From the sublime to the ridiculous?

I am still having problems with blogger turning my photos ninety degrees, this one was taken as a landscape not a portrait and look what happened when I uploaded it.  I know that I am not the only person who is suffering from this problem coz Sally http://quiltfeather.blogspot.com/ reported it too.  Anyway, I don't have time tonight to mess about and delete it.  So I hope you like it anyway as it was shown to me by a friend at our EG meeting on Thursday and is a supreme example of crazy quilting. So thank you Marilyn. I have a sneaking feeling that she is going to make some more blocks like this one and if she does will try and show them to you. As you know I bought a book on the subject recently but have not had time yet to make much progress on anything to do with crazy quilting, although I can say that it has been a crazy week so far.......

This next shot is the inside of a carpet bag I am trying to complete. I know it looks really bright but I thought hey why not? Again I took this shot as a landscape and its come out as turned around by blogger  grrrrrrr.

But you can see the little black tape with the clasp? on the end for my keys and also the large black pockets edged with bright pink velvet  yumm. On the other side is another deep pocket edged in silvery black for my purse.  The base of the inside is pink velvet and the sides are this really lovely flower print. I have not finished the bag yet and when I do I will post it up. I hope I can fit it in this week as Wednesday is Cumbria Patchworkers and we are making a Christmas Stocking .... seems every year I get to make one. Actually, my lovely DD in California has received 2 so far so I can think of a home for this one too........

Next up is the Viking... yes I know it's another terrible photo but what can I do? He was standing straight when I took him and when I UPLOADED  it went down hill from there.... I won't show him so large as he might frighten you!  Actually his appearance was not frightening at all it was supposed to be but no I felt quite at home, must have been the grey beard and beer belly.

He did give a very good talk about the Vikings to the ladies at Keswick Embroiderers Guild on Thursday and if you want to see some photos I took of some of the textiles he brought along I sent them onto Lesley to post on the blog which is http://keswickembroiderers.blogspot.com/ or you can find a link to it in my favourite blogs. He was a nice chap ex Royal Marines and he seemed to enjoy showing off in the gear...If you want him to come and visit you then go check him out http://www.vikingasaga.co.uk/

Lastly, I was up Helvellyn on Saturday in very wintry conditions with Bella and so no photos, anyway, you would not want to see us both sitting there on the top trying to keep warm whilst waiting for the others coming up Striding Edge. We waited and waited... with figures lurking out of the mist but no DH and his mates until at last they came. Bella and I had eaten our lunch by then and were nearly about to set off back down the way we came to Swirls carpark. As usual the top was swarming with people who all came up in odd assorted groups, some even in jeans the idiots.....they would not have been able to wait on the top for over an hour like Bella and I. So it is quite a relief to be sat here at my laptop with Bella asleep by the door because the wood burning stove is too warm for her......Pile more on I say as it has gone quite chilly in Cumbria.

Period Costume

I love period costumes and have had a lot of fun over the years producing various efforts for the Kendal Torchlight Procession and other opportunities which came my way including making some costumes when I was at university so I was pleased to find a blog which has period costumes as its theme. Here it is http://periodwardrobe.wordpress.com/ I hope you enjoy it.

Meanwhile the dress in the photo is one I made whilst taking my post grad teaching certificate in Lancaster and its a replica of a dress from 1827 in grey taffeta. I was in my garden amongst the foxgloves and had just recovered from a serious operation so I had made the dress to help with my recovery. It took me a week of very intensive sewing to complete. I still have the dress and have been known to wear it to the odd party where I pretend to be Jane Austen!

The original dress is in The Wade Collection at Snowshill Manor near Broadway, Gloucestershire and is owned by the National Trust  http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-snowshillmanor.htm

I wish I could see it but I have never had the chance to go there so all my research was based on a Janet Arnold book called Patterns of Fashion volume 2. It is made from lighter grey silk tafetta than the copy and has oversleeves in pale rose gauze also it has eleven triangular shapes at the bottom of the hem where my copy has only seven and they are larger. Somehow I could not bring myself to completely copy the original so I changed it ever so slightly. The dress would have come to just above the ankle in those days and also had a padded hem, it should have been worn with neat pumps with cross over satin ties.