Well That's Shalott

I knuckled down over the past week and finished the Lady of Shalott quilt.  As you know I have a love hate relationship with this one mainly due to the poor quality of the fabric sent.  (The white line is a lightpull cord).

It has grown on me a little but I think I'm just about done with stipple quilting for a few years!  Finished size 40 inches. 

Evenings were taken up with two summer cardies for Olivia.  Honestly, knitting for a little one is quite addictive! This is a pale lilac cotton but it looks a bit washed out in the bad light.  The cloth it's on is bright white!!

And another cotton in eye watering pink.  Both a little large for her at the moment but they are for summer and she can always have long sleeves under them for next Autumn!

I've been having a few thoughts towards next years Art Weeks, yes already, you know how long textiles take! I think I have a few bit's brewing but need to have a rummage around first.

A couple of weeks ago I made some notebook covers for the GSP Rescue and sold them on our Facebook group page.  They all sold in an hour and made a nice little sum for the charity. The fabric is called Happy Pointers and it's by Print Me Pretty.

I have started another bead embroidered collar.  The focal in this one is Fern Agate.  Nice and easy to be working on while I think!

Can you believe we are still waiting for Natural England to sort our bat licence out even though it was promised on the 6th January at the latest after previous delays in November!  I'm sure Andy our builder has bitten all his nails away by now.  We're not even allowed to touch the building in any way without it!  February was the last expected date.  Well at least the weather will hopefully be getting better.

I hope you are staying warm and safe in the snowy weather.  We've yet to actually see any even though it has been quite bitter, I hope those are not famous last words! The dogs are ready for the cold in their fleece jumpers at any rate!

Have a great week!

A Couple of Finishes

I finally finished the hand pieced hexi top.  Now just to layer and quilt.  It isn't a huge size, 44 x 36 inches, but I'm sure Olivia can use it in the garden or for toys when she's bigger.  

I've also pieced and appliqued the Lady of Shalott top.

Miles of double blanket stitch which takes an age with all those points and corners!  Really love the shapes and colours, quite a disappointment to find that Ricky only uses cheap calico to dye for his kits.  For the price I would have hoped for a poplin.

I also had another go with the keys.  I carefully roll wrapped them and left them for two days this time. Much better!

These three photos are all one piece.  Some great key shapes here.

I am still working on reducing The List!! There seems to be a kind of block that I can't go beyond until some of these things are done but I can feel other things starting to grow in the background.  I've done a little re thinking to so I don't feel quite so pressured about it.

We will be having some building done to the house soon.  It was supposed to start in June but we keep hitting obstacles namely Natural England, because we have bats! Over the moon to have them and we already have bat boxes and we will be bending over backwards to accommodate them (it's only a day roost not a maternity or hibernation roost)  but those who hold the strings just love their high and mighty positions and making life as difficult as possible for everyone.  The scaffolders will be moving on to other things soon if we don't stop having to mess them around! I just hope that the pen pushers all come across a pain in the neck jobsworth whenever they want to do anything to their homes! (sorry, little rant there)

This popped up in the lawn the other day.  We've had fairy rings and puffballs but never a Parasol this huge before.

 And today we have a birthday!

Ellie will, no doubt, make sure she is the centre of attention as always.

Have a great week!

'Moonrise' the Compliment to 'Sunset'

In the heat of yesterday I put the last few stitches in this. 

Moonrise

Just before we went to Ireland John had two days out fishing so as my time was my own I pulled out lots of fabrics to make something.  I wasn't quite sure what, and it certainly didn't start as this.  I knew 'Sunrise' (read about that one here) would have a sister quilt at some point, just not when!

Very different trees and a little metallic paint this time.

Still a balance of machine and hand stitch, a discharged moon, plenty of silvery threads and beads.

I'm quite pleased with it and it sits very well next to Sunrise too. 

This is my Mother's Day orchid from Chris still going strong!  I have a few, and one or two I've managed to have them flower again, but this one has now been in full bloom for four months only dropping about 4 flowers.  So lovely.

And after a thoroughly exhausting few days of sport and sunshine, Ellie demonstrates, in her best catalogue pose, how to look elegant in the heat. 

I hope you're enjoying Summer now it's finally here!! (Unless you're downunder and the reverse applies :-) )

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The Urge to Play and Time to Catch Up

I had my first silk club selection all the way from Australia a couple of weeks back but have been busy doing other things to really have a play with it all.  Yesterday the urge came upon me!

Here are a couple of the cocoons lurking in strange positions.  They actually have size on them and are drying.

Whilst waiting I sprinkled some of the metal flakes, also included in the club selection, onto a piece of flimsy and covered it with  separated layers of the silk hankie.

A whizz through the embellisher and some hand stitching.

This is more the colour than the other photo.  With the addition of some gold work leftovers.

And the cocoons had a bit of a jazz up too with metal flakes on the size, stitch, more gold work bits, beads and some super sparkly organza in the top.

A few Shisha mirrors just because they were hanging around.

And the cocoons have a little home.

Just a little more to be done.  

Last Wednesday John whisked me away to Limoges for a few days.  Yes we have been fabulously lucky to go away a couple of times already this year but this is the first time just as Me and He for a while.  The hotel was lovely and central to the old quarter where the Cathedral Saint Etienne is.  It's one of the few remaining fully Gothic cathedrals left and it is a beauty.  

It has super thin flying buttresses like above and it's covered all over in gargoyles like below.  

Well worth the visit and to the Museum of Beautiful Arts in the Bishop's house next door.  In this museum we found quite a few paintings by the artist Elie Lascaux, very beautiful and lightly surreal, worth putting into Google Images for a quick look.  The shop even had a book all about him in English as well as a French version so that had to come home with us. 

In other news (!) we all seemed to have survived the Google Reader switch off.  In fact it wasn't even noticeable so that was a relief.  I did worry slightly that I may lose you all but you are all still there. GFC and other gadgets weren't affected.

We had a special couple of visitors to the garden last month.  One night after a BBQ I went out to check all was in and saw this little glowworm  between the paving slabs.

It was the first we've seen here so very exciting.  John went in for the torch and I managed this photo too.

We are also pleased to see we still have slowworms.  Sorry if you're a bit squeamish about wriggly things. 

And speaking of squeamish here are Ruger and Ellie practising their levitating head party trick.  Cool eh??

Off to watch a bit of tennis now.  Have a great week.

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Moving Swiftly On

OK so that's November almost done too.  Someone has definitely speeded up this year too fast.  Could we have a slower year next year?

I've felt a little disjointed of late, not sure why.  Trying to settle to something has been weird and so half the time I've just done nothing instead!  Not very proactive.

I decided I had better do something for the Christmas effort this year.  I have some lovely pieces of glass, not too many colours but I did find a nice green and red.  After cutting and foiling I tried remembering the soldering knack.  Hmm, passable I suppose.  I will string these up in a window perhaps with some beads too.

At the begining of the month I went to a bodices workshop to make the bodice below.  Of course it being red is a pig to photograph but you can see the shape.  It was to make a 'mini' bodice which actually turned out to be a full size one but only for a size 8/10 body.  

I decided to leave a part of the lining seam open so I can see the layering at a later date.  The white is the domette, canvas and boning. A lovely workshop to do. 

When I went to the Westpoint show in September with Elsa I saw a really lovely crochet throw kit.  I so wish I had gone back to buy it (Elsa remind your Mother not to be so daft next time will you).  I had hoped I would see it again at Ally Pally but I wasn't really well enough to do to much in depth searching. The other day how ever Su at Living on The Edge blogged about a beautiful throw she had knitted.  The colours and texture were WOW!  Again I thought about it, a dangerous occupation obviously, and eventually kicked myself into buying a kit or two too.  The wools arrived yesterday.

That photo was taken last night, it was so grey outside anyway.  Again the reds have come out wrong and show better in the photo below.  Much more earthy.  I loved the reds, plumbs and greens and John liked the blues so I couldn't make up my mind.  I'm lucky I could whittle it down to those colours, they were all so gorgeous!  I mean look at all these here!! 

Anyway, they have all been on the swift and I have started knitting.  A lovely easy pattern and good for TV work.

And finally these three are convinced there is something under this step.  I'm not quite sure what it could be as the floors are solid concrete under the oak and tiles.  Perhaps something has fallen into the old cavity wall just there and the noise is carrying (yes we do have mice, we live in the country).  It's still keeping them amused several days later.  

I hope this terrible weather is not disrupting you all too much!

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Well Done Gregory!

We've had a couple of those strange weeks where we've been doing lots, but nothing seems to have been done!  However!! That said I have found my outfit for the wedding, and all the bits that go with it, and we have had the Bridal Weekend which was so fantastic.  It was lovely being pampered, well fed and shop until we couldn't carry any more! Everything seems to be going along the right course, including the last minute panics that are expected from a Bride-to-be!  Having to reassure your daughter that her wedding dress is not going to fly down the M6 on it's own having escaped out of the car window is interesting.  Elsa can tell you to the minute when the wedding is, she is so excited, but it's about 2 and a bit weeks.  Ish.  lol.

I've also had one of these.

Other than that we have had the annual county craft show and I was asked to enter the Champion of Champions as my necklace blogged here won last year's trophy.  A previous year's trophy winner has to be entered with another, new piece in the same category so I put it in with the Jurassic neck-piece here and, though I didn't win the C of C I did win a gold Work of Outstanding Merit.  I wouldn't have like to have been the judge as all the work was super and all so very different from needlework, weaving, painting,  photography etc.  It must have been a nightmare to chose!  The big trophy went to a lovely stitched box of chocolates by Sally Silk that were very life like!

I also entered Laurel and Gregory in the Toys section. Laurel won the Silver and Gregory won gold and the section trophy.  Very pleased, and so is he.

I've managed a little stitch work with some free embroidery on little panels.  I have then mounted them onto some of the paper I made and then onto stretched canvas.  I've just started some hand stitching around the edge to marry it all together.

We've been having a few confidence issues with Ellie so she has been having special training including sniffer dog work!  It's great fun!  She can sniff out a lavender scented toy from a selection of boxes easily and she is learning to cope with other dogs around her that are not 'her' family very well.

We're are now going to settle down to catch up with the day's Olympics and light the fire, I wish it were warm!!!

Have a great week.

Oh My!

I thought March went quickly, but who stole April??  I haven't even done a single post for April.  I'm sure you lot haven't missed me but I missed the sort of routine, just to put something down somewhere to know it happened, lol. 

The baby quilts went off to meet their new owner last week.  Baby Leo arrived on the 6th April, all 7lb 13 oz of him.  Perhaps I could sneaky knit him a few bits here and there too.  I have finished a couple of little cardies but in girl colours so they will go on the charity table in the Autumn. 

I have also been working on the wedding guest book for Elsa and Mike.  I'm sure Elsa and I can come up with making a quilt together for them some time after the wedding but in the mean time we need this for the actual day.

I am really quite pleased with it, especially how the tartan is not too overpowering.  There is a gentle nod towards Mike's Scottish heritage with the tartan and that we will be taking over a whole castle up there for a couple of days.  So looking forward to it!

I also managed to raid the shredder and make some paper.  I only have a small, square washing up bowl though so I will have to buy a bigger one before I make the next batch.  The adding of a little paint to the water worked well too.  Not sure what for or when I will use it but it was fun making it. 

I've added the borders on the black and batik sofa quilt and that is now residing on the longarm frame waiting to be loaded and finished.  I have a trapped nerve in my back at the moment so the last thing I want to do is play on Ariadne!  

I read on a blog somewhere where someone was fed up with putting full sleeves on art quilts and they had discovered fast finish triangles.  Well I think they are good for the journal sized quilts but I prefer a full sleeve on anything larger.  One thing I do do though is split the sleeve.  The photo below is of the two quilts I have just finished for my C&G and show what I mean.  This way they can just hang on a single nail in the wall and are easy to swap around, just like a normal painting. 

This little fellow was adding classy decor to his nest box from a clump of sewing bits I had put out for them.  I hope the Mrs liked what he chose. 

My ever faithful companions.  The other two, Tully and Oscar were, as usual, under my desk under my feet.  I'm glad Ellie is growing too big for under there too!

Well that could be it for this month.  We spent Tuesday morning working out the tulips for three days of the Monte Carlo Rally and one for the San Remo Rally tour.  My back is already twitching again after seeing all those hairpin bends.  Hopefully I will be able to bore you all and blog a few photos but if not, we will be up a mountain somewhere!