Apart from the fact that it is the oldest continuously inhabited house in England (or Great Britain or something) and has a fabulous garden, we went to see Lucy Boston's stunning patchworks. Lucy Boston bought a couple of hexagon patchwork quilts when she moved to the house on marrying, and found that they were the perfect size for the windows in the lounge. The quilts were labelled 'started in 1801 and finished in 1803' so were not in the best condition, and they deteriorated steadily. Lucy began to repair them and started to become interested in patchwork herself. She made one or more quilts every winter, sitting in front of the fire, from about 1938, and had an artist's eye for pattern and colour which has made all her quilts a delight. They are all done over papers and sewn completely by hand with tiny, meticulous stitches.
We were shown the patchworks (made into coverlets, but never wadded) by Lucy's daughter-in-law, Diana, who did not want me to take photographs, for obvious reasons. Here are a couple of photos I have taken from Celia Eddy's excellent article on Lucy Boston. If you're interested in these quilts, it's an excellent read.
This is the very famous 'Patchwork of the Crosses' where every block is made of lozenges and squares, but because of the arrangement of value and pattern, every block looks quite different. 
This is a coverlet Lucy made for Sir Martin Ryle, the Astronomer Royal. When it was finished, Lucy felt it wasn't celestial enough, so appliqued all the moons and stars round the border.
After being blown away by the quilts, we explored the gardens. Here are some members in part of the herbaceous borders - they are actually walking on a path!
and another view of a different part of the garden. 
Most of the fabric came from my strips box (why is it that no matter how many strips you take out, the box barely seems any emptier?) but I did cut into some of my novelty fabrics to liven it up a bit. I added a few strips of ironing fabric (hint, hint)
some skeletons (always popular) 
a naughty lady left over from one of DD's quilts peeping at us, (incidentally, her friend is not naked, but wearing shorts!)
some 20s Flappers having fun,
a nod to technology with some mobile phones,
and cucumbers and a cupcake - who could make a quilt without those two motifs?!
And in the bottom corner, the young man's initial, 
The only criticism I have, is that it seems to stretch very slightly, so I have to make sure I hold it firmly while I quilt. This could be a factor arising from the way I quilt in my lap without a frame, although I've never had this problem before. I would definitely buy it again, so why not give it a try yourself?
I'm sorry to say this, but Candace's choice of colours (browns, olive greens and slate blues) didn't inspire me. I have mixed up the colours (ading a few uglies in there) but kept it mainly bright and cheerful.
Place the squares on top of each other, right sides together, one with the strips going across, and the other with the strips going down. Then cut into four sections diagonally. (Candace sewed all the way round the edge with a quarter inch seam before cutting, which would have been a good way of doing it if I'd remembered about that part!)
Here is the old mill which looks idyllic now, but must have been a very unpleasant place to work. We looked round the museum itself, which included a recreation of a Victorian needle factory, and were astounded to find there were 30 different processes to making a simple needle. The most skilled job was pointing the needle, which earned a man a guinea a week (that's one pound and one shilling in old money) but the dust from the grindstone gave him silicosis, and reduced his life expectancy to 30 years! That's if pieces of flying needle hadn't already blinded him, of course! The exhibition wasn't large, but gave us the opportunity to examine every quilt in great detail, which was a bonus. 
This was the oldest piece on display, a coverlet dating from about 1860. Not withstanding the facts that the hexagons were only three quarters of an inch in width and made of silk, the most remarkable thing about this quilt is that it was made by a 9 year old boy!
This close up gives you a better idea of the colours. We wondered why he had made it, and thought it must have been because he was an invalid. What mental stamina he must have had, though, to complete such a difficult task so well!
I was very grateful to the museum for allowing me to take photos, but have to say that the lighting wasn't always very helpful, as in this case. This is the Beaver Quilt, which was made at the Portland Union Church in St John, Canada, and sent to the Beaver Club in London during WW2. It is a signature quilt where the names have been written and then embroidered on top
These quilts were generally fundraisers, and people would have paid to have their names included. Quite why it was sent to England is unclear, but it was in very good condition, and must be a treasure for Canadian social historians.
This quilt was a bit of a surprise, as it looks very modern. It is made from pieces of fabric cut from Indian tunics and saris (you can see the neck shapes on many of the pieces) appliqued onto a calico foundation and then dyed yellow. The different fabrics have taken the dye to different degrees and made a harmonious collection. It was undated. 
This Pink Hawaiian quilt was made in the 1930s. The applique was done by hand, but the borders were sewn by machine. We admired the lady's stamina in making so many identical blocks, and then felt for her, when we realised she had started to outline quilt it, but only completed 3 blocks in the bottom row. She'd finally got sick of the whole thing! What a shame, because it's a lovely quilt.
This cheerful coverlet is a completed UFO. It is called Star Garden and consists of these star blocks made from fabrics from several mid 20th century decades. The stars have later been sashed in blue and the top was backed and completed by Dora Lowe in the 1950s. Well done Dora!
This top was made in Norwich, England between 1910-1930. It is called Postage Stamp Diamonds because of the very small pieces used. Doesn't it look pretty?
and here is the back. I managed to get one of those eyelet tools, and am quite pleased with the way they've turned out.
Here are Becky's bodice complete with tailor's tacks (I never thought I'd be glad to know how to do those when we did them at school!), Jackie's top waiting to be sorted out and Sally's bodice cut out and ready to go.
Nicky's bodice has to be able to be ripped open at the back on stage, to reveal the scars she received when she was flogged. Any ideas how to achieve that? 
It was quite difficult to make the letters conform to a plan and still be free formed (if that makes sense). usually, when I make letters, so long as they look pretty much like the letter they're supposed to be, I use them. This time, I wanted them to be a certain shape, and this involved quite a bi of unpicking! It was particularly difficult to get the two gs to look the same, without using any templates etc. The e was also quite tricky. 
The word is now safely on its way to Tonya. Hope she can use it in her quilt.