Happy Little Things

 Hello again lovely readers............here we are at the beginning of september already...not sure how that could happen so fast....lots of happy little things are being made here and i am so enjoying these crafty times.....

 .............first this little flower applique pincushion, made in a boxy shape and decorated with a liberty fabric covered button and a little stitchery..........

 .............next is another little fish for my shoal..........

 ............lots of people asked if there is a pattern for the little fish...there will be one soon...

 ............and here is one of my new favourites....a pentagon ball on a nautical theme....love these fabrics and adding little surface stitches to create extra interest and texture..........

 .........in the evenings i am happily hand quilting my heartstrings quilt.........

 ...........it's a nice one to hand quilt as the squares are fairly small and easy to work....

 ..............below is a little peek at a woodland creature...the little pastel deer is part of a set which is my project in this month's crafts beautiful magazine here...........you can make a deer, a mushroom, a tree, an owl, and a bunny to hang on the christmas tree or to add to gift bags......i'll show more pictures of them soon........

 ............plums from my friend for a delicious crumble...........

 ..............can't believe it's that time of year again already.....

 ..............and below are some beautiful flowers that my younger daughter and her family brought me

 .............my small grandson rhys chose them and when i thanked him especially for choosing such lovely ones he said 'i like all the colours'......me too!!................here they are in the studio with a flowery quilt and a string of flowery birds...........

.............thank you so much for visiting me here dear readers and for the kind comments you take the time to leave..........wishing you all a very happy september with cheerful autumn days and plenty of crafty inspirations............back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Rockpool Quilt

 Hello dear readers...here i am to show you a new little quilt made with the gorgeous rockpool fabrics from the super talented jodie carleton at ric rac.............

 ............i was so inspired when i saw this collection and thrilled when jodie sent me some....this little play mat/quilt was made for my smallest grandson louis..............

 ............the patchwork is arranged as a trip around the world design and quilted in the clamshell pattern by my lovely longarm quilter debbie holland.....she suggested using variegated thread for this and i think it works really well.....

 .........a quilty close up.......wonderful textured prints and seaside images all in these clear coastal colours that i love.....

 ............the backing is a polka dot in apple green with a matching striped binding.....

 .............and i also made some big fish too, one for each of the little boys and one for me to keep as a pattern.........

 ............the family came to stay this weekend and we had a fun time with all the grandchildren together and even picked the right day to have our barbecue (luckily not the one where it poured with all the rain it's been saving up for the last few weeks!)...........

 ...............happy days with the little ones and seeing my dear older grandchildren with them too....

 ...........i just love looking at quilts up close.........

 ..............a bucket of fish........and some fish hanging up below.....this was a fun make .....

 ............today there is a nip of autumn in the air............the apples are ready for making crumble....these were on my friend's tree at my old home so this used to be my tree :).....

 ..............my older grandchildren have got their school supplies ready for next week's new term.....i collect them from school three days a week and so my new term is just about to start too..........

.............i love the different seasons and the way they change though it is always a wistful time as summer begins to leave.....we certainly had a good one this year though..... thank you for dropping in to see me here dear readers and i wish you a wonderful week ahead with sunny days and crafty inspirations...............back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

August Making

 Hello dear readers....hope you are enjoying a happy august...it's certainly flying by....

 ...............here is my heartstrings quilt top finished and ready for quilting......i decided this was a quilt by hand one so here it is being pin basted..........

 ...........i love using curved basting pins instead of a needle and thread and ginormous tacking (basting) stitches like i used to do :).............

 ..........the pinning was completed and the quilting begun......love this stitchery very much and watching the texture develop.............

 ............besides quilting this week i've been doing some design work (secret for now) and organising my cupboards as i'm still de cluttering and will be for some time (!)......here is the vanilla cupboard which is pretty when filled with some favourite china pieces..............

 ..............and i've been gardening too getting ready for a new garden idea....more about this soon hopefully.....we still have the bunting up in the tree and it is still summer here though some days have been less so....

 ............something else i've been making are lots of tiny fish in lots of pretty fabrics.....

 ...........these are for a project....

 .............and i need a lot of them.......

 .............such fun sorting through my stash and scraps to make each one different.....no pattern yet, but there will be one :) .................

 ................when i was in beaumaris i did of course visit the gorgeous janet bell gallery......i stocked up on pretty cards like this one....

 ............this lovely one is from janet's painting called 'beaumaris pinks'............

.............and i'll leave you with some of my pink dahlias and sweet peas......all still growing here and giving me little bunches of joy every couple of days...........thank you for your visits here dear readers and for the kind comments you take the time to leave me...it is so nice to see these little notes from you and to catch up with old blogging friends.......i plan to come visiting much more too :)..........wishing you a wonderful week ahead with lots of happy crafty times.......back soon xxxx

Seaside Days

 Hello dear readers here i am back again after what seems like a very long break.....

 .............and i am bringing with me lots of blue sea and sky pictures from our trip to the sunny isle of anglesey where my husband was sailing in the menai straits regatta......he took the photo above on the boat moorings as they were all getting ready for the days racing....

 ..............and here's a boat that didn't actually sail off into the blue but looked so pretty at the approach to beaumaris town, filled with flowers and decked with bunting..........

 ................i still love seeing these coloured houses as soon as you turn onto the beaumaris approach road....it gives me the same kind of pleasure that children get when they first spot the sea :)....

 ............i took this new quilt with me to photograph....it is called penmon point after one of my favourite places..............

 ...........and we photographed it at penmon point with its pebbles, rockpools and lighthouse...

 ............it was fun to take the pictures as it was very windy so mr p had to work quite hard as quilt holder and in the end we arranged it on this lovely grey stone wall, weighted with beautiful grey pebbles so it didn't fly away......

 ..........and afterwards we had some delicious tea and cake at the café there, where the garden was warm and sunny and more sheltered than the beach..........

 ...........the sunshine, the blue sky and blue sea were so uplifting this year......we usually have a sunny day or even a few but this time it was sooo blue and beautiful most of the time...my husband really enjoyed the sailing....

 ..........of course i took a little bundle of crafty things with me....and here is the kaleidoscope quilt being joined together..........am also knitting some blue stripy socks but haven't taken their picture yet....

 ............more seaside blues below.....the boat is a hilbre which is the kind my hubby sails....they sail at home on our own bit of north west coast most weekends in the summer in a series of races, and then the boats go round the coast to angelsey for the regatta....so lots of people from home are there which is rather nice and friendly :)....

 ..............love all those pretty little painted cottages and the strings of lights.......

...........and i love this picture even though it is so simple....it captures for me the peace and tranquillity of the coast, with a white seabird flying high against the translucent blue sky..........

.......thank you for dropping in to see me here dear readers and for the lovely comments you take the time to leave me.......i hope you are enjoying a happy august and finding plenty of crafty inspiration all around you.......have a lovely week..............back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx