The second Steampunk jacket

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Technically this is the third jacket I have made from a Steampunk pattern as Amanda’s wedding jacket a couple of years ago was from a Steampunk pattern but this is the second one for me.

I saw this pattern a while ago and thought it looked beautiful and it gives me a chance to wear more lovely lace! It is a McCalls Pattern M6770 and I bought it a while ago during one of the Jaycott’s pattern sales. Images from their web site.

McCalls Pattern 1

 

McCalls Pattern 2

My plan is to make the jacket out of some black crushed velvet that Ellie gave me a while ago. I already have one black jacket but it is a little too small over the bust so want something that does up as this will be used for events in November and Feb so it will be cold.

I met one of the Seamstress Squadron at Lincoln who had already made this and she was kind enough to let me take pictures and talk through the construction with me.

Steampunk event Costume 8

Steampunk event Costume 9

The bustle part is actually a separate piece that ties round the waist but I am planning to adapt the pattern to attach it to the jacket and make the front a little longer.I will also not have the corset fastenings on the back or the gathered part on the sleeves which will make construction easier.

I did the same sort of pattern hacking on the jacket I have just made and it worked out fine. I may not have enjoyed my school needlework lessons all those years ago due to a very stern teacher who shouted a lot but I did learn the basics of how patterns work and have the confidence to alter them.

I will then make the skirt out of some pink velvet that I bought many, many years ago for re-enactment, in time for the Feb event. I am planning to buy a red version of the purple skirt as illustrated below for the Nov event as I love it so much and it will go fabulously with my new hat.At some point I think I will also get the black one as well.

Steampunk red skirt

The plan is to cut this out next week before things get busy at work as the sizing is always the most difficult part. I have had a lot of inspiration and practical help from the Love to Sew podcast. They have an episode on tissue fitting which was really helpful so I am going to try doing that before cutting out.They also have a great one on pattern hacking if you want some ideas for adapting things.

Wish me luck as I hate sewing with velvet though I love the way it looks! It moves around so much when you sew it but am determined to use up stash rather than buying any new fabric in the spirit of sustainability and trying to use up the many yards in my sewing room before I relocate to Spain in a few years.

Will update you on the progress, take care and thanks for visiting.

Bustles, blossoms and beats, the creativity of Steampunk

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As always there were amazing costumes. I really love the fact that Steampunk gives people a chance to participate on any level, whether it be using things you have in your wardrobe and adding a top hat, or even adapting a wedding hat, re purposing charity shop finds, buying clothes ready made or tailoring/creating your own fantastic costumes.

This woman is a costume maker and her garments are always out of this world.I love the starry fabric of her dress.

Steampunk event Costume 4

Steampunk event Costume 7

This white one below is a great example of putting things together, the costume is all ready made items and then it is set off by this amazing head dress.

Steampunk event Costume 1
Steampunk event Costume 2

It is a very inclusive activity that can be done at any level, unlike re-enactment where there are unfortunately lots of authenticity rules, understandable but it does make it expensive even for a beginner.

For just a basic outfit you would need to spend about £100 even if you made all the garments yourself yet Steampunk can be done for next to nothing. My outfit this year, which was the most original I have done not using many things already in my wardrobe, only cost £67 to put together and that is including buying the skirt and hat that I have already worn to other events and to re-enactment lots of times .

I also love the fact that it is encouraging people to sew and to make, anything that does that is fantastic and every single one of the thousands of people who were there this weekend had done something creative which is so good for everybody.

There were some wonderful examples of this creativity, this woman’s costume was music themed. I really like her hat made of records and the bustle from sheet music!The attention to detail is wonderful, look at the music note fabric and the tiny piano on the back pack.

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Steampunk event Costume 23

I think the most original re-purposing I saw all weekend was this great set of wings made from ties, an adult and a child version, how fantastic is this!

Steampunk event Costume 3

Although this top hat decorated with Lego people did come a close second.

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We loved this gown and hat with so many ribbon roses, we spoke to the owner about how she had made it and they were all hand made then glued on to gown.

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This was a fantastic Elizabeth 1st inspired neck piece, we loved all the detail on this.

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There was also a large contingent of Votes for Women themed participants, celebrating the centenary of the 1918  Representation of the People Act which gave some women the right to vote.

This lovely woman was one of the many who stopped and complimented me on my jacket, having seen the pictures on the Seamstress Squadron page which was so kind of them.

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There were some fabulous gowns as well such as these lovely ladies and the gentlemen with the matching waistcoat. We all especially loved the princess outfit in pale blue at the bottom.

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And so much colour, I love purple and these women looked fantastic as did the one who was wearing peacock themed colours and the other very bright Marie Antoinette dress.

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Steampunk event Costume 18

I have already decided that next year’s Lincoln outfit will be purple and turquoise, using the skirt and top hat I already have.

I had actually decided on this colourway before the event as I was doing some some hand stitching and brought down some threads in those colours and thought how wonderful they looked together. Not quite sure what the theme will be but will work on that.

It was not only the costumes that were marvelously creative but also the machines. From the cogged bustle which actually moved, the ever inventive backpacks, through the  mobility carts and wheelchairs to bikes there were some amazing adaptations, another reason why Steampunk is so inclusive.

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Steampunk event Costume 11

We are really looking forward to our next event, Steampunks in Space in November, and I have a Sci-Fi theme for that to go with my new hat. I had some money from Ellie and Jake for my birthday and I bought a dressage hat, similar to a top hat but shorter.

Then we will have Whitby in February where we are going for an overnight stay so can do two days! I will show you the jacket I am planning as my next make soon as I am allowing myself plenty of time for fitting issues!

It is a very dull and grey day here, not at all August weather and the leaves have started to fall from the trees so I suspect that summer is sadly over. I do love autumn as a season but have enjoyed the lack of rain!

Hope that you are having a nice week where you are, take care and thanks for visiting.

A tablecloth, some curtains and another mad hatter

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My lovely daughter Ellie is actually named Ellen Scarlett Rose, the middle of these names being after one of my fictional heroines, Scarlett O’Hara. So it was very apt that Ellie’s outfit for this steampunk event was indeed made out of a pair of curtains.

If you have never seen Gone with the Wind you may not have seen the part where, short of fabric after the war, Scarlett makes a dress out of some green velvet curtains, inspiring seamstresses and steampunks everywhere. Photos below from Google.

Scarlett O'Hara dress 2

 

 

Scarlett O'Hara dress 1

Ellie also made the whole outfit in a couple of days which is very impressive, re-purposing a charity shop wedding dress, a piece of lace and an old net curtain as well as lots of flowers from various sources.

Steampunk event Ellie and Kerrie 1

Steampunk event Ellie 1

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The parasol was mine. I had bought it to go with my outfit but it looked so good with hers she kept it all day and I have loaned it to her for future outings. I did get it back for my photo shoot.

Steampunk event Alison and Ellie 1jpg

Steampunk event Alison 8

 

Steampunk event Alison 1

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Kerry was wearing her gorgeous black coat, I love this and if she ever wants to get rid of it I am first in line!

Steampunk event Kerrie 1

Steampunk event Kerrie 2

I was very pleased with my ensemble and really touched that so may people who had seen it on the Seamstress Squadron Facebook page stopped to say hello and tell me how much they loved it. They are such lovely people and very inspiring.

I have another post for you with lots more outfits but just wanted to show you the wonderful dancers from The Belly Fusion Dance Collective who we saw perform twice. They all wore tea themed costumes with fantastic head dresses, I think my favourite one was the cake stand one below but they were all amazing.

Steampunk event Costume 31

I also bumped into another sewing enthusiast who had the most brilliant sewing themed hat and she very kindly stopped for lots of photos.As well as all the very creative use of tape measures she had fantastic walking stick made of cotton reels.

Steampunk sewing hat 5

It was all so lovely and inspiring and we also had a great re-enactment show, very wet on Sunday and my tent blew over so everything got very wet but my lovely friends helped out putting it back up and it was not damaged which was a relief.

We had a great day on Monday, doing our usual walk around the area and photo shoots and lots of tournaments and then my angel of a friend Kerry drove me all the way home as I was not walking well after so much time out in the damp.

I have a fairly quiet couple of weeks ahead before term starts again and then I am working every weekend until the end of Oct, just on Saturday but that is going to cut down the creative time somewhat.

I have a new outfit planned for Steampunks in Space at the end of November so I will at least get that cut out before term starts so I have it ready for sewing.

I will be back soon with more costume loveliness, meanwhile take care and thanks for visiting.

 

All around my hat ….

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Traditionally the song goes, ‘I will wear the green willow’, and this is a traditional folk song from the early 1800s, a version of which was released by Steeleye Span in 1975.

My hat, however, is to go with my Steampunk jacket for this weekend’s event at Lincoln Asylum. I wanted a sewing themed hat and am so very pleased with the way that it has turned out.

Steampunk purple sewing hat 1

The items are all stuck and pinned on as I only want this to be a temporary decoration, hopefully they will survive the journey and the event itself.

Steampunk purple sewing hat 2

The usual things are there but I have added some unusual things from my little collection of vintage needlework tools.You can see some lace bobbins in the picture above.

Steampunk purple sewing hat 3

I also have a set of small crochet type hooks which you can see in these photos, these are for darning stockings to enable you to pick up runs and also a glove darning tool lying on the brim in the photo below , the rounded ends were meant to enable you to darn the fingertips and are slightly different sizes.

Steampunk purple sewing hat 4

I am hoping to use some of these things when I do my Make do and Mend talk in the future, more about that in later posts as this I something I am developing at the moment.

I downloaded some images from Google and printed them to make the needle card and button card and am very pleased with the way they turned out.The buttons are just stuck on and are some of my mother of pearl ones from my stash.

I have also made a little bag with a pin with some charms on, just need to add the ribbon drawstrings to it. This was the rest of the tablecloth from the back of the jacket and the reverse is the same embroidery as well.

Steampunk linen bag 1

Steampunk linen bag 2

I am really looking forward to the event, love seeing all the wonderfully creative things that people have come up with! I am really hoping that the weather will be good as well as I have a pink parasol to complete the outfit.

Hope you all have a good Bank Holiday weekend and will be back soon with some fab pictures.Thanks for visiting.

My vintage tablecloth Steampunk jacket

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I first blogged about this jacket in September last year when I cut out the pieces. I was intending to make the jacket earlier in the year but life got in the way as usual and at least I have finished it with 3 days to go before the event and am not going to be hemming anything on the train!

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I am so pleased with how it turned out, it is quite different to the original pattern as shown in the photos below but that is deliberate.

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Steampunk butterick-pattern-2

 

The pattern is the Butterick B6305 Victorian Top and drape front skirt and despite it being categorised as very difficult it wasn’t and I would make it again and am possibly going to make a skirt as well in the future.

I ended up not lining it as I didn’t need to and also decided to keep it open rather than doing buttons or any fastening.

 

This is partly as I am very bad at buttonholes and didn’t want to spoil it and also as a fitted jacket does not really suit my shape so I am wearing it open over a blouse that I have.

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I also had a little bit of an issue with the sleeves as they were way too big, I cut them down and them they were too small so I had to insert a piece which curves round the sleeve for some reason. I am calling this a design feature 😉

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Steampunk linen jacket finished 8

I am so pleased with how it fits and the way that the embroidery shows on all of the pieces. This was three tablecloths originally, one became the front of the jacket, another the back and the sleeves and collar were cut from a third one.

Steampunk linen jacket finished 6

 

Steampunk linen jacket finished 7

Not bad for £12 worth of Ebay tablecloths and a £5 pattern. I actually like it so much that I might wear it outside Steampunk events, I think it would be great for festivals.

I will show you the hat I am wearing with it a later post.I am so pleased to be able to go to the event this year with something really unique and totally me. Last year’s outfit was very much adapted from charity shop finds and things I already had and although I liked it I wanted something more unusual.

Take care and thanks for visiting.

Under a cloudy Shropshire Sky

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We had a lovely time at Farmer Phil’s festival with my sister. As we were there from the Tues we went for a couple of long walks up on the hills where we could see the beautiful scenery.

Shropshire 2018 3

Shropshire 2018 4

At the top of one of the hills we came across two wind blown trees which made for great pictures against the cloud backdrop. One of them was a Rowan tree which brought back lots of childhood memories as we both went Rowanfield Primary School where our uniforms were the colours of the tree.

 

There were plenty of sheep including this cute one who had very deer like ears.

Shropshire 2018 2

We also saw a llama, there were actually three in a garden on the way back from our first walk.I think Jacky thought I had lost the plot when I suddenly shouted, ‘llama’, but she saw this cute little one just as I spotted it as well, they were so friendly.

Shropshire 2018 9

The weather was variable but luckily Jacky had bought a lovely fire pit so we had toasty nights watching the flames. The last evening was beautiful sunshine and I spent some time taking pictures of the sun peeping out from the clouds as it set.

 

I have been busy at work since I got back doing clearing which is dealing with those who have not got the A level results they expected but have managed to finish the Steampunk jacket for the Lincoln event, with four days to go! A minor miracle and I will post pictures of that later in the week.

Meanwhile take care and thanks for visiting.

Just a little bit of bling!

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The last photos I want to show you from Seville are from the cathedral. This is one of the largest in the world and it uses the tower or Giralda of the original mosque as part of its design.

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Seville cathedral Giralda 2

The Giralda is stunning, with all of that detail made from brick and the surrounding buildings are also really beautiful, there are lovely cafes and restaurants all around the cathedral which makes it a gorgeous area.

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Seville cathedral 1

Seville cathedral buildings 2

I loved the exterior of the cathedral, the front entrance looks to have been completely replaced as it is a different colour stone and the roof decoration is stunning.

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As we were queuing for a while to get in I took a few artistic shots looking up the facade, the second one is one of my favourite building photos ever, I love the contrast of building shapes and sky.

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Seville cathedral 4 - angled

I really liked the little creatures on the facade especially this fox and the dragon, I think he looks cute and definitely tameable!

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Seville cathedral 6

Inside the cathedral was very impressive though not as decorated as I was expecting, compared to others such as Valencia the interior was quite plain but with beautiful lighting illuminating the intricate carved ceiling.

Seville cathedral interior 1

Seville cathedral interior 2

There was the most impressive gold altar that I have ever seen, absolutely mind blowing in its scale.

Seville cathedral interior 3

There was also a beautiful display of goldwork and the precious artifacts and paintings in a side room that was gorgeous. A truly magnificent place and a fitting end to our trip.

Seville cathedral interior 4

Seville cathedral interior goldwork 1

I have had a lovely weekend, mainly watching the rain come down while I have been stitching, which has been a bit of a shock after such high temperatures here for so long. I am hoping that my friends in the re-enactment group have not had bad weather as they were doing a show on top of the hill at Peveril Castle this weekend.

Sadly I missed that as the recent infected bites have led to a flare up of arthritis so I knew I would struggle getting up the hill. I know that other friends have had to cancel events this weekend due to the extreme weather which is such a pity for everyone involved.

Our next event is in a few weeks time at Lincoln and I need to finish my Steampunk jacket for then so I am planning to work on that this coming week.

Hope that you have a lovely week ahead, take care and thanks for visiting.

 

 

A dress in a day

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When we came back from Tatton a few weeks ago we had one day here before going off to the Lake District and as Ellie had bought some material for a new style of peasant dress we thought we would try and get it made in a day.

Our original aim was to make one for me that day as well and we did get the dress cut out, which is a major achievement considering I have had the fabric for about 12 years 🙂 but I have cut it too big so it will need serious alteration. I have found a way to put gores in so they align perfectly though!

Ellie’s dress was a different style as it does not have any fastenings at the front which means it needs to be tight enough to fit but wide enough to be able to pull on over the head. It also has short sleeves.

We looked at a few of our manuscript books for information and there are some great manuscript illustrations available via Google including this one from the Tres Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry. I was lucky enough to pick up a copy of a book about this in a National Trust bookshop recently and it is a gorgeous collection of pictures from the early to mid 1400s. This picture is from June showing people working in the fields.

Peasant dress 1

We started by making a pattern from Ellie’s existing dress bodice and then used a sleeve pattern to draft a new sleeve which could be cut in one piece unlike most modern sleeves that are two pieces. We then made a toile of the top and fitted it before cutting out of the new fabric.

It fits Ellie really well, even if she did have to sew the front seam a few times as female shapes need adjusting for, a perfectly straight seam on the garment turned wobbly when it was put on! The colours are gorgeous together.

Here she is in the finished garment at Tewkesbury looking very lovely in our campsite before going to the market.

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Ellie's new dress 10

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Kerry was really brave and decided to wear her 15th century lady’s dress despite it being really hot and was very excited to be part of the Queen’s party walking onto the battlefield and sitting with her during the battle.

Here she is going along the crowdline with our friend Bev and below is a shot of the guys just before battle. The ladies all looked stunning and I am so pleased that she got to be part of that section of the event after all her hard work with this beautiful dress.

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Pics from a very kind person who put loads on Facebook for us whose name I have completely forgotten to write down! Thank you it is fantastic to have these shots.

It was Symon’s, on the left , first Tewkesbury battle and he did brilliantly in the heat as it was about 27 degrees at this point which means it is so much higher once you are in full armour. The last time Shane, our other knight , came to Tewkesbury it was 35 degrees so we think he must be responsible for the very hot weather. After that event we bought a gazebo for the group as we spent most of the time that weekend trying to all fit into the tiny bit of shade under Shane’s awning!

I also took some more pictures for my research, including the Queen’s tent which looks amazing, this is the Prince’s surcoat which he wears in battle.I am always amazed by the level of detail that people put into their roles, the tent and the throne are amazing.

We also dressed up for the beer tent and I got to wear both my top hats. I do love my top hats, especially this one,  and got lots of compliments on them. I am taking them to the festival that I am going to with my sister in a couple of weeks.

Tewks - Alison in hat

Plans for the weekend are making some pouches and bags out of the quilt blocks I have been stockpiling over the last few weeks and carrying on with my latest stitching from Jenny which is going well.

I have just discovered Project Runway is on Netflix so have been watching that and really enjoying seeing how all the clothes are designed. There are some very talented people there.

Hope that you have a good weekend ahead, take care and thanks for visiting.

Bordado – the art or pastime of embroidering cloth

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Bordado, as we found out in Seville, is Spanish for embroidery. The Folk Museum had lots of really interesting artifacts all housed in the beautiful Moorish Pavillion.

Seville Bordado museum

The first section we looked at was devoted to materials and their transformation and there were lots of displays of all types of artisan workshops including gilding, woodwork, leather and bakery.

There were also some brilliant works in progress pieces, one of the most exciting things for me in museums is seeing the unfinished pieces so you can see how they have made the embroidery.

In these pictures you can see the whitework paisley before the holes are cut and where padding stitches have been done first before satin stitch. There is also the lace being worked over a paper pattern.

I was really interested to see the tissue paper pinned round the working area on this last piece to keep it clean. That is something I haven’t done but is a great idea. The embroidery frames are beautifully made as well.

Seville Bordado 5 - paper

Then to my great excitement there was a whole gallery of embroidery and lace, one of the biggest collections that I have ever seen, so much wonderful work.

Seville Bordado - lace display

Much of it was a very similar type of work, sets of tray cloths or table cloths and napkins all unused and very similar in design.

Seville Bordado - napkin display

I wondered if they had been sample pieces for a book on embroidery or a series of magazines.I would guess they may be from the late 20s or 30s looking at the designs, there was no information about their origins though.

There was also very detailed whitework, some with cutwork lace.

I have never done any whitework though have some books on it and would love to. I don’t think I could ever make lace though I love looking at it.

One of my favourite pieces of whitework was this amazingly detailed unfinished tablecloth, you can just see the pencil outline of the rest of the design on the right.

Seville Bordado - whitework 3 - unfinished

Things like this always make me want to know the story of the maker, what happened, was it boredom and it became a WIP? Was there a tragedy and she never finished because of this?

There was also lots of amazing Spanish lace, whenever we go to the Easter Parades we admire the beautiful lace mantillas that the women wear with the high combs and these were stunning examples of mantillas and shawls.

When we at the recent fiesta in Alicante there were a group of people in costume with mantillas and lace aprons, it was too crowded and dark to get pictures then but these are a couple from Google from previous year’s fiestas to show you how beautiful they are. Spain has such a wonderful history of textile crafts and I love these traditional costumes.

Alicante costumes

Alicante costumes 2

I am still working on Jenny’s embroidery sampler at the moment and having fun practising stitches I have not done for a while like chain stitch. I still can’t master French Knots so may have to substitute seed beads.

I have a nice week ahead as I am working from home all work which means lots of early finishes and sewing time. We might even get some more BBQs in, only 7 to go to hit our target of 20. Hope you are also going to have a lovely week, take care and thanks for visiting.

Seville – saving the best bits till last

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I was thinking about what to blog about next, I have so many posts waiting to be written and then realised that I had not shown you my favourite bits of the Seville trip. Although I really loved the Real Alczar the highlight for me was going to the Plaza de Espana.

Plaza de Espana 5 v

When I first saw pictures of it I assumed it was part of the Moorish heritage due to its water gardens but it was actually built in 1928 as part of the Ibero-American World Fair, along with a beautiful park and lots of other museums. I was amazed by all of the beautiful tiles.

There is more information about it and some stunning panoramic pictures here. We spent about two hours here just wandering, taking photos and listening to the fantastic Flamenco buskers and admiring all the different varieties of tiles.

There were several solo guitarists and then in the centre a group who had set up a simple board for the dancers with boxes for the drummers and three women taking turns to dance and sing. It was wonderful and very moving.

Plaza de Espana Flamenco

We really loved looking at all of the cities listed on the tiled seats and discussing which we have visited and which we want to.

Plaza de Espana cities 1 h

Mum has seen more of Spain than I have as before deciding to buy a house in La Marina she travelled to the north and south-east looking for potential homes. We now have a long list of places to see, virtually everywhere in Spain!

After the Plaza we went through the gardens to the museums at the end of the park. I will show you the contents of the museum we visited in another post as they had a whole section devoted to embroidery 🙂 so I was a very happy bunny. This is the Moorish Pavillion which houses the museum of Folk Art.

Below is the archaeological museum which we didn’t visit but just admired the gardens between the two pavillions.

I am so lucky to be able to go and visit all of these wonderful places, especially with my Mum who is just the perfect travelling companion. We like all the same things and she is very used to putting up with me taking endless shots of the same things.

We have had a lovely time at Tewkesbury, it was very hot so our cold flannels were much in demand. I unfortunately got bit by mosquitoes on the last night and the bites have become infected so have spent the last three days feeling very rough and not doing much at all. Thankfully the antibiotics are taking effect and I now have legs rather than swollen sausages. I am going to be having a very quiet weekend with my feet up!

Take care, have a nice weekend and thanks for visiting.