March 2020 Photo Hunt

Hello everyone; hope you are all keeping safe.  Now for some 'happy' photos given the current situation most of the world is living with.

1   Birthday

We don't celebrate birthdays and the like here but there is a birthday today as it is 5 years ago that we moved into our current home.  Where has the time gone?

Here is my favourite bit of our new home.

The seating area overlooking the garden; my 'chair' is on the right.  From here I can see the 

garden and watch the little birds that can get into the 'cage' on the veranda.

When I have my brews, you will find me here with my latest reading book.

Taken from the garden, looking up where I sit.

2   Jazzy

Couldn't resist this as my Jazzy photo; the apples are lovely and crisp.

3   Flag

Years ago (!) I used to be able to move 3' x 2' flags with ease...  not any more!

Here are the flags I used to make a better path to the polytunnel at the old house.

Taken in 2005.

Here I made a raised area, with flags, upon which I could stand various pots.

Taken in 2006...   hmmmm

The photo I had planned to include meant I had to go out and take a photo of it but 

in the current situation I did not go out but I used my initiative!

This huge flag is outside our Town Hall.  It is huge.  Thanks Google!

4   Three

I am still making quilts for Project Linus; here are three of my latest ones, all modeled by Beloved.

I added a flange border; a first for me.

Another flange border; a lot of extra work but I do like then.

They are not perfect but I'm still learning and having fun.

5   Cushion

I cannot remember when I bought this tapestry kit (over 15 years ago???) but

last year I finally made it.

6   Own choice

Who can resist lambs?  There are loads in the fields now so spring is here!

Well that's my lot for this month.  I'll be keeping an eye on who links with Hawthorn.  Thanks Hawthorn.

Five on Friday - Gratitude 13 March 2020

Every night as I try to go to sleep I do reflect on the day's gratitudes; I wake up several times during the night and try to focus of the next day's gratitudes.  Got to be positive!  So here are my most recent ones.

1   Project Linus

I am spending a lot of time making lap quilts for the charity Project Linus; it is an outlet for my creativity and, in theory, it is reducing my fabric stash.  I can try lots of new patterns and techniques on a small scale.

I finished this last week, having been inspired by a much bigger quilt I saw on Facebook.

2   Using my IT skills

Before I retired I used to teach adults various aspects of IT (database, spreadsheets, web design, etc etc).  Whilst I've forgotten a lot of it, I do know I can re-learn if I need to but I still use IT on a daily basis.  

Here I used Word to draw shapes to help me plan the quilt block shown in Gratitude No 1.

The paper is cut to size and assembled; here is the finished 'paper' block with notes to 

aid my cutting and sewing.  Yipee for Word!

3   YouTube

It has been so good to watch various quilt tutorials on YouTube, either for pleasure or to find out a better way to, eg, make half-square triangles, use Parrs Reel rulers, etc etc.  I'm so grateful for those people who have uploaded them to YouTube.  Thanks YouTubers.

4   Crafting

For some time now (at least 6 weeks and counting) the weather has not been good here; wet, windy, wet, wet, wet, windy, wet etc etc.  So grateful I can turn to my craft hobbies and have fun indoors (warm and dry) while Mother Nature is having a tantrum.

5   Nature on my doorstep

There are fields on 2 sides of our house and a river on another part of it.  We have been entertained by the birds etc that visit our doorstep.  Here are a few examples.

Sparrowhawk in the adjacent river.

Yes, a heron by the kitchen patio door....

Look at all the young pheasants plus a couple of adults.

Saved the best to the end!  An adult female duck visited in 2018, daily and we had the 

pleasure of watching them grow.  Yes, those are my feet, being stamped upon by

small, wet, webbed feet!  They did venture into the kitchen if I turned my back

upon them!  So grateful they chose our garden to visit.  We feed

them wheat of  which they ate a lot!

Thanks for visiting.

Bye!

February 2020 Photo Hunt

This year is whizzing by.  February has been awful weather wise, 2/3 storms (and another one this weekend) and in between rain and wind and rain and yet more rain.  Whilst we've not been flooded, our hearts go out to those who have been flooded.  Hebden Bridge was under water again.  I found a report online that stated over the last 200 years it has been flooded 50 times, that's roughly once every 4 years....

Anyway here are my happy photos!

1   Heart/s

Looking through my archives I seem to have a lot of 'hearts'.  I chose this one because

February has been so wet!

2   Repair

Match 2019 I took my first ever quilt apart to repair it; what a job that was.

Never again!  Luckily I'd only tied the layers together.

Not so long ago I noticed another panel had failed but at the seam.  There was no way

I would replace the whole panel so I managed to find a similar navy blue fabric

and did a rough repair!  I ought to begin to accept that this quilt is too old to be used.

I think I made it in about 1994.

3   Tail

I could not find the photo I wanted to share with you... so used my initiative!

Top - crochet tails to be sewn in, they reminded me of Portuguese Men of War

Middle - Mr Pheasant leaving after his breakfast (wheat)

Bottom - Sparrowhawk visiting

4   Key

On a recent visit to my craft friend I espied a bunch

of old keys; perfect!

5   Knot

Sometime in the early 1980s I used to make macrame objects.

Here is a big wall hanging I made.  There were a lot

of knots in it!  I no longer have it as I sold it on eBay when we moved.

6   Own Choice

I saw this on Pinterest in December 2019 and saved the image.

Here is my version, a Project Linus quilt.  I just need to layer it up, quilt it and add the binding.

OK everyone, that's my lot for this month.  Let's pop over to Hawthorn (click here) and see how you have interpreted this month's word list.

Bye!