Visit to York

On Saturday David and I went to York, first of all visiting the small village of Elvington, not far from the Yorkshire Air Museum to Priory Patchworkers exhibition in the church.  Unfortunately we couldn't take photos, but I did take part in a tombola and won this lovely stained glass style wallhanging.  The funds from the tombola were going to a cancer charity supported by the lady who made this and several other wallhangings. I'd also bought some fat quarters but haven't taken piccies, very remiss of me.

After this we then went onto York itself, where we had lunch and then I went off to the Quilt Museum.  I've been there before on a few occasions and now that I've bought an annual pass I'll be able to go several more times.  Again I couldn't take photos inside the museum, but the gardens outside have now been finished and its a very pleasant area to be in.  There's been a deli/coffee shop opposite St Anthony's Hall for some time, but now there is an art gallery called The New School House Gallery, so somewhere else to visit when in the area.

The Museum itself held 2 exhibitions - Inspired by the Past and Breakthrough by the Contemporary Quilt Group.

Here are the gardens looking towards the Quilt Museum.

This is the outside of the School House, just right of the Quilt Museum.

This is looking to the end of the gardens with seats to enjoy the lovely weather.  See the arches at the end? That's part of the city walls and people do walk along the top of the wall - you can just spot someone between the trees.

After leaving the museum I went into the city to meet David, who visited the National Railway Museum and we met up opposite the Minster.  On the way I went into a home and garden shop and spotted these lovely meerkats...

One lounging in the deckchair and the little one making a sandcastle, how could I resist - they had to be bought!

Finally, today my set of yellow cards was completed to go with the other four I received (see my last post).  A lovely lemony postcard from Michelle.

Shopping and Yellow Postcards

As promised from my last post here is a photo of my purchase of fabric from our visit to Derbyshire Dales and visiting Quiltessential.  Still haven't started on this yet as I've just finished a batch of postcards on the theme of "Something Yellow".

So below are the yellow themed cards, the flowers being buttercups, inspired by the rather weed infested lawn in our back garden.

Then there are the cards that I've received so far, brilliant aren't they.

 Although it doesn't show too well in the photo the top right one is of a Brownie polo shirt with a prairie point collar.  The yellow submarine at the bottom was just brilliant.

Now the shopping bit.  Last week I bought some cleanser,  toner and spritzer that come from Liz Earle, which has just the most heavenly fragrances I know.  Arrived in the post on Saturday it was lovely to unwrap from its box, which was carefully packed from the Isle of Wight. Lovely stuff.

 

While out last Saturday in Doncaster as well as going to the markets for fruit and veg there were some European sellers and a Dutch plant seller had these lovely Sempervivums and Sedums in this lovely, what I could describe as "bun tin" container. I've got to plant them up into a couple of proper pots, but I could not resist the lovely reds and greens and all for a fiver, bargain.

Another purchase which I had to get was a new camera to replace the one that I'd broken recently.  We were following another similar to the broken one on e-bay until late on Saturday but was beaten in the bidding in literally the last few seconds.  As it cost only another £30 more to buy a new one as opposed to a used one in good condition I decided to go for new instead and here it is - in red this time instead of purple.

 This pic was taken with my phone and there is a slight reflection as there is a clear cover to protect the front.  I've yet to delve through the manual which came on CD which has been uploaded, but had a bit of a play around with it and some of the above pics have been taken already with this.

Last of all on Father's Day David received a card from our son Jamie which included a thank you letter from grandson Leo (I suspect with some help from his Mum).  Leo is coming up to 3 years old and getting very artistic as the card below proves. I love the smiley face in the middle.

Day in Derbyshire Dales

David and I went out for the day and it seems that we're always out and about.  On Saturday we went towards Matlock, Derbyshire.  We been through a few times and have never stopped to take the Heights of Abraham cable car that is just outside the town.  Before that though we travelled on to Cromford Mill where there is a quilt shop (quelle surprise!) called Quiltessential, where we saw a quite striking wall hanging.  Couldn't resist so we bought the pattern and some of the fabrics to make it and I'll put a photo of the purchases in my next post. It's a lovely shop and there is a craft shop next door too, so a couple of things to explore here.

We then went to Matlock Bath and the cable car ridge over the Derwent Valley.  Spectacular views on the way up with a viewpoint at the top of the valley below with the town of Matlock in the distance.  We stayed and took a tour of the caves (lead was mined here) and had lunch before taking the cable car down hill.

Just to show I was there!

 Above is the view towards Matlock from the top of the valley.  Below that is the station building at Matlock Bath, near the bottom end of the cable car terminus.  This building doesn't look to be used any more.  It's very unusual as it looks like a Swiss chalet and the brickwork was quite interesting, such a shame the building is neglected.
 
After this we went to Crich, just a few miles away to the Tramway Village, which houses the National Tram Museum.  It was some years ago when we last visited and there have been a lot of changes with new buildings and creating a more village like scene.  Being a lovely sunny day it was ideal for an open top ride on a tram and later for sitting outside to enjoy a nice cup of tea.  Below is a photo of a Leeds tram, below that is an old Blackpool single deck tram.

I could not resist taking photos of the tram shelters with their decorative art deco stained glass, managed to take the bottom photo when a tram had just left, that's why there's no passengers waiting.

So here it is...

As promised in my last post (was that back in May - wow, how the time goes!) some sewing.  In case it was thought I was going out and about and not sweating it out at the sewing machine.

When I returned to Yorkshire a few weeks back I stopped at The Bramble Patch to have a look around and could not resist the Union Jack cushion kit.  I've found the instructions really clear and in no time at all there it was made.  All that had to be bought was the rectangular cushion and found that Dunelm Mill had just the size, which they called a Boudoir cushion.  Really pleased it turned out well.

Yesterday I took part in a bag making workshop with held by one of the Barnsley Embroiderers, Sheila.  I panicked a bit when I hadn't got all the bits cut out ready and hadn't found a 10 inch zip, but I was early enough to go into Barnsley town centre to get the zip and bias tape that I wanted before the workshop.  I really enjoyed making this bag and even tackling the zips  - they're not the easiest of things to sew in.  I got as far as putting the straps onto each side but not joining the sides together.  With this afternoon's weather being very wet, I kept on sewing until I got it finished. Below is the front of the bag and further down is the back.  I decided to use fancy stitches on my machine to quilt and decorate the bag.

And finally, if you've been reading my blog you will know that my son, Alex, was taking part in the BUPA 10k run in London on Bank Holiday Monday.  He was raising funds with his work colleagues for the Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research. Well he did it in less that an hour.  His legs were aching and he had blisters, (because it's the furthest he's run) but he did it.  He did really well.