Free Motion Mavericks - Week 148 - A Page-Turner

Suddenly life seems to be returning to normal.  It has been raining.  A lot.  So instead of gardening I have been busy in the house all day, gradually sorting out the chaos that I have grown a little too used to.  I have cropped all the blackcurrants and have a freezer packed with fruit and a stock of clean jars ready for jam making. 

Also I have been gripped by a book.  Why has it taken me so long to get round to reading Jane Eyre?  Just because I saw the series on TV in black and white in the 1960s it doesn't mean I don't need to read the book.  This morning I was quite swept up in a tete-a-tete with Mr Rochester in the orchard.  And the other day I read the perfect description of this summer in the opening lines of Chapter 23:-

" A splendid midsummer shone over England: skies so pure, suns so radiant as were then seen in long succession, seldom favour even singly, our wave-girt land.  It was as if a band of Italian days had come from the South, like a flock of glorious passenger birds, and lighted to rest them on the cliffs of Albion."

I couldn't put it better myself.  Albion is now back to its usual wave-girt self.

Here goes for Week 148.

The project that caught my eye in Week 147 was Olena's summer quilt.  If you haven't seen her blog post yet, nip over now and have a closer look.

If you love free motion quilting, whether you are a beginner just taking the plunge, or you have reached the stage where you can do ostrich feathers with your eyes shut and still achieve perfect symmetry, then please link up.

Remember, FMQ is FMQ, whether your machine was made last week, or it is older than your granny.

Here are the very easy and slightly elastic rules:-

1.  Link up with any recent post, ideally from the last week but within the last month, which features a free motion quilting project, whether it is a work in progress or a finish.

2.  Link back to this post in your own post and/or grab the linky button for your blog's sidebar.
  
3.  Visit as many of the other participants as possible and say hello in the comments box.

4.  The link up will remain open for four days, from midnight to midnight GMT for the long weekend, Friday to Monday.
So far quilters from the USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, France, Macau, Russia, Ireland and Brazil have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.

A Picture for Sunday - Plums

Usually I have to wait until late summer until I can go fruit picking in the hedges, when the sloes and blackberries are ripe.  This year we have a bounty of plums.  There is a cycle path near our house, and two or thee years ago young trees, including plums, hazels and roses, were planted alongside it.  This year the plum trees are laden.  I have already made a batch of jam with the lovely golden mirabelles, and I have cleared space in the freezer for the red ones so I can look forward to some colourful cooking.  

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 147 - The Sun Keeps Shining

Summer is having an effect on me.  Just too relaxed for words.  No sewing, lots of gardening and a total unwind.  Last week we stayed for five days with my brother and his family and both my husband and I managed to leave our cameras behind, so I can't even post a totally irrelevant photo to try and deflect attention from the fact that I am enjoying a very extended holiday at home.  Like all good things, it will come to an abrupt end sooner or later and I shall be flying into the arms of my sewing machine for consolation.

Here goes for Week 147.

The project that caught my eye in Week 146 was Linda and Karen's Pueblo Rhapsody quilt.  If you haven't seen her blog post yet, nip over now and have a closer look.

If you love free motion quilting, whether you are a beginner just taking the plunge, or you have reached the stage where you can do ostrich feathers with your eyes shut and still achieve perfect symmetry, then please link up.

Remember, FMQ is FMQ, whether your machine was made last week, or it is older than your granny.

Here are the very easy and slightly elastic rules:-

1.  Link up with any recent post, ideally from the last week but within the last month, which features a free motion quilting project, whether it is a work in progress or a finish.

2.  Link back to this post in your own post and/or grab the linky button for your blog's sidebar.
  
3.  Visit as many of the other participants as possible and say hello in the comments box.

4.  The link up will remain open for four days, from midnight to midnight GMT for the long weekend, Friday to Monday.
So far quilters from the USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, France, Macau, Russia, Ireland and Brazil have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.

A Picture for Sunday - Sissinghurst

Dazzling orange and yellow under a pale grey sky at Sissinghurst Castle Garden is strangely relaxing, far from the usual reaction I have to 1970s colour combinations.  Perhaps with a blue sky it would all have been too much.

My guest photographer this week is my husband.  We have just spent the best part of a week with my brother in Surrey, and took a trip out to Kent on Thursday.  Sissinghurst was an absolute treat as it is one of the best known gardens in England.  I have seen it countless times on television, and this was the first time I have seen it in real life.  

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 146 - Distraction Tactics

Really tiny drawers are what my husband has been working on - this is a model of a table he is making as a belated wedding present for our son and daughter in law.  My contribution to the project was to pack the model in a plastic box and send it in the post to them for their approval.  Now he is working on the real thing.

Now that I have distracted you from the fact that I have done zero sewing again (it's not my fault the weather is so good - I'm not used to it) I shall just launch straight into this week's linky.  If anyone wants to use the comments box for some creative nagging to get me sewing again, please feel free.  I need it.

Here goes for Week 146.

The project that caught my eye in Week 145 was Margarita's stained glass panel.  If you haven't seen her blog post yet, nip over now and have a closer look.

If you love free motion quilting, whether you are a beginner just taking the plunge, or you have reached the stage where you can do ostrich feathers with your eyes shut and still achieve perfect symmetry, then please link up.

Remember, FMQ is FMQ, whether your machine was made last week, or it is older than your granny.

Here are the very easy and slightly elastic rules:-

1.  Link up with any recent post, ideally from the last week but within the last month, which features a free motion quilting project, whether it is a work in progress or a finish.

2.  Link back to this post in your own post and/or grab the linky button for your blog's sidebar.
  
3.  Visit as many of the other participants as possible and say hello in the comments box.

4.  The link up will remain open for four days, from midnight to midnight GMT for the long weekend, Friday to Monday.

So far quilters from the USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, France, Macau, Russia, Ireland and Brazil have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.

A Picture for Sunday - Peacock

At last!  I have been trying for years to get a picture of a peacock, but they are very skittish butterflies and fly off too readily.  This one settled on the path in front of me when I was out walking, so I zoomed in on him.  Now I have to aim for a photo of a peacock showing all four eyes.