Summer time and the living is easy!

Would you like to come for a dip? Ollie and his friends meet at Pirates Cove every evening for a dip. Lots of splashing and fun .

This is a little bay that Ollie and we ,note we ,I have been the last few nights too and met many lovely dogs ,with their owners .Last night we found a beautiful labradoodle who was just sitting in the road. It did have a tag so we phoned the owner. We heard he was on holiday (not here) and his dad was dog sitting. He said he would text his dad and tell him we had Corby (the dog). Then he rang us back to say his dad was on his way. When he got to us he was very out of breath and quite red faced. The dog was quite pleased to see him and apparently the van he was stood next to belonged to the man. He said he had been searching for ages and calling. I did say I would have like to have taken her home as she was so gentle and lovely. So we left to continue our walk after saying goodbye to a very grateful temporary owner and dog. So a very impatient by then Ollie was off to the sea.Along a very worn path.

Last night at one point there were 4 goldies ,2 collies, and several little dogs all there, it was bedlam,but none of  them were misbehaved, I say that one did not want to come out, hmmm you have guessed Ollie.

Well as you have guessed it has been rather  warm here and sleep has been difficult with temperatures we are just not used to.

A lot of time has been spent here , yes the arbour has been built and the cushion is in place. 

I have to do another for the other side and to this end this week I sent for this to make for a cushion the other side.

Apt don't you think.Garden Pleasures .

I have only one finish this time to show you. The Sheep Virtue Courage, I am now with Sally awaiting Faith.. 

I have decided on a finish for these but I am not sharing that just yet. I still have the rest to do . The rest of stitching is wips. I am hoping to get berries and cherries done soon so I can start the new LHN when I visit the parlour. 

I have started August Wordplay but not got too far yet.

Another new start is the sewing roll Dames of the needle .

Loving this one .So thats all my stitching folks. I think I told you Martin had a craft exhibition at the group he is chairman of. He took a few pics if you would like a look. There are some talented people in the RMW.

Rag rugs made my various members of the Rag rug group. I love the beach hut one.

I also loved these textile designs in hoops I think I may have to have a go at this.

Or what about these butterflies I see another one I like everytime I look at it.

A cross stitched Rennie Macintosh design.

Encaustic art.

Quilts made by the patchwork group.

self explantatory!

This is a haberdashery shop made my a lady who has a love of dolls houses. I think these are all clickable if you want a closer look.

How about a shawl.

Beaded items from the Beading group.

Stained glass group .sorry this one is on its side. I think the other half did not take many of his own groups work.So there was much more but too much to show you here ,you have had a little taster anyway.

Well folks I think this is long enough now, Oh another ,yes another one of Kates has broken his toe our Sam this time. She is wondering what is next. Jack went camping with Katie last weekend and could not believe Parrots flying around in the UK. He was camping near Chertsey in Surrey. 

Well to all my followers I am waving here but it is too hot to wave madly. Hope your week will be a good one and you are  well . Take care and as always leave me a comment if you can spare a moment for me.

Hugs and much love 

Barbx

July, lots !!!!! to share with you.

Phew it is a very warm day today, I shall sit in my north facing lounge where it is cooler and watch Wimbledon later. My two weeks of the year ,when I am allowed to watch tennis and I get meals brought to me . Can't be bad eh. Martin is off on his archaeological dig today,they are just taking off the surface of a field,near where Roman burials were found. Rather him than me in the heat. He has had some problems with the natives,  some tame lambs have been investigating too, one took his measure last week and chewed it . He had to get 2 new ones as they were unusable. He has some cute photos on his phone so I will share them next time. I am hoping I can go and "meet" the lambs too.
Well yesterday saw the reveal day over at NH of the monthly challenge,this time Christine had given us La d da freebie of A rose is a rose is a rose.Which I finished into a cushion for my arbour bench (when it gets built).Here it is.

I stitched a felt flower to the bottom and I am so pleased how it turned out. I used an old cushion insert to go inside but it really  needed to be a bit smaller as I had to unstuff it a little. I think it will look nice on a garden seat.

I may do another but different design so I have a pair. Speaking of roses here is one coming into bloom this week this if one I bought a few years ago it had been buried under brambles ,before we had the garden cleared .It is called English Miss and has a delightful fragrance.

I am a sucker for roses ,can you tell. Martin has an exhibition of the craft and art group he runs. The theme is Rennie Mackintosh ,yes you have guessed in R.M.style here is one of the pieces he is displaying.

This is fused glass , where it is fired in a kiln. So clever this man of mine, My mum used to say "He is good with his hands"!! Say no more.Will let you see some pics of the other works next time.

As we are now in July and I have finished the July wordplay I shall show you that next. I really enjoyed doing this one and I think August ,now kitted and ready to go will be another one I shall enjoy.

I should have found a way to make it more British but never mind it is an American Designer so I will go with it. Martin says I should put Weymouth Carnival on another one!!!!!The back is done in some fabric I bought recently .

I could not resist this seagull fabric , no idea at the time what I would use it for, but hey ho just had to use it to back July

Slightly closer. Julie I thought of you when I was stitching a day at the beach. Last evening we walked Ollie along the beach at Pirates Cove ,yes it really is called Pirates cove, of course Ollie had to have his daily swim.I am so pleased as I had no pain at all and walking was definitely a no no before being diagnosed and now treated with Diabetes. So although I do not want it I cannot get over how much better I am feeling since medication has started to kick in. Martin ,bless him , bought me a book. Mans heart through his stomach comes to mind as he is also following my diet, apart from the odd beer,and G&T. he also gets to eat chocolate. Not too much a couple of squares a day

Which yesterday I cooked a seed and soda bread from. It did not turn out bad ,and I have a couple more recipes from it to try. Also last week 3 more books arrived ,these  I did order these.

Guess where this will go if I can do it . Yep on the table in the garden. Some lovely patterns in here and not too big to tackle I need more time ,more hands and more brain power.lol.This was from Amazon and was on offer.I also ordered 2 others on offer. One is about a couple who live in a lighthouse and a boat washes up on the shore of the lighthouse keepers island. It holds a dead man and a crying baby.The only 2 islanders are about to make a devastating descision.They break the rules and follow their hearts .What happens next will break yours. GOOD eh.

The other one is this and as it is the first of his novels I thought I would give it a shot ,being on offer and all.

So I am set for a reading marathon I think as the pile grows ever bigger.Hope you are enjoying a little light reading this summer.My goodness this post is turning into a marathon too . Have you got the staying power.

I spoke about backing fabric with the seagulls earlier,well I was reading Mouses blog the other day and arent bloggers the best.I fell in love with some fabric she had bought . I mailed her and asked her if she thought they did mail order.She said she thought so,and gave me details but said if not she would get some and send it too me. How kind was that. I mailed the company no reply as their computer was down they said.So I phoned them a very nice lady called Diane answered and could not from my description place the one I wanted. I said I had seen it on a blog and so she asked which one and she would go look . Anyway whoo hoo she found it said she had some , and mentioned some others which would go with it . The rest is history as they say. Here is my stash from Castle Quilters. 

The seagull one was not from there .The bird one was the one I wanted and the other 3 are the ones Diane said would go with it. OOHH cannot wait to play. The bird one I thought would go with this, I had come last week too.

This is new one by With thy needle and thread and it is called Dame of the needle a sewing roll. The little bird you can just see in the corner is appliquéd on,.Itching to start this. Along with this I got another ,I know I cannot just buy one of anything .

This one is The Sewing Bird. Talking of birds ,here is a bird design I finished last week by Alteir Soee idee.It is called Songbird.

This is filled with Lavender . The little charm is so cute , a bird in a cage.

Sorry this is so long just had to get it all in the blog before I forget. 

Family are all well Kate dd, has just been head hunted for a community cancer nurse job, it would mean her going full time ,she would like to do it but has to sort child care out as her husband has to travel a lot in his job,he works from home some days so maybe she can work it out. Her older ones are 18,15 and 11 it is just Alfie who is 6 that would be a problem. Jack is still waiting for security clearance on his summer placement at British Areospace. Then hopes to get an apprenticeship.Graeme and Sue went to see Robbie Williams at Wembley yesterday have not heard how they got on.

This also arrived at the weekend ,the first part of LHN mystery ,oh my I think I have more than enough to keep me out of mischief. I am still trying to get Courage finished ,Sally must despair ,I have started this one again as I had massive frog visit so threw in the bin, hope the next one does not arrive until I have finished it.

Almost last but certainly not least. I had a little gift from Tina (no blog) she sent me this pretty fob for my scissors .She also sent me a while ago this Downton Abbey fob. It is a little grubby and needs a wash really. I was my usual silly self and thought it was a bracelet (it fits) dur, it wasn't she told me when I thanked her for her sweet bracelet.Delicate shade of red here. It is a fob for my Parlour nights over on Needlecraft Haven ,it has a teapot a cup and saucer and a slice of cake. Which we partake of in the parlour virtually of course. Not done enough to show you a pic of this weeks progress on the Berries and Cherries. withHowever if you read this TINA,thanks again for my dual purpose bracelet and fob!!!!!

Well now I must thank you all for staying with me , and to the new followers waving a hello. Leave me a little note if you can I do like to get them .

 I shall be back in a week or two so until then I shall leave you with a pic of my poppy, the flowers only last a day then they are gone. Now off to walk the dog. He is off to vets again tonight -deep joy!!

Take care 

hugs and much love 

Barb xx

Ps I think I am with bloglovin now ?!!!!!