Quilter's Patch is back!

Summer days have been back with us for the past week or so, 20C + during the day, but some nights have been very cold, down to around 6C.

I have returned to hand quilting 

St Germain quilt; the evenings are cold now, so it is keeping me warm 

while I quilt.

The  "Quilter's Patch" is also back, it had been rather neglected during the summer.

Prep work for the next block, 

no 11 -

"Coneflower" 

Every time I start one of these blocks, I am slightly worries, and I do ask myself: "why did I start such a large, mostly non applique project?" Every block is a small challenge; this one 12in block is made up of 71 pieces!

But the step by step instructions are very clear, and when I finish putting all those pieces together, I know exactly why I did embark on this journey - because I love the design! 

It is not quite "my thing" (as you know, I am an applique person), so this is stretching me somewhat. 

But thankfully I am not a perfectionist, so if not all the points are matching exactly, I am not that concerned. This is a large quilt, so "in the grand scheme of things", it will be OK 😉

The garden is still full of colour and the bees are loving the late flowers,   

but the crab apples are turning red, 

to remind us that autumn is very close.

What ever you are doing this weekend, enjoy it!

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2010-2019

FNwF - what playing with hexies can lead to.

Thank you, Cheryll, for hosting (yet again) our September FNwF;

September already, really? ...........

So, what was I up to?

I was putting finishing touches to my "Butterfly" wall hanging.

A while back I started playing with some large hexies in neutral colours; at that point I had no idea what I was going to do with them, but I like to play like this sometimes, just to see where it will take me.

I had this lovely batik fabric in my stash, which just lent itself to making some applique leaves.

The background fabric I used for the hexies has a butterfly pattern printed on it - OK, may be I add some butterflies!

And so I appliqued some and I embroidered the rest. For the stem I used a sparkly braid ( bought ages ago at a show - you know how you buy things and may be one day you get to use them!)

All the fabrics and threads came from my stash, which I am very pleased about.

And here it is - all finished - Butterfly Wall Hanging.

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2010-2019

the last picnic and little about quilting

Yes, on Friday we had the last picnic of the summer with the grandchildren; 

it will be back to school for them on Wednesday. 

It was a perfect day for it and yet again we chose to drive to Barrington Court (NT), because it is just such a nice place for it; there is a large grass picnic area near the car park and the shop, and of course there is the large space in the front of the main house, opened to picnicking and great for children to play too. 

This Tudor manor house is empty of any furniture, and so it is safe to children to explore by themselves.

When NT got the house back from whoever was temporarily leasing it a while back, they decided not to furnish it, so the full beauty of the building could be appreciated. It also lend itself from time to time to various fairs and exhibitions, and as a set for various film and TV productions.

Walking around one probably notices things which otherwise could be missed, like these beautiful wood carvings.

In the "Long Gallery" on the top floor is a ghostly moving projection on a glass, a beautiful white owl; you feel that he is flying straight at you.

 Every time I come here I try to take pictures, but it is very difficult with a normal camera.

  

I enjoy walking through the Arts and Crafts Garden, originally designed by Gertrude Jekyll, to see the changes from my last visit.

It has been a good summer for the kitchen garden,

and seasonal changes of flower borders.

The old stables are now occupied by various crafts people, and of course I can't miss a quick visit to the Barrington Patchwork shop, be it just to buy more pearl cotton threads no 16, 

to add to my stash of no's 12 & 16 for hand quilting.

Which brings me to the subject of quilting.

It seems that more hand quilters are now using various threads instead of the traditional quilting thread to finish their quilts with.

I was an embroiderer before I was a quilter, so it was an inspiration when I met (years ago!) Nikki Tinkler at one of the shows. She was the first person I came across who was using various threads and embroidery stitches for quilting, and I immediately bought her book.

Of course this might be viewed as unorthodox by some traditionalists, so it is interesting to read Nikki's introduction to her book.

I have since used various threads and embroidery stitches on my quilts, and it works for me,

although I have now settled for pearl cottons, which I use most often, hence my stash.

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2010-2019