Friday 11 September 2015

There goes Summer !!!!!

What few days we had of it,  it has not been too bad this week, but today we are back to rain. Mind you the header pic is of one of the ginger plants we have in our garden and like all our tropical plants they have loved the weather. We are now having to wear pith helmets, and in the fields Ollie has been mistaken for a lion stalking its prey. He wouldn't know what to do with anything ,if he could run fast enough to catch it!.

 You get the picture though, the fields are so long in grass  which has now turned to gold.Ollie being a golden retriever can hide quite well if he lays down.

  So now the nights are drawing and we are all going to hibernate (suits me) and here in the UK the last ever series of Downton will be coming soon and in a couple of weeks the Strictly series starts. Of course on Strictly nights I will be stitching along with my fake tan and sequins ,with Miss Julie and Mr Stick ( Needlecraft Haven U.F.O. night )I am picking up  Lavender Hill again so you will be seeing progress on that. This is where I have left it at some point.
So you can see how far I haven't got. Please do not ask why it was left in the box of abandonment as I have no idea.Probably drawn to some other stitching I just had to do ,there are  some  of  you who know exactly what I mean.So we are now into Autumn with chilly mornings ,I do like this time of year though, I am not a big fan of heat. If you remember Sally and I have been stitching Spooky on Monday nights and I have finished my last cube and big drum roll here they are ready to be displayed in October. I know it is not until the end of the month but it seems such a shame to have the spooky needlework out for a few days. So here are my cubes . Designed by The Primitive Hare. Martin made the blocks for me.So I must say tthankou to him as my woodworking skills are non existent,
I am really pleased with how they have turned out ,I have backed them with glow in the dark stars fabric.The black and white stars are on an orange background a little of which you can see at the bottom of A. I have decided I may get the Christmas set that Isabella has designed. NO NO I do not need anymore . I had to get a thread or two and as we have no local shop that sells anything other than D.M.C. The pattern calls for WDW I just could not put in such a little order so I ordered a Teresa Kogut pattern called Sunflower House,of course it features sheep and Home Sweet Home on it too, take a look and you may like it too . Talking of Sheep had the Fa-la-la arrive ,Sally and I are looking forward to stitching that one in our Sal on Fridays.  The stockings were hung is finished and here it is.

We both hope to finish stitching Holly Jolly this evening.Another one to show you next time. My other stitching is Parlour stitching again over at Needlecraft Haven and was a  gift from Barbara in Orlando ,I had admired hers and she kindly sent me the patternThanks my friend.. She did mention on her blog that she was glad the cream was finished , I quite agree it seemed to take me a few evenings to get her done . I have done Louise and will do Henry this Wednesday coming .Sorry it is a bit crumpled but I couldnt be bothered to get the iron out.
That is all for now of my stitching, I have knitted a bunnys head ,body and one foot and leg. Will show you when she is finished. Martin my DH has been busy making sheep , Can we never have enough sheep in this household .



These have been made for 2 ladies that asked if he would make them , they are both spinners and weavers and knit too ,they too love all things woolly. Martin came home from collecting his glass exhibits and he found these animals loitering with intent so he brought them too. 
Yes this is the rag rug sheep cushion I fell in love with ,she has a white fleece back . Although I think she has had a sex change and turned into a ram as I have named it ISAIH for obvious reasons one eyes higher than the other . Sorry got a silly head out of the cupboard this morning.
He also brought these 3 retrobates home. Where shall I put them all.
I think the bottom one could do with lipstick and false eyelashes. So that is me done with sheep. 
Yesterday we went to visit and exhibition by the felt artist we went to see a while ago and took some pics of her work to show you. Di is a very talented lady and is wheelchair bound. 
The photo does not really do it justice of how vibrant these were. She had also done a wall hanging on the words of Flanders fields.

Isn't it wonderful , there are some very talented people about. Here is Horace totally made out of her hand made felt.

.
All the little bowls behind him are felt too. He was just sitting enjoying his ice cream cornet. Fun isnt he.
I did hand the camera to Martin as he is better than I am at taking photos. I wonder why he did not photograph the sheep!!! I would have been sorely tempted if she had her workshops on offer , she said it has completely taken over her life and it is wonderful to inspire others to take it up too. 
So there you have it , Graeme ds, and family are coming down on Sunday so we shall be seeing pics of their holiday in Tenerife. Kate dd and brood are all well and surviving after being left to cope yesterday(but only just ) Katie ,Jacks other half sent Kate a text answering a query if all was well  the comment she sent back ,"Alfie is hanging out of the window ,Sam is locked in his bedroom.  Jack is just burying Caitlin in the garden," Kate and Iain went to London to a book launch by Amanda Prowse , she invited Iain and Kate as her guests and they had a wonderful time. Met lots of celebrities and really enjoyed it. So photos of that to see to at some point. So my friends and followers , thanks for visiting hope you have liked seeing all the bits and bobs. Take care of yourselves and those close to you , see you on your next visit.
Barb.



10 comments:

Vickie said...

Oh such a wonderful post. Well, all except Katie's text response!?!

Barbara said...

Barb, I am amazed at your Primitive Hare finishings. They are so beautiful and why not leave them out all year round. If I really like a project that I've finished, I don't care what season it is....it's out. Makes me a little Mad Hatter but who cares. I agree with you can't have enough sheep and I love your Louise. I was wondering if you would agree about the cream stitching. Thought I'd never get that finished. I envy your cool mornings and dry weather. Here in Orlando the temps are still in the 90's with humidity in the 90's as well. Will be for at least another month. Then we will see a slow cool down. Those pictures of the felt artist are amazing. Never saw the like.
Well I'm done writing my book for the day. Stay as sweet as you are and "hugs" from across the pond.
Blessings

butterfly said...

What a great post again, and beautiful stitching and finishes .
Love the glass sheep too.
You look like you have been so busy Barb , hugs.

stitchersanon said...

A wonderful post..loved it,every word. I adore poppies, coming from Norfolk in the Uk. Poppies = summer. Fantastic stitching..you put me to shame lol

Christine said...

The weather seems to have picked up again here the last few days, always the same when the schools go back!
Looking forward to Strictly here too, and The Doctor will be back (not a big Downton fan though)
Lovely stitching, the spooky blocks are fabulous, and as for the felt work at the exhibition, just wow.

Julie said...

A post full of lovely craftiness. Such talented people exhibitiing nice things.
What a great pic of Ollie prowling the fields.
Your spooky blocks are stunning, clever you!
Fabulous glass sheep, I bet they were well received.
Your bottom wooly sheep reminds me of lamp chop (you know the Shari Lewis puppet lol)
Looking forward to Strictly and Downton, shame its the last series, but I guess all good things much come to an end.
love and {hugs} x

Brigitte said...

Such a nice collection of sheep, and so many different materials. And your Halloween cubes are just gorgeous. I can understand that you don't want to have them on display just for a couple of days. Nice stitching on your WIPs.

Mary - Lecoeurceltique said...

Even though I'm not really into Halloween, I love your Halloween cubes.
A lovely mix of craft items in this post.

CATHI said...

Hi, I just love your Halloween blocks! Great!!! :o)

Cathi

Sally said...

OOoh lots of lovely things to see Barb especially Ollie doing his lion impersonation lol!

I love your cubes. They have turned our brilliantly. Also love By The Chimney. Mine looks very similar except my fabrics are both plain lol!

Lavender Hill is pretty. That was my first LHN and I still love it.Louise is very cute too!

Oh wow I am in sheep heaven seeing all those sheepy pics. The felt pieces are beautiful too.

See you tonight for Christmas ornament night :)

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