it is summer in my garden

or - I should say - in my imaginary garden! 

This fabric garden has been getting ready for the butterfly ball, flowers slowly growing .

It is a joy to play with these pretty fabrics in the middle of cold January.

Flowers added in the corners, 

                                                           and two more borders, a leaf one 

and the squares on the point border. I chose very plain fabric for the background here

because I love this Liberty fabric so much and the plain background shows it off so well.

               It is now ready for what I think is the main attraction of this quilt - the applique border. 

                                                      This will be the part I will enjoy most!

                                                     Four borders of pure joy of applique!

                                                     

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

"Up comes the Sun, and the very long shadows grow shorter; his light is like amber; 

the glow, where grey mists have melted away from the meadows, starts dewdrops all sparkling like jewels below;

creatures that fly, or that creep, hop, or run, now awake all at once at a loud trumpet-call to tell them this greatest of days has begun - the day of the Feast and the Butterfly Ball!"

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2010-2023

Comment Notification Emails

My dear friends,

just to let you know that the notification emails have stopped working on my blog and

 I am only just finding out that I have been missing your lovely comments.

It looks like this happened sometimes in December, so thank you to those who commented since!

I will now have to find out how to fix it and check my blog more often!

I have contacted Blogger for help.

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2010-2023

Although some 10 days too late - I wish you all Happy New Year!

As always, I hope it will turn out to be a good one! (One has to hope!)

It has been a very slow new year start for me,

most of our family managed to get the horrid cold/flu which was circulating here before and over Christmas, so I have been making most of the quiet time after Christmas to recover.

I am feeling very tired, which is not surprising,

but trying to get  back to some kind of normality.

There is nothing better to lift spirits than to start a new project.

 Yes, New Year = new quilt!

The Butterfly's Ball by Susan Smith,

inspired by a story "The Butterfly Ball and Grasshopper's Feast",

And so, lets go through my stash and  get some fabrics together, because:

"This is the day! Oh, goody! The Ball! 

Aren't you madly excited? Get up and get ready! 

Lets be on our way!"

 

Gloomy days are not good for taking photographs, but you get the idea;

this is the central panel.

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2010-2023

                     MARRY CHRISTMAS everyone!

                                                          And it is here, at last........

I hope you are all well and will be enjoying some quality time. 

All our lot seems to be suffering with colds of various degrees,

including me, but that will not stop us getting together.

Last minute baking,

Vanilla Tort with marzipan,

it has been favourite in our house for many years.

                     Have a wonderful time!

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2010-2022

When I was growing up, it wasn't just Christmas to look forward at this time of year.

There is a tradition in many parts of Europe to celebrate  Saint Nicholas Day 

on the 5th & 6th of December.

 

Saint Nicholas is Mikuláš  in Czech.

Who is Mikuláš?

Mikuláš is Czech for St. Nicholas, and Old St. Nick’s day is celebrated on December 5 every year, though the festivities are held on the eve of St. Nicholas Day.

On that night, Mikuláš, represented as a bearded bishop, visits the children of the Czech Republic with two friends in tow, an angel and a devil. Mikuláš is visually the closest thing the Czechs have to Santa Claus, because baby Jesus (Ježíšek) is the one who delivers gifts to homes on Christmas Eve. But weeks before, Mikuláš comes around to judge children for how they behaved each year.

The three characters: Mikuláš, the angel, and the devil traditionally visit the homes of families. If the children are good, the angel gives them sweets or candy. But if they’re bad, the devil threatens to put them in their sack and take them to hell. In order to escape this cruel fate, the kids have to recite a poem or sing a song. Instead of candy, these bad kids get coal or potatoes.

You might be wondering, who are these people going from house to house? Well, in a lot of small towns where families know each other, three or four people volunteer and the parents give them lists of which kids are good and which are bad.

The friendly visitors are repaid with either food or booze. So Mikuláš, the angel, and devil can be quite sloshed by the time they get to the last house. Some families arrange this visit with strangers for a fee. It’s like visiting Santa Claus at the mall except Santa Claus comes to you. Also Santa Claus is terrifying.

In big cities like Prague, parents bring their kids out to the Christmas markets just after sundown, around 5 to 8 pm on December 5, where they can meet Mikuláš.

And some people dress up just to hang out at the Christmas markets. You’ll know they’re coming when you hear chains dragging along the floor and children start crying.

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

I still remember how scary it was when this lot turned up at our door; of course I didn't know then that they were friends of my parents!

You can read more  here .

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2010-2022