Well I have had a lovely week - it was my birthday on Tuesday and I had the day off but popped into work to see them all and I had some lovely presents. Angela has put a picture on the Art and Stitch Facebook page.

I have been having trouble with the photos - they have a mind of their own - the top photo should have been the last one - but typically as it is of Gemma's quilt and it takes after Gemma it is being a stroppy teenager and insisting on being the first picture of the blog.
Gemma made this using migrating geese - hasn't she done a superb job - she spent yesterday basting it so now just has to quilt it now.

 

We had a class on Wednesday and to show the ladies the technique I started using some scraps of fabric left over from my Hugs and Kisses  quilt - and it has turned out to be a really nice wall hanging.  I have to finish embellishing it now.  So when I decide what I am going to do with the quilt the wall hanging will have to go with it.  I haven't been able to finish it as we are waiting for the turquoise fabric to come in so I can put the borders on.

I also decided that having knitted several of the Fish & Chip baby jumpers I wanted to do some sewing so took home the wall hangings that I had made and not yet embellished.  This one is all about food and drink - now I wonder why I thought of those two subjects!!!

The sandals cried out to be embellished with beads and the cup cakes look yummy enough to eat.  I am having fun doing this and shall spend some more time finishing it off.   It was a great excuse to purchase some more lovely beads and sequins from the shop.   Not that I needed much encouragement to spend money!!!

I have been attempting to move the photos around so they are together, but have failed miserably so I am leaving them where they are.   So apologies for the very large gap.

Well I just have to get on and finish some of my unfinished quilts - time is moving on and I have all these wonderful intentions but sometimes time fails me.

Well I seem to have had a productive week - which pleases me - I  have finished this little jumper and Beanie hat set that I showed you half knitted.   It is so lovely and I am now doing another one.  Istarted this  Radient Star with a class a couple of weeks ago - I had been admiring the colours of this jelly roll for weeks, ever since it came into stock and then had a dawning realisation that it would be perfect for a Radient Star - now I just have to get my background chosen and hey presto it will be well on the way to being finished. 

We had a class at Art and Stitch doing Friendship Braid and I had this lovely jelly roll at home and here it is put together - I got the borders on yesterday and plan to get my backing and wadding in the Art and Stitch sale on Monday.

 Just had to blog about a fabulous day out on Sunday.  We met with good friends at Ickworth House in Suffolk.  The story is a great one - last autumn we went to Yorkshire on a holiday with the National Trust and the scenario was that at meal times we were allocated communal tables, we seated ourselves at Table Six with  some other holiday makers and oh how lucky we were!  We had a fabulous holiday with them all - our humour was so interchangeable and since then we have kept in touch and met up - earlier this year at Angelsey Abbey.  Well Sunday we met at Ickworth, it was like we had never been apart - it was a lovely day.

Then we found The Stumpery - which is a new addition to Ickworth gardens, all the stumps are from trees felled or come down naturally on the estate, it was absolutely magical we wandered for ages and ages and just could not get over how beautiful tree roots are!!!

 These stones are apparently from the Giants Causeway in Ireland - now never having been there I
thought them a little small but Jean & Shiela had been to Ireland earlier this year and apparently these are the correct size and identical to the Irish stones so possibly the National Trust is telling the truth and they came from there!!


But honestly look at these roots how wonderful they are.   The photo below is just a very knarled tree stump but I love it.

 Look at these - honestly I had just never given the time to consider what tree roots looked like, but isn't nature wonderful

 A view of Ickworth Rotunda from The Stumpery.

Now this fungi was fascinating.

So if you ever have the time to go to Ickworth it is well worth the trip - National Trust - thank you.

Hello - here I am back again with an updated post  - first and foremost I am (because Angela said I had to!!)  putting pictures of my little Grandson on - this one is him meeting his Uncle Mark who is my youngest son - Leo needs to keep him in trim me thinks!

 A lovely photo of Mum and Leo - they are doing really well and he is putting on weight nicely and has changed in the three weeks of his little life.

 Well enough of my family - I have been busy honestly - but I do not seem to be getting anything finished at the moment.   Anyway at home I have been sitting knitting these jumpers and little beany hats for the babies in Africa - they are soo easy - although I am a slow knitter they do not take long at all.

 They are made all in one piece and could not be simpler.  Easy to do whilst watching the television.

Well I bought this pattern for a table runner absolutely ages ago and so last Sunday I thought to myself I

am going to have a go and get started, this is now it in its partially finished state, needs to be wadded, backed and quilted - say it quickly and it doesn't sound much!

 Right here is something I have finished and I am really really chuffed with myself and pleased with the finished effect.   it has taken hours of stitching and hundreds of beads - but I enjoyed every minute of doing it.

Now this one will probably suprise you all - I am a convential person and always tease Angela as she is so Arty Farty - also extremely clever and does some wonderful Arty Farty bits.  Well yesterday she was teaching at our Christmas Club making a wall hanging using wax crayons and she dared me to have a go.  Well I am useless at anything to do with colouring  or art - bottom of the class all the way through my school life!

Well I had to have a go having been challenged - of course I moaned incessitantly!!! 

 But I am going to confess very quietly so she does not hear - that I enjoyed every minute of it - it is different and was great fun - all the ladies at the course thoroughly enjoyed themselves - the photos of all the different wall hangings are on our Art and Stitch facebook page.

 I still have to finish beading the third tree but the overall effect is so good - that I am definitely going to try and do something else with this technic.  So actually a very big thank you to Angela for pushing me out of my normal perimeters. 

 Hello I have done it once again - left it awhile since I sat and blogged and updated you on my activities.

Anyway I wanted to show you what Rob and I treated ourselves to - when we moved house we bought our fish from the garden pond and put them in a holding tank until we could decide on where to put them.
Well time has passed and we have talked pondered and wondered what to do and with the knowledge that we were to be Grandparents we were relucant to sink a pond into the ground.  Anyway we were not even remotely looking for a solution to this problem when it presented itself to us as a possibility and it is gorgeous - like having an aquarium in the garden with the portholes to see the fish from the sides.  Our five fish are amazingly healthy and like their new home.

Now here is a beautiful bag - Barbara has been making this for her daughter Sam, and because Sam decided she would like non-fabric handles - it caused a delay as Barbara was not keen to do this.
Anyway look at the fabulous bag with the handles - As you can well imagine she was not a happy bunny but it is finished it is lovely.

We had a class a couple of weeks back for a log cabin cushion and one of our ladies came - her first class with us for patchwork was in February  so she is relatively new to patchwork, and this is her cushion.   She came this week to make a Chicken and look how it matches.

She is really enjoying her sewing - has treated herself to a bigger better machine - and yesterday was making a table runner - when that it finished I shall take some photos.  It is lovely to see how much our ladies enjoy their sewing.