I loved this fabric to make rompers for youngest grandson. It's a really soft baby needlecord.

This one will make older grandson a pair of tracksuit trousers.  The fabric is also a soft needlecord.

I am on annual leave from Thursday 26 March for two weeks so I have lots of time to get these made. I will also be making time to sew this summer dress.

I spent a little time going through the small packs of Liberty Tana Lawn plus the scrap box. I will be using these fabrics to make cloths for a couple of soft toys I've made. According to their young owners they need new clothes.

At the end of the day Michelle and I made our way to the workshop area. We were booked in for pattern alterations and basic design changes. This was a really good workshop which explained how to alter darts, move seams and make a range of alterations.  The tutor had printed bodice, sleeve and skirt shapes for us to work on. I had read how to do these alterations in sewing books but it is much easier when you do a practical exercise to learn how to do it. The tutor was very good at explaining the process.

At the end of the workshop we had 15 minutes left of the show. We both visited the chocolate stand. The same guy has this stand at all the shows I visit. The chocolates and sweets are very good. I bought salted caramel chocolates for daughter, rum truffles for my son and dark chocolate and ginger for John

Michelle and I parted company at the tube station as we were going in opposite directions. Thank you Michell I had a fun day with you. My journey home was noisy. A group of young men from a football or rugby team got on the same train with their large sports bags and beer cans. As soon as the train started, they started singing and continued until they got off nine stations later. They all had good voices and everyone in the carriage was smiling and enjoying their vocals. 

By the time I got home I was feeling tired and it was lovely to relax in the armchair with a cup of tea. The evening was nice and quiet and restful with the family.. Today Has been quiet but busy as I had a pile of ironing to do. Once that was out of the way I started on some slow stitching. A perfect way to spend Sunday.

Take care

Lyndsey

A slow week.

This week has been rather slow. On Monday I had taken an annual leave day and had planned to go out somewhere but I was tired and so I decided I would continue sorting my fabrics, thread and other craft related items. I try to keep everything tidy and organised so I can find things easily but recently I haven't always put things away properly when I've finished with them. This results in wasting time trying to find things. I started with my dress making patterns as I'd found a couple in with my knitting. The pattern box was oddly emptier than I was expecting so I spent time puzzling where I'd put them. Once they were located I started on the fabric. I want to make a  couple of dresses and skirts as some items in my wardrobe have been around for a long time (I mean a very long time) and are now only suitable for wearing around the house. It's a shame as they are old friends and so comfortable!  I found some bright red baby cord that is perfect for a skirt so I got the fabric cut out and ready for sewing.

I have also agreed to make a couple of rompers suits for grandson, who is now 9 weeks old.  My daughter wants them in bold bright colours.

On the way home last Sunday we had stopped at my favourite quilt shop, Midsummer Quilting, and I bought some more wadding and a length of flannel for the backing of the blue scrappy quilt.

This is the backing I chose. I have made a start on the quilting but I haven't got very far.

There are always some quilts on display in the shop and I took a couple of photos. Unfortunately there were no labels to tell me who made them.

Having sorted my fabric on Monday I took some time to check out the Japanese style quilt. This is my chookshed challenge for the month. I had ordered some threads and I've now received them so I need to cut fabric and copy the pattern onto it ready for stitching. I'll show you the pattern tomorrow. 

Tomorrow I'm meeting up with a friend to go to the Stitch Festival at the Design Centre . For me this is an easy trip provided there are no problems with the tube. We are meeting at 9:45 so it will be an early start.  I have my list of things I need to complete various projects. I'm going to try and not buy anything unless it is on my shopping list. 

Take care

Lyndsey

A weekend away and trying to catch up

I had hoped to write a couple of posts over last week but unfortunately I wasn't feeling particularly well. Nothing serious, just awareness that I was nowhere near fully fit, tired all the time, and very snuffly. However by the end of week I was feeling much better which was good since John and I had booked a weekend away. Unfortunately not feeling well over the week meant I did very little sewing and as a result my March plans have not moved forward. I've made a start on the left front of my cardigan and I crocheted a few hexagons but that's as far as I got. So far the left front has been predominantly blue but that will change shortly. I am finding it fun using two balls of yarn and knitting two rows at a time from each ball.

I also took a photo of a pair of Egyptian geese with their chicks when I went for a walk one lunch time last week. I'm sorry it's a bit blurry but I was a distance away from them.

We decided that the weekend needed to be restful so we decided that we would just travel to our destination on Friday. No rushing, not fitting in a visit to something, just a pleasant drive taking in the scenery. The weather was cold but sunny and so driving was very pleasant. On Saturday morning we decided to go bird watching at Ham Wall, a reserve we often visit when in the area. It was a good day for bird watching and we saw 37 species. I had fun taking some photos as we walked around the reserve.

The dark blob in the middle of the sky in the last photo was a buzzard but it was high in the sky and quite a distance away. 

We had decided that we would leave around lunchtime and go to Stourhead for a walk around the garden and to have some lunch. Whilst driving there we saw signs to Lytes Cary. This is a National Trust Property. Lytes Cary Manor was created by the Lyte family over five centuries but in the 18th century they had financial difficulties and had to give up the estate. In 1907 the Jenner family acquired the manor. As the manor was in a very run down state the new owners, Sir Walter Jenner and Lady Flora put a lot of energy into restoring it and transforming the garden into an Arts and Crafts inspired garden. In 1921 Lady Jenner suddenly died and in 1932 their daughter Esme also died. To keep his home and collection in tact Sir Walter bequeathed it to the National Trust in memory of himself, his wife and his daughter.

As we arrived the house was just closing but we were able to quickly visit the rooms. In a couple of weeks the house will be open for longer hours and when we visit the area in June we will revisit the house.  In the hall there was this tapestry. Unfortunately the light was very dim to protect the piece.  When we visit in the summer the rooms should be a bit lighter.

The piece below was repaired and added to by Lady Jenner. This piece is Stumpwork. This is a 17th century style of embroidery that gives a raised three dimensional look. It uses padding, wire and a wide variety of stitching techniques. It was very popular in England and this is a style of embroidery I really want to try at some point. Stumpwork was often used to decorate around mirrors. You can just about see my reflection in the mirror.

The chair covers had been embroidered and were very colourful but delicate.

In one of the two bedrooms there was an English paper pieced bed quilt. The records showed that a lot of the fabric had come from old clothes but also there was left over fabric from making new clothes

Here's a close up

On the ottoman at the bottom of the bed there was this lovely piece of crochet

Also an embroidered bell pull.

and a stitched chair seat.

Having very quickly looked at the inside of the house we decided to have a late lunch before walking round the garden. The soup and cheese roll for lunch was delicious.

Lytes Cary Manor is a small house but very interesting and the garden were delightful. This is the house as we walked towards it from the car park.

As we walked round to the garden there were lots of daffodils in the grass under the trees, plus these pretty flowers. Unfortunately I've completely forgotten the names of the flowers.

There was a lot of blossom coming on the various shrubs.

The house from the other side.

Looking from the driveway to the meadow across the road I was stunned by the number of tussocks in the grass. They often thrive in wetlands and this area of Somerset is low lying  land 

The hellebores were lovely

We had a really enjoyable day. The drive back to our hotel was uneventful and once there we both decided we needed a rest before dinner. I didn't nap, instead I did a little embroidery.

Our weekend away was fun and we celebrated John's birthday. I now need to cook dinner so that's all for now but I'll be back soon.

Take care

Lyndsey