Easter Break

I hope you all had a lovely Easter, our son, daughter in law and grandson Eugene came to stay Thursday to Saturday.  The sun shone and we sat in the garden, it's been a while since we did that!  I can't believe that Eugene will be one year old later this month. 

Our daughter in South Africa sent Eugene a voice message telling him how much she loves him, he loved hearing his name. I look forward to the time they all meet for real. 

As my husband is the church pastor we waited till after lunch on Easter Sunday before we headed over to Dove Cottage in Wales. We had planned on doing some work in the cottage and taking some trips out. 

We woke on the Monday to snow on the field and mountains opposite but had decided to head to the coast where the sun shone and we managed a picnic. I will post about that trip another time. 

We had taken a trailer with us of items for the cottage, we have oak and glass doors for when hubby builds his studio down the garden and new windows for the front of the cottage. These jobs will be done at a later date but we managed to lay new oak flooring in the kitchen and upstairs landing which is looking great. 

Molly loves to sit on the bedroom window sill looking out at the sheep and new born lambs :) 

Welsh Textiles

With having Welsh ancestry and the love of textiles, I've been thoroughly enjoying exploring the neighbourhood around our little Welsh cottage (#dovecottageonwye on instagram)

Lampeter is a sweet town about 35 mins drive from Dove Cottage and is home to The Welsh Quilt Centre www.welshquilts.com

On our last visit to DC we were joined for the last three nights by great friends of ours from the SW of England. Linda also has a love of quilts and many years ago when we lived in the SW we began our quilting journey by attending courses together.

The Welsh Quilt Centre didn't let us down, the quilts were amazing, all old and beautifully hand quilted. We were told that the exhibition upstairs changes regularly so a return visit will be required :)

Downstairs is a shop selling lots of great textiles, books etc.

I took a few photos, but of course they dont do the quilts justice. The quilts were mainly 'whole cloth' with some pieced work too

'Wholecloth quilt was the mark of an artist - the fabric a mere canvas on which to express the quilters fine needlework skills and creative flair. It is a quilt that dates back to the twelfth century, and has been created by European and American artisans alike. A wholecloth quilt is not necessarily made from a single piece of fabric, but from a few very large pieces of cloth, and it is intricately stitched to produce a highly textured, tactile design.'

Cassandra Ellis - A World of Quilts

I have a whole cloth quilt that my grandmother made, probably about 100 years ago. Cassandra Ellis goes on to say 'Both Welsh and County Durham Wholecloth quilts are highly regarded and extraordinarily beautiful' My grandmother was born in Durham and after marrying a Welshman, went to live in Wales before returning to Durham after his death and all her children had married. 

The quilt that I have is old and not in great condition, I covered it many years ago to protect it but may just uncover it one day to take another look :)

The photos below are taken of Welsh blankets, another passion of mine, the top picture taken at the Welsh Quilt Centre and the other three taken in antique shops

Dove Cottage

I haven't posted about our little Welsh cottage for a while, we have just returned from a few days over there catching up on some jobs. I spent a few hours tidying the garden while my husband worked inside.  We had the plaster removed from the wall behind the sofa and he has been spending time pointing around the stones with cement and on this visit he sealed it all to stop the dust from forming and to bring out the colours of the stones. We are really pleased with how it has turned out. 

If you want to see my first post after exchanging in the property a year ago, click on he following link

http://www.finelinenandpurple.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/wales.html

Some of you may not have heard of Welsh blankets woven in the wooden mills, these beautiful blankets have become popular again in recent years with new designs being made and old designs remade. In the first four photos below you can see some of the Welsh blankets and cushions that I have, the blanket hanging over the door is also Welsh but in a plaid design and the blanket on the chair is a waffle blanket. The cushions and orange blanket are made in the tapestry design. I also have a beautiful red, black and grey tapestry blanket but can't find a photos of it. 

On Friday I went with my sister to Jane Beck's Welsh Blanket shop, Jane collects antique blankets and quilts, buys and sells pre owned blankets and quilts and sells news blankets and cushions. We had a great visit and I came away with the beautiful cushion in the third photo. If you would like to read more about Welsh blankets go to Jane Becks website

www.welshblankets.co.uk and www.melintregwynt.co.uk

                                

                   

Some of the Studio pottery that we have at the cottage made at the John Leach pottery in Muchelney

View across the fields to Dove Cottage. 

Below are photos taken from our visit to Jane Becks shop

Shop

This is an antique blanket from Jane's collection