January Blues

Been blue, but these lovely images in Cuttlebrook keep me going. Am blessed indeed to be able to walk there for a half hour or more every morning!

Tuesday was college: 3D work and then Wednesday and Thursday were doing the extended work at home following on from the college work. Can you see a bird in flight?

Lovely linear elements: drew them the other day, or rather I tried to but the depth and feelings are hard to capture.

Our beloved tree: water is high and very muddy and is slow flowing here but has been very fast for some days.

frothy from the weir nearby?

Monday spent all day cleaning and beautifying the home for a ''Pampered Chef ''party to cheer us all up!!!

Pear and almond frangipani tart: yummeeeeeeee

Our helpful consultant Kate makes it all look so easy.

''smile for the camera!''

Bye again for now, but the above recipe WILL be blogged sometime in February I promise.

Autumn Morning JOY

What a morning! Thank you, thank you thank you! Having walked the dogs in such a persistent ''drizzle'' that you end up being soaked yesterday it was such joy to walk them in glorious autumn sunshine today! Could not resist these trees with the shiny red car so beautifully parked right in the middle. On second thoughts it would be better cropped to a tall slim rectangle? With less tree ? Will try that later.

What sumptious colours!!! All those reds and purples, then to almost black and brown : I must have taken 20 or more pictures and this is one of the best- possibly?

Just showing off the lovely pointy 5 petal shape of these leaves too. And then there was this weird yellow ''window'' in the composition???

In a different light the reds are sharper, less pink, less purple and more brown? I'll move on .

Some clever planning person put all these trees in a neat row: lovely contrasts.

Lucy pulled me to a differnt path from our usual route and THIS was on the way. I imagine little green fairies just behind those trees....MAGICAL.

This I feel will be turned into one of my embroideries very soon....On we went and across a bridge. Lucy played with other dogs and attracted a large Doberman- we think she may be starting her first season.( He was a boy and very interested in her) There she was on her back waving tiny paws at him, very funny.

Aaah another embroidery, definitely, do you like the composition? I do, LOVE those diagonals! Not my doing of course, clever nature. How come the reflected blue sky is blue-er than the sky?

Magic around every corner, this one will get an ''impressionist'' treatment I feel....EEEEEH! I'm getting all excited and shivery, I can imagine the threads, colours and stitches...Bits of chopped up fabric...Must get to my machine soon! I wonder if it will be up to it? My dear Pfaff has had an accident you see and stitches rather sporadically and eclectically now.

All this machine stitchery excitement was re- awakened at the Knitting and Stitching Show in London on Saturday and I have - just a few- photos to share about that soon! BIG THING is that I have decided to do- if they'll have me- the Stitched Textiles course at Windsor from next October so I have to get my socks on and finish my C&G level 3 machine embroidery diploma : toute suites!!! I am probably about 55%-65% there....

And if I state it here in PUBLIC then I HAVE to do it don't I?!!!

Voila this is today's finale. THAT BLUE is for me the best ever blue, I can't get enough of it. There's my shadow on the left I should have cropped it, I know but it amused me. Lucy was there too a second before but she moved before she was recorded.

There was crochet on the coach to London so before I go all ''embroidery'', there'll still be some crochet to share soon too!