Tuesday morning Pitch and Stitch - 10.00am to 1.00pm

Tuesday morning Pitch and Stitch - 10.00am to 1.00pm
This hanging from Annie Downs' Hatched and Patched book should be in every caravan as a cushion or decoration!

Wednesday 21 November 2018

All Too Much

Don't worry - I'm not about to throw in the towel but there has been so much going on....Most of it good.

Best of all, of course, was the flying visit from the next generation and welcoming our little grandson to Lorne Hill Farm


Here he is ready for bed and in the outfit Lynn gave him.  A very sweet little baby and I could fill this post with pictures of him - but, don't worry, I won't.

As everyone knows, the weekend before last was Remembrance Day and our little village put on a show to be proud of.  In the church there was an amazing exhibition of memorabilia from the First World War.  Villagers were asked to display anything they had from the war, and there was so much to see.  There were a number of diaries written by grandparents who were in the war and made fascinating reading.

Local Cabinetmaker John Hing had made wooden life size silhouettes of soldiers, one to represent every man from the village who had died in the war, and they were displayed in the churchyard.  It was really very moving.


There were 15 in all, and although we stand at the memorial every year, seeing this life size representation of those poor men really made you think.

So that was a busy weekend.

And things have been very busy in the workshop too - yesterday I walked around and took pictures of everything people were working on in the Tuesday morning drop in.

Ros, of course, was knitting (when she wasn't helping Louise and me with ours!)















Sally was doing some lovely applique with tweed fabric (It's an owl picture)
 
Janet was working on hexagons 


Louise had her Attic 24 blanket and Jane was working on her Yoko Saito quilt
 
Jackie was working on her stunning quilt for her great niece 


 Anthea was putting the finishing touches on this wash bag she's made and Barbara was working on her scrappy quilt.
 
and Glenys finished one sock and started on it's pair!
 
So that means in one little workshop there was knitting, crocheting, sewing, applique, old English piecing, quilting and I was working on my tapestry cushion.  Crafting is clearly very much alive and well in East Garston!
 
I tried to do my knitting but can't concentrate with so much going on, so didn't.  But the scarf I started at Ros's workshop really is coming along very nicely!
 
 
Glenys started coming after Mother's Day this year when her daughters gave her four mornings at Lorne Hill Farm Pitch and Stitch as a gift.  She wasn't sure what to work on so bought a tapestry cushion to make.  She was just finishing that, and wondering aloud what to do next, when Eileen came through the door saying, "my friend is moving and has given me this tapestry kit if anyone wants it", quick as a flash Glenys said, "I'll have that".
 
And now it's finished
 
I have now combined my daily walks with the dogs with fungus hunting - now that I am actually slowing down and looking properly, I see mushrooms and toad stools everywhere!  We had our first snow this morning and Pippa said once the snow comes the fungi will disappear, but I managed to spot some today - this was a whole pathway of them
 

And this isn't a very good picture but I was pleased to find this little thing in a hollow tree.


It's actually really a relief to get out of the house because Jonathan has gone bonkers and keeps buying new furniture......he seems to be replacing every dresser and cupboard in the house, which means constantly emptying things and tables being piled high with 25 years worth of STUFF.  Clearing out a cupboard the other day I got quite ruthless with throwing stuff away.  That night I remembered a little Jaguar key tag and mentioned it to Jonathan.  He said that must have been from his father's Jaguar and started reminiscing about how they all loved that car.  There was only one thing for it - the next day we went through all the rubbish bags with a fine tooth comb to find that little badge but of course we couldn't.  Then I had a thought and pulled out the drawer in the new dresser - there it was.....so I wasn't so ruthless after all.

However, that might change......please, someone, make him STOP!!

 

Sunday 4 November 2018

Sockcess!


Well, the sock workshop with Ros the other week went really well - most of us there were fairly experienced knitters, but not necessarily using more than two needles, so it was quite a learning curve.  (I did a similar workshop over the summer, in another place, but I have to say we are really lucky having Ros to show us what to do.  The lady I went to had been knitting for years, and certainly knew her stuff, but at the end of the day I was none the wiser about how to knit with four needles.  It really isn't helpful when teachers undo your knitting when you go for lunch, and then re-do it for you). 

Ros was wearing the beautiful scarf we shall be learning to knit this Wednesday - she assured us it is quite easy, because the pattern part is only 30 stitches or so across.  We shall see..... There are still a couple of place if anyone wants to join us.

Anyway, back to socks, and the following Pitch and Stitch when we all turned up with half of a pair of socks and lots of questions for Ros before we could carry on to make a pair.


We decided Eileen's was probably the neatest:


and some people didn't want theirs photographed until they were finished.

The workshop is quite full these days


with lots of interesting things going on.  Anthea has been making some lovely dresses


Not my area of expertise, but I did replace some buttons for my mother


- some lovely new buttons:

 
a bargain at 1 and thruppence!
Sandra brought in the place mats she will be showing us how to make on the 5th December














either Christmas fabrics or everyday.

And finally, just to put me to shame, Jan has finished the first Medallion she ever started

I should be quilting mine but I have a bit of knitting to do first.....