A Bit of Catching Up To Do

I've not updated the blog for a while so I have a few things to catch up with.

First off I have BIG NEWS - I have a job, not just a temp job through an agency but an employed job, two year contract and for a change it's 4 DAYS A WEEK and with my old employers in Poole - is that good or what!! Well I'm pleased and I start on 1st August just week after next.  It will be a shame to leave my current temp post in Dorchester but as time goes on I was beginning to dread driving there in winter and if I was transferred to Weymouth that would be an even longer journey, so I'm pleased to be working in Poole once again.  I finish at Dorchester on Friday and have a week's holiday next week.

Last Thursday evening David and I went to a Wimborne Model Railway social evening at the Moors Valley Railway.  This is a miniature railway that runs around the country park at Moors Valley near Ringwood.  A lovely evening with clear blue skies and the trains ran until it became dark with a lovely full moon. The trains are no more than about 3 foot high and some of the people driving these were squeezed into these little engines as you'll see in the photo below.

Rides were in carriages like this green one above

No, there wasn't a headless driver in this engine, he'd just bend his head over the other side of it!

We had four rides around the track, one in the dark and lots of ghostly wailings as we went through tunnels!

Saturday saw David and I go to an extremely damp Romsey to see the Romsey Quilters exhibition at the Abbey and the historic King John's House.  It was the last day of the exhibition and quite a lot to see between the two sites.  As the skies were dark the light was bad inside the Abbey so we could admire the quilts but as for taken photos it was just too dark although I managed a few but there are a few more on their exhibition page here.

The light must have been in the right place for this pink braided quilt

This was eight sections inspired by the roof of Madrid Cathedral

The alter with this really lovely green cloth

I just liked the rainbow colours in the Japanese Folded Quilt

In King John's House there were mainly children's quilts, but there was a challenge called "Beautiful Women" with quilted images on block canvas and the challenge did live up to it's name, these pictures were beautiful.  Here are a couple of photos here.

Finally, just to show that I have been sewing (as there hasn't been much evidence of that lately) I have completed a set of placemats and coasters from a kit that I bought from Bramble Patch last year.  I got around to hemming the binding to them all in the evenings, so nice that they are out of the way.

I had some of the strips left over so I made a zip bag with them which I think will go the the Put Em Ins tombola at Festival of Quilts this year.

Then yesterday I got on with some postcards for an Oriental Swap by the end of this month.  I only expected to get a couple done but I ended up making the whole lot!  I had already marked the patterns for sashiko so it was a relaxing afternoon handsewing.  After then the making up didn't take long to do.

And above are the backs of the postcards all ready to write greetings on.  It's great to have things finished of and that brings me right up to date.

Next Sunday we are off down to StIves in Cornwall and staying there for 5 days.  I haven't been that far southwest before, heard nice things now just want the weather to behave or stay dry at least.