In the Pink

 Summer is here and the sun is shining, the flowers are blooming and we are sipping pink lemonade to keep us cool.............i have two finished projects to show you today :)..........first of all this is what i used those hexies for that i showed you last time................

 .................i joined them in a traditional grandmother's garden hexie block and then used fusible wadding to back them with, then quilted round the outside and the middle with pink cotton........

                            .............to make two table mats for the summer garden table..............

 ................a lovely easy make for summer sewing, and of course can be made in any colour......though i like the shades of pink and a bit of purple, like the sweetpeas................

                                    .................we had something matching to eat.............

                             ..................and to drink........i love pink drinks.................

 .................and my second finished project today is rosie's blanket which she loves and has now taken home with her to their country cottage...........i made a little tag and tied it with a pink and green ribbon..............

 ...............i almost forgot to take some pictures of it, but managed to snap a few just in time.....

 ............i loved making this with it's pretty repeating pattern of pink, green and cream granny stripes and simple pink and green border, it was a pleasure to crochet...........i am also enjoying making daisy's new ripple blanket too, and my best boy charlie has requested one next in red and white stripes.......his football team colours :)............

 ...............besides crochet i've been quilting and doing some new patchwork blocks but will show you those in another post...........below is the beautiful fragonard sweet pea soap from france.......

 .............the packaging is so beautiful i am keeping it in my studio to look at often.........and the soap is delicious and a pleasure to use..............i will leave you with a picture i took of pale pink houses and bright pink bougainvillea tumbling over a wall in a tiny old street in the south of france..........

..................thank you for dropping in here to visit me, lovely readers, for your blog friendship and your sweet comments too...............i hope you are all in the pink and enjoying these july days wherever you may be...............................back soon xxxxxxxxxxxooooooooooooooxxxxxxxxxxx

Sweet Peas and Summer Crafts

 Summer days in the garden means enjoying the flowers after all that preparing and planting in the spring, and especially the sweet peas at the moment..... i have taken pictures of some of ours here this week........i have been pottering in the potting shed too, and arranging my new painted sign there (a much loved birthday present).................

                          .................the scent is intoxicating from this sweet jar...............

 ................i picked up this pretty brochure as part of my ephemera collecting in france, drawn at once to the colour and the subject matter as i scanned a table filled with leaflets........fragonard loves sweet peas and so do we :).................

 ..............and the scent of sweet peas is fragonard's scent of choice for 2014...........

 ................here is one of the three wig wams of sweet peas in our garden, i have planted one in the cutting garden, one next to the beans and one in a big pot next to the kitchen door............

 ..............i now plant ready grown small plants from local nurseries and the greengrocer's rather than growing from seed or buying very expensive ones and find these give good results...........

 ................plenty of blooms to fill all kinds of baskets and containers...............

 ..............my summer crochet project is a new sweet pea ripple blanket for my little daisy dot..........

 ..........she loves sweet pea colours, and when she saw me crocheting auntie rosie's blanket she requested one for herself next :)...............i am so loving having a ripple on the go again, how soothing and pleasing a pattern it is to work...............

 ...............i have almost finished all the designing for the festive season now and this week am moving on to spring in my studio :)..............and i am also planning some portable paper piecing projects for summer stitching while visiting, child caring and going to the seaside.................

 .............a big bunch in a chunky numbered pot...........sweet peas look good in any container......

 ................having a jar full in my sewing room is a must do while i work away there..............

 .................here is my project in this month's crafts beautiful.........a hexie cushion designed for a baby gift, with extra cross stitched embellishments..................find out more here...................

 ................i loved making this using favourite scraps from my stash............and below are some new hexies that i have just made for another summer project...............

..............thank you for popping in here today, lovely readers............so happy to see you and to hear from you too...............wishing you a wonderful week ahead with sunshine, crafty days and some sweet flowers too..................back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxooooooooooooooxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Flower Market

 After a leisurely start to our day, with breakfast outdoors in la palmerie and a stroll along the promenade des anglais, we arrived at the flower market......

 .............lots of people had told me i'd love it there and i did............mr p liked seeing it too.......

 ...............so many fruits to see and buy..........and lots of little cafes on the edge of the market......perfect for a cold drink and a rest in the shade as the day was very HoT.........

                                     ................melons, peaches, big bright tomatoes.......

                                      ..........and of course big bunches of sunflowers...............

 ..................not just flowers, fruit and vegetables....there were pretty coloured soaps too......

 ...............and baskets of colourful nougat (my father's favourite, we bought him some)..............

 ..........seeing the flower market reminded me of my half done quilt, which i had put to one side due to the 'christmas rush' of designing lately...........when i got home from france, i got my quilt out again and sewed some lemons on it, and then it seemed complete............

 ................it already had strawberries and cherries on it........quite a fruit market.............i pinned the layers of the quilt together with curved basting pins and began hand stitching it..............

 ..................here is my shady spot in the garden, perfect for sipping cups of tea and sewing a quilt while listening to the bees buzzing and enjoying the scent of roses and honeysuckle.......

 ...................here is my soon-to-be-scrapbook filled with ephemera from our trip............

 ..................and here are the stripy roses in our garden this week, the last ones to flower......they have a gorgeous scent though not very many flowers............i celebrated my birthday last weekend and received some lovely flowers and presents for it......pictures to follow soon :)........

 .................next week it will be all about the sweetpeas :)........they are all coming in to flower now and how lovely it is that cutting them is positively encouraged, in fact essential to their continued growth....so no flower-cutting guilt at all.....snip snip snip..............

...............thank you lovely readers for calling by my little blog space to visit me........and merci for your very kind comments and for taking the time to write them when life is so busy........i hope you are all enjoying a happy week with sunshine, flowers and time to craft................back soon xxxxxxxooooooooooooxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Home From France

 Bonjour!......here i am back again and feeling refreshed from my blog break.........last week mr p and i were in the sunny south of france and here are a few pictures from our trip.............

............the harbour at nice.........beautiful light and gorgeous colours........we have been to other parts of france but not to nice until now.......... my parents used to spend three weeks in nice every spring and they gave us lots of tips of places to see.............

 .................more wonderful colour combinations and i do love the shutters............

 .................the sparkling blue mediterranean sea.........as many of you will know, this is a famous view over the beautiful baie des anges..............

                                 ............and we could see why it is called the cote d'azur................

 .................of course i came home with my camera stuffed with photos of things i loved, and my case stuffed with french finds, and my head stuffed with impressions and inspirations :)............

 ...............i especially loved the old town and the amazing buildings there, windows with lace curtains fluttering and bright geraniums in pots and window boxes, as well as the neon bright bougainvillea spilling over railings and walls................

                                .............i picked out the colours of this house especially...............

                                       ................and the beautiful negresco hotel ..............

 ..............i found lots of flowers too, here is just one gorgeous plant...............

 ................and when i got home i found my latest issue of love patchwork and quilting magazine with my floral wreath project in it.................this is a fun design, easy to make and i took a quick picture of it below with my first sweet peas which were also here to greet my return...............

 ..............the magazine is full of inspiration for all fabric lovers, beginners or experienced patchworkers and quilters will enjoy its perfectly styled pages, gorgeous photographs and interesting features as well as the many marvellous projects.............you can buy the magazine here and subscribe here......................

 ................perfect for a post holiday browse with a cup of tea and a couple of macarons...............

...................thank you for visiting me here, lovely readers.......it is a pleasure to see you here in my little blog space, and thank you too for your kind comments, they are always a delight to read.......i am looking forward to visiting all my blog friends now and to catching up............wishing you all a wonderful week ahead.........................back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxoooooooxxxx