Slow, slow, quick quick, slow

I'm not here much, so apologies for the lack of comments and the slow replies at the moment, but I had to show the two lovely ATCs I received recently.

The first was made by Hilda.  Unfortunately her partner in Ali's Textile ATC swap didn't stump up, and as I'd made more than one Ali asked if I could be a swap angel.  I didn't expect to get one in return as I'd already received one from my own partner.  Then this arrived. Isn't it lovely?  I really like the variegated stitching round the edge, and the way she has echoed the flower petals with her neat blanket stitching.

Then came this beauty, from Nicky, who liked the Liberty ATC I made so we arranged a private swap. It is just big enough to use as a coaster but the tiny piecing is amazing and I can't bear the thought of getting coffee on it so it is propped on my shelf where I can admire it.

Slow Blogger Linky

Looking for the Linky?  It's over at Martha's this month!

Long hot summer

So how are you spending your holidays?!

We are also making the most of the sunshine.

All that is taking up a lot of time at the moment, so I'm being a particularly Slow Blogger.   If you are too, don't forget you can link up on the 15th of the month and let us know what you're up to, even if it's nothing crafty.  No need to disappear off the radar!  This month's linky is being hosted by the lovely Martha of Weekend Doings, so do pay her a visit.

Now a question (yet again with the sewing machine....) With my reconditioned Brother up the spout I have pretty much decided to buy a new machine - the fact that I have a birthday this month helps since for some strange reason Bernina haven't sent me one.   I'm still dithering about what to get and compiling a list of possibilities so if you have a sewing machine that you really love, I'd be very glad to hear about it, even if it's just a feature you think is useful.  We have a good local-ish dealer, and John Lewis, so I can try some out but it's always good to know where to start.

Random Thursday

Some random pics from a week in the Cairngorms.  It's a really beautiful part of the world, and full of wildlife, so I thought I'd show some of it off.

First off - something of which I have never seen the like (is that grammatical?).  Can anyone tell me who this tiny Toad in the Hole is?  He might be a Common Toad, but they are apparently not common in Northern Scotland.  We found him in a hole in a very dry path which seemed an unlikely place.  Obviously he was christened Zombie Toad by the children.

He was remarkably expressive for a toad, and obviously just wishing we would go away.  On the other hand, this obliging chaffinch sat on his perch for about 5 minutes.

The hilltops were covered with alpine flowers.

There are also carnivorous (well insectivorous) plants in Scotland!

One evening we took the children out for an evening walk to see if we could spot some deer and managed to see eight, mostly solitary ones.  I hadn't realised before how loudly they bark.

It meant that we were out in time to catch this view and sunset.

Linking up to Random Thursday!

AURI-fab!

How very lucky to come back from your holidays and receive these:

Two colour charts - for Aurifil cotton, and Aurifil Lana (wool blend)....

...which are a thing of beauty and will be going on the wall for reference, and as works of art.

Not only that, but threads in different weights!

Ooh, lovely thread.

As you can see all the threads come in a huge variety of lovely colours.  I sometimes think that human beings are a bit like bower birds and these fire off all my acquisitive neurons (though I already have a mate, and it is possible that a wonderful thread collection wouldn't have done it for him).  I'm particularly taken with the beautiful wools, which open up all kinds of creative possibilities I hadn't thought of.

I would like to thank Alex Veronelli of Aurifil, who quite unexpectedly responded to this post in such a generous way.   I can't wait to use these, and will let you know how I get on.