Just a little selection of English cheeses lined up on a plate... (I scoffed them while cooking Sunday dinner and ever so slightly spoilt my appetite)
cut from these packets that I raided from the local supermarket before Christmas...
and now laid out on the fabrics with the result of the Boxing Day Quiz.
Number 1 is the colour of smoked salmon, so quite plainly a red herring.
Number 2 is a creamy buttermilk colour. I could just have easily grabbed a block of Lancashire or Cheshire, but I fancied some Wensleydale, which is perhaps a tiny touch pale for the fabric, but I was thinking primarily of my stomach at the time.
Number 3 - I have lost count of the number of times I have seen this colour on American blogs or websites referred to as cheddar, and I have been sitting here yelling, " No, it's Red Leicester!"
Number 4 - yes, here it is, the real thing. Living in Somerset, with Cheddar less than fifteen miles away, we are very particular about our Cheddar. We always buy Farmhouse Cheddar, and my husband likes it extra mature, so it has little chalky calcium bits in it. I prefer it a bit younger myself.
Number 5 - the same routine as number 3, but in this case I will be yelling "Double Gloucester!"
Number 6 in real life is a nice biscuity colour like home made cheese crackers, but my camera couldn't cope with the poor light so it has turned out the colour of dirty pastry that has been rolled out on the floor by a six year old.
Well done Gavin, breezing in first with the right answer! Note the confidence in his answer - no doubt or hesitation. He knows that we would have no problem finding our way round each other's fridges.
Motherdragon's Australian cheddar hit the mark, and Beth Strand realised there was something up my sleeve. Alcea Rosea just missed it, but getting subtle shades of yellow right on computer screens is a hit and miss affair... her cheese and number 2 on her screen may well have been a perfect match.
So if you are feeling a bit peckish by now, feast your eyes on more lovely cheese here, or just make a dash for the fridge.
Water can be so pretty in tiny quantities. This picture was taken in October last year.
Work is ticking ahead on the new project. The basic idea is to do panels with two colours, divided by a thin strip using up small scrap oddments. It was fun reworking the rudbeckias design on yellow - all very sunny and summery.
As for the burgundy red, the colour suggested blackcurrants, so that's what I did. The leaves are fancier than the real thing, but the sprigs of fruit are fairly accurate. I have spent so many hours in my time with my head stuffed in a blackcurrant bush that I didn't need to to look at pictures or draw a sketch. The fruit just grew out of the machine as I sewed. Fab fun.
Linking up again to Sarah's blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday
and Leah Day's blog for Free Motion Friday
and Lorna's blog Sew Fresh Quilts for TGIFF. I feel a bit cheeky linking up to TGIFF because it's not finished... but this block is finished, and she asked me to link up, which was very sweet of her. Thank you Lorna!
...and finally, Barbara's blog Cat Patches for the December NewFO.
The Boxing Day soup will be ready this evening. It smells delicious already. Sewing is fading into the background for the moment. Cooking is the order of the day. Is it possible to combine the two and expend as little energy as possible? Yes, with the Boxing Day Quiz!
Take a long hard stare at the photo above, showing various shades of yellow, with a couple of shades of not really yellow at all thrown in for good measure. Bear in mind that the camera can't cope very well with the poor midwinter daylight, and I have done my best adjusting the colour with the pictures editor to try and get the shades as close to real life as possible.
Now it is time to dash to the kitchen and get yourself a plate of cheese and crackers, settle down again and look at the picture, and tell me...
Which of these fabrics is the colour of Cheddar?
No prizes, I'm afraid, but a good excuse for a sneaky quick snack.
The answer will be posted next week. In the meantime I will be very busy relaxing.
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will
Enlarge the picture and look closely to see the beautiful patterns.
Welcome to Maria, the latest follower - thank you for joining!
It is a while since I started a big project, so earlier this week I rummaged through my bag of beautiful Oakshott shot cottons and striped fabrics to start a new quilt. The idea is that I will be working with gorgeous colours and using patterns I have already tried out on the free motion experiments I have been doing over the past few months. This time I am using cotton wadding - for the experiments I used cheap and cheerful polyester - so the finished texture is softer.
These leaves and berries are no known plant, but it grows in great profusion in Fmqland. (Gosh, doesn't that read like England when the double vision sets in after mince pies and one brandy too many). For the berries I have to thank Aeroflot, and the leaves are scaled down vine leaves.
It is such a great pleasure working with the vibrant colours, and also I have an excuse to try out lots of different variegated threads. It is a bit of a shame the light is so bad at the moment so I can't get a better photo.
Linking up again to Sarah's blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday
and to Leah Day's blog for Free Motion Friday
