Back in England again after a wonderful 6 weeks in Spain. I delivered the cot quilt to my Client who was delighted. The little girl in question is very sweet and so Vanessa tells me is an extremely good baby.
When we got out there the weather was in the low 30s which was a bit too hot for me so I had the excuse to stay indoors and make a couple more Advent Calendars. I also made bumpers for two very low beams in our house and I have dressed the doll I made at a day workshop earlier in the year. That is going out to my Granddaughter in Seattle I am afraid.
Not long now until 1st December so get your orders in to me as soon as you can in order that I can make sure everyone has the calendar they want.
Look forward to hearing from you.
Saturday, 27 October 2012
Tuesday, 4 September 2012
GETTING THERE - SLOWLY
I've started packing for my trip to deliver the cot quilt. I'm going by car so can take my sewing machine, fabric and sewing box. Heaven.
I shall continue to make calendars and quilts to order so, if you would like one, get your order in soon so that I can get it to you before Christmas.
You will notice that I haven't mentioned clothes. If there is room I shall take some, can't quilt in the nude you know.;-)
I shall continue to make calendars and quilts to order so, if you would like one, get your order in soon so that I can get it to you before Christmas.
You will notice that I haven't mentioned clothes. If there is room I shall take some, can't quilt in the nude you know.;-)
Friday, 31 August 2012
A QUILT FOR SPAIN
I have finished the quilt I am making for a client in Spain.
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This is a detail of the quilting on this little pink and white cot quilt.
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This is a detail of the quilting on this little pink and white cot quilt.
Thursday, 30 August 2012
GETTING READY FOR THE FAMILY
No more quilting for a bit. I had to pack away my sewing room this afternoon to make way for our little family arriving on Saturday. Hubby put the cot up amidst much puffing and blowing but it is done now and tomorrow I will make up the bed in the study for our 5 year old Grandson.
The family arrive on Saturday for a night so a lot of upheaval for a short stay but worth it just to see them all.
I feel quite bereft without my sewing machine upstairs. I gave it a really good clean and oiled it before I put it away so it will be raring to go when I get it out again next week.
The family arrive on Saturday for a night so a lot of upheaval for a short stay but worth it just to see them all.
I feel quite bereft without my sewing machine upstairs. I gave it a really good clean and oiled it before I put it away so it will be raring to go when I get it out again next week.
Sunday, 26 August 2012
NEARLY DONE AND IN THE SUN
After Church this morning and preparing lunch I took myself off to my sewing room and finished the quilting on the cot quilt.
I'm really pleased with the result. Spent this evening tying off and darning in all the ends. Loose ends will work their way out when the quilt is washed so I make sure all ends are notted and then darned into the wadding layer.
The weather has been better today and I managed to get two loads of laundry dry outside. I don't usually approve of hanging washing out on a Sunday but the weather has been so bad lately that I made an exception today and was rewarded with a basket full of lovely soft, dry washing.
It's a Bank Holiday tomorrow so life will be quiet here. We never venture out on Bank Holidays as the traffice is usually so bad. This weekend is usually the worst as it is the last Bank Holiday before the schools go back in September, and, indeed, the last Bank Holiday we get now until Christmas.
Saying that it will be quiet tomorrow, I hae invited a recently widowed friend for lunch. Think I'll do Pork Medallions with Mustard, Wine and Orange Juice with a Plum Crumble for desert. The main course is from my lovely 1080 Recipes book which has been transalted into English from the original Spanish and which contains some very tasty recipes.
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Thought this photo of a meal made from my 1080 Recipes book would make a change from another photo of a quilt.
Saturday, 25 August 2012
KELMSCOTT MANOR
Kelmscott Manor is situated on the Oxfordshire/Gloucestershire border. Willliam Morris the textile, furniture and ceramics designer lived here from 1871 until his death in 1896.
It is now owned by the Society of Antiquaries of London who restored it in the 1960s when they took it over from Oxford University.
Morris's daughter May lived in the house until her death in 1938 when it passed to Oxford University under the instructions in her will. This proved to be a bit of a millstone for the University so they were relieved when a court judgement allowed them to pass it over to the Society of Antiquaries of London.
The house itself is situated in a very quiet lane and is surrounded by a lovely but simple garden.
Full of Morris's designs and samples of his cloth, furniture and ceramics the house makes a clean and light museum on three floors. The attic is reached by a most unusual staircase. Originally the steps would have been very steep but someone devised the idea of a split staircase where each stair is divided into two and staggered so that each stair is only half as steep thus making mounting it very easy for even the most infirm visitor.
We found the whole experience a delight. The docents were pleasant and polite and very knowledgable on their subjects which made for an even more intresting visit.
There is a restaurant but there is also a pub in the village, The Plough at Kelmscott, both serving delicious and reasonably priced food.
The only thing which could have been a problem was that the car park is a very pleasant 10 minute walk from the house, although there is a drop off point for disabled and infirm visitors at the house itself.
It is now owned by the Society of Antiquaries of London who restored it in the 1960s when they took it over from Oxford University.
Morris's daughter May lived in the house until her death in 1938 when it passed to Oxford University under the instructions in her will. This proved to be a bit of a millstone for the University so they were relieved when a court judgement allowed them to pass it over to the Society of Antiquaries of London.
The house itself is situated in a very quiet lane and is surrounded by a lovely but simple garden.
Full of Morris's designs and samples of his cloth, furniture and ceramics the house makes a clean and light museum on three floors. The attic is reached by a most unusual staircase. Originally the steps would have been very steep but someone devised the idea of a split staircase where each stair is divided into two and staggered so that each stair is only half as steep thus making mounting it very easy for even the most infirm visitor.
We found the whole experience a delight. The docents were pleasant and polite and very knowledgable on their subjects which made for an even more intresting visit.
There is a restaurant but there is also a pub in the village, The Plough at Kelmscott, both serving delicious and reasonably priced food.
The only thing which could have been a problem was that the car park is a very pleasant 10 minute walk from the house, although there is a drop off point for disabled and infirm visitors at the house itself.
Friday, 24 August 2012
GETTING TO THE GOOD BIT
The cot quilt that I am making for a customer in Spain is all ready to be sandwiched and quilted.
This is the stage when I have to make the decision about whether to hand quilt or machine quilt. All my quilts are hand finished.
Machine quilting gives much more strength to an item and is quicker but hand quilting is very restful and pleasant to do sitting under the apple tree on a fine, sunny day in my lovely country garden.
Talking of gardens we picked 1kg of each of Runner and French beans today. So that's another job, processing them all to put into the freezer to make sure we have a supply of lovely green vegetables during the winter.
I love the Autumn, or at least the late Summer, when all the products of our hard labour earlier in the year comes to fruition and we can process it and put it away for the Winter.
We have had hard Winters for the past few years, indeed, in February, 2010, the snow flakes were so large they looked like prawn crackers coming out of the sky. That was a memorable night when my neighbour rang me to say we had fireworks outside. I looked out of my cottage door and, yes, we had. The weight of the snow had brought down our main electricity cable with much spectactular sparking and banging.
Our local Electricity company were wonderful and worked all night to get our power on by the next morning.
I love working by candle light so it was no hardship to me; we just stoked up the woodburner and stayed cosy all night.
This is the stage when I have to make the decision about whether to hand quilt or machine quilt. All my quilts are hand finished.
Machine quilting gives much more strength to an item and is quicker but hand quilting is very restful and pleasant to do sitting under the apple tree on a fine, sunny day in my lovely country garden.
Talking of gardens we picked 1kg of each of Runner and French beans today. So that's another job, processing them all to put into the freezer to make sure we have a supply of lovely green vegetables during the winter.
I love the Autumn, or at least the late Summer, when all the products of our hard labour earlier in the year comes to fruition and we can process it and put it away for the Winter.
We have had hard Winters for the past few years, indeed, in February, 2010, the snow flakes were so large they looked like prawn crackers coming out of the sky. That was a memorable night when my neighbour rang me to say we had fireworks outside. I looked out of my cottage door and, yes, we had. The weight of the snow had brought down our main electricity cable with much spectactular sparking and banging.
Our local Electricity company were wonderful and worked all night to get our power on by the next morning.
I love working by candle light so it was no hardship to me; we just stoked up the woodburner and stayed cosy all night.
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