It's been a while

since I posted.. life sure gets away from you at times. I have no actual crafty stuff to share, I have the lazy bug these days.
Back in April, I went to the quilt show held every year in a local church. Through a series of coincidences, I met up for the first time with fellow blogger, Maria, who, I have since found out, is also known by a number of local bloggers I have been following for years. I had morning tea with Maria and her friends and a lovely time was had by all. Maria (through reading my blog) knew of my love for anything with a 'Willow Pattern' and very generously gave me a few embroidered pieces from her collection.

There were lots of lovely quilts on display, unfortunately they don't photograph well inside the church. A couple of favourites.

A close up of the one below.

Love those scrappy ones!

My volunteer work with the National Trust takes up a lot of my time, and as usual, I was involved with 'Great Houses of Ipswich' again in May. I spent the day at 'Notnel', built in the 1860s and very carefully restored and preserved by the family who had owned it for over 25 years.

The house has recently been sold, so it was a great opportunity for locals to see inside.

I am hoping to get back to crafting soon.. I have a project in mind for one of those embroidered pieces,

Willow Pattern

One of my favourite china patterns is Blue Willow. My everyday china has the pattern and I have accessories, teapot, jugs and sugar bowl to match; even a set of tin canisters. None of those is particularly old or especially precious, however, the one in the picture is a favourite in my collection.

I don't know how old it is , as it has no backstamp or markings. I bought it on my first trip to the UK in 2000, from an antique shop in Chester, which is a fascinating city. It has Roman remains and is surrounded by a 2000 (almost)year old wall. It is also credited with having what could be called the first shopping arcade. There are lots of half-timbered shops and dwellings in the Tudor style, but apparently they were mostly built in the Victorian era.