Holidays

We are off to Rannoch tomorrow for a week's holiday. I'm really looking forward to a week of chilling out and renewing my energy! There will be plenty of walking and fishing. I may even catch a fish! We went last year and it is a lovely spot. What I'm not looking forward to is the twelve hour journey!

I found a lovely tripod to use with my camera in a charity shop for £5! So I am going to become a dedicated photographer this trip and try and get some good pictures of the local wildlife. Last year I was lucky enough to see an Osprey and a hare. Two creatures that we don't see a lot of in Cornwall. Who knows, this year I may even get to see an eagle!

I'm taking some crazy patchwork to do in the evenings as hand embroidery is so restful. And lots of books! I have a great book on Culloden to read which I think is fairly topical for the area!

The weather is supposed to be hot all over the country which poses a problem of what clothes to take as in the past I have found it exceptionally cold in Scotland at this time of the year! At least we are going by car so I can throw in my whole wardrobe if necessary!

Pictures when I get back!

Sunday afternoon walk

It is becoming a habit going for a walk on a Sunday afternoon! But a good one. However this one didn't include a cream tea or any tea at all! How bad is that!

We walked round Argal Reservoir as this was something neither of us had done and it seemed like a good idea. There is only coarse fishing done on Argal so no fly fishing for trout! It was a lovely afternoon with a bit of wind and some sun. However the weather forecast had predicted lots of rain so that wasn't bad. There is a round walk around the lake which we did and it took about an hour or so with a sit down to admire the view about half way round. I took my camera so was able to take some pictures. 

The reservoir is very low and the old walls could be seen. The mud is dried and cracked but still very squishy! 

Very autumnal with lots of fungi under the trees.

This was the closest I could get to the heron as it kept flying away as I approached it. I do like heron even though they catch the fish but they arn't as much as a problem as the cormarants! They were sitting on exposed tree stumps like the three witches except there were four of them!  

More fungi and lots of berries in the hedgerows. The blackberries are not so good this year not having had enough rain to plump them up! Very pippy! 

A view over the lake as the sun was setting. 














Lots of little streams running into the lake but not enough to fill it up! There is something very relaxing about the sound of running water!














Next Sunday we will be in Scotland on Loch Rannoch!

Rinsey Head

It was a blustery but sunny day today so we went to Rinsey Head on the south coast for a meander along the cliffs. The wind was really strong and it was scary at times on the cliff tops. However the only casualty was the loss of one of my earrings when my waterproof hood was whipped off by the wind. Sad because Graeme gave me them on our wedding day! I shall have the remaining one made into a locket on a chain. Anyway back to Rinsey. This area was mined in the previous centuries and there are mine shafts and engine houses along the cliff tops and in the cliffs themselves.

 

This rocky outcrop reminded me of a meerkat looking out to sea.

This photo above shows the mine openings in the cliffs. They are now all blocked up for safety's sake but when I was a child it was possible to explore some of them. The openings are enormous! 

After all that walking up and down the cliff tops we eventually arrived at Prah or Praa sands. The spelling of the place name changes constantly! So it is either pronounced with a long or short a depending on the spelling you use. And I didn't feel at all guilty at having a cream tea! I still had to walk a couple of miles back to the car so I was allowed! Graeme had pasty and chips!  

Fascinating mushrooms. Really large and with a nob on top of the cap. I think if you click on the picture you will get a larger version and will be able to see the detail. They were on the edge of this mine shaft (below) which was fenced off for safety's sake. There were notices warning of mine shafts and there were several depressions in the gorse and bracken which were probably shafts and to be avoided!  

I am always amazed at the things I see when out walking and to see this large pampas grass swaying in the wind in the middle of bracken and gorse in the middle of nowhere was another amazing sight. 

This is the coastal path with Prah Sands in the background. It was really quite steep and I was glad we hadn't had any rain recently or else it would have been very slippery. 

On the way home we stopped off at Porthleven and had a wander around. It was exciting watching the surfers and wind surfers braving the heavy surf. They were very close to the rocks at times but managed not to come a cropper. The photo below is looking away from the town out to sea beyond the clock tower. The one below that is looking towards the town and harbour. 

                                                                                        

Rain, rain and yet more rain!

It poured with rain in the night and the wind was almost at gale force. I know we need rain as the lake where Graeme and I go fly fishing is so low that it is just not fun! In fact I don't think I've seen it this low for a long time. I don't think it was even as low as this in the drought year of '76. However the heaviness of the downpour has battered my poor begonias and they are all washed out and sad looking! So it doesn't look as if we will be going for a long walk tonight when I get home from work! In fact I am really looking forward to the time when we can light fires and draw the curtains and toast crumpets! Summer wasn't long but when it's gone, it's gone!

Crazy Patchwork. Reprise!

When I first started my website Farne Designs my main focus was on Crazy Patchwork and I produced several packs of fabric, beads, ribbons, etc for sale. Each pack was capable of providing sufficient materials for a large or several small crazy patchwork blocks. I even included a marked background piece for the fabrics to be sewn onto. These were very popular and I did about ten different types of pack such as Fire (mainly reds), Sea and Shore, Elegance (black and white) and Sunset (blues and pinks) to name but a few. For some reason I stopped doing these... I don't remember why now but I am going to start producing them again in the hopes that they will still appeal to Crazy Patchworkers. 

We are starting off with five different packs. There will be Fire, Sunset, Elegance,Sea and Shore and Roses. (See picture above) I love making up these packs as I get to play with fabric (mostly silks), beads, buttons, threads, ribbons, lace and braids.  

The block above is one I did some time ago as one of many for a quilt. This was a 6 1/2 inch block which is handy for carrying around and stitching in odd moments. Such a relaxing past-time!

Trevarno

It was a lovely day so we went to Trevarno Gardens near Helston. I have been before but Graeme hadn't. The gardens, grounds and woodland walks at Trevarno are supposed to date back to the 1200's but the present house is Georgian in style. 

This is my favourite part of the estate. The lake with boat house. A very restful spot watching the dragonflies and the fish, small brownies, in the water. 

The Italian garden is of modern design having been formed only at the end of the last century. In previous centuries this had been a lawned area but it is extremely attractive even if it isn't so old! The roses were lovely and there is an old bit of stone work at the far end which enhance it! 

 Wherever one goes in Cornwall one sees Monbretia! It is so common and yet a colourful and attractive plant. 

And of course we had to have a cream tea. No Sunday afternoon on an outing would be complete without the scones, cream and raspberry jam! It was delicious! 

While we were eating the peacocks which were in a scraggy state of moulting were eyeing our every mouthful. They were so tame! 

We also went and saw the reindeer which come to Trevarno for their summer holidays! It was really too hot for them today and most of them were in the shade in their shed. 

And odd as it may seem I have already designed and made the sampler for our packs of Christmas shapes which includes reindeer! 

In fact a thoroughly enjoyable day! Then home to enjoy the sun in the back garden with an iced drink of elderflower cordial! Delicious! 

Weather!

The weather forecast shows sun all day today but what did I wake up to but rain and now it's raining again! It's not fair! It's Saturday! And a fly I thought I'd swotted has now come to life again and is annoying me considerably by buzzing behind the curtain against the window! I can see it is going to be one of those days!

The radishes Graeme planted a few days ago are up and running and really need thinning out. If the rain could stop for a moment I will go and do it. Fortunately the men who have changed our black guttering and downpipes for white ones have been and gone before the rain stopped play. The front of the house does look smart now! 

I've given all my knitting needles away to a friend so I won't be tempted ever again to do any knitting. This will save me so much money as I would get carried away, buy wool and then abandon the project half way through because I am not a natural born knitter. Not even an aquired knitter. My skills are zilch! Just as well I can sew! 

I have been designing the next sampler quilt for the autumn's classes. I am using EQ6 which I find really good and it has been fun. Now all I have to do is choose some fabrics and make it! Easier said than done! The fabric choice should be easy but when has one had just what one wanted regardless of however many fabrics one has. Certainly not me....not even with all that dyeing. Well I will have fun rummaging and finding things I thought lost or given away. That is the best bit! 

Love the patterns that one finds on old gravestones. A lovely source of quilting patterns! 

So very hot!

The weather is lovely and it is a shame that I have to be at work this afternoon. It is so hot! Last night it was almost unbearably stuffy and I had difficulty getting to sleep! However not to complain as we don't often get days like this.

The class on colour went really well and a good time was had by all. However due to the pressure of time I didn't get a chance to photograph the range of greens I produced in the morning. I will get round to it eventually. Probably when it's cooler! Here are a couple of pictures of the colour wheel dyeing I did earlier.

Greens!

There are so many different greens. Thousands of them! I was dyeing a colour wheel last weekend for a class on colour I'm giving tonight and I was struck by the sublty of the greens. So much so that I thought I'd do a run of just greens. I did three colour wheels: lemon 8G, magenta and turquoise: buttercup, scarlet and royal: lemon 4G, intense red, navy. So there were a few interesting greens amongst that lot but the differences between them were quite large as I was only doing a twelve colour wheel. This morning I decided to work on the Ives colour wheel of twenty four steps and started off with lemon 8G and bright royal. A lovely lot of greens were the result but even so I reckon that I can make the range of greens even larger and closer in colour by extending the steps in dyeing. And when one thinks that this was just one colour combination the mind boggles at what one could achieve with several colour combinations. And then again one could add in a tad of black and achieve even more colourings. Water colours down to get paler versions! The list is endless. Have I got enough time left to achieve all these thousands of green? I'm typing this at work so I have no pictures but I will take some and add them in later.

And after greens I can graduate to purples and oranges!  Not to forget all the browns and neutrals! Oh what fun! The reason I started with green was because one uses so much green in quilting especially when doing applique work or landscapes. However with all that dyeing will I ever have time enough to sew!

The Day After!

I am delighted with the moves of yesterday. More space, stuff is easier to get at (if I remember where I put it) and everywhere is clean and tidy. Tonight I am going to titivate and finalise the putting of stuff in drawers. Graeme keeps telling me that this is the last time we move this wardrobe (or any other large pieces of furniture) so I must make sure that I've got it all just as I want it!

The next project must be some dyeing of fabric as I noticed when moving things that I have very little multi coloured half metre pieces. So I can feel some sunset and underwater pieces coming on for starters. And with the weather being quite good it might be a good time to get out the wax and cjanting tool and do some batiks.



This was a piece of silk that was batiked very simply and then embroidered and turned into a cushion cover.

 



Another piece in silk waiting to have something done with it. Below is a piece that has had applique, machine embroidery and cut outs added to it. Eventually I'll make it into a small book cover. The trouble is that there is just too much to do!

Close up

The Urge to Move!

At last I have finished one of the pieces of Crazy Patchwork. It is an over-the-arm of a chair work tidy. I started this more years than I care to remember ago! I have enjoyed finishing it. It  was great fun to do and will be our latest pattern offering. I have two more nearly finished so this might not be the final picture.

I have been feeling the urge to have a big clear out and move furniture around! I think this has been brought on by the fact that we have guests at the end of the month. Graeme's brother and family are coming to visit us from Egypt! So as well as giving the house a good and thorough clean, it also has meant making some more space. One of the joys of having guests is that one's house gets a real over- haul! Almost as good as moving!

And that is just what we did this morning. We moved furniture. I had the bright idea in the middle of the night...as one does! We were going to send our enormous Victorian wardrobe up to my son in Fife, as he is desperate for a wardrobe, on condition that he held it in trust for my daughter who I think would disown me if I got rid of it permanently. But I love this wardrobe and I really didn't want to let it go, plus the fact that is most unwieldy. But now I don't have to as he is going to have my double wardrobe instead which knocks down and puts up so easily. And it's solid wood too so he isn't being fobbed off with anything cheap! So now we have the large wardrobe in our bedroom; the spare room has the dressing table(we had two in our room!) and looks much better and Graeme can at last open the doors on his wardrobe as we've moved it to the other side of the bedroom. However this didn't happen just like that. To get the large wardrobe into our room we had to take the banisters off the landing and have the wardrobe suspended over the abyss of the stair well. But we made it without mishap and I left Graeme putting the banisters back while I went off to work. However when I get home tonight I have to sort, hang and otherwise put away the mountain of clothing and stuff that is on our bed or we won't be going to bed tonight! There was a stage when the wardrobe was stuck in the spare room door with me inside the room when I thought I might be marooned there for good! But we got there in the end and I can't wait to have it all organised and sorted. Almost as good as having a new room! Plus I'll be able to get rid of more stuff to the charity shop! Can't be bad! 

This picture above is the top of my Victorian wardrobe. Below is the inside with drawers stacked full of sewing stuff. The other side is for hanging clothes but is also stuffed full of sewing stuff as you can see in the picture at the bottom. What you can't see are the two very large drawers at the bottom of the wardrobe. It is a huge piece of furniture!

And believe it or not I actually found homes for all that stuff in the workroom. Well to be honest I did give some of it away! There is only so much one can use in a lifetime after all!

Silk

I spent a lot of the weekend having a clear out of cupboards and drawers trying to make space! In my turn out I found lots of pieces of plain white or cream silk which I am going to dye. I love dyed silk as it has such a gleam to it. When it's dyed I am in two minds as to what to do with it. Should I sell it as it is in 1/2 metre lengths or cut it into fat 1/8ths and sell mixed packs. If I do the latter should I sell mixed colours/fabrics or mixed fabrics in a range of one colour because each silk will take the dye differently. Choices, choices! What do I do? Which would be the most useful? Any thoughts on this please let me know. It would be very helpful. 

It was a beautiful evening yesterday with the most amazing sunset. All golds and pinks. Gorgeous! So we went fishing! Not that we caught anything but it was really lovely. Warm and tranquil. I actually had a couple of bites but nothing that I could haul in! They were too wily for that! Graeme caught a wee brownie at the last minute and let it go. One would have had to be starving to eat something so small! So he or she can grow on to become more of a mouthful!  

This evening there is more tidying and sorting to be done. What treasures will I find tonight! I am pleased to say that I found the corded elastic that I had been searching for for weeks and lots of gold cord and ribbon that I had also 'lost'! Everything comes to he who waits...or in my case tidies up!

Home Again!

Sandown was great! Well that is apart from the London traffic. I felt that I was taking my life in my hands everytime I had to drive to or from the hotel! But it was a fantastic three days and we both thoroughly enjoyed it. We made some new friends, met loads of lovely people and saw some superb quilts. So all in all a good experience. So much so that we have booked again for next year!

A couple of pictures of our stand which was tiny! However we managed to cram an awful lot into it! Now we have to replenish stocks and think of some new ideas for patterns and kits. Our next show will be Malvern in October so we will have plenty of time to get organised!