Patches and Blocks

This week we have our Japanese Patches workshop - Japanese patches are great because each block is quilted as you sew it together, so very quick and easy.  Some of the ladies want to make bags with them, like mine

so it was lucky that Sheila came down from Nottingham last week to the Lynne Johnson day - using her Japanese patch bag to carry her quilt in!

And this is her lovely Antique Wedding Sampler quilt

Toni used the Quilt as you Go method for her Baltimore which is nearly finished now

And here is Jenny's stunning Di Ford quilt

The colours are so rich and it's so beautifully pieced - Jenny has a right to feel very proud of herself (and she is so grateful always to Lynne for all her help).

I also love the knitting bag Jacqui has made.  She realised that making the whole Yoko Saito Town quilt would be too much of a challenge for her, but completed the block she started in class and made it into this beautiful bag:

Everyone admires it.

I have started a new quilt.  Years ago I bought a lovely box of fabrics from the Petra Prins stand at the Malvern show,

and when I was buying another little kit the other day everyone kept going on about the Petra Prins that had never been made, so I thought I'd better make a start on it.

I have to say, it's not going to be easy - when I read the instructions I realised why it had been put away for so long:

That's it!  So I had to figure out how to actually make the nine blocks!!  Still, I've made a start and have nearly completed the first wheel - although it involved a lot of trial and particularly error.

What a Beautiful Morning!

Victoria and Ben are upstairs packing so I thought I'd take a few minutes to walk Milly around the garden.  It is such a beautiful day - warm and sunny - and since it's supposed to be freezing next week I thought I'd take a few pictures before everything gets ruined!

The apple blossom is stunning at the moment

in fact, there are flowers blooming all over the place

Even the Rosemary is covered in pretty flowers for remembrance

The greenhouse is bulging

and this mum was looking after her triplets that were born yesterday afternoon - all three had to be pulled out because they were coming out the wrong way, but they are doing fine now.

On days like these all seems right in the world! 

Happy Easter

Well, it had to happen, didn't it?

In went the Hot Cross Buns at midday - and I got them out when I put the pizzas in at 7.00pm:

 

Certainly left me hot and cross!!

Luckily they were the five that couldn't fit in with the first batch, so we did actually get some edible Hot Cross Buns:

Exhibition Time

Well, it's all over.....we had the two day exhibition this weekend and now I'm in recovery.  Of course it had to be the sunniest, warmest weekend of the year that we had to stay indoors the whole time, but that aside it was a very good show.  We had a lot of visitors to our stand and I hope that they will be joining us for future workshops - especially those who said they'd like to stay in their caravans.

Our stand looked lovely thanks to all Lynne Johnson's beautiful quilts - and I have a strong feeling that I shall be starting on that Yoko Saito Town Quilt soon.

I got my quilts ready for the show - although some of them were definitely rushed and not as good as they could have been:


Shabby, shabby chic
 

My Donegal Tweed Quilt

Clare Kingslake Stitchery


Beginner's Quilt



and finally my little Flower Garden Hexagon hanging

We also had, on our stand, our list of Summer workshops so I'd better put it on here too:

 

Wednesday 12^th April                    Quilt Day with Lynne Johnson

Wednesday 19th April                  Scrappy Quilts with Lynne Johnson

Wednesday 26^th May                     Quilt Day with Lynne Johnson

Wednesday 3rdMay                       Japanese Patches

Wednesday 10^th May                     Quilt Day with Lynne Johnson

Wednesday 17^th May                     Clare Kingslake-designed Stitchery

Wednesday24th May                    Crochet jug cover with Helen Cubitt

Wednesday 31^st May                     Quilt Day with Lynne Johnson

Wednesday 7^th June                       Postcards

Saturday 10^th June                           Foundation Pieced Cushion with Helene

Wednesday 14^th June                    Quilt Day with Lynne Johnson

Wednesday 21^st  June                    Yoko Saito Town Quilt and Christmas Quilt with Lynne Johnson

Wednesday 28^th June                    Quilt Day with Lynne Johnson

Wednesday 5^th July                        Naïve Flower Wall Hanging

Saturday 8^th July                               Summer Bag Day with Helene Burgess

Wednesday12^th July                       Quilt Day with Lynne Johnson

Wednesday 19^th July                      Machine Quilting with Lynne Johnson

Wednesday 26^th July                      Quilt Day with Lynne Johnson

I'll be mailing out the long version soon.

Meanwhile, lambs are popping out everywhere on the farm.  I'll try to get a little video of them running around in the sunshine!

 



Feeding Time

So here is the little lamb I'm feeding:

in between sewing on sleeves for the Market Square Quilters' Exhibition this weekend!

Spring Lambs!

Well, it started a day early, and has been a bit slow, but lambing time has come around again.

This was the first lamb this year

and there have been a few more since.

 

So far I'm just 'supplementary' feeding - this afternoon a ewe had triplets so we gave the third to a Mum that had lost her two on Saturday.  She's not looking very well so it may not work out but she does keep licking it and the little lamb is constantly trying to feed so perhaps it will end well.

My Mabel, a lamb I reared quite a few years ago now, lambed today and is a fiercely protective mother - she butted Jonathan all down the field as he was bringing them in!

I shall put up more picturesque pictures when the lambs are a bit older, have plumped up and are skipping around!