Last week of November

A stormy week we have had....  not much rain in it but amazing light shows, for us no damage (a power out one evening) but many people and places have.

I am keeping myself busy with one thing or another...

I had a home day so got out the magnifying light and worked on my blackwork ......

It's easier for me to have several to do at a time so these are catch up ones.... 4 more to go but I will wait till they are all released and finish them.  Still not sure what I will do with it!

While the light was on I worked on the next bit of Hardanger... cutting threads!!!  and of course I cut one that I shouldn't have ..... 

online lesson on how to fix it.... the tension is not great but I felt I did a good job and it will be stitched over...

Then I finished all the little eyelets in this block.....  again there is a mistake but I'm not undoing it... can you find it????

I loaded up my Sylvia's Bridal Sampler quilt this week and will slowly do a few blocks when I can....  (top was made in 2019) 

Doing a bit of hand sewing my binding down on Be My Neighbour... which I am now calling Deb's Village

I like this little gadget when I am binding.... I can thread 10 threads at a time and hold them here where they don't get all knotted up..... and then just stitch away.....

Thursday Hardanger's lesson is these tormenting looped picots!  That whole block needs to be filled with them!  I am struggling I have to admit, at the same time it completely takes over when I am doing it and I lose track of time....

I helped a friend out with a tiny thing and she gave me this sweet needleholder as a thank you.... it is nice and lightweight so a perfect addition to my Hardanger WIP kit....

Some lovely gentle rain this morning and a Christmas party to attend today.....

Righto, Gotto Go put on my glad-rags....

Have a lovely weekend....xx

3rd week of November

The parrots are regular visitors and getting bold sitting at the table even when we are here..... they come and shout if there is no seed out....

The King Parrot is at the table (I call him Charles), behind at the seed table are a couple of Rainbow Lorikeets and on the lawn are a pair of Crested Pigeons doing their macho thing....

This week I worked on my eyelets for hardanger... every second thread on the bigger one and every thread on the smaller.  As you can see in my sampler I am trying different coloured threads so I can get an idea of the effect they make as well as the stitch. 

Mostly I was pressing cutting and sorting for my Wensleydale.....  lucky I could place all 60 sets on my lovely big table.  Mostly blues but also some beiges, mostly French General but others which suited are put in.  30 starting with light and 30 with dark (some artistic licence taken over dark and light)

Each set is now on a paper plate ready for sewing.... this way if I have a bit of spare time I can go and get one done (we are all looking for that spare time aren't we?)

My stripy crochet blanket is growing..... 

and another square has been knitted (car trips)

I do enjoy having different things to 'play' with, a gentle time to sit and watch the birds while I sit, or crochet, or sort colours.

Righto, Gotto Go..... coffee is drunk, the day has begun...

Have a lovely weekend....x

Second week of November

This week has gone in a bit of a daze and I have kept busy..

On Sunday I attended my last clothes making session of the year and I made up a baby romper for a friends baby girl...

I have forgotten how fiddly it is to make little clothes!!!

On Wednesday with the girls I continued making up some scrappy blocks for Trail Mix...

There is a bunch more to be made up...

I have taken to doing some stitching in the evenings and got out my table runner that has been neglected for some time...

Added a few more rows onto the crochet stripey blanket aswell....

This little village is on the quilting rack..... doing a little bit each day - mostly in the ditch around the blocks.... I feel that is all it needs...

Summer storms and some fierce winds have visited us, lovely to have water in the tanks and some green lawn to enjoy...

Have a lovely crafty weekend.... xx

Righto, Gotto Go..... time for a cuppa

Start of November

The local King Parrots have been visiting us.... this is Mr

... and this is Mrs.... there are a couple of Mrs's so not sure who is with who!!

They were coming in to the little veranda and leaving rather a few too many calling cards so we have set up a little feeding area we can watch.

They still come in and sit on the chair and shout if there is no seed there for them.

I missed a couple of my regular outings this week but caught up with my blackwork

... and Janice has shown me a rabbit hole to go down!!

I've had the pad of papers for some time with a plan to do it in Blue French Generals.  I know I can't keep up with the Stitchalong but I will start cutting as I find some time...

It's a lovely distraction

I am still knitting blocks for KOGO, but have started a little baby blanket in crochet as I do enjoy that in the evening....

Righto, Gotto Go...... time to get the evening meal cooked.... Spaghetti Bolognese with cheese on top...

Have a lovely weekend....xx

End of October.....

It really is the end of October.  eeeeeeekkkkk

We have spent a bit of time helping Grandson #2 settle in.... He has stayed in town most of this week with his cousin Widget.   He has an Ausi bank account and a job lined up for next week --- so that is a good start to his working time here.

Hubz had a itsy bitsy thing that could be a potential problem cut out his leg,  his car to be serviced, take the grandiboys out for pub supper, blah blah blah so plenty of trips to town.

I did go to sewing with Tuesday girls this week and hand stitched down the binding for this little cot quilt.  It's a panel so there was no piecing to be done,  a wide meander quilting and that's it.  I have another similar panel ready to be loaded up.  (using up what I have though no more babies are expected in my family for time being (till the next generation starts!))

I finished the first outline for my hardanger lessons.  I wasn't able to go this week but I know I need to do 2 more outlines - just waiting on some threads I ordered online to arrive....  (it will be a sampler of different stitches)

A few more squares knitted.  I will keep going with these but start a baby blanket as KOGO are calling out for baby things.  

That's my week really..... a wild storm early in the week and it feels like it is brewing another, hot and humid and summer hasn't started yet!

This next weeks goal is to get some of my 'odd blocks' and make up zippy bags, or at least have them prepared.  I will endeavour to make them correctly and not have my blocks ending up as the lining, which I have done previously. 

Righto, Gotto Go... Step one is to sort through those odd blocks....

Have a lovely weekend....xx

Third week of October

Hello there,

Well, it appears Spring has left early and summer is breaking October heat records!!!

My main sewing this week has been to continue with the embroidery on my linen dress using the Stick and Stitch.

I want to use the dress on Saturday for a Stitching Day ....

After a soak in water....

Detail on the back ....

It may have been easier to sew if I had thought of it before making up the dress but I'm pleased how it looks and the messy underneath won't be seen.

I couldn't start my hardanger lesson as I hadn't done the marking prep work required, so I did all that this week.  The Laguna fabric is too small for my eyes and I needed to get out the magnifying glass, while I had it out I did this last weeks blackwork flower....

Hardanger Lesson 1 will be today at club.

Too hot to think of a crochet blanket on my lap so I have started knitting 20cm blocks for KOGO.

I got this blocking frame recently and am using it to make sure my blocks are the right size so they can be easily sewn together......

Managed the 3 blocks so far.  The yarn is fun.   I have a few odd balls so I will make them up and add some plain ones to bring it all together....

A bit of charity quilting was done and general trying to sort out stuff in my sewing room.  I seem to have an awfully long list of things waiting for attention.

  Our grandson is finally in the air on the way here (last month his flight was cancelled due to a cyber attack at Heathrow)  Been a bit of delay getting his new flight organised.  He'll be with us tomorrow.

Righto, Gotto Go.... need to get the day going.... have a lovely weekend...xx