Running Away

A little while ago my friend and I feeling a bit fed up with life said that we both felt like running off. Ever feel like that? Well we decided to do just that and off we ran to London. Just for the day. We did come back and here I am to tell the tale. We booked the early morning coach to Hammersmith, jumped on the tube and arrived at the fantastic Westfield Centre. If you need Retail Therapy of the non quilty kind then this is the place to go. First stop was the Champagne Bar. Boy, did that put us in a good mood. A beautiful glass of bubbly and delicious chocolates felt very decadent and indulgent but hey, we are worth it. We strolled round the shops and had lunch, shopped a bit more and then had a bite to eat before heading back to the coach and the journey home.

These little darlings had to come home with me. Once I had tried them on I just couldn't be parted from them. I love the colour. My husband said - " but you haven't got anything that will go with them ". I told him not to worry at all on that score. As we plan to run off for the day again some day soon I am sure to bring them back a nice companion.



Now you will have to take my word for this and I apologise in advance at the poor quality of the photographs but you will understand why. On the way back the motorway skirts past Heathrow Airport. Just so you know I am telling the truth here is a poor photo of the sign for the turn off ( well I was on a coach and it was going fast and it was getting darker ).

Unless you live on another planet you will know that a volcano in Iceland has erupted and thrown volcanic ash high into the air. This contains particles of silica
that gets into the engines of aircraft and seriously damages them. The consequences don't bear thinking about. As the wind is blowing in our direction and indeed other parts of Europe, all planes have been grounded.



I show you this photo because anyone who has ever been on this stretch of road will know that the aeroplanes follow each other in every few seconds and there is usually a line of them as far as the eye can see. There was not a plane in sight. A very eerie sight. Listening to the news this morning the reporter said that at Heathrow for the first time they could actually hear the birds singing. It occured to me that even the Queen at Windsor Castle would have noticed the silence. My daughter works for a well known travel company booking holidays and honestly people are being so rude. I know that it is their hard earned cash and they are concerned about their travel arrangements but this very unusual happening is not the fault of the booking person and they are doing their best. The decisions are not theirs. No one can go anywhere at the minute. It is better that the planes are grounded and safe than in the air facing the consequences of what would happen.



This week I was given a gift from two friends independent of each other and as you can see they could have been made to go with each other. Val gave me a strip of fabric with sweet peas on them and Sue gave me some of her pinks/plums. They are yummy and I am very lucky to have such great friends. Thank you.



I thought you might like to see where we meet for our sewing adventures. We meet at Bradford on Tone village hall. It is a very pretty setting next to the church. It was a lovely sunny day and the blossom was out.





Sarah has been making this little beauty for her new granddaughter Poppy. It was started by her daughter Lizzie and we had a nice chat about all the various fabrics that had been used that had once been part of clothing items worn by members of her family. I am sure Poppy will love hearing the tales from Grandma Sarah. Well done Sarah for finishing it. This is a small project for Sarah, they are normally ginormous.



Janet made this gorgeous little quilt using the quilt as you go method. It is definitely one to try and those of you who want to use up scraps would find this an ideal project to do. The idea came from a book by Sharon Pederson called Reversible Quilts - Two at a Time. I wish I was as neat as Janet is with everything that she does.





One of my other passions in life is Beads. I love them and have a vast collection. I will show you the finished thing shortly as it is going to be a gift for a friend. I am not going to say who. There is a little clue in the photo.



Finally, the weather here today has been so warm and beautiful and I just had to show you these little beauties in my garden. It is spring but felt more like a summers day.



Happy Stitching
Shirley.

p.s. - Klosjes total 81
p.p.s - Danielle or Emilie for Dorothy