About time

I know it's just over 2 squares, but I enjoyed stitching

 So far so good, just 12 squares to go

 Up close, because this does look good.

This is for Fliss my daughter, not sure how she wants it finished. 

  I love every thing about this, the material colour, which was in my stash and the silk colour. These close up just show how perfect it all goes together. 

I have seen this mainly in Red on White, 

but one lady did it using bright primary colours

Our weather is dry and warm afternoon sun, which is a nice way to end to September. There has been alot of foggy mornings but we are missing most of it. Fingers crossed the weekend weather is good, get the garden path finished, and then we can plan more gentle projects.
Paula, not blue in the sitting room, it's not the sunniest of rooms, thinking more sage greenish, two shades.

I have enough tomatoes for chutney, will make two types, one with chilli and the other with apples and onions, but not tonight I hope to stitch again, hubby is away and I am having Pizza and relax.

Purdey is looking much better, still not quiet herself, but much better, she was lazing in the sun when I got home from work, which was very pleasing.

Recycling

Back in the garden, I have potted up loads of plants, on the chair are from my neighbours garden and in the smaller pots on the red tub are Sweet Williams, all here ready for my side plot once all the ground works have been completed next weekend. 

 I have replanted my succulent pot (brown pot) and also planted another for a friend, these plants spread quickly, so by next spring they will be full. I have started putting some of my smaller tender plants in one greenhouse, in the hope the plants will survive the winter. The table looks a bit bare.

 Purdey has been unwell, all she has wanted to do is sleep in her basket, which is very unlike her, she is normally a nosey cat, so we decided she must go to the vets on Monday, but this morning she popped out to see what we were doing. So fingers crossed she is on the mend, other wise it will be a trip to the vets.

 Our new sofa arrived on Friday morning, we are very pleased with it, it is much smaller than the old one, but I love how it is place here. It is nice to see a fabric for a change, now to choose the wall colours. This morning we have ordered two new chairs, these are in cream leather, but much smaller than our old ones, We will have so much space in this room now.

In a moment I am off to sew, I have not picked up my work and I am feeling guilty, I have so many other things I want to stitch, so I need to finish Grand Marquoir. Later the new series of Downton Abbey is on, so at 9pm, hubby is on his own.

We have managed to pass on all the items from our garden we no longer require, our neighbour had the paving slabs we removed, a friend has the sand they were sat on. I have also dug up plants and split the roots to pass on, it's great how we are all recycling things. Now all the heavy ground work is sorted, next weekend hubby and a mate will lay the concrete, so the work will be finished, once it is set, I can add soil to my extended garden and plant.

Outside in

 So glad to see dahlia flowering again, it reminds me of mum and her garden, she had these red pompoms everywhere. I now always have one in my garden, once all the ground works have been done, I will get another one. 

We are having the Magnolia tree lopped in early October, the tree surgeon will take about 3 foot off all round, should make the tree much neater. The kiwi's are forming on the tree at the back of the garden, all the rain we are having will help swell the fruit.

 More plants for the garden, I want to plant these Sweet Williams into bigger pots, for my new bit of garden. I think I am turning into my mum, most of the plants I am choosing would have been in her garden. Laura asked if I would be growing winter veg, not really, I am a fine weather gardener.

 One last look at our sitting room

Last weekend we sold the sofa, which is also a sofa bed, and tomorrow we should have delivered our new sofa, no bed this time. We have ordered 2 new chairs, both recliners but much smaller than hubbies chair. Will have loads of space in the room, shame the cats like to sleep where we walk. 

I have done no stitching, just no time, I do pick it up and look every now and then, soon things will settle and my needle will flow. The weather is much cooler, so Paula I am wearing my body warmer again, padded jacket without sleeves. In the office we have no heating, we are in a military building and the heating gets turned on in early October, but it not to bad, we get any sunshine through the windows.

No plans for the weekend, stay at home, last weekend we were rushing around looking for new furniture.

Is it getting cooler?

So little stitching, not even one square finished, 

life is a bit busy at the moment, 

but in a nice happy family way. 

 I went to the garden centre last weekend, 

the plants below are already in my pots. Still have a few more pots to go, 

but they are not ready for winter planting yet.

 Soon hubby will finish the ground works outside our garage and I am extending my small cottage garden, so all these bulbs will be planted in the next couple of weeks. I still need to get a few more plants, but most of them will be next purchased in the spring.

 My greenhouse's are full of items, the chili plant in the 1st one is huge I have over 20 growing, I hope to dry them and store them for cooking. The cucumber is doing great, I have had 6 good sized cucumbers and there are a couple more to pick. I have loads of tomato's, next year I won't plant any inside greenhouses.

 The pots by our back door are still full of flowers, but as the evenings and mornings are getting colder I don't expect these to last much longer, but I plan to replace them when they fade.

Work is going really well, I am enjoying dressing in nice clothes each day, before I worked in jeans and tops. I have been shopping this week for skirts and warmer clothes. The days go so quickly, the work is very rewarding, and  it's so very nice to see so many smiling faces in one office.

This weekend we are at home together, nothing planned, we will try and get Sam and Josh over on Sunday, and if it is warm a trip out on the bike. We both could do with a restful couple of days, at home.

So as our summer is coming to a close loads of plans for the coming autumn, we do have three weekends booked away in the next couple of months, all in UK, it is great to get to see so many different area's. Sorting the greenhouses and garden ready for the winter ahead.

I also want to find time for my sewing machine, as always I have stitching projects to sew, but I do fancy doing some dress making, I have fabric and patterns just need the time and inspiration.

Flowers

Today we have been married for 27 years, how quick the time flies, 

this bunch is from Hubby, I love the colours.

 Win (next door) gave me the Cyclamen plant below, as a thank you for watering her garden this summer, she also got a nice tea towel, which I have given to Kev, Win knows how much I love plants, it brightens up my kitchen.

 We have had a great long weekend away in Peake District, we stayed in The Railway Inn, Ashbourne, which was great, 

and visited a cotton mill and shopping centre near Matlock Bath.

Massion Mills has loads of interesting machines and history of the cotton industry.

 Above Kev is looking at the cotton after it has been carded, and before it goes into the machine which spins it into cotton, this lot has been coloured grey, at the time the machine was running all cotton would have been white and coloured after spinning.

 They had various machines showing the different ways the cotton was spun. As a working mill, all they did was spin the cotton and then ship it out to be woven into fabric. 

 Loads of coloured threads, 

can you see in the back ground how full every where was.

 They had a few working machines set up to show the final process, the machine above was late 1890's and the one below was 1970's, same process but different types of method.

The tour was very interesting, and to be able to see all the different machines working was fun 

Our guide was very knowledgeable.

 Every where we looked was full of historic artifacts,
I was like a child in a sweet shop.

Hubby enjoyed the tour as well!

 I have never seen so many different bobbins and reels, these baskets were full and every where, it looked as if a shift had finished and they are waiting for the next days workers to arrive. 

In the bobbin room, there is an area where they carve the bobbins all sizes out of blocks of wood, but every where, all styles of bobbins, there were hundreds hanging from the ceiling, with my love of wooden things I was in heaven.

And a shop, most of what you see here was from the museum shop, bobbins, thread, fabric chalk.

I also purchased some gold thread, not shown here for my cross stitch, very shinny and very soft. 

PS, the shopping center was OK.

 Back home, and plenty of crops to pick, we have salad leaves and cucumbers as well, the items below is going to my daughter Su's tonight, she is cooking vegetable lasagna.

The rest of our time away was in the country side and beside lakes, loads of photo's, Kev had a Bakewell tart, in Bakewell, to many almonds for me to try, but he did enjoy his.
A true relaxing time for both of us. I did get a small amount of stitching done, but a counting mistake, means I will not do any more to it, so back to Grand Marquoir.

Hubby is away until Tuesday evening, so I am having a lazy weekend on my own, which I think I need, we have been so busy for so long.

If you are still with me, well done, hope your weekend is good.