Getting There

The Three Sisters delivered and installed. 

The Apostles in prep.  Created an in-house kit for the piece.

Completed New Stuff

An applique contribution for a  9 piece Ystrad Quilter's collective effort.  

Applique paterns used to make 9 marquetary  Ozzie birds.  Flowers still on going. Perhaps I could do the angels next 😀.

Cold Snap

Well, a bit more than a snap, but beautiful to wake to.

Lunch at the Manor House

 In freezing temperatures but beneath a clear blue sky, we took off to the Manor to take lunch out for a change.

Lunch won't be long.

Latest Needle Work Completed

Gek's incubator cover created for the local health board to add to the YMQ's collection,

and my blackwork image of FUA, copied from David D's photograph.

Blackwork Chinese Landscape

 The Landscape completed, now to workout how to display it.

Richard

In Halong Bay, Vietnam

Richard is no longer with us. A friend for 50 years with lots of happy times spent together in many places round our planet featured in the 15 posts accessed via the 'Richard' label-link below.  

Of course, in the early days we didn't photograph our daily doings the way we do now. Shame really, not to have captured moments like being driven around Manchester stuffed into the back of Richard's Reliant Three Wheel Van, aka Only Fools and Horses.

RIP my Friend

Time off from Sewing to See the Sea

Is that the Sun or the Moon? 

T'was the sun. The Knap in the distance.

Gek in winter cladding casting a midday shadow, looking forward to a lunch at Mrs Marcus's Cafe.

Kookaburra

 Five down, four to go, in the bird collection.

And so on to Sewing

Cross stitch flowers for Gek.

Using a chinese painting,

Gek created a drawing for counted back stitch for me,

to make a blackwork scroll, the idea being to mount the finished work on a rotating drum.  Hmm, let's see how it goes. 

It is Saturday Again

Prep for char kway teow,

 and away we go. char, char char!!!!

Autumn

 

Colours of the season with a very lush green carpet.

Although the poppies are still popping,

and the peas are still podding.  Very peculiar for mid November, no?

Playing Together

 Winter is a coming.  Plenty of time to get on with the needle work. 

Cross-stich for G

and blackwork with colour for D.

Last Rose of the Year

Brought the bloom in door to keep me company as I start a new E, a country scene drawn by Gek, and M, a Black Swan. 

Butterfly, Scenery and Pelican

 A piece to practice the different infill paterns.  

Scene of nowhere in particular, sketched by G, stitched by D.

The latest attempt. A ways to go yet.

On the Drive Home.

The White Castle, built by the Norman's, one of three in the immediate area east of Abergavenny. 

Next, a Wharf Burger at Penelope's place. Yummy.

 

Carding Mill Valley

From Stokesay we drive to the valley to take an amble up the hill followed by an afternoon cream tea. Great way to end an amazing day.

Wilson's 1939 Trip, Stokesay Castle.

In 1939, the tudor entrance to castle.

2022, now under the management of English Heritage.

1939, the castle.

Nothing changed over the 83 intervening years.

1939, the church entrance gateway.

2022, a little more lush.

Ok, just had to pose for this one.

Wilson's 1939 trip, Wigmore

 

The main road  in 1939

2022.  It took a while to match the two photgraphs. I was looking for the curved roof building, since demolished.

Brockhampton Manor

A moated Manor house completed around 1425,

Chapel in it's grounds.

Walking round the house 

To visit the orchard  of apples  pears and damson trees,

before taking a look around the dwelling.

Croft Castle

 

Through the wall, 

To the castle, owned by the Croft family for most of its 1,000 year history.

On hill behind, there is the remains of an iron age fort with a 360 view covering the Malvern Hills to the east, Herefordshire to the south,  Shropshire to the north and

Wales to the west.

We did find this rather unique, oversized bonzi on the way back down the hill🤣.