Hearts and Flowers

 Hello lovely readers.....this week we have a LoT of flowers to enjoy......and more hearts too.....here is my sweetheart pincushion made in some different fabrics.....the grey 'with love' ribbon i used as a tag is by east of india.......the sweetheart pincushion pattern is in my etsy shop link in sidebar.....

 .............the back of the pincushion.....

 .............and the front............

 .............luckily i have a whole reel of this ribbon so you will be seeing some of it again :) .....

 ...........sweet spring flowers from my daughter at half term to thank me for all the grandchild collecting from school i've been doing.....it's a pleasure though....these flowers have a gorgeous scent from the hyacinths and they look so fresh and cheerful.....special frilly edged tulips too....

 ............here's our valentine's cushion made last year and just right for the season now.....

 .............morning tea, valentine's cards (and gifts too) and counting our blessings.......

 .........these patchwork hearts are so easy to create using squares and half squares of fabric scraps and white solid cotton for the background......little primrose sneaking in there......

 ...........more flowers....red tulips cheap and cheerful from the greengrocer's shop.......

 ............and on a walk when the storm had passed there was the first pink blossom appearing.....

 .............last but not least (always loved that expression) my beautiful red roses for valentine's day from my lovely hubby.....we celebrate lots of anniversaries and special days and it happens that we met for the first time just three days before valentine's day (a gazillion years ago)......

.........thank you so much for visiting me here dear readers and for the lovely comments you leave me......it's always great to hear from you.......wishing you a happy week ahead with sunshine and flowers......and sending love to everyone too................back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Valentine's Week

 Hello everyone from a very stormy windy part of the world today...............it is actually not as bad as it has been but still wild out there....hope you all kept safe during the worst of it.....

 ............here is my new sweetheart pincushion all ready for valentine's day on friday.......

 .........i loved making this little project...it's very easy to sew and fun to choose the different fabrics....

 ...........and of course buttons and ribbon..........

 ...........if you'd like the pattern it's in my etsy shop now link in sidebar........

 .............in my studio here...that's the room where i have my computer, drawing and painting things, design books and office stuff... and these are the pigeonhole shelves which are great for storing art materials and stationery......

 ............they are also fun for arranging other things in too like bunnies and flowers.....

 .............before the storm arrived we had a lovely outing on saturday to speke hall....you can read about it here.....

 ..............it's a national trust tudor property on the outskirts of liverpool and has a timeless feel......

 .............we walked (briskly) round the gardens and through the woods.......although the garden is mainly sleeping for winter i did find some colour......we ended our visit in the tea shop :).......

 ...............below is an in car picture i took when we were driving back through liverpool....... the famous landmark liver building and brand new modern architecture together......it's an exciting city with a lot of beautiful new building work and restoration going on across it.........

...........the next day we all stayed indoors as the storm hit......i got a lot of sewing done :).....
....thank you to everyone who visits me here and for your lovely comments too which are a treat to read.......i hope you have a happy valentine's week and the weather treats you kindly.....back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

February Flowers

 Happy February dear readers.......the days are getting lighter and there are primroses to enjoy...even popping up in the garden as well as in pots in the house and greenhouse.....

 ...........here is my irish chain flower quilt making progress......

 ............and some beautiful tulips from the local greengrocers in the perfect shade of pinky red.....

 ..............i love all the different shades of primroses available.........

 ...........below is a picture taken in the greenhouse.........looking forward to sowing new seeds in here soon and beginning the next phase of growing plants in my cottage garden......

..............here is my new little patchwork heart complete with pottery button from the lovely cynthia cranes pottery......the fabrics are tilda's new happy campers...........

 ...............here's the heart hanging on my little vanilla cupboard............

 ............this cupboard was a present from my lovely husband (tipped off by our elder daughter one christmas and what a lovely surprise it was for me!).....it's not easy to photograph though due to all the reflections.....

 ...........at the weekend hubby and i walked in our nearby botanical gardens and saw these gorgeous camellias in bloom amongst the pine trees....and with a beautiful blue sky above.....

 ...........we've also had some gorgeous sunrises like the one below taken through the window....

 ...........today i am sewing something flowery with some flowery fabrics......it may be windy and a bit grey but there are lots of signs of spring on the way and lighter brighter days......

...........thank you for your visit dear readers and for your kind comments......wishing you all a wonderful week ahead with bright times, sweet flowers and lots of crafty inspirations.......back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Rag Doll

 Hello lovely readers...hope your week has begun well...mine is turning out to be a busy one but i'm still fitting in a bit of cosy crafting of course......here is my rag doll complete with her cross stitched dress and knitted cardigan.......

 ...........she is surprisingly easy to make, with soft yarn hair (with a touch of mohair).....

 ..........the cross stitched flowers on her dress border are done using waste canvas.....

 ............she is sitting here looking quite tidy at the moment, with a ribbon tying her hair back.....

............a lovely way to use pretty fabric, yarn, buttons and trims, dolls are fun to make and sweet gifts to give...

...............lots of hearts in the background of this picture.....it is the top of my new pink heartstrings quilt which is now well on the way to being hand quilted.....lots of cosy evenings working on this and keeping nice and warm thanks to it too :)..........below is a close up of the cross stitched flowers...you could stitch them all the same colour or use left over scraps of thread in different colours as i have here....or you could just make a simple dress and omit the cross stitch part :)....... the rag doll pattern is now in my etsy shop link in sidebar x

 ...........during the last few days there has been some fabric excitement here at the arrival of tilda's new happy campers fabric from the homemakery..........

 .............i already had some pretty stripes in my stash and for once i couldn't wait to cut into these new fabrics and make some blocks i wanted to try using the drunkard's path templates....

 ............yes helped by cups of tea and chocolate mini eggs........

 .............these are very pretty spring like fabrics and i love all the shades of pink, blue and green combined with a pale yellow and teal.........

.........thank you so much for dropping by to see me here in my little bit of blog land dear readers......and thank you for you lovely comments which i always enjoy reading......wishing you a wonderful week with sunny days, crafty inspirations and happy times......back soon xxxxxxxxxxxx

Winter Cheer: Quilts and Flowers

 Hello again lovely readers......it was a gloomy grey week here last week weather wise though the sunshine came back at the weekend luckily......here is the finished bow tie quilt made from tilda old rose fabrics and kona cotton in bleach white......

 .........i enjoy sewing bow tie blocks by hand and i enjoyed quilting this by hand too...perfect for cosy winter evenings by the fire....this is our new tea tray ( a christmas present)............(it's from emma bridgewater and matches our mugs)......

 ............the old rose fabrics are very subtle, soft and pretty....

 .............this time i used the bleach white kona cotton solid for the backing for a vintage look rather like the old calico backed quilts............

 ............at the weekend we went to a local nursery for some plant shopping.....

 ..............we got the first pots of primroses of the new season.....they are such cheerful pretty flowers i always love having them nearby during the cold dull winter days.....

 ............i finally unrolled the jelly roll of tilda apple butter fabrics and began making nine patch blocks for a new quilt.....

 ............will show you more of this one soon..........

 .............the first apple butter fabrics i bought were used for my little apples quilt (pattern in my etsy shop link in sidebar)...........i love this fabric collection the best and love using my little apple applique quilt.........pictures on my work table of quilts, fabrics, spools and flowers.......these things always inspire me......

 ............the small floral log cabin blocks are also slowly being sewn together and they are brightening up the sewing room too..........

...........thank you for dropping by dear readers and for your kind comments......it's so lovely to hear from you......wishing you all a wonderful week ahead with sunny days, happy flowers and plenty of crafty inspirations.....................back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx