Post 30 East Molesey: Sunshine, stitching and swans

This is where I got to last night - the leaves at the top of the spray of Dog Roses.

This morning the sun shone again. This is my second day of no socks!

I put my jeans in to be laundered, ready for the trip home. I am wearing leggings and my long black top. I will be inconvenienced if the jeans don't come back tomorrow. I wore a large hole in the seams of my other jeans and threw them away.


My goal today was to finish the leaves on the Dog Rose spray, but I also took a walk down the High Street to check out the two antique shops. The first one had loads of shells.
Here's an idea for using them. I'm not sure if this is a bowling ball or a bookend. There were two of them.





I hasten to say I did not buy anything. Not only would it not fit in my luggage, but the antlers would probably not get past customs.


The Buddha chicken shrine wasn't a bad idea I thought.

There is an interesting butcher, with an odd collection of antlers and stuffed birds in the window.




He will also make bespoke sausages.

The interest continued in the second antique shop. This is the one where I bought some doilies last time.  It had a particularly ugly candelabra, a standing stone candle-holder and


some old signage.

I still didn't buy anything.

There was still a collection of embroidered tablecloths and lace doilies.




Back at the Mitre I settled myself on the Terrace to stitch. It was warm in the sun. Two young women were locating boxes of new umbrellas in the outdoor storage cupboard, unpacking and assembling them. Spring, it seems, has arrived








even though
the trees are bare.





The Palace chimneys have cloud instead of smoke.

Before dinner I had finished the Dog Rose leaves. They were relatively difficult. The design was originally larger than the one we worked, and I found the smaller leaves tricky to work in three layers. I got there, however.

I try to have dinner at 6pm - just after the sun has gone down. The light is lovely. The bridge reflection is clear, symmetrical and shimmery. Tonight the swans came up close to the building to fish.





They stayed around until it got dark, then went back to their little beach.


I found it hard to stop taking photos.


Back in my room I found a way to improve the light from the bed lamp for stitching. Not very elegant, but it works.














I have started working on the Dog Roses on the strength of it.


Tomorrow is my last day in England. I will need to do a major repacking - and hopefully finish those Dog Roses. I won't finish the Herdwick project before I get home but I have made good progress.