This week's Thursday Theme is 'Large'.
This side view of Urchfont Manor was taken last weekend. We are back this weekend to sell our stock to another group of students.
Showing posts with label Urchfont Manor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Urchfont Manor. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Sunday Summary
Another Sunday, another week has passed, and as usual it has been busy. However, it was busy in a different way. As mentioned in last week's summary the central heating engineers arrived on Wednesday, so the early part of the week was spent in preparation.
It was important to move as much furniture and stock so that access was available to all radiators. The boiler is actually situated in the kitchen, so that also meant that this room was out of bounds during the days we had a 'visitation'. Preparation in this area was obviously rather important! We had to eat, albeit without any fancy trimmings, and we needed access to tea and coffee AND biscuits. Oh yes, biscuits - chocolate biscuits, but to find out more - read on! If the weather obliged it would be salads for us!
So, on Tuesday the essentials of central heating were duly delivered and deposited in the garage. The easy part was now done! More boxes were moved, stacked and left accessible for any orders that might materialise during the proceedings. Furniture was also moved and by late on Tuesday evening all was prepared. Wednesday came, promptly at 8am so too did the plumber, a hose was attached to the system and 'drain down' began. By Wednesday evening all was going according to plan......
Thursday dawned and work progressed. It became apparent that all was not well. We had one hot radiator, a couple of lukewarm ones, and the rest were decidedly cold. Now was the time for chocolate biscuits, not for us, but for the workmen. They scratched their heads, they pulled, they pushed, ate more biscuits, drained the system and refilled. Nothing worked, and that is still the situation, and we await to see what happens. Once again we have 'foxed' the heating engineers, something, somewhere is wrong, but no-one can find it. The central heating is currently running, but not properly, and we are in the middle of a 'cleanse' to see if that will help.
Friday was a bit of an anticlimax I admit. We spent the day hauling bits and pieces back into position, well, not quite because it will have to be moved again at some point. I babysat in the evening, I enjoyed it but Jack was too good and didn't wake, so I didn't get a cuddle! I did take a sneaky peak, though, and he's still gorgeous! Saturday involved more moving and also loading the car because today we had a return visit to Urchfont Manor. Lynn Horniblow and Janet Crowther were the tutors, but the place was also overrun with motorcyclists there for their annual training session. It was quite surreal, but we have seen it before and no doubt they well be back next year!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Sunday Summary
This is just a quick look at the past week. It has passed so quickly I can't believe that it is Sunday already.
Firstly we shouldn't have been here ! It was the second of the two weeks we had put to one side for our annual holiday. However, we were so tired that neither of us could face going away, and we had the knowledge that this coming week is the week when our central heating will finally be fixed. So we stayed here! Nothing got done, not even a lot of sleeping. The phone didn't stop ringing and we ended up working as normal :(
Anyway, apart from that it was a good week. Mum has been getting more and more frail, but this week she has seemed a little stronger, and I even managed to visit on one day at the same time as my brother. We had a good reminisce, and that seemed to do her good and stand her in good stead for several days afterwards. I'll be off to visit her again tomorrow, and I wait to see what that visit has in store.
It was a week of rain for many parts of the country, but we have escaped very lightly. Yes, we had rain, but we also had sun and managed to dry some washing on the line on more than one day. Other areas have had a dreadful time, though, and my heart went out to my 85 year old uncle who made a pilgrimage back to the north-east to meet up with old colleagues and visit relations, probably for the last time. He travelled to the part of the country that seemed to be almost totally underwater, and although he is now safely home, he was unable to see some of the sights he wanted to visit. It is a shame as his sight is almost gone, and he will probably be unable to make the trip again.
We had fun and games with our plumbing. Although we had no problems with the rain we woke one morning to find the kitchen floor under water. Fortunately a plumber arrived poste haste and the leak was fixed. It was a very strange washer in a pipe joint. Dealt with he departed and we began the mopping up. The next day he was back. The same thing had happened overnight and we had to start again. Not funny. I suppose it serves us right for living in a Victorian property. Who knows what the heating engineers will find this week, but I'm not even going to think about that until it happens.
I spent a delightful morning with my little grandson while his mother had an appointment. He is now nearly walking, and his vocabulary is growing so we can have 'conversations'. He has also discovered the word 'No', and shakes his head furiously, laughing all the time, when asked to do something. It was a really fun morning, and I look forward to the next time.
Our 'holiday time' came to an end on Saturday when we made our first visit of the autumn to Urchfont Manor. It was a busy weekend with students of Yoga, Trees and prospective Head Teachers all mingling with C&G Diploma students with Sian Martin. We felt as though we had never been away ...... I was able to show them some vegetarian silk and explain how to manipulate it. Watch out for it soon on Etsy: http://www.sassalynne.etsy.com/
Firstly we shouldn't have been here ! It was the second of the two weeks we had put to one side for our annual holiday. However, we were so tired that neither of us could face going away, and we had the knowledge that this coming week is the week when our central heating will finally be fixed. So we stayed here! Nothing got done, not even a lot of sleeping. The phone didn't stop ringing and we ended up working as normal :(
Anyway, apart from that it was a good week. Mum has been getting more and more frail, but this week she has seemed a little stronger, and I even managed to visit on one day at the same time as my brother. We had a good reminisce, and that seemed to do her good and stand her in good stead for several days afterwards. I'll be off to visit her again tomorrow, and I wait to see what that visit has in store.
It was a week of rain for many parts of the country, but we have escaped very lightly. Yes, we had rain, but we also had sun and managed to dry some washing on the line on more than one day. Other areas have had a dreadful time, though, and my heart went out to my 85 year old uncle who made a pilgrimage back to the north-east to meet up with old colleagues and visit relations, probably for the last time. He travelled to the part of the country that seemed to be almost totally underwater, and although he is now safely home, he was unable to see some of the sights he wanted to visit. It is a shame as his sight is almost gone, and he will probably be unable to make the trip again.
We had fun and games with our plumbing. Although we had no problems with the rain we woke one morning to find the kitchen floor under water. Fortunately a plumber arrived poste haste and the leak was fixed. It was a very strange washer in a pipe joint. Dealt with he departed and we began the mopping up. The next day he was back. The same thing had happened overnight and we had to start again. Not funny. I suppose it serves us right for living in a Victorian property. Who knows what the heating engineers will find this week, but I'm not even going to think about that until it happens.
I spent a delightful morning with my little grandson while his mother had an appointment. He is now nearly walking, and his vocabulary is growing so we can have 'conversations'. He has also discovered the word 'No', and shakes his head furiously, laughing all the time, when asked to do something. It was a really fun morning, and I look forward to the next time.
Our 'holiday time' came to an end on Saturday when we made our first visit of the autumn to Urchfont Manor. It was a busy weekend with students of Yoga, Trees and prospective Head Teachers all mingling with C&G Diploma students with Sian Martin. We felt as though we had never been away ...... I was able to show them some vegetarian silk and explain how to manipulate it. Watch out for it soon on Etsy: http://www.sassalynne.etsy.com/
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Back to work
We had such a lovely time in Wales. It was hard to get going when we returned. This is a photograph taken from the cottage. The whole place is surrounded by such beautiful scenery. That's Cader Idris on the horizon, we saw it every day in all its glory.
As always we came back to earth with a bump. We arrived home late on Saturday, and had to be up early on Sunday to go to Urchfont. Always a pleasure to go there, though, as the students and tutors are lovely. Make a date in your diary for Sunday 6th July. It is Open Day at Urchfont, and, having already seen some of the work that is being exhibited, I know we are in for a treat. I'll post further details when I know them, but I'm guessing that it will be open from about 11 until 3. There is also an Exhibition of Art in the Garden, and this year it includes some textile pieces. They have already been attacked by sun,rain and wind, so it will be interesting to see how they change over the next while.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
April Take It Further
It has been a very busy month. We have travelled the country, and it is only 10th May! Our travels are not yet over, later this week we head for Ledbury to both sell and teach a workshop, but first there are also selling venues at Urchfont and another workshop at Grayshott where we will be making a pair of boots on the embellisher. After Ledbury we travel further north and west to Dolgellau for our spring break. It is to be extra special this year as our little grandson is bringing his mummy and daddy to visit for a few days. I'm sure there will be photographs to load when we come home.
At last I am finding time to load a corner of the Take it Further sample for April. I said that I would combine and old and new technique, and this shows an ideal example of that.
The background has been created on the embellisher - the new technique - and for the 'old' I decided to use stitches from the first session of my City and Guilds course which dates back nearly 20 years. I hope you like it. I have used a Sassa Lynne Serendipity Perle 5 for the stitching
I have resisted looking at any reference to the May inspiration until I was able to do this. I'm off to have a look now, no doubt it will be my holiday project. And I don't think I told you about the wonderful 2 days we had in Cornwall teaching the embellisher. I'll have to remember to do that soon
At last I am finding time to load a corner of the Take it Further sample for April. I said that I would combine and old and new technique, and this shows an ideal example of that.
The background has been created on the embellisher - the new technique - and for the 'old' I decided to use stitches from the first session of my City and Guilds course which dates back nearly 20 years. I hope you like it. I have used a Sassa Lynne Serendipity Perle 5 for the stitching
I have resisted looking at any reference to the May inspiration until I was able to do this. I'm off to have a look now, no doubt it will be my holiday project. And I don't think I told you about the wonderful 2 days we had in Cornwall teaching the embellisher. I'll have to remember to do that soon
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Urchfont? I don't think so
What a disappointment.
We should have been going to Urchfont Manor in Wiltshire today. It is a regular venue, and we enjoy our visits there as it is in such a lovely part of the country. The alarm was set for 06.30 and at that time all was well. We leave at 08.00, and all was well at 07.49, but at 07.50 it began to snow and this is what greeted us as we went to the car.
There is usually a remarkable absence of radio travel broadcasts on a Sunday, so we had no idea what was waiting for us. We joined the motorway (M3) at Junction 4a and travelled slowly but surely until we reached just beyond the service area. Now we had our first radio message. Don't travel on the M3 - anywhere between junction 1 and 14, and sure enough we were soon at a standstill.
Inching forward we progressed. Having travelled less than half a mile we were overtaken by a police car and a highways vehicle travelling cautiously on the hard shoulder. The object of the first delay became obvious just around the corner as we saw the remnants of a 3 car collision. Further on, but within view were two more cars on the hard shoulder, then another two, and finally a more serious accident (or, to be more politically correct, an 'incident' as someone was possibly to blame)with an ambulance in attendence.
It took us two hours to travel from junction 4a to junction 5. We gave up at this point, and returned home. The traffic was still inching forward towards Basingstoke, but no idea of what was actually causing the problems further on.
We left the motorway and returned via the A roads. It was beautiful, but we were glad to be on our way home again. As we approached home it was lovely to see the faces of the children building snowmen. They obviously hadn't needed any encouragement to get out of bed this morning. Fathers were enjoying it too!
This is the view that greeted us when we returned after our twenty mile round trip.
Sorry, Urchfont, but I think we did the right thing, especially as you will all want to get away at lunchtime. Hope you all get home safely, although it will probably all turn to sleet and slush before very long.
We should have been going to Urchfont Manor in Wiltshire today. It is a regular venue, and we enjoy our visits there as it is in such a lovely part of the country. The alarm was set for 06.30 and at that time all was well. We leave at 08.00, and all was well at 07.49, but at 07.50 it began to snow and this is what greeted us as we went to the car.
There is usually a remarkable absence of radio travel broadcasts on a Sunday, so we had no idea what was waiting for us. We joined the motorway (M3) at Junction 4a and travelled slowly but surely until we reached just beyond the service area. Now we had our first radio message. Don't travel on the M3 - anywhere between junction 1 and 14, and sure enough we were soon at a standstill.
Inching forward we progressed. Having travelled less than half a mile we were overtaken by a police car and a highways vehicle travelling cautiously on the hard shoulder. The object of the first delay became obvious just around the corner as we saw the remnants of a 3 car collision. Further on, but within view were two more cars on the hard shoulder, then another two, and finally a more serious accident (or, to be more politically correct, an 'incident' as someone was possibly to blame)with an ambulance in attendence.
It took us two hours to travel from junction 4a to junction 5. We gave up at this point, and returned home. The traffic was still inching forward towards Basingstoke, but no idea of what was actually causing the problems further on.
We left the motorway and returned via the A roads. It was beautiful, but we were glad to be on our way home again. As we approached home it was lovely to see the faces of the children building snowmen. They obviously hadn't needed any encouragement to get out of bed this morning. Fathers were enjoying it too!
This is the view that greeted us when we returned after our twenty mile round trip.
Sorry, Urchfont, but I think we did the right thing, especially as you will all want to get away at lunchtime. Hope you all get home safely, although it will probably all turn to sleet and slush before very long.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
A weekend off
I have a whole weekend off! Now, what does that mean?
When I'm not teaching we usually spend the weekend visiting shows or colleges/courses with Winifred Cottage. As I said, last weekend we were at Textiles in Focus. I have spent the week beginning to restock our supplies, and a 'weekend off' means that that will continue! There are also three wholesale orders for Sassa Lynne that need attention, so the dyepot is red hot and I am working away with colour. Specific orders mean no time for experimentation, named colours are mostly the order of the day, but as I need still more Embellisher Rolls with the vegetarian silk I'm having fun with those too. I will also pop some yarns into some Serendipity pots, these are the experimental ones that will eventually make their way into the named range.
I did take an hour off this morning, though! I went to visit our newest grandson. He is now 6 months old and growing apace. We had lots of smiles and giggles amongst the hugs, so I've now had my 'fix' for a few days. We will see him again next weekend when we babysit for an evening while his Mum and Dad go out for a meal. It will be a busy week with trips to Heather Quilters, where I'm speaking about the Embellisher, Urchfont Manor and also the Quilters' Day at Selsey. If you are passing the stand - don't forget to say 'hello'. As far as Urchfont Manor is concerned - there is a very good exhibition of Art in the Garden that is well worth a visit.
When I'm not teaching we usually spend the weekend visiting shows or colleges/courses with Winifred Cottage. As I said, last weekend we were at Textiles in Focus. I have spent the week beginning to restock our supplies, and a 'weekend off' means that that will continue! There are also three wholesale orders for Sassa Lynne that need attention, so the dyepot is red hot and I am working away with colour. Specific orders mean no time for experimentation, named colours are mostly the order of the day, but as I need still more Embellisher Rolls with the vegetarian silk I'm having fun with those too. I will also pop some yarns into some Serendipity pots, these are the experimental ones that will eventually make their way into the named range.
I did take an hour off this morning, though! I went to visit our newest grandson. He is now 6 months old and growing apace. We had lots of smiles and giggles amongst the hugs, so I've now had my 'fix' for a few days. We will see him again next weekend when we babysit for an evening while his Mum and Dad go out for a meal. It will be a busy week with trips to Heather Quilters, where I'm speaking about the Embellisher, Urchfont Manor and also the Quilters' Day at Selsey. If you are passing the stand - don't forget to say 'hello'. As far as Urchfont Manor is concerned - there is a very good exhibition of Art in the Garden that is well worth a visit.
Friday, November 23, 2007
Another quick post
Still no opportunity to upload photographs, I don't know how long I will be online. It is very frustrating to be half way through something and then switched off for no apparent reason. I am hoping that I will have some free time (ha ha) next week and that I can at least solve half of the problem. In the meantime - just words which can be written offline and then just copied and pasted. If only blogger didn't take quite so long to upload pictures I could do the same with those.
However, today I am off to Newport in S Wales to teach a session on the Embellisher at Busy Bees Patchwork. It is a flying vist, and I am looking forward to staying with Sandra of Busy Bees and her husband. I will leave shortly after lunch today, and try to get there in daylight! I am teaching a taster session on the Embellisher, if you are in the neighbourhood I'm sure Sue and Sandra would love to see you at the Craft Workshops at Tredegar House, and maybe I will let you have a peek at what we are doing! I will post pictures when I can.
Tomorrow I must leave as soon as the session is finished as I have to get home to unload, then reload. On Sunday we are off to Urchfont Manor to see Sian Martin and Lynne Horniblow and their respective students. If you ever get the chance to take a course with either of these tutors make sure you grab it. They are both excellent and you will learn a lot.
I may be offline, but I'm not sleeping..........!
However, today I am off to Newport in S Wales to teach a session on the Embellisher at Busy Bees Patchwork. It is a flying vist, and I am looking forward to staying with Sandra of Busy Bees and her husband. I will leave shortly after lunch today, and try to get there in daylight! I am teaching a taster session on the Embellisher, if you are in the neighbourhood I'm sure Sue and Sandra would love to see you at the Craft Workshops at Tredegar House, and maybe I will let you have a peek at what we are doing! I will post pictures when I can.
Tomorrow I must leave as soon as the session is finished as I have to get home to unload, then reload. On Sunday we are off to Urchfont Manor to see Sian Martin and Lynne Horniblow and their respective students. If you ever get the chance to take a course with either of these tutors make sure you grab it. They are both excellent and you will learn a lot.
I may be offline, but I'm not sleeping..........!
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