BLOG 545

 Blog 545

 

Our nearest farming neighbours (affectionately known as the ‘Down-Belows’) are trainers of sheep dogs. They buy young pups and train them up; they take them to trials to hone their skills and to showcase them, and then they sell them on as working dogs. When we first moved into Y Gorlan, (we became the ‘Up-Aboves’ being farther up the hill) we used to listen to him training them in the surrounding fields. When he shouted ‘sit’ we used to stop whatever we were doing in the garden and sit!! Back then, two of his dogs were called Tam and Tess which just happened to be the names of our daughters so it was somewhat inevitable that we would become firm friends. This week we made our annual visit to their lambing sheds to greet the new arrivals. These are Zwartble sheep and they had a mixture of black and white lambs between them.

 

 

Lambing shed

 

Three of his dogs were romping around the field close by and it was these that captured my attention. I watched what they were doing beyond the perimeter of the pens and saw them run, swerve, creep and stalk, with their eyes always on the sheep; they were totally fixated. One of them (Gill) had a habit of using her paw to remind us that she was there; she even looked as though she was smiling! Anyway, by the time I had walked the hill back home I was determined to try and put this rural scene into a wall hanging.

 

I’m here

 

So, as with all pieces of work, I started with some quick sketching to help me to establish the simple shapes of movement. I particularly liked the creeping attitude where the dog is fully focused on the sheep. Here are the rapid sketches.

 

#1

 

#2

 

#3

 

#4

 

#5

#6

 

#7

 

The one that follows is the one I liked the best so I added more shading detail. This was traced and a grid was added over the top. I used this small sketch to enlarge the image onto a working paper pattern. And that was where this creative thrust stopped dead. Looking at the sketches, the expression ‘lost in translation’ comes to mind. I had totally lost the grit of the sheep dog and come up with a benign Labrador!! Back to the drawing board!!

 

#8

 

#9

 

10

 

11

 

On a lighter note, I had a birthday recently and Daughter #2 got it spot on again. If only I could get my leg that high!!!!

 

Birthday girl!

 

My little old school friend was also spot-on with her card. She’s the third one in the line-up!

The Hokey Cokey

 

And after a year of Covid-driven lockdowns, I was reminded today that it is the simple things in life that are important. We took the family on our favourite ‘clints and grykes’ walk which is just 2 miles away from home. This is the magnificent reward for a not too strenuous climb.

 

Magnificent

 

 

 

BLOG 544

BLOG 544

 

I have had a busy week in the garden what with the fine weather and the onset of spring, which in turn means that I haven’t got my teeth into anything worth show-casing this week. So I looked around me for some quilting memorabilia to look at in more depth and I chose this cross stitch sampler. It is a cherished item that was pain-stakingly made by my mother many moons ago and I just love it! It has hung on the wall for the 15 years we have lived here and because of that we tend not to notice it any more. My mother witnessed every step of my growth in quilting, teaching and writing and she was immensely proud of me. With this picture, she demonstrates her expertise in cross stitch whilst acknowledging my love of quilting. Enjoy! (Photography through glass is problematic so apologies for the quality of the pictures)

 

Cross stitch sampler

 

 

Block 1

 

Block 2

 

 

Block 3

 

 

Block 4

 

Block 5

 

 

Block 6

 

 

Block 7

 

 

Block 8

 

 

Block 9

 

 

Block 10

 

 

Block 11

 

Block 12

BLOG 543

 

Blog 543

Last week I was proudly saying that I had chosen a lattice fabric for Linus quilt #5. Wrong! As I started to cut and trial more strips, I found that the choice was completely wrong. It was much too busy so it was back to plain black to provide a breathing space between the blocks. I also like to say that this quilt just fell together under my sewing machine but it didn’t! I hadn’t realised that I had mis-cut some of the Batik border fabric and this caused all sorts of problems during construction. ‘Measure twice and cut once’ is sage advice and it is best followed to the whisker when making patchwork quilts!! Eventually I sorted it all out, added corner stones and completed another Linus quilt top.

 

Lattice

 

Corner stones

 

Linus #5

 

The final Linus quilt for this session of foot-down, motorway-driving, machine sewing was made using a gifted pack of Kaffe Fasset fabrics. I don’t have any other fabrics from this range so just needed to use what I had. I found a subtle striped fabric which blended and used that with what scraps I had left over from constructing the squares. Linus quilt top #6 was completed. I am well aware that these 6 quilts now need layering with wadding and a backing before quilting and binding but that will have to wait for another day.

In progress

 

Border strips

 

Linus #6

 

For some light relief, I brought out my Mother’s Day jigsaw puzzle. I was in fear and trembling about the impossibility of the task ahead until I realised that all the pieces were marked on the back. After sorting them into A B C D E and F, it became much easier to construct a sixth of the mandala at a time. It was quick to do but larger than my jigsaw folder so I had to add extensions.

 

Jigsaw

 

Completed

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BLOG 542

 

Blog 542

 

Happy Easter, and what a lovely one it is! Although the temperatures plummet at night, the days are bright and sunny. My garden is waking up with vigour now and the resulting areas of colour give me immense pleasure.  Here’s a picture of a spring display, with snake’s head fritillary towering majestically over the other plants. This particular plant was given to me by my quilting friend Jennifer who poignantly suffered a debilitating stroke a few years ago and is now very frail in a nursing home. What a lovely reminder I have of her every spring!

 

Happy Easter

 

As far as sewing is concerned, I have continued to use the building blocks that were prepared for the making of Linus quilts. This time I was able to find a distinctive Batik which I used to border each square.

Building blocks

 

 

 

ordered blocks

 

Progress 1

 

Progress 2

 

I have chosen another Batik which I will place between the blocks for light relief. This looks totally different to the other Linus quilts I have made over the last few blogs and it only goes to show what you can do with simple 2½” x 4½” building blocks and an additional fabric(s).

 

Potential border fabric

 

Another part-made quilt (Disappearing Four Patch) had been put to one side because I didn’t have a suitable fabric to go with it. During a rare bout of tidying, I came across a striped fabric which complemented the fabrics used. I’m looking forward to seeing what I’ll come up with on that one!

 

Another border, another quilt!