Ripples and Roses

 All the roses are opening here....each day brings new blooms to enjoy and new scents to breathe in........the bees and butterflies love them too................

.............i finished the ripple blanket when we were away in the cotswolds.......i rather liked the way the top and bottom edges were wavy instead of straight, so i finished it off with a bobble trim......

 .............i bought  big roll of pink bobble trim on ebay a while ago and i knew it would be useful......i sewed it on with yarn to match the last ripple stripe............i like this idea and will probably use it again :)..........the ripple blanket is pretty and colourful to use out in the garden and for summer picnics..............

 ..............i have picked some roses this week to have in the house for the first time this summer.....

 ...............and made another jar label using the rose rubber stamp from the secret garden set.....i made a label for my daughter rosie's present with this stamp too :)

 ..........as soon as i'd finished the ripple blanket i wanted to begin something else.......just as i don't like being 'between books' and always have to start another, now i don't like being 'between crochet projects' either................so i made some granny squares for an in between project...............

 ..............i took lots of yarn away with me and also a tin of sewing things and patchwork..........

                                  .................i joined the granny squares to make this...............

 ............a little blanket for the doll's bed............the small bed from ikea which featured in my *simple sewn gifts* book has been played with so much since my little grandchildren were born........i think daisy plays with it every time she visits our house............when she saw the new little blanket spread out on the bed she fetched a bunny and a doll to tuck underneath it..................

............last weekend we went to manchester to meet up with rosie and her boyfriend and had a lovely wander around the *northern quarter* with its quirky shops and cafes..........we went to the *manchester craft and design centre* and to quite a few art and craft shops too............i bought lots of materials, including this twine.............

                                      ..........and these buttons............(from fred aldous)............

............before i go today i must mention that this month's cross stitcher magazine is featuring my little coastal inspired sampler, and they are also offering a materials pack for it......see more at the making spot here..............

 ..........lovely to be at the beginning of summer again, with the seaside to look forward to...............

                                               ...........and all the flowers to enjoy.............

......i am very busy at the moment though working on autumn and christmas design commissions in my studio :)..........but i'm also making a very summery looking applique quilt, and have begun a summery crochet project too............and i am mad on strawberries again :).......the sun is out and the sky is blue, with just a few tiny fluffy clouds..........thank you for visiting me here and for your sweet comments..............wishing you a happy crafty week......back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lilacs and Labels

 Here in my studio and sunny sewing room it has been a pretty week, with so many sweet garden flowers opening each day just waiting to be picked and put into designs.................

 ...............and a lovely new set of secret garden stamps to experiment with.......making pretty labels with some new lilac and lavender memento inks.........

 .........i've made secret garden key tags to add to lots of things.............embellished a washed out pickle jar with a label made from an old garden book page with a butterfly stamp and a little tie on seed packet and a length of raffia..............i so love playing like this :)............

 .................i also just had to show my pretty garden blocks in my pictures this week, made for me last year by the clever fee at chipper nelly here..........i enjoy having them around my rooms as i work.......

                            ....................i love this little lavender coloured bird cage..................

                                           ..............it was given a little key tag too...............

 ...........so was the crate of tiny bottles (the one that had six bottles but i broke one and never did find the right size one to replace it with)..................

 .............i love the colours of the flowers at the moment.....all shades of lilac, lavender and blue with touches of white............the roses will be out next but at the moment the garden is full of these soft colours.....

 .........more labels.........one of my favourite decorative things is a glass jar with a bit of text on it and a pretty label :)

........and the final label is another quilt label...............now that i've started labelling my quilts i'm enjoying designing and stitching them when the fancy takes me, in no particular order.......this is the rosy lavender quilt i finished last year........you can read about it here............... 

 ...............it was a pleasure making this label with it's tiny roses and pretty colours to echo those in the lovely rosy lecien fabric used in the quilt.............

 ...........this week i've begun a new applique quilt which i hope to show pictures of next time....i must also do a crochet update very soon too..............

............by the way, the little fabric birdie in the lavender cage is made from the pattern from my book *pretty patchwork gifts* here.........thank you for popping over to see me here it's a real joy to have your visits, lovely comments and emails.............wishing you a wonderful week, filled with flowers, sunny times and happy crafty moments........back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sewing Notions

 This week so far has been sunny and bright, with new flowers opening in the garden every day......

 ...........i've been busy sewing again, and also working on new chart commissions which means spending time on the computer...........but i still make sure i spend some time outside while it's so lovely............below is a picture of sudeley castle which we visited while in the cotswolds last week........

.............such a fascinating place steeped in history, there is so much to see and learn about there......I was especially interested in the exhibition there called *threads of time* which showed examples of textile techniques spanning 400 years..........so inspiring, i loved seeing the stumpwork casket from the 17th century, sweet old samplers, tudor dresses, lace and tapestry.............

 ............the gardens were gorgeous too.........and they even have a *secret garden* of their own there :)............in the gift shop is a vintage corner where all kinds of treasures appear each week.......(i did buy something but will save it for another post....)...............

 .............some of the loveliest vintage textiles for me are the humblest sewing notions like pin cushions and needle cases....they have a special quality because they were made and used by needle workers of the time, not just for display................i often make little fun projects like the pin cushion shown here for the magazines i work for.................

 ...............a patchwork pin cushion on a nautical theme, with matching scissor keeper....

.................and a bright seaside-y greeting card complete with cross stitched seagull card topper to go with the gift..............i enjoyed using my one of my favourite colour ways for this project.....

 ...............the project can be found inside the new issue of crafts beautiful............and you can read more about the magazine and find projects to download here..................

 ..............i was very lucky again recently when i won julie's lovely giveaway over at k c's court......

 ................in the parcel was this adorable vintage style embroidered needle book............it's so beautifully embroidered and a real treasure.............julie makes all kinds of amazing vintage and retro inspired projects, and in my parcel was also the wonderfully intriguing magic wallet with fab retro embroidery..........and some lovely buttons, yummy chocolate (not in the pic, guess why)....................

 .............as i said recently, i am amazed at the talented people i meet through blogging :).........you can find julie's work at her shop here, and visit her two vintage inspired blogs here and here..............

...........and still on the subject of sewing notions, i bought this little bunny on our trip last week, and i have a plan for turning him into a sewing notion too.......can you guess how?..............

 .............this is one of my scissor keeps from a magazine project from quite a while ago.......i always try to make things i really like so that when i have them back after publication i can enjoy using them :).........................

...........lots of flowers to pick at last, and how welcome the summer sunshine is this week.........i hope you are enjoying it too..............thank you so much for the lovely comments and visits, it's a pleasure to see you here in my little bit of blog land.................wishing you a wonderful week............
................back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxooooooooooooooooooxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Back to the Potting Shed

Here i am back again from our little trip to the lovely cotswolds...........so green and pleasant and flowery...........we stayed in a very tiny cottage, picture postcard style, with windows peeping out through the thatched roof.........the kindly owners had left a bunch of yellow tulips to welcome us and a delicious cake with the label written on........it was called 'blossom cake'..........

 .............it was such a sweet time to visit there.......apple blossom time, and i have never seen so many flower decked apple orchards all in one place before....and all such small, old,  pretty trees.....

 ...........there were flowers everywhere, wild flowers like cow parsley frothing in the hedgerows, spring flowers in the gardens, lilacs in bloom, clematis and wisteria climbing across the honey coloured stone houses, and masses of stylish pots and planters in the little towns..............

 ............we visited lots of gardens, but i haven't had time to sort out all the pictures yet as we have just got back, so here are just a few from my favourite garden...hidcote manor....so beautiful....

 ...........we visited it twice, once on a hot sunny day and once on a rainy afternoon.......it was gorgeous both times..................a dream garden for dreaming in.................

 ...........i loved seeing the potting shed and the kitchen garden as well as the flowers........

                                      .............and I always love a bit of topiary too :)..............

..............on our first day we walked into the little town near our cottage, and there was a man on the village green selling old keys so here is the one i had to buy....he gave me a ribbon too, to hang it from, and a page from an old book 'just because'............i love things happening like this...........

 ...............my garden journal is filling up with notes and ephemera............lots of inspiring garden ideas to remember for the future.............we visited some of the old manor houses as well as the gardens and saw some beautiful textiles, samplers, tapestries, tiny embroidered pin cushions and vintage toys....including some very old rabbits..................no pictures though (not allowed).......

 ................when we got home the first thing to do was check our own garden............

 .............all the columbines were flowering............so pretty...........the grass had grown a LOT..........the first rose was out...........lots of weeds had grown too...........

..............this is just a quick post to catch up, and i will be back to my usual routine this week, with lots of crafty things to show you............thank you for your lovely comments on my tulip quilt and bunnies in my last post, i so enjoyed hearing from you.......i have lots of emails to answer now i'm back and will do that in the next couple of days.........and i look forward to catching up with all your blogs now too..............wishing you happy sunny crafty days..........back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx