Photo Scavenger Hunt November

December 1, 2011December 1, 2011 stitchesoftime9 Comments

Well it is that time of the blogging month again – would have posted this yesterday but needed light to take the last couple of pics this morning.

In no particular order here are my pics for this month.

Comfort food

This is my new best friend, my slow cooker with a wonderful beef stew cooking that Ellie and I ate at the weekend. I do love winter food!

Polka Dot

Now I was thinking if I get stuck for this one I could just take another pic of my lovely little red and white teapot. However since I have already posted pics of that a couple of time before was looking for something different at the Harrogate Knitting and Stitching Show and what did I come across but this wonderful fabric – featuring my little teapot! So here it is – I bought 1/2 a metre that I have no plans for yet but it may make a nice apron.

Poppy

This is a pic of the display in my local florist’s window. It could also nearly count as a self-portrait as I am in the reflection.

Warmth

This is a double warmth pic as these little smoothie bottles are wearing hats to keep them warm in the chiller cabinet but this is a fundraiser by the Innocent Smoothie company called the Big Knit. People knit hats for the bottles and donate them then the profits go to charities to help elderly people keep warm.

Something I have made

Not hard as this was the whole reason for doing to blog in the first place to share what I do – this is one of my pre-blog projects, my first complex piece of goldwork. It was from a magazine called Classic Stitches and took about 50 hours to do. I made this is 2007 and was very pleased that after it was exhibited at our local Embroiderers’ Guild it was selected to be shown at two other national exhibitions that year!

Lucky Charm

This is not really a charm but I always keep it with me in my purse – an icon card bought at the cathedral in Barcelona some years ago.

Something purple

Lovely flowers – my favourite Lisianthus flowers

Self Portrait

I found this really hard to do – am not a big fan of pics of me anyway and kept getting the angle wrong – anyway this is me in my bathroom , excuse the wet hair!

Staircase

I was planning to take a pic of a lovely old staircase near my friend Lydia’s yarn shop in town but forgot my camera (doh!) So instead you have a pic of my very boring one! However this is a ‘before’ photo -watch this space as later this month it will be transformed by my lovely baubles.

A Memorial

An old gravestone from Marsden Churchyard.

Something that lights up

You know I love candles so Christmas is a time to indulge in all sorts of fun ones!

Silhouette

I was a bit confused as to what counted as a silhouette as I think this is more a shadow but here I am in my long winter coat on my way to work one sunny morning!

Have very much enjoyed this month’s hunt again and look forward to seeing everyone else’s pics.

Thanks for visiting.

Doors I have known

November 11, 2011November 13, 2011 stitchesoftime1 Comment

I love taking pictures of buildings , particularly of doors and there are many, many beautiful examples in Spain. The children think I am a little mad for this love of doors so I am always telling them that one day I will publish a book called’ ‘Doors I have known’, which will be much appreciated by students of architecture and the finer things in life!

I have put some of the lovely things I found on my recent trip to Elche in Spain below. Elche is a very famous town, founded by the Romans and it has the largest amount of palm trees in one place in Spain. There is a wonderful old cathedral and castle and the Palmeral which are palm gardens. Well worth a visit.

The pics show some of the cathedral and other pretty buildings in the town.

Hope you like them. Thanks for visiting.

Photo Scavenger Hunt October

October 31, 2011October 31, 2011 stitchesoftime11 Comments

Well here we are again but I am only just making this posting at the end of the month – I have been in Spain again (lucky me) and only got back this evening so I have hastily sorted out the last of my pics for the hunt this month.

Witches’ Hat

Spotted in my local pound shop this very lovely hat!

Sunset

One of so many beautiful ones in Spain – this pic was taken this week from outside my Mum’s house.

Something eerie

Though the weather is usually great in Spain they do have terrific thunderstorms sometimes and here are the very black clouds on the way back from my bike ride one day.

A black cat

You will have to trust me on this one as I could not find a cat to stay still long enough but up on the roof of this very ugly house near mine in Spain is a little black cat – you can just see the ears above the tiled wall.

Crunchy leaves

Taken on the canal bridge near my office

Golden

The canal side lights taken on my home from work one evening

Pumpkin

A couple in fact , these lovely gifts were sent last year from the USA as part of my Autumn stitching exchange.

Heritage

The lovely Marsden Mechanics’ Institute – centre of the village where I spent the weekend selling tickets for the Jazz festival.

River

Another pic from Marsden , the River Colne on a sunny Friday morning

Fog/mist

The view from my bus stop one grey October morning

Graffiti

From Spain – a colourful piece on an electricity substation

Candlelit

In Spain I like to sit on my terrace and read in the evenings and this is a lovely candle holder my Mum bought me that I use there.

Photo Scavenger Hunt September

September 30, 2011 stitchesoftime14 Comments

Hello there

As last month click on the pic above to go and see all the pics at Kathy’s blog.

This is a bit last-minute to say the least! I have been so busy this week I nearly didn’t get chance to take the last couple of pics I needed for this but have just made it.

Relaxation

This was taken at our last WI Saturday craft get together – coffee and a bit of knitting! Just what you need after a hard week at work. Check out those super sized needles in the background.

View from above

My lovely little teapot and cup.

Road sign

Where I catch my bus to work – next to a lovely ivy hedge.

Something taller than you

As he reminds me often, my little baby Jake is taller than me now – he is also taller than the fridge!

Back to School

Well college anyway – I don’t have the joy of buying new uniform and pencil cases anymore but here is Jake’s new timetable for his last year before University.

Football Season

I’m afraid this is as close as I get (inspiration for this taken from someone last month) – the football listing in the TV mag.

What’s in your bag?

Pinkness!

Harvest

Every year we pick the blackberries from the lane at the back of our house.

A pile of things

Donated knitted squares at my lovely friend Lydia’s yarn shop Spun.

Workspace

The best bit of my desk at work – thank you cards from past students.

Public phone box

Apologies as it was a bit dark – this is the phone in the lobby at work – love the fact that there are 3 phones in a row here!

Apples

My friend Rebecca from knitting group has this lovely bag made from apple drink pouches.

Photo Scavenger Hunt – August

August 30, 2011August 30, 2011 stitchesoftime16 Comments

I have managed to work out how every else links straight to the blog with all the rest of the pics on by ‘borrowing’ this pic above from Kathy’s blog and putting a link on it so here we go with my pics for August – click the above logo for everyone else’s.

Most of these pics were taken in one week in Spain and luckily there were some very easy words this month for me to be able to get – hope that you like them all!

A boat

Obviously there are loads of boats in Spain in all the marinas but this poor old thing has been stuck on a plot by the local supermarket for years – I bet it dreams of better days sailing away!

A festival or funfair

This was a very easy one to do in Spain as the local La Marina fiesta was on so here you have a pic of the fireworks at the end of the night.

However we had a very festive month so here is a pic from the Tribute Band Music Festival we went to this month as well! We also visited the International Festival of Quilts which I have already posted about.

A fountain

The Spanish love public fountains so I was spoilt for choice for this one – however my aunt is a bit of a fan as well and I knew she had a couple in her garden so went to take some pics – turns out she now has 7! This is a Moorish style one in a corner of her back terrace.

A picnic

On the lovely sunny La Marina beach – a very Spanish picnic lunch of tuna empanada, chicken pinchos, olives and tortilla.

A sport

One of my favourites – not that this is at all competitive! If it is too hot for mountain biking then we swim in the local pool.

Bread

Served with allioli – garlic mayonnaise – this is one of the best things about Spain, I could live on this! Oh and red wine!

Fabric

The Spanish have the most beautiful textiles, especially table linen – I have bought quite a few table cloths and runners and here are some more gorgeous ones at the local market.

Market

At the same market you can get your flamenco dresses (children’s size only unfortunately) with matching shoes.

Mountains

We had really clear skies all the way back so I was able to get some fab shots of mountains – this is the Pyrenees with added snow!

Something ancient

This could easily have been used for the next category of something bizarre as well – not original but a copy of ancient Roman architecture.

The bizarre bit is in the fact that people here re-model their houses in all sorts of styles, this is the next door neighbour showing what the house would have originally looked like when it was built.

And here is a close up of the lovely gates and portico.

Something bizarre

I always thought these little postcards were a bit bizarre when my grandparents used to bring them back from Spain in the 70s – I was surprised to see them still around. The skirt of the dancer is fabric sewn on to the card and her bodice is also hand stitched.

Street food

Churros from the market – a long sugary donut that the Spanish also like to dunk in thick melted chocolate!

I hope you have enjoyed these pics – I can’t wait to see all the other contributions for this month.

Thanks for visiting.

A New Toy!

August 18, 2011August 18, 2011 stitchesoftime2 Comments

Digital greeting generated with Smilebox

I have noticed this Smilebox slide tool on a few blogs recently so have been having a little play this evening with some of my flower pics – enjoy!

Photo Scavenger Hunt – July

July 27, 2011July 27, 2011 stitchesoftime18 Comments

Apologies for lack of weekly post – have family staying so have been out and about and very busy so normal service will resume soon!

The pics for this month’s Scavenger Hunt were all taken in a week on our recent holiday to London. I had set myself a goal of trying to get the whole list in one week – some of it was ridiculously easy while other words took a bit of searching but here they are and I hope that you like them!

A flag

Being the capital city there were a fair few Union flags around – it is only called the Union Jack when it is on a ship – but this is one of my fave flag pics – taken at Hampton Court.

A kite

Had to be a bit creative with this one as did not see any but did come across this quote from Mary Poppins in the Disney Store on Oxford Road ….

We are very big Disney fans in our house!

Celebration

Being the capital city there are loads that take place here but thought I would share with you some of the memorabilia available for our latest one – the marriage of Prince William and the gorgeous Catherine Middleton on April 29th. This pic was taken in a little gift shop round the corner from the British Museum on a very rainy day. I did buy a fridge magnet to take a pic of but thought this was a lovely pic as you can just see the reflection of tourists in the rain under an umbrella opposite the shop.

Fields

Again I had to be creative here as there aren’t that many in central London but we were in the theatre district and I saw this poster advertising the musical from one of my favourite films – how many Christmases did I watch this! Do you remember the bit where they fall asleep in the poppy fields?

Flip flops

For when you are feeling particularly patriotic!

Ice cream

This is not actually ice cream but a little selection of takeaway desserts from Marks and Spencer where we bought our in train picnic for on the way back – how cute!

Red, white and blue

Well I really was spoilt for choice here but I came across some fab shoes in a shop in trendy Carnaby Street – here is the patriotic UK version…

and the patriotic US version !

Seashells

Again this took some thinking about but then Ellie pointed out that Ariel the Little Mermaid has a bra made of seashells in the Disney film. When Ellie was little she had a dress like this with a long fish tail which she loved.She is most upset that the Disney Store don’t do adult sizes!

Something that makes you happy (not a person or an animal!)

Well apart from my family and textiles the thing that makes me most happy is travel (if I get to travel with my family and there are textiles I am super happy!). I really love travelling by train especially as I think it is very exciting and though I use the train a lot I never get bored, I love just sitting looking out of the window watching everything go by. I am sure I would be a terrible driver as I am so used to being able to look all around when I am going anywhere and see all the pretty things. So here is a pic of one of the Docklands Light Railway trains that we used, the views from these of the skyscrapers at Canary Wharf were great – you can just see them in the background here.

Stars

There was the most amazing ceiling in the chapel at Hampton Court decorated with stars – I couldn’t take a photo inside but here is a pic from the front of the guide-book.

and then when we bought things from the gift shop the bag had this design on.

Strawberries

Here is Ellie enjoying strawberries and creme fraiche as part of our picnic at Hampton Court.

Stripes

And some lovely pots lined up in the Hampton Court gardens.

I do hope that you have enjoyed my pics – very much looking forward to seeing what other people come up with this month. To see the other Scavenger Hunt pics or to join go to the blog.

Photo Scavenger Hunt – June

June 30, 2011July 27, 2011 stitchesoftime13 Comments

Hello everyone – here are my latest pics.

I have mainly themed these round two locations – one is the place where I work as that enabled me to get a lot of the target words covered and the other is our recent trip to Tatton Hall in Cheshire as I was looking for some interesting ways of covering some of the other words.There are also some random ones so I will start with those first.

Farm Animal

My lovely LYS Woolly Minded and Beady Eyed has a new addition , this very cute sheep now resides outside the shop wearing a fetching fancy yarn scarf. He is looking a bit over exposed in this pic as he has nice woolly curls on his back that you can’t really see here.

Elephant

Luckily Ellie brought this home just after we got the words for this month – it is a pressie for one of her friends so I snapped it straight away!

Childhood Memory

This is the first of the pics from Tatton Hall and was part of the displays of vintage toys in the gamekeeper’s cottage. My grandmother was probably the one who taught me to sew as a child as she was very good seamstress and I do remember having a machine when I was young , though not a miniature one like these.

My grandmother used to make most of mine and my sister’s clothes and we were always dressed in matching outfits – I remember one particularly fetching one of tartan kilts and ponchos (luckily I don’t know where the photo evidence for that has gone so you will be spared!) She did used to take me fabric shopping a lot , to the local markets and to a marvellous shop called Gordon Thoday’s which was a huge shop with bolts of material everywhere. Therefore I suspect she is responsible for my fabric addiction – thanks Nana!

Cutlery

Again from Tatton – this box was in the Victorian Kitchen.

Cheese

And this was in the Victorian Parlour laid for high tea with the china cheese server on the table – in the days when cheese all came in the same shape!

Night

This is my little friend Paddy on the right of the pic from our medieval group with a fellow fire juggler. This is part of what we do to entertain ourselves of an evening at an event – along with the campfire and ale (or in my case cider!) Paddy is 11 so he is doing really well at it and was able to produce some great fire circles himself.

Something with your town’s name

This was an easy one as this is where I work , this sign is on the outside of my office wall!

The view right outside your door

And this is the view outside the door of my office, the section of the campus where I work is all the old converted textile mills and this is the old mill chimney in the car park. You can still smell the lanolin in some of the buildings and the canal runs at the back of them.

Architectural Detail

This is my building, the old mills were five or six stories high and made from beautiful Yorkshire stone.

Tree Branches

The canal behind the buildings is lined with trees with seating areas along the canal path and ducks and squirrels which makes it a lovely campus.The building I work in is called Lockside as it is next to the working lock and in the summer lots of canal boats go past.The canal was restored and re-opened about 10 years ago.

Something beginning with Z

I studied at the University as an undergraduate and then this building was called Z Block, I had my Geography lectures in here. I really like the detail on the roof and I am pleased with the reflections of clouds in this pic.

Wheel trim

Another of the set of pics taken at work – lots of cars park on our campus and this one had a very pretty wheel! I think it looks a bit like a quilt pattern.

I do hope you like the pics and look forward to seeing everyone else’s, I will be popping over to Kathy’s blog to do that later and to get the list for next month. We are off to London next week to do some sightseeing so I am hoping to get some of them then.

Thanks as always for visiting.

And relax ………..

June 9, 2011June 9, 2011 stitchesoftime1 Comment

I have just come back from a great week in Spain , I went this time with my lovely friend Kerry who very much enjoyed herself and it is now the end of term so after this week no more teaching . Hopefully I am set for a mellow summer – a lot of marking to be done but I am very much looking forward to the next few months. That is the very nice thing about my job that it is quiet during the best times of the year so that I can get my work – life balance better when the evenings are lighter and the weather nice (though we did return to good old Yorkshire rain which looks set in for the rest of the week!)

Very little crafting was done this week though I did manage to finish a square for Knit in Public Day on Saturday. Lydia from Spun yarn shop here in Huddersfield is having a Knit and Natter on Saturday to sew all of the squares together to make charity blankets – sadly I can’t go as I am teaching but Ellie is going and she has made some squares as well.

Here is mine – the pattern is Moss Stich Diamonds from my Knitters’ Bible book in some left over Sublime yarn.

And these are Ellie’s in garter stitch made from Escape – a lovely variegated wool.

I have also finished another Xmas ornie – a little JBW tree from the Christmas Keepsakes 2 chart from Sew and So that I have backed with pretty red tree fabric, this one I have added seed beads to as well on the tree and all around the edging.

Ellie was busy while I was away – she has used her birthday pressies to make the gorgeous Cath Kidston bag that came with her Sew book and to make some other little bags as well for herself and friends. She says that she is having trouble the straight lines with her quilt but she has made a very good job of the bag – I love the button detail on the side.

Now that I have the batting I am planning to finish off the throws for the sofa soon and am still cracking on with Xmas ornies. Am having a little problem with the pattern for the pink Sublime baby cardi so that is on hold till I can find a correction for the pattern as the instructions for the left front make no sense at all!

I will leave you with a few pics from Spain, the cactuses that I took pics of the last time I went have flowered and here is a lovely door in Oriheula at the cathedral – I could have saved this for the ‘architectural detail’ pic for this month’s scavenger hunt but have many lovely other Oriheula pics to choose from.

We went back to the park in Guardamar where we saw some cute little red squirrels and this time I took some bread for them. They were very tame, here is one letting me feed him with pieces from my hand and a close up of him later playing on a tree.

Hope that you have had a lovely week and are gearing up to Summer. Thanks as always for visiting.

Photo Scavenger Hunt – May

May 28, 2011May 28, 2011 stitchesoftime13 Comments

Before I leave for Spain next week I though that I would post my pics for this month.A lot of these were taken on the way to or from work, on my visits to see my students – I hope that you enjoy them!

Emergency Vehicle

This along with a couple of police cars was outside Birmingham New Street railway station last week when Ellie and I were travelling back.

Black and White Portrait

Taken in the window of the place where I had my photos developed, what a cute baby!

Butterflies

Spotted this fabric at the last Quilt Day that fitted this category very well.

Bicycle

Taken outside Accrington railway station one sunny day (I do spend a lot of my life at railway stations!)

Blue

This pic was taken that same day – like the contrast between the in and out of focus flowers.

Sign of the Zodiac

I was trying to be bit creative with this – here is the Bull pub in Nelson, Lancashire.

Texture

So many pics to choose from for this – I eventually went with one taken last weekend at the Tudor House where Ellen works, Greyfriars in Worcester, this is part of the garden.

Think Vintage

Was not sure what to snap for this then saw this very cute dress in a shop window, I love retro fashions!

Interesting Local Building

This is a very significant building to Huddersfield and to me. It is the oldest building on the University campus where I work – dating from the late 1800s. It is called the Ramsden Building and is where I studied as an undergraduate 28 years ago.

Streetlight

Back to the railway station again for this – a rainy day in Yorkshire ( as opposed to a rainy night in Georgia!).

Red Door

The thing I really like about the Scavenger Hunt is the way it makes you really look at things around you. I was thinking ‘where can I get a pic of a red door’ – well turns out next door neighbour but one has a red front door and here it is!

Cartoon Character

I am a huge Disney fan – the kids and I have been to Disneyland 5 times (4 trips to Euro Disney and 1 trip to Florida and loved every visit) – this is one of my souvenir soaps with the original cartoon character – the mouse that started it all – Mickey (who I have met on several occasions!)

Hope that you have had a good week – if you want to look at all of the other Scavenger pics then go to Kathy’s blog.

See you all when I return!

Thanks for visiting.

Stitches of Time

I have created this blog to share my interest in all forms of stitching, quilting, sewing, knitting, medieval re-enactment and costume making – particularly my love of historical embroidery. I also love travelling,especially when it also involves any of my other interests.

Category: photos

Photo Scavenger Hunt November

Doors I have known

Photo Scavenger Hunt October

Photo Scavenger Hunt September

Photo Scavenger Hunt – August

A New Toy!

Photo Scavenger Hunt – July

Photo Scavenger Hunt – June

And relax ………..

Photo Scavenger Hunt – May