Friday 25th September

 I have just had a look at the stats for how many people look at our blog and this month there have been 286 and 13096 since I started it.  That is really encouraging to know that people do look and it is worthwhile doing it.  

So far with our little jumper and hat knitting challenge for Africa, we have made 25 jumper and hat sets and 2 extra hats.  That is really good and I hope to be able to pass them on next week .  I will photograph them and post it then. Well done to all the ladies who made them.

I have now finished my table runner and made a little square mat with the leftover pieces and it now resides on my dining room table.

The cloth underneath is a piece of hardanger I did many years ago using a thick 'country' style cotton and No. 5 perle.

I have also finished the India piece and just need to buy a frame for it.

You can't see very well but I have used tiny white beads scattered across the background as a way of catching down the chiffons.

Busy week next week.  I've got the decorator in doing my bedroom so I will be sleeping in the bedroom in the loft which is a cold room in the winter and the weather has just changed.  Never mind, it will be worth it when it is finished.

Friday 18th September

 Trying to get back into the swing of doing some normal things and then the new restrictions come in and we can't meet as a group so we missed our first get together yesterday.  I did however, join some friends for a stitching day (just 5 of us) and we had a lovely chat together.  It's the companionship that you miss most.  

Eileen has been doing a small piece of work for a while now, her 'stitching out' piece and she has finished it into this lovely little hanging.

One member of our group challenged us to make a concertina book.  I have to admit I haven't started mine yet but Eileen has done hers and even though she isn't a member of TEG she has produced this wonderful piece with an African theme.

Sorry, I think my finger got in the way of the end of the piece (David Bailey I am not).

Maybe some of our members will be inspired by this.

Cath in the meantime has been making project bags.  Not sure how many projects you are doing but it looks good.

Cath also sent these lovely pictures of lichen that she taken.

Thursday 10th September.

 Hadn't realised how long it was since I last did the blog.  I have had my daughter staying with me for a couple of weeks and then we have had a lovely week away in a holiday cottage in Northumberland.  We were right by the sea at a place called Howick.  We were on a working farm that kept Limousin cows and a bull that was in a pen quite close to the cottages.  He was quite gentle and loved having his head brushed (not that I did it). Apparently he had come to the farm presumably to do his duty but his passport said he was a female and he can't move on anywhere else until that is changed which as you can imagine, takes months.  We did lots of walking along the beaches and the coastal path which was at the bottom of our garden.  We also saw dolphins one morning in the bay nearby.  It was sunny all week except for Wednesday afternoon when it was a bit wet but didn't spoil our day.  The wind was a bit strong - didn't do much for my hair - but as it was warm, we were ok.

The view from our patio. The coastal path was just over the wall.

This little bay was at the bottom of the cliff in the previous photo.

                                                           

This lovely pattern in the sand caught my eye.  Some of the grains of sand were black and some sparkled, I presumed this might be coal dust as they mined out to sea on Tyneside.

Thursday 13th August

 Not much to tell you all this week.  I have been at my daughters helping to cut the hedge and tidy up the garden. We picked masses of lavender, put some in the airing cupboard to dry and some in pots around the house but lots went into the wheelie bin, which does now smell nice.

There is to be a sale of goods on the 27th September in the village hall at Wilson's Lane, East Ayton, YO13 9HY. Open from 10am to 2pm, there will be lots of patchwork and quilting fabrics, lots of wools for spinning and felting as well as silk fibres, some plain embroidery fabrics and all the usual haberdashery.  Proceeds will be to three charities, RNLI, St. Catherine's Hospice and Sue Ryder. Hope some of you can make it, there are some bargains to be had.

My only photo this time is my set of three baby jumpers and hats.  We should be sending quite a bundle of them when they are all collected in.

Saturday 8th August

 My apologise for getting later and later writing this blog but it has been a busy week.  Lindsay and I did a wonderful walk on Monday from Robin Hoods Bay along the cliff to Hawsker then back along the cinder track, glorious sunshine but with a cool breeze to make walking comfortable.  Since then I have been catching up with friends and going out to cafes for coffee which has been nice.

Liz and Roma have been knitting little baby sweaters as have I, so we should have quite a collection by September.  I have heard that the gentleman who is collecting these up to take to Africa is thrilled by everyone's generosity in doing this.

On Thursday I got together with my stitching friends and one of them had been working with her granddaughter on what was originally to be a cushion cover but ended up as a panel which was to be a present for her mother's birthday.  Nine assorted squares and rectangles were drawn on the fabric and grandma painted four and granddaughter painted five.  I think you will agree that granddaughter is going to be quite an artist when she grows up as she is only six at them moment.

I love the birds.  In the meantime, grandma has been knitting sweaters and and matching hats including pom poms!

Friday 31st July

Sorry I am a day late but I tried to do the blog at Lindsay's and had a disagreement with her laptop so I waited until I got home today to do it on my (trusty?) desktop.  We had a lovely walk on Wednesday round by Castle Howard and Coneysthorpe and had a picnic lunch on the green in the village.  I have managed to get started on my India piece and got the machine embroidery in.

It's a bit difficult to see on the photo but it is supposed to be the Taj Mahl in a pale grey thread.

Diane has been busy doing this lovely snakes and ladders quilt for a charity supported by the patchwork shop Alice Caroline.

She has also been catching up with her blanket stitch which I have to admit I have not finished yet.

I have knit three little hats for the babies in Africa so have bought some cheap wool to make two more jumpers to match them.
Sorry this is a bit short this week but it has been very busy not doing stitch work.

Thursday 23rd July

Just met up again with my stitching friends, sitting in a conservatory with the doors open and socially distancing as best as we could.  Had a lovely walk along Scarborough north bay last Sunday.  We went quite early in the morning so it wasn't too busy, people were being reasonably sensible about distancing, the sun was shining on the sea, a cool breeze blowing and an ice cream at the end!  Yesterday I spent the day helping Lindsay tidy her office after using it as a classroom all through lockdown it was looking as though there had been thirty students in there.  We took all the books off the bookshelves and dusted them and put them back, there must be about 400 of them.
  |Haven't got much in the way of photographs, just this little bead rope using the pieces of canvas work I have done with animal prints.  Just need to tidy up the ends so that I can hang it up.

Think this will need some tassels or something similar to finish it off.