Catching Up!

After many weeks buzzing to and fro from Henley life is beginning to find a slightly kinder pace. I had two lovely workshops this month, then our visit to the London Poppies, by way of some of the more extraordinary buildings in London

the building in front reminds me of the library I worked from for many many years, the one behind is simply surreal when you're close up. 

The poppies we found very moving, each one a human being lost to all.

The garden is looking autumnal

and these two were singing their hearts out atop our tatty spruce

At last I have time to sit and stitch for a bit.

Some knot practice for another piece I'm working on

Those orange knots are too small, the thread being so much finer than the blue knots half way down the sweep.

spring green

On Sunday afternoon, the garden was like this

one cat keeping watch at the top of the walk

the fattening hydrangea leaves, swollen with rain and freshly visible after their spring haircut

  the sun shone through daffodils and violets

  

Wol was happy in his world

  the hazel was in blossom - I'm not sure I've ever managed to notice the flowers before, they are so tiny, yet the catkin sheds its pollen to fertilize them with a caress of breeze

 another cat guards the pagoda

 while the old dears chat to each other in the sunshine 

and up in the rooftops (now there's another grid!)

the starling suns his iridescent chest 

the sun shone in his blue blue sky 

and it was very very warm and peaceful 

then in the evening I stitched, then stitched some more yesterday and a final few today

Counterchange

I deliberately played with the regular counterchange of the squares, by allowing the beads and French knots to expand away from the centre, floating out towards the edges and challenging all that serious stability.

Today I also had an exhausting trip to London for work. 

Still not feeling quite up to scratch

cherries, ripe cherries!

I've been experimenting again; wanted to see how the cherries on dissolvable fabric might work. I thought I might as well do several as there was room within the little hoop for more than one. I traced the design on with waterproof pen, then stitched the outlines and filled things in. I was so pleased with the result, and keen not to waste the rest of the fabric, so traced off a poppy from a book of Art Nouveau flower designs and had a go at that as well.I'm really pleased with them both; the camera has managed a reasonable job of picking out the different reds. I'm waiting for the Man to return from Cricket at Lords before putting it all in water to see if it all holds together; too much fun not to share.

Gosh! This is enjoyable ....

We've spent some good time in the garden this weekend, finalising the very fine compost bin, already being put to good use. We had been using one of those great big plastic mesh delivery sacks during the year, all the usual stuff chucked in and occasionally turned and tossed about. Now it is all ready to be transferred into the proper bin. A goodly portion of it had rotted down already and will help the rest to get going.

The blowsy pink rhododendron is really flowering its socks off this year. Last year a lot of the buds were frost damaged, this year it is awash with blooms,

so much so in fact, that we have a heart of flowers - can you see it?

It all works really well with the colour of the maple leaves

a beautiful tree, given to me at least 11 years ago by Mum, kept until I knew I was stopping. It really appreciates being in the ground now, having had a year of free root run, it is rewarding us now with these wonderful finely cut leaves.

The meconopsis has yet more delicious paper thin blue flowers. The colour and the fine hairs on the stems remind me of borage

and the tulips indoors, gifted  have reached the absolute end of their beauty, translucent, veins of purple and pink flowing across the surface like spider webs of colour

or dark and mysterious in the glimmering dusk, still holding a trace of memory of light in their petals

Foxy Mum perhaps?

Sshhh, who's there?

Who are you looking at?

me ? ....

do I look bothered?

Elsewhere in the garden

the gravity fed water collection system is in full working order - a masterpiece of urban technology, note the precision positioning of hose at top, that takes the overflow from the water butt at the top of the garden and brings it down to the vegetable garden - there's also a water butt to take overflow for the roof and a galvanized tank for the water from the shed - the Man is very serious about his water!

the slugs are slugging

the ferns are unfurling

the vegetable beds are filling up and the greenhouse is overflowing!

Rum is drinking puddles

whilst yesterday Rasin was looking pensive

Over the weekend we had a Small Boy to stay, along with with his Mum. They sat at the bottom of the garden waiting for baby foxes

One was kind enough to oblige, much to my and Brody's delight.

We  lunched in Bistro 45, spent time at the Jack in the Green, Hastings,which was as ever very crowded. At one point a rather bewildered looking lady said to me distractedly, "oh .... we only wanted to look at the shops in the High Street, we didn't know this was on  .... it's all rather Pagan isn't it? Absolutely!!!
Here's the start of the parade, courtesy of YouTube, down by the net huts with the cliffs behind ... close your eyes, turn up the volume and imagine the thrum of the drums vibrating in your chest!

Brodie also had a little piece of stitchery created, just for him. We had great fun, with me stitching while he told me, very definitely,  what to put where - it was very bling!

Another piece is still on the go - stitching finished I think, now to work out how to embellish the corners - something with organza stitched around the circle I think - here just thrown about the stitchery to get an idea of what and where

and another tryout just to see what if ..... layers and stitching and a little bit of batting to give contour

It looks curious in the flat light of the camera flash and is a "concept demonstrator"!


Outside in the night the rain is falling, falling, falling beyond my window