I've had a quiet stitchery week: I've done a lot of late-night working, and deadline-meeting, and workshop-teaching, and all things work-related. But, still, my Up & Away stitchery progresses for quiet moments of happiness that punctuate the real world. Oh, to be in a balloon away from wi-fi and technology and projects.

Thar she blows! It's looking rather colourful now with the minty stripe which makes me think of this as toothpaste rather than some intensive cross-stitchery. And yes, that is Mary Berry in the background; she's looking rather lovely in her chic French stripes. And what's that big white cloud in the top right?


I may have been working on my Garden Party Quilt. Just maybe. It's slow going. I'm stitching straight lines on my machine, then weaving in all the ends by hand. It's lovely. I'm sorry I didn't dye the back a light duck egg blue (ah, hindsight), but the white will grow on me when I add in the stitched floral borders in pink and green. I think. I hope. I still need to stitch a label for the back so it may suddenly have a surprisingly floral burst of blue on the back. I love those kinds of surprises: the secret kind, that are only found when you really look for them in unexpected places. Like the last Reece's Cup which fell out of the packet and into the bread bin to be saved for later. Or a flowering Orchid bud that has sprouted under a leaf long after all the others have died off. Or even an unexpected bit of fabric that you bought ages ago and has since found its way to the back of the stash pack, wrapped up in a plastic bag. Those kinds of surprises. Mm.