Grazing Sheep - The Scarlet Letter

I have been very remiss in blogging and I am quite ashamed to say that Grazing Sheep was finished on June 12th and I am only now getting around to posting about it. 

Time seemed to go so fast when Ray was away, his trip lasted for 9 weeks and 5 days and he thoroughly enjoyed himself despite being plagued by engine problems.

I was kept busy with lots of family visits and Angie from My Quilting Life and Michele from Stitching Cats and Chickens both came for separate visits too.

It was great fun getting to know each other and stitching together. 

I have been enjoying dabbling in glass and have done three courses. The first was a short taster session which I did with my sister and nieces and we made

some fused glass pendants.

The second one I did with Angie and we made coasters, window hangings and scrap glass collages.

Here is my window hanging

With Michele we did some Tiffany Glass work. Here is Michele and our instructor

Michele made a patchwork quilt wall hanging.

I made a mobile.

Tiffany Glass may be something I take up as you do not need a kiln which is require for fused glass.

It has been extremely hot at Poldhu Cove and we had until very recently no rain for weeks on end. Our well is very nearly dry !!!

My current sampler, which I am adoring stitching 

The Tablet Sampler - The Scarlet Letter

has been put to one side. I have been far too hot and sticky to stitch under a daylight lamp and I have been quilting instead. I can always wash a quilt.

I have completely finished two quilts which are ear marked for Christmas presents.

I have a few more on the go

The Robyn Pandolph fabric is so pretty 

This one (Sweeetheart Roses by Quilt Soup) is almost finished. The binding has been machine attached to the front and I am saving the hand sewing to the reverse for my WI craft session on Wednesday.

The backing fabric is so pretty. 

I am waiting on more thread to finish off my French Hearts

The quilting is taking so much and my supplier is now waiting on more from the manufacturers.

This quilt top is for my Father as I thought it quite masculine in colour.

I have had the jelly roll in my stash for ages and could not decide what to do with it, then I saw a video clip on youtube of a jelly roll race, WHAT FUN !!!

I am sure that many have seen one but here is a link in case

If you are interested in making one the Missouri Star Quilting Company have a very good instructional video

I have another jelly roll in muted pastels that I intend to make up for my Mother. They both like having lap blankets for the winter evenings.

I am making this quilt for a Christmas present too

It is such happy fabric to be working with. I am just waiting on some backing fabric. I have chosen the multi coloured spots.

Blue and Poppy have found the heat difficult and look for shade where ever they can.

I have been walking them in the evenings before dusk. Here is the family walking, you can see my sister and nephew and of course Archie is in the push chair. 

I wish they would think of push chairs when installing gates.

 We felt as if we were doing an army assault course in parts.

Archie has had his first dip in the sea.

He is such a bonnie baby, my heart just melts. He is so interested in all that goes on and is full of smiles and chuckles. He has a fine pair of lungs but we don't mind that :o))

I have been lucky enough to reasonably purchase a sampler at auction. Normally I would prefer to hang my own work but I was so taken with this one from it's size 80 x 89cms, the bird border to the two Georgian ladies (christened Miss Scarlet for my Scarlet Letter Year and Miss Georgiana for our new Prince) and the verse.

The auctioneers described it as 1856 in error, it is in fact 1816. Eleanor Parr was born in Ormskirk in Lancashire, her father was a boatman and later became a farmer. Eleanor married a Webster who was also farmer and there descendants still farm in the area. I must write to them as they may have a photo of her as she lived to 1897.

The last time I posted I showed a photo (via the fitted camera) of the eggs in our bird box, unfortunately only two fledglings successfully made it this year. This one flew the nest and landing in a flower bed remaining there for around two hours. 

Blue was fascinated by him and never left his side.

I hope that my next post will not be so long coming. Now I have to figure out what has happened to reader and read up on blog loving. Any help or advice will be appreciated.

Warm Wishes from Stitching By A Cornish Sea Shore Nicola xxx

An overdue update

Grazing Sheep

I have been introduced to Candy Crash and Monkey Quest and much time has been spent on the computer rather than with my needle. 

I could not resist adding a black sheep, you have to have a rebel in the flock.

Grazing Sheep

I have used Rainbow Gallery "Wisper" which is a mohair thread for the fleeces. The specified stitch was bullion which I enjoy and have done a lot of on other projects  but I substituted this with a mixture of french and colonial knots to create a similar texture to my son's sheep. 

I am pleased with the effect. 

A badger update - Hop-a-Long Cassie(the three good legged one) is doing well and in addition to visiting the Chocolate Box she now comes to my house and By The Seashore so is being well fed.

The bird box is occupied again this year, we have a camera and microphone linked to our TV. This shows seven eggs but a further one has been laid and a Blue Tit is sitting on them. Last year we had seven and five successfully flew the next.

I have a new strain of Poppies in a flower bed, for some strange reason she does like to sit in odd places watching the world go by.

It is a beautiful day at Poldhu Cove and we have been out walking this morning.

Ray' s nautical adventure is going well although he has still got engine niggles and has been unable to blog due to poor internet connections.

Here is a selection of photos around the lochs and shores of Scotland.

Today they are travelling along Loch Ness. Ray's grandchildren are on the boat this week and they are on monster watch. The first one to spot Nessie wins a prize :o))

This looks like paradise. 

 Here they are racing the Hogwart's Express.

 Negotiating one of the many canal lochs.

Those colours are real as taken with an iphone.

 I am missing him dreadfully now, a month is a long time and there is another one to go :o(( 

Ray has used a washing machine and a vacuum cleaner for the first time in his life (seriously) it was quite funny hearing him say that he had separated his whites and colours. I have told him I want lots of demonstrations when he gets home.