House-Elf Doings 

 Hello! I’m all back to normal again. I bet you wondered what had happened to me the last couple of weeks? Well there has been a lot of frantic sewing and packing and organising.

Here is the bag I gave a peek of before. The applique is all stitched.

 Zip opening

 An internal zip.

 Box pleat to the bottom  and 4 pleats to the top of the sides.

 The handles I ordered from Japan which inspired the whole shopping bag, were a bit short.

 So I mounted them on some perfect canvas? which Ulla sent a while ago. What is the proper name for it Ulla? And there you have it a strong comfortable and cute shopping bag for a student. The other bags I made were part of Bag Club, so I will share when we are all ready. I just wanted Daughter to have them before she started uni. It saves on the postage.

So the car was loaded to the gunnels including my old bike that she was once in a baby seat on the back of. Happy memories!

Her Hall of Residence at Portsmouth Uni, 4.5 hours away on clear roads. Click link for 3d tours.

The kitchen is shared with 5 others in her flat within the hall.

It is modern with a lot of cupboards.

The views are good as it is a corner room.

Spinaker Tower with rugby fields and the Navy training ground in front. 

Her bedroom faced a 2nd floor courtyard, so very secure and private to students.

 How she is going to fit it all in I don’t know!

Wardrobe door and an ensuite shower room behind it.

Time for lunch at Gunwharf Quays. See the castle themed doorway? It dates from the time when boats cargos were taxed here before being allowed into the country.

A Special Police Officer on a segway!

Spinaker Tower again.

And of course HMS Victory. Where’s Captain Jack Sparrow?

This was Son’s 1st time here. He wanted the now decomissioned HMS Ark Royal.  I told him not to be so silly -it would never fit in his bedroom. He then said “Don’t be silly Mum we’d put the house on it”. Ahhh.

So if it goes missing you know where I am.

A different ship in the dry dock this time.

Here Capt. Jack  here, ….. Ah well Johnny Depp must be hiding from me. Silly man!

I did like the news story I read that when they were filming the latest film that he and some of the cast went to a local school in full costume playing the parts still for the children in response to a pupil letter. Very nice of them and something you don’t hear about often. It will stay a special moment for those children forever.

Remember me talling you about the rose “Mary Rose” we bought to commemorate daughter coming to study here?  Well this is the building which will house the restored Mary Rose flagship of Henry VIII. I plan to go next year.

Portsmouth is a wonderful mix of the old and new standing shoulder to shoulder. 

It is full of naval history.

But it’s time to trundle back over The Downs to Oxford.

Donnington Bridge looking North towards Oxford City Centre along the River Isis.

And South towards Iffley which I shared in the New Year. I used to know that tow path like the back of my hand. More wonderful memories. Autumn is just coming here.

Autumn House is all finished now. 

I backed it in plain brown ready made fleece from a supermarket. It was cheaper to buy that than to buy by the metre. The borders are from stash- the last bit of the Autumn crow with melon and sunflowers fabric. The rest was black. Several blacks were joined to make the binding.

I have made more but this is long enough. It’s just lovely to be back to normal again all caught up in Blogland. I have missed you all.