Cold and Frosty

Oh My Word, what a very cold and frosty Morning: -9° and really thick  ice on the troughs.

The two Hornbeams in our garden are really clinging onto their leaves, but a couple more nights like this and they'll be laid bare.

Then, for some reason I thought there was only going to be four ladies at the workshop...and then there were eight, which was a lovely surprise!

Janet brought her hexagon quilt to bind at yesterday's Pitch and Stitch, it's so bright and beautiful, just what we need on these cold, dark days.

I have been particularly struck by how early it seems to get dark this winter - it's like the middle of the night by 4.30 so you feel like the day is nearly done, and yet in Summer you'd think nothing of starting something at that time!

Last week Barbara brought along her lovely tuffet which she made at a workshop recently (not here, and I can't remember where, maybe Lady Sew & Sew but I may be wrong).  She's rightly very proud of it, and I'm sure it'll be a long while before anyone is allowed to put their feet up on it!

Christmas is just around the corner now.  I'll be running outside to put the Christmas lights along the front of the house tomorrow (we take the putting up of lights very seriously in School Lane, East Garston) and my Christmas puds are maturing nicely in the larder.  I made them last week, and as well as the family having a stir and making a wish, the ladies who came to our crochet class also had a go!

I've been busy making little Christmas gifts, which will have to remain secret for a while.  I need to point out to Lynne that they are just fun little things,  and they are deliberately made in a homespun way!


Next week will be the last of our workshops for 2016, apart from the Christmas wreaths, and we'll all be making Frosty:



 



There are still a couple of places on the workshop, if anyone would like to join us!

You Can't Turn Your Back for a Minute

For quite a few years now we have used George's old bedroom as a holding room for things that either only get used about once a year, or that should really be thrown out.

Well, when I was enjoying my day out yesterday, Jonathan decided it was time to sort out that room.

So, he's taken half the stuff out and put it in bags on the landing.....and the rest he's put into the green room until we can decide what to do with it.

So instead of having a little junk room in the back of the house, we now have all our junk in the guest bedroom.

It's time he went back to work.

Bright Colours for Dark Days

Someone reminded me today that I haven't updated this blog recently, so I have put aside a few minutes to do just that.  The main reason I'm reluctant to start is technical - for some reason I'm having trouble uploading the photos on Picasa, so it takes ages to add pictures, but here goes anyway.....

The workshops have been going really well, and it's lovely to see all the different things people are making at the Tuesday morning sessions.  Next Wednesday is the Crochet workshop with Helen, - there are still a couple of places if anyone is interested!

Last year I made my friends little lavender bags out of linen, with crocheted linen granny squares on top and I was very pleased with them

but, as you can see, they were a bit 'made up' - so it will be good to find out how they should have been done!

Meanwhile, I have finished my crocheted blanket, and was thrilled with it, but you know how it is......the very next day Ros decided to bring to the workshop the blanket she has just finished knitting.....

Words failed us....

it was so absolutely stunning

we all wanted it

I'd like to make one, (that's a bit of an inside joke, my will is always greater than my skill) but, first I must get on and finish the scarf I started in Ros's workshop - it's coming along but I'm struggling to knit the 'grown up' way so it's not very relaxing

Got to be done by Christmas though!!

What else has been happening? - Mr Rabbitts is recovering well, but I'm finding it hard to understand why he has to have 2 cups of tea in bed in the morning (he said his consultant said so) and yet was able to (accidentally) jump off a four foot wall this afternoon.

Today I went to two quilting talks at my local quilt group.  The first was by Pamela Smith and the theme was "Russia: patchwork and quilting, ancient & modern".  It was so interesting - lots of facts and history, most interesting of which was that whilst we associate the red in Russia with Communism; in fact the words for 'red' and beautiful are interchangeable - so Red Square is actually Beautiful Square - and the Russians love bright, beautiful red textiles.

She had lots of examples of pre- 1990's Russian printed fabric

and a beautiful old quilt

 

and other memorabilia

Sadly for her she sat next to me at lunch and I asked so many questions! - I could have listened to her all day but she went home.

Then in the afternoon Margaret Johnson entertained us with her quilts from around the world - lots of funny stories and so many lovely quilts but my favourites were the 1930's American one

and this old Welsh woollen one:

 

which prompted the question, "Had I finished my Donegal Tweed quilt?", to which Sandra replied "No - it's hanging, unfinished,  over the sofa where I put it to solve the décor problem".

Well, unfinished or not, with the log fire in front and a tweed quilt behind, it's exceedingly hygge.