Pumpkin Patch

 Happy autumn week dear readers.......here we have fabric pumpkins both old ones and new ones and a cute little pumpkin patch sign from little seed handmade here.....

 ............i love my little fabric pumpkins and make a few each year with the latest fabrics.....they are cute heaped up or individually dotted about and make a nice pincushion sometimes too ......(pattern in my etsy shop link in sidebar)......

 ..............there has been plenty of other cosy autumn sewing going on here this week too.....a couple more log cabin blocks to add to the stack for my quilt......these have some autumn colour incorporated into their scrappy strips.............

 ............and i finished binding my little cherries quilt .........helped by a nice cup of tea.....(the teacup was my mother in law's favourite one.....i like to use it sometimes and i think she'd like that too....)

 .............pretty fabrics from lecien and tilda...........together they have a very soft and subtle effect i think..............

 ..............pretty new jug by greengate...........

 ...............china jugs and quilts and flowers.................some of my favourite things.....

 ..............as well as candles with a gentle scent..........such a cosy time......

 ...............here is mabel the big bunny waiting for her new scarf and maybe a cardigan too.....getting a bit chilly now......

 .............out in the garden there are still lots of cosmos flowering and the latest hydrangea in the cottage garden is turning beautiful autumn shades of red, pink and russet...........

 ..........such a beautiful nostalgic time of year and so many sunny days as well as grey and misty ones......the garden is changing daily and there are little brown mushrooms popping up everywhere.....

................thank you for dropping by to visit my little pumpkin patch.......i love to hear from you and to have your visits......wishing you all a wonderful autumn (or spring!) week ahead with happy times and crafty inspirations..........back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A Week in October

 Hello again dear readers...............here are some pictures from my week......first the little cupboard in my studio filled with autumnal things...........

 ...............love all the autumn decorations and this year i'm making black and white gingham birds....more about them soon.....we have lots of pumpkins, toadstools and apples and some paper craft items from magazine work i've done..............

 ..............the pumpkin quilt is very cosy on this bed............along with the tumbler pillow.....

 ..............more pumpkins.............

 ..............and i've been working out a new patchwork block inspired by the victorian tiled floor in our home's entrance porch below........

 ..............the tiles are over 150 years old and still intact....so hard wearing and made to last......

 ...............just had to show you this little posy of snowberries too as it's that time of year again.....my lovely eldest daughter bought me these....she calls them sprinkleberries......i've been told they are called lilly pilly in new zealand and another name for them is monkey apple!......they are so pretty whatever name they have....especially the pink ones.....

 ..............on a cool atmospheric october afternoon hubby and i visited the walled city of chester......it's not far from where we live and we have lots of memories of going there all our lives.......

 ................this is the bear and billet inn built in 1664 and described as 'the finest 17th century timber framed town house in chester'.......we used to go there as students....i did my art foundation course at a college in chester for a year before i went on to manchester to do my degree course....four years of art and design and i loved it all....

 .........walking by the river dee in the groves.........the bandstand has musicians in the summer.....and there are boats for river cruises....trees just turning autumnal shades and lots of people including many tourists enjoying the special atmosphere.......i think i love october days more and more :)....

..............thank you for visiting me here lovely readers and for the kind comments you leave me......wishing you all a very happy october week ahead and plenty of bright cosy days and crafty inspirations.......back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Autumn Days

 Happy October everyone!.............autumn is here in all its colourful beauty......

 ...........and there is a lovely new little sign to remind us too (from little seed handmade here)......

 ...........we have lots of apples both real and stitched ones......(and apple charms too)......

 ...........and even apples appliqued onto some lovely vintage napkins that i found while looking for something else......

 ...............the apple applique is the one i used for my little apples quilt.....(the pattern is in my etsy shop link in sidebar)......

 ............here's the finished napkin in use (the cake in the tin is actually carrot cake though!)...this week i'll be baking an apple cake and an apple crumble too.....

 .............in the potting shed ......tidying away the summer things and getting out the tools to do a whole lot of gardening.............

 ..............still lots of green in the garden but some of the leaves are turning now and we have had some beautiful golden days...............

 ..............we got the pumpkin quilt out to snuggle under.......the evenings have become very chilly....

 ............lovely old terracotta pots ready to plant some seeds....we have harvested lots of everlasting sweet pea seeds so will see if i can grow a few and am giving a few to friends who liked them too.............

 ...........big bunny with an autumn pillow and a pumpkin......think i need to knit her a scarf and maybe a cardie too......

..............thank you for dropping by dear readers......it's lovely to have your visit and always a pleasure to read your kind comments......i have been very busy writing my next book but now it is almost finished and i will have more time for blog visits again.......sending you all warm and cosy wishes for october and plenty of crafty inspirations too.........back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

September Sewing

 Hello dear readers......hope you have had a good start to your week.....here there has been lots of sewing going on as well as lots of pattern writing and template drawing.....

 ...........i showed this little toadstool pillow last autumn when i had fun making up my applique pillow pattern in some of my favourite fabrics with added surface embroidery stitches and vintage buttons..... i love working this way and seeing how the texture develops.....the pattern for this is now in my etsy shop (link in side bar).....

 ...............still adding cute little log cabin blocks to the growing stack......

 ............and it's the time of year when i make some new lavender sachets.....

 ....this year i've made some with the new tilda tea towel stripes and filled them with lavender i dried from the garden.....the bunches are hung up to dry in the linen cupboard, and the sachets are later tucked in there among the sheets....

 ............hand quilting my little cherries quilt is a very relaxing and peaceful way to spend some stitching time......

 ...........i'm trying out a new hoop i've just bought...it's smooth and chunky and works well though my sewing is much slower than it is without.....

 ...........we went to the garden centre last week to buy some tulip bulbs for the cottage garden....i bought two packets of pink ones and have planted them this week.....also just had to buy a tray of bellis daisies......

 ............and some violas too.....these are so pretty..........

 ...........we visited our local botanic gardens at the weekend and here are some of the many beautiful sorbus berries..........the leaves haven't turned here yet though some are just beginning to....we have had some glorious bright sunny blue sky autumn days..........

 ...........finally i know it's a bit early to be showing christmas designs but  just wanted to let folks know that my red patchwork christmas stocking design is also now available as a pattern in my etsy shop (link in sidebar) and  we all need to get on with our festive sewing in good time :)......

...........thank you so much for dropping by to see me here dear readers and for the kind comments you leave me....i do appreciate them very much......wishing you a wonderful september week wherever you may be.........back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Autumn Things

 Happy new week dear readers......we are enjoying some beautiful autumn days here.....

 .............this little wreath was made this week with garden snippets and some of my tiny fabric pumpkins...........

 ............there are lots of red berries in the garden this year so the birds will be happy.....below is a natural garland where a shrub has twined through the lattice fence....i'm not sure that you can see in the photo but a spider has been spinning long silvery threads to add to the decoration too....

 ..........i have been busily writing my book over the past week as well as making a few more fabric pumpkins and sewing some work in progress quilts.....

 ...............loving these pretty stripes and using them in my log cabin block below.....

 ............and in the evenings i've been sewing lots and lots of blue and white hexagons on my hexie quilt.....

 ..........such a relaxing way to work......thinking i must begin another english paper pieced quilt when i eventually finish this one as it's so nice to have it there just to pick up and work on each night...

 .............now that i've decided on the pattern layout this project is speeding along again....

 ............i didn't do any sewing this weekend though as we were too busy celebrating our eldest daughter's birthday with lots of family fun......she is 40 years old....unbelievable!!......she had a well deserved wonderful time and we all enjoyed every moment too......

 ...........today it's back to work on my writing and later a little bit of gardening amongst the autumn flowers.....

 .............and i just had to take a quick picture of the wreath on my little cottage garden gate......

............thank you so much for dropping by to my little space here dear readers.....and a huge thank you to those who leave me a kind comment it's a pleasure to hear from you......wishing you a wonderful week with autumn flowers and sunshine and lots of crafty inspirations.......back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxx