Kitty's Wall Hanging
I tried to take photos of my wall hanging but it flapped in the breeze rather a lot! I am going to back it and put batting in the middle so it feels soft for Kitty to touch. Here are some shots:
I thought it was a good idea to hang it on the line outside in the natural light, but it was rather too windy! If you click on it and enlarge it, you can see the individual squares in more detail.
Bottom left, I'm rather partial to my sheep!
The green giraffe is the central 'tile'. These rows haven't been sewn yet.
This is the top left.
There's another, smaller sheep in the right square!
I have yet to add some more embellishments, buttons, etc. I have to finish it by May 13th, when I'm off to the UK for Jack's birthday.
Today's Joiner
I took today's joiner from the bottom of the road going down to the arboretum.
I'm sorry it's so small, I can't seem to make it any bigger without it not downloading for me. If you click on it, you can see it properly! From the left, the arboretum, the road up to the meadow, the living willow fence, rough field and willows beyond, smaller living willow fence, broken gateway (the builders broke it and will repair it), barn next to house. I've had a word with Leatherdykeuk about making these and hopefully my next attempt will be larger!
BlackJack follows me about as usual
As I was trying to photograph the quilt, BlackJack was getting under my feet as usual! Later, as I stood taking photos, he ran up one of the old willow trees:
He looks like a sawn in half cat here!
Can you see he is meowing for me to get him down? As cats go, he's pretty useless!
The War Zone:
There was a fuchsia about in the centre of this, which I removed yesterday (swinging a mattock) so today I have achieved the gentle slope I was after on the right hand side, alas, not on the leftI shall seed this tomorrow (grass seed) if it's not too windy. Had I tried today, I'd have seeded the field next door!
It's looking a bit better but I still have large bomb holes!
Cow Holes
All the top area of the vegetable plot, where we have a mini orchard is full of cow holes, from when that herd of cows and a huge bull rampaged around the land. I have been having fires out here for ages, so cleared away all the debris left and underneath was a huge pile of ash. I used that to fill as many of the cow holes as I could! It took ages and there are still loads left but I ran out of ash.
The Judas Tree
Alas, I don't think the Judas tree is going to flower after all. The buds look just the same size and several of them are on the ground beneath the tree. We think maybe the bull finches have had them or maybe it's been too cold to develop them properly. This is today:
I think they'll probably all drop off now, it's been too long
The Orchard
I had a walk down to the orchard, it's so beautiful and peaceful there. The apple blossom is now coming out, it's very late. The crab apple is covered:
This blossom is on a fairly new tree that we have planted. It's so pretty. I liked the pattern this made.
The first bluebells are just opening around the edge of the orchard. I love them.
There is a big patch of wild garlic underneath one of the old apple trees. It smells amazing, especially if you tread on it
A single wild garlic flower
At the bottom of the Orchard is a small wood of mostly Aspens, with one horse chestnut, a couple of rowan trees, some buddleia and a small oak tree. The oak leaves are just coming out:
It isn't a 'common' English oak but I'm afraid I don't know what sort it is as it was already there when we arrived
Cold Frames
I have the unenviable job of looking after all Jim's seedlings in the 2 cold frames. So far so good, I'd say:
Vegetable Plot
It's a bit hard to see, but there's carrots, peas, lettuce, spring onions, onions and a couple of rows of gladioli coming up by the fence. Being willow, the fence is starting to grow!
Can you see that patch of purple behind the fence? That's honesty. Honestly, it is!
I think that's more than enough for today.
xxxxxxxxxxx
27 comments:
What a lovely post tonight. Your cat is so beautiful. The crabapple blossoms, garlic and blue bells are so picturesque also. That quilt is so cute; I clicked to enlarge and your choice of fabrics are so cheerful. Seems as though you have had a busy day. Thanks for sharing part of it with me!
I had a cat in a tree once, just outside my bedroom window. After two nights of hearing that cat cry, I gave up on her getting herself down, so I went after her. She also took naps in the street, yet lived to be seventeen anyway.
Thank you Mildred. We have a ginger cat too but he's a hunter so sleeps all day! Glad you like the quilt, it's my very first! I know you're supposed to use cotton, but I collected the pieces from old clothes as I'm heavily into recycling and some of them were stretchy material, which was quite difficult to sew. I think it'll be ok when it's finished though.
Snowbrush, good to see you. BlackJack has spend days up trees. We have some really tall evergreens and he can go up, but can't come down. He's been rescued twice by brave men with ladders but the last time we just left him and after 2 days, he did make his way down. he's a cat of little brain!!
The wall haning is beautiful and it will look fantastic in her room (which is just about finished, although we are going to ask the local handy man to make some sort of fitted storage for the wall). We went to a wedding in london today and jack loved the freedom of playing with the bigger boys, even found a little girl to dance with! Hows the chocolate situation? Only 10 days befor ewe see you XXX
what a gorgeous wall hanging. is jack your grandson/son? is may 13th his birthday? it is my son's birthday too..(maggie's daddy) who will be 33. enjoy it and i love your photos. hugs.
lovely shots!
Wonderful pictures!!!
The joiner is fun! How did you do that?
Black Jack is fantastic. That´s what I love when gardening, the constant presence of the animals.
have a nice Sunday!
Sam, I'm so glad you like it. I hope it's not too big. The squares are 4" so you can see where it will fit. I put the 'filling' on it last night and it's now all soft and squishy! Sounds as though you had a great time at the wedding, Jack particularly. I bet he loved it. It's so good you can take him anywhere, can't you? Chocolate ran out last night. NOW what do I do?
Hello soulbrush. Yes, Jack is the son of Jason, my elder son and his wife Sam (see her comment). His actual birthday is on May 14th, only one day difference. Maggie is gorgeous. Photos of Jim's Granddaughter going on here later - they're beautiful, he emailed them to me.
Thanks Rachel.
Thank you Marianne. It's on Adobe Photoshop and you just import the photos you want to join and it does it. You can also move them around manually. I just have to get the sizing right! Thanks for visiting, hope you're enjoying your weekend. It's May bank holiday here but just another day for me!
The wall hanging looks great. THnak you, I have taken much care over her room and I am very happy with it, it will look lovely in there.
The blossum in the orchard looks lovely on the pic blown up. We had lovely blossum this year which is passig now.
Jack banged his nose on a wall last night and is wounded today, he discovered dancing with girls and got lost! All fun and games..lol
xx
Great photos and I love the quilt. I'm rubbish at anything like that and am always so amazed at people who can put such things together.
I love the wall hanging. And what amazing things you have happeneing in your garden. beautiful.
Hello Jason my son. I'm glad you like the wall hanging. I have taken some time over it - I wasn't happy with it at first but am liking it now. I ripped off several squares I didn't like!!
Oh poor Jack, that'll teach him to mess with women! I think he had a good time though! I love blossom, it's so pretty.
Sue G. The quilt/wall hanging is a first for me too. I'm quite pleased with the outcome after much wringing of hands!
Helen, thanks so much. It seems to be a hit, that's the main thing. Let's hope the lady herself likes it when she's old enough to admire it!
I love Kitty's quilt/hanging - such a lovely project to work on. The willow fence is so attractive plus the wonderful shadows. The apple blossom is gorgeous and I hope the Judas tree flowers for you. Funny how cats like to make us think they need rescuing when they are perfectly capable of getting down from trees, etc. Jim's seedlings are looking good - big responsibility!! The veg. patch is full of promise of tasty treats to come.
how old will your little jack be on the 14th? i think you can add your 13+13+5 and you are almost with me! tee hee....
of course you can have the 'ireland' ATC, i will name it 'ireland' and send it this week....tee hee choose another one of your fab ones for me...tee hee, i didn't even connect that with you, just painted on some newspaper...and didn't even notice!
Thank you Heaver, that IS a compliment coming from you about Kitty's quilt! I know most cats can get down, but BlackJack spent 2 frosty days and nights about 50' up one tree, we thought he'd die. He yowls like a baby too, it's awful to listen to. A visitor to the cottage scaled the tree like a monkey and got him down! What a hero. You'd have thought the cat would have learnt by now, wouldn't you? At least he came down on his own last time! I can't wait until we can eat all our home grown treats. Fresh broad beans, yummy.
soulbrush, Jack will be 4. It doesn't seem possible, the years have flown by. And now he's having a sister. Can't wait. Jack is adorable. He is funny, lovely looking, bright and mostly cheerful. I hope Kitty is the same! I don't know whether you read about his 'battle of wits' with his Dad. Jack was helping Jason tidy up, making a mess in the process. Jason said 'Look at the mess you're making' and Jack retorted, 'It's part of my charm'. Can you believe it!! I still laugh about it. He loves his Gran too, which makes it a joy to see him. He gets so excited and talks non stop on the journey back from the airport to their house. Mustn't keep on. Grans, eh?
Thanks for the Ireland ATC!! Great, shall we swap 2? I'd like one of the colourful ones too if that's ok?
WOW, There's enough in that post for me to come back a number of times to finish reading it all. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the pictures. The blossoms on the trees are beautiful and I bet it smells wonderful. Blackjack is a silly cat, but a dear. WILD GARLIC ACKKKKKKKK it's a bad word around here. We get postings from the DNR telling us to remove it because it spreads and takes over our native plants.
Hey, our bluebells are just opening up too. Isn't that strange, I thought you would be ahead of us with that.
Ok, I need another cup of coffee and go back and look at that quilt, carefully. What a great job. I love the little patch of lace and of course the wooly headed sheep. :)Bea
My typing has gone to pot. Sorry Heather for calling you Heaver!!
Hello Bea, great to see you. Gosh, you've had to make a coffee to wade through my post! Ha ha. I'm just having one too. Yes, wild garlic is very invasive, plus lots of other things we have like montbretia. It's all over the countryside now. Agapanthus is banned in Australia! Whatever next?
PLEASE don't look at the quilt too closely! Last night I finished all the seams. I'm quite pleased with them. I also pinned on the batting and the back. I'm not sure how to finish the edges though. Fold in the linings and top stitch?? I don't want to lose any of the patches themselves. I have a few pieces of that lace in different colours. It's so pretty. Very 'girly' I thought! I like the rabbit too. It's growing on me now and at least son 1, Jason and Sam seem to like it. Thanks for taking the time and trouble, Bea
xxxxxx
Boy, that's a lot of stuff there! I really like your colorful quilt. My mom is really good at crafts, too. She'd love it.
Such a gorgeous Spring day! And isn't Blackjack the most perfect garden cat ever?
An orchard. Sigh.
It is a lot of stuff, Prospero!! I'm terrible for taking too many photos. You'll have to show your Mum the quilt photos. Good to see you. Love your name. I went out with a chap who played Prospero in Will's play!
Pamela, so good to see you. BlackJack tends to be close by me, unlike Sandy who is more independent and loves hunting. Love to Edward.
Your blog is brilliant! I just found it through Allotment Heaven, and I am so glad I did. Your photos are great. What moved me the most was your picture of bluebells ... I live in Pennsylvania, US, and really miss the bluebells of my native England. After much research I found a company on the WEB that sold them for growing here and I bought 100 bulbs, three years ago, in an effort to recreate the bluebell woods of home. They haven't done well until this year .... I think they are going to flower at last!
I have added your blog to my "favorites" list!
Pam, how lovely to see you. Oh bluebells, they are so gorgeous. We are really lucky to have them naturalised here. We have quite a few in the meadow (when the hares don't eat the bulbs) and a 'bluebell walk' through blackthorn. Jim said that needs clearing so I must go and do that then I can photograph it for you.
I hope you bought the genuine English bluebells. The American ones are much chunkier and not nearly as pretty or delicate.
Do come again and I'll visit you later tonight.
Wow, the quilt for Kitty is wonderful! I love the sheepy one especially ~grin~
I adore bluebells too... :-)
So glad yo like it DK. It's my first!
I am enjoying your "joiners". Such beautiful countryside and I love the living willow fence.
Black Jack is really adorable, just know how to pose!
Where can I find a cat just like yours?
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