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

March plans.

The first three days of March have been dry, warm and sunny. I wonder if its going to last?  Not only is it dry but its light in the morning when I leave for work and I can also get home in the light so long as I leave work on time. The trees are starting to have a green tinge to them as they slowly come into leaf. The birds are gathering nesting materials and spring is definitely on its way. However I'm holding my breath as I'm very aware that the cold wet weather could easily return. 

It's time to think about plans for March so let's start with the Chookshed challenge. The number for March is 2. This is my Japanese theme quilt. I was hoping this number would come a little later in the year as I need to buy some sashiko threads for the next part. Not a problem as I have some planning to finalise while I wait for it to arrive. This is where I've got to.

The space on the left has been filled with stitching but I just haven't got round to taking another photo. I can do that when I start work on this quilt top.. The next round involves more sashiko stitching but I need to copy out the pattern and as I don't work on a Friday I will have time to do that on Friday and complete the plans for the other blocks. 

The frog stitcheries are finished and I need to get the blocks made. My plan is to check the finished size and to reduce the size if needed. This is for my new grandson and I don't want the quilt to be too big.

I have finished the back of my cardigan I'm knitting. I'm really enjoying working with this yarn, it is so soft. I will be starting one of the fronts and will knit it in the evening as a slow down activity before bedtime. I'm not in a rush to have this cardigan finished.

I think I also mentioned I had started another project to try and use up my yarn stash. The stash is made up of left over yarn from other projects, yarn I was given after my mother in law died and yarn from friends who have decided they don't want to knit any more. Whilst I like both knitting and crochet I don't want or need a stash of yarn. If I decide I want to knit a garment I like visit a good yarn shop and buy the yarn that I want and that matches the pattern requirements. So back to trying to use up the stash I have. I knitted my grandsons blanket from yarn from my mother in Law's stash. My daughter wasn't particular about the colour and thought it was a great idea to use what I had. This is the blanket before it was blocked.

I then used up the remainder of the yarn making this basket weave blanket for a local charity for children under 5. It is amazing the difference the light makes to the colour of the yarn in the two photos.

The end of last year I also finished this larger blanket made from left over yarn and yarn that I had been given. Unfortunately these projects haven't made a very big dent in the stash.

In an attempt to use up more yarn I have started two projects, one knitting and one crochet. I think I've already shared the start of the knitting project, the mitred blanket. I haven't done very much on this one. The squares are all the same size and square, it's just the angle the photo is taken at.

The second project involves crocheted hexagons that will be stitched together to create a blanket. Neither of these projects will be finished quickly but they will use up some yarn but not huge amounts. 

So over the month I'm looking forward to working on the Japanese styled quilt and hoping to make some blocks for the frog quilt. I want to knit one of the fronts for my cardigan. I will be taking either the crochet or mitred blanket to work with me to do some work on during my lunch breaks. I also want to try and do some more stitching on my embroidered table cloth. I don't think I've done any stitching on this at all this year. I want to try and finish to the corner this month. This will be my one monthly goal for March. I still have two complete sides to stitch and also half of the third side.

I think I'd better get on with some of these projects so they keep moving forward.

Over the month there are also three birthdays. My son in law's birthday is on Saturday and we are going over to visit on them on Sunday. I'm making a chocolate cake so I need to check I have all the ingredients. On the 15th it's John's birthday. We are away for the weekend so we will celebrate as a family on the Monday. Finally my brother's birthday is on the 21st. We will be seeing them a couple of weeks later as my friend has bought me a ticket to the Stitch Festival at the Business Design centre in London on the 21st and she has also booked us both into a workshop. Apart from our weekend away we currently don't have any visits booked for this month but I'm sure something will come up between now and the end of the month.

I hope all is well where you are.

Take care

Lyndsey

The Marie Antoinette Exhibition

On Saturday John and I headed into central London on the underground. We needed to visit a shop on The Strand so this was our first stop. That job was completed very quickly and we headed back to the station to go to South Kensington. At this point we found out that there were planned engineering works on the Circle and District lines which meant the remaining line heading the way we wanted to go was extremely crowded.  As we walked through the station to get to the Piccadilly line we heard Neil Diamond song Sweet Caroline. At the chorus everyone joined it and it dispelled the dread of dealing with the crowds  and lightened the mood. We eventually got to our destination, the Victoria and Albert Museum or the V and A.  The V and A isn't the only museum in this area, there is also the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum. It's been ages since we last visited these museums so we are planning a visit to both in the near future. The V and A was closing as we arrived but our tickets were for an evening viewing of the exhibition. This exhibition had a lot of textiles, some furniture and jewellery.

There were a lot of dresses on display. The maker of this dress is unknown but it was made between 1760 - 70 and then updated between 1770 and 80. The dress is made of chine silk a fabric Marie Antoinette loved and had many dress made from it in her wardrobe. I'm not sure how comfortable this style of gown would have been to wear

From about 1780 cream silk satin gowns became very popular at Marie Antoinette's court. This next gown is embroidered with multi coloured flowers and embellished with bands of sky blue satin and silk bobbin lace. The gown is in the French style.

English style gowns were less formal and Marie Antoinette has many examples of this style in her wardrobe. Striped silk, like the silk in this dress were very popular between 1770's and 1780's.  This gown looked much more comfortable to wear.

The next photo is of a fragment of a court gown from 1780 - 1791. The ivory silk is richly embellished  with gilded silver spangles, coloured paste gems, appliqued velvet and precious metal thread embroidery. The gown would have sparkled in candlelight.

This is an embroidered sample for the train of a court dress that a silk merchant would have shown to aristocratic women commissioning new garments. This  was very much the taste of the 1790's.

Marie Antoinette's wardrobe was looted during the French Revolution following the storming of the Tuileries Palace in Paris. Only a few fragments of her once dazzling gowns remain. The court gowns were made of the fashionable new silks and trimmings. This gown has simulated ermine tails 

There were several fans on display.

Lace was used to add elegance to the designs.

In the 1780's large muffs became fashionable accessories for both men and women. This example is made from embroidered silk

This is one of Marie Antoinette's armchair from a set of 4.  The chair was used in her private dressing room during her final summers at the Chateau de Saint Cloud

This Pierrot and petticoat was very fashionable in the 1780's and 90's 

I loved this next gown. This is Empress Eugenie's evening bodice with replica skirt. The waist of this dress is tiny!

The last part of the exhibition, had dresses for fancy dress events where people went as Marie Antoinette. Immediately after she was executed the population was shocked at all the spending and over indulgence but as time went by people wanted to dress as Marie Antoinette.  There were a lot of dresses in this room so here are a few photos.

 

This last gown was designed by Vivienne Westwood.

The exhibition was very good and enjoyable. By this time the crowds had gone home and travel back home was much easier.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing some of the photos. To protect the textiles the light was rather dim, so I'm apologising for the darkness.

Take care

Lyndsey