The Wool Quilt

Hello again. I'm sitting in the dining room with the sun streaming through the window - though it is quite chilly outside. I hope you are warm and dry and not suffering from the flooding that has affected so may areas. I'm reminded that this time last year we were waiting to fly out to New Zealand and worrying that the airports would be closed with all the snow and ice!

Right I promised you a peep at the new book which has been inspiring my woollen quilt. It is by a woman called Sègolaine Schweitzer. It is called Voyage autour de la Laine - A Trip around the Wool. She uses her materials in a very loose, free way.

As you can see, Sègolaine uses raw-edge appliqué, and her applique is actually more like darning.

There are a few quilts to copy, and an exposition of her working methods. I would rather make my own designs, and so use the book as an inspirational jumping off point. The photographs are very visually tactile (if you understand what I mean!) and I gaze and gaze at them.

I think her quilts are mainly used as wall hangings, and mine are to be used, so although I do like her very rough and raw manner of working, I find I need to make mine neater. Not known much for my insistence on neatness in life, generally, I find I can't leave my work quite as 'unfinished' as Sègolaine.

Here are a few photo's of my throw so far.

And - Confession Alert! I still have not bound the Sunflower Farm quilt! I know, I know, what am I like!I promised I would do it for this blog-post. I have actually cut the strips, and pressed them in half and stitched them together, I just can't get round to pinning and machining the jolly things onto the quilt.

Anyway, here it is finished, just waiting for the binding.

I had intended to get the machine out to finish off this cushion cover and then do the binding.

But I decided to hand stitch the cushion instead, hence the machine didn't come out. This is sold, by the way, already!

Now then, here are a couple of shots of Victoria's SECOND huge quilt, all hand stitched. It looks and feels really gorgeous, and to think she had never touched a quilt before she met us! (Downhill all the way since then of course!) Victoria has used Liberty fabrics exclusively for the prints.

I put this shot of the garden in to show you how bright and cheerful the sun makes everything look. Even when the branches are bare, still lots of green grass and evergreen.

And I'll leave you with a close up of the lovely roses Victoria brought to Stitch and Bitch the other day.

Winter Warmth

A spot of pure loving warmth on a cold, grey day earlier this week. Mmmmm! One of those gorgeously indulgent special coffees made in Jim's machine and presented to me in one of my favourite mugs, with a colourful ceramic spoon to scoop up the froth!

I spent much of the day in the sewing room, stitching away with wool, and felt, and lovely threads. Over two days I completed these four bangles. I bought some wool felt at Harrogate last month. It's gorgeous. I bought it with bangles and pin-cushions and angels in mind. I wonder how many of you can identify with my feelings of reluctance to cut them up and start using them? I used to feel like this about special fabrics I had bought - perhaps I'll save them for making something REALLY special... only sometimes that REALLY special project didn't present itself. Hence despite all the quilts I have made over the years, I still have a considerable fabric stash of 'specials', despite not having bought any for some time. So now I find myself having to say aloud "Just use it up, Lynne. You can always buy more should you need it."

Stitch and Bitch yesterday. Cards and presents exchanged, mince-pies consumed, much laughter and some stitching. Yvonne bought me her bangles to photograph, and Victoria was wearing hers. Warmth abounded.

And this commissioned angel was handed over to her new owner, along with three more pincushions. Feeling very warm indeed! I hope there has been some Winter Warmth in your life this week.

Great Times

Well now, I'm aware I'm a tad late with this post, and so much has been happening I don't know where to begin and as for choosing which photographs to include..... anyway, I shall just dive in. Here you see Colin, one of the Ouse Washes Mollys musicians, and Bryan's back, one of the dancers who plays a few instruments himself. We danced out last Monday night at the Ship Inn  at Brandon Creek, with the Coton Morris side. We danced outside the pub....

I gave my camera to a Coton Morris man at this point and he did warn me he was pants at taking pictures...... anyway, here's one of us musicians as we always get left out!!

You can just make out my hat and coat of many colours. Well, coat of a few stray bits of fabric!

And we danced inside the pub, then we had a bit of a session which was lovely. I packed my fiddle and my melodeon - I'll need a bigger car soon, or get myself a Roadie!

                                                                      Step Dancer

             
                                                                   Nicky on clarinet

                                      Bryan on mandolin and Elin on fiddle.

Last Wednesday - second in the month - was Stitch and Bitch which was lovely as some of us haven't seen others of us (!) for a while what with the holidays and such. I finally finished my wool/felt Bird and Flowers cushion cover.

And yes, they are pins which you see at the bottom, simply because this photo was taken before it was completed and I forgot to do one after I finished! But it is, honestly!

 And in the evening it was the Very First Kitchen Table Session round at our house. Nine of us sat round our table with a mixture of instruments and a brilliant time was had. It was a tight squeeze at times, so Jim has sorted out a space for us round the corner at our local pub. Next month, however, as I'm in Wales, the session will be at Rob and Marj's. We've been talking about this for quite a while and finally just got on and DID it. This Wednesday saw me zipping up the A47 - again - to Dereham for Folk Club at the King's Head, which is always a good night.

Today has been a REALLY lovely one. Jim took mum's shopping and did all the Saturday Morning stuff for me so that I could go to Norwich  - that A47 again! - to visit this :

 I went principally to see Amanda - Amanda Colville of Mangle Prints who you will have read about here before. I bought one of her beautiful prints but it's for a gift so I won't show it yet. And of course I bought too many cards! Then I went for coffee at a lovely little place called The Bicycle Shop, all old wood, pews and saggy cushions and great coffee. The sun shone in and Vivaldi was playing, a gentle whiff of incense and peace - it was wonderful.

After which I popped across the road to a very interesting little place which called to me:

Go on, you'd have crossed the road too, wouldn't you? And don't worry about the Closing Down bit....

             Gorgeous things to buy, and fabric, and oil-cloth, and cards, and prints, and..........

a big room at the back where the Proprietor, Kay Spalding, holds all kinds of workshops: printing, felt-making, knitting and crochet, sewing and textiles, silver jewellery-making....... what an amazing place!

Kay specialises in locally sourced vintage ad hand-crafted gifts and jewellery as well as running the workshops. Next month she closes the shop HOWEVER, after a short break she will be re-opening at new premises nearer to home, in Park Lane, in January. Nearer the time I will let you know the full address and you can pop along yourselves!

And hey, Go Me! I have finished another pincushion! Just so you don't think I have gone Off The Boil!

I'm quite chuffed with it actually. What d'you think? Soooo quick and easy peasy and fun to do.

So here are the three of them in all their glory - on a tray with Morning Glory! Ha! Set up or what! (It wasn't actually, it's only just struck me, but there you are, serendipity strikes again. I'm rambling.)

Definitely time for me to pack in! If you have lasted this long, well done for sticking with it! I must try and write more frequent, shorter posts, but then, I said this before and it never happens. Hope you all have a happy, sunny Sunday, looks like the weather is going to be kind again. Bye for now!

Bank Holiday Week

     
                                                          View from the Back Door

Well, I've gone and done it. Yep, after a couple of years of deliberating, I have finally taken out a small mortgage and bought myself a Microplane. Now then, some of you will be wondering what took me so long, others will be wondering how I could bring myself to spend so much money. Still others of you will be worrying that I am too old to be taking up flying. Fear not!I have no intentions of buzzing irritatingly over your garden the minute weather turns fine and you want to spend some quiet time outdoors. I have just been and got myself a MICROPLANE GRATER!

Here it is, it cost me £12 from Sainsbury's and believe you me, this is not the most expensive one you can buy. In addition, this is a quite fine grater, you should really be splashing out for at least two, maybe three of these beauties to complete your batterie de cuisine. However I think I can manage with the (several) other graters in my collection for the coarser stuff. I always wondered how the tv chefs got their oranges and lemons to zest so perfectly, and a friend told me about microplanes. I wasn't having any of it when I saw the prices. So began my lengthy search to find a decent grater - I have about 5 and probably could easily have paid for this one with the money I spent - and more! Never mind. I'm here to tell you it was one of my best buys. It grates PERFECTLY and my zest couldn't be zestier - no wasting half of it in a disappointing sludge clinging to the grater, my parmesan drifts down onto the pasta like a veritable thistledown of cheesy gorgeousness So for once, the hype is right. Mind you, I still think they are priced beyond the pockets of most people starting up home.

So, after a lovely Bank Holiday Weekend - how fantastic was that? - the week has been a bit peculiar; I've been feeling all week that we are a day ahead, most off-putting. And the weather, having spent its goodwill over the weekend, decided to behave most capriciously, one day sunny, the next dull, and all the while very strong winds have made it quite unpleasant to be out in the garden. But I have done some potting up, and Jim has been having a good old tidy up so we look quite respectable out there. Wednesday was Stitch and Bitch, lovely to have a good natter, productive stitching time - I am making a quick class sampler of borders for the workshop:

Not finished yet, and not something to put on show, just some examples of how folks might like to edge their samplers. We consumed a few nice biscuits and some lovely cake - thank you Victoria! And thank you also for the lovely tulips which grace my kitchen window-sill.

Most of my garden tulips have come up white this year! What's that all about? There are just a few of these lovely pink-blushed blooms, unfortunately the sun was so strong it seems to have bleached the colour even further from them.

Wednesday continued beautifully with a lightening visit from big grandson Chris, home from uni, popping in for dinner and a pint down the pub with his granddad.

While they were there I was out at Rob and Marje's playing music and (as usual) putting the world to rights! When we all got home we sat up til midnight talking about Tolkein, fantasy film and books, and how without JRR none of them would have happened. (Giving a nod to older science fiction writers of course) From here we somehow got onto the music of Fleetwood Mac, and other old rockers, and why I chose not to go and see Bob when he last toured the UK. All in all a lovely day. And as if things couldn't get any better Thursday saw me trundling along the A47 to Norwich for my melodeon lesson. As always, deep joy! So, heading into this weekend, with its gentle routines and rhythms, nothing startling planned, just some 'mum' time of course. I hope we have some sunshine, and I hope you do too.