Big Trip Quilt - a Little Update

 The big trip around the world quilt is almost finished...almost but not quite.......and here is a little update...... below is a reminder of the last stage it was at when i showed it to you here previously.....

 .............. the top picture shows one of the corners with just three rounds to go.......as you can see I fussy cut a round of flower squares.............a few people have asked me what exactly is fussy cutting and how do you do it?...........it is  when you choose an area of fabric with a motif or part of a pattern to cut out, rather than just cutting out the fabric all over to make your patchwork shapes.....

 ...............i make a window template to cut out my fabric for epp...............i use cardstock and cut the template 1/4 in bigger than my paper piece template all the way round, then cut out the window in the middle 1/4 in inside the line.............it is such a quick and easy way to see the shape you would like to use and to position the cut correctly............

 ................it does waste a bit of fabric doing fussy cutting but the scraps will always come in handy one day ;) ............

 .............the fussy cut squares are ready to sew and below there they are on the quilt..........

 ..............a few pictures now of the crumpled quilt top...........

 ...............i have loved hand sewing this quilt, mainly in my spare evening moments......

 ..............choosing the next round of fabric each time has been very interesting and surprisingly demanding but also a new experience in playing with colour values and fabric combinations........

 ...............just a little more to add and then we can have the full reveal..........

 .............and now some pretty flowers as it is spring and yesterday was mother's day :)......

 ............i was a very lucky mum and was very spoilt by my daughters and their families.....

 ..........nothing like a bit of sunshine, family time, cute children, afternoon teas and gorgeous flowers to make you feel happy and full of the joys of spring..............add in a bit of stitching and crafting too..............just perfect..........:)

............thank you for dropping by dear readers.............it is a joy all year round to see you here and to read your kind comments..........if you would like to see more of my crafty days i have just joined instagram so now you can find me there too.................wishing you a wonderful week filled with flowers, sunshine and lots of crafty inspirations ...............back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Garden Notes

 Happy new week!............we have been full of the joys of spring here :)...........last week we had the sunniest and mildest days of the year so far...........

 .............it was the perfect time to venture down to the bottom of the garden and creak open the potting shed door again...........time to get out the crochet pillows and blankets and soak up a bit of sunshine............

 ...........time to pick some posies of spring flowers and pop them in to lots of different containers....

 ................lots of daffodils, narcissus and jonquils are coming into flower here now..........

 ...............we even have a new garden inspired pincushion to use this week..............

 ...............made from sweet scraps of fabric from my basket of tiny scraps...love all these fabrics so i keep every bit............

 ...............here is my spring cutting garden with plenty of primroses, cowslips and tiny bulbs......

 .................i love having different places around the garden to sit and listen to the birds, look at the plants and flowers, and sew or read if the weather is warm enough............

 ..............the glass vase below (really a candle holder) is one of my favourites to hold hyacinths and short iris flowers........i have refilled this with the same floral combination to enjoy on my work table again this week.............

 ..............last week i showed you a bit of the flower wreath quilt with the sashing added..........

 ................below is a little peek at the work in progress border.........it is fun to create this and i am looking forward to putting it all together............

 .............today i am working on a magazine commission...........and i have my big trip quilt waiting for the next round of square patches to be added tonight............but first i am going to have a little wander in the garden to see if any flowers have opened since yesterday..........to look into the pond to see the frog spawn and newts...........and to have a little potter in the potting shed....and i'd better water the greenhouse plants too.......spring time in the garden......i just love it :)............

................thank you for dropping by lovely readers and for leaving me such kind comments..........wishing you all a happy crafty week ahead............back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In the Studio

 This week i will be spending a lot of time in my studio working on a (top secret for now) garden inspired project...............so i thought i'd show a few pictures taken in here.......the one above shows the grey painted printer's tray that we found at treacle market recently.......i am using it as a display shelf for cards, vintage finds and ephemera as well as flower posies......

 .................desk views...........painting spring flowers in my tiny daily sketchpad........

 ................adding a new flower to an older painting.............

 ..............and finding more flowers to be inspired by every day...............

 .............before i moved into working in the stitching industry i used to work in the greetings card industry and paint flowers all day long.....i find painting is as absorbing and soothing as stitching.....

 ..............i love this time of year and being able to pick some pretty pastel spring flowers from the garden...........we are working on our garden at the moment, re doing a border and mr p is putting up a new arbour on our sun downer spot....looking forward to summer evenings there later in the year.....

 ..............i am working on several works in progress quilts too this week..........below is the flower wreath quilt which is being added to daily here and there, and now has hyacinth pink sashing......

 ............when the new fabric arrives i will be designing the applique twining floral border which i am a bit excited about :).............

 .............the hyacinths in the glass vase below are on my table as i type this and their scent is just wonderful..............

 ...............the little iris all came into flower among some long grasses....they always give me a nice surprise each year..............

 ...........each day i go for a walk with molly the dog and seek out the blossom trees..........

 ..................back to my studio now and on with the work..........one more picture of the printer's tray shelf before i go....(the picture is a postcard of a gorgeous lucy boston quilt)...........

............thank you for visiting me here dear readers and for your kind comments too........wishing you a wonderful week ahead filled with happy crafty days.............back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spring Things

 Happy March everyone!........the sun is shining here and we have a post filled with spring things today..........first of all there is a little spring rabbit all ready for spring outings in her little knitted dress and matching hat..............

 .................the bunny and her outfit are my project in this month's crafts beautiful magazine which you can read about here..............

 .............and she is even on the cover, just about to step out of the picture...........

 .............i love knitting and i love knitting clothes for the bunnies i sew too....they are fun to make and don't take too long.............the stripy dress on my spring bunny is made from stylecraft special dk but could be made from any dk yarn and is great for using up scraps..............

 ................these sweet pastel shades are why i love spring so much..... pretty flowers and bulbs, sugar coated eggs, easter decorations and the blossom just beginning to open on my favourite cherry tree...........

 ...............there are some lovely photographs of this bunny in the magazine but i just had to take a few more myself too..............this pretty daisy embroidered table cloth belonged to grannie (mr p's mother) who loved flowers as much as i do...............

 ...............i have picked out some fabrics in these sort of colours too...thinking sherbet fruits sweets or sugared almonds or maybe mini eggs :) ................

 ..............to make an hourglass quilt specially for spring.............

 ..............i used a rotary cutter to cut squares to make half square triangles and then cut them in half again...........each unit has different pieces so the overall effect is mixed up and scrappy......like a pile of sweeties..............

 .........below is the first sewn together block.............hope to show you plenty more of this quilt very soon.......

 ...........i was pottering in the greenhouse on saturday when it was sunny and warm in there....

 ............everything is growing happily and it is lovely to see bulbs emerging that i had forgotten about :)......and luckily this bunny is very well behaved and doesn't nibble the plants.......

.................thank you for dropping in to my little crafty space here in blogland dear readers...........thank you so much for the kind comments you leave me too....it is lovely to read them.......wishing you all a wonderful week ahead enjoying the beginning of march and the start of spring (or autumn of course if you are reading this from the other side of the world)...........enjoy your happy crafty days everyone............................back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx