Come & visit Chester with me ...

 It has been way too long since I visited the historic town of Chester. It is steeped in history with so much Roman history evident - the amphitheatre is just outside the town walls. 

I have not been in the Cathedral on my previous visit & what a fabulous place that just goes on & on with so many beautiful arches & little chapels. 

St Werburgh's remains have been here since 907  - what a time period. 

The Town Walls of Chester - a fabulous walk from an elevated position to look down on the town 

Many of the black & white buildings have a walk under at street level with shops etc above with balconies. We chose one such place to have a relaxing meal at with time to just catch up properly - something our busy lives doesn't always allow for. 

Jewellery shops were so evident - it is obviously the place for the well heeled to visit & add to their  jewellery. The Faberge collection caught my eye ... 

No visit is complete without walking in the footsteps of the Romans - a visit to the Amphitheatre & the gardens was a must then a walk along the Town walls to the Eastgate Clock. 

I will not leave another visit so long next time, thank you for stopping by. Each & every visit & share is appreciated. 

Dee 💕

A kiddie rocker cushion

 I seem to have lost a whole lot of blog posts from July - December of 2021. I only noticed when I looked for this sewing project to link it to the one I made yesterday so I am reposting the gist of the project, photos from my Instagram feed. 

A little sewing project just before Christmas 2021 for the little lad. He will be getting a wooden kiddie rocker  / climbing arch & the daughter has asked me to make the cushion to go with it. 

 

They sent me a picture with the measurements to work from. I popped through to our county town of Shrewsbury & found two fabrics that were hardy enough to survive a climbing frame but pretty enough for a toddler. Jungle animals always win, especially when they are so colourful. 

These sewing clips are amazing - they really hold thicker fabrics together much better than pins ... 

I decided to do it with a removable cover so it can be washed. I used a thick, soft batting inside a cover to make it comfortable when it is used as a rocker. 

First the padded inner was made with stitching on sections to stop it moving about. Fortunately we have a very long conservatory table that can be used for big projects like this because it needs space. The sewing was tricky but managed it. 

The cover was fairly straightforward with lots of sewing & reinforcing. I made ties for the opening & then it was done and the machine & bits could be packed away. 

A great project that I hope will give much joy to the lad - a place to use as a play den when it is upside down as a climber is good too. 

Thank you for stopping by, 

Dee 💕

Hand sewn baby gifts ...

Last year, our family welcomed in a new baby girl arrival. Like my mother & grandmother, I like to make something by hand. I can do many things but do not have a special talent other than having a go. I had made the soft padded cushion for the little lads wooden climbing frame in 2021 as part of his Christmas present so it was right to make something for her too. 

I bought Beatrix Potter fabric in pink, cream & blue & started a padded shield shape with hearts  to go with it.  I adorned these with [born in 2022] buttons and then the multitude of booked holidays meant it was put aside.  Sometimes it is not quite clear how to proceed with a project, what it needs or how it will be used. The little padded pink hearts were finished off with the 'born in 2022' buttons and a pretty blanket stitch around the edge. I love how blanket stitch finishes off the edges nicely .... 

I finished it in 2022 & because the family were going north for a break, they left it with me. 

To go with this I decided to use some more of the Beatrix Potter fabric to make a crinkle tag toy after I seen this promoted on a craft shop I use a lot. I ordered in special crinkle plastic & some toy squeaks too for the little banners on the above decoration. 

I made two of the crinkle tag toys because little ones love ribbons & anything that makes a sound. I put the squeaker in a fabric pouch between the two layers of crinkle. To make it easier to sew together, I enclosed these layers in a thin white fabric that could be inserted in the patterned outer fabric. Sometimes you just have to make it up as you go along, to see what works best. It was fiddly to turn it all right way through the opening. I top stitched it all around too so that the ribbons were secure. 

The second one was from some lovely ladybird fabric with ribbons in the colours to match. The ribbons are in colours to match the fun ladybirds - pinned in place for stitching. 

The fiddly part of pinning the ribbons in place before stitching ... 

 Are you one who also likes to make something? My late grandmother always crocheted special baby coat hangers for newborns so I like to put time in to a project. They have been sent on to the little one - I hope she will enjoy them.  Thank you for stopping by, have you made anything similar? Tell all .... 

Dee 💕

Beautiful outdoor sculptures ...

 I have been in Dorset for a few days & we walked back through a riverside park which had very interesting outdoor sculptures I would like to share with you. I find interpretations fascinating ... 

The 11 life size sculptures were gifted by local artist  Greta Berlin in 2022 - what a wonderful gesture to share these lovely items with the local people. 

These are the outdoor ones ... 

The names of the sculptures as shown on the board 

Woman

Ox Woman

Fish Boy

Pod 

Man Child

Eagle 

   

Lost Identity

Wolf woman

Rock Woman

I have looked her up as an artist & what interesting work she does, so though provoking - I think many of us can identify with lost identity at times.... 

Do you have a favourite one? Which one speaks to you? Thank you for stopping by & reading, 

Dee 💕

The love we don't always see ....

 Most of us are surrounded by love we feel but not always see. I have shared various Valentine sentiments several times 

This past week I sewed two little needle book hearts which I will gift to friends, a little reminder of how much I value their friendships. 

Our sideboard once again has roses on it - Old Country Roses by Royal Albert 

Some previous valentine posts - 

a little thing called love ...

True love is not just one day 

I heart Valentine 

What is love? 

Love is what you do 

This morning I saw this post by a cousin and it really struck a chord with me 

We do not fully appreciate the often unseen love that sustains us when we need it? 

Life is hard at times, it can toss us on the waves we did not see coming & we need a safe haven to rest in; the kitchen table we can cry at, the hot tea that revives us, the listening ear which helps us to make sense of the world. These friendships are not celebrated enough.

I treasure the love of my late Dad's sisters on my whatsapp group whose messages wait for me when I wake up - they are 2 hours ahead of my time & they surround me with their love & care. I awake most mornings to messages from friends & family scattered across the continents with wishes for the day, little things they want to share. These are some of the unseen people & their love ... 

I decided on the spur of the moment to try to visualise the love of the many unseen people who are there for me - I love symbolism & so I used a fairly coarse backing fabric & cut outlines of people from a very earthy colour which I arranged first on the square. The coarser fabric represents the earthy side of people, the raw, real side of us that we show to those we trust explicity .... 

The hearts which cover this are in various shades of red, blue & cream, some of the patterns cut in half, some blue hearts, some small, some large, some pure - all powerful symbolism for the ones we encounter. 

I wanted these outlines to be without features - the faceless ones who are there for us. I machine stitched them to the fabric then covered the whole image with a very fine clear lace / gauze I had to indicate the almost invisible nature of our support system, the hearts there but unseen ... 

The thicker lace pattern at the base represents how this love grounds us as it reaches upwards towards this hidden group & their hearts. 

I will probably do a hand stitched border but I am happy with this creative visual which represents the shadowy love we enjoy. 

I am especially grateful for the deep love of my husband -  this love is rare where people have space to grow ... 

Have a lovely Valentine's day & remember to appreciate the ones in your life, 

Dee 💕