An Apple a Day

Greetings everyone! Thank you all so much for your kind get well comments last week - I particularly enjoyed Amalia's virtual mug of chamomile tea! I am very happy to report that the lurgy has finally gone on its merry way. Last Friday when I showed you my little stash of fabrics, I said that I had a special project in mind for them. Well, here it is ...........

Ta-Dah!

My 'Apple a Day' mini-quilt. Actually, I'm not really sure whether to call it that or a place mat or mini runner, I just wanted to make one! As I mentioned previously, they're not my usual colours of choice, but I do rather like them. It's just 6 squares joined together with 6 apples appliqued on before quilting and adding the border. The patterns on the apples and leaves were done free hand - you can really tell in some places! I suppose you could draw the design on first for a better finish but I rather like its rough and ready appearance.

I can't decide which is my favourite one.

You can definitely see the wobbly bits on the core:

Now I just have to decide where to keep it. I love it under the vase of flowers on the dining table. The only problem is that I'm a little worried that the weight of the vase will leave an imprint.

Maybe on the chest? We found this in the loft of our old house and it's used to house board games etc. Please ignore the over-stuffed wool basket and teetering pile of magazines! 

Any suggestions as to what I can do with it will be gratefully received - although I suspect R is just aching to tell me!

Every half term, E goes to spend the first weekend with L in Oxford. They are very close and she misses her terribly during term time, so this is her little treat. We dropped her off and then had a little wander around the college gardens. I love this tree - I'm not sure how old it is but it's bent over so far that it has to be supported.

E took some photos of this little, furry chap. He was extremely tame and let her get quite close before bounding away along the wall.

This griffin is used as a sort of good luck charm. Apparently, balancing a coin on him is supposed to bring good luck in your final exams - we told L to slip him a tenner!

L's rooms overlook the gardens, lucky girl.

With her exam looming, E had an extra long piano lesson on Tuesday. I took the opportunity to go for a rather muddy walk around a nearby wood.

I should have taken a photo of my wellies at the end - they weren't nearly this clean!

I loved the colour of the bracken

... and the oak leaves.

There were long shadows:

A lake:

and even a den:

I met a few dog walkers but mostly it was just me and the birdies. Unfortunately, I got horribly lost at one point and ended up having to run back (not easy in wellies!) so as not to be late collecting E. Despite that, it was lovely to get a bit of fresh air and enjoy the sunshine.

One last happy this week - making 'Quick Florentines' from my 'new to me' WI biscuit book. I made them because they contain lots of dates and we still had a box hanging around from Christmas. Despite the Alice in Wonderland type instructions on the lid, people weren't! I used white chocolate instead of milk, just because that's what I had in the baking drawer.They were quite nice but I found them a little sweet; needless to say, E loved them!

Anyway, that's all for this week. I'm just off to Planet Penny to see what everyone else has been up to. Enjoy the rest of half term.
Toodle Pip for now. x