Thursday 19 March 2015

Greenwich

Hello everyone. I hope you are having an enjoyable week - it's not quite so sunny here as it was but the daffodils and hyacinths are open in the garden, so who could fail to be cheered? 
I'm joining in with Planet Penny's Happy Friday once more and I think my happiest moment this week had to be my trip to Greenwich. E had her final seminar following her trip to Auschwitz last week, so off we trekked to Canary Wharf. 
There may have been a bit of 'use up the stash block knitting' on the train!
........ and perhaps a wee bit more when we arrived early and had to kill some time in a cafe!
When I'd dropped her off, I had 4 hours in which to amuse myself, so hopped onto the Docklands Light Railway and popped over to Greenwich.

My first stop was to see The Cutty Sark. Forgive me if you already know the history of the ship. For those who don't, she is a British Tea Clipper built in 1869. She spent a while on the tea trade before turning to the wool trade from Australia and then was used as a cadet training ship. She is now in permanent dry dock in Greenwich.
The ship was named after Cutty-sark, the nickname of the witch Nannie Dee in Robert Burn's poem 'Tam o' Shanter'. In the poem, she wears a linen sark (chemise) which she had from when she was a child - hence, it was too short or 'cutty'. A man, Tam, a little worse for wear after a night's drinking on market day, comes across some witches dancing. At first he watches quietly, but then gets carried away and calls out 'Weel done, cutty-sark!'. The witches give chase and Tam spurs his horse, Meg, towards the River Doon, as the witches can't cross a running stream. They come so close to catching him that they pull poor Meg's tail off - seen clutched by the figurehead.

She really is a beautiful ship and visitors can go on board. I didn't this time, deciding instead to visit again with the girls during the holidays.
I rather enjoyed the juxtaposition of the old and the new:
Nearby is Greenwich Market with some interesting stalls and adjacent shops.
I particularly liked the old bottles and tins on this one, but they were a tad pricey!
Looking at this photo - is that a 'No Photography' sign I see? How embarrassing, I honestly didn't notice it at the time!
Greenwich is a beautiful place - R and I have visited in the past, pre-children, to see the observatory, but it will definitely be worth doing a family return visit. All too soon, my 4 hours were up and it was time to collect E. She came out of her seminar rather hungry, so enjoyed a sort of pick and mix veggie sushi picnic on the train ride home.
Other happies this week include:
A bunch of cheery daffs on a rainy day:
Mother's Day treasures from my darling daughters - a much needed new manicure set and a set of tins which I intend to use for a 'patchwork out and about' kit:
Quilting L's graduation present - I just need to sew in a few threads and, rather annoyingly, sort out a few creases on the back. I used spray adhesive this time, rather than basting/pins but still had problems. Any hints from more experienced quilters as to how to avoid creases will be very gratefully received!
Finally, On Tuesday I attended a local 'Primitive Stitching' workshop. This is me grabbing a quiet five minutes to work on my March hare:
Now I just have to embroider the leaves and flowers before backing it and blanket stitching around the edge:
Apologies for the rather dark photos - it has been a rather gloomy week so far. 
Anyway, that's all for this week's happies. Wishing you all a fun and, I hope, sunny weekend. 
Toodle Pip for now. x

16 comments:

  1. We went to Greenwich last summer - it really is a fascinating place, isn't it, and very photogenic.The quilt is looking very good, and I love the simplicity of the hare applique. the design is very springlike :)
    Cathy x

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  2. I enjoyed seeing your trip to Greenwich. I've always been interested in the Cutty Sark. When I was a child, my grandfather had a model of it that I liked to look at. Your Mother's Day sounds nice, the gifts are lovely. I have a CK manicure set and I really like it! Hope you're having a good week.

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  3. What a fascinating story about the Cutty Sark. It sounds like you had a lovely time in Greenwich. And I like the look of the veggie sushi, delicious. CJ xx

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  4. Last time we visited Greenwich, a while ago, the Cutty Sark was off limits due to the fire. Good to see it good as new, and, yes, I liked that market, too. I think there was quite a choice of veggie food. Lovely gifts and makes! I've only made one and a half quilts, so can't advise. It was total cloud cover here this morning for the eclipse but now there's a clear blue sky...doh, wouldn't you know it! Still, very cheering. Jen

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  5. Hey you!!! I love the story behind the ship....and yes she is a beauty! I was hear visiting your blog last night but my youngest bean got up and I never had time to come back and comment! So much beauty everywhere! That market is wonderful! I would have myself a time there indeed! And that Primitive Stitching workshop sounds so intriguing! Is that your piece up there??? It is gorgeous! I wish they had a workshop around here like that! A very wonderful weekend to you dear friend!! Nicole xoxo

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  6. What a busy week you have had! Greenwich looks great, not been in such a while and have never ventured to the Cutty Sark (will try to now tho!)
    Your primitive stitching is lovely! (not sure there is anything primitive about it tho!!! Why do they call it that? I love it!) can't wait to see the finished thing! xx

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  7. looks like you had a wonderful adventure x

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  8. It was so fun looking at your photos. Wish I could have gone there. I love the green yarn you're knitting with ...perfect color for the start of spring. And the embroidery picture is so cute. Have a great weekend.

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  9. We visited Greenwich only last month and its was great, if a little cold! I love the leaping hare motif :)

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  10. I've been to Greenwich a couple of time and visited the sights and the market. Your post brought back some fine memories, thanks for the tour!
    Amalia
    xo

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  11. Enjoyed your tour of Greenwich. I have never been on the Cutty Sark but did see it from the river when we were in London in October. I love your primitive stitching, very pretty.

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  12. Greenwich is a great place to visit. Loving the daffs and the embroidery hoop hare. Have a great week
    Jan x

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  13. I did enjoy finding out more about the Cutty Sark, what a lovely ship!
    I would have liked a few of those bottles too....now what's the problem with people taking pics??? Honestly!
    I loved your Mother's day pressies, and the veggie sushi looks delicious, I've never come across it!
    Your little hair is really sweet1xxx

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  14. Oh, I love your "Primitive Stitching"! Just gorgeous. I have visited Greenwich with the family during a visit to London. We also had a fabulous day there!

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  15. One of these days I'll get to Greenwich! It looks fascinating. Thanks for joining in with Happy Friday x

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  16. I didn't know the story behind the name of the Cutty Sark, so that was super interesting for me. I love that you ate Nutella while pregnant! I ate a lot of noodles and orange ice lollies.
    Leanne xx

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