At Last I'm Back.

HELLO EVERYONE.

At last, I am up and running again.

 I won't go into details but I have a new computer and

have a faster (supposedly!) fibre optic broadband so I should now be super efficient.

Nice idea but don't hold your breath will you.

So many things have happened since I last spoke to you 

that this post would turn into a novel

if I went through them all now.

So here are just a few of the highlights.

A trip to the American Museum at Claverton ,Bath

to see the Kaffe Fassett exhibition 

and have a 2 day workshop with the wonderful

Janet Bolton.  She is one of the nicest ladies

I have ever met and the workshop was a real dream,

So relaxed and was part of the Bath Summer School

programme of events.

I would love to show you

some of the photos I took of the workshop

 but a couple of the ladies

there weren't happy about being put on the internet

so instead just a couple of photos from the exhibition.

Including the sample wall which I think is a fabulous idea.

Kaffe knows that the first thing any needle person wants to do

is grab hold of the fabric so he had a collection of samples so 

you could have a good old nose at the back.

Makes you feel a to happier about your own work I can tell you.

Of course there has been

Plenty of time at Cromer watching the sunset and spending time with 

my children at the Surf life saving club.

We have had some wonderful sunsets this year.

Short breaks with my Brother in Bradford on Avon, 

Wiltshire

My Son on the Gower peninsular in South Wales

and of course the fantastic poppies at the Tower.

I have bought one of these to remember my Great Uncle

Herbert and Guy's Great Grandfather both of whom 

where killed in the Great War (WW1).

We both found the experience very moving and were so very glad we 

made the trip down from Norfolk.

So with a week in Somerset and a holiday in Madeira 

and Rugby at Twickenham  last weekend

that about brings you up to date with my many and varied

 travels while I've had my time away from blogging.

Next time I will try show you some of the projects I have managed 

to complete over the last couple of months although I also am going on a trip 

to the country living fair with my daughter  this week so might tell you about that instead.

We really need a nice cup of tea and a good old natter don't we.

 Anyway

Hope you are all well and 

see you again soon.

It's good to be back.

Gillx

National Treasures

We all have a list of places we would like to visit

and things we want to do, don't we.

Well on my recent holiday to Yorkshire and Northumberland

 I have been lucky enough to have done several of the things

on my list although

I can't believe we have been home nearly a week and

I'm only just showing you some photo's.

This was our first stop after leaving Harrogate.

Fountains Abbey and Studley Water Gardens

were on our way North and it was one of the places on my list.

It's one of those places you see on the T.V quite a lot and 

looks very  atmospheric.  

It certainly lived up to my expectations and Mr T and I 

spent several hours wandering around and sitting by 

one of the lakes drinking coffee in the sunshine.

It was built in the 12th century by Cistercian monks

and is the best preserved abbey of it's kind but fell victim

to the dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century.

The water gardens are a Georgian addition and 

are set in lovely grounds. It is now run by the National Trust

and is well worth a visit if your near Ripon.

These little fellas were hiding in the eaves of the visitor

centre and had quite an audience.

Next day was Bamburgh Castle which took my breath away.

I have to admit it was not on my list but was 

on our way up the Northumberland coastal route

and was a fantastic place to stop for lunch.

It was too nice a day to actually go inside the castle

and beach was calling us. It gave us a wonderful view.

You can imagine how daunting it looked to attacking armies

can't you.

The local giants left their dice just laying around on the beach.

Next stop Holy Island, Lindesfarne.

This has been near the top of my list for years.

It was mid afternoon before we could cross the causeway to the island

due to the tides but it was worth the wait.

Enough said I think.

I'll leave the rest for another post.

Have a great weekend.

Gillxx

Dosie Rosie Welcomes Le Tour.

I am ashamed to say that, although

I have been around the world,

I have never been this far north in the UK

and the reason I have come here now is to see 

a bike race.

Not just any bike race of course but THE bike race.

Mr T and I have been following the Tour De France 

for over 20 years ever since we  literally 

came across it whilst on holiday

in France. 

We waited with other delayed tourists and their 

children as well as a whole village

of locals and  watched in fascination as this caravan

of  strange carnival like vehicles went past throwing

everything from hats to sweets and tubes of chestnut puree at us.

A while later along came this pack of cyclists with hardly

an inch between them, covering every inch of the road

and with a few seconds they had gone.  That  didn't matter though

as by then we were all so excited 

that we were totally hooked and 

not just on Le Tour but on cycling.

We have spent the last 20 years following the Tour of Britain,

City centre cycling and of course the Olympic road race in Surrey,

so when we found out The Tour De France was starting in UK

there was no way we were going to miss it.

So off to Harrogate we went.

One of the first thing we saw was the infamous knitted bunting

which was everywhere.

And yellow bikes----everywhere.

They must have used gallons of yellow paint.

Wonderful works of art made out of 

Glass

and Wood.

 French coffee vans 

and miles of trucks.

The organisation is amazing with TV companies from all over

world and large TV screens everywhere.

The graphics on the control centre are incredible.

And the welcome has been out of this world.

So we were all set for the arrival of the cyclist.

Along with hundreds of thousands of others

from near and far. 

The couple standing next to us in their cycling gear

were from New Zealand.

And as quick as a flash there was Mark Cavendish

(in the pale blue and red helmet)

flying past 100 metres before he unfortunately crashed.

 They were followed by dozens of cars carrying spare bikes.

And the people we had spent all day chatting to 

wandered off saying what a wonderful time it had been.

Time for a Fish and Chip supper before watching the highlights

on the TV.

So on to Day 2 when the race just skirted Harrogate

and the crowds were out in force again. 

Some even brought along their sofas for a comfortable wait.

Not quite so fast this time as it was near the start

of the race so much better photos.

The Yellow Jersey for one day only.

The next stop for the Tour is France, 

Next stop for us is Northumberland so 

even further North.

Gillxx

Storms, Dips and Hopes.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

I can't believe how long it is since I've written anything

on here, I've even missed the last two scavenger Hunts although I'm determined to 

complete this months.

 It was so long ago that  I still had summer flowers in the garden

whereas now my winter Clematis are in full bloom and look lovely

on the rare occasion it is nice enough to wander around the garden.

A lot has happened since we last met and I will show you some of the things 

I've been up to in my next post which I promise won't be far away.

The Norfolk coast, along with so many other places around the country,

has suffered at the hands of the weather and my heart goes out to 

all those people who have had their lives and homes destroyed.

I haven't seen the damage anywhere other than at Cromer but that 

was shocking enough with huge chunks of concrete ripped from the sea wall

and thrown around like drift wood along the promenade.

Great gaping holes left in the pier, beach huts reduced to 

match wood and tons of mud having slipped down the cliffs.

But the British are a resilient lot aren't they.

Within a few days the pier was patched up and the 

theatre was open for business again even if you had to have a head for heights

to walk out to it past the fenced off holes.

By Boxing day it was business as usual with the 

BOXING DIP pulling thousands of spectators to watch

hundreds of those mad enough to run into the sea, not just once but twice,

wearing swimsuits or flimsy fancy dress as no wet suits are permitted.

My Son and Youngest daughter were amongst those crazy people

even after my son said last year that he would never do it again.

All my family have now returned to their own homes

and I have returned to my sewing room after it's temporary

use as a bedroom.

Now I don't make resolutions as I don't keep them, year after year I tried to give

up smoking in January and finally managing it (many years ago now) in September.

So I thought this year I would set out a couple of things I hope to achieve this year.

Firstly--I want to do more hand embroidery.

This has been brought on by finding this fabulous 

embroidery stand in a local charity shop for £3.75!--can you believe it.

I had this old linen table cloth among my boxes of old linen

which is printed and ready to embroider 

and even if I don't manage to finish it, it still looks good

in my room.

Then on my sewing table, other than one of my new mugs,

is something else I'm going to add some embroidered embellishments to.

It started with a little foundation piecing

and will end up as a book cover.

The pattern is by Anja Townrow

which I bought when I did a workshop with her a few weeks ago.

Now to just add some stitching. 

My second hope for 2014 is to be more organised 

so that it isn't 2 months before you hear from me again.

So with that in mind I wish you all a very Happy New Year

and will see you again soon.

Gillxxx