Aerating a Lawn, Walk on the Beach, Progress on Loft Studio

22nd July 2014

On Sunday my sister invited family and friends for lunch which was delicious!

My sister asked one of her friends to use some special 'aerate shoes' to work her magic on the lawn!!

Small feet meant making adjustments....

...fearsome spikes....

...what a good sport.....

....enjoying the task.....

...we were all very impressed and cheered and clapped!!

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Jack is reluctant to go for a walk at 8am this morning, ears back, bad sign!!!

Arrived at the prom to see this notice...

....which explains this structure....

.....the sun was hot and Jack and I went for a paddle....

....walked along the beach and saw jellyfish...

....lovely pattern on this one...

...seaweed wrapped around driftwood....

....beautiful sea and sky...

.....home for a coffee then off to the park for some gardening.

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Progress in the loft 'studio'....

...new storage unit made by Mr D...

.....lots more sorting required....

.....hope to be in by September!!

Picnic in Kew

20th July 2014

Went to Kew to meet up with more relatives, had a tasty picnic and good meander through this wonderful park....

....this records the names of sponsors, a lovely piece of artwork that is informative...

....some yarn bombing caught my eye....

....made by a group with mental health issues, very therapeutic....

.....visitors were asked to select a strand of wool ....

...and tie it to the yarn wrapped around the tree....

...so effective!

We walked across a wooden bridge, so many turquoise dragonflies skimming the water....

.....ducks, ducklings, swans and cygnets being fed..

...a moorhen sitting on it's nest in the middle of the lake....

....left Kew and had drinks beside the river in Richmond, a perfect end to a wonderful day!

Fashion and Textile Museum and a Long Walk!!

20th July 2014

Have had a very busy, brilliant few days.....

Friday:- visited FTM....

...so hot and with these colours was like being in Spain....

.....the foyer...

....the information on the rebozo/shawl .....

.....this is the loom...

.....samples....

....woven in cotton or silk....

....these have been made by students...

....can be worn in a variety of ways.....

.....very old and an extremely intricate design using naturally dyed silk....

.....lovely design woven into this sample....

....more info....

.....there were photos in the exhibition of the artists who make these rebozos and they are worried this skill will die out....

....the film about the construction was very interesting, so labour intensive!!

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Next walked back to London Bridge and took the Queen's Walk along the river .....

 ....passed HMS Belfast which brought back memories of a visit when the children were small...

....heading towards Tower Bridge....

....passed this wonderful seat.....

....passed....

....loved this water  sculpture...

....decided to walk across Tower Bridge....

....view of the Tower of London....

.....Tower Bridge...

.....old and modern....

.....the boys would have loved this when they were small!

....as I walked back along to London Bridge I saw people working on this beautiful installation in metal wire and poppy shapes, it must be something to do with WW1 I think....

...everywhere was really busy with school parties and tourists, many queuing to visit the Tower....

...arrived back at the station and made my way to meet my daughter and niece.

The day ended with a good meal and catch up with the girls, then I made my weary way back to Richmond without making any mistakes on the tube!!

Such a good day and amazing weather....

Hampton Court Gardens

18th July 2014

Had a brilliant day yesterday visiting the Royal School of Needlework at Hampton Court Palace.
 I had booked a tour of the sampler exhibition and it was so interesting with samplers from as early as 1700's. Many of these samplers were like a 'cv' today as they were rolled up and taken to show prospective employers. The stitching was exquisite and so many were worked by 8-15 years olds.

My sister and I plan to do a course on Whitework and Knot Gardens in the near future so watch this space!

Unfortunately were weren't allowed to take photos but I did take quite a few of the beautiful palace gardens that were free to the public.....

....Hampton Court Palace...

.....wonderful trees....

....this is where we had our picnic.....

....beautiful colours and shapes in the flower beds....

...this bed was raised in the centre.....

.......I loved the tall decorated chimneys and old brickwork....

.....we decided to take a river boat back as it was such a beautiful day....

..this is our boat, the funnels at the front are lowered to go under the bridges....

....these houses are on an island in the middle of the Thames!

Such a lovely, interesting day with perfect weather!

Today I am off to the Fashion and Textile Museum then meeting my daughter and niece for a meal this evening. This involves tube travel so I have worked out my route, just hope there are no diversions or lines closed or goodness knows where I will end up!!!!