Stitching in Sunshine

Good morning folks - hope the sun is shining where you are. We've had some torrential rain over the last couple of days but the sky is blue - mostly! and the sun is shining this morning. Weirdly this has not helped my indoor photography so apologies for that.

We've had a pretty quiet weekend, and today appears to be just strolling along gently. I am going for a walk and popping in to visit mum on the way back. She was quite up-beat when I last saw her, looking more herself, less the bewildered and wizened old lady. I have a couple of textile commissions to finish so will be working on them today, and this evening it will be a spot of music and gossip over at Rob and Marj's. They have just returned home after a wonderful week on a narrow-boat on the Welsh canals.

 Following on from my last two posts, both of which included stories and photographs of narrow boats, I have been pondering about the resurgence in interest in this gentle form of transport. I have a friend who lives full time with her husband on their narrow-boat, the Lady Arwen, and they love their life. Another friend and her family live between their house and their narrow-boat, purchased initially as 'digs' for her husband who lectures at a university too far away from home to commute. Yet another young musical friend (all these people are musicians!) spends most of his life renovating his narrow-boat and holding epic parties-  it seems to me, from the photographs, on-board as he progresses! Other friends are tentatively taking their first narrow-boating holidays, having caught onto the current 'zeitgeist'.  I would love to try it myself - but I suspect our visit to Brecon earlier this month is the closest I am likely to get!

So, back to textiles - here a few photos of the wool cushion I am making for the next craft fair.

Close up of the front, I am re-using the Big Blue Bird, which also featured on one of the cushions which sold at Open Studios. The main fabric is a charity-shop blanket which I dyed in the washing machine - I love this raspberry colour.

Here a close-up of the reverse side, showing a hand-stitched button-hole and two hand-made felt and cardboard buttons - yes, they will have stitching -holes punched into them before I attach them!

Here is the front of a cushion cover requested by a visitor to Open Studios. She wanted a small cushion with the image of a naive vase and flowers which I had included on a small folk-art quilt. I sized up the image and appliqued the pieces onto the background, which I then stipple-quilted to give that antique effect she had so admired.

I added a little hand embroidery here and there, and attached the two borders. I now have to make the back, which will be constructed form a man's thrifted shirt; I shall use the front, so that the buttons will provide a ready-made opening for the cushion pad to be inserted.

This last is an unfinished commission which I can't tell you any more about because it is a secret! Again, as I said in an earlier post, the greens just do not reproduce well on my camera, but I am using pieces from the two blankets I dyed, the green and the raspberry. I need more blankets!!!! I am really enjoying using them and can choose my own colours by dyeing them myself.

So, the sun is still shining - I am off for my walk and visit. Have a lovely day yourselves, won't you!

Beating the Glums

Oh isn't it annoying, when you just can't drag yourself out of the Glums? Especially when you know that really, if you are honest, you don't have much to be glum about. In the Great Scheme of Things sinus troubles do not rank terribly high, and at the moment I can't say there is even much pain, just a dull discomfort, because , yes, once again I am on a course of antibiotics; infection nailed - swelling goes, acute pain abates. However, four days or so after the course ends the symptoms return and so the whole cycle begins again. And I guess until I get my ENT appointment at the hospital that is how it will continue.  So, you know, no-one died, I'm not on the critical list, and I can cope with the symptoms. But actually you do become a bit weary, and just want to bury yourself at home, go nowhere, see no-one. I'm very fortunate that my good friend Yvonne did the ferrying about last Friday and Saturday, or I wouldn't have got to Harrogate or to Jane-Ann's.

So I have been hunkered down at home for ages - no Mollying, no box lesson, even no weekly musical soiree with Rob and Marj last night - pootling about doing a bit of cooking and housework, and spending quite a bit of time in my sewing room.

 Audio book on the machine, surrounded by colourful yarn, threads, and fabric, it is quite soothing and spirit - lifting. Here, then, are some peeps at what I've been up to. It's cheered me up, I hope it does the same for you if you' re having your own personal Glums!

Another pincushion completed - and spoken for - and a couple more in the pipe-line.

A few more bangles completed, trying various colour combinations.

I started this quilt some years ago. It had been put away and almost forgotten. I just felt the need to spend some time gently quilting, and this quilt, with its soft flannel fabrics, was just the ticket. I've added some appliquéd text to the border as well. All in all it has been a very comforting, cosy reunion.

So, even an attack of the Glums can have its productive side, and it has been quite satisfying gathering this little lot together to photograph. How do you deal with the Glums when they arrive at your door?

Count Down

Hello Everyone, this post should have been all about my preparations for going to Towersey Folk Festival with the Ouse Washes Molly Dancers. At the last moment I discovered it was to last a day longer than I had thought, throwing out our plans to set off to Wales very early on Tuesday morning. Also one or two small but pressing problems with my mum's care arose. So I made the decision to pull out and use the weekend to get things sorted.

I'm really sorry to be missing what I know will be a fun-packed week-end, already the face-book photos and comments are being posted, but as I'm typing this I know I made the right decision; a few more things have now come to light which needed dealing with - not great problems, but they are things I might have overlooked had I been away by yesterday evening. It also means we can leave a day earlier. A huge weight has dropped off my shoulders, I hadn't realised how stressed I'd been getting trying to organise not just myself for Towersey, us for Wales, and my mum for the week. Thank goodness for a good friend, a good neighbour and a lovely son and his partner - all stepping in so we can get away. The header photo is our caravan site. Can't wait to get there!

So here are a few of the things I've been getting organised for our get-away.

The first involves a packet of "cooking bacon" from Sainsburys, some veg, and a pack of oven roasting bags. These bacon packs have become a bit of an on-going thread between a few of we Norfolk bloggers, notably Dc, and Pam, who gives a link to an excellent recipe for bacon casserole. Pam's idea of making up the uncooked mix, bagging it and freezing to take with her to their caravan - also in Wales, prompted me to do the same. One pack cost me £1 10p (they've gone up 10p since we all started buying them!) A couple each of carrot and parsnip, 8 small new potatoes, an onion, 2 sticks celery, some button mushrooms, some garlic and some herbs. Oh and some courgettes from the garden. Chop all ingredients to chunks. Season, pop into roasting foil bags, and into the freezer. I'll pack one in the cool-box just as we set off to Wales on Monday, so it will defrost slowly and be ready to stick in the oven when we want it for supper.


The second is something to keep me out of mischief while Jim is fishing, or in the evenings; some wool/felt stitching on the cushion cover, the panel, and a couple of pin-cushions. Also hexagon papers and fabric to make them up. I've done a few, you can see their size relative to the embroidery thread.

I'll also be taking these -  been itching to read them but have resisted!

Not sure I will find any wifi where we re, so unlikely to be blogging, face-booking or answering emails. However I will use my lap-top for watching DVDs and playing cds, checking my iPhoto stash and uploading the tons of photos I will be taking.

And of course this! (Don't worry, I shall find a remote corner of a field, not to inflict my music on fellow campers/caravaners!)

So whatever you are doing this coming week - and I know a lot of my friends are at various festivals over the week-end - I hope we all get a look-in with some great weather and fun. Catch up with you when we get back.