Progress and an outing to Llwyn Celyn.

 At last a black and white drawing I am happy with. Oat biscuits for the Avening recipe book. They were delicious too!

 I am struggling with this piece to bring it together but at least the bottom section is finished. Only the major part to juggle with then! It is always like this and no-one realises the work that goes in and taken out to resolve a piece of artwork, unless you are an artist of course. Not showing the rest until I find the answers.

 On Sunday we had a lovely day out with my friend Rosemary who lives in South Wales. We visited Llwyn Celyn, a mediaeval farm house owned by the Landmark Trust who rescue old buildings and restore them. They can be rented for holidays.

 This was built in 1420 on Llanthony Priory lands and is one of the oldest surviving houses in Wales.

 They were cooking medieval style too, in the kitchen and outside in a clay oven

 There were many outhouses and this is the barn. One of the barns has been restored for community and educational use.

 Wonderful old timbers and intimate views, set in a beautiful valley.

 The curtains and cushions were screen printed by hand from designs inspired by the house and research into its history. All fascinating.

Dappled light on the grasses by the canal- finished.

 I finished it yesterday- close up of 'grasses by the canal' 11cm x 31cm. Paint and dye on calico. Hand stitched. 3 layers of fabric.

Whole thing- but long and thin so difficult for photos. I tried to capture the bright light of summer and dappled shadows - something to work on ( next time, next time) I am pleased with it but always there is knowledge that it could be better and that is the drive that keeps me working! Hot summer days here- no rain for the garden. Meals eaten outside on the new patio under the parasol. Summer clothes.We are not used to this!

A new piece begun - wild grasses.

 We have been out and about at the weekend. This is Symond's Yat - Forest of Dean for a bird's eye view over the Wye valley. Peregrine falcons nest on the cliffs there and we were lucky to see the male perching in a tree. The lovely RSPB volunteers keep watch and have a telescope there so you can see any activity they spot. They still aren't sure if the pair have chicks yet. They are a new young pair of birds so only time will tell.

 While we were looking out we saw a buzzard and a red kite pass by. The wonderful thing about being up so high is that you see the birds below in all their wonderful colours, rather than staring up at their tummies, which is the usual stance.

 We had a walk along the Brecon canal with a friend and she was the one who stopped and pointed out the dappled light on these wonderful grasses. We had been trying to name all the wild flowers and grasses we knew.

 I started a new piece the next day. It is long and thin so same problem (Liz!) with photos. 11x30cm.

Close up of first stitches.

This isn't cow parsley but water dropwort hemlock- which we had to search the books and internet to find. Poisonous and only grows near water or mud. The pom-poms of white flowers and parsley shaped leaves were quite distinctive.