Chrysanthemums and Other Flowers

 My plan recently has been to finish off as many works in progress as i can and the plan seems to be working.............this week the little chrysanthemum flowers quilt top was completed.........

 ...............it was a pleasure to sew these pretty paper pieced flowers.......you can find the paper pieces for these and many other inspiring shapes at the wonderful sew and quilt.............

 ................some of the flowers use a bit of grey fabric which looks really pretty with the pink and i was going to use grey sashing originally but the scrappy pinks and reds looked nicer in the end......i will be using a grey polka dot fabric for the backing though..........i hope to have it beautifully long arm quilted now by a clever lady.........will show you it when it is all finished of course......

 ................a close up of the chrysanthemum flower appliqued onto a white background and with a red stitched line around the edge...........below are some pictures of when i began making this quilt top and the little sign i had just acquired.............

 ................flowers are everywhere around me this week.............and my crochet is all in flowery colours too...........

 ..............these flowers from the garden are displayed in an old mustard pot that we brought home from france a couple of years ago...........

 ...............the ones below are from a huge shrub in the garden, covered with these tiny pink flowers which are in turn covered with bees :) .............

 ..............sweet summery pale pink peonies....not from the garden though, i bought these from the supermarket as we no longer have any growing in the garden....not sure what happened to the peonies here but they have somehow disappeared..............

 .................below is a little jar of pinks (or carnations or gillyflowers) which i pick for my work table....the delicious clove sweet scent reminds me of childhood and my grandma who loved them too......the fussy cut paper piece squares are ready to be added to another work in progress and the flowers just happened to match....always fun to find these serendipitous combinations......

 ..............out into the garden now to see how my cutting patch is getting along......each day new flowers open and others fade.......there are lots of tiny seedlings in there which are growing well so i hope to have even more colour there in a month or two......

 .............the orange flowers are gazanias which i planted a couple of years ago thinking they were pink ones......they grew and bloomed and now they have self seeded so i have a lot more of them......although i didn't choose orange they do add some zing to the other colours so i think i'll let them stay.......

 ..............perfect little roses that grow over an old wall by the patio......they were established when we moved in here and i love the scent, the tiny round deep pink buds and the multi layered creamy flowers when they open......

 .............the rain keeps the garden flowers happy and blooming and there has been enough sunshine too to sit outside sometimes and enjoy it all.....with a bit of sewing or crochet to do too while listening to the birdsong..........happy summer x

...........thank you for visiting me here lovely readers...it is a pleasure to see you and i so value your sweet comments which are always a joy to read.............wishing you a wonderful week ahead enjoying the summer, the flowers and some crafty times...........back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Roses and Patchwork

 It's all been all about the roses here over the past week.......with the garden full of roses and the air full of their scent, i've been snipping lots of posies of them to enjoy around the house......such a lovely season......and here is my rosy patchwork too...........

 .............above are some views of our garden......it has a lot of rambling roses which are a joy every year......they had already been planted here when we moved to this house and we feel so lucky to have them.........below is my trip around the world mini quilt being made............

 ................as i've mentioned here before many times, i love sewing patchwork squares and this time they are arranged to form the trip around the world pattern in a mix of pink and green fabrics (they are by pam kitty garden, lecien and lakehouse studio).......

 ..............some of the squares are fussy cut which i'm really enjoying doing .........

 ..............the mini quilt top is complete now and i've added white borders......i need to decide on the quilting next....maybe just keep it very simple......hope to show you it on my sewing room wall soon....

 .............these pretty pink roses are giving me so many photo opportunities..........i think they look lovely combined with the fluffy yellowy green alchemilla mollis flowers too..........

 .............there are roses on my work table, roses next to my computer, and roses all over my patchwork fabrics too....this is one of my most favourite fabrics being used to make paper pieced patchwork chrysanthemum flowers for another almost finished project......i am working my way through lots of works in progress this month......

 ............sweet pale pink roses near the pond..........

 ...............favourite bright pink rose near the potting shed.............

 ..............and in a jug in my sewing room........

 .................little flowery snippets with my new big granny square blanket (it will be huge, colourful and random!)...............

 ..................as soon as i finish one work in progress another one seems to take its place :) .....

 ................little pink iced cakes were made for everyone in the family to enjoy.......even the flags were rosy ones this week..............

................thank you for visiting me here in my little rosy bit of blog land dear readers, it is so nice to see you and always a pleasure to read your kind comments...........i hope you have a wonderful week with crafty times, sunshine and some sweet roses scenting your days..........back soon xxxxxxxxxx

Flowers and Patchwork

 Two things i have been loving this week....flowers and patchwork :)....well, i love them all the time of course but at the moment i am really indulging in both..........the evening star block above was one i found in my recent sewing room tidy up............

 ..............it was left over from the ones i made for this quilt finished last year............

 .............and with a few added border pieces i assembled a little cushion...........

 .............which i quilted by hand at the kitchen table with the doors open and the sounds and scents of the garden floating in............we have had a lot of wonderfully sunny weather lately, and although it has finally rained here we had a beautiful sunny may and start of june here in my little corner of the uk...........

 ..............this is the time of year when there are new flowers to pick every day..........

 .............and the scent of roses is everywhere...........in the garden and of course in the house as i like to pick fresh posies every day and dot them around the rooms...........the magenta rose above is so sweet, just one flower can scent a room.............

 ..............i use lots of different containers including the china jugs i have collected all my life.....

 ..............i have always loved this pantry jug.....i'm not sure if it really was a pantry jug but it does seem like a vintage one so i like to imagine it on a pantry shelf of an old house long ago.....

 ...............so here is my little quilted evening star cushion and i am already very fond of this one as i do love red, white and blue things............

 ................more garden flowers.....these cosmos are from the seedlings we grew this spring in the greenhouse :)....

 ..................this is my favourite rose.....the bush grows in a wild and rambly way near the potting shed and i must remember to take my annual picture of it in full flower soon.............

 ..................i picked out some red white and blue maybelle flowers for this picture.....still making these to add to the stack and one day i will make them all into something...........

 ..................below is a picture of the wisteria we planted a few years ago which is now twining itself among some of the rambling pink rose (with a little help from mr p) and it looks so pretty with the purply blue wisteria flowers and the pale pink roses against all the soft green leaves...............

.................thank you so much for dropping in to my little bit of blogland everyone......it is always a pleasure to have your visits and i do enjoy your sweet comments and appreciate it when you take the time to leave them............wishing you all a wonderful crafty happy week.....back soon xxxxxxxxxxx

On the Bunny Trail

 This new little bunny is called lettuce and she is made with some gorgeous brand new fabrics: bunny trail by the super talented jodie carleton who designs wonderful toys as well as lovely fabrics.........see her work over on her blog ric rac here.............it was such a pleasure to stitch up some of my little makes with these adorable designs.............

 ..............having a new set of pretty fabrics to work with reminds me of having a new paint box......lots of creative possibilities in there and lots of colourful inspiration.......

 ..........i made a doll quilt inspired by the one in my book simple sewn gifts.....just easy squares but you can add applique here and there and add buttons or tags to make it special............

 ...........all children like to tuck their toys up in bed and these make lovely gifts for little ones....

 ................i made a bunny patchwork block too (pattern from my book pretty patchwork gifts).....and on the back of the quilt is a bunny patch, applied with bondaweb and sewn round with blanket stitch...

 .............jodie's fabrics are always colourful and well designed with lots of useful mixer prints and adorable little motifs for applique too..........

 ...............last year i made some pentagon ball toys and i decided the motifs in these prints would be lovely for fussy cutting and making these.....

 ...........there are lots of patterns online for the pentagon shape and how to join the ball (you make two bowl shapes and then sew them together)....the main thing to remember when making these is to do very tiny stitches close together to hold the filling in firmly .............

 ..............below is my work table with things gathering for my bunny trail photo shoot :).......

 .................i did make a carrot with the perfect carrot-making orange textured fabric and i know i will be making some more and some radishes too......i am looking forward to ordering some yardage when the fabrics are in stores later this summer.....you can check out the fat quarter shop for details here....

 ..............and i made a block for my sampler quilt......this one is from the farmer's wife 1930's sampler quilt book and it is entitled doris..............i love this block and could see a whole quilt made from this one.........maybe another one for my long to do list...............

 ...........i gave the china bunny pincushion a little radish fabric make over and yes....i knew i had some somewhere....found the carrot and bunny pins to add to it too :) ........

............i hope you have enjoyed hopping down the bunny trail with me this week lovely readers.......thank you as always for dropping by and for your very kind comments........wishing you all a happy crafty week.....back soon  xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx