Markets and Martyrs

Instead of hurtling down the motorway to our destination in France, last week we took a more leisurely journey and stopped off overnight in Rouen.

We have driven through Rouen several times as it is on the most direct route from the Channel Tunnel to our ultimate destination, but had never before stopped there other than accidentally because of roadworks!

Finding our hotel for the night, which was on a pedestrian street in the Old Town was our first challenge, and negotiating the car lift to the underground car park was our second! Once settled though we headed out to explore.

Although it was early evening the market place was busy and there was still a considerable amount of produce available to purchase.

Those peppers were particularly tempting!

On a more grisly note, this cross next to the market place marks the site where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake on May 30th, 1431. Joan was only 19 at the time of her death and a later re-examination of her trial pronounced her innocent and declared her a martyr.

A modern church commemorated to St Joan and completed in 1979, now stands at the spot too. The sweeping curves of the roof are said to be a reference to the flames of the execution.

Rouen is famous for it's centuries old half-timbered houses, many of which have been restored, and some of the examples in this street of the Great Clock are thought to pre-date the burning of St Joan!

Rouen is also a city of magnificent churches and this one, St Maclou, is one of the prettiest I think.

St Ouen Abbey church is pretty impressive too!

And just when you think that can't be surpassed then you come across Notre-Dame Cathedral!

Have I whetted your appetite for a visit to Rouen? And I haven't even mentioned the restaurants:) Just let me say that I will never look at smoked beef in the same way again :)

Linking up to Wandering Camera

If you have visited somewhere New to You this month link up your post to this month's New to Me link party here I am always on the lookout for new places to go!

A Book and a BOM

Is it just me or are the months flying by? It is hard to believe that it is the 25th of the month already, which means that it is time for this month's New to Me link party!

This month my New to Me's are a mix of complete and only just begun projects.

The complete was my first ever Quiet Book for this quarter's Endeavourers Challenge.

The pages included my first time using sew-in magnets, despite having them in my stash for years :) It was also my first time using Bosal Foam again despite having it in my stash for at least three years! Clearly the policy of never throwing anything out on the basis that it will come in handy one day is warranted.

The only just begun project is my first block for the Happy Little Things BOM that started this month and will run through to December. As you can see not a lot of progress has been made, despite the fact that I have taken this to the last two meetings of my Quilt Group! That probably tells you the ratio of stitching to chatting at the group :)

The Happy Little Things BOM combines two of my favourite things, embroidery and quilting, so I couldn't resist joining in. I have chosen to embroider the centres of each block but instructions are also given for an appliqued block centre or a pieced  novelty fabric centre, so the resulting quilts are going to look very different when finished.

So, that's my New to Me's this month now it is your turn to share anything that you have tried for the first time this month. As ever, the link party will remain open until the end of the month and as always you are invited to share your New to Me's regardless of whether the outcome was success or failure, everything is a learning opportunity here!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

All the C's

Ages ago I signed up for a local class to make a Catch All Caddy . I managed to keep up with the class progress on the quite involved pattern throughout the several weeks of the term and felt rather pleased with myself. What do they say about pride and a fall??

Putting the caddy together didn't go quite as planned and as I missed the last class I put the project away and only felt guilty now and again when I thought of it. With the sewing room nearly finished (I hope!) I came across the almost finished caddy again and resolved this time to complete it!

I had had real trouble stitching the caddy together at the curved ends through all of these layers, but resolved this time to grit my teeth, go slow and get through it and that is what I did :) Of course, I then had to do it all again to attach the binding :(

Thank goodness for clips, pins just couldn't cope with the layers of Soft and Stable

And here it is my Completed Catch all Caddy!

I resolved to only use stash fabrics for the caddy, as with the cost of the class (and the petrol to get there), the pattern, the Soft and Stable, the bag hardware and my time it worked out to be a rather expensive storage bag. We have all been there :)

The interior of the caddy has useful dividers to keep things neat and tidy

and as you can see the caddy itself is packed full of pockets, so I will not be short of places to put things!

When I started the class I had visions of whipping up several of these caddies, but having completed this one I think I will leave it a while before attempting another.