Hexagon Bug - 8

I attached the last border to the quilt center and decided to see what happened at the corners of the quilt before deciding how I was going to tackle them. The hexagon shapes create the two opposite ends the same, and the other two opposite ends the same but different from the other ones.

I decided that the corners needed to be be more pointy and added an extra blue and pink flower in each. I trimmed back the border edge on two opposite borders so that each border was 5 inches away from the applique.

I folded the fabric until a mitre was created to meet the corner of the borders and mid point on my blue added flowers.  This creates a wierd angle but I think looked the neatest. I hand stitched the mitres and later trimmed off the excess fabric.
What next!

Knitted Fairies - 2

 Here is the third of my knitted fairies.  This one has a bit of attitude and glamour but with smaller wings.

Knitted Fairies 1

Some time ago I was introduced by my friend Ann, to a book called Knitted Fairies by Fiona McDonald, and I decided that I just had to try creating some. These two were knitted as a pair.
 I found that the parts knitted up quickly, but it took ages to sew them all together, especially  adding the little ears and forming the hands.

I did not always stay completely true to the fairies in the book but took bits and pieces from several depending on the materials I had. This fairies hair was made from feather boa trim.

I did not make the eyes as the book instructed but printed the ones from the book onto fabric and carefully cut them out and glued them in place. I will show you the other ones I have made in another blog.  After having another look at the book I am tempted to make some more but I really just do not have the time!

Owlivia Update

We think that 3 out of 4 of Owlivias eggs have hatched, though it may only be 2. The first chick hatched 1 week before the others and is now large enough to sit next to her.  He or she can be seen trying to nibble on the numerous mice bodies.  We were worried that the difference in size might mean he/she would pick on the smaller ones to compete for food but this is a good year for mice and there is plenty to eat.

The young chick can also stretch his/her wings now that there is more space available.

Hexagon Bug - 7

I made and sewed on a row of light brown hexagons inside my border to hide any gaps along the edge of the background fabric.  I  used  light brown so that there would not be a strong line around the edge.

I tacked and then appliqued the border onto the background fabric.

I am going to applique the outer edge of the border onto this beige fabric and mitre the edges.  This might take some time!

Owlivia our Barn Owl

Some photographs of Owlivia from our live cam sitting on four eggs.
You can see the story of our barn owl at WWW.highwoodlife.com, under wildlife.

The eggs should hatch any time soon and if you visit the site you can what happens.  It is nature so anything can happen!

We asked our family and friends to name her!

 Sometimes it is as if she knows we are looking at her.
















 Owlivia turns the eggs to make sure they are kept constantly warm.

Garden Clearance

I have not had a lot of time to sew in the last couple of weeks because we had a family friend to stay  over to help cut down and clear some of our wilderness.  After four days of hard work we have achieved a lot but still have a great deal to do.   The bonfire was burning continiously but we still have a mountain to burn.  We do now have a good log pile for the log burner we hope to buy soon.

We found this beautiful birds nest.

The area near the vegetable garden is now becoming more open but most of these trees still need to come down.

I have started to reclaim my sleeper steps which were hidden with weeds and nettles but cannot go further until the trees have been cropped.

 Half of the old wall had already fallen down and the rest is now exposed.  We will use it hopefully as part of the foundations of our new garage (We need planning first!).

 

The hazel trees have been cropped and will be removed when the digger comes to dig out the foundations for our new kitchen and patio.