Trip Around the World Quilt

 When you have lots of works in progress (as i always seem to do) it is always nice to finish something and this week i finally finished my trip around the world quilt......it was all english paper pieced and hand quilted...so was a true labour of love...........

 .............as regular readers know, i love epp and find it very relaxing to do......i had to be very organised with this pattern though and make sure each square was in the right place in each block so i made the epp squares, numbered them and stored them in a separate bag for each block, then made a diagram to remind myself of the layout i had planned...........then i could just relax and stitch stitch stitch............

 .................i love the soft tilda fabric colours and think the quilt looks lovely on my grey sofa.......

 ................a work in progress shot, quilting at the kitchen table listening to radio 4 and waiting for a cake to bake........

 ................the way fabrics look together in a crumpled quilt shot always pleases me..........

 .................the quilt is a single bed size..........here it is complete with a little sugar bunny.............

 .........the backing fabric is a beautiful soft blue floral, also from tilda..................

 ...............it has been a cosy week here, with halloween at the start and bonfire night at the end....we have been lighting fires and candles and all the twinkle lights are on as soon as the dusk falls......

 ..............loving my latest candle called seaside memories........these 1803 candles are so stylish.....you can find them at the little green door here.............

 ...............the stitchery you can see here is for the centre of my on going st ives quilt.....

 ...............i add a bit of applique and another block to two to this quilt each week between other projects......this week i will also be baking something else from my favourite baking book.....

 ..............and as the weather here has turned very cold indeed i shall be glad of a new quilt to keep me cosy on these chilly wintry evenings...............

.................thank you for dropping by dear readers and for your very kind comments....such a pleasure to hear from you .........wishing you a wonderful week ahead with happy crafty times........keep cosy :).....................back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Woodland Walks

 Here are some bright new makes inspired by the colourful autumn days and the woodland walks we have been enjoying.........there have been lots of mushrooms and toadstools this year, both in the garden and in the countryside.............the red spotted ones have been a favourite motif of mine since college days...........

 .............i made two little pincushions which may be given as gifts soon...........

 ..........and a needle book which i might keep :)...............i used some of a sweet minny muu charm pack from lecien fabrics, some pam kitty morning fabric too, and some matching felt and ribbon from my crafty stash.....

 ..............i put little pockets in the inside of the back and front covers so i can add small sewing items to take with me on an outing..........when the ribbon is tied the whole thing is secure..........

 .............front pocket with threads........vintage haberdashery items from my growing collection...........

 ...............the flower was from a child's hair ornament.....i often see inexpensive decorative things on my travels and know they will be useful one day for my makes so into the crafty stash they go.............

 ............the back pocket with the quick unpick or seam ripper...such a handy little gadget sometimes ;) .........i might make some more of these needle books as gifts and fill them with stitching treats.......

 ....................here is a close up of the pink pincushion..........i added a piece of decorated ribbon to the seam, as i always like to do.....

 .................and here is the yellow pincushion, with a piece of liberty binding to decorate it......you can see the back of each pincushion in the top image.........i added small patches with tiny toadstools on them from tasha noel fabrics.......

 ................we had a lovely woodland walk at the weekend.........wonderfully atmospheric autumn weather made it a pleasure to be outdoors......mild and fresh and the air filled with leaves and mushroomy scents..............below is the lane we walk up to the woods and common, just a few minutes from our home........i always love to see this little cottage..............

 ..............here is a picture i took at the edge of the woods, of bright berries and greenery and a few autumn leaves............the ivy is plentiful and reminding me it will soon be the festive season...........

 ..............after our walk it was home for a nice cup of tea and a piece of teabread.....this was made from mary berry's recipe borrowdale teabread and it is delicious sliced and spread with butter...........

 ..............i love autumn more each year and want to make the most of each day while it lasts....

..............thank you for dropping by dear readers and a special thank you to everyone who takes the time to leave me a lovely comment....so kind of you and so appreciated.............wishing you a wonderful week ahead with cosy times and crafty inspirations.............back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Shades of Autumn

 We have been enjoying some wonderful autumn days over the past week......filled with warm colours, misty mornings and golden afternoons and that special nostalgic autumn atmosphere.....

 ..............i am busy working on some magazine commissions, and hand quilting two quilts......so i decided to make a quick little project as a change..........this little pumpkin house uses the basic house pattern in my book *pretty patchwork gifts*............if you wish you can add any embellishments or appliques to personalise your own little house :).........

 ................these beautiful yellow lilies and white and yellow roses were a lovely gift from my dear younger daughter..........they have lasted ages and i have put them in several different vases and containers....

 ...........the little pumpkin house was sewn from a piece of my cross stitch linen, with some pretty lecien fabric for the roof and the pumpkin and a tiny bit of tilda floral for the door......the ribbon is from clothkits...........i love making these scrappy little houses and it is always fun to make a new one with the latest fabrics in my scrappy pile.....

 ..............i embroidered a few details too......the twirling vines at the top of the pumpkin were fun to stitch..........i added a tiny button to the door......

 ...............this week i got out the autumn blanket again and we are loving its warm cosiness and bright colours....i made this a couple of years ago inspired by the bright autumn shades of an indian summer week in the lake district....the sky was blue every day and there was an abundance of berries, fruit and gorgeously coloured leaves....we had never seen the normally rather subdued lake district looking so colourful :) .....

 .............flowers in the tomato vase..........

 .............all the actual tomatoes have been used up now....cooked and eaten and enjoyed...

 ..................next it will be time for pumpkin soup and pumpkin pie.........and i bought the ingredients for gingerbread and tea loaf  too so lots of baking planned here now the chilly weather has arrived.....

 ..............my kind husband cleaned out the greenhouse at the weekend ready for me to put my plants back in for the winter, and to plant lots of bulbs too...and later on seeds......

 ...............and my next homely job is sorting out my books....this might well take all winter.....these penguin books have been with me since my school days........we have hundreds of books upstairs on our top floor and i want to get them in order and dispose of some of them too.......not so easy when you are bookworm like me.........i begin to sort them and then dip in and start reading ;) ........

 ................off to whip up a fruit tea bread now and to sew one of my quilts while it bakes......

................thank you for dropping by dear readers, and how lovely to have such sweet comments from so many of you......it is good to see lots of old friends (and new!)..............wishing you all a wonderful week ahead with bright sunny days, crafty times and warm, cosy evenings..................back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Autumn Days

 Lots of making has been going on here over the past week as i have had quite a few deadlines to meet......at the weekend i picked up my rather neglected v stitch crochet blanket and had a bit of cosy crochet time......we have had chilly mornings and evenings which meant putting the heating on and lighting the fire again sometimes.....

 .............but lots of bright autumn sunshine too and sweet flowers to pick.......

 .............the last of the tomatoes here reminding me of traffic light lollipops.....

 ...............and another block for my modern vintage flowery wreath quilt...........

 ...............i am just beginning to stitch around the applique here with matching embroidery thread....

 .............lots of lovely bright berries from our garden and purple daisies from my daughter's as michaelmas daisies just won't grow for me for some reason......

 ..............we went to the farm and bought a pumpkin ready for halloween....just got to carve it now ;)........below is my little tea tray with a recent crafts beautiful project applique cloth on it......

 ...............below is part of my festive project for the crafts beautiful christmas special available now and you can find out more here.........

 ................besides making, stitching and crochet i have been planting bulbs ready to enjoy next spring........i have put lots in the ground and am going to plant up quite a few in pots and keep them in the greenhouse for even earlier bulb displays............looking forward to those already......

 ............the next block for my wreath quilt is applied and ready for sewing......i love making the same block but varying the fabrics used........the pam kitty garden one below is one of my favourites.....

 ...............one more sweet daisy with some festive fabrics in the background....more about these soon as i am planning a cheery christmas quilt this week.....

 ..............time for a cup of tea now and then back to work at my computer......

.................thank you for dropping by lovely readers and for the kind comments you leave me....it is such a pleasure to hear from readers old and new and i do try and visit you too if i can :)........wishing you all a happy week ahead enjoying the cosy season (or the fresh new spring of course if you live on the other side of the world).....hope you have plenty of sunny days, cheerful flowers and crafty inspirations.................back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx