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!

Welsh Sunshine

We both needed a break from the relentless avalanche of correspondence we are having to deal with re my mum leaving her own home and going into a residential care home, and selling her home. Every day now for about three weeks we have had a pile of letters from estate agents, solicitors, utilities companies and pensions agencies and local council. Everyone wanted a certified copy - not photocopy - of my Power of Attorney, several of them had more than one department who didn't communicate with each other. The estate agency's solicitors sent me a contract which stated that my mother was deceased - where they got that from is nobodies business, certainly not from me! It was quite distressing I can tell you. So we thought we would go and chill out at the caravan.

It was the best idea. Sunshine from sunrise to sunset. The top photo is the view which greeted us early each morning. We put up the awning - I shall draw a veil over that experience! - sat in the sunshine, had a day out in Brecon, Jim went fishing, I had a wander round Llangattock, and caught up on some stitching, and we went out for a couple of dinners with friends. No broadband, no phone calls, no television - bliss!

I had a tramp around Llangattock, the little village where we keep the caravan. No shops or anything else, really, but I found this little gem of a hotel hidden away. We enjoyed a very pleasant evening meal  there on Tuesday.

Jim heading into dinner

The little marina at Brecon

We walked along the tow path in the bright sunshine, for three miles. The round trip was about five and a half miles longer than I would normally walk, so I was quite pleased with myself - every step counts, as they say!

We rather thought we'd like to live in this house - except when the river floods, of course, as it has  once or twice.

A nod to the mining industry in the area, now no more, for better or worse depending on your view-point.

We were hailed by this lucky couple, chugging along sedately in the sunshine. A quick wave, then they were gone.

We dined overlooking the River Usk, watching the evening rise

Jim at the entrance to the Llanwenarth Hotel where we dined with friends on Wednesday. 

The peace and quiet of the four days away was just what we both needed. We are getting to know our way round a little more now, and have plans for our return later in the summer.

A couple of Jaunts

Hi Everybody - yes, I know, late again, this is getting to be a habit, I'm sorry. Lots of stuff happening re mum, and hours and hours of official paperwork re her move and also the house sale. Also a difficult time too, getting mum settled into her new home, not all wonderful I have to say and quite draining for all of us. But we take each visit as it comes, took mum to lunch at Sandringham the other day which was nice for both of us I hope and will give her something to talk and day-dream about.

The garden is looking its best at the moment, and the veggies are doing well; we had our first strawberries today they were really juicy and tasty. I am drawing a veil over my garlic growing and shall in future just keep on buying it from the market - much simpler!

Following our two week extravaganza that was Open Studios - which went well, thanks to all who came to see us, we did reasonably well though numbers were down on previous years - Yvonne and I popped down to Northampton to see a textile exhibition at the Charles Rennie Mackintosh house. Unfortunately apart from a couple, the exhibition photos I took have not come out for some reason. However, the ones I took of the house have so here are a few views of this magnificently conserved dwelling; the 'Thirties' is not my favourite era I have to say, but I did enjoy the tour.

After a lovely lunch in the cafe we strolled through the city in the sunshine, popped into Waterstones and made a few purchases, and then partook of a cooling cuppa, before making our way to the home of Yvonne's friends who live just outside Wellingborough. We stayed overnight at their beautiful mill house, it was totally fascinating. They keep a narrow boat on the River Nene which runs under their house through the mill. I was entranced by the whole place.

Jim and I had a day out along the North Norfolk coast on Friday, beautiful weather. We stopped in Wells and strolled round the quay, then drove further into the village proper and had lunch at a lovely pub. Another stroll after lunch brought us inevitably to a fishmonger, and we chose some sea-food for our tea. A lovely laid-back day, which unfortunately resulted in only one photograph as my camera battery died!

Mind you, it is a jolly nice photo, as I'm sure you'll agree, of Himself contemplating the boats in Wells quay.

I will try and not let it be another fortnight before I blog again! And I will catch up later on my blog reading and commenting - so much has passed me by, so I'm looking forward to seeing what you've all been up to. It has been a very busy time, and of course Open Studios took up time and energy. I sold some cushions and a large quilt and some little bits and pieces so was quite pleased; also have two commissions, and also invited, on the strength of people liking my work, to take part in two really nice craft fairs, more of which later. So, enjoy the nice weather, and catch you later.