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.

Just had to show you this photo of little Leo with his Dad - he is so gorgeous and such a good boy - they are such a lucky couple and he is lucky to have them and me as nanny of course!  I am going to see him again this evening - yeh that will be lovely.

 Rob and I have a new visitor in the garden, he has moved into the pond to join our five goldfish - he is quite cute.  He likes the fish food knows when he is well off.  We were pleased that the fish survived the really cold winter again - now they have the best place in all this heat!

My sister gave us this Clematis when we first set up home together and moving it here to this house has suited it down to the ground, it is a picture and we can see it from the Dining Room Window.  We spent Monday planting up all our bedding plants and the garden looks lovely - we both enjoy tinkering in the garden together.

 Look who has joined our family - Leo Spencer Elliott born 21st May 2012 9.55 am weighing 8lbs 3 ozs - Don't you just order his little sleepsuit.

Rob was so looking forward to his arrival and we are now the proudest Grandparents ever.

Very proud Dad - Nic is going to be a wonderful dad - we are all so lucky he has come into our lives.

Well just in case you had missed me - though you probably thought I was being lazy and not blogging!  We have just had the most wonderful nine days at Lake Como - the weather was fabulous around 30 degrees - so it was very chilly coming back home.

This was the view from our hotel bedroom - it was lovely and I really did not want to come back home.

One of the magnificant floor patterns from the Cathedral in Milan.  Milan was fascinating all the shops were very fashion conscious.  We did the Open top bus tour and that was marvellous - we had a great day there.

One of the highlights was the Bernina Mountain Express it is the highest railway in Europe and was quite breaktaking.

Another highlight was a lake cruise around Como - it was a beautiful day, the lake was calm and the scenery out of this world.

As you all know by now I am not one with the greatest amount of patience and I have got fed up with waiting for photos to upload - I could be sewing!!!  So I shall put more photos on later in the week.

All in all it was a really relaxing week and we fell in love with the lakes.