Huge change to our little house.

From when we bought the house 15 years ago we planned to change the windows. We thought we'd do it soon after moving in 5 years ago but we got quotes either for silly money or for reasonable money but with companies who insisted we didn't need planning consent. After the kitchen was done, and both the bathrooms, I couldn't delay it any longer. Although double glazed, the patio doors let in a draft and the wood was in definite need of resealing. This time I got quotes from east of the house rather than the west. One was for silly money, one was for half way between the cheapest and the highest and they would get planning consent.  The windows were ugly and it turned out not what planning consent had been in the first place........ This is the before shot.

Are the after photo.  I feel these windows are far more in keeping with the style of house.

Sash windows are my new love.

Round the back of the house, the mahogany sliding patio doors have been replaced with French doors.

It all looks so much better from the inside as well. 

Today it feels wonderful not to have any workmen here.  They were all fine, but it exhausts me. 

Hence the only bit of stitching done was hand appliqueing the centre to a background fabric. Some stitching is better than none :-)

On my next post I hope to have started my Jane Austen quilt...... hope, not promise.

Jane Austen and Karen Styles.

I have finally got my Jane Austen quilt planned out. I am pleased with it but not pleased my intention not to make quilts over 65 inches square has gone out the window.......

And I played with changing the look completely. I have named this version  'Jane goes to Bali' 

Karen Styles came to the UK for the Festival of Quilts and whilst she was here did a Workshop at Cowslip and at Sue Watters house. As Sue lives 30 miles away I wanted to go. A lovely couple of days of soothing hand work, except I hadn't allowed for the roadworks outside Gloucester on the way home. It took nearly 2 hours to do those 30 miles...... It used up a lot of my precious spoons. (Google spoon theory if you think I am talking gobbledegook) 

This is my centre of the Okehampton quilt. I shall use it, but in a quilt of my own. I don't have a good track record of finishing quilts designed by others.  I love how the fussy cutting of the outside border worked. 

This is the glorious fabric. I don't know if there is still some out there.

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And now some very sad news. George was killed on the road last weekend. My beautiful boy, my quilting buddy, my morning wake up call has gone. 

He died exactly eight years to the day from when we got him as a kitten. We have done much soul searching about whether we were/ are right to let them out. We think we are. He has chased rabbits, butterflies, shrews and squirrels. He has been drenched by the rain, waded in deep snow, had the odd cat fight, got stuck up a tree and many many adventures he would not have had as an indoor cat. Our feelings are, better eight years of adventures than sixteen of none. My heart aches again for my four legged friend. George was mine by his choice, Rosie loves my husband more. For those of you new to my blog, Rosie and George are British Shorthair cats.  George's pedigree name was Porteous Bounty Hunter.