Italian Quilting

At least that's what I'm told this is! Last night was WI craft club and this is what we did, it's alot like trapunto although I have a sneeky feeling it the same thing just done a little differently.
I did a trapunto piece years ago just to try it (wonder where it's gone) and the principle is the same although with this you thread a really thick thread inbetween the lines formed by the backstitch outline instead of making a slit in the back fabric and stuffing it.
The fabric is much paler than the pic shows and please don't look closely at my freehand stitching, it's something I'm useless at!


We have the full pattern that this pat came from but I really can't see me doing it, I was bored by the time I'd got halfway on this one.

Oh and a quick update on the beading, side 2 is about 3/4 done and I'm thinking it's going to be done this weekend, early next week I'll have the 2 sides stitched together and the fringe on ready to start the strap once I've been to the LBS and picked what I'm going to use

Cheshire Steam Fair

This last weekend was the Cheshire Steam Fair and as it was the last full day we went, this is just a sample of the pics I took.

Caleb had his first ride on a Carousel (yes it's the Ashley Gallopers that I love so much)

He also got his first ride on a train

At the end of a steam fair/traction engine rally it's traditonal for all the engines to toot their horns, the noise although very loud is wonderful as is the smell of steam in the air

Mel got herself a new friend who so far is nameless, any suggestions?

Friday (pic heavy)

Yesterday started with my packing up the last UFORR to send home.

From this

To this

And because I'd spent all week working on the RR I forgot to take a pic of the Sunflowers on Monday morning so here they are a few days late.


When we went out yesterday morning to the food shop my girls bought me some Sunflowers

Yesterday afternoon was lovely out so Caleb had a play in his paddling pool for a little while and Auntie Mel helped to soak the back yard (and herself)

We're off to a Steam Fair soon, we would of been gone already but Caleb woke me up at 5.30 this morning and went back to bed at 8.30 and he's still there

UFO RR

For some strange reason I never posted the last round of the UFO RR and I'm about to send the last one home so here's Celtic Christmas as she arrived back in April/May

And as she left me a few weeks later

I'll have pics of the last one tomorrow after I've put a few more hours in on it today ready to mail it home tomorrow

Mar Busby update

This week I finished off the yellow motif did a couple of letters and made a start on the blue one and with that one I've worked across the entire width of it.

Lastly the new stash from Woolfest last weekend, the two in the middle at the top are the doughnuts I wound from the first 2 skeins of sock yarn, I also bought a pair of scissors but I can't remember where I've put them!
The thing with the fish on is a knitting project bag from Nicsknots and I can see me getting a few more of them in the future

I've been RAKed

At the Cheshire Show last week a fellow member of my institute was demonstrating making 'washing line' baskets (not the correct name but I can't remember what it is and that's what they have been nicknamed) and mentioned that she was thinking of selling some of them so I told her that if she did decide to that I was putting my name on one in particular early on because I loved it so much.

Last night while I was doing the register at WI I had said basket appear under my nose along with Happy Birthday!!!

The bottom

and one part of the side

This is same thing that Mum went to Denman for a couple of months ago so I have a basic idea of how they are made and will get round to trying one someday myself.

This one is made up of scraps from other baskets/bags and projects (this member is very creative and does some workshops for the WI) an dit's the randomness of it that I love.

So the general idea is to take a washing line (has to be the right sort but I'm not sure what type it is) and then you wrap strips of fabric around it before stitching it together.

June Progress & July Goals

For June I said
Finish the Sunflowers No
Work on my WIPs No
Finish something other than the Sunflowers I finished Travelling Stitcher
Start Mel's Birthday present if I get the sunflowers done quickly enough No

For July I'd like to
Finish the Sunflowers
Finish off Magic in Motion
Work on a WIP

I stitched for a total of 91 hours 55 mins in June and over half that time went on the Sunflowers. I had 1 finish and 1 start and just one day of no stitching

Current WIP total = 46

Updates and a mini HD

Before I went to Woolfest last week I finished the first side of the purse so join me in a mini happy dance, side 2 is under way now :)

BTW Jo it measures 6 1/4" at it's highist point and a little over 5 1/2" and it's widest point but that's just plain as it now, it will get longer when I add the fringe.

The scan really doesn't do justice to sheen and sparkle of the beads esp. the gold ones but by the time I remembered I needed a pic it was dark out

Next is my progress on Mary Wigham, I made good progress while at Woolfest

And as there is a request for pics of where we are stitching ours here's my pics.

In the Caravan


And in a cattle pen in the middle of a Livestock auction in Cumbria

Lastly this weeks pic of the Sunflowers, not much progress on it all last week but I did warn you there won't be because I had such a busy week and I really didn't want to take it to Cumbria with me

This evening I've been out playing bowls and I won my first match 21-15 and it's only my 4th or 5th match ever

Woolfest 2009

I got back late on Saturday night and was waaaaaay to tired to do anything other than have a brew and fall into bed, yesterday I just plain forgot! It was hard work this year and hot but I did get a good bit of progress in on Mary Wigham, not much else to do when you've got no electric in the caravan and so no portable DVD player but it was wonderful to be able to stitch in peace until after 10pm every evening

Anyway first up is this cute little guy

who is the one on the left in this pic (I meant to put them the other way round)

Recently sheared Alpaca

Bruno who was quite happy to stand on his bars for a pic as long as he got a chin tickle out of it

A few of the dozen or so breeds of sheep there

Friday evening I went for a walk, Woolfest is up those steps on the other side of the road and along to the right a bit

The only thing I've not got a pic of is the new stash I came home with and for once I was very good and only bought 3 skeins of sock yarn (and great fun turning 2 of them into doughnuts)

so you'll have to wait until tomorrw for that

Cheshire Show

I went to the Cheshire Show today and after doing my 3 hours of sandwich making off I went around the showground. As it's an agricultural show they had the normal sheep, chickens etc there but they had other animlas there and I held a Corn Snake on the Reaseheath stand (no Mel wasn't one of the students helping out, maybe next year) but never got a pic of it

Right next door to the Ferts where some owls but this was the only friendly enough one at the time


And of course I had to have a go on the Carousel (I rode Mick in the centre) it's not the Ashley Gallopers that I love so much but they were Steam driven and fingers crossed I get to ride them on Sunday at Chelford Steam Fair

There were some vintage tractors

and cars

and some beautiful Traction engines

But for me on eof the highlights of the day was catching the Sheepshow you wouldn't think something about sheep could be so entertaining and right at the end they dance, well kind of anyway but they all knew it coming and seemed to enjoy it

The guy also did a shearing demo so the sheep went from this

to this in a few minutes

One of the things they aim to do is educate people about wool in general. Did you know that the fleece he took off the sheep is worth less than the £ it cost to remove it because people don't buy woollen items?