Day 14:Keswick Town and Derwent Water

We had a leisurely start this morning.  I am slowly progressing my last robins panel




















In the late morning we walked down to Derwent Water. These photos are NOT taken in or converted to black and white. They reflect the colour of the landscape, looking West.

It was extraordinarily beautiful. There were quite a few people around.

The next set of photos were taken from the same place, but looking East rather than West.
















































The impact of light from a patch of blue sky is extraordinary.

From the vantage of the Water we could see the front of the houses between our apartment and the Water. Our sunset views incorporate the backs of these rather grand houses.

Today we had a more modest lunch at the Cafe overlooking the golf course and the grand houses.

After lunch we walked through the town. I bought myself one of those compactible puffy down-filled jackets that I looked to buy before I left home. This is a much easier environment in which to find one than Adelaide. There are at least 5 shops in Keswick that stock something similar.

I found, but did not visit, the shop selling threads, wools and needlework supplies. That's an excursion for another day.

There is also a pop-up craft shop, selling jewelery, pottery, glasswear and paintings

The sunset was short-lived but quite beautiful

Day 13: Over the Fells to Cockermouth

We woke this morning to rain, cloud and mist. In spite of this, I am largely letting the photos tell the story today..

This lifted briefly while we were having breakfast.

By the time we headed out of town the rain was back.We went out along Derwent Water

to Borrowdale where we paused while Sue walked up to the Bowder Stone Alf and I discussed the trees and stones - from the warmth of the car.

 From there we drove around Seathwaite and Seatoller through the Honiston Pass, past the Slate Mine

before dropping down into Buttermere.and on to Cockermouth.





















































which was surprisingly quiet. Most shops and pubs were closed but we had a truly delicious meal at Hunters. I had Duck with Orange. It was fantastic.I'm sorry I didn't take a photo.

It was very wet and grey on the way home and the drive  demanded concentration.













                  It was a terrific drive through an extraordinary landscape.

It was also pleasant to come back to our apartment. My bedroom window is the one above the toyshop. It is much busier in Keswick than it was in Cockermouth.














We had a quiet evening - and a lovely Shepherds' Delight sunset. Let's hope it augers well for tomorrow.

The last photo in the collage is not of celestial or alien craft but a reflections of the light in our sitting room!

Day 12: To Keswick

Today is a transition day. Some of our group left in the early hours of the morning, others before and after breakfast. I had a taxi booked for 12.20 pm, so had time to finish packing, catch up on emails and begin to consider where to go with my final robin panel. There was much packing of boxes and equipment as well as multiple farewells. It was a grey and drizzly day.

I spent the morning catching up on emails, talking to fellow stitchers waiting for taxis and considering my last Robins panel. I have given all my Windermere embroidery projects to Philippa to send back to Australia for me. The slate frame of whitework is too large for my suitcase and Jenny's roundel is in a hoop for which I am not carrying a stand. They are not projects for doing on the road so they will arrive in Australia just after I return. I would dearly love to keep working on them - but no good would come of doing it while travelling.

I have three projects of my own with me. Priority 1 is my 9th, and last robins panel. I am trying to embroider a group of Scarlet Robins in a nest.  I had put in a branch using Bokhara stitch but the tension was poor. I spent much of the morning removing it - a tedious and messy process.



My driver was cheerful and chatty on the lovely - if wet and misty - drive across the hills to Keswick. Sue and Alf had arrived, found our apartment and parked their car in our allotted space by the time I arrived at the Wainwright Pub where we'd agreed to meet. We had a hearty meal and a lot to catch up on.


Our apartment key was not in the allotted key keeper at 3pm as promised. Fortunately the cleaner was still in the downstairs apartment and, when we asked her, reread her instructions. Had we not found her and asked, we'd have been locked out.










It is a pleasant apartment with a comfortable sitting area with a view over Derwent Water. - today moody and grey but periods when enticing peaks loomed up.

Our bedroom windows overlook the street.














































It's great to have decent wifi. And even better to be in a comfortable place with plenty of interest around us and time to spend with each other.

Day 11: Embroidery Retreat Day 9

Today dawned grey and damp - a complete contrast to yesterday. It mattered little to us as we stitched madly all day, but it does cast a bit of a gloomy atmosphere.

This contrasts sharply with the photo sent to me this morning by Laura Turnbull from yesterday's photo shoot.  I did not have a photo of the whole hotel so I'm very grateful to Laura.








Our work today focused on the satin stitch edge of the acorn leaves. Jenny meticulously taught us stitch angles and techniques for prefect satin stitch - and mine improved significantly.














We then filled a quince leaf with Gold Purl- an interesting, painstaking process. After lunch we went through a couple of stitches needed to finish the project before we began to pack up our work.












Lunches have been wonderful this week - light, varied, with lots of salad and soup. Today's soup was parsnip and vanilla - truly delicious. I also chose the Red Bream Salad, which was great.






Some of our work is now on display for a couple of hours. I have reluctantly packed my bag. I don't leave until 12.30pm tomorrow but there is an atmosphere of packing and moving that is hard to resist. I am experiencing the feeling I hated at school in my last year when I was, because of Honours Classes, sometimes in the school when everyone had gone on the last day of term. I hated the sense of abandonment - of being left behind.




Our last evening has been spent in a slide-show of photos, dinner, a quiz and a lot of laughing and clapping. We have also filled out a form indicating our interest in attending a retreat again next year.

A couple of our party are leaving during the night - taxis are booked for 3.30am and 5 am. The rest of us will share breakfast. I have a bag of my projects - one in a slate frame- that Philippa will kindly package and mail to me in Australia. I also have a taxi booked for 12.20 pm  tomorrow to take me to Keswick and the next leg of my adventure.

Day 10: Embroidery Retreat Day 7

This morning the daffodils were fully out and the sun shone on a still landscape.

















Today was full-on embroidery in our second project. We were all pretty keen. We began by finishing our 12 shadow leaves. This photograph was taken with a navy cloth on my lap to give a background to the transparent fabric.







We then worked the centre of the rose (already appliqued in silk) with silk wrap plate.

Our space was light, sunny and very conducive to work and companionable interaction.









By 5.15 pm I and most of my companions had edged and partially beaded the rose, worked a little quince with an eyelet and highlighted satin stitch in silk and added a couple of leather leaves.

Tomorrow is our final day. We have a way to go, but are well positioned to cover all the remaining elements.



















As 6 pm approached, Philipps rounded us all up to have a play with crewel embroidery. She had laid out a wonderful pile of wools, some hoops with a design and fabric in them, and a selection of samples. We had to choose three shades of one colour and a colour we would never think of using.

Philippa was obviously suffering from teaching deprivation. Her energy and enthusiasm was infectious - and the treasure trove of wools and resources were so enticing that by 6.15 we were all sitting down playing with our fabric, experimenting and comparing ideas.

It was enormous fun, energising and uplifting.









We are beginning to talk of what we are doing when we leave on Saturday. There is also a bit of a push to finish the jigsaw puzzle. The hum of conversation is extraordinarily relaxed, warm and underpinned with laughter.