Gather the Flowers

 For the past week we have had mostly beautiful sunny weather here.....some days were really glorious, with birds singing, flowers blooming, butterflies fluttering and damselflies dipping and sparkling around the pond...................

 .............i have spent as much time as possible outdoors, even proof reading can be done at the garden table, and sewing outside on a warm sunny day is a pleasure because the light is so good...........

 ...............i even gathered together some of my many crochet flowers and finished off this work in progress summer pillow...............it was fun photographing it amongst the roses...........

 ...............my post title today comes from an andrew marvell poem and the line is: gather the flowers but spare the buds..........(i always do try to do this as it makes sense, of course, if you want lots more flowers).....i stitched this quote as part of a floral sampler for my first ever book many moons ago....

 .............the deep pink roses have a sweet, rich scent..............the pale pink roses have a soft sweet perfume, somehow old fashioned and nostalgic....................

 ...............i always love to try and capture them climbing up to the bright blue summer sky............

 ..............besides working on the final stages of my new book this week, and finishing my crochet pillow, i have been making some toys for a magazine commission, and painting some roses for another design commission..........

 .............it has been a busy but lovely few days and as always when the weather is gorgeous here i forget that it might not last and am always surprised when the blue sky clouds over and the air grows chilly, just as i am planning outdoor meals and winding fairy lights round the potting shed.........

 ..............we are certainly making the most of it though, while it lasts.........

 .                                          ...........tea and roses on the patio table.............

 .....................coffee and a decorative bucket of cranesbill outside the potting shed........

 ................and here is my garden notebook appearing again, ready for this summer's notes to be added to its pages.................... next week i will be taking a short blog break as we will be going off to the countryside for a little holiday............we will be staying in a cottage in the cotswolds and visiting some lovely gardens :)..........i will be taking lots of pictures, i expect :) ..........

 ............i am taking my crochet blanket with me to work on, and some patchwork too, and have some novels downloaded on my kindle,  there are lots of lovely places we plan to see, and walks to enjoy ( and little molly is coming with us).......so let's hope the sun shines :)..........

................thank you for visiting me here, dear readers, and for your kind comments..........wishing you happy days with sunshine and roses and crafty inspirations...............back soon xxxxxxxxxxxoooooooxxxxx