Winter’s Comfort Quilt: Making (rather painful!) progress

The weekend after magazine publication date is always quiet here at Coombe Leigh, so I’ve taken the opportunity to work on my Winter’s Comfort quilt project and am making good progress.  I have finished piecing the top …. 

 And have stitched the full “Winter is the time for …” quote from Edith Sitwell for the back…. 

 Just simple back stitch for the text using the same linen and floss that I used for the snowflakes on the front, and highlighting chosen words in green and red to reflect the colours in the other fabrics I chose for the back.  I decided upon a patchwork back – for two reasons – firstly, I couldn’t find quite the right fabric to back it with a single piece, and secondly I wanted to incorporate the full quote and felt it would look better as part of a patchwork.  I used some Fox Hollow fabrics from Monoluna – not much left now, but I do love them, and some Susie Watson Designs linen too as well as a couple of others….

Just the quilting to go now!  I don’t have a surface big enough to lay out a whole quilt on, so I spent a rather painful session crawling around on the floor basting the layers together.  It was painful because of that naughty Miss Daisy!  Check out the video below – this was our morning walk today across the fields above Stokenham village where the barley has been cut …. 

Did you hear poor Ben’s “Owf!” as that naughty puppy charged straight into him?  Imagine what that might do to a poor unsuspecting person!  Yes, me!  Back in May, while charging happily around at top speed, Daisy misjudged her direction and ran straight into the back of my legs knocking me completely off my feet.  One moment I was admiring the view, and the next I was flat on the floor with my nose in a patch of mud.  My left knee has been so painful ever since and, after finally admitting it’s not going to get better by itself, I saw a consultant last week so am now on the list for surgery.  It’s a good thing both Ben and I love that naughty pup!