Unique Cottage Studios

Did you have a good day today?  We had a glorious summer's day here in Lincolnshire and I spent a very pleasant leisurely day at a local craft studios that were having a Sheep Day.  Unique Cottage Studios are in converted farm buildings on the outskirts of Spalding in Lincolnshire and the day was full of all things sheep.  There were demonstrations of felting, spinning, weaving and dyeing and you could try your hand at all these crafts.  In addition a stained glass studio was open for you to make your own sheep in stained glass.  

The day was well attended and the weaving/spinning/felting tent kept busy as did the girls from Expedition Quilt Art group who were demonstrating dyeing wool with acid dyes.  Unfortunately I was so busy talking to  Angela, Tina and Trudi that I forgot to take any photos!  I also didn't manage to photograph Wendy  who very kindly took me in her lovely air-conditioned car and who has blogged about the day too.

 

Obviously, the stars of the day were the sheep, some of whom suffered the indignity of being shorn.  I don't know which breed this handsome specimen is but she has a lovely face.  Some of the fleeces were brought straight across to the dyeing shed for display:

I couldn't help but laugh at the poor fleece above whose origins were unknown.

Memories of the original farmyard were still around in the shape of this gorgeous cockerel.  I absolutley love the cockerel's head!

So, can you guess what this is?  My DH had 6 or 7 goes and still couldn't get it.  It was the sun shining through a beautiful plum coloured dish onto the concrete below.  Amazing what you notice when you're sitting in the sun chatting.

The bonus of going to the Sheep Day is that I am hopefully going to have a go at stained glass and Wendy and I are going to start going to the monthly textile group that meets at the studios.  It consists of spinners, weavers, embroiderers, dyers and quilters, not to mention art quilters so there will be a great chance to exchange ideas and inspiration.  I can't wait!

Have a lovely Sunday whatever you are doing and whatever the weather in your part of the world.

Sunshine and Foundation Garments!

At last we've had some sunshine and a bit of warmth!  Yesterday I was having a wander in our back garden and thought I would share with you the glory that is our Clematis Montana this year.

This plant is a bit of a thug but I have to forgive it when it gives this lovely display in the Spring.

 

I shall have to have a play in Photoshop.

Isn't it nice, too, to live near a blogging friend?  Wendy and I spent a very enjoyable few hours together today visiting The Hub to see its present exhibitions.  We first viewed 'Visual Thinking' staged by the Textile Study Group in collaboration with The Hub.  I can't bring you any photographs unfortunately as I forgot to obtain permission.  This exhibition was interesting and thought provoking but the exhibition we enjoyed most was 'Undercover' which traces the evolution of underwear.

'Undercover' was a fascinating and hugely enjoyable exhibition and the Gallery allowed us to take photographs for the blog.  The exhibition is ongoing until 4 July and is well worth a visit if you are within reach of Sleaford (Lincolnshire).  

These pink confections are by Miss Katie and their accompanying notes are below.

As is this waspish-waisted green corset.

These stunning robes are a Zandra Rhodes creation; you'd never guess!

These garments on the right above were inspired by a 20 metre length of pom pom trim found in an old curtain trimmings shop and the whole thing was designed around the pom poms.  The pom poms date from 1870 and the fabrics used were taffeta and cotton Nottingham lace.

The exhibition is beautifully staged and as it is a touring exhibition you may have chance to visit it near to you or at the Fashion and Textile Museum.  We marvelled at the materials that had been used in some for these garments and at how uncomfortable some of them must have been to wear.  Equally we laughed out loud at some of the things on display that we had been obliged to wear in our youth!  It's quite sobering to see things you have worn, in a historical exhibition! 

Back from the brink!

 

Not really, but it sounds good! ;o)) lol

Now that we’re back I don’t know where to start so I’ll just burble on for a few minutes till inspiration strikes.  Talking of inspiration, I’ve had a terrible shock today!  The postman brought the Entry Form for the Festival of Quilts so decision time, otherwise known as ‘crunch time’ is here.  The Powers That Be want the form back immediately or by 28 of this month and it has to have the actual dimensions of my entry on it.  Bit tricky that, seeing as I haven’t yet made it and it is currently a pile of fabric on my work table.  Hmmm, serious thinking is required as to whether I am actually going to enter after all this year.  Anyone got a magic wand? I need the next 2 weeks to be 2 months long!

So, where have I been over the last 3 weeks?  I would like to say that I have been feverishly beavering away on many textile creations that I can’t wait to show you but that is far from the truth.  Here’s a clue

We’ve had a little holiday, well, a big one actually.  Hubby treated us to a Mediterranean cruise on the P & O ship Ventura. 

We had a musical send off,

and this wonderful family were having a great party wishing their Grandma a happy holiday!

We had to dress up a bit from time to time (doesn’t DH scrub up well?).  And we enjoyed some great entertainment in the large theatre.

All of these photos are my DH’s as I haven’t been able to load mine up yet.  DH took over 1000 photos and is slowly loading his on the computer so I am waiting to use the special card reader that we have to use.  We visited Gibraltar, Spain, Italy (including Elba which we loved) and France and had some beautiful warm sunshine as well as rubbish rain in Florence and Barcelona.  I’ll bring you some photos as soon as I get them sorted.

Today, DH and I have been to nearby Lincoln for a new experience.  Ever since I was small (even smaller than I am today!) I have always wanted to go to a ballet and have never managed it.  Until today.   We went to the Theatre Royal which is a fantastic Victorian theatre still in its original glory.

 

(I think there may have been a few spectres in my photo!  Either that or dust in the air!)

We had a wonderful couple of hours in the magical land of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker and it was a joy!  It was wonderful to hear well known music and see it set to dance.

I was surprised that my DH agreed to come with me but he really enjoyed it too!  We made the day complete with lunch on the river before we went to the theatre.

The swans were very busy and energetic in the Spring sunshine and there were some inspiring reflections on the water.

As I implied at the beginning of this long post I haven’t made much creative progress lately and have only managed to make a tentative start on my Festival of Quilts entry.  As well as catching up after the holiday my elderly friend who will be 99 years old next month was rushed into hospital on Sunday so we are back to hospital visiting which all takes time.  She is comfortable and they know what is wrong but we are not sure how much her life is going to be affected by her condition.  I think it may be a bit of a long haul to get her settled back home.  Fortunately my Mum is back in her own home and slowly getting back to her normal routine.  Long may that continue!

You’ll have to excuse me if I’m a bit quiet again for a few days.  Life is keeping me busy and I really would like to get my quilt made before I have to send the entry form off.  See you soon!

Thank you’s and Springtime.

You may remember that this time last year we played host to a little bear that had come all the way from South Haven Kansas and a few days ago we had a lovely package from the children in the class who had followed Dorothy’s progress on her travels.  We’ve enjoyed ready the children’s ‘thank you’ letters and there is plenty of information about Kansa for us to have a look at too.

It was such a beautiful day on Wednesday that I decided I would get myself away from the computer and have a walk into town.  I have been putting more and more weight on recently (signs of advancing years methinks!) and I really should get more exercise so a lovely sunny Spring day seemed the perfect time to start!   It was also the perfect time to give my new camera a try out.

Every year at this time we pass this stunning magnolia on the road into town and I have always intended to get some photographs of it.

This shot is looking back at the plant  from the town side.  Isn’t it spectacular?  I would love to have one of these magnificent plants in my garden, if only it was big enough (our garden, that is, the plant is plenty big enough!).

You can click on these images to enlarge them but one or two of them may be rather large.  I would really love to incorporate these wonderful blooms into a work of art some day.

On the subject of Spring I had a little wander round our garden today too,

Another brief visitor to the garden in April, the beautiful and delicate Anemone Blanda.

Another favourite, cowslips.

This tulip is a large image too.  It’s not a perfect composition but I am pleased with the way the camera has captured the image without a tripod (cos I was too lazy to go and set one up!).

And finally, I saw this little lady a couple of weeks ago nesting in a planter outside a pub in Sleaford.  She was enjoying a little piped music and would probably be joined by the odd smoker or two over the course of the day.  I wonder if her brood has hatched yet?

I am going to be missing for a while so don’t worry about me (lovely friends that you all are).  I’m just having a break and will soon be back wittering on as ever.  Mum is making good progress now and is getting much stronger.   My brother is doing a great job of encouraging her along so hopefully we can relax again.  She is going to meet her great-grandson on Sunday so I’m hoping for some photos of the four generations. 

Back soon!  :o)) XxXx

PS Did I say?  Our friends got back home yesterday morning.  As my friend’s back was causing her problems I think they were prioritised by the airline once the air space was opened.  I think they were quite lucky to get back so quickly.  I hope everyone else’s family and friends have all got back safely.

 

April Journal Quilt

I have had two attempts at my Contemporary Quilt Group Journal Quilt for April.  The first attempt was actually my crinkle quilt cut to size with some further stitching added but I really wasn't satisfied with it so yesterday I set to and started again.

I have called this 'Waves'.  Not very original but sometimes titles escape me. 

I made the quilt using the method given in Karen Eckmeier's book 'Layered Waves' and it went together fairly easily.

I cut and pieced the curves using the same method I used for the December Journal Quilt last year which I blogged about here.  I started by piecing various fabrics together until I had a piece of fabric larger than my finished piece would be.  I then cut through the fabric to make strips of varying widths (remembering to take account of seam allowances).  Sorry, I didn't take a photograph of the cut strips.

The next step was to arrange the strips into a design that pleased me.  I flipped some of the strips so that they were 'upside down' as I felt this improved the composition and adjusted the strips up and down so that I felt the balance was right.

The next step was to 'quilt as you go'.  Each strip was laid down onto the quilt batting and the next piece stitched to it.  The top piece is then flipped over flat and the next piece added.

I used a piece of my hand-dyed fabric for the backing and some batik for the binding.  The fabrics used in the quilt were my own hand-dyed fabrics, sun-dyed and some commercial fabrics.

Sunny day

Yesterday DH and I took advantage of a beautiful sunny day to have a ride out with a view to taking time to check out my new camera.  We ended up at Naturescape, a wildflower farm near Nottingham which we visited at a similar time last year. 

Probably because of the cold winter Spring is a little bit behind and the cowslips were only just beginning to come out but primroses near the cafe were giving a lovely display.

I think this is hawthorn (or it may be wild plum).  I took the photo on Macro Zoom but unfortunately the image is grainy so I shall have to experiment more.  Maybe a tripod would be better.

DH spent quite a while trying to spot a robin singing high in a tree.

He also threw himself wholeheartedly into getting the shot he wanted (and nearly fell in a pond in the process!).

On the way home we stopped off to have a look at some very sweet lambs.

The noticeboard at Naturescape showed that someone had seen a swallow recently but we couldn’t spot any, although we did have the pleasure of watching a Red Kite rising on thermals above the field of sheep. 

My nephew (the one who’s just become a Daddy) has just set up a website showcasing his photography so if you’ve got a minute and are interested in photography have a look here.  I know I’m biased but he has some beautiful photographs.

Have any of you been affected by the Iceland ash cloud?  Two of our friends are stranded in Singapore trying to get home from a holiday in New Zealand.  I feel very sorry for them as G is struggling with severe back pain and they are both tired after their special holiday which involved a lot of travelling so they just want to come home, but there doesn’t seem to be any chance of that for the moment.  I must admit it’s very strange not to see any vapour trails in the sky.  I have heard a few light aircraft flying over from time to time but that’s all. 

Thank You and a Little Shopping

Blogging has been far from my mind recently, as you might expect,  and I haven’t had time for much creativity apart from a little hand sewing.  With so little to say I don’t even know where to start!  Daft, isn’t it?

I should start by saying ‘Thank you’ to everyone who has left messages here or sent me emails offering good wishes for my Mum’s good health.  Mum has been making very slow progress since we brought her home from the hospital but hopefully she is going in the right direction.  Her strength is not returning as fast as she would like but I’m sure it will soon.

Yesterday I took Mum across to my brother’s for him to take over her convalescence for a while.   He lives in a pretty village near Lincoln so hopefully Mum will be able to enjoy some little strolls before too long.

On the way back home I took the opportunity to stop off at Ruskington as I knew there was a patchwork shop there that I haven’t had chance to visit before.  I had a lovely chat with the young lady who runs it with her Mum and naturally could not resist a small purchase or two.

These gorgeous inspiring buttons are about an inch and a half across and each one could provide the starting point for  a piece of work.   The colours are even richer than this photo shows.  They would look great as a closure on a notebook or bag.

I also got tempted by a beautiful panel,

The fabric is designed by Barb Tourtillote.  I’ve pinched the photograph from Clothworks website as I forgot to photograph my panel today so I’ll try and remember to take some closer shots tomorrow.  Isn’t it gorgeous?  It just spoke to me across the shop - what could I do? ;o)  Of course, I don’t have a clue what I am going to do with it, just enjoy it for the time being!

While I was in the shopping mood I popped into a hospice shop in the village and found a bargain pair of curtains (£2.99!) that are going to get dyed and repurposed.

The colour’s all wrong as the fabric is a light cream medium weight cotton and this patterning is only revealed when you hold it up to the light.  I’m thinking it’s probably got a polyester content in it so it will be interesting to see what happens when I dye it.  Each curtain is 32” x 54” so I’ve got enough for some quilt backings if nothing else.

This was the beautiful centre of Ruskington village yesterday.  The stream flows right along the Main Street and they’ve put these lovely benches for people to sit and have a chat or watch the ducks.  It was lovely sitting there in the sunshine for a few minutes.

I still haven’t finished my April Journal Quilt yet so that is going to be my priority over the next day or two.  I had adapted (cut up) my crinkle quilt and have been stitching that but I don’t feel satisfied in using it for the Journal Quilt so I am hoping to go back to the curved piecing and make a trial run for my Festival Of Quilts entry as my April quilt.  Once I get started it shouldn’t take too long.

Thank you again for all your lovely messages of support.  Have a great weekend!