Another thousand mile journey from Shropshire to the Pyrenees on Tuesday/Wednesday of this week went well apart from a couple of unexpected detours.  The autoroutes were almost deserted as usual apart from in and around the bigger towns and cities so I was snapping away to record the journey.  The chateau d'eau/water tower on the horizon towards the left in the photo above was a lovely shape!

 The miles and miles of flat open farmland to the north of Chartres makes for boring driving but the modern grain processing and storage systems are fascinating.   

 We use this bar tabac just outside Chartres for a coffee stop.  It's accepted as normal to pop over the road to the boulangerie for croissant and cakes to accompany the coffee served in the little bar.  This time we had croissant au beurre, éclair au café and flan.  Délicieux!

 This lovely old cinema in a sleepy little town near Evreux was still in use.

 The spires of the cathédrale in Chartres can be spotted from many miles away as they stand out majestically on the otherwise quite flat horizon.  It's a vast and stunning edifice and has recently undergone restoration and a clean-up.

 Travelling in a car at 110kms per hour along autoroutes doesn't allow for the best of photographs but I managed to capture a few of the chateaux peeking through the trees along the way.

 These tourist placards announce entry into the Dordogne.  Inspirational sources for quilts?

 I haven't yet visited the Pech Merle caves with their prehistoric paintings but I can certainly recommend a trip to Saint Cirq Lapopie.  It's perched on the side of a cliff and is stunningly beautiful.  

Getting ready for Fashion, Embroidery and Stitch, NEC 21st-24th. March 2013!

 I had great fun last weekend playing with the Husqvarna embellisher and using up fabric and wool scraps at the same time!  These colourful cushions and shoulder bags are the result.

The bags have a sturdy black fabric strap and lining for extra strength.

Another  throw/counterpane/cosy knee quilt to add to the collection.  This version makes use of my rusted fabrics to contrast with a dark brown mottled Batik and a pale cream calico.
It's longarm quilted with a heavyweight caramel colour thread on both sides and backed with the same mottled Batik.

Another cosy quilt/counterpane/throw to add to the stock at Apley Farm Gift Shop near Bridgnorth.
This one is pantograph quilted with 8" repeat Peacock Meandering using a pink thread to link with the pink in the main body of the quilt.

How cute!

How inquisitive!

This old tree looks splendid against the sky blue background.
At dusk it's very spooky!

Ivy hues never cease to amaze me!

I used a soft velvet for this 50" x 50" wholecloth  quilt with a striped ticking for the narrow binding and backing.
The edge to edge pantograph pattern is 8" 'Feathered Mum' and is done on the Gammill Longarm machine.

The pile of the fabric and close quilting creates a very sculptural result with the light as it falls on the hills and valleys helping to enhance the effect.

I've used a brown thread to encourage the gorgeous pattern to show up well.

Early morning flight departures have their good points as this photo of sunrise taken from a plane at 7 a.m. last Sunday proves.

Last week was spent skiing in Montgenevre, a very friendly and picturesque village in the Alps on the French/Italian border.

There was gorgeous sunshine almost every day.
The view from the balcony of the sun rising over the mountain every morning was bellisima.

The gorgeous little village church has a beautifully decorated ceiling.

Feeling on top of the world!

Sadie's blue and white outfit almost blended into the background!

There was a notable Italian influence in the restaurants.
The Alpine bruschetta was particularly délicieuse.

Thanks for another great DMTV programme Linda!
Yesterday's 'rusting' technique is another really simple and fun way to create unique and individual  fabrics.

I'm so pleased I found a use for the old iron bar lurking in one of our log baskets!  
I thought I'd do a very quick trial as I'm off on holiday tomorrow so I left the fabric in its vinegar and water solution overnight and it still worked really well!  Also, I had no white vinegar so I used brown!

These fat quarters are going to team up wonderfully with some of my seedhead sponge prints on hand-dyes.

For this colourful client quilt I've used 'Peacock Meandering' allover pantograph quilting on the longarm machine using a 70 weight grey thread back and front.

The pretty Batik fabric on the reverse shows up the curvy pattern.

I hope you send me a photo of the quilt complete with binding Jan!