When I went out for my walk this morning, my legs just refused to pick up the pace ...... so I ended up strolling along finding interesting things to take photos of .........
a fallen conker in the middle of the road
raindrops on cleavers (goose grass)
a fly caught in a spider's web in the middle
a neighbour's chimneys, reflected in a tiny puddle
I have been working hard on my Baltimore block, and by yesterday afternoon had most of the leaves stitched
But before I could place the last four leaves in the centre, I needed to make a ruched flower. I started by cutting a two inch wide strip, and pressing the two long edges into the centre
I marked one edge every inch
Then on the other edge, I started half an inch in from the edge, then marked every inch
Using a double thread I stitched across the end, then up to the first mark
At the edge, I took the thread over, bfore stitching to the next mark
After stitching several zigzags .........
........ I pulled the gathering thread - it is much easier to do this as you go, rather than waiting until you have done all the stitching
That was as far as I got yesterday, before I had to stop and make dinner (lamb rogan josh). So I carried on this afternoon at patch'n'chat. I finished the stitching and gathering ....
...... then curled the strip round to make the flower, stitching the loops in place. I put it on the block and pinned the remaining leaves
By the end of the afternoon, the block was well on the way to being finished
Of course Friday afternoon means cake - this week it was one of Annette's delicious chocolate sponges, with lots of fresh cream in the centre
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, love Anne