Finishes for July

I've got lots of bits and pieces done this month - a quilt top ready for sandwiching and quilting, a pile of blocks ready to be stitched together, a couple of finished embroideries ready for mounting or framing, a whole load of hexagons stitched together - but these are the two finished projects for this month.

A couple of weeks ago we went to a party to celebrate the 40th and 50th birthdays of some friends. I made this table runner for them out of silk. It looks terrific, but it was a difficult fabric to work with as it frayed such a lot. And now Christopher has asked me to make another one for some other friends who are getting married.

This is a knitting needle bag I made for my sister in law who has a birthday in a couple of week's time.

Have you spotted the dried brown leaves on the table? We're not yet into August and already some of the leaves are turning and starting to fall. I imagine that's because of the really dry spring that we had. I hope that still some weather to come before the autumn really sets in.

Pay It Forward

I've now signed up for two PIF projects. The idea is that the two people I've signed up with will make me a 'something' sometime in the next year. I will then make three 'somethings' to send on to three of you, and you will then do the same.

If you're interested in being one of my six (two threes), please let me know in the comments and I'll put you on my list. Once that's done, you need to blog about it and start recruiting your three people.

So, who's game for a bit of fun?

A few more photographs from our Devon trip

Goodrington Sands on our one really sunny day

The Amusement Arcade at Goodrington Sands, 

Another view of Totnes High Street

A view of the River Dart

Kingswear - the steam train stopped there and we had to take a ferry across to Dartmouth

Some wonderful windy trees in Agatha Christie's garden

Some cottages in Dittisham, which is opposite Greenway, across the River Dart

The road up from Dittisham harbour - and it carries on just a steeply as that for ages

Dittisham harbour, though you can't actually see the river in this shot

Devon

We recently spent a few days in Devon, and had a lovely relaxed time. The weather was mixed, of course, with one very stormy day, several damp and dreary days and one or two sunshiny days. But what else would we expect in a British summer. We read lots of books, had lots of coffees and lunches out, just watching the world go by. We went to Agatha Christie's holiday home on one day, travelling by steam train and two ferries and we saw an Agatha Christie play at the local theatre. Very relaxing.

Totnes High Street

A gluten free homity pie that I was delighted to find in one of the cafes that we went to

Beach huts at Goodrington Sands

The steam train that took us on the first part of our journey to Agatha Christie's holiday home

The Christie Belle, the ferry that took us from Dartmouth to Greenway, where Agatha Christie had her holiday home

Storm clouds gathering

Agatha Christie's holiday home, now owned by the National Trust.

Dartmouth Station. Although the station was built in 1864, there was never a train line built to serve it. The nearest the line came was on the other side of the river at Kingswear, where the steam train took us. Sadly the money ran out and they were never able to complete their plans to build a railway bridge over the River Dart.

Dartmouth Naval College in the hills above Dartmouth harbour.

Give-away

Lynne, at Lily's Quilts, is having a give away. Now, I'd rather not be telling you this of course, so if you want to see what the fabric that she's giving away, you'll have to follow the link!

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June finishes

I've managed to get several things finished this month.

Two versions of the quilt that I designed for the Brit Quilt Swap

Our downstairs doors have glass panels in them which we don't much like, so these are the first of the quilts Christopher has suggested I make to cover up the panels. The only problem is that the doors have two sides to them!

From Amish Inspired Quilts by Becky Goldsmith and Linda Jenkins

Yellow blocks for this month's Rainbow Challenge

A useful bag

Hello again

One of the things I've been up to recently, whilst taking time off from blogging, is taking part in the Brit Quilt Swap; a swap set up just for British quilters who have joined the Brit Quilt group on Flickr. I've received my quilt this morning, along with some After Eights, which Christopher seems to have purloined already, some thread and ready wound bobbins, and some lovely jelly roll strips of Amy Butler's Love fabric.

The quilt is so sweet and I love the fabrics and colours that Wendy has chosen. I've put it straight into our motorhome, having recently realised that there are plenty of wall spaces in there that are just crying out for a quilt!

Don't you think it's just beautiful?

I don't know if it's me or if my camera isn't behaving as well as it should as I haven't been able to get a well focussed photogaph recently, so this one of Wendy's, with her gorgeous cat, is much better.