Romance in the Autumn Air

Patchwork and Quilting Magazine giveaway results, drum roll please...

 

The two comments I chose made me smile, for different reasons, Wendy is kindly leaving some fabric for me to buy when I visit Japan and Judith is thinking of her friend.  Ladies, let me have your snail mail addresses and I'll get the magazines off to you while it's still September.  Well done and thank you to everyone who entered and thank you to British Patchwork and Quilting.

What have I been up to since my last post?  It seems a long time ago. 

Well it seems romance is in the air as I had wonderful news from my DS, while he and his GF were on holiday in Florida in August they got engaged to be married.  They had a great time wearing their "Just Engaged" badges at Disney's Magic Kingdom.  Congratulations you two lovely people, what colours shall I start buying for your Double Wedding Ring quilt? 

 

And more romance, DH and I went to a wedding on Thursday, the first wedding we've been to for years.  Our lovely friend Clair married Jon in Norfolk and she looked really beautiful and so happy. 

I haven't been doing much sewing but my sister brought me some pretty blue and white fabrics back from her trip to USA and my lovely friend Sal sent me some gorgeous Aboriginal fabrics for my birthday so I have no excuse.  It's getting very autumnal here, misty mornings, John Keats' poem, To Autumn, sums it up beautifully:

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness

Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun

Conspiring with him how to load and bless

With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;

To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,

And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;

To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells

With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,

And still more, later flowers for the bees,

Until they think warm days will never cease,

For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells.

Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?

Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find

Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,

Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;

Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep,

Drows'd with the fume of poppies, while thy hook

Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers:

And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep

Steady thy laden head across a brook;

Or by a cider-press, with patient look,

Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.

Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?

Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,-

While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,

And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;

Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn

Among the river sallows, borne aloft

Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;

And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;

Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft

The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft;

And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

and so I should soon have lots of time indoors happily stitching away.  I've made a little to do pile, including an Advent wall hanging so I must start soon.  What are you working on at the moment?  Whatever it is, have a great weekend.

 

Wendy said...

Oh wow, you're going to Japan! I'm so jealous. I'm going on a business trip to China soon and I was originally going to Japan too, but that got cancelled. I'd love to visit that fascinating country, and buy up all the fabric, so at least with me not going, there'll be some left for you!

Judith said...

Hi Lis, my friend is going into hospital & I'm collecting up some mags for her to take with her. She quilts too so she would love these. Thanks for the giveaway. Jxo