The falling leaves fall past my window.........

Are you ready for Autumn.? The roses have hips and the lawn is littered with leaves,"deep sigh" I love this time of year. Time to find a nice woolly throw and snuggle up in the evenings with the curtains drawn and some stitching or knitting to hand. I have more than enough to do , we have been out gallivanting this past couple of weeks. First we went to a needlecraft show which was a first for the organiser too. It was not too big as some are and we enjoyed looking at all the goodies for sale. So would you like to see some of the purchases, I think I should warn you this may be rather long!!!!

Some needlefelt kits ,Martin fancies having a go at the one on the right.

A mixed bag of inspiration. Not sure what I shall use it for.

Fabric that I can make use of.

Ribbons I couldn't resist.I also had an embroidery kit but forgot to take a pic.

This beauty was bought for me by my dear husband, it is felt balls , dyed agate beads and slate gathered from a cornish beach and shaped into small pieced then drilled. I usually wear delicate necklaces so this was so different.I love it.The show was not far from our sons home ,so we popped in and here is a picture of Ella our number 2 grandaughter , with Misty looking rather cross. Ellas mum was out shopping when we got there and Ella was still in pjs.

On Friday of the next week we decided we would go to the Creative crafts and stitching show at Exeter. It is about 60 miles from us ,so we had to get Kate dd to come and walk Ollie at lunchtime. Oh lots to share now. We had the best day of the week weatherwise and I was in my element seeing lots of ,guess , sheep!!
We saw the costumes from Les Miserables.

There were also exhibits from a knitter which were incredible. If you want to see more the link is www.all2knit.co.uk   to whet your appetite.

 A seaside scene.

All the falling leaves were knitted the panels were 8ft high.

These photos do not do it justice. I did take more ,but will just show you the other half with his knitted woman.

He got himself a kit to do marbling, and some chain maille books with tools and rings to do it. So he will be busy too, he has just enrolled for a distance archaeology course at Exeter University. Which has impressed Jack who has just started uni.

Oh Sam made us giggle the other day, he sent us a text saying, Hi nanny and Grandad, Mum has told me you have been tracing the family tree, she said my ansisters came over with Willliam the conger. Oh dear ,it made us smile. 

Alfie the little one had his pic in the paper the other evening . Great action shot.

He is the one with the ball.Anyway I have gone off on a bit of a tangent, I saw this knitted into a scarf at the show and yes I have started it. Maybe I will have done enough to show you next time.

I did buy lots of bits ,some long stitch kits, a blackwork lady,and a redwork stitching bag kit,that you can see on Polstitches site. So you see I am really looking forward to my autumn. I have a finish to show you ,yes you have guessed it October wordplay is done.

I really think this is my favourite (lol), here it is with the October mantle.

I have also been working on my Quaker Diamonds that is my "strictly"piece for this dancing season. 

Please excuse the hoop and wrinkle marks. The fabric is a warm sand colour so don't know what happened there. On Mondays I have been stitching with Sally and Simplicity now is ready for the border. Patience has arrived at last . On Fridays again with my friend Sally we are stitching on Jardin Prives Sal. Here is where I am up to ,1st part done.

This one is just so pretty and for free amazing. Wednesday in the parlour I have been stitching LHN Garden Pleasures. 

Just the writing and to finish the border. I have got November wordplay ready to go, but I have a few days before I need that one . I am also stitching a spooky design for an exchange. I need more time or more hands.

Well folks hope boredom has not set in. I think it may be a walk next time as Marti.n is all stitch showed out!

He did buy me a new lamp which is super and at only £35 was a bargain.

May I thank all of those who have left comments this past year. It is my blogoversay very soon and if you have been kind enough to keep the comments coming you may get rewarded as I shall pick a name next time. So take care my blogging friends and I shall leave you with a very fierce dragon and I shall speak to you again soon.

Hugs and love 

Barb.

Not one not two but 10!

Heads on the sunflower the birds so kindly planted from their food. What a bonus this is ,and it looks directly in my lounge window. Well my blogging friends what has the last 10 days held for you I wonder, for my it has brought a new haircut ,can you bear it?
Before.

And after.

Sorry about the pics . No one was home only Ollie so it was a case of do it yourself. I met Jack grandson in town yesterday ,gosh Nanny he said did you know your hair has fallen off!!
Well another event we attended this week and lots of pics beware. This is a first exhibition for this lady ,who I might add is wheelchair dependent. This is all felt work.

This was  the first piece that faced you as you walked in the hall. The flower arrangement really picked up the colours in the poppy piece.
But just inside the door was Horace playing the piano.

He is made entirely of felt.Martin got a good one of him face on but I did not get him to put it in my photo gallery so you have to make do with a side on view.

Some of the different types of fleece used. The blue bowl on the right is fleece and dog fur. It was a fabulous exhibition and I could have spent a fortune. Story you have heard many times before!

This was sheep !!!! and it was done on hessian with a driftwood type frame. VERY nice.

This  was my favourite I think but a price tag of £350 was a little too much to spend on a day out. The one on the right of the picture was a winter scene of trees and the one on the left was more of a in full leaf one.

The poppies Irises and sunflowers took my eye.

They looked so effective against the white background,

She had also done clematis and a scene featuring all sorts of garden flowers.

This was the view from the doorway into the hall.

A very talented lady name of Di Pattinson. I am debating on if to do a workshop with her. I could not come home empty handed and now my little yellow bowl sits in my  kitchen /dining room.

So that was my trip out this week.I wonder where I will take you next.

Now for the stitchy news. I have finished Faith but not into the finished state yet. I have to get all the sheep done first . Sally and I are really enjoying these sheepie virtues.

Sorry it is a bit fuzzy , and I have not touched a drop.October wordplay is under way so I shall show you next time. Garden Pleasures that I am stitching in the parlour over at Needlecraft Haven has not had a picture taken of this weeks progress but here is last weeks. A few more flowers have appeared this week.

I have picked up from the box of abandonment, Quaker Diamonds as my Strictly Come Dancing piece for this year again. The progress I made last week is letters on the right hand side a few little motifs and the side of the big diamond.

As you may remember this is being stitched over one.I am hoping to get in sight of the gliitterball again this year as I won it last year and think if I can get to the final I will be happy!!!

If you want to join in ,I am sure if you have an abandoned project Miss Julie and Mr Stick will welcome you over at Needlecraft Haven on UFO NIGHT STRICTLY. Miss Julie is a sweetie and Mr. Stick keeps us on our toes. You will have to become a member of NH but I am sure if you get touch with Clare who keeps us all in order you will be more than happy to join our happy band. She has a blog so you could get in touch with her here.http://www.aimetu-clare.blogspot.co.uk/

This evening I am starting the Jardin Prive Sal La Pensee Positve part 1. IT has SHEEP!! on it and my friend Sally is joining me too. So an update on that next time.

I have been  a little naughty ,only a little and got a little bit of stash. I had these arrive this week

I have heard good reports about the Before I go to sleep one . I read the Remarkable Creatures book from Tracy Chevalier about Mary Anning and the fossils she found in Lyme Regis ,which is just along the coast from us. The blurb on the back reads . Honor Bright is a sheltered Quaker who has rarely ventured out of 1850s Dorset when she impulsively emigrates to America. There is more so I shall tell you what I think when I have read it. I also have 3 more coming (oops) . This week I also had the pattern of Lizzie Kate Great things and the threads. Threads also for the Jardin sal.This I hought on Wednesday ,what is it about the autumn  and the need for wool and needles, again I am going to try to learn to crochet,

If you remember I bought a book about making mug rugs ,argh tearing my hair out here , what I have left after it all fell off! I have cut and tried to piece it together twice and still cannot get it straight . I WILL ,I WILL NOT give up!!

So now I have given you a taste of what I have been up to I will away to put the cake away I made earlier for my better half-a Delias eggless Marmalade cake. I see the mouse has already had a smidgeon off the end., would you like a piece before he eats it all!!

 Thankyou for reading the maeanderings of an old blogger and commenting too , such lovely people you are. 

Take care hugs and love from

Barb.

The arrival of mellow mists and fruit fullness! September.

Or should I say the season of the above, still in the wings at the moment although it has been a little misty in the early mornings.Well new starts today with a new term for my grandchildren and new schools for Sam and Ella. Kate dd, and family came home yesterday after a week on a narrowboat near Oxford. So we are going out for dinner and to see the holiday pics tonight.
Of course it is now September and the latest finish is of course the September wordplay.

Very  apt for this time of year. I will be starting October very soon . The back I used some fabric that I have had for a good few years.

I have one more to show you. I have been stitching Faith with Sally the sheep virtues ,and I will show you that hopefully finished next week , as I have just the inside of the border to do. Now for our outing last week We tootled along the coast a little way to Abbotsbury and went to the Sub tropical gardens. Martin decided we would have a season ticket so we can go more often , I was really pleased about that. As soon as we walked in I saw a plant that I thought was unusual and it is called a pokeweed in America. 

It looks a bit motheaten,but the berries looked like buttons.Lots of the plants there Dale (the gardener that planted out garden)had planted in ours. So let me take you fora little meander,.

This was ERN! 

Just love the grasses they had there. Looks a bit abstract doesnt it.

It really is a beautiful place ,and we wandered about oohing and ahhing.

Agapanthus ,a lovely shade of blue ,but not shown to their full advantage ,blame the photographer.

View from the top of a very steep climb. Looking toward Portland and the Fleet.

Another view through the trees was St Catherines Chapel.I thought I would show you that one but maybe next time as I shall have to fiddle and turn it round ,you could tilt your head I suppose ,I will wait till next time.

Loved the bark on this tree , so shiny it could almost have been polished.

Everything is so darn BIG here ,it is almost like being in a jungle at times.

We then walked through the sculpture bit . I wont bore you with too many of the pics I took . This Buddah welcomed you .

Then my favourite caught my eye. Really liked this one.

I really took an awful lot of pics here but I do not think we will wade through all 98 of them.Martin was just going over the red bridge and I got him.

I think that is all I am going to show you of Abbotsbury tropical gardens , but I will show you one last flower or maybe two. The birds kindly planted some of their seed and we have this happy sunshiney face by the birdfeeder at the front of the house.

It is multiheaded so we are hoping for more .

Our gingers are just starting to flower too.So now we have exhausted the gardens , sorry not a lot of stitching or stash this time . I did finish off Cherries and Berries into a little pillow for the basket.

So my dears that is the doings of Barb and family. Hope you like the trip round the gardens it is a must visit for anyone down this way. Thanks for commenting and hope you are all keeping well. I am tickety boo and hope to get more stitching done before next you visit. Take care and bye for now.

Much love 

Barb

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