A relaxing weeks holiday

Last week we were away on holiday. We like to holiday in the UK and this week our destination was Derbyshire. We wanted to do some walking but also have some visits. The only down side was that we didn't have internet access all week so no blog posts or keeping up with the blogs I follow. We all have smartphones but at times and in quite a lot of places the network coverage was dire. It was fun being unplugged for the week.

The main map shows Derbyshire and the surrounding counties whilst the little insert shows where Derbyshire is on the map of England. We stayed in Buxton which meant we were in the peak district but not in the National park. 

The weather at the beginning of the week wasn't very good, with rain on and off for all of our journey north. The traffic was also heavy since it was the Easter weekend and we had to stop several times for Scamp to have comfort breaks and a little walk. Whilst driving Scamp slept in the back of the car with Richard. Kathryn and Olly joined us much later in the evening as they had been working all day.

Easter Sunday started cold and damp with hail showers every so often. We went out for a short walk but we had already decided that Sunday was a rest day. Kathryn went out to photograph the hail.

The great part of the cottage we stayed in was the deep window ledges in the main room They  were perfect for sitting and stitching during the morning. Normally I have a daylight bulb for stitching as it makes it so much easier to see what I'm doing but the light was perfect and I got a fair amount done.. 

Monday was a day for exploring close to home which was a good decision since it had snowed and there was more forecast. 

The snow cleared very quickly in the town and most of it fell up on the hills.

Later that evening when John and I walked to the top of Grin Low there was still some snow around but mostly the ground was very boggy from the melt water.

Tuesday was a shopping morning in Buxton and in the afternoon we visited the tram museum at Crich. We loved the old pub which had been taken apart and boxed up for a number of years before moving to its location in the museum. It also served good ale and the tea I had was great

I realised as I started writing this that most of the pictures of the trams are on John's camera but here's one I took. The trams and trolleybuses all work and you get to ride on them. The rails don't go that far but it makes for a fun experience. It shows how old I am that I can remember the trolley buses in Wolverhampton when I was young.

The view up the line with the overhead cables. and the rails.

Over the course of Tuesday Scamp got wet three times and although we dried him well and kept him warm he wasn't well overnight. With lots of care and attention he perked up quite quickly but I carried him a fair amount on Wednesday to rest him.

On Wednesday we visited Peveril castle and Castleton and we had planned lots more walking. Scamp went with us to the castle and enjoyed the exercise but later in the day he and I stayed home whilst the rest went walking. This was a good opportunity to catch up on a little stitching, reading and lots of cuddles with Scamp.

Scamp is really funny when you take him out as he is constantly checking everyone is there. You can see him doing the head count and if someone is missing he starts his search. If the party is splitting into smaller groups you have to tell him or he gets stressed.

The keep of the castle is one of the smallest in England but the view was good.

Being so open much of the stone has been damaged by the weather.  This picture is weird because at times it looks like the stone is sticking up but in fact it has holes in it.

The church in the village had these lovely boxed pews

and this really effective Easter garden. 

Thursday was our trip to Lyme Park. For those of you who enjoyed the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice (all 6 hours) Lyme Park was used for the exterior of Pemberley. 

Because we didn't have internet access we hadn't checked opening times and unfortunately the house isn't open on a Thursday at this time of year so Kathryn was disappointed. They were doing a behind the scenes tour which she went on instead. Whilst Richard, Kathryn and Olly went on the tour and looked round the garden John and I took Scamp for a walk in the park. The weather was gloriously sunny and warm so we had a lovely time. Scamp enjoyed running off his lead and getting lots of strokes from other visitors.

Kathryn and Olly had to head back to London in the early evening as they were both working on Friday. It made me, John and Richard sad to wave them goodbye and Thursday evening was rather quiet.

On Friday we went hunting waterfalls, viaducts and tunnels. We also enjoyed a pub lunch, with John and Richard enjoying the ale. As the driver I was on soft drinks. The waterfalls weren't huge but they were delightful

The water was used by a cotton mill for the various stages of the process. There was a lots of ruined building still standing and the pounds where the water was held back or released as needed. 

We climbed up and then followed the water downhill.

Later we stopped at Monsal Head and looked down on the old viaduct before walking down to it.

I took this shot from the viaduct looking down.

There are also disused tunnels you can walk through

The tunnel was lit although the light go out at dusk A path had been laid where the trains would have run.

Coming out the tunnel at the other end the rock had brickwork in it giving it a strange appearance.

Scamp had a great day especially as he was back to his happy healthy self. In the evening he was all ears and ready to go as we discussed where we would go on our next holiday. We also took some time out to remember my mother whose birthday fell on April 1st. We had a glass of wine and toasted her memory, talking about the fun times we'd all shared. She would have loved Scamp.

All too soon our week away was over and yesterday we packed up and travelled home. Today has been a catch up day with washing and ironing and tomorrow is back to work for me and John. Richard had to work today. Scamp has been reunited with Picasso who was cared for by Lucy for the week. He's been demanding attention all day. Lucy had been very stressed one day in the week as he wouldn't come in when she let him out so he had to stay out whilst she was at work. Today I've been doing a little slow knitting but I'll tell you about that tomorrow.

Thank you all for the lovely comments from the blog hop last week and I will reply over the next few days.  I also hope you all had a peaceful Easter. I'm going to knit another couple of rows before bed time.

Lyndsey

A cold walk and slow stitching

Yesterday we had planned a walk, so after running some vital errands (more dog and cat food and collecting a parcel) John, Scamp and I collected our friend Tony and we drove to The Devil's Punchbowl. The Devil's Punchbowl is a large hollow of dry sandy heath to the west of Hindhead in Surrey, England. The main A3 from London to Portsmouth used to run around the Punchbowl but in 2011 the Hindhead tunnel was opened. We hadn't travel this route since the tunnel opened so we were keen to see how it looked.As I was driving I couldn't take a photo but we were fascinated by the lights as we went through the tunnel, it was very colourful with green arrows and purple lights along the side.

Unfortunately the day wasn't the best for taking photos as at times it was a bit misty. The view across Surrey was good.

Looking down into the punchbowl. There is even more of the hollow out of shot to the left.

The gorse was very pretty.

The area is National Trust property and there was a cafe at the car park so we started our walk with a mug of hot chocolate and when we had finished we enjoyed mushroom soup with homemade bread for lunch. Walking around the top of the punchbowl was very windy and I was grateful when we descended to the bottom. We took the wrong route at the bottom and this made the ascent much steeper than we had planned. The walk wasn't that long as we haven't done any serious walks over the winter. The ascent confirmed that I am not as fit as I was last autumn. 

I underestimated the temperature difference between London and at the top of a hill out in Surrey. I needed to have added another jumper to what I was wearing and as a result I got very chilled. We had the heat on in the car but John, Tony and Scamp were very warm after the walk so I couldn't put it on full which meant when I got home it took a while to warm up and left me feeling slightly unwell. Never mind this morning I'm feeling better and ready to do some sewing later. First I had some laundry to do and the inevitable marking.

So this evening I did a little more work on the millennium sampler. I had hoped to complete the 1066 block but I still have the horseman's feet and spear to do. Hopefully there will be time tomorrow. Here is how it looks. In order to make the chain mail you had to backstitch around every stitch and it took me longer than I'd anticipated.t

I'm creating a shadow as I'm taking the photo but I couldn't find a place to take it that avoided shadows. Never mind I tells you how far I've got.

I'm linking this post with Kathy for Slow Sunday Stitching  I was also working on this embroidery as my Let's book it project run by Sharon. I may switch to a different embroidery for the next month as there are a lot of fractional stitches and it makes my eyes sore after a while. I'll make my mind up in the next day or two. 

I hope you've had a good February and completed some of your goals and projects. I'm hoping for a warmer March.

Lyndsey

A weekend away and plans for 2014 rainbow scrap blocks

This last weekend Lucy and I went away to the New Forest,- Lyndhurst Hampshire to be exact.  The event was a training weekend for our guide county which takes place every two years. The event is held at Foxlease which is a beautiful old house set in 65 acres that was gifted to the Girl Guides in 1922. You can read some of the history here  The house is called the Princess Mary House.

This was the view looking away from the house. As you can see the leaves are now turning to the glorious autumn shades.

The weekend was fun with lots of laughter, friendship and chocolate. I took some stitching with me and managed to get some hand work finished. Last year I had started the final block for the Rainbow scrap challenge 2014 but had never finished it. I got on with the hand stitching over the weekend and once home again I finished the block off. The block finishes at 16 inches.

I now have 12 of these blocks ready to turn into a quilt top but first I need to get some fabric for the sashing. Last year I also made some nine patch blocks for the rainbow scrap challenge. These also need to be turned into a quilt top. I see a trip to a quilt shop in my future. Here are the black and grey 9 patch blocks I made

I'm excited about getting on and putting these tops together. My plan is to shop for the sashing fabric saturday morning and to start sewing in the afternoon. I'm thinking that the nine patch blocks would look good set on point.

This weekend I'm going to sort out my stash. I seem to have fabric and bits everywhere. In the corner of our dining room I have a large wooden chest. This is full of fabric and work in progress. On top I've got stash and scraps and also paperwork piled up. It needs to be sorted and organised. I also have fabric stashed away in my bedroom. The golden gnome beside the box was given to me last christmas as a joke. He gets moved around the house and you can never tell where he'll turn up next.

My other plan is to go through all the projects I have in progress. I tried to do this a while back but got side tracked. I know I have some projects that I've forgotten about so I want to make a definitive list and then I can work on reducing the number. Maybe I could start on that now as I still have a little time before bedtime ... or maybe I could do some hand stitching?

Lyndsey

A little sewing and other things

This weekend has been busy and it feels great. Over the summer I didn't get much done around the house and I did hardly any sewing but this weekend I got myself into gear and got on with some jobs. 

First however Saturday was busy because we went walking.. The day wasn't very promising at the beginning, being rather chilly and with lingering fog but the forecast said the afternoon would be warm and sunny and therefore perfect for walking. We had planned to do a circular walk around Shalford near Guildford in Surrey. The walk was eight and a half miles so we decided it was a reasonable length for Scamp to join us.

The village of Shalford was very pretty and had a lovely coffee house, so John started the walk with coffee and Tony and I had delicious hot chocolate. At the start of the walk we headed along the towpath of the River Wey or Wey navigation. It was fun watching the canal boats

From there we headed into woodland and then across open country. There were a lot of wild flowers including this Evening Primrose.

There was evidence that Autumn (Fall) is on its way. I love the red of the Virginia creeper that was intertwined in this tree.

We enjoyed our lunch by a small lake and by this time the weather had warmed up and the sun was out.  Scamp really fancied my cheese and pickle sandwiches but he had to make do with dog food. The next stop on our walk was the Watts cemetery. 

I've just got back to writing this post.  I started it on the 5th October and now it's the 10th! I got this far when the first of a few mini crises hit and this is the first chance I've had to finish writing the post or to read any blogs. I'm going to indulge in catching up with all my favourite blogs a little later. Anyway most of the problems are sorted and the rest will slowly resolve over the coming weeks so back to a calmer and more enjoyable time.

I got as far a telling you about Watts cemetery. George Watts was an english victorian artist and sculptor. You can read more about him here and see his works here. Watts cemetery is located in Compton, Surrey and has a gothic revival chapel within it. When the Compton Parish Council set up a new cemetery Mary Fraser-Tytler,a local artist and the wife of George Watts offered to design and build a new chapel. The chapel was built between 1896 and 1898 and most of the villagers helped to build it whilst George Watts paid for it. 

This was around the doors.

Inside the chapel there were beautiful paintings but it was difficult to photograph.

The altar was very ornate.

In the cemetery many of the gravestones had crosses with knots and flower designs on them.

Having left the cemetery we walked a short distance to the Watts gallery where we enjoyed scones and cream with a pot of tea. 

Feeling happy (and full) we completed the rest of the walk quite quickly, enjoying the late summer sunshine. We have another walk planned for the 17th October. I hope there's a chance of another cream tea.

I'm also slowly getting back into my sewing. I'm trying to do a little of something everyday. As a result I have completed the top of one of the baby quilts.

The baby hasn't been born yet but my colleague knows she is having a girl. I kept the background pink quite light to enable the other fabrics to pop. The backing fabric is pink and has a small all over pattern. Tomorrow I need to make the quilt sandwich so I can get on with the quilting.

I've also started on the last block for the'It's a dogs life' quilt.

I'm hoping to have this one done in the next two weeks. I've also done some work on my millennium sampler. I really will get this finished soon!

A couple of weeks ago Lucy and I took our Brownies and Guides away for a weekend camp. We had a great time with lots of activities, friendship and good food. The Rainbows joined us on the Saturday to enjoy some climbing, archery and indoor caving. It was a fun weekend but very tiring. The girls were all very excited and didn't really sleep on the Friday. With Saturday being a full and activity packed day and staying up to enjoy the campfire, hot chocolate and s'mores by Sunday afternoon the girls were all happy to go home for a good sleep before school on Monday. Before they left the Guides persuaded us to book the February freezer camp again, so since this is in tents we are keeping our fingers crossed it will be dry and mild 

Well that's all for now. I need to go and get organised as Lucy and I are taking some of the Guides to Big Gig this evening. This is a pop concert for the girls who are 10 and upwards in guiding. There will be a number of acts and it is always good fun. We are going to Wembley Arena which holds 12,500 people. That number of girls making lots of noise ensures there will be a headache in my future but I like doing it as the girls enjoy it so much.

I hope you are enjoying your weekend.

Lyndsey

A little slow stitching

At last a day of being able to sit and do a little stitching. The fault for lack of stitching lies not with too much work but with two relatively small family crises. One is now resolved but the other will take longer. However in between life in general, work etc I can sew again. Yesterday I settled comfortably in my chair with Scamp on my lap and worked on this block for 'It's a dogs life' quilt.

I should be able to finish this tonight. Yesterday was so relaxing and as a result I'm expecting to get a lot more done today. Once this one is finished there is only one more before I need to piece the remaining blocks and stitch it all together. 

I have also completed the baby quilt but haven't posted the finish photo yet

Scamp was under very strict instructions not to sit on the quilt. I chose a stripy fabric for the binding. I used a jelly roll for the ribbons on the quilt and the bindings came from the same roll. I cut the strips in half and alternated the colourways. I love the way it looks. The ribbons were quilted in stripes and the background was a large meander.

I have some housework to do and teaching preparation but then I have some sewing to do. I have a summer skirt cut out and ready to go. In typical UK style it's raining at present but it is still warm so I'll get a fair amount of wear out of it before the autumn weather really sets in.

A couple of weeks ago John, Tony and I went walking. Every year our church does a walk in support of the Children's Society and we were checking out the route. It was a 10 mile route but I took Scamp with us as he loves long walks so long as he has regular breaks. The route was out in West Sussex so we traveled by train, another favourite adventure for Scamp.

 On the walk we went under the Ouse Valley viaduct. This is a fabulous victorian structure that was built in 1841 to carry the London to Brighton railway line over the river ouse. It stand 96 feet high and has 37 arches.

For me the most amazing bit was when we stood underneath the viaduct and looked along its length . Instead of each pillar of the arch being solid, to save bricks it was built like this.

This picture shows the detail at the top of the arches and the balustrades a little clearer.

At one point we walked along a path through the middle of a corn field. Now many years ago as a child or teenager (it is that long ago I can't remember) I heard a song from a musical which said 'the corn is as high as an elephant's eye.' I was confused because I'd only seen corn that was shorter than me. Walking through the field with corn on either side of me, that was definitely taller than me I suddenly realised (oh so many years after the event) that what we children had called corn was in fact wheat and the corn referred to in the song was maize or sweetcorn. Der that made the song make more sense.

The walk also took us past a reservoir and nature reserve and we ended at a little cafe where we enjoyed homemade scones and cream. Even Scamp was catered for with dog biscuits provided free by the owners.

I'm linking this post with Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching It's very odd coincidence but she's been appliqueing a corn stalk. Go visit and find out what folks have been doing. Have a good day

Lyndsey