Little woolly bunnies

Friday was time again for a quilters lunch, so the Friday afternoon class met up at The Herb Patch for a light lunch. Despite being school holidays it was very quiet in the cafe and we had a lovely relaxed lunch before setting off to the Fat Quarters to do some sewing. Helen wasn't able to join us because she was chained to the Gammill machine down in the basement again. This weeks show and tell was Dawn's cute rabbit she has knitted. Made from 100% alpaca wool with an Aran jumper he is so cuddly. Not to be left out when we got home Jenny took some pictures of her own rabbit, Magic, equally cute but she does not sit still long enough to be cuddled!!

Lakes and Mountains

The weather has been fabulous this weekend and so we decided to spend a couple of days in the Lake District. We stayed in Penrith. On Sunday it was still, sunny and icy cold. We collected the rest of the family from Keswick and then set off along the side of Derwentwater and up the track to Ashness Bridge. The water in the stream had frozen at the edges but the views down to Derwentwater were spectacular. It was so cold it was hazy where the cold air hung over the lake. We then ventured up the narrow single track lane to Whatendlath. The tarn was frozen over for about 2/3 of its surface area and the ice was about half an inch thick. With the sky so blue it made lovely scenery for photos. We sat up above the stream on the hill and had a picnic, then took the usual family photograph.

Berry Delicious

Thanks to Margaret fot this fab treat today at the Friday afternoon Fat Quarters class, she made us each a beautiful pavlova, homemade meringues topped with fresh cream and fruits of the forest!Yum yum. Not only is she a prolific quilter she is a good cook too. Once the cakes were eaten we were quite industrious today, Helen working downstairs on the gammill long arm quilting machine and the rest of us continuing with ongoing projects. Today is the start of the school half term holidays so I a lovely Melly and me pattern for Jenny to work on.

Stripes before the eyes

What a lovely weekend we have had, the weather has been sunny, mild and calm. I have been in the garden chopping back all the dead stuff and filling up the compost bin so not a lot of sewing this weekend. On Friday there was a good turnout at the class at the Fat Quarters. Here is a picture of Margaret and her Newton the sheep quilt she is working on at the moment. She is just about to start hand quiliting it. I was working on the black and white stripes, sewing long strips before cutting them into 10" blocks. I am always thinking about what to do next, I have started saving up fat quarters for this lovely Rosalie Quinlan bag pattern Dawn gave me in the Secret Santa at Christmas. I do like the pinks and greens that Leanne Beasley and Rosalie Quinlan design in, so I have chosen these fabrics to try to get that look. The fabric design is called Sherbert by Buggy Barn. Thanks to my friend Shirley who has reminded me about our sewing teacher at school, Mrs Clark. Whilst we were never inspired with great projects the long tedious sewing lessons with samples of stitches is paying off now.