Monday 25 August 2014

Rosy Red

 The colour theme for my post this week began with a bowl of beautiful rosy red plums, kindly given to us by a friend who lives nearby...........of course i had to take some pictures of the fruits before i made them into a crumble...............
 .............and i used one of my large patchwork hexagon table mats in the photos too..........
 .............the red kitchen mat is made the same way i made the pink summer table mats a while ago....
 ..............the hexies are 2 inch ones (that is, each side of the hexagon measures 2 inches) so the finished mat is a generous size..............i backed it with fusible wadding (batting) and a layer of white felt and then hand quilted through the three layers round the hexie shapes............you could use blanket stitch round the edge if you wished, or machine quilt the mat instead..............
 .............the fussy cut centre is from a novelty kitchen print that has been in my stash for a while....now that the weather has cooled down (a lot) i am baking a bit more again..........
 ................the homemade cookie stamp was used on some simple but delicious shortcake biscuits which were served with strawberries and vanilla ice cream...............some other (red) things in my kitchen this week: a bunch of bright red radishes, my red and white greengate milk bottle, and a card from my sweet sister with one of my favourite dog images...........
 .................the red table mat being made is shown below, with a picture of the back as requested by one of my dear readers, after i made the earlier hexie mats.......you quilt the layers together and then trim away the backing as neatly as possible around the edge.............
 ...........we have visited some gorgeous late august gardens recently, and i hope to show more pictures of them soon, but for this post, here is one i took of some rosy red apples.............
 ..............in our own garden the white japanese anemones are flowering merrily..........
                    ...........i picked some for a posy with a spray of  red geranium flowers..............
 .............this little floral patchwork cushion is one i designed for crafts beautiful magazine and i have shown it here before......but now it is available to download from the crafts beautiful website here.....just look in the projects section for this and lots of other crafty inspiration..................
 ...............bright posies from the cutting garden, to place around the house..........still a few sweetpeas left though not many now...........the few zinnias the snails left for me are a nice bright addition to the daisies and late pale pink roses...............
..........thank you so much for dropping in here to my little blog space to visit me, lovely readers...... and for your kind comments too, they are always such a pleasure to read............i wish you a wonderful week ahead with sunny days and happy crafty times.............back soon xxxxxxxxxx

37 comments:

Gillian said...

I love your flowers but especially the white japanese anemones. We have got a lot of plums this year (none last year!) so I've been making lots of things with them. And there's still more to come!

KC'sCourt! said...

What is it about red! I love the colour because it make me feel warm, and boy do we need it today, it is cold where I live!
Your plums look yummy, and your flowers are gorgeous
Julie xxxx

scrappyjacky said...

Love all your reds....our plums are finished now....but the apple trees are brimming this year.

Cindy said...

I never liked bright red until lately and now I love it! Everything looks so cheerful. Have a great crafty week!

Vintage Sheet Addict said...

Perfectly colour coordinated Helen! Oh and I love your summer quilt :) xxx

Salty Pumpkin Studio said...

Beautiful photos and arrangements.
Red and white says summer and picnics to me. The apples are perfect.

Christine B said...

Hello Helen! Love your pretty hexagon mat and all your matching red pottery! Those shortbread biscuits looked delicious and, as always, all those beautiful flowers! Always adds a smile to the day!! :) xx

Jane said...

Such lovely reds Helen, I love plums. Thanks for such a cheery post on such a dreadful day weather wise. How typical for the August Bank holiday Monday. We were so lucky with our mini break....just hard drying the washing today! xx

vintage grey said...

Sweet hexie mat!! Love your pretty patchwork pillow! So lovely! Wishing you a wonderful day! xo Heather

Sam I Am...... said...

Your hexie is too cute especially with the fussy cut of the vintage center. I need to find some fabrics like that. I'm so sorry I haven't visited but I had company and then there was canning preserving (not over yet!) and on and on.
I love the sweet peas and I tried to download the template for your pillow but they won't let me register...I keep getting an error. I would like to as they have other great templates too and I pinned many of them.
I love your "pick of the day" vase and the cookie stamp is something I definitely need! LOL!
We can't get Greengate items here in the states but I do get inspired from their catalogs and YOU! LOL! I have to go catch up now....I need another cup of coffee though for me to relax while browsing your lovely posts. I wish I had some of those biscuits to go with it. I've missed you....my own fault but coming over to visit is like visiting a good friend. Have a lovely day.

Clara {Clover and Violet} said...

Red is a very cheerful color! I love it!! Your hexagon mat is so cute, I think I will give it a try and make one or maybe more. They also look so useful and would make wonderful (Christmas) gifts too!! Such inspiration always here on your blog, I missed your last post I will go back and read it now!!

Clara {Clover and Violet} said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Amy at love made my home said...

Your hexie mat is so lovely, I especially like the middle! xx

mynestofyarnandbuttons said...

Hi there Lovely Helen, I loved seeing your white Japanese anemones! They are one of my favorite new flowers, I must try to find some for my gardens. Such beautiful red themed photos, the hexie mat is so charming and also very useful! Fancy cookies, I would love to be have a cup of tea with you and a shortcake biscuit, I'll call when I'm in the area! : ) We are just starting to have apples here also, at our farmer's market and then farms where you pick your own. It's always a fun trip. Have a wonderful week, xoRobin

Teresa Kasner said...

Hi Helen.. oh what pretties you have put together! I need to go out and see what I can find for a little posy. We have sunflowers on the table right now - perfect for the golden end of summer.
((hugs)), Teresa :-)

greenrabbitdesigns said...

Beautiful post Helen....gorgeous anemones, delicious plums and radishes that look like they are just out of a Peter Rabbit story! :)
V x

Amy DeCesare said...

Hello, Helen - Such a treat to drop by and see all that is lovely today in your world! Thanks for sharing it in such pretty pictures. That little hexagon mat is so sweet.

Blondie's Journal said...

These are such happy, cheerful colors, Helen! I wish I could sew, I would make a few of those mats. I can sew by hand so I do a little embroidery now and then.

I love the vase in the latter part of the pictures!

Have a good week! :)

Jane xx

Gracie Saylor said...

Your posies are so lovely, Helen, along with your latest crafting and bowls of fruit!
My adult children bought a mystery fruit tree from a local nursery several years ago and found out this year that it is a plum tree. We got two luscious little plums from it last week :-)
Wishing you happy days xx

Hen said...

What a lovely uplifting read, Helen, thank you. Just what I needed today. Such lovely makes as usual, too.
Hen x

♥ Mary Janes TEAROOM said...

Beautiful post Helen...I love your 'rosy red' theme. Your patchwork makes look so pretty too and how simply gorgeous is your summer quilt in the last post...I love the photo of Daisy swirling around with it...so lovely x
I have some of the biscuit stamps and by coincidence was saying to the girls we should try them out just last night...(ooh, so much baking has been going on around here while they are home from uni!:-) )
Hope you have a great week Helen!
Susan x

Annerose said...

Schön dein "Roter Post" das Deckchen mit den Hexis gefällt mir sehr gut und deine Blumen sind süß. Ich mag auch gerne rote Sachen.
Ganz liebe Grüße Annerose

Miss said...

I am Cray about polka dots, and I love your bowl..
I have the same stamp for cookies (but in French) and kids love to do it and say that it is our own cookies..it is like the final touch.
A beautiful red post.
Miss

Sigrun said...

Oh I must have such a Cookie stamp, I saw one in Britain. Very nice!
Also so beautiful vase - pic of the day!

Sigrun

Ladybird Diaries said...

Pretty post Helen....I do love red. Those plums look so good, we had a plum tree in the garden of our last house, I miss it!
Marianne x

Tammy@T's Daily Treasures said...

It is way too sunny and way too hot and way too humid here. Ugh! Love all your reds. Pretty little mad and the doggy card is very sweet. The plums we are getting right now are a very deep purple and sometimes way too ripe. Perhaps because of the heat and they have to travel long distances to get here. Wishing you a wonderful week. Tammy

Jennifer Hays said...

I just love all the red. The jug is so pretty, I like the tall shape of it. Your hexie mats are adorable, the variety in the fabrics is very nice. I hope you're having a good week!

Crafted by Carly said...

Helen, I LOVED this post! Red is my favourite colour!!! :-)

I don’t know whether you’ve stopped by my blog lately (I’ve been very quiet recently, I know), but our baby boy was born just over two months ago. It’s all been VERY exciting around here – and VERY busy too!!! I just wanted to let you know that I haven’t abandoned the blogging world altogether – it’s just that some things have been ‘on hold’ for a while.

I’m looking forward to finding some time (soon, hopefully) to catch up on all of your posts that I’ve missed.....

Hugs,

Carly

x

Unknown said...

Hello, Helen, I LOVE red and white. Thanks for sharing some of your pretties. Enjoy the anemones.

Happy last week of August,
Anne xx
PlumCreek22

Jill at emeraldcottage said...

So many pretty things :) Red is my favorite colour:)
Jillxo

Mia said...

Hello dear Helen,

Oh my how lovely red-white dots are together, such a pretty jug and cups and they all go beautifully with your autumn-treasures like apples and plums! I wish we has an apple tree in our yard.

Wishing you lovely last days of August!

Yours,
Mia

flowers on my table said...

Hello Helen, the red is just what's needed to warm us up. I love the card from your sister and your beautiful white anemones. Your little hexxie mats are very cute, and I love the interest of the central patch. Hoping all is well with you, love Linda xx

Unknown said...

Oh Helen these hexagon mats are gorgeous! I am so pleased you have shown the back and how you finished the edges; I had thought about doing something like this but was wondering how I would bind the hexies-thank you. The red you have used is so cheerful! Gorgeous late August flowers as well,
Alison xx

Frances said...

Helen, I completely agree that a rosy red is a gorgeous red. Actually there are very few reds that do not appeal to me!

Your hexie mat has such wonderful fabrics joining together. Thank you for the inspiration and construction advice, too. I admit that the mat does look just a bit too wonderful to actually use.

Those anenome flowers are exquisite!

Where has August gone? Our summer has been on the cool side, but now, all of a sudden, nature has sent us just a bit of a catch-up supply of heat and humidity. Not too bad, though.

xo

Cream Linen said...

Thank you Helen for the beautiful images you always share with us. I really love this combination of red with white dots , stripes and little roses. I also think the floral patchwork cushion is just perfect. I adore pink!

Bye , bye from a very warm and sunny Greece.
Tina xx

forgetmenotsblue said...

lovely photos everything looks so beautiful x

sky-blu-pink said...

Gorgeous colour palette for this post!