Pensioner in Purple Patent Platforms!

Have been out with friends again today - we met up in Salisbury. Not such a cultural visit this time as we wandered round the shops looking at this and that and this afternoon we ended up in TKMax . I found this fabulous pair of shoes and in my size too and just had to try them on. I needed a ladder to get up onto them and a steadying hand to get down again afterwards! But aren't they fabulous?!

Laugh? We just had to take a photo of me in the shoes - good job the fire alarm didn't go though as I doubt I could have walked let alone run in them. I didn't buy them of course but thought what fun it would be to get a red coat and carry my new felt bag and be a dotty old woman who everyone would point at (maybe they do now but if so it's not because I am wearing purple patent platforms!)

Pink Post

Here is my last Pink Post for Thursday - to remind us all about Breast Cancer Research These are some pink felt flowers made by Lynette of Felt Rush whose felt making workshop I attended yesterday.

I had seen some of Lynette's work displayed in a cafe in town and admired these lovely flowers and wanted to find out how to make them but sadly the Flower making workshop was full so I did a handbag class instead - yes I know I have more than enough handbags already but it was a fun day out and I can now use the techniques I learned to make something else. A tea cosy perhaps?! Or maybe I could just upend my bag as a tea cosy?

Here are some pictures of Lynette's work.

A lovely wall hanging showing felted pansies

here is a close up of the pansies

"Bag ladies" you'd love these!

The following ones are of my effort - not yet up to the same standard of course but I was happy with it!

The inside has a pattern felted in too - see?

So when you see a lady with a green bag with orange handles in the supermarket it might be me!

A delicious lunch was provided, the other students were friendly and the atmosphere convivial. If anyone lives near enough to get to Yeovil for a workshop I can recommend them - I will want to go again I'm sure. Do check out the website at http://feltrush.com/#/workshops-2/4531203369 for more pictures of the work and details of workshops.

Home again!

Hello! I am back at my post again after a lovely couple of days away. I did enjoy my visit with my friend and hope we shan't leave it so long next time before we catch up!

Just a quick post as am busy playing catch up today. Do you remember me showing you a ball of purple shaded yarn a while ago? Well I finally made my piece for the challenge and here it is - yes another bag! Louise you will understand this bag fetish I know!!


I used some of the yarn to knit and felt a couple of squares which I then used to make the flower with a small felt ball for the centre - it didn't turn out quite as I hoped but I guess it "will do"!

Yesterday evening I made another little knitted heart - didn't require much thought or inspiration to do but I was making something rather than sitting idly watching TV!

Hope to post more during the week once I get straight here. Enjoy the remainder of your weekend.

Thursday's Pink Post

I am going to stay with a friend for a couple of nights so won't be here tomorrow to post Thursday's Pink post. Hope that this will work if I set it up to post automatically for me!

This was one of the lovely hydrangeas we saw at Stourhead on Saturday - in case you'd like to see some more of them I will add them below.

Aren't they lovely - I was surprised to see so many still in bloom as ours in the garden are over now - though we did bring them from France so perhaps they are a different variety and don't care for the cooler climes here! This blue one reminded me of our time in France as they were most often blue in our area.

I'll catch up with you all on my return.

Stourhead Gardens

First of all a big thank you to all those who have visited and left me more lovely comments. I can't believe that I have been blogging now for less than 3 months and seem to have made so many blogging friends - isn't technology wonderful?!!

I think I told you that we were planning a visit to Stourhead on Saturday - so for those of you who enjoy some of our English scenery here are a few of the photos I took - couldn't believe when I got home that I had actually taken about 150!!! Don't worry I won't show you all of them!

As the weather was so lovely we set of on Saturday morning and can you believe it this was the A303 at about 10.15 on a fine Saturday morning! Now tell me we should have stayed in France since British roads are always jam packed with vehicles!!

Stourhead is a National Trust property and is an absolutely stunning garden at any time of the year but on a crisp sunny October morning it was really beautiful.

Scuffling along through the leaves...

Round every corner another lovely scene

The lake calm as a millpond and those reflections are amazing aren't they?

I don't think you need me to comment on all of the photos so I'll let you wander along by yourselves.

After our walk round the lake we had lunch in the village pub - the Spread Eagle - which was full of character and served a delicious ploughman's lunch which we chose though it was hard to decide whether to have that or the home made soup or any of the other enticing sounding choices.

After lunch we took a look round the house - no photographs allowed inside - which was interesting and which we hadn't seen before. Imagine living here and having the carriages arriving up this splendid driveway! No I don't think I would like that at all - I'd have to be in my best finery and not mucking about in my comfy stuff playing about in the garden wouldn't I?!

Then a further stroll round the upper gardens which seemed to be less well known and there were fewer visitors up here. This is the village viewed from the upper garden and the red brick building is the Spread Eagle where we had lunch.

Finally a cup of tea in the cafe and a look round the farm shop before we left having enjoyed a wonderful day. We were so glad we had gone in the morning though as by the time we left the place was heaving with visitors and it wouldn't have been nearly so enjoyable sharing it with so many others.

Hope you enjoyed your stroll round.? I will keep some of the other pictures I took for another time as you have probably had enough now!!

Lucky, lucky me!

The postman rang the bell yesterday and there were 2 for me. One was this lovely giveaway which I had won from Pippany at Pippany and the Poltisko Memoirs (If you are not familiar with Pippany's work do check out her website as she makes some really lovely things - just right for Christmas gifts for someone special or for yourself of course!)





Beautifully wrapped in soft green tissue

This is my little Hush Heart filled with lavender - a real garden scented lavender and not some horrid overpowering stuff.

A pretty label on the back

A flowered card with it

And see the dear little butterfly just about to settle on the patch of checked fabric - perhaps it's off to settle on those dinky flowers all hand embroidered there?

Thank you so very much Pippany for picking me for your giveaway.

Oh and the second letter was from the Inland Revenue informing me that I had overpaid and would be getting a refund - only £2.59 but still better than a bill - so my day was made!!!

The following are some of my creations which I found when having my sort out and which I thought you might like to see. This is a little pin cushion made using a Variety Pack from Texere Yarns and was inspired by a photo of a frosty morning I had back then.

This is another of my little crazy patchwork creations which I have framed.

And here is a fabric collage I made - not unlike the machine embroidered samples I posted yesterday is it?

And a little knitted heart

Think this is all for now - have a good weekend. We are hoping to go to Stourhead to see the autumn colour tomorrow - if the weather forecast is correct we should have a sunny clear day so it should be good. Enjoy your weekend.

Jane

Pink Post

Thursday again already eh?! Today's pink post is this little heart cushion I made to be donated to some Breast Cancer appeal my patchwork teacher suggested. It seems these little cushions are used by ladies who have undergone surgery for Breast cancer and they find them comfoy to have under their arm - I supposed it keeps the arm away from the affected breast or something.

I went to a machine embroidery day course on Tuesday at Hanson's in Sturminster Newton and produced the scraps shown here! It doesn't look much for a whole day's work does it but it took me ages to get the machine to work as it should and it is not as easy as you might think to get the lines of stitching to go where you want them to!

I did enjoy the day though and came away having learned the theory and full of ideas which I want to put into practice. I am wondering whether to incorporate some machine stitching or machine embroidered pieces into my patchwork perhaps.

This was my take on the lesson as I had wanted to see how it would work adding scraps of fabric to a background and holding them with machine embroidery. We did also learn how to do just stitchery and in fact the teacher recommended that we work from the back of our "canvas" which was quite exciting as you don't know what the front will be like until you turn it over! All very creative and fun and add to that a friendly group, a lovely lunch (home made quiche, salad, sandwiches, home made walnut cake and fresh fruit) plus copious cups of tea, coffee or whatever and it made for a most enjoyable day out. I will definitely be going to another course there!

Before I go I want to say a huge Thank You to all those of you who have left such lovely comments on mine - I seem to be getting a bit behind with responding but I really do appreciate you dropping by and leaving me a note.