Voila!

It's finished!  I can't tell you how proud I am to have actually made a patchwork quilt  - albeit a small lap quilt - I knew I must be able to do it but somehow I also knew I couldn't!

It certainly wouldn't win any prizes but it was made, as it says on the label, "With Love" and it's backed with soft fleece for a cosy cuddle which I am hoping will go some way towards keeping my wanderer warm on her return from sunnier climes!. (the photo makes the fleece look grey but it is a soft pale chocolate colour in reality!)

In the end I quilted it by knotting ties having attempted to stitch by hand "in the ditch",  I also tried hand stitching a quarter of an inch inside alternate squares but I could see it would take me far too long.  I toyed with the idea of sewing a small button on each corner of the squares but it might not have been so cuddly with little hard buttons all over it so I unpicked the stitching and resorted to ties - not sure I like the effect but it does the job and having done each with a surgeons' knot I am hopeful it won't all come undone! My fingers are sore from so much stitching - it was quite hard getting six strands of embroidery thread through the joins - and although I tried wearing a thimble I found that more trouble than it was worth.  I don't think I will be going in for patchwork in a big way though and think I was right and it isn't my metier!! And I am hoping she won't request a double bed sized one as if so I'll have to say "No way!"

Having resolved to use up some of my stash of fabrics and being pleased to have made the quilt and used up some of the fabrics I had I met up with some friends on Thursday for another day of scrapbooking and they passed on to me a bag of fabrics!  I will certainly be able to make good use of them but it doesn't reduce my stash any!!

I think we must live in a micro climate here as having had a bitterly cold but dry few days we had some snow yesterday afternoon which had turned to rain as we went to bed.  This morning we woke to birdsong and sunshine and not a snowflake nor an ice crystal to be seen.  I got some washing out - wouldn't have been able to stand out there long enough without gloves yesterday and it would have frozen rather than dried of course - the sun was quite warm on my back as I pegged it up and this afternoon I have fetched most of it in dry and it's now ironed and in the airing cupboard.  Meanwhile I hear that flights from Heathrow have been cancelled and there are warnings of icy conditions on the roads and pictures of children sledging elsewhere but here the temperature is 10 degrees higher than on Friday and stands at a positively balmy 5 degrees!  I am not complaining though.

In the market at Sherborne yesterday I bought a few snowdrops in the green but wondered how I would be able to plant them as the ground was so frozen and left them in our unheated conservatory overnight - needn't have worried - they are snugly tucked in here and there in the garden where I notice their cousins are already poking through along with some primroses.

Thank you for all your kind comments on my previous post - every one much appreciated.

Looking up!

 Where does the time go - it's been almost two weeks since my last post!

Whilst I have been away from blogging I have been out and about - firstly I had a day out with a friend here last week.

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The sun caught the windows on the west front of Salisbury Cathedral turning them to gold although that doesn't really show up in my photo.

 As we wandered round I looked up and my eye caught these little gems - aren't they fabulous?

And the detail in the carving on the columns too.

This is the roof of the almshouse in the Cathedral Close isn't it beautiful?

Yesterday we went up to London to meet up with some friends over from France and though the wind was very cold we were lucky to have a bright and dry day - apart from one very brief shower in the afternoon.

Flower stall outside the Underground where we met.

London has some amazing architecture if one looks up though you do need to keep an eye on the pavement in front too as with the numerous works taking place - maybe in readiness for the Olympics? - you could easily break your neck!

This is the church of Notre Dame de France near Leicester Square which another friend had suggested might be of interest to our French friends whom we were meeting.  I hadn't known it existed before and it was a real oasis of peace and quiet inside after the noise of the city.

 The Church was built originally as a panoramic playhouse which explains it's unusual round design and became the French Catholic Church in London in 1865 but was bombed out in 1940 and almost entirely rebuilt in 1955 when the artist Jean Cocteau was commissioned to decorate the Chapelle de Saint Sacrement - his work is a depiction of the annunciation - see  here

But what really struck me was the beautiful tapestry above the altar which reminded me of the tapestries I saw when I visited an exhibition of work by Dom Robert in Aubusson with the ladies of the patchwork group I belonged to in France.  It turns out that this tapestry is in fact one of Dom Roberts works too.  I was allowed to take a photo but as it didn't come out too well in the dim lighting I bought this postcard instead.

After lunch in what turned out to be a not very wonderful pub - we did though have time to sit and chat with our friends - even if the food wasn't that brilliant - we decided to go to the National Gallery -  looking up I noticed this wonderful rainbow just after the short shower we had.

Situated alongside one side of Trafalgar Square

With St Martins in the Field almost next door it was a stunning building.

I hadn't ever visited it before and being the art philistine that I am wasn't expecting to enjoy a visit here that much, it being our friends who suggested it.  Well never mind the paintings - I was blown away by the building itself - sadly no photos were allowed and I didn't get time to see if there were any postcards showing the details in the shop before we left. Am I the only person who could visit this gallery and see some of the most wonderful art work in the world and be struck not by the paintings but by the beautiful mosaics on the floor, the wonderful gold and coloured painted columns and ceilings, the fabulous fabic wall coverings the glass, the ....?!!  Oh and the perfume of two enormous vases of lilies in the front entrance.  I did so wish I had been able to take some photos as nowhere on the web have I found any images to show you what I mean.  You must go and visit for yourselves.  One series of paintings did take my fancy though and that was the Mariage a la Mode paintings by Hogarth  done in the mid 1700s and which tell a story of a marriage and its problems when the wife takes a lover and were full of amusing details.  My French friend and I agreed it was a sort of 18th century bande dessinee - a genre popular in France and which we might call comic or graphic novels perhaps.

Just look at that sky!  See it isn't always raining in England after all!  We left our friends as dusk was falling and made our way back to Hammersmith for the bus home as always wishing we had had longer and planning to go again soon.

Earlier in the week I had received a package from Louise - we had agreed to exchange magazines and this was what was in my pretty jiffy bag.  It is a lovely magazine filled with ideas I will want to have a go at....

...and along with my magazine she had sent the lovely little red quilt shown in the photo above  and which hangs well with the navy one which came from America too at Christmas time.

Louise had suggested it might go in the back of my cupboard!  Not at all - it is lovely and it hangs on the side of my cupboard Louise and will be enjoyed by all.  Many thanks.

I am also looking up this week because I finally got the results of my retinal scan done back in November and it is all normal.  The problem has more or less resolved itself and it seems it was nothing to worry about though my glasses seem to have been underprescribed - I mention no names but it seems going to the cheaper chains is not to be recommended!   I will now need new glasses but have otherwise been discharged.  Thanks for your concern.

For those of you who commented on the fingerless mitts and shawl on my last post I have posted the patterns on a separate page which you can access by clicking on Patterns in the section headed Extra Pages at the top right side bar.

She's gone!

 Who's gone?  My muse that's who.  I can't think of anything to say lately - can you imagine me not having anything to say?  Well neither can I but it's true!

 I think blogging is something you need to do regularly otherwise you lose the inclination.  However all is not lost and in the time I have saved by not being on the computer all the time I have been busy making things.  This little dear is for a friend's little girl for when her new baby brother or sister arrives.  I'm afraid her hairstyle is a bit like mine as the pattern (from an old Woman's Weekly) says "cut strands of yarn and stitch to doll's head" but it doesn't say how!! 

The cushion above on the left is one I made earlier and have in my guest room so when a friend admired it I decided to make one for her too - not quite the same but then each piece is unique!

 I've made 3 pairs of these in different yarns and given two away and kept this one for myself as I find them so useful and the pair I already had are getting tatty.

A mohair shawl with a corsage.  Using up some yarn given to me by a friend.

And finally my proudest achievement the beginning of a little lap quilt!  Spurred on by the news that my wanderer is to return within weeks instead of months and she will feel the cold after 2 years travelling in Australia.  Made using up fabric I already had - see I CAN do it!!  However now comes the difficult part the wadding, backing and finally the quilting .  I'll let you know how I get on!

Postscript added 16/1/12 - Spent yesterday afternoon quietly cutting up oranges whilst listening to Classic Fm to make marmalade and now have 9 pots of Seville orange marmalade to add to my "makes"!

New Year - Fresh start?

 

Do you make resolutions at New Year?  I decided not to this year as I don't remember what I've resolved and even when I do I don't manage to keep them which brings a sense of failure.  Why is it only at New Year that we feel we can attempt to do all those things we always meant to do I wonder?  Surely each day is a new start and brings the chance to begin again if we so wish?  So my resolution - if I made one - would be to take each day as a wondrous opportunity to start again and not feel that once I have got to 2nd or 3rd January and failed then I must wait until the following New Year!

  

I have just read on Simone's blog Linden Grove that she is having a word for this year and hers is to be "create" - a word - now that sounds like something I could handle.  On second thoughts maybe I could have a new word each month so it didn't get boring.  Let's think what shall it be for January?  Hopefulness seems to fit the bill I think    What word would you choose I wonder?
 

We had some crackers at Christmas and as well as the usual hats, silly jokes and riddles each one had a topic for conversation and one of these was "If you had one day left to live how would you like to spend it?"  Although there were only 3 of us round the table this one provoked some very different responses.  My sister-in-law said she'd have a huge party, my husband said he'd do as he always does and I wanted to go for a long walk in my beloved countryside and then catch up with all my friends for a chat on the telephone.  I wonder what this says about our various personalities?  What would you do?

The photos were all taken recently - now if that isn't hopeful I don't know what is!!   Wishing you all best wishes for 2012 .

Christmas Greetings

I have just been for a short walk along a road near here to take these photos - these early daffodils seemed to me to epitomise the hope which Christmas brings.

The sun was shining and although it was chilly I enjoyed these few moments on my own.

Happiness comes in many forms and for me this was one of them - on my own, in a place which I love, noticing Nature at work evein alongside a busy road!

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I had earlier been listening to carols on Classic Fm and the last few lines of this one resonated with me which is why I wish you all Peace as well as happiness and hope this Christmas.  See you in the New Year!

And man, at war with man, hears not

The love-song which they bring;

Oh hush the noise, ye men of strife,

And hear the angels sing.

Counting down the days!

I'm counting the days - only 7 left to go.  No that is not a typing error I mean Thursday 22nd December.  Why?  I hear you ask.  Well that will be the Winter Equinox this year - the shortest day and longest night of the year.  After that the days will begin to lengthen and the mornings and evenings to become lighter.  Now that is something worth celebrating!  The above photo was taken this morning at 8.00 am - how thankful I am that I no longer have to leave the house to go to work at that time.

Same view at 4.00 pm today!

Winter Solstice is  a largely forgotten celebration coming as Christmas preparations are taking place, which all too often focus is on the commercial aspect of the festival.  The Solstice is however, the complete antithesis of the commercialised Christmas celebrations. Also known as ‘Yule’, the Solstice is generally celebrated on the 21st of December, (although the astronomical date changes from year to year – this year the actual Solstice takes place on the 22nd). It is the traditional time to celebrate the truly important things in life:  family,  children, home and looking forward to a good year to come. Surely this can tie in nicely with the Christian celebration which after all takes many of  its traditions from the pagan festival.  Yule is a time that honours love and new birth, as well as the collective unity of man. Just as Christmas celebrates the birth of Christ, Yule celebrates the birth of the Sun God - child of the Goddess in the Pagan belief system. It is however primarily the celebration of the rebirth of the Sun and I can't see why, whatever your religious persuasion, this cannot be a time for celebration especially for us living in the northern hemisphere where the lack of sunlight at this time of year is so depressing.  It seems to me that religion is not a one size fits all sort of thing and I don't see why we shouldn't pick and mix taking those aspects of other religions which appeal to us as individuals and incorporating them with our own religious beliefs.  I am sure there will be some who throw up their hands in horror at my suggestion but I am going to celebrate the shortest day and Christmas!!

Thank you all for you kind comments on previous posts - all much appreciated.  I now have an appointment for 25th January when I will discover the results of my scan.

Me again!

Once again I must begin by thanking you all for your kind thoughts and comments - all much appreciated.

I had my scan done on Wednesday but needless to say no results were given and I now have to wait to see the opthalmologist at the hospital in Yeovil again for her to tell me what if anything has been found and who knows when that might be.  I am glad to say that the problem is not as bad as it was and most days I am OK now.  I am also glad to say my virus has pretty much gone now and I am feeling like my usual self and not so tired or depressed.  End of health bulletin!!

I have been lurking round blogland occasionally and reading a post here and there but I have realised just how much time I had been giving to blogging and am resolved to cut back on both posting and reading and commenting. According to Blogger I follow over 100 blogs and I have 169 followers - now in real life I wouldn't/couldn't correspond regularly with that number of people and so I think I must reduce it all a bit otherwise nothing else gets done. 

I haven't been taking many photographs lately and have nothing exciting to show you but these are from a walk I did with a friend on 18 November. It was the first real walk I had done since the start of my cold 4 weeks earlier and boy was I glad when we reached the pub where we had left our cars and we went inside for a pub lunch and a nice sit down!  Those sheep in photo 2 saw my friend opening the map and I think they thought it might be a feed bag as they made a bee line for us only to be disappointed when they discovered we had nothing to eat!