Bonne Année!

Even more snow

We had a lovely white Christmas. Actually, we were snowed in on Christmas Eve. DH did shovel the snow away from our driveway, just in case, but we stayed home. Today, the street still looks like a ski slope, a beginner's slope, but still, not really great for driving.
We had this very strange creature on our terrace for a few days...
Yesterday, its head fell down and it doesn't look as bizarre anymore.
I dyed more fabric for my "eggplant" Twelve by Twelve quilt. I also did some sketches but haven't started sewing yet.
This is the "rust" page I made some time ago for my fabric book.
This is the sixth one. The first five pages are here...

More snow

Yesterday was sunny again and we went sledging with little GD for the first time. That was fun.
Today, it is snowing and snowing. We've got a very nice layer now, and it's not over yet. It's very quiet outside, we hear no cars, no noise. I'll take more pictures of the snow tomorrow if it's sunny.
Last week, at last, I finished this WIP that had been sitting in my drawers for years. I had almost forgotten about it.
Tomorrow, I also hope to be able to do some fabric dyeing for the "eggplant" 12x12 quilt. I'm not that pleased with the colours I've got, especially the green.

Slowly...

... but surely, I am coming back to life.
Yesterday night, we had a lovely little snowstorm, and today it is nice and sunny. I went outside this afternoon and took many pictures in the garden.
The other day, while trying to organize my files, I picked a few photos as inspiration for the next 12x12 quilt. This is one of them...
I also picked fabrics and threads. Now I am going to sketch some ideas I've had.

Cloudy sky

November has been a little cloudy for me, not really dark, but not very sunny either. Between bouts of flu, tonsillitis, a dental extraction and a few other snags, I've not been very productive... I just managed to make two or three special gifts that I cannot show on the blog yet.
I also started sewing a new shirt...
Hopefully, December will be brighter.
We are expecting some cold weather and snow in the next days. I hope there will be some sunshine too...

Autumn Leaves

This is the quilt I made for the new Twelve by Twelve challenge. This time, the colour scheme was "rust with a blue green patina".
Rust made me think of autumn leaves. That's why I chose several of my leaves photos as the starting point for the quilt. Mainly a picture of a pond in Japan, where I really liked the way the leaves were floating on the water.
I had to do several dyeing sessions to get the colour shades I really wanted to have. I also collected many fallen leaves during my walks, to find the right shape for the three leaves.
I did all the stitching by machine except for the few detached chain stitches.
This was a pleasant challenge to work on, pretty stress-free, although I've only put the last stitches on this morning.
Here are three close-ups...
Don't forget to visit the Twelve by Twelve blog to see the other quilts made for this colour scheme.

Last day of October

Just a few pictures from today's walk...

A busy day

I started quilting my new 12x12 quilt today.
I was planning to be finished with it by tomorrow night. (The reveal is on Monday). But that might be a bit optimistic, as I would like to do some hand stitching too.
Anyway, I've also started a very simple doll quilt for my little GD. It's ready to be quilted now.
I needed to find a project I could work on by hand at a guild meeting next week, and this will be perfect I think.

A few more Piccies

I thought I would post another few pictures I took last week:

 I do l;ike taking these frame in frame pictures.  This was at Inverue Gardens.

These three pictures were of the wrought iron gates at the gardens.  

 I took this with my new Olympus macro lens.    I managed to get as close as I could to take this photograph.   The pollen is clear to see on the bee as are the water droplets. 

More rust

My rust and blue-green fabrics are hanging in front of me. I've got a design. I did a rough sketch based on a photo of leaves I took last summer. Now, all I have to do is to start cutting and playing. This will be for tomorrow I hope. First, I want to finish the shirt I am sewing for me. (Pictures later, maybe).
This morning, it was very cold for the season, but so sunny. After those rainy days, I really like to see such a nice blue sky...
And here's a beautiful autumn leaf I picked up the other day...

Return from holiday in Sutherland

We have just returned from a wonderful week in Sutherland.  We stayed at the lovely Kylesku hotel.  The food was wonderful and the new owners and their team were very friendly.  

We went walking and hill climbing and visited Inverewe gardens and other places in and around Kylesku. 

 
Here are a few pictures from Inverewe Gardens:

Some texture:

We had such a wonderful time I think we may return in the Spring when the gardens and scenery will have a different look and the ferries will be running as I want to visit Stornoway and many of the Islands.