Rosemary Cottage

 This is rosemary cottage, where we stayed last week, in a pretty little cotswold village.........

 .............it was warm and sunny, and the tiny cottage garden was filled with the scent of honeysuckle and the constant sound of birdsong............if you look closely at the little cottage gate below you will see the robin i managed to photograph before it flew off.......

 ..............we explored some of the towns and villages we haven't been to before............

 ..............and enjoyed a visit to kiftsgate gardens on a glorious day when the peonies especially were looking spectacular.............

 ...............and so were the roses and herbaceous plants............

 ............... i loved the pots of geraniums too and brought a new plant home with me..............

 ..................below is chastleton house which is an amazingly atmospheric jacobean country house (built 1607-1612) with some wonderful rooms and artefacts, left in an unrestored state which really captures the past...............this house was used as a location for filming *wolf hall* where it represented the home of the seymours..............

 ...............there is a topiary garden and a replanted kitchen garden here, and also a croquet lawn ........written on a blackboard in the garden was this.....'there was a pervading sense of neglect, which nonetheless had its own magic......a sleeping garden of great antiquity......'

 ...........back at rosemary cottage i picked a few flowers to enjoy on the window sill............

 .............and to paint in my tiny sketchbook..............

 .............there was time for crochet......and to eat strawberries in the sun.........

 .............i took some english paper piecing with me to work on but didn't finish anything so here is the work in progress............

 ..............this is the beginning of a pentagon ball...........love how the shapes fit together....

...............there will be lots more patchwork coming soon..............below is one of my favourite pictures of the entrance hall at chastleton house...............i love the vintage feel of this.........

..............it is good to be back after my blog break, dear readers, and thank you for visiting me here and your sweet comments.............i have lots of emails to answer now, and lots of lovely blogs to catch up with too............wishing you a wonderful week with sunshine and flowers, and a little time just to dream...........back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxoooooooooooooxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Gather the Flowers

 For the past week we have had mostly beautiful sunny weather here.....some days were really glorious, with birds singing, flowers blooming, butterflies fluttering and damselflies dipping and sparkling around the pond...................

 .............i have spent as much time as possible outdoors, even proof reading can be done at the garden table, and sewing outside on a warm sunny day is a pleasure because the light is so good...........

 ...............i even gathered together some of my many crochet flowers and finished off this work in progress summer pillow...............it was fun photographing it amongst the roses...........

 ...............my post title today comes from an andrew marvell poem and the line is: gather the flowers but spare the buds..........(i always do try to do this as it makes sense, of course, if you want lots more flowers).....i stitched this quote as part of a floral sampler for my first ever book many moons ago....

 .............the deep pink roses have a sweet, rich scent..............the pale pink roses have a soft sweet perfume, somehow old fashioned and nostalgic....................

 ...............i always love to try and capture them climbing up to the bright blue summer sky............

 ..............besides working on the final stages of my new book this week, and finishing my crochet pillow, i have been making some toys for a magazine commission, and painting some roses for another design commission..........

 .............it has been a busy but lovely few days and as always when the weather is gorgeous here i forget that it might not last and am always surprised when the blue sky clouds over and the air grows chilly, just as i am planning outdoor meals and winding fairy lights round the potting shed.........

 ..............we are certainly making the most of it though, while it lasts.........

 .                                          ...........tea and roses on the patio table.............

 .....................coffee and a decorative bucket of cranesbill outside the potting shed........

 ................and here is my garden notebook appearing again, ready for this summer's notes to be added to its pages.................... next week i will be taking a short blog break as we will be going off to the countryside for a little holiday............we will be staying in a cottage in the cotswolds and visiting some lovely gardens :)..........i will be taking lots of pictures, i expect :) ..........

 ............i am taking my crochet blanket with me to work on, and some patchwork too, and have some novels downloaded on my kindle,  there are lots of lovely places we plan to see, and walks to enjoy ( and little molly is coming with us).......so let's hope the sun shines :)..........

................thank you for visiting me here, dear readers, and for your kind comments..........wishing you happy days with sunshine and roses and crafty inspirations...............back soon xxxxxxxxxxxoooooooxxxxx

French Lavender

The french lavender is flowering in our garden now.......i love all types of lavender, for the colour and the scent and the useful properties of the oil...........and i love how it looks amongst the other plants.....

 ............here is some french lavender growing in the cutting garden, in front of the sweet pea canes (the sweetpeas are still tiny plants and i hoping they will soon grow a lot bigger).....

 ..........i read a magazine feature about french lavender the other day and in it the flowers were described as having bracts at the top that resembled 'bunny ears'.....no wonder i like it :).......

 ................and here are two bunnies, on the right violette the little bunny i made last year, inspired by our holiday in france (as regular readers may remember) and on the left is lavender bunny who i also made last year but haven't featured here till now.......it often happens that the bunnies multiply..........just as in real life........you can find the pattern for these bunnies in my book 'pretty patchwork gifts' here..................

 ..............we have pots of lavender in the potting shed................

 .................and some in jars and vases in the house..............

 ..................lavender bunny has her own little hexie patchwork quilt in progress...........

 ................i rediscovered the hexies i made last year and finally began sewing them together.....

 ...............i will show the little quilt here when it is finished.......

 ..................lavender bunny has a nice old fashioned pocket on her dress.....just right to tuck in a sprig of lavender, either fresh or dried, to carry the scent into the house......

 ................some more flowers in shades of lavender and lilac, in an old terracotta pot..........

 .............and on the back wall of the house the wisteria is growing so big with tumbling flowers all over it this year.....mister p has been carefully training for several years and now it is looking luxuriant just as we hoped when we planted it.........this window is my sewing room and if you look closely you can see my rather untidy table there ;)....................

 .................more lavender at the bottom of the garden..............and below is a picture of daisy's pretty birthday present.........a little bobbin strawberry bike..........she adores it and has been cycling round on it as much as she can since her birthday...............

 ................the geraniums in the basket are mine, i have lots blooming here at the moment and love the bright colours.......the english lavender is in bud here, a hazy blue which will soon look beautiful.......and all the roses are just beginning to open..........such a wonderful flowery time, it is hard to stay indoors and work when the sun shines and the garden beckons to me.....

..............thank you for dropping in to see me here in my little bit of blog land, dear readers, it is always a pleasure to see you and to read your kind words too.............wishing you a wonderful week with sunny happy crafty days..................back soon...................xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In Bloom

 There are lots of things in bloom here this week..............it is such a gorgeous time of year......

 ..............here is the paper pieced chrysanthemum block i showed you a while ago....now made into a summery cushion......i placed a piece of wadding behind the block and quilted round the shapes of the petals, then quilted a line of red decorative stitches round the outside of the flower......

 ...............besides this little applique pillow i also recently made one decorated with cross stitch for this month's issue of crafts beautiful magazine...........(there is a matching greeting card too).......

 ...............we will use the pillows on our garden seat this summer....i am imagining them together, sun dappled, looking pretty and comfortable while we sip cold drinks or have afternoon tea :)............

 ..............last week i was given a big bunch of roses..........such a lovely gift..........

 ..............i put some in the hall in a tall glass vase, and some on the kitchen table in a susie watson spotty jug..............

 ............i love to have flowers to look at all the time, and the kitchen table is a good place for a posy....

 ............the kitchen table is also where i do lots of activities like baking with my older grandchildren...... making flower shaped biscuits was fun last week..............

 ............a few were left to enjoy with a nice coffee later..........

 ...............when my youngest grandbaby stayed with us we got out the shape sorter toy to see if he liked it....and he did, very much...........he was quite fascinated............

 ...............he loved lying kicking on the storybook houses quilt too..........he has that gorgeous peachy bloom, so cuddly :)..................

.................this weekend was our little daisy's fifth birthday........she loves her namesake flowers so here are some daisies blooming in the garden.........there was 'frozen' party for lots of children and then a little family gathering yesterday..............a lot of cake with blue icing and white snowflakes has been enjoyed by us all............

 .............now it is time for me to go back to work.......though of course as my job is my hobby and vice versa that is no hardship for me :)...............i love to create things all the time (and always have) sometimes drawing, painting, collaging, sometimes sewing, quilting, appliqueing or crocheting, as well as writing about these things too.....i don't mind what i am making but i always try to follow my heart to make things that inspire me, and hopefully others too................

..............thank you for dropping by, dear readers, and sharing a creative connection here with me in my little blog space.............wishing you a wonderful week with sunny days and happy crafty times...............back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxooooooooooooxxxxxxxxxxxxxx