Inside courtyard. Front of house is to the right.  

Inside the courtyard. Front of house is to the left. 

Front of the house from the main drive 

Martin trying to make his camera work at the front of the house!  

Side view of house 

The stables and granary now renovated 

Old farm carts in the stables 

Mawnan Smith and Quilt Show

I have had a wonderful day. My friend Sue and I went to the Quilt Show by Kernow Quilters which is held in the Community Centre in Mawnan Smith. This is a lovely little village...very quaint and complete with thatched roof pub. We had an enjoyable morning looking at the quilts and things and I bought more fabric which I need like a hole in the head. But then I can never resist hand-dyes especially when they are batiks. The quilts were mostly traditional. Very little avant garde stuff there but it was all interesting and I met up with several students from past classes which was fun. We had coffee and wonderful home made cakes. Quite sinfully delicious. So scrummy in fact that I had to buy some to have at home this afternoon with tea! It's no wonder I am no skinny Lizzy!
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Then we had a wander round the village and looked in the little shops in the square. This is very much a tourist hot spot in the summer! I booked a table for my son Andrew's birthday dinner in the Italian restaurant as the food looked awesome. Andrew is coming down from Scotland to spend a few days and his birthday with us! When I told Martin what I'd done he immediately said we ought to try it out before then to make sure it was up to scratch so yippee another meal out in the near future!

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Then on the way home we stopped off at Mawnan Smith church which is very old and a favourite of mine. There is a gravestone for a pirate in the churchyard which is very worn but one can just see the skull and cross bones on it. Pirates would not have been allowed to have been buried in the actual churchyard so originally this would have been outside the walls but now the church has expanded and the pirate has crept into hallowed ground! There are lovely views of the sea, standing as it does on the cliff tops. We weren't able to go inside as there was a wedding due and so we could only have a quick look around the graveyard. It is a beautiful spot for a wedding and the church was decorated with beautiful flower arrangements. In fact thanks to the wedding there were no tourists so I was able to take pictures without people in them! And then it was back home to look at our goodies and have lunch. Which was a healthy veggie juice! Well I do try!

I wish this hanging had been on the wall as it was deserving of more visibility!  

Quilts at Mawnan Smith in the Kernow Quilters show. I think this one is by Val Parker who is an ex student of mine but I could be wrong as I can't read the label!  

Cheeky cat! The sun came out at just that moment!  

A lot of work went into this Double Wedding Ring by Pam Annear. The quilting was perfect!

This was by a past student of mine...Chris Gurney and the red was truer than the picture shows.  

There was nothing visible to say whom this was by. But I thought it was fascinating.  

Interesting log cabin by Pat Riley. Colours were much brighter than my picture shows.  

Loved this hanging by Ann Butland.  

Quilt in progress by Kate Crombie...one of my students and a friend.  

The Red Lion. Lovely thatched roof pub in Mawnan Smith.  

The main road into Mawnan Smith 

Pretty cottages in Mawnan Smith 

Mawnan Smith church decorated ready for a wedding.  

Close up of decorated doorway.  

A wonderful catafalque...probably haven't spelt this right! Sorry!  

The oldest graves right up close to the church walls.  

The graveyard! 

View over the Helford river to the sea from the church. On the headland is a WWII bunker.