In the Kitchen

 It feels like spring in my kitchen this week.....the sun is shining and the flowers are blooming....

 ............besides cooking in my kitchen i do lots of crafting there too, often while waiting for something to bake or cook......and i sometimes hang freshly washed quilts and crochet blankets on the aga to dry............

 ............i have made a little crochet pot holder and have another one on the hook too.......just a quick and easy little project using scraps of stylecraft special dk yarn left over from a blanket project...... a simple sunburst granny square with as many rounds as you wish to make it the size you want......

 ..............this sweet little vanilla cupboard was a present from my kind mr p at christmas.....i had spied it in a local shop and told my daughter how much i liked it......what a lovely surprise to receive it on xmas day.......planning to fill it with french-style kitchenalia............

 .............love the words on the door glass........

 ............my little grape hyacinths with a second flush of flowers..............

 ..............this is  picture of my half term knitting project.......a soft cowl for springtime cosiness...

 .............half term cakes for all the family too..........i found the pack of tiny chocolate hearts in the supermarket and used them as part of my valentine treat making............

 ...............another view of my little pot holder............

 ..............and a patchwork pot holder that is also decorating my kitchen........this one is made from simple hexagons, one of my favourite patchwork shapes......you can find the pattern for the cherry pot holder in my latest book modern vintage gifts if you'd like to make one.......

 .............this week i am enjoying creating some new sewing projects for magazine commissions, and some tiny flowery crochet projects too......more coming soon.........

 ..............next week i will be taking a little blog break as we are off the to country for some rest and relaxation after a very sad and stressful time in january and also to celebrate our wedding anniversary.......we are so looking forward to quiet times, long walks, log fires and country cottage living.......i will take lots of pictures to share and i will bring back a nice little gift for you too :) ......

............thank you for your visits to my little blog space dear readers, and for taking the time to leave me such kind comments.......wishing you all lots of  happy sunny times with plenty of crafty inspiration......back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxooooooooooooooooxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Alpine Flowers Blanket

 Last week i finished making the alpine flowers blanket and here it is.......lots of sunburst granny squares (easy to find the pattern for these online) joined by the join as you go method, and with a narrow shell border...........the yarn is stylecraft special dk in candyfloss, fiesta, aspen and white joined with silver..........

 ...........as soon as i finish a blanket or a quilt i take it round the house and garden for a little photo shoot....beginning this time in the potting shed........it's a bit untidy in there and is ready for the big spring sort out (maybe next week)..........

 .............on the wall.......a handy place to show the whole blanket...........

 .............and below in the greenhouse next to the deep pink hyacinths......the greenhouse is new (to us) and has been a real joy this winter, warm in the sun and filled with scented flowers........looking forward to planting up seed trays in here too in the next few weeks..........

 .............into the house now and a quick picture in the sewing room.........

 ............all the time i am wandering around the house and garden with my latest blanket i have a cute little follower with me.......molly no doubt wondering when i am going to settle down again and just sew or crochet or work on the computer so that she doesn't have to keep traipsing about behind me up and downstairs and in and out of the garden.....

 ............finally this is where the blanket is going to stay.......on this new grey sofa in our cosy sitting room............

 ...........i love making a big crochet project like a blanket and you can be sure i will be on to the next one very soon ;)........this week is half term and today my house has been full of little peeps including small boys playing football in the garden and a small girl trying on a bridesmaid's dress.........lots going on here but i am fitting in a bit of knitting today as well as more pretty crochet flowers......

 ............  these pictures were taken while i was packing up some of my book projects to be collected for display at the stitches trade show at the nec in birmingham later this month.......they are all from my latest book *modern vintage gifts* .............

 ..........above are the strawberry wreath, star quilt, mushroom pillow and snuggled in a box are the rainbow birds............more about the show in a later post.........

 ..............the gorgeous greenhouse hyacinths in full bloom.......such a delicious scent..........

..............thank you for visiting me here dear readers and for your kind comments.......it is such a pleasure to have your visits and to hear from you too.............wishing you a wonderful week filled with flowers and crafty joys...............back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxoooooooooooxxxxxxxx

Hearts and Flowers

 As regular readers know....... i just lOvE hearts and flowers........all year round :).......

 ............. i usually make a new heart to hang up here for valentine's day and this year is no exception............this weekend there was time for a little bit of sewing and a little bit of crochet too.....

 ..............i sewed a little red gingham heart and crocheted some tiny flowers and leaves and a picot edging for it............i made the edging by crocheting a chain that was long enough to go round the heart edge with a little bit over for joining and followed a simple pattern for a picot edge online, then sewed it on to the heart...........the long narrow heart is from a pattern in my book simple sewn gifts...

 .............i think crochet flowers are the sweetest thing to use for embellishments........i like the very simple ones that look like primroses..........i've made these easy ones for a long time but again there are many patterns for them online............just a simple five petal flower pattern............

 .............a nice cup of tea and a little crafty project.....a perfect way to enjoy a weekend afternoon.....or any afternoon :).....

 ..............i have been enjoying some real spring flowers too this week........tulips and hyacinths and muscari mainly..............

 ...............and some more crochet flowers and even cross stitch ones too........

 ................and flowers on my china of course.............

 .............below is a little peek at my new project in this month's crafts beautiful magazine out in the shops now..........a quilted tea cosy and a little cross stitched card...........you can find out more about the magazine and download patterns here...............

 ...............one more flowery project coming along fast now is my alpine flowers blanket.......

 .............i am looking forward to finishing it and using it on the new grey sofa.......hope to get the joining all done this week and then decide on a border............

 ................ muscari or grape hyacinths making my kitchen feel spring like....these were a gift from a sweet friend and they actually bloomed twice :)..................

..............thank you for visiting here dear readers and for all the quilt love in my last post.......and thank you for all your heart warming kindness to me over the past month too............i hope you all have a wonderful valentine's week and wish you lots of love and happiness...........back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxooooooooooooooxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

My Old Checkerboard Quilt

 Today i thought i'd write about this old red and white checkerboard quilt of mine.....there have been so many enquiries about it over the years even though it is such a very simple design........

 .................the picture below is one of the most 'pinned' of all my blog pictures.....

 ............so in answer to those lovely readers who have asked for details about this quilt here are a few.....it is made from 4inch squares and i paper pieced it by hand ( quite a few years ago)........

 .............i used any scraps of fabric from my stash for the coloured squares as long as there was some red in the pattern..........then i arranged them alternately with plain white squares to create the classic checkerboard pattern.......there are 225 squares altogether.........

 ...........when the squares were sewn together (in rows of 15) i added a 3 inch white border all round....

 ............i decided to hand quilt around each square just inside the seam and then to quilt a 2 inch square in the centres..........i used i inch quilting tape to give me a guide line to sew the centre quilting squares.......

 ...........we have used this quilt for years now and it has been washed and tumble dried many times and is still fresh and new looking......

 .............it is such an easy pattern and when i made it it was without much though at all ;).....yet it works and is pleasing to the eye in its simplicity...........a true scrappy patchwork quilt.......

 ............the backing is one of my favourite pink and white candy striped fabrics (though if i had made this quilt now i would have bought a red and white fabric specially and not just used one i had the most of in my stash at the time).......and (another favourite) red and white gingham binding............

 .............i hope this post will help to answer all the questions this quilt has received over the years from lovely readers both here and on facebook :)............x

 ..............here is a more recent shot of the checkerboard quilt on my quilt ladder and below with the little bears from my new book modern vintage gifts..............

 ...........this past week has been quite a rollercoaster ride for me and i am glad of my little crafty world to escape to sometimes and of my dear friends and family who have shown me so much kindness....and that includes you my sweet blog friends too of course..........x

...............thank you to everyone who visits me here in my little blog space......it is always a pleasure to know you are here and to read your kind comments.............wishing you all a wonderful week ahead with sweet flowers and peaceful crafty times to enjoy.........back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx