Peace Work / Piece Work ?

The great thing about our holiday times is the wonderful sense of peace here at Cornerstones - we can retreat into our own place, and do our own thing, and just rest, away from the normal busy-ness of life. But for both of us, that includes time to be creative and relax with an activity we enjoy, rather than a chore to endure.
I brought a few bits and pieces away with me to start on the bedding for the doll's cot; some fat Laura Ashley fat quarters [birthday gift from SIL Denise] some blue fabric [saved from the lining of the sewing box I threw out in May] and lots of small balls of leftover DK wool.
I wanted to do some piecing and patching. Cornerstones is already full of inspiration for this
There's the Laura Ashley cushion on the chair [thank you blogfriend Barbara]
The bedroom quilts - my 'heritage' project, using all the family fabrics- from dresses and shirts and sheets, dating from the 1960s up to 2009.
The log cabin cushions also from those fabrics.
The knitted blanket - all my leftover blue wools.
And the armchair, covered with the patchwork quilt I made when we were first married.

I decided the doll's cot would have a fabric quilt - and used the pattern which is on the bed quilts. The front is pieced from the Laura Ashley fabrics, plus some plain red. The back is just a rectangle of fabric randomly made up from the odd pieces of blue and red print from the sewing box. I have cut and sewn these together, with some thin wadding in between. Thankyou to KnitWits of Dereham, who are quite happy to cut a piece to your exact dimensions, even if it is only 30x50 cm, and charge you by the area - it cost me just 60p.

I have yet to bind the edges and do some quilt stitching - but it is looking good. 

I have been knitting squares to sew into a blanket too. Here they are lined up on my paper pattern! It is the same square technique as I used on my big blue blanket.

Using 4mm needles, and double knit, cast on one stitch. Increase 1 st at the beginning of every row. This gives you a right angled triangle. When the two short sides are the right size for your square, then decrease  one stitch at the start of each row till you have one stitch. Cut the yarn end and thread through. Perfect square! Now make more.

I will join these together and edge them with crochet. Such activities are great relaxation for me. 

On Wednesday morning, I woke up and remembered I have a pretty pillowcase in the airing cupboard in Ferndown - the trim is lovely, but the case is worn on one side. I shall recycle that to make a sheet when I get back.

Meanwhile, Bob has been busy with a paintbrush and woodworking tools, in anticipation of Steph's arrival on August 12th. But that is for another post...