More exciting things for the house!

We have had French doors put into our kitchen-diner and hasn't that made a difference. The door and window that were originally there were totally rotten and also the door had occluded glass in it which meant the garden couldn't be seen. How useful is that? Now the view of the garden is terrific and when the weather is warm we can open them out and feel as if we are in the garden itself. Magic! I am so pleased. In fact it is such a change that I keep thinking the door is open as the view is so clear and I am not used to having a view!
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We were having lovely hot sunny weather but that has all changed and today it is warm but thundery. However the last two days have been quite cold. But I gave up wearing stockings or socks and refuse to go back so I have had chilly toes! Hopefully the weather will improve soon as just before it changed for the worse I bought a whole load of plants at a local nursery to put in the tubs in the back garden. And I was really hoping to do another dyeing session in the garden as well as I have more room and haven't got to worry about the floor.
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A month ago I bought a mini trampoline. It is fantastic and is so energising. I try to do twenty minutes each morning and another twenty minutes in the evening. With some really good rock and roll on the CD player it isn't hard and the time goes really quickly. I am finding it is making me sleep better and lose the inches! Already my clothes are getting looser! Even Martin has a bounce each day!
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Next week my class is on Disperse Dyeing so I am going to dye up some poly-cotton this weekend and also make lots of samples of various transfer painting techniques. I really love this form of dyeing as it is so easy and yet so very effective. Pictures to come!

Bank Holiday Monday

It was a lovely morning with the sun shining and the birds singing. So lovely in fact that I took my granola and yogurt outside to eat on the patio. I was then inspired to finish tidying up the garden and plant an azalea that had been sitting in a pot for a few weeks waiting for the right moment to arrive! Well it arrived this morning. I am a summer gardener. Only between April/May and October do I garden. Sometimes the urge comes on me in April and sometimes not until May. But then once I've started I get all enthusiastic and plant flowers etc as if there is no tomorrow. In fact Sue and I are going garden centre hopping tomorrow. Bad for the purse but it will be a good day out and the coffee and cake will be a bonus.

The tulips have been quite lovely even though they weren't planted until January. The colours have been superb especially the 'black' ones. But they didn't last as long as more ordinary colours. I had to make a piece of shadow appliqué so I chose to do tulips as the subject matter. I still have to frame the piece or do something with it but that can wait for a while as I have other things to do.


Having done a stint in the garden I then decided to do some dyeing and because I can't dye large lengths in the kitchen any longer because of our new floor (Martin would kill me if I dyed it!) I set up some acrylic sheets outside. I don't have many so I was limited in what I could do but a lot was achieved in a small space. I then went on to layer more acrylic over the ones seen below. It was fun but my back ached after a while so I'm glad this isn't my normal mode for dyeing.



And finally this is a picture of the small bag I made for the wedding. It is big enough to take my camera and other paraphernalia. It is mostly made from strips of silk with the odd bit of hand-dyed cotton and I found an antique mother of pearl button for it. Very simple and quick to make and very effective. I could make one for every outfit.....but I won't!



Now to finish my version of a Convergence quilt a la Ricky Tims for my class on Friday. I'm finding this great fun and using up lots of scraps. Well not really scraps as they are all at least a foot square. But you know what I mean.

Sophie's wedding

My niece Sophie got married yesterday in Mawnan Church. This is a very old church on the cliffs overlooking Falmouth Bay. The weather smiled on us and the rain stayed away. There was even sun in the afternoon! The wedding was at 3pm so plenty of room for the improvement on a dull start.

This is my niece and her new husband Jon. It is going to be very confusing as she also has a brother called Jon. He will now have to be referred to as Jonathan to save confusion!

The lace over dress that Sophie is wearing is one I made for her mother, my sister, to wear at her wedding over thirty years ago. There were a few alterations such as lowering the neck and shortening the sleeves but it still looks good. Sophie was a beautiful bride and glowed with happiness. In short it was a lovely wedding. Very simple but lovely.


In contrast I felt every one of my years and could not be called glowing! I had to arrive early to get my elderly mother to the church so Martin took this photo of me. I didn't have to put it up but I liked the hat. It's not everyday that one gets to wear a hat!
My lovely Mum who will be 89 this coming November.
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All in all it was a happy occasion and a great time was had by all. Unfortunately Martin had to work in the evening as it is a Bank Holiday weekend so I had no one to dance with! Boo hoo! Though my nephew took pity on me but only I think to stop my taking pictures of him! I have been busy with other things such as sewing but more of that later. I will try and be more regular in my posting now that I have more time. There has been so much going on at the same time that I was quite rushed for a while. But I have a few days holiday and will clear the decks ready for a fresh start.