It might seem from my blog posts this year that I am never at home. This is not entirely true, but I do have to admit to having been away this weekend. Away for a long weekend, indeed, leaving Friday morning and returning late Monday afternoon. I can confirm, however, that between those two times I spent many hours stitching, for this trip was to join the twice-a-year stitching retreat of our quilt group in Northumberland. I have been working on a colourful single-bed quilt which is like a tiled Italian terraza; photos and a quilt pattern will follow soon, as the piece is almost finished.
Saturday and Sunday were cold, clear autumn days and there was a hard frost on Saturday night, as you can see from the frost patterns on fallen leaves on Sunday morning.
The grasses glittered with frost.
The colours all around were quite simply stunning; here are glimpses of nature in the beautiful county of Northumberland in the North-East of England.
A walk through the woods as a prelude to a day stitching was a privilege. The beech trees have shed most of their leaves and the paths were thick with fallen leaves.
The blue sky was a perfect backdrop to the remaining green and copper leaves.
Out on the water, boats moved gently on the calm surface.
An anchored boat was moored just beyond the jetty.
There were pink tones in the sky, even in the morning.
The air was bright and clear and the shadows deep.
This morning we had to leave, but it’s always fun to take an interesting route home, with a few stops, so I need to mention here the best scones I have ever tasted. This is no small matter as I am a real aficionado of the British scone and in each place I have tasted one, I feel compelled to issue a (private) rating out of ten. These beauties were definitely, without question, 10 out of 10 scones and I’m not ashamed to say so publicly!
They are obtainable from the emporium pictured below: The Duck House Restaurant in Corbridge. Go there, try them and tell me I’m wrong!
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This is my ‘Stitcher’s Kit’ pattern. You can find it here.
Amanda Jane Textiles 
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