Show and Tell

Not the usual kind of  'Show and Tell'.  The 'Show' was the Royal Three Counties and I want to 'Tell' you how wonderful it was. We started off by watching these little lovelies being rounded up by a Corder Bollie(?)

Apparently at the Friday demonstration the man who was in charge of the collie could not get the ducks to go through the tunnel. How embarrassing for him on Saturday then when he got a lady from the ringside to come in and have a go.  She got the whole lot through first time with no previous experience at dog handling.

I really went to see all the farm animals which were fabulous with so many breeds on show.

Hereford Bull

Long Horn with calf

Kerry Hill Sheep

Shorn Teeswater minus its long locks

Knitted apples in the WI tent

Wet and Stormy Weather

Undeterred by the grotesque weather my visiting chum and I ventured out to Croft Castle and found a very sunny afternoon for the most part.  We enjoyed the house, walled garden and walks plus catching up.  The ancient trees at Croft Castle are amazing ....

This is to give you an idea of the size

and there are lots and lots more

This lovely chap guards the front door

along with his pal the fiery dragon

Wheels in Time

Going back 2 or 3 generations on my father's side my family were wheelwrights.  It was therefore most interesting to explore the Wheelwright's shop at Acton Scott ....

The array of tools and patterns were hung neatly on the walls

and what could us textile artists do with the rusted images from these wheel rims!!

And so to bed ....

It's the end of the week and I thought I would show you the lovely quilt on one of the beds at Erddig.  I guess it is a Welsh Quilt but could be wrong.  It was Turkey Red and I think the fabric had a paisley pattern.  The rooms were quite dark so it was difficult to get a decent photograph without flash and get close to the quilt.

Rings in the Landscape

One of the many interesting aspects at Erddig was this feature in the landscape known as the 'Cup and Saucer'.  It was created to prevent erosion and allows the water from the stream to be lowered quickly.

There is a similarity to the circular shapes on the ancient carved stones I have been looking at which are which can be found at many locations across the British Isles and also an association with the circles I created using the Shibori techniques for dyeing fabric.

Drift of Foxing Gloves

Tatton Park was full of sunshine and colour when we visited on Friday of last week.

Through the Oblong Window

Another window from the same location ... the bell jars look strangely like bubbles blown from a pipe which have settled momentarily on the window sill.

Through the Coloured Glass

Oh what a lovely few days away DH and I have had.  The weather has been sunny and hot, food delicious and days out surprising.  We have been to see the Pauline Burbridge exhibition at the Ruthin Gallery and were blow away by the exhibition and the glorious countryside we went through to get there ... had a day at Tatton Park followed by an amazing meal at a pub called The Pheasant ... went to a NT property called Erddig which was fabulous.  Back home to reality again now I am afraid.

I will tell you where the piece of stained glass was in a post later in the week.