I’ve sent 3 cards travelling today š The cottage in Darley Abbey is off to Russia as an official Postcrossing card, the bird with a golden cage is also off to Russia to my postcard pal Alex. The card of the Pala d’Oro in St Mark’s basilica, Venice, is off to USA for a ‘not my country’ Swap-bot swap, I hope the religious recipient likes it š
I have a new sewing machine!!! I’m very excited, and of course the first project had to be a pretty cover for it š It’s lightly quilted with a few stripes of fabric I raided from my stash. The lining is more of the plain brown cotton. I measured the dimensions off the basic cover that came with the machine, and the construction is 4 side pieces with a split top to allow the handle to be used with the cover.
I added a pocket to one side, my scissors needed a home š
The two halves of the top gaped a bit, which isn’t great for a dust cover, so I added a button with a ribbon loop to hold it together under the handle.
I’ve got a lot more familiar with my new machine now, although I still need to figure out how some of the functions work… I’m hoping to do more sewing if I have a little sewing area set up, I’ll be able to do a bit more crafting without having to sort everything out again.
Elvaston Castle country park
There was thick fog this morning, the cathedral tower disappeared into the clouds, leaves were spiralling down from the trees, and my breath condensed in the air until mid-morning when the sun broke through the mist. Despite today becoming hot, yesterday felt like the last day of summer and today felt like autumn had arrived.
I finally did some more baking. This time it was flapjack for a poetry evening I went to. It received a few compliments so I think it worked out OK š I used this recipe from BBC food for apricot and chocolate flapjack, but I ended up just using raisins instead. Continue reading
Today I decided to enjoy the sunshine and walked along the canal from Whatstandwell to Cromford. I think it’s about 4 miles and I had a little picnic halfway š It’s a very peaceful area, I could only hear the traffic and trains occasionally, and it’s very green and shady. The canal is disused so there’s lots of wildlife around, rustling in the reeds. I had a lovely walk along a nice route, there’s even a tunnel that’s just long enough to get fairly dark and sometimes the trees thin out to reveal views across the valley. Maybe next time I’ll get off the train a stop earlier and have a longer walk…
Ā 
It’s a busy week for postcards! Warwick castle and York Minster are going to South Africa as swaps. I’ve never received a card from there and a couple of lovely people agreed to send me cards š Kedleston Hall is going to Russia to a postcard pal, she sent me a great card of a painting from the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg. Kedleston Hall library is going to Germany as the first of this month’s postcard diaries, they say they like books. Finally the Peak District map and the Paris card are going to USA as part of a Swap-bot ‘poetry on a postcard’ swap – I sent the last verse of ‘The Road Less Travelled’ by Robert Frost, about how the decisions we make affect our lives, and wandering what might have been…
The Road Not Taken
Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and Iā
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
anything could happen 