I believe you will find this interesting, it might even shock you

This is a very short post, and no pictures. I just want to draw your attention to a blog post I have read today, you will not need any explanation from me.
This is a link to a blog post by The Eternal Maker, a shop and online fabric and craft store, I have bought fabric from. If you can find time, please read it and read the link in the post as well.

wool embroidery - start

I made a start on the wool embroidery for my cushion. 

In the end I decided to use a design from Karin Holmberg's book.

This is the first time I am embroidering on wool felt.

I am starting with the central motif and I have already realised how different it is from stitching on say cotton or linen fabric. To start with, it is not as easy to mark the design on the fabric. I have marked the whole design on the felt background all in one go, which I now realised was a mistake.

By the time I completed the center ring of leaves, most the rest of the design has rubbed off.

So  now I just refresh the outlines and draw the rest free hand as I go along. That is probably how the original wool embroideries were done anyway - freehand.

Also, stitching with on wool on wool, it is more difficult to keep to the line of design. I realised that I can't be as fussy as if I was embroidering with cotton or silk on linen. It is very different, one just has be more bold! 

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot co uk 2014

St Germain quilt and 25 years of freedom

Last weekend I finished preparing 144 (+ few more, just in case) orange peel pieces for the inner border and started laying them out.

I am using various fabrics, mainly from my stash, to compliment the centre block, but also in keeping with the colorful Saint Germain part of Paris, after which this quilt is named. 

During the week I managed to stitch two shorter sides, using needleturn applique.

I have pinned the 3 sections (not yet pressed) onto a board, so you can get an idea how the centre of the quilt will look like.

                                            ---------------------------------------------------------

I can not let this weekend pass without sharing a memory with you.

As you know, we are celebrating 25th anniversary of the fall of Berlin Wall, and the domino effect it had on the rest of Eastern Europe.

About 5 months after that I flew to Czechoslovakia (as it was still called) to visit my mum.

During the previous 20 years, whenever I crossed any East European border, I would feel apprehension, I always had a knot in my stomach, when stern looking and unfriendly border guards were inspecting my passport, noting my place of birth.

I always had a feeling of dread, that something terrible would happen and I would not be able to return to the West. Although British by then, I kept my dual nationality ( more for sentimental reasons than anything else), so I knew that they could be silly about it, if they wanted to.

Thankfully, they were too fed up and bored themselves to bother, and there were no computers in those days, so nothing could be found at the touch of the button, as it can be now.

So, arriving at Prague airport in 1990, I felt easy and confident, the knot in my stomach no longer there. I was just another tourist, looking forward to seeing the changes of last few months. 

 I presented my passport to a very smart looking Czech passport control officer, in his brand new uniform.

After seeing the same details in my passport, he looked up, smiled at me and said

"Welcome Home".

That is what the fall of Berlin Wall means to me.

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2014 

Wells - England's smallest city

I have been living in Somerset for more than 20 years, and I must admit that I take its beauty very much for granted now.

So it is good to remind myself now and then of all those beautiful places on my doorstep.

Just a few miles down the road is a small town, City of Wells.

Wells can call itself "City" because of its magnificent cathedral, which dates back to 12th century.

But the history of the town goes back a lot further. In Roman times there was a settlement here, most probably because of the springs (wells) that bubble up here and still can be found in the grounds of the Bishop's Palace and the Market Place; the water flows underground from the surrounding Mendip Hills.

The Wells Cathedral dominates the town view, it is a beautiful sight.

To read more about the Wells Cathedral, click on the link.

In the Cathedral garden stands an old Medlar tree.

Wells Town Hall in the Market Place.

The moat around the Bishop's Palace.

Some other Wells images.

And for you and me:

in a small courtyard you can find "Sew Vintage" - "An  emporium full of things to delight and inspire", quoting their website.

Recently moved to smaller premises next door, but still full of sewing notions, fabrics and knitting wool; great for buttons, ribbons, craft felts..........not just vintage.

And then there is Millie Moon - a haberdashery boutique, a sister to Frome and Bristol shops,

selling beautiful and tempting fabrics like " Miss Kate" by Moda.

I hope you have enjoyed today's walk.

And just for the purpose of this journal:

October was a crazy month weatherwise, with some rain and the occasional cold spell, but mainly unseasonably warm. In fact, we just had the warmest Halloween ever, around 21°C in our part of the country, even warmer in London!

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2014

St Germain quilt - small progress

You have seen the central block for St Germain quilt already.

There are no more blocks as such, the rest of the quilt is made up of two very wide borders - the orange peel applique border on the inside and an applique outside border, with flowers and leaves, similar to the central block.

I have started cutting out orange peel shapes for the inside border, I need 144 of them. The good thing about this quilt is that I can use lots of fabrics from my stash, which compliment fabrics in the central block.

I am using plain paper for the templates, and for ironing my small travel iron, which is ideal  for pressing small shapes and sharp points.

I re-use the templates for the next batch, and  I use Sewline glue stick for applique pieces already pressed, to keep the shape and mainly the points.

I will make all orange peel shapes first, before placing them on the border. This all takes time, but it will make the task easier when I'll start stitching.

This is a good job for a rainy day, like today.

I have been having some problems with leaving comments on some of your blogs, or even opening some. As some of you seem to experience the same, it looks like Blogger problem rather than mine.

I find that if I leave it and go back later or the following day, I can sometime leave a comment where I could not before, but it is frustrating, say the least.

So, if I have not visited, it could be that I am not able to :-)

Have a good weekend!

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2014