Monday 11 August 2014

Sunny Seaside

 We are home again from our lovely trip to the seaside...........a wonderful week full of fresh air and sunshine, blue skies and blue sea............my husband had a great time sailing in the regatta and the family came down to stay too and we had lots of fun..............
 .............mr p and i had a picnic lunch here the day we arrived, watching the waves and the boats and the sea birds..........we explored a bit more of the pretty island too..............
 ..................i love looking for wildflowers (still) a hobby that i began as a child with an i-spy book.....
 ................in the days when i used to paint flowers all day i would carefully draw and paint each flower in watercolour and eventually add them to textile designs or birthday card illustrations......
 ...........purple vetch was one of my favourites and the twining leaves were always useful to fill in gaps in all-over patterns..........i still love to have wildflower posies in the holiday house, even if i'm not actually painting them at the moment..................
 ...............i did a little bit of crochet over the week, finishing my latest flowery cushion.......
 .................here it is outside the holiday cottage.....the chair is mine, i took it with me :)............

                ............now i have my little summer flower pillow collection all done................
 ..................there were bright summer flowers everywhere, and it seemed there were many more than usual, perhaps because of all the good weather............below is a picture of a cottage garden at cemaes bay, packed with colourful flowers............the whole village was decked out with pretty pots and window boxes...............
...............charlie and daisy had a wonderful time playing on the beach and in the water.........there is a safe pool for children where they met up with lots of others too..........they went crab reeling on the pier every day, both proving very deft with the fishing nets, and fascinated by the crabs they caught............we enjoyed every moment of our time.............the house was very quiet when they all left on friday night and we tidied up and packed to come home on saturday morning...............
 ...............as always in beaumaris, i visited the inspiring janet bell gallery and met up with lovely janet herself for such a nice chat and catch up............the gallery always has something tempting and i bought a few treats, including a wonderful wintry print which i will show in a future post.............
 ...............i really love the pretty painted cottages...............i wonder what colour i would choose if i had my own holiday cottage?................i would probably go for something pale like this pretty blue one.............but i do love this rather bright raspberry pink one too..............
 ...............below is my project in this month's crafts beautiful magazine.............
.............a pink cottage and a blue cottage for a cross stitched pin cushion and tag...............find out more on the crafts beautiful website here...................
 ..............now we are home i am getting on with my two quilts and planning more that i'd like to make........i also want to paint some furniture and do some gardening as the garden has been growing madly while we were away..........lots of sweetpeas to snip, beans to pick, zinnias to snip..........and weeds to pull out...........the marsh marigold in the pond has suddenly grown lots of flowers too......i will be looking after the grandchildren a few times over the summer holidays and will enjoy hearing them running about and their little fluting voices again.............
i will leave you with this seaside picture of some ever hungry seagulls watching a family enjoying their picnic nearby............
......thank you for dropping in to see me here, lovely readers, it is a pleasure to have your visits and to read your sweet comments too............wishing you a wonderful week.........back soon xxxxxxxxxxxx

42 comments:

Wilfing Mum said...

Lovely seaside post! Beautiful flower cushion too :)

KC'sCourt! said...

Your blog is always so pretty. Looks like you had the most wonderful holiday, we will be having ours soon........ I love looking at wildflowers too. My parents use to live in Devon and we always checked out the hedgerows to see what was there.
Those seagulls are funny, I wonder what they are thinking......?
Julie xxxxxxxx

justpootling said...

Such a lovely seaside post Helen,
it looks like you had a great time away.
Have a good week getting back into the swing of things at home,
Kate x

homemade@myplace said...

Hi Helen !!! It seems you really enjoyed your break at the seaside!!! Lovely flowers, even the ones from your cushion!!!
xxxxx Ale

mynestofyarnandbuttons said...

Hello Lovely Helen, Great to get back from vacation and see this beautiful post. Such a beautiful holiday you all had. Love all the wildflowers and colors! Your flower cushion is so sweet and it goes so perfectly with your chair! Oh I would love to visit Janet Bell's gallery what a treat! All your photo's are so inviting. Love the second one : )
Great cottage x-stitch, lovely design.
Have a super week, xoRobin

Frances said...

Helen, your holiday photographs really glow with a special seaside light.

I loved the photographs with "your" green chair...what a wonderful idea to take it along. The color is perfect for the composition of those photographs.

Yes, those brightly colored houses really create a beautiful view. I wonder if the neighbors have "conferences" to decide which house gets painted which colors, or whether random, individual, decisions lead to a lovely, contrasty harmony.

Your cross stitch designs really do capture this same atmosphere.

I love the line up of the gulls patiently, perhaps, awaiting their next meal. xo

Gillian said...

That picture of the seagulls is hilarious. Looks like you had a great holiday. Welcome home again.

Ingrid Orens said...

That photo of those seagulls - fantastic !! It immediately brought a smile to my face. I can already imagine their conversation : "hey, do you see that tourist over there, he's eating fish & chips !" "Nah, I more in the mood for a donut today"....
And you got me curious about your paintings.... Any chance you'll show us some ??

Hazel said...

What a lovely post. Funnily enough I have recently spotted Janet Bell's designs in Bothy Threads as kits and I am very tempted by some little boats and huts. x

Annerose said...

Hallo Helen,
das sind ja tolle Bilder und sicher war es ein wunderschöner Urlaub. Dein Kissen ist sehr schön und die Farben fantastisch. Auch deine Stickerein. Ich wünsche dir noch einen schönen Sommer und schicke liebe Grüße
Annerose

scrappyjacky said...

It sounds like such a lovely place for a holiday....so glad that you had such a good time.

Jennifer Hays said...

It looks like you had a wonderful holiday. Thank you for sharing your photos, I don't get to see the seaside very often living where I do. Your cushion is beautiful and looks perfect on your chair!

Christine B said...

Beautiful photographs Helen and I loved hearing all about your trip. Glad you had such lovely weather and were really able to enjoy every moment! Very pretty cushion too!! xxx

Kay said...

OOOooooo I think I recognise that black and white lighthouse is it Penmon Point on Anglesey? Your photos are beautiful I always love seeing them :-)

Cindy said...

I love your seaside photos! It makes me want to go back to where we spent out vacation in Florida. The wildflowers are so lovely. And those seagulls are so funny. My husband can't stand them, but I kind of like them:)

Jane said...

There is nothing like the seaside is there Helen. Such pretty photos. I too have fond memories of my I Spy books. Enjoy your gardening and welcome home x

lilac and old roses said...

Glad you had a good time! Penmon is my absolute favourite place in the world, and when my son was tiny we always had to go and see the " dong "! When we stayed in Beaumaris earlier in the year we had a pretty pale pink cottage, lovely. Thank you for such a lovely blog too, Jane

driftwood said...

such gorgeous photos, glad you had a wonderful trip xxx

Lorrie said...

Gorgeous photos of your vacation. There's nothing like the seaside. The brightly painted hut is so fresh looking.

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

What beautiful beach photos! They would be nice to print to display with all of your nautical decor items. You make everything look so bright and cheery! Enjoy your week! Hugs!

Tammy@T's Daily Treasures said...

Those seagulls all lined up is such a great shot. Brought a smile to my face. Sounds like you had a lovely time away. Such gorgeous flowers and pretty painted homes. I love how everything is just so neat and tidy, colorful and beautiful. Always love seeing your wonderful crochet and cross-stitch, too. Inspiring as always. Have a terrific Tuesday.
Tammy

Mia said...

Welcome back, Helen,

What a lovely holidays you had! I love that pink house too, and all the other colored buildings too.

Have a happy week, and happy crafting!

Yours,
Mia

Ana Love Craft said...

Hello Helen, what an inspiring seaside place!It looks that you had lovely holiday. I love the wild flowers, the gorgeous pillows and the delicate and cheerful pincushions. Gorgeous photos too!
Hope you have an awesome week!
Hugs from Portugal,
Ana Love Craft
www.lovecraft2012.blogspot.com

Jane's Fabrics and Quilts said...

coming to your blog just makes me feel happy! What a beautiful place to be with family. I would paint my house pink! Thanks for sharing. Enjoy your grandbabies!

Little Nell said...

I always enjoy your visits to Beaumaris. I haven’t been in years but I enjoy the sights vicariously through your lovely photos.

Unknown said...

What gorgeous photos of your holiday Helen. I love your flower cushion, so pretty. Sounds like the children enjoyed such lovely activities, old fashioned seaside fun is always the best! Beaumaris looks so lovely as well xx

Ladybird Diaries said...

Beautiful photos of your holiday Helen which sounds wonderful. My daughter enjoyed doing lots of crab reeling on our holiday too. I love your flower cushion, it's gorgeous.
Marianne x

Madelief said...

Welcome back Helen! Sounds like you had a lovely holiday. I enjoyed your photo's of the English seaside and your pretty crochet and needlework.

Enjoy the rest of the week!

Madelief x

cristina said...

Your flower cushion is wonderful! And the colorful houses too!
I would paint my house blue like the picture!
I am happy to know that your stay was so nice!
Have a nice day, Helen!

Amy at love made my home said...

So glad that you had a lovely time! Your new projects are all lovely - of course! - and I really like your posy of flowers in the sailing mug, that is just too cute!! xx

Elderberry-Rob said...

I love the seagulls picture at the end, what a beautiful place you have found to visit, portrayed so well in your post - your cushion looks lovvely in all it's icecream colours. Betty

Jilly said...

I love the seagulls too, and the light house - such good photos! Brings back memories as I used to visit that area a lot in my teens I would love to live in a blue cottage by the sea. Jilly x

DianeM said...

Thank you so much for sharing all the lovely pics from your vaca, and the always-inspiring ones that come from your everyday home :) So glad to hear you had a wonderful week away - what a relaxing place to visit <3
Smiles, DianeM

Simone said...

Lovely post Helen as always with the ice cream colours and aspiring crafts. So glad that you had a lovely time.x

Jane said...

What a lovely summery seaside post Helen. I love those colourful seaside houses. Lovely flowery cushion and pin cushion too! Enjoy the rest of your week.
Jane x

Pat's Patch said...

Lovely to be reminded of sunny days by the sea, in such a pretty spot, now that the weather is changing. Your cushion is beautiful. Love Pat

my4lilgirls said...

What a joy reading this lovely post so very nice.
Love the pretty cross stitch project too
Have a sweet weekend
Karen xxxxx

Gracie Saylor said...

I just got back from my seaside trip and love seeing your photos of yours, along with your current crafting projects, Helen. Your posies are so pretty, too, and definitely worthy of sketches and paintings :) So glad you had a lovely time and are enjoying catching up with your home routine. I need to go water our plants......xx

Clara {Clover and Violet} said...

Love your crosshatch cottages, oh to live in a pink or blue one!! Beautiful photos too!!

Diana said...

Hi Helen, I found your blog mentioned on Maywyn's and had to take a peek. Oh I adore your quilt and such lovely happy colors throughout your dear blog. It was so much fun visiting. Come visit me sometimes. love,Diana

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

Oh! I remember last year when you went to the regatta and maybe the year before that? I love your pictures from the shore and I can see/sea where you get your inspiration. LOL! You've got me thinking I should drag out the paints again. I am no artist but I used to paint on barn wood to decorate my children's rooms. I'll have to post one that I still have hanging around here. The sea gulls inspired me and also the lighthouse out in the water? Here they are usually on dry land and up on a cliff or high spot. I have never seen one out in the water before.
I love your pillows and blankets you've crocheted and color of that chair is just gorgeous. I love that color.
I love the artwork too and I think I saw the winter scene you purchased which I loved, as Fall and Winter are truly my favorite seasons.
Have a great week!

sky-blu-pink said...

Just adore that little pink house, and would live to live there! What fab pics, glad you had a wonderfully holiday.