Home Again

Just some pictures from Giverny.  We were told that Monday was the quiet day to visit.  I'd hate to be there when it was busy is all I can say.  I think Mondays were also school visit days and the noise from small voices was tremendous.

If I have one memory to bring home it would be the smell.  All the roses and honeysuckle were out and the air was filled with their perfume.

We didn't even try to enter the house as it was so full of children but the weather was wonderful and the flowers were doing their thing and we enjoyed the journey there and back again.

I haven't gained weight even after all the cheese and wine so I've done a little happy dance.  Lots of catching up to do now.


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Honfleur and On

Saturday we travelled along the coast to Honfleur. That trip in itself was interesting. We had to drive through Deauville where the G8 will be held this week. Security was very high with gendarmes on nearly every corner for miles, groups of CRS and huge convoys of army. One or two of the other cars were stopped but we made it through. Great reason for always having your passport to hand especially as the CRS were heavily armed!

Honfleur was busy as it was Saturday and market day. We all managed to find each other and started our mini tour. Up narrow streets,



and out to the harbour area. Some of these narrow buildings are seven stories high.



Then on through the Market area again which had some wonderful smells!



Finally on to the 15th century Church of Sainte Catherine, a totally wooden church that looks like two upturned boat hulls side by side. As it was made by shipwrights I suppose they did what they knew best.



Honfluer was largely untouched during the war and so still has fabulous old charm. The light is very clear too being on the Seine estuary and has attracted many famous artists over the years.

After lunch we drove down to Camembert an incredibly tiny village that carries the name of probably the most famous French cheese. Like our cheddar it has just become a type of cheese due to how it is made rather than who makes it so there are many makers of Camembert all over the word.




True Camembert was given AOC status in 1983 so if you want the real thing it must have the AOC stamp, have been made from raw, unpasturised milk using cows kept in Normandy and ladled into the moulds by hand.

Yesterday we visited Falaise and the Chateau Guillaume Le Conquerant (William the Conquerer to you and me).



I personally found some of the restoration uncomfortable. UNESCO states that unless you have undisputed evidence of what was there before, any restoration has to have a significant demarkation between what was original and what is new. The architect chosen for some of the work at the chateau liked steel and concrete. Apparently there was almost a local revolution at what he had been allowed to do to their castle. Now the more recent restoration is far more subtle and pleasing.

We parked in the town square opposite this church.



It was incredibly ornate and when the bells rang, they were even more over the top but quite charming! I don't know if they have the full set of bells ringing every day or just on the Sunday for service. I don't think I would want to live too near if they were on all the time!

We had a good drive up to Bayuex afterwards. Another lunch in a small creperie and on through to the tapestry. Of course no photos etc but it's well documented. I do recommend a real live viewing if you ever have the chance though. I saw it many years ago in a previous setting but it has now been housed in a special room and case. It is in wonderful condition for something made of linen and wool and nearly a thousand years old!

Last day today and Giverny. Photos later.


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Bonjour Mon Ami

We've driven over to France with a few friends and enjoying the fabulous sunshine and food of Normandy. Yesterday we went here...



To see this...



Then had lunch here... (which was very much needed after all the Calvados sampling!)


And then we toured around these beautiful gardens...




And on to a Castle which had this most beautiful dove cote which I managed to take a picture of before my battery ran out again. (yes I have the charger this time!)


I hope your weekend is good, were all off to Honfleur, another castle and the Camembert factory.


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Another Industrious Weekend.

I pottered around with the Annette Emms Pixie Boot pattern in the recent Stitch magazine.  I can see that one could become very carried away with these!

I have also made a three pocket pouch for the suitcase.  I have several of these patterns but just needed plain pockets for First aid, pain killers and the spare regular pills for when we go away so I gathered the basics and made my own.  It saves having to hunt around for those things that make life a little more comfortable when away from home.

One of the patterns I brought back from Spain for Elsa, she also wanted to slightly adapt hers to suit her uses for sewing.  She is over the moon with it.  The ribbon is for threading reels on and she had pinned the binding in place on the front just for the photo so she could take it home to finish it.  We may not be bank of mum and dad but we certainly have the craft supplies depot!!!

After Blogger's major mess up last week, I still have some comments missing from the previous post.  I'm sure we have all been affected by it a little but if you weren't, it wasn't me who deleted the posts!! They still may turn up one day.

Over the past ten years or so we have casually seen the Red Kite population slowly move south.  The last time I saw one in England it was not far south of Newbury.  We heard last year from a local farmer that they had been seen on the Cranborne Chase just north of us so we knew they were coming.  On Saturday it was quite a surprise to see one on road kill not far from our village.  They finally made it back down south.

Have a great week!


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Another Finish

At last I managed to drag this quilt away from Tully and put the binding on.  It was a BOM from Just Hands On TV designed by Jennie Rayment.

For some reason Tully fell in love with this quilt probably because it's black and she is very small and white and always managed to wiggle her way into it and fall asleep.  It has taken me ages to remove all the fur and put it back into a just about presentable condition.  She even tried dragging it off my lap the other day when I was doing a last piece of handquilting.  Still, it is now finished and hanging where she can't squirm into it and make it furry again.  I have named it 'Tucked Up Tully' though.

And just in case you were concerned that one of our dogs would be quiltless, I have donated another one to her patch on the sofa.  She is breaking it in gently.

The Mistress of all she can wiggle into.

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My Tweets 3 Finished

I've completed the My Tweets outer block 3 now.

Block 4 is all starched and appliglued down ready for stitching and block 5 is imminent.  My sewing Ladies are very interested in the starching technique so I am going to have to demo it for them in a couple of weeks time.  Should be fun!


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I Really Can't Abide Christmas Out of Season, But...

Elsa really liked the book I bought back from Spain and she is wanting to make as many of her Christmas things as possible as it's her first Christmas with Mike in their own home.  I had to give in a little on Saturday and we made a set of these ornaments each.

They were quite fun and easy even if  I was grinding my teeth a little!! I'm not sure If I will be keeping mine or putting them aside for gifts.  For now they can go in the box these things hide in so I don't have to see them and then they will be a nice surprise when I find them again after November. lol

I was being watched in my room the other day by this young blackbird.  I was also being watched very carefully by mum too.   

And well done Benta over at Slik Stitches who is today's guest blogger on Stash Manicure!   Go and see how to make her clever little bag.


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A Bit of Beading

I have lived with a bear with a sore head all week, just because of a certain wedding.  It was strange though that as soon as I said, 'look at the lovely colour of that Bentley,' every car was scrutinised from start to finish. There was of course the possibility that one may drive down the aisle so the ceremony had to be watched too, just in case.

Like everyone, we think it was the most fabulous wedding and we all enjoyed watching it and that dress was just so perfect.

So today Elsa and I did some beading to just relax and play and had a good natter about her and Mike's own wedding.  (I have told them that we are not using Westminster Abbey or flying them off the lawn in a helicopter).

A few months ago Shirley over at Stitcherydo made a thimble keeper and I thought it was a fabulous idea.  I don't really like flushing mine down the loo or losing it in the dinner as I like wearing one a lot.  I found a book called Thimble Catchers and after a little reading we made our own versions.

Really pleased with them and I'm sure they will be well used.  Just off to have dinner and then I'm reading through the next C&G Module for a little evening entertainment.

Have a lovely long weekend, again!


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Well She Liked It

I gave Barbara her other quilt top back yesterday and she loved it.  It was only a practise piece, yet another one of her 'been in the loft for 10 years' ones but she was over the moon.

It may be a repeating design but I did learn a lot from it especially about travelling from an end to the next start.  Also, not to screw my head up too much when every one is not perfect and as I wanted it!  The over all effect is what counts.

I must also add that I try and follow quite a few longarmers, American usually as it's still too few and far between over here, but one has really inspired me over the past few months, especially with this quilt, and you can go and see Karen Marchetti's work, as well as on Facebook (you really should look through the albums on there!) if you too like being wowed by stunning quilting as well as quite a few wonderful quilts.

Thanks Karen for pulling me out of the feathers!!!! (I'll keep tapping the microphone if you keep recording the videos!)

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Happy Easter

What amazing weather!  Yesterday Elsa and I, (mostly Elsa) cleared up the vegetable patch at the top of the garden.  The onions and garlic are doing great, but that's it so far.  Mind you a false sense of summer security can be dangerous in the garden, we can still have frost in May so there's no hurry with beans etc yet. I must admit to still really, really struggling with the gardening and I am very cross as to where the enthusiasm has gone.  I am grateful that we spent five years turning the garden around and it now just needs mowing and tweaking and a few hours from the gardener each week, not watering or major replanting marathons.  Maybe that is part of the problem, I burned out and had too many incidents, knee operation, stings, ceptic cuts, nearly losing the top of my finger, I just had enough.  I'm still a little sad though.

I have caught up with home things now though and Tuesday, while John was fishing for bream, I played hard with Bob.

 It was my first Lone Star! (20 inches)  I confess to finding a foundation sheet of interfacing in Spain.  It was so quick and easy.  I would still like to do another the real way, but maybe in a while.

I finished the My Tweets centre panel, Miss Kelly (24 inches) and I'm just cutting and starching the next two blocks ready for stitching.

I've also managed a little more on the Stay at Home Robin with embroidery and quilting.  Yes the needle is still in there, I'm still working on it as it's evolving.

There are three more, and I think they are the last, bits boxes to find homes for and then my room is full.  I've enjoyed re discovering all the things I bought because I knew I would need them someday.  Ariadne the  longarm is sitting patiently upstairs with a quilt on it hoping to be finished at some point this weekend.  I want to put the little Lone Star quilt on and make that up so I had better pull my finger out.  The C&G is sitting patiently too so perhaps that will have a look in later.

Have a wonderful long weekend and keep cool.


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Bore Alert

Home now and back to a comfortable mattress and squishy pillow.  Just a quick post with a few pictures. Nothing too heavy so you can yawn later!!! 

Our first inspection by a Short Toed Eagle.

A packhorse bridge that, along with others down the gorge, just seemed to lead right into the cliff face (to the right).  Makes you wonder how different the landscape was when it was built.

The first escarpment in the distance we would have to cross.  The village on the hill was deserted and it had the most fantastic view over the Embalse (reservoir) de Yesa.

Spain seems to be on a continuous road build mission.  The one below still needs a little work to be done. Actually they have some of the most fantasic roads, even in the remote places and the fact that you can see a car coming towards us was unusual for our trip.  We left Siguenza on Wednesday and it was an hour and a half before we actually saw another car.  It is still early season though.

One of the smallest daffs I've ever seen.

Once over the escarpment we drove around a bend in the road and saw this bluff.  Beyond that you can just see the snow topped mountains we would be crossing to reach our hotel for that night.  You can imagine the satnav picture looking like a child's scribbling most of the time.  John spent a lot of time grinning.

Another inspection by a Griffon Vulture.  It was amazing how many large birds could be supported over there, especially the opportunists like vultures.  There is about zero road kill due to lack of cars and live stock is not very plentiful.  Again it makes you think about the wildlife you can't ever see that is there as part of the food chain.

Some of the Neapolitan ice cream landscape.  And this was quite subtle compared to what we had driven through the day before.

If only the sky had been a little more purple and this would have been a perfect tertiary colour selection by Mother.  Then again She knows what She's doing and it still looks pretty good to me.

All menus were translated, some parts more successfully than others.  John had to have the 'colds more entertaining' just to find out of course.

Yesterday was the Brockenhurst Needlework Fiesta.  With the likes of Mulberry Silks, the Silk Route and Ario there I just had to have a splurge!  Enjoyable it was too.

We're catching up with family today, I hope you have a good Sunday too.

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And On and Up a Bit

First off sorry no pictures. No battery power and I didn't think of using the phone!

Today we passed through the last of the Ebro valley and it's 30 degree temperature and started back north and west along the very edge of the Iberian System which is the eastern boundary of the Meseta Central, the heart of Spain.

As we rose we must have seen every colour of soil available from the brightest white to the deepest burgundy maroon I have ever seen with every colour of orange, yellow and pink in-between. There were even folds in the earth where all the colours were together. It made Alum Bay on the Isle of Wight look very plain and boring. When we levelled off at about 4500 feet the temperature stayed at a very comfortable 17 degrees. Mind you it's 24 outside on our balcony at the moment but it's in a castle so the walls are very thick and cooling.

As it's spring everything is very fresh looking. Lots and lots of tree pruning going on, if it's a tree, it has an extreme prune! It also took us quite a long time to drive out of the olive groves. And yes they do taste wonderful.

I've been very impressed by their solar farms, much nicer to look at than the wind farms. And if you are a raptor fan, there are plenty of those too. We've seen at least two types of Kite, and very high up the Golden Eagle and Griffon Vultures and I did manage a picture of a Short Toed Eagle but I can't crop the picture on the iPad without it blurring so that will have to wait.

We found a fabulous quilt shop called Trozicos with three lovely ladies who spoke as much English as I do Spanish but we all spoke sewing. I bought the usual bits of this and that, I am a happy bunny.

I have the sketch book Maggi but it's had little airing. I will stand in the corner for a bit.

Mac n Janet, you maybe surprised how it's changed. I've read quite a bit about how dry it's becoming. It's still very beautiful and varied.

Lol Benta, I was looking the other way!!!

Were off to diner soon and tomorrow we cross the Duero Valley, we have done the Portuguese end a few times, it will be nice to see the smaller version.

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The Rain in Spain

Falls mainly in the distance and stays there hopefully.



We drove down from the mountains yesterday onto some of the flatest flat land trying to be flat. It was full of vineyards and orchards and obviously the fruit bowl of the region. After a couple of hundred kilometres it changed into cereal crops and more rolling hills. We ended up at a town called Alcaniz and this wonderful hotel.




Our rooms are the top two in the tower. The bath is so huge that John started filling it and I managed to have a shower, change, put my face on and there was still only 5 inches of water in the bottom of it. But I had a good view while I was waiting.



Off to have an explore this morning. I believe theres a quilting store in the town!

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Hola Amigos

The view from our hill at this moment is a little more mountainous and quite a bit warmer. We're just having a scoot along the bottom of the Pyrenees. I'm managing to satisfy my urges to visit rather big hills and John is having a ball on the winding roads. He's also going a little silly at all the fabulous mountain rivers full of fish. Off to dinner in a mo with lots of local produce to choose from, exploring tomorrow and then off again.






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Just a Quickie

Lisa Walton posted this on Facebook this morning and I had to re post.  It's so sensible ....

http://www.austinkleon.com/2011/03/30/how-to-steal-like-an-artist-and-9-other-things-nobody-told-me/

And when one is feeling a little under the weather, one does silly things.  This is Ruger who had an off day on Tuesday and wanted to be near Mum.  So he pinched Tully's bed in my workroom.