Sweater Dress

Well everything is back to normal now, new term and back to work and I have to say this first week has left me very tired.  I think the main reason for this is not so much the early starts as the dog has us awake early all the time, but rather the fact that you are on the go all day and I never adjust my bedtimes which are usually quite late.  I know some people will think just go to bed earlier but that doesn't work for me I will end up being awake all night if I try to go too early.  It is usually just a case of my body re-adjusting  then I will be fine.  Also being on the go at work then being on duty at break and not having chance to get a cuppa until lunchtime all catches up I think.  These things though they sound small do affect how you feel and after a summer of being able to refuel whenever I wanted it is going to take time!

I did manage to complete a sweater dress this last week and that is going to be a guest post for Minerva Crafts I will give a peek here  then post the date it will be live nearer the time.

It is made from a lovely soft jersey which is fleece backed, it was very hot having that photo taken as it was a lovely day and not at all tights and sweater weather.  I may have to do a few more like that as it is so warm and was easy to make.  Also nice and casual without being too sloppy.

I have collected three lovely books from the library, these were on my Amazon list of books to look for (by other means usually!) I ordered them from the library and they came really quickly. I read one of them yesterday 'Morning How to make time a manifesto'. It was a lovely read part diary, part interviews with various people about their morning habits and rising times.

The girl in the tower is the follow on to The bear and the Nightingale, that I  read that  a few weeks ago and Jane Austin at Home, I ordered this after watching a bit of becoming Jane over the summer.  Unfortunately I missed the start so may watch it again, but having read some of her work this film prompted me to want to learn a bit more about her and how much of the film was based on fact. I am starting that one now.

Those three books would have cost me twenty three pounds plus postage and that is with buying one of them used. How brilliant is that? My son really does not get how excited I get by books arriving at the library which is a shame because he loved them when he was younger.  I do feel you don't get as many boys who continue to be readers as they get older.  Right now I'm off to read, bye for now.

Sofa Quilt

I have to admit to being a bit of a cheat with my quilt, I didn't continue with the hexagons for the whole quilt you see.  After I had made twelve hexagon flowers and arranged them on the fabric to have a think I then cut out the rest of my hexagons in a white and pale blue stripe.  Well when I put them beside the flowers the design was almost lost, I had a bit of a rethink and decided to go with a grey spotty background and stitch the hexagon flowers to it in a uniform way.  It may not have been my original intention but I am very happy with it, all the lovely colours stand out.

It has been on the sofa a couple of days now so it is serving it's purpose and the dogs seem to like it!  I used some plain white cotton for the backing and I cut strips of the spotty fabric to bind it.  I did want a contrast but nothing I had was big enough and went with it and I didn't want to buy  binding especially.  The wadding has been sitting in my cupboard for some time, I have only hand stitched all the way through where the flowers are, I think it may need more to stop the movement so any tips would be appreciated as to designs and so on as I haven't really done many  quilts.  The only big one I made years ago was machine stitched through in diamonds, I don't really want to do that to this one.

   

We have been out walking in a another new spot today, Agden Reservoir Bradfield.  The superb weather once more put a beautiful sky over everything and we felt like the only people who knew about this one for most of the way around.  We eventually saw a couple of other people but on the whole very quiet.

The sun on the water looked very inviting (not that I would go in and you can't of course).

 The path was more rugged on this walk so maybe that was why we saw less people, it certainly wouldn't be suitable for anyone unsteady on their feet but if you want to get way from it all it is ideal.

 Here we were on the way back down the road and in the very distance we could see Dam Flask that we walked around last week.

 Back down in the village there was a game of cricket taking place.

All very English village.

Dam Flask

The weather is getting cooler but there are still plenty of days of sunshine, I am really pleased with the summer this year it is usually a bit of a wash out as soon as we break for the summer but this year has made a lovely change.  This weekend we took the dogs to Dam Flask for a walk, it was quiet with just a few dog walkers and runners about.  We have been before but started from a different point this time, we both mentioned how pretty the local village is and again were pleasantly surprised by the beauty in our city.  

 The water was quite low in places despite the fact that it has been raining this last week, I suppose it will take some time to fill what has been depleted over these  past months.

We ended the walk with a drink and some chips, it looked as though a few other people had the same idea.

 Earlier this week  I finished the book The Radium Girls, this was a really good book but very distressing. I was quite shocked that I knew nothing of this subject but I would imagine that lots of cases of profit before life get swept under the table!   The book is about the girls who worked in the workshops and factories painting the luminous dials onto clocks and watches (both domestic and for military use in the war).  This paint contained radium which the workers were told repeatedly was safe, they were even instructed to tip the brushes in their mouths to make a fine point!  The resulting health implications were horrendous.  I would recommend reading this book to honour the women who fought for their cases even as they were dying.

I have just started a little quilt for my sofa as the dogs always sit there with me and I like to have a throw of some sort for them to sit on.  The one  I am currently using just appears to attract dog hair which is not ideal, the one I am making is all cotton so it should just brush or hoover straight off, I hope!

These are the bits I have started sewing together, I am wondering whether to sew a few like this then do neutral bits in-between or just stitch them altogether as they are?  I have seen this image below and that is got me wondering about the neutral bits.