Stitching and Sniffing

Isn't this a glorious card? It was designed by a lady called Karen Cater, wife of a melodeon player . She trades under the name of Hedingham Fair, and this is just one of her lovely, detailed, colourful cards depicting traditional musical instruments. This one will be heading off to the young man who teaches me melodeon.

Well now, show me someone who hasn't had one or the other or both of these darned bugs going around and I'll show you a very fortunate person indeed. No household, it seems, has escaped.So hopefully we will all get the bugs out of the way in time to be on good form for the festivites. This year for the first time in I don't know how long, we are having Christmas Dinner at  Someone Elses! There are SO many things I am not having to buy or make that it seems like a huge weight off my mind. Which is ridiculous, because I actually quite enjoy having people here for meals. This year...well, this year I am just jolly pleased not to be doing it. Though Boxing Day we will be entertaining to a small degree. But that somehow doesn't seem to be such a big deal.

So without too much frenetic preparation to take care of, and because I've been 'gentling' myself through these bugs, I actually sat down and did some stitching  - long overdue!

This is the beginning of a Kindle cover. I'm making it for 'our' Kindle but am doing a spare one - I'll see how they go and maybe make a few more . I've used some fine pink linen, wadding and old sheeting to line, and some vintage fabric strips and Suffolk Puffs from A Mermaid's Tale to embellish. I'm going to lightly quilt the main body, and then bind the whole thing.

I also got off my backside and finally layered up one of the smaller quilt tops I made earlier this year. I sat and tacked it last night whilst watching the Unthank Sisters and A Very English Winter. I MAY take it to New Zealand with me....but then again it might be just TOO DARNED HOT to think of quilting out there!

I also stitched a little more applique on my basket quilt blocks...this quilt is going to be a 'work in progress' for some time to come, I can tell you!

Well I hope those of you who are interested in these things enjoyed the Unthank Sisters' film last night; I thought they did a good job of showing some of the diverse and highly entertaining winter traditions that take place in towns and villages all over England. They cut a lot out of the filming they did with us (The Ouse Washe Molly Dancers) we were the penultimate segment. And yes, I was there with my black face, black and red dress, trilby and fiddle! However I was left feeling a little irritated that as well as folks themselves being partly to blame for not supporting events like these, the British media consistently ignores or at best ridicules the rich seam of history and tradition, until the myth endures that the English HAVE no tradition, HAVE no music or dance' instead the media makes a big thing about say, the Nottinghill Carnival, or St Patrick's Day, while totally ignoring what is going on under their noses. OK rant over.

You will all be revving up towards the Big Day, and if you have little ones in your home the excitement may well be approaching fever pitch - I hope you are up to the mark and able to take it in your strides! I shall glide gently towards it myself, the past two weeks having been more than strenuous enough thank you very much!