and now - relax.............

Yes, it is all over! 

Thank you very much for all your Christmas wishes; it was a bit hectic there for a while, but I will get around to thanking you personally.

I hope you had a lovely time, what ever you were up to; we certainly did, time spent entirely with the family, at ours, our daughter's and son's houses, we covered it all!

Now it is time to breathe out.....

I love Christmas, but I also always look forward to that quiet time after, to relax and unwind.

That is exactly what I am doing right now, just taking it easy, "clearing the decks" and thinking about new projects. No "New Year resolutions" here, I don't do that, I prefer to take it as it comes and start new projects as the mood takes me.

So last night I finished the top for Little Patchwork Village wall quilt; it will now have to wait for a while to be finished completely.

All the fabrics used here came from my stash, which I am very pleased about.

However much I like redwork, I am done with it for some time; 

I need to get away from reds!

Tomorrow will be another busy time for us, so just in case I'll don't get the chance -

I wish you very Happy New Year !!!

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2010-2018

it is nearly time

Christmas is nearly here, 

and I am sure you all have been very busy too. 

Not very seasonal in our part of the world, quite mild and wet, 

yes, it is very English Christmas.

This week I managed to put together all the blocks for Little Patchwork Village wall quilt, 

and started to stitch the block together. 

But now I am putting it away for a while - I will be far too busy for sewing for the next few days!

Last minute baking today,

"Vanilletorte".

I have been making this cake since 1980, when I found the recipe in that year's December issue of Burda Moden magazine!

(Admittedly, I don't make it every year!) 

The house is taking on Christmas look,

 

my latest quilt is on the wall,

and Christmas tablecloth is out for its annual outing.

We keep Continental Christmas at our house, Christmas Eve is still "Christmas" for me, when our children and grandchildren come to our house for a special meal and we exchange presents.

It means that I will be busy in the kitchen tomorrow, so I shall wish you now

VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2010-2018

my version of the Scandinavian Rose quilt

is all finished!

I managed to take a picture outside this morning, before the rain came.

I loved this design by Rosalie Quinlan the first time I saw it,

but it was a very long time in making. 

Looking back through my blog, I can see that I started the first embroidery in February 2013!

I added an extra border, machine quilted inside the blocks and hand quilted the rest, and embellished with few buttons.

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2010-2018

Quilter's Parch quilt - block 10, and more

Honeysuckle block

I have remembered this week why I haven't touched this project for such a long time.

 This quilt is really testing me; 

the 12" block number 10 is made out of 120 triangles!

No, it did not come out exactly right; the width is OK, but it is little short.

I should imagine there will have to be quite a few adjustments later on.

I have finished all 9 stitcheries for the Little Patchwork Village quilt,

so the decision will have to be made about the fabrics.

I have also finished all the quilting of the Scandinavian Rose quilt, and it is ready for the binding.

That should not take long, once I decide if I should go for blue or red!

But I do want to finish this one before I start making "Awakening",

for which I now have most of the fabrics.

I am really looking forward to doing some applique again.

I hope you all have a good week ahead; 

I know, it is that crazy time of year, but slow down, take a deep breath and make some time for yourselves 😅

Christmas will come whatever you do or don't!

Before I'll go, this is what is on my display wall right now;

This quilt comes out every year, around this time. 

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2010-2018

Why wouldn't you want a tree in your garden?

Some time ago, at the start of the summer, when the local supermarket had some small trees for sale in the front the shop (chosen to be suitable for small town gardens), I witnessed an exchange between an older couple (probably husband and wife). He, obviously very interested in the trees, was trying to get his partner to have a look. She, obviously not interested, said to him "I don't want a tree in my garden!" It was puzzling me, and as I was walking home, I kept thinking "why wouldn't you want a tree in the garden?"

I remembered his episode again when our new tree arrived last week.

Sadly, we had to say goodbye to our quince tree, because it just got too large for our small garden (no, we didn't do our research very well 😞). 

Still, it will provide very welcome logs for our son's wood stove.  

We love trees, there is eight of them in our small patch, various shapes and sizes, some in pots, some in the ground. 

This new one is Amelanchier "Robin Hill". It has various common names, I like "June Berry" the best of all. It has pretty flowers in the spring, berries in the summer and wonderful autumn colour.

We planted it in a newly made bed; the rest of it will be planted out in the spring, with a selection of perennials.   

 You might remember that when we moved to this house 5 years ago, the garden was very "flat", filled up with a model railway and lots of small walls; no trees, no birds.

The battle for the garden began .

Around seven hundred bricks and two skip fulls of concrete came out of here.

Fast forward to 2018 - late summer in our garden..

The birds love it, so do the butterflies and the bees; in the middle of the town.

All sorts of birds, many varieties, visit now, summer and winter.

Blue tits nest in the nest box DH put up for them. Various finches pass through here.

The crab apple tree is the most popular at the moment;

since the weather got colder, the blackbirds can't leave the apples alone,

the small birds (robin, wren) pick the soft bits which fall to the ground.

Blackbirds and starlings come to have a bath in the bird bath. 

Last week the wind brought lots of leaves down, and many fell in the bath. 

The blackbird was very displeased; we watched with some amusement how he set himself in the middle of the bath and picked the leaves one by one and flicked them over the side.

The job done, he had his bath 😀

There are doves coming onto the bird table; it started with a couple, now there is a whole flock of them.  

There is a constant movement in the garden.

I am not even going to mention the ecological importance of trees........

So, it is still puzzling me - why wouldn't you want a tree in your garden? 

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2010-2018

all change now and UFO

I spent a big part of last week sorting my work room. I don't spend too much time here during the summer, just take things out and put them back again, (not always in the right place!) So, over time it just gets in a mess. On top of that, some weeks ago I moved my PC in here (without much planning), to make more room for DH's miniature model in the spare room (you can see what he is up to under "Miniatures" in "My Labels"). The result - my tiny sewing room was turning into a "cave" - definitive turnoff, I just can't get motivated when it is in such state.

So, urgent action was needed. 

I "re-designed" the room, moved everything around, had a good sort out, and now 

I like being in here again!

I had to take all the books down from the shelf units to be able to move them, so it was a good opportunity to sort them out and take some to a charity shop. 

 I am not sure what I would do without my fabric storage unit, I just find it so convenient.

DH made me a small desk for my PC, it is amazing what you can get in a such tiny space.

I know a laptop would be a better solution for a small space, but I do like the larger screen of PC (thing just get smaller as you get older, LOL). So this is where I "talk" to you.

The whole room actually looks much bigger now.

So, this week I resurrected one of my "older" projects - Quilter's Patch quilt by Edyta Sitar.

The last time you saw this one was last December, after I made a block no 9.

So this is where I am at the moment - 9 blocks finished,

and I am cutting fabrics for the next one.

All the blocks for this quilt are quite complicated, although it doesn't look like it. 

They are all made out of many very small pieces, using various patchwork techniques.

May be that's why I got tired of it last year, and being tied to the machine.

But I am determined to stick with it - 10 more blocks to do!

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2010-2018

weekend in the kitchen

The quince harvest and the last jam of the year.

I love the colour of the the fruit, and the lovely smell,
which filled the kitchen.

Sadly, we had to make a decision to loose the quince tree, but that is a topic for another post.

I still have some quinces left in the fridge, to add to apple pies,
and every time I open the fridge door, the wonderful smell fills the kitchen again.

On Saturday I made some Parker House rolls to have for Sunday breakfast, and the rest for the freezer. 

I prefer to make them into twists, rather than the traditional shapes.

I really like these soft rolls, made from an enriched dough.

And now back to the sewing room!

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2010-2018