Journal quilt : April

Today I have my latest journal quilt to show you and thought I'd talk you through my design process again. With the previous 3 journal quilts, I had a very clear picture in my head of what I wanted them to look like. The April one took a little more effort as I had a brain full of images and inspiration.

I wrote a list of all the things which were inspiring me and started to doodle. Some elements were rejected quite quickly as they just didn't seem to work with anything else.

One element I was absolutely sure I wanted to include was the starling which fell down my chimney. I ended up using this photo to create the silhouette which went in the middle. For those of you who asked, we did manage to get it outside before it pooped anywhere!

I was also keen to use the black and white of the Tudor Speke Hall (above) and blue for the river Mersey which runs by it. However, at that point, I just couldn't seem to work them in.

The other strong image which kept coming to me was the painting of Adele Bloch-Bauer by Gustav Klimt. At the beginning of April, Chickpea and I went to see the excellent film Woman in Gold which follows the fight by Maria Altmann to reclaim this painting of her aunt which had been seized by the Nazis. The colours and patterns Klimt used were so inspiring. In particular, the square within a square motif on the left of her head was perfect for patchwork and, with a little artistic licence, the pinks and golds could be the embers of the fire the bird was caught behind!

Even better, the triangular pattern at the top of Adele's dress reminded me of the front of Speke Hall.

At this point, all the design elements finally fell into place and it was time to choose fabrics.

Funnily enough, quite a few of the fabrics in my stash had gold highlights. I think the cream fabric with the gold swirls might even be a Klimt fabric as there was a fabric range inspired by his paintings a few years ago! The sequins were a last minute addition to give a touch of extra sparkle.

Ta-dah! This is Chickpea's favourite of the four I've made so far. I'm really pleased with it too after finding the design more of a challenge.

And here it is with the others.

I took them all to our quilt group meeting last week to display on my demonstration table. It was a charity night and I was showing how to make the mug hugs again.

These are some of the other journal quilts made by members of our group. I really love the ones on the right of the bottom row. They're a talented lot in my group!

Before I go, I also wanted to let you know that I've signed up to take part in 30 Days Wild which I found out about through Amanda and Louise's lovely blogs. It's been organised by the Wildlife Trusts and the challenge is to do something nature-related every day throughout June. I think it was the thought of 'Random Acts of Wildness' which finally persuaded me! I'm already getting really excited and writing down ideas: gardening, crafting and baking will be involved. I think I'm going to make a crop circle on my lawn - well it means a lot less mowing!

Is anyone else going to sign up? Even if you don't live in the UK, you could take part. The idea is to bring a little bit of nature into your life every day. It doesn't have to be onerous, it can be as simple as having your morning brew in the garden and, rather than your mind racing and planning your to-do list for the day, pause to listen to the birds and the breeze through the trees. In fact, I think I might go and do that right now. See you soon. x

Rufford Old Hall

Having shown you the woods at Rufford Old Hall last time, I thought I'd quickly show you the Hall and gardens today.

The oldest part of the house, which is the black and white timber-framed Great Hall, dates from around 1530. The 'lantern' on the roof dates from the 1800s.

The brick north east wing was built in 1662.

Just above the entrance door is the Hesketh family crest, a double-headed eagle. They owned the Hall until 1936 when it was given to the National Trust.

The Great Hall is the only part where you can take photos but that's ok as it's my favourite part anyway.

I just love the patterns and carving in all the timber work. I also find it fascinating to see the old pegs which hold the building together.

The star of the show is this screen, which is believed to be the only one of its kind to have survived intact. It dates from c1530-40 and, if you look closely, the panel at top right is upside down: this is thought to be deliberate as part of the belief that only God is perfect.

The most exciting part is that it's believed Shakespeare may have performed in the Great Hall as part of a company of players, or at least to have visited. Aged 17, he was working as a teacher nearby and is mentioned in the will of his employer who asked Lord Hesketh to 'be ffrendlye unto...willm Shakeshafte nowe dwellynge with me' (Shakeshafte is the Lancashire version of Shakespeare).

Back outside, we came through this gate and into the gardens at the back of the house.

There are some lovely details on the house. All of the flower patterns contain stained glass.

I liked the topiary squirrel too!

I really love the older, smaller properties and Rufford is well worth a visit if you're in the area, especially with the Woollen Woods exhibition too.

Are you having an exciting weekend? We're having a quiet one, though we may go out for a walk tomorrow if the dry weather that's promised arrives. Have a good one wherever you are. x

Woollen woods

Hello, how are you? It's a long bank holiday weekend here in the UK so there's the added bonus of an extra day off - yay! I've just been sat outside with my first cup of tea of the day, enjoying the warm sunshine. It's one of my favourite things to do in the spring and summer, soaking up the quiet and the birdsong in those moments before the hustle and bustle of the day begins.

Well, I was planning to give you a different post today as there's still lots to tell you about from my two weeks off. However, I was watching the local news last night and there was a report about the Woollen Woods exhibition at Rufford Old Hall which we went to see last Sunday. So, I'm going to show you photos from that instead.

The exhibition is in support of the Campaign for Wool and the woods have been decorated with felted, knitted and crocheted fairies, flora and fauna. The owl above was my favourite and I also love the hedgehog you'll see below - after seeing the news report, it turns out they were made by the same lady. It was a wonderful time to be in the woods anyway as they were full of bluebells and spring flowers.

I hope you enjoyed that as much as we did. If you'd like to see it yourself, the exhibition is on until 30 August and will be added to over the months. However, even if you're not planning to be in Lancashire, there are other Woollen Woods exhibitions taking place around the country - Cumbria, Nottinghamshire, Devon, Isle of Arran and County Antrim, Northern Ireland - the website has links to the locations and there are links to some free patterns for the Rufford event here. I'll show you more photos of Rufford Old Hall and the gardens another time.

It's been a crafty weekend here in the Home Jules household. I've been madly stitching to complete my April journal quilt in time to show it at my quilt group on Wednesday. We're also having a charity night and I'm demonstrating my mug hugs again - four times! - so I need to make up some samples.

Later, we're going out to a restaurant as it's Chickpea's birthday tomorrow! Speaking of whom, she's just appeared so it's time to put on the kettle and make another brew. Have a lovely day wherever you are. xx