Patchy

Goodness me, such a long time has elapsed again.  Let's see what's been going on in the last few weeks?  Well, we no longer have a child attending junior school.  Eeek, as from September, the Munchkin will be a senior school boy.  Times flies, oh yes indeedy.  He was thrilled to see the new garden furniture arrive in a gigantic cardboard box the other day and since, he's been busy building his own den in the garden. I'm so pleased he still wants to spend his time doing this sort of thing and unlike the vast majority of his school mates, is not glued to an iPad/Pod thingy constantly! 

Anyway, crafty business.  Oh yes, a wonderful and very warm Saturday morning was spent at Stag and Bow in the presence of some lovely ladies keen to learn English Paper Piecing.  I gathered together a basket of goodies which I hoped would inspire them; my hexy project and holiday stars quilt, (being works in progress), as well as a completed Liberty cushion, doll quilt and some vintage pieces.  Amazing how much you have once you look.

In the background, the Summer fruits are in abundance so there has been more jamming of the strawberry and elderflower variety.  I do think this is the best jam I've ever made.

Talking of elderflower, Mr HenHouse's efforts in the hedgerows of Somerset did not go unappreciated and the cordial has been bottled and is going down nicely with some fizzy water.  I popped to Lewes on Saturday and my lunch in Bills was accompanied by a glass of "hedgerow fizz" which is sparkling wine (or champagne if you can stretch to it) with a dash of elderflower cordial and a dinky fresh raspberry atop.  That's one I'm going to try at home: delicious.

Back to crafty stuff, after my little lament the other week about finding the balance and getting back to quilting, well I've gone and done it.  Thank you for your kind and inspiring words.  I picked up a project which I had started way back.  I must say, I thought it was in January but having looked at my blog, the only relevant snap I can find is from 4 March.  So I got out my Tana Lawn from Liberty.  Always a delight.

And I found the vintage embroidered cloths which were suitable for salvage, and chopped out the good bits.

I'm not sure quite what I intended exactly when I started this project.  I wanted to combine that beautiful old embroidery with the delicate floweriness of Tana Lawn and some almost utility-type fabrics; spots, stripes, gingham, in free-form blocks.  I was thinking of just making a small throw type thingy, maybe even a table cover.  I recall whiling away my spare hours making blocks like these whilst watching the DVDs of Land Girls until my hands got too cold.

So last week, I got back to it.  I set up my fabric "buffet" on the little steps to the left side of my sewing machine so they'd be easily at hand.

To the left of my machine, I place a cutting mat, rotary cutter and ruler on the table.  To the right, I put my spare little old ironing board, low down, and a travel iron.  The perfect work space!  No need to get up until either nature calls or you want a cuppa.

And my blocks are looking something like this.  Simple and pretty.

Someone else who considers there's seldom a reason to get up, especially when you can sunbathe...

As a little breather, and as it's not possible to go too long without baking, I whipped up a quick sponge with homemade jam, of course, to take to jive class.  So many reasons to bake round here.

In between trying to keep striking that balance, the pile of blocks has grown.  I confess, I am a little addicted.  

Phew, time for five minutes rest.  This patchworking is quite hard work!

Not all my blocks are pink, you know.

It's growing, I now have 42 blocks.  How did that happen?! 

Last but not least, there's been time for a well-earned rest at the end of each day, making use of that garden furniture at last.

What better than a homemade quilt to keep your knees warm.

Until next time... Xxx