Fred the peacock

This is Fred the peacock. He came with the house when we moved in a few years ago, he was part of the fixtures and fittings. He runs free around the house and in the woodyard beside us, although he will often come into the garden for peanuts. I have a small tub of nuts beside the window and I'll throw him a few when he comes around. He came this morning but wouldn't stop as our Jack Russell, Daisy, was watching him through the window and he could see her. Daisy likes to chase Fred, a game he's not so keen to play. Thankfully he has always managed to get away in time. He's about 16 or 17 years old and will live until about 40.



He has got the most beautiful plumage. The tail feathers will start to moult about June and they will all be gone by mid-July, ready for the new set in Autumn. Fred does walk very regally. At night he perches in the top of the tallest trees. He cannot fly very far, although he can fly out of danger, like if Daisy's chasing him, but he wouldn't fly to the top of the tree. Instead he uses the branches like a ladder, and will hop and flutter from one branch to the next.

Look at the tail, it's just gorgeous, and when the feathers moult and you can look at them up close, they are just amazing.

My son drew a picture of Fred (below) which I made up in fabric. It hangs in our living room. I think he got the shapes just right.

Bye for now

Jenny

My first pattern

I'm really excited this week, as I have just finished writing my first pattern. It's for a small picture using fusible web applique, and it's out being tested by some friends of mine - some are crafty people, some are not.

The next step is to look at any comments, amend the pattern as necessary and then it can go out into the big wide world.

On the side you will see that I am demonstrating at Orford Country Market on April 18th, and I thought that I ought to have patterns and kits in case people like what they see. One design is being tested at the moment, but I hope to have four different patterns available on 18th. Watch this space ...

Jenny

Finished cupcake cushion

This is the finished cushion made from may daughters outgrown clothes. I stitched some pink ric-rac around the outside which she really liked.

I've just had some cushion pads delivered, the next one I want to make is a boat in a similar style to the cupcake, but maybe the outside borders made of patches rather than just strips of fabric.

I've also got a bit of non-quilt sewing to do. I'm altering a roman blind for a friend and re-making some sofa arm-rests for a Country Market order. I'd rather be quilting and cushion making, but these come first.

Jenny

Moonlight

It's still here tonight, just a very slight breeze. The trees are silhouetted against the full moon. In the trees around the house I can hear four different tawny owls calling to each other and waders on the distant river. I marvel at the canvas nature has painted.


Jenny

Finished order

Below is the order I was talking about in a previous post. They were made for children and will be framed and hung in their bedrooms. These were especially made after the customer had seen similar smaller ones for sale. I find it quite scary to take commissions, because it worries me that the final pieces won't be liked – but in this case the children were really happy with them.


Below is a close-up of the flowers. When I came to stitch around the edge of the daisy in the middle, I used variegated yellow thread for the centre and then wondered whether the petals would stand out better from the background if I edged them in yellow too. I couldn’t visualise what it would look like, so I made a sample daisy to try it. I’m glad I did because it looked awful, so the main picture is edged in white and looks just right.

Oh I can’t get the hang of formatting these blog posts. Every time a picture is inserted it goes haywire. I find I have to edit it far too many times to get it to look right. It drives me mad. Does anyone else have this problem? Today I am writing this in Word and hoping that when it gets published it will be better.

Ipswich didn’t play this weekend, which is probably a good thing as they ended on Tuesday evening losing 0-3 to Southampton at home. This won’t help their play-off places at all.

See you again
Jenny

Below is a close-up of the flowers. When I came to stitch around the edge of the daisy in the middle, I used variegated yellow thread for the centre and then wondered whether the petals would stand out better from the background if I edged them in yellow too. I couldn't visualise what it would look like, so I made a sample daisy to try it. I'm glad I did because it looked awful, so the main picture is edged in white and it looks just right.

Oh I can't get the hang of formatting these blog posts. Every time a picture is inserted it goes haywire. I find I have to edit it far too many times to get it to look right. It drives me mad. Does anyone else have this problem? Today I am writing this in Word and hoping that when it gets published it will be better.

Ipswich didn't play this weekend, which is probably a good thing as they ended on Tuesday evening losing 0-3 to Southampton at home. This won't help their play-off places at all.

See you again

Jenny

Bits and pieces

This is a little bit bitty tonight.

First up I have two pictures of my birds that I've made for my Country Market order, one blue and one red. They are fused onto a vintage silk background and then satin stitched around the edges with variegated threads. A small blob of fabric paint for the eye.

I was given a pair of 1960's silk curtains, which once washed, disentigrated in way too many places to make them useful for curtains - but they make jolly good backgrounds for pictures.

Next up is a picture of a quilt that I really don't know if I want to own up to making. About six years ago I pieced this top, the colours are gorgeous and bright and this was definately a case of the quilt looking better in my head than it did made up.

So, I have unpicked the main blocks, given them a good press, I'll mix them up abit, and then see how they will look with sashing in between to break them up. This has sat in my sewing room for so long, it's high time the poor thing had a bit of TLC and be finished of. Goodness knows what I will do with it once it's done though.

Lastly is a picture of my daughters outgrown clothes which are now nicely de-seamed and waiting to be made into a cupcake cushion for her bedroom.

And just to update the football fans, Ipswich are playing Southampton at home tonight and losing 0-1. Oh dear Tractor Boys, I think you need a bit of moonshine in your engines.

See you
Jenny

This week

Last week I visited my local quilt shop Quilters Haven and my daughter fell in love with a kit there. It's of appliquéd puppies made from wool felt on a pieced background. I don't normally buy kits, but she twists me around her little finger. The background is pieced and this evening I will start to cut out the puppies.

I have also been working on an order I received a couple of weeks ago from Orford Country Market, where I am a producer. I sell cushions, quilts, and fabric postcards and I was asked to make some postcards as birds and flowers for a lady for her daughter's bedroom. The birds are finished and the flowers will be completed in a day or so's time. I will post a picture when they are done. This last Saturday I also sold a silk cushion, so I was a very happy Jenny for the rest of the day.