Little Foxglove Tin

 A long time ago, when I used to paint flowers all day, I produced a repeating foxglove design. I drew the flowers in ink, then painted them in watercolour, and then painted a flat black gouache background around it. The design was sold by my agent to a company who printed  designs on to sheets of metal and then made decorative tins with it...you can see the little tin in the picture above...I've had it with me for many years now ...the way the tin was constructed meant the foxgloves are actually growing upside down on it but not everyone would notice :) and I am fond of it after all this time....

 So you can imagine what a surprise I got when looking through the May issue of Country Homes and Interiors  (one of my favourite magazines) when there was my little foxglove tin in a beautiful styled shot against some gorgeous wallpaper....it is now a vintage find (like me perhaps)...

                   And can you guess what I keep in my little vintage foxglove tin?...vintage buttons....

 Here are some photos of the real foxgloves which I told you about a few posts ago, the self seeded free gifts to my garden, which I moved from the front to the back.....

                                   they are just beginning to flower and are looking lovely....

 ...fortunately they are in a sheltered part of the garden, so are safe from the blustery sea breezes and gales we've had  lately...and are still having today...I hope it improves for the weekend...

Thank you for dropping by to visit here, and for the lovely comments which I so enjoy - lots of new blogs to discover too as new bloggers visit me and the regular ones who after my almost year of blogging are like old friends...wishing you a wonderful (nearly) weekend with garden days, perfect weather and whatever you enjoy the most....back soon xxxxx

Daisy Days

A post today in celebration of daisies, both the flowers and the little person I sometimes (often) mention here.

Daisy arrived on the last day of May last year so we'll be celebrating her first birthday next weekend...my daughter says there will be pink bunting, and pink iced cakes, pink drinks and lots of daisies.. Here is her sampler, stitched by me rather slowly and finally framed ready to hang on her pink and white bedroom wall..You may also be wondering about the quilt I showed you a few posts ago that I'm making for Daisy's first birthday...it will soon be ready and I'll show the pictures then....

 And here she is - a rare appearance in honour of her birthday, a little sunbonnet sue, playing very busily on the lawn last month...She is a sunny little person and is always wreathed in smiles....

 Daisy's name was chosen by my daughter and her husband and we all loved it too, it really suits her. We also call her Daisy Dot and Dottie...not sure how that nickname arrived but it suits her too...

A few daisy pictures from the garden - I love them - I even love the ones that grow in the lawn with their little faces turning up to the sun....I used to paint them over and over again for greetings cards, painting the colours in behind the flower to show up the white petals ...

The daisy button is from Just Another Button Company and you can buy their range of buttons from Sew and So here. I've been sorting out my sewing and crafts materials as I needed to have a big tidy up, and it's given me an idea for a crafty giveaway...next week it will be my blog's birthday too, so I'm planning a giveaway to celebrate it...watch this space ...
I hope you have a lovely week with happy daisy days of sunshine and blue skies and all the things you enjoy.Thank you for popping in to see me here.. and for the sweet comments too...back soon xxxxx

Seaside

It's the start of the sailing season where we live, and I love to walk along the prom in the sea breeze and see the white sails against the blue ....most of my life I've lived on the coast, and I missed it when I lived further inland for a few years. The sea side has always been a big influence on my designing....

I've often stitched the words of sea poems into my samplers for books and magazines, and special ones for family and friends too - we know lots of people who love the sea and the seaside as much as us...

I find it hard to resist any seaside fabrics too - like the cushion above from CK - and her gorgeous boats print which I made a bag from last year shown in earlier posts...the red white and blue colourway is one of my favourites...

When I saw Julia Crossland's Harbour print I was immediately smitten and had to buy it at once...It's at the framers now and I'll collect it tomorrow and enjoy it on my wall...I love Julia's style and her paintings, like this seaside one really appeal to me...Julia is bringing out some new cards soon which I can't wait to see...

Seaside bunting...little embroidered beach huts, boats and flying gulls to bring the seaside even closer...

 The bunny and the bunting are both from my book Simple Sewn Gifts which has now been translated into French....

 My copy of the translated book came this week and I was tres excited to see it too...I read bits out in my schoolgirl French to my daughter on the phone and we both wondered why things sound so much more romantic when translated into French....charmante....merveilleux....lovely words...

This is my seasidey plant this week - at least red geraniums against white wood always make me think of seaside holidays in France and Italy and good old Blighty too....I love geraniums, even though they go in and out of gardening fashion I always like to have a few each summer, on the window sill or brightening up a corner...Thank you for visiting me here and for the wonderful comments you leave..I do enjoy them so much. Have a lovely weekend everyone, sending you lots of sunshine, sea breezes, flowers and happy times..Back soon xxxxxx

Pottering and Planting

The garden is enjoying the rain today, and I can't complain either because the plants needed lots to drink after the last few weeks...but here are some sunny garden pictures from a few days ago...I planted a new clematis beside the potting shed (I hope it likes it there..)

 ...picked some flowers in shades of blue and purple, lots of lavender for scent as well as colour...

...the last bluebells, some periwinkle and some gorgeous purple columbines or aquiligias (or dancing dollies as some are known to call them)...the pictures below are images I took while pottering around...or working quite hard, however you care to look at it....the beehive composter is one I planned to repaint at the weekend but didn't as it rained....

 One of the things I love about gardening is the way things plant themselves...I found a foxglove growing in the front garden, under the cherry tree which would not be a good place for it to stay...too squashed... but I let it grow bigger for a while (to make sure it really was a foxglove and not one of those weeds I often mix it up with)....and then I transplanted it to a nice place for it in the back garden...

 ..here it is on its way between the front and back garden, pausing for a picture in front of the tiny old shed which has been there since victorian days, very dark and gloomy inside, but quite rustic outside especially with ivy growing round it...

 ...here is the transplanted foxglove in its new home...I'm looking forward to it flowering there next to the box edging which I trimmed soon after I took this picture...

It's such a lovely time of year in the garden whatever the weather, there's always something to enjoy and something new to see. I'm loving all the flower and garden pictures on other people's blogs too. Thank you for visiting mine and for leaving such lovely comments. (Also thank to all those who have emailed me, I'll try to reply as soon as I can.) Have a wonderful week and see you soon! xxxx

Home Sweet Home

 Hello to everyone after yesterday's blogger blip when strange things happened and treasured comments disappeared...all seems to be back to normal again now....and things are also getting back to normal in my own home sweet home too after all the weeks of having builders here, replacing the roof and doing a few other repairs while the scaffolding was up...the work is finished and next week the scaffolding will come down....home will seem truly sweet again....

 I'll be able to potter about in my usual way without encountering 'the men' here and there all the time...go picking flowers, painting the beehive composter and even sit on the terrace with a cup of tea...now that would be nice....

 Home is where my heart is - it's always been a part of my work too, as the things I explore in design work I try out in my home and vice versa, it's where my studio and office are, where I craft, draw, sew and write, and the house itself has often inspired my design ideas. I like to think of the people who used to live here..we did a bit of house history research when we first moved in - my favourite previous occupant must surely be Lucy Moon who lived here in the early 1900's with her husband, three little boys and - according to the census - 'three resident servants'.....I love to imagine her swishing about in her long skirts, the lovely Lucy Moon.....

I stitched this little sampler here a few years ago for my Home Sweet Home cross stitch book...the flowers were picked last week, I just loved the pink and lime green colour combinations....

...and this is the latest wool for my next cardigan...I love the colour so much I had to have it....

.....currently on the needles is this little pink cardi for Daisy Dot....

 I'm loving the summer colours and the newly opening summer flowers...looking forward to lots of gardening this weekend, potting, planting, painting the beehive composters and enjoying a bbq with the family...

I hope you have a wonderful weekend, enjoying your time whatever you are doing...wishing you flowers, sunshine and the happiest of days....thank you for visiting me me here in my (hopefully blip free) bit of blogland, and thank you for the sweet comments, they make me smile...back soon xxxxxx

A Little Bit of Sewing

These are the fabrics I chose this week for a new litttle bit of sewing - one of the tiniest quilts I've ever made in fact...

 It is a tiny doll's quilt, to fit a small red painted wooden pram that is for a little girl's birthday....

 When I measured the pram I realised just how small the quilt needed to be...and how quick to make too!

 I used a blue flowery Trefle fabric alternating with plain white cotton squares and then appliqued red CK floral hearts, which I've just begun to stitch around in red cotton...

... this is a lovely little project, and easy to hand sew, i made it watching a dvd one evening....during the day i've been working on magazine projects....

... this is my project for this month's Crafts Beautiful (June issue) - a sewing notebook, combining my love of sewing, stitching, paper crafts and collage - I loved making this sooo much....

...it's strawberry time again here...i think the colours are influencing my work this week too...we've had some lovely sunny days, despite the weather breaking and lots of much needed rain too which has freshened up the garden and brought out lots of new flowers...i hope you are having a wonderful week, with sunny days, spring showers (only at night!) and lots of sweet flowers and strawberries ....thank you so much for visiting me here and for your lovely comments......i'll be back soon with lots of flowers xxxx

Vintage Roses

This is the Vintage Rose bag, stitched and embroidered a few years ago for my book, Cross Stitch Keepsakes.... 

I love roses, as you probably know (doesn't everyone?!) and at this time of year I just love picking posies of them to have around the house so everyone can enjoy the sweet scent and perfect shape and colour....

Does anyone else carry roses round in a colander? It always seems the first thing to come to hand when I go out flower cutting....also the little spiders and insects hiding in the flowers can make their escape more easily before I take them inside... 

       A deep magenta rose in a Pip Studio mug...I do love putting pretty flowers in pretty containers....

.... three different kinds of rose in it this time....the white ones are suffering from a lack of rain and going over too quickly this year...they are all old fashioned and highly scented varieties....

    Here is the pale pink one which I also showed in my previous (pink) post, growing in the garden...

 Here's a close up....

Gathering roses...what could be nicer on a May day? I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and your days are full of roses...thank you so much for visiting me here in my little bit of blogland, and for your sweet comments which i love to read.... back again soon. xxxx