It is a bit of an overused phrase sometimes but it has been very comforting to me to be able to go for walks and see that the world is still there, that things are still happening as normal.
As the weather has now been so lovely I have been going for a walk after work on a few days this week and have really enjoyed seeing the beautiful flowers everywhere and the cute little lambs.
I know I have said this many times before but I am so thankful that I live here, it is my own mini Lake District at the top of the road and it only takes about ten minutes, even at my slow pace, for me to be here.
These pictures were taken at about 6pm last night, this is such a wonderful calming sight, it really is gorgeous here. This is the first of four reservoirs and I hoping to go on a longer walk in a while when the rhododendrons are in bloom as there are some beautiful ones along the second of these reservoirs.
It has been a tough week emotionally. I am personally fine, thanks to my wonderful friends I have company through the weekly Zoom version of Wool and Wine, and also met up with my work colleagues for a very lovely Zoom catch up last Saturday. My brilliant friend Sharon has just been to get my shopping from a click and collect some miles from here, as I have not been able to get an online delivery slot at all.
What has been tough is worrying about my students, having phone calls and Zoom tutorials with young people who are confused and worried, and in some cases trying to cope with a huge range of challenges and uncertainties. I have been a teacher for 33 years now, and have had difficult times before but this is the hardest ever as I just don’t know what to say to them. I know all teachers feel the same, my sister, who is a primary school teacher is so worried about her pupils as well.
That is why it is so important to have somewhere to go and free your mind of worries. It has also been good for me to go out more as being sat down all day makes the arthritis worse and I have been in a lot of pain this last week.
I have been enjoying some alternative crafting entertainment as well with the lovely Amy from Almond Rock. I discovered her Instagram a while ago and she has held an Instagram live with a sewing quiz and last night it was a You Tube live with sewing Pictionary with her sewing buddy Marie. That was great fun and I did really well, scoring a lot more that in the quiz.
I have also been really enjoying the last bit of my Royal fashion course, looking at the Windsors. One of the things I loved about watching The Crown recently was seeing all the gorgeous costumes.Picture below from Google.
I loved Princess Margaret’s costumes and hairstyles and the series was so well done in terms of the way that they matched the actors to the characters, they looked so realistic. I would love to visit a costume exhibition from that series as well if I could one day. I have been lucky enough to see exhibitions from Downton Abbey, Wolf Hall, Victoria and Gentleman Jack over the years.
I have also been continuing with the Riley Blake Block Challenge, this week it has been the Economy Block, or Square in a Square, which is a very quick and easy block to do. I used this tutorial from Diary of a Quilter.
I think that the purple one may just be my favourite so far, I love these prints together and I am very pleased with the matching of the points on this one, the other one is not as good but will be ok at a distance 🙂
I could not resist starting a new project last week after blogging about the camper van ideas so I put this together and have been happily stitching round it whilst watching The White Queen on Amazon. The free tutorial is available from Flamingo Toes here.
Next week is officially the last week of term so after that it is an intensive period of marking, and finishing the re-write of the doctorate. Fingers crossed the weather will stay lovely so that I can have lots more peaceful walks.
I hope that you are your family are all ok, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.
Stitches of Time 
I’m sorry to hear that your students are finding it all so difficult. It’s rather uncharted territory for everyone, and of course they will be picking up on everyone else’s worries as well. So glad you have your mini Lake District for rest and recuperation!
Yes it is, we have so many that do not have access to all the study facilities that they need at home, normally our library is open 24 and has lots of IT facilities as well as the books. Plus many of them still like printed books and are not comfortable with online reading even though they are the 19 year olds. My older students are involved in education and childcare themselves and some run their own businesses in this area which is giving them extra stress. I have been in tears so many times this week after I have talked to people so am so glad I have Marsden and my fabric to comfort me.
These blocks look great, you are going to have a beautiful collection at the end of it all. Do you have plans for the blocks? The photos are lovely where you live, I am missing so many places but thankful to have a garden to get outside safely and easily as I am doing the 12 week sheltering at home due to a compromised immune system.
Hello Kay, I am planing to eventually make them into a quilt. I started making some 6 inch Liberty blocks last year and used some to decorate bags for Yarndale and had some left for me so this is a great way to add to the collection. I will not put the quilts together until I retire next year, partly as they will be easier to move unfinished.
Yes I am really lucky with where we live. I am not going far and where I go is pretty empty, there are usually a few dog walkers but everyone keeps their distance. I have not gone anywhere else though as I get the flu really badly and have a weak chest due to whooping cough as a child. Also any infection makes my arthritis so painful. At the moment it is very bad anyway, I think due to the fact that I am not moving much during the day as I am working so am the computer all day. At least I have my blog to look at all the lovely places I have been and everyone else’s travel blogs and vlogs, they are keeping me sane. Take care of yourself.