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.

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