I took these photos of the cliff the last time we left Skipsea Withow beach, and forgot to post them until I had a conversation a few days ago with a friend who is a conservationist. This part of the East Yorkshire coastline was badly damaged by the tidal surge last winter, and the coastal path was closed until DEFRA could ensure access to the beach was safe. We've always been able to see wood layered in the peat and clay at the base of the cliff, but nowhere near as clearly as we can now. The amazing thing is that these ancient logs in post glacial peat are between 7 and 10 thousand years old. My friend also told me that the larger pieces, like in this first picture are oak, the smaller are probably birch. I can't tell you how strange it was to lay my hands on a tree that last saw light of day ten thousand years ago.
Amazing, huh? On a less educational note - I completely finished my stars jelly roll quilt as well. I backed this one in brushed cotton, and as well as making it so much easier to quilt (the brushed cotton held on to the wadding and stopped the layers from shifting) it also gave the quilt more weight and warmth. I'm going to use brushed cotton where I can from now on, lets face it, it's a sad fact that quilts in the UK need to be warm!
Quilting finished and layers trimmed. |
Binding complete, quilt modeled by Wilma. |
This quilt started a new journey yesterday, off to my cousin in Peterborough. I'm very tempted to do another jelly roll quilt, it's not the most economic way to buy fabric, but they're fun to put together!
Quilt blocks for my Chinese block quilt are finished - I've turned them on point in the final design as I liked their shape better. I really wanted to get it quilted straight away while I have the momentum, but then discovered I was out of twin wadding. Argh!!
Wow, I can't believe I have blogged twice in the same month! All bets are off for September :)
Hi Kim, Many thanks for visiting my blog and leaving a comment. It took us about 4.5 hours (trundling!) to drive from Ile de Re to St Malo - and well worth the drive. The sea was warm enough for even me to get in to swim!! We went across on a night ferry (Portsmouth to Caen) , but sailed back on a daytime ferry (St Malo to Portsmouth) - both crossings were great. The Island is fabulous for families - we first went when our kids were roughly the same age as yours. There is plenty to look around and explore without ever leaving the Island. I've had a good look around your blog and I love it. I am in awe of your patchwork - I like a bit of patchworking myself but I only produce "rustic" looking pieces (ie they are a bit rough!!) xxxx
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