Tuesday 14 May 2013

My First GM Shawl

Now I blame my friends on TPF 100% for this purchase - I don't know what it is, but TPF does get you whipped up into a frenzy sometimes about "having" to have something and late to the party - as ever - I realised I should have this particular design as a GM.  I was in luck on a trip to Harrods - just one was there - not my first choice of colour at all but I tried it on and it "worked":-
The wrong box - it did get replaced!

What lies within - TPFers already know!



The top half

The bottom half


Ex Libris en Kimonos cw 05 - quite a
neutral cw but it looks great with red -
lucky I had a red coat on when I
bought it!!  This cw really worked with my
colouring I was so surprised and it has
lots of colours in it when you start looking...

Lovely purple contrast hem..

Blues, browns, pinks, reds, white....

The fabulous crane.


A casual drape shows off the colours.

The same drape but then knotted.

Basic fold and just draped.

Here I folded the square down to a smaller 
square so that I could get the bits I 
wanted to show showing - I think I used a 
scarf ring at the back to secure!  I am 
not sure how bulky this would be in practice, 
but the GM is pretty thin.

A square fold (rather than bias basic) 

simply wound around - looks OK too.


































































































































So there you have my first foray into the world of GMs I don't think I will be getting any more GMs, as they are incredibly expensive and very delicate and would I get the use out of it? Simple answer - No!!

Saturday 4 May 2013

Hampton Court Palace Gardens

We were lucky with the weather for the visit to Hampton Court Palace recently and the glorious sunshine made the gardens look even more spectacular - I was thrilled to see these lovely gardens.
A beautiful golden pear tree adorned 
this entrance.

Close up detail of a pear (left) and blossom (right)

A beautiful Magnolia Soulangiana.

The whole Magnolia tree.

A lovely robin was singing away in the sunshine!

The Bishops Courtyard garden 
(as per previous post).


One of the formal laid gardens.

A lovely fountain.

A charming little statue of a child holding a bird.

The Palace is home to a very old grape vine
of the Black Hamburg variety.


The vine inside the vine house.....

...and part of the vine system outside 
the vine house.

The King's Orchard complete with daffodils.

On the garden tour we were shown the 
greenhouses where this years bedding 
plants are being cultivated.


In the tropical greenhouse.

Misseltoe was growing in the trees.

A coot nesting on the lake.

The long canal/lake with fountains at the end.

The Three Graces statue.

The main lawns to the rear of the Palace 
the yew trees are kept in this cone shape.

Some lovely Mute Swans graced the ponds - 
here we are having a major preening session!

The sun caught the water spray off this 
fountain making a lovely rainbow.

The formal gardens - these were returned to 
their original style only recently as they had 
become very overgrown.
A lovely long view of the Palace from the 
end of the gardens.

One of the fabulous ornate gates backing 
onto the River Thames - here you can 
make out the thistle of Scotland.  The 
gates were painted grey and gold but upon 
Prince Albert's death Queen Victoria had 
the gates painted black and gold.  
Most are grey these days now.

Another view of the Palace.

The lawns and topiary of the garden.



You can take a tour by horse drawn carriage 
around the gardens.

One of the many lovely statues in the gardens.
The lovely central fountain.  

I hope you enjoyed the tour of the Palace gardens!  
My feet were killing by the end of the day at the 
Palace but it was worth it, as it was such a 
truly beautiful place to visit.  You can find out about
the Palace at www.hrp.org.uk 


Hampton Court Palace

I was recently in London and for a change went out of the city to see Hampton Court Palace - where King Henry VIII lived:-
The view of London City from the bus to
Waterloo Station to catch the train.

The London Eye and Houses of Parliament

A first view of Hampton Court Palace from 
outside the station looking across the 
River Thames.


The gates at the entrance to the Palace.

Just some of the many ornate chimney 
stacks at the Palace.

One of the many heraldic animals - 
this one holds the Rose of England.


A lovely view through the archway of 
the old Palace

A very ornate well (I think!)

The front of the Old Palace.

Sadly I cannot remember who
this chap is!

Inside - the great kitchens.

A real fire was burning too it was massive!

Some of the lovely things in the shop.

More goodies in the shop - typical of 
what the royals would have used.

A beautiful heraldic animal.

An even more spectacular one!

They were situated in the Bishops' Courtyard
the colours of green and white were typical of 
Tudor gardens which were neatly laid in 
rectangles and squares as here.  
I loved this garden.

The magnificent ceiling in the 
Chapel Royal - which is to this day 
owned by the Monarch.

Another courtyard in the newer section 
of the Palace.

Beautiful paintings adorn the walls and ceilings.

Another ceiling!

The fabulous dial on the older part of the Palace.

Anne Boleyn and her maid?!  
They spoke to you "in character".

One of the fabulously ornate 
key plates on the doors.

A real rock crystal chandelier - this was 
very old too.

A bed of one of the Kings - William I think.

And beautiful drapery on another bed!

A dining room.

Lovely stained glass windows 
in one of the halls.

The rear of the new part of the Palace.

King Henry VIII and Queen Anne Boleyn were
in the Courtyard as we left.



A last view of the Palace as we left.

The view of the bridge across the Rover Thames.