Season of mists.....

Well it's beginning to seem very autumnal now, and that suits me just fine.  Yes, I love to have some sunshine - especially living where I do - it's so beautiful.  But then I start thinking about log fires and woolly tights and puddings with custard.  Each season has its own delights doesn't it? 

Its been such a long time since I wrote a post and so much has happened.  The school holidays have been and gone in a flash - and I'm having to use my calendar to see what I got up to! I had three days at the Minerva Arts Centre Summer School in Llanidloes, learning all sort of stuff from Sandra Meech. We then went off to Derval in France - Llanidloes' twin town - for a visit with the Llanidloes Twinning Association.  We had a fun, action-packed five days.  The travelling was tiring but the welcome we had was wonderful.  And in the midst of all the excitement, our first grandchild was born!! Little Orla is so gorgeous. Here's an early photograph:

Of course, she wasn't supposed to arrive until after we came back from France but babies always surprise you don't they?  Since then we have been making the six hour round trip on a regular basis.  In between I managed to finish the cot quilt I started in June.  it was a pattern from Helen at Bustle and Sew and I'm very pleased with how it has turned out:

The little woodland animals are so sweet aren't they?  And the colours fit beautifully in with her bedroom.  Now I just have the nursery curtains to make before she moves out of her parents' room and into her own.

I also managed to make a little boasting book for her doting father to take back to work after his paternity leave. It's just a 6x4 photo album but I think it looks good:

I missed the August Funky Felters meeting but managed to make the one at the start of September where we mad some bowls. Mine was less than successful as I did not make my layers thick enough around the resist so now I have to decide how I can tinker with it.  Maybe it needs to go in the washing machine. Perhaps if the fibres shrink it will thicken up a bit.  Or I may have to do more soaping up and add more layers.  We shall see.  But I'm not putting on a photo until I've cracked it.  Felting is such a forgiving craft you can nearly always rectify your mistakes.  You may just not end up with what you intended to do in the first place but that's half the fun - it's like alchemy.  

Hopefully I won't leave such a gap between this and my next post.  Thanks for reading x

Bloggers Block Broken

I seem to have had a bit of a writer's block recently so this blog has been sadly neglected.  However, I've managed to get a few things finished and so the pressure is off for a little while.  It's so lovely to have a bit of sunshine isn't it? I'm optimistic that Spring is here at last, although we could still have a cold snap.  The fields in Mid-Wales are full of the most gorgeous lambs and I love to watch them playing together in little gangs of woolly gorgeousness.

I've finished a couple of wall hangings recently which will hopefully go into the Quilt and Stitch exhibition at The Minerva Centre in Llanidloes.  I'm just a novice - some of the work is totally stunning!! 

Some of us at Welsh Heritage Quilters have been making small quilts to go in shop windows in the town to advertise the exhibition and I have done one for a wonderful shop called Ooh La La which sells all sorts of goodies.

Funky Felters have been busy too, making items for Wonderwool Wales 2014.  Our theme this year is clothing and accessories.  Some of my fellow felters have made coats, hats and all sorts of wonderful things, but my true love is nuno felting so I have made a couple of scarves which I hope will pass muster.

 This one was a really old chiffon scarf that I must have had for twenty years, but now it's had a new lease of life!

This one I made from muslin and a mixture of merino wool fibres and mulberry silk.  It's so light, soft and warm.  Of course, I couldn't resist a bit of stitchery and I have used up some old pearl beads to prettify it.

On the reading front, I've been absorbed in a couple of Joanne Harris books.  I so enjoyed Chocolat that I also read a sequel, Peaches For M. Le Cure and another novel set in Lansquenet called Blackberry Wine.  Lovely gentle reads.  I've also enjoyed a Bernard Cornwell called Gallows Thief which is pretty old and a great read.  It was sort of a cross between his Sharpe novels and a Georgette Heyer which sounds weird but the time setting is similar and so is the 'flash' language they use.

I'm beginning to think that my days are so filled with sewing and suchlike that I don't really have time to attempt to instil the basics of the English language into teenagers' brains, but the teaching pays the bills and I have lesson planning to do.

Thanks for reading this blog post.  I'll write again once the urge is upon me!

This silence has been interrupted by a blog post!

It's been, amazingly, almost a month since my last post.  My life has been hectic and has got in the way somewhat. Flaming June was not as flaming as I (and everyone else) would have liked but we have, at least, had a few sunny intervals amidst the gloom.  Exams are over, Year 11 have departed and so my teaching timetable has eased considerably, which has given me a little more time for a bit of crafting (but not as much as I would have liked).  
After a few visits to The Wool and Willow Festival in Llanidloes.  I have been busy using up my purchases of yarn from Dyed in the Wool. I used a pattern  from Sheepfold to make this lovely, frilly topped bag:

I have also been doing some applique and free machine stitching, which is new to me but very exciting to do. I'm not sure what I'll do with this yet, probably turn it into a cushion, which is what it was on the pattern from Bustle and Sew  (Appley Dappley Cushion Cover). I think it's lovely and fresh looking.  Hope you agree!!:

I've still got some of the aforementioned yarn to use up, and lots of patterns to try out.  So many lovely things to make - so little time!!

I have to admit that I have been spending a lot of down time watching The British and Irish Lions' tour of Australia and it's been very nerve wracking!! One more match left, next weekend, the series decider.  I so envy my son and his girlfriend who are 'down under', following the team as part of their "Six Months Out".

They look like they're having so much fun!!!:

Meanwhile, back at home, plans for our daughter's wedding are coming on apace.  Only 98 days to go, which sounds like a long time but I can remember when it was double that, and it's gone in a flash - eek!

The theme is Afternoon Tea (after where the proposal took place) and we have been busily plotting, planning and making for ages now.  All top secret stuff - you'll have to wait, sorry!!  Meanwhile' here's the happy couple on proposal day!

Time flies and so must I.  Thanks for visiting!