Springtime Hearts

 As it is valentine's day this week, i thought i'd show you some fabric hearts i've made.......first though  is a picture of the chair in my studio, with the amazing book i've been engrossed in lately *the goldfinch* by donna tartt..............

............and folded beneath it is the new quilt top i have almost finished, just waiting for the border and backing fabric to arrive and then i can begin the quilting and show some more pictures............

 ............i often make hearts for design commissions, they are always popular to make and to give, and there are so many ways to decorate them..............i made these two using pretty lecien old new fabric, just using the wide lace effect blue and white border to make the hearts (and fussy cutting them so the lace edge appeared in the right place)............then i used bondaweb to applique the floral posies, cut from another lecien print.................

 ..........hanging in the window of my sewing room where the long string of birds usually hangs.....

      .............here are some of the ready to iron-on flower posies i made earlier...............

 ...........some printed fabrics are so decorative that you can just fussy cut them, sew the heart, add a little pearl bead and some ribbon and they are cute just like that.............i have found some faux old keys lately which look nice with old book pages, pretty hearts and ribbons for springtime gifts.......

 ............like many of you, i have hearts hanging here and there around the house, and like to tuck lavender hearts in among the clean sheets in the linen cupboard.............

...........i keep a basket filled with hearts to add to gifts for family and friends, they can use them as lavender bags or pincushions or just for decoration........each batch is different because i use new fabrics, or vintage fabrics, and different ribbons and decorations each time so they are varied and interesting to create..............( all the hearts here were made from the sewing heart template in my pretty patchwork gifts book).............

 .........these hearts are stuffed with dried lavender from last summer's plants in our garden............

 ..............below is another ck cutlery tray that i found in my tidying up and painted with some of the sky blue paint i used for the doll's bed..............now i have a pink tray and a blue tray and find them so useful for keeping all the bits of a craft project together, especially small paper pieces, cotton reels, scissors and buttons.............

 ...............here is my project in this month's cross stitch collection magazine...........a little dream cottage set in a spring garden surrounded with a flowery border..............it was inspired by house and garden samplers from the past, but stitched in bright fresh springtime colours..............

 .................in this issue there is also an interview with me by the lovely jo ryan, all about my work and crafting life..............find out more about cross stitch collection here.............

.............thank you for coming over to my little bit of blogland, lovely readers, it is a pleasure to see you here and to read your lovely comments too............i hope you have a lovely valentine's day and a sunny, happy and crafty week...................back soon xxxxxxxxxoooooooooxxxxxxxxxxxxx