has it been so long?

since my last blog post? It really has; our summer was just starting and now it is near its end.

It has been a strange summer in our part of the world - yes, we had the occasional warm spell (too hot sometimes to be able to enjoy it) and not even "stitching in the garden weather", very often too windy to be able to stitch outside.

We managed to squeeze in a birthday party outside somewhere at the end of July. 

The flower beds at Barrington Court gardens are very much "end of summer" now.

The National Trust have a wonderful large second hand book shop here, 

after a big "sort out" at home, we brought lots of books here.

 I didn't disappear, there was too much other stuff going on - deciding should we "downsize" again,

trying to sell our house, getting a deal and it all fell through......  Not so unusual, unfortunately.

We are at the age when even our current house is proving too large and may be we just have enough time to settle into something smaller. Selling and buying property in this country can be painful, say the least. 

There is nothing as sobering like having a sort out, what furniture we are likely to keep, what we can possibly take with us and many trips to the charity shops.

And keeping the house constantly ready for viewing.

But I am forever the optimist - "it will work out somehow".

Crafting is such a wonderful thing for keeping my sanity while all this is going on.

You could tell there was something new going on my sewing room:

At the beginning of summer I started making " Lewis Coverlet" by Susan Smith, from her book 

"Quilts Somewhat in the Middle",

something I had my eye on for a while - lots of applique!

I am loving it!

This was the start - the centre:

and this is where it is now,

working on final borders:

I also made a very good start on new crochet project - Macaroon Blossom blanket , which I was given all the yarn for by Santa last Christmas.

The little flowers blocks are like small cakes 😊.

 I hope you all are keeping well, I will try to visit you soon!

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2010-2024

the last finish of 2021

I had a very late night last night, but it is done, 

largest applique quilt I have made so far :

                                            "Barn Dance "

It was designed by Robyn Falloon,

published in 100th issue of Quiltmania magazine in 2014.

Measuring 1,80 x 1.80 m, just the right size for my bed; 

needless to say that I am very pleased with it.

I had enough of one of the fabrics used in the quilt for the binding.

I usually sew the binding to the front of the quilt and turn and stitch to the back, but this time I did the opposite, turning it to the front and securing it with chunky stitch using pearl cotton No8.

I can concentrate on Christmas now 😅😅, 

lets hope it will be "normal" one this year,

keeping fingers crossed.

pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2010-2021

FNwF

Another month gone! 

Thank you Cheryll for getting us together again for virtual get together. You can pop over to her blog to find out what the others were up to.

I was playing with the central block of a new applique project (yes, another one!), 

a small quilt

which I found in one of the older issues of Quiltmania magazine. 

It is by Dutch designer Janine Alers and which she called "Surrounded by  Flowers".

The only other bit of sewing earlier during the week were some very small blocks for the Angel quilt.

I seem to be more in a reading mode right now. Our summer has now settled to more what we are used to in England - a mixture of sun and showers, but some completely dry days, when it is lovely to sit outside and sew or read, in pleasant 20C +.

We are re-discovering our small local library (re-opened last month), which was in a serious danger of closing before Covid, 

but which in fact was refurbished and re-stocked during the lockdown, 

with the help of a substantial financial contribution from Michael Eavis (of Worthy Farm = Glastonbury Music Festival).

The garden has slowly recovered after the hot dry spell.

There isn't much else going on, we are still being very careful 

and keeping away from busy places.

 Enjoy your weekend, whatever you are up to!

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2010-2021

more of Barn Dance

I have been really enjoying this quilt. 

This it the last large applique panel finished

The corners to join the 4 main applique panels are Ohio Star blocks with small applique in each, 

which I think is really nice idea.

And the whole thing together, I am so pleased with the result!

Next came a simple pink border (no picture yet), but the final border will be made up of 

6in blocks with a leaf applique. I will need 40 of these, so lots of work yet!

With lots more places opening up from today, things are looking up, lets hope this will last.

We both had our second Covid jab over the weekend, so that's job done.

All we need now is some warmer weather, we have the sunshine, but it is COLD.

I wish you all a good week crafting!

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2010-2021

playing with stash

Not much creativity going on here, I have been very short on energy recently, not looking forward to a long winter with many restrictions.

I usually like autumn, but it is different this year....still not venturing very far, 

and the "rule of 6" means that as a family we can't get together again. 

They say that the turkey farmers are getting concerned, 

because nobody will want a large turkey this Christmas 😀.

We joined the other OAP's for flu jab clinic, so one less thing to worry about.

The last 3 days - non-stop rain, with lots of localised flooding; autumn hasn't been very nice so far.

As always, when the weather lets us down, the best place is the sewing room.

Just looking through my fabric stash and getting some ideas - even the most treasured fabrics (usually waiting for that "special" project)  should be used sometimes, however hard it is to cut into them.

So I just started to "play" - my first attempt on broderie perse and with a combination of straight forward needleturn applique, the picture is slowly growing. 

That's all I have to report; keep safe out there!

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2010-2020

...................and it is September........

and summer is over, however strange it was. We had some very warm days in early August, but the last weekend was the coldest August Bank Holiday weekend on record. The night temperatures would not surprise in the winter. Our winter quilt is back on the bed. It feels very autumn like outside, and yes, it is raining today......

I even started to hand quilt Manor House quilt last night, it was actually very nice to have it on my lap to keep me warm!

I have gone back to my 10in lockdown blocks, there is 5 of them - but what to do with them?

I have decide to make another 4 blocks ( all 4 the same design), then with some sashing and a border

this could make a nice lap quilt.

First 2 are done.

After the greyness of Manor House it is nice to play with some brighter fabrics again.

I hope you are having better weather in your part of the world,

keep safe and have fun!

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2010-2020

more of Manor House quilt

I am now working on the last block of the main part of the quilt; there are 3 applique motifs on this one, and I have now finished 2 of them.

The 3rd one has branches with loads of leaves, so I am bracing myself......

We had loads of rain yesterday, very good for the garden and our water buts have been replenished.

I think this is a lovely and unusual new addition to our dahlia bed.

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2010-2020

more of Manor House

I have finished 3rd part of Manor House quilt,  but as I haven't been sewing them in the order given, it is actually no 1 in the pattern;

and this how the 3 finished parts look joined together:

part 4, the last applique part of this quilt will be at the bottom. 

If you are following Mary Corbet (known mainly for her embroideries), you may have seen her other project she is working on - EPP project - hexies. She is making loads of 3/4 " hexies and storing them, with the idea of eventually making them into a quilt.

As we know, EPP is so easy and portable; this has prompt me to start a similar one.

We all probably have small bits of fabric around; I keep even very small bits for my applique work, stash them in a box, which gets frequently forgotten. So, I am slowly going through my small bits stash and cutting them up into 2" squares, if I can (some pieces are too small even for that).

I like the way Mary has organised her work, using a large pencil case for taking her bits around with her.

Although I am not planning on travelling any time soon, it is still a good idea for just taking it in and out of the house.

I have managed to find a similar pencil case (it is very roomy inside) and started to collect necessary tools.

She is using  "Really Useful" boxes for storing finished hexies.
I am rather
addicted to the "Really Useful Boxes" company, my work room is full of their boxes, I always seem to pick up one or two at shows. So practical, they are see through, and stack up, so it is always so easy to see what is in them. So yes, I am up there with her!

This is going to be a very random project, with no particular colour scheme in mind, a good filler when I don't feel like doing anything else, and eventually there just may be enough to make something.............

Rather strange weather in this part of the world, not one thing or another; just when you think it could be a day stitching outside, some rain appears, just enough to spoil it.
But there is always something to do...
Another enjoyable book from Jojo Moyes - about Horseback Librarian programme in Kentucky before WWII ( and a love story thrown in, of course!)

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2010-2020