Patchwork and Painting

 In my last post i showed you the english paper pieced pentagons i was using to make...........

 ..................these soft patchwork pentagon balls............for babies to play with of course, but older children like to throw them too :D................and they could be used as a pin cushion as well ;-)..........

 .............they are easy to make and it is fun to choose the different fabrics for the patches.........they are made in two halves, like small bowls, and then joined together..............

 .............they are best when stuffed very firmly to keep a nice rounded shape..............

 ..............here are the pretty pastel ones i was sewing when we were away..................

 ............i have had a bit of a painting crush lately, and decided to paint these very old shelves with some annie sloan chalk paint...........the shelves were in the cellar when we moved into this old house.............

 ...............they are made from an old soap box.........we could tell this as the lettering is still on the back.............. it says 'tyson & co dirt shifter soap'...............they are very rustic and i liked them a lot when i first found them ......... they have been painted several times over the years.............

 ...............so i gave them a couple of coats of chalk paint in pure, and then did a bit of distressing here and there and then waxed them...........now it is fun to arrange things on them and i am thinking they might become my 'seasonal shelves' where i can create a special little arrangement of objects as each new season arrives...............

 ...............recently my lovely blog friend jessie of sew and quilt sent me some of their own fabulous new pre cut paper pieces to play with.........they also have lovely little kits too..........such a great idea to give as gifts, to try new shapes already made for you or to learn how to do english paper piecing if you have never tried it before (it is addictive!).............

 .................my project in this month's  bright and summery issue of crafts beautiful magazine is a doll's quilt with a nautical theme...................

 ................it was fun to make this little quilt, with its cross stitched boats and applique stars...........

 ..............this weekend i celebrated my birthday........... every fourth of july seems to come around faster and faster now :)..............we had a great weekend with both daughters and their families....lots of fun........ and luckily it was still sunny and we could drink pimms in the garden and cook and eat outdoors too...............i received some lovely flowers and presents which i will show soon.......

..................thank you for visiting me here in my little blog space, dear readers, and for taking the time to leave such kind comments....................wishing you a wonderful summery week with sunshine, inspirations and time to indulge some crafty crushes..........back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx