A Bit of Snow

 So....we had a light dusting of snow here and we (molly and i) couldn't wait to take some pictures....

 ………..compared to many places our snowfall is minimal but even a little changes the light and the brightness and it was fun having a little photoshoot first thing in  the morning....

 ………...as regular readers know i do love red and white quilts and taking pictures of them in the snow is something i love to do whenever i get the chance...

 ………..molly was a great help...she's especially good at photo bombing.....

 …….she was loving the snowy fun...…..this is my old checkerboard quilt......

 ………...and i had to snap this pic of the berries in the snow...so pretty......

 ………...the quilt photo shoot was quite a quick one as it was very cold out there.....

 ………..here's the irish chain quilt made recently and the churndash quilt, a bit older.....

 ………….molly checking the air...maybe more snow?...….

 ………...it was a beautiful day out in my garden with the winter sun glowing through the trees...and seeing lots of tiny shoots and bulbs poking through the dusting of snow in the cottage garden brought such promise of spring...………..

 …………...soon we went in and i had a nice hot cup of coffee...……..

 …….and of course enjoyed my making and crafting, reading and cooking, in the warmth...thank you for dropping by dear readers and sharing my little world for a while.....i am also on instagram during the week if you would like to catch up with me there between blog posts.....i am on facebook too but for some reason am having trouble loading my posts on there at the moment...don't know why or how to solve it but for those of you who like to find me there i will keep trying....xx wishing you all a wonderful week ahead wherever you live and whatever your weather......back soon xxxxxxxxx

January Flowers

 Happy new week lovely readers...….we have flowers today...lots of them....

 ………….tulips in pretty greengate jugs on the dresser...……..and a white china bowl with a beautiful white cyclamen in it (this plant was grown in my greenhouse)……….

 ……..we also have some patchwork flowers too...…...here's a peek at my quilt in progress....

 …..the first borders have been added and now work is underway on the next applique border which is flowery too......more soon about this one....

………..we have some more hyacinths now....i planted these bulbs in the pretty antique pot my friend gave me last year and grew them in the greenhouse until they began to flower last week....

 ……..pretty china, flowers and fabrics keep me happy during the bleaker months of the year...i am sure it is the same for many of you too....

 ………...on a friday outing i found some red and white tulips and this little book mark with wise words...……..

 …………..and at the weekend we walked in our favourite botanical gardens and found carpets of snowdrops beneath the trees...….we had a lovely walk as it wasn't too cold and there was no winter wind blowing this time......

 ……….every year i marvel at the pure white beauty of these little flowers......

 ……….and we also found some huge camellias in flower too.....amazing on a grey and cold british winter day to find huge bushes covered with rosy blooms....such a treat......

 ……….there is a lot of stitching going on here today but as it is for a magazine later in the year it has to be secret for now.....there is also a bit of valentine inspired sewing too which will be ready soon......

………...thank you so much for dropping by to see me here dear readers and for the kind comments you leave me.....it is such a treat to hear from old friends and new and i try to pop over and visit you too whenever i can....have a lovely week ahead with happy days and pretty flowers....back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

January Workroom

 Happy new week to all my lovely blog readers...……..i hope january is going well for you....

 ……….pictures of my work table this week with lots of flying geese being sewn, notes and ideas being jotted down and other crafty things going on too......as well as plenty of tea and coffee and some cheerful flowers to look at of course...……….

………..the flying geese border is now sewn on to the central panel of applique flowers.....

 ……...next will be another border...….but first i am working on my second new quilt of the year so far which i'll show you at the end of this post.....

 ………..this is rita rabbit (named after one of my grandmas) and i am very fond of her although she was just a 'test' pattern she is quite sweet and the children all like her......i had to snap this picture of her after a child had been playing with her here last week :)….she seems to be a very maternal kind of rabbit…….

 ………...of course i have toys for myself most of all...….i love how they look with fabrics and stitchery.....the little dog is from northfield primitives and the little pram below is from maileg…..

 ……….this is my tiniest bunny and i might get a pattern written for her this year......here she is on the persephone bookshelf....a small child visiting here recently asked me if these were 'all the same book?'...……..:)

 ………..i have regretfully put the pixies away now till next christmas arrives......maybe we could invent summer pixies......

 ………….luckily the goose can stay around though, getting ready for easter…….

 ………...and here is my second new quilt...…….evening star blocks and more flying geese.....

 ……...i love the kona solid fabrics for the graphic look of the blocks and i really like these colours together......they are kona white, grapemist and punch......

………..thank you for all your sweet comments about my irish chain quilt last time......and thanks for all your visits to my little blog space...…..wishing you a happy week ahead with plenty of crafty inspirations...…………….back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

January Quilting

 Happy new week dear readers.....my week has begun rather slowly but hopefully i will speed up as the days go on...…….when my scrappy tilda irish chain quilt showed up as a work in progress in my best nine on instagram i realised i hadn't written about the finished quilt...so here it is now...

 ………..i had lots of pretty tilda scraps from various collections left over from my blog hop projects and decided to use them in this design with kona cotton in white for contrast …...the patchwork squares are two inches finished….there are lots of tutorials online for the irish chain quilt and its variations.....i love it and want to make more.....

 ……….it was longarm quilted for me in the baptist fan pattern by my lovely quilter debbie holland...….

 ……….here are a couple of close ups...i do love the combination of squares for the patchwork and curves for the quilting....

 ……….like many of you i've been busy getting everything put back again after christmas, especially the kitchen dishes and all the decorations…...

 ……….the kitchen is beautifully scented right now by this big basket of gorgeous hyacinths which were a present from my two biggest grandchildren as a thank you for picking them up from school several times a week...….there was a very sweet little note with them too......

 ………..it's so grey and gloomy often during january here that any colour and scent from indoor bulbs is always a treat i love......yesterday we went on a family walk through a country deer park in cheshire......it was grey and damp but mild....we were with both girls and their families....the baby was in a pram (occasionally throwing things out of it onto the muddy ground) and also children's scooters, footballs and two dogs on leads accompanied us on our walk.....with one thing and another  it was very slow progress but great fun...…..and ended at the tearoom of course.....

 ………….so back to my slow starting week...……..i wrote a big long to do list but after doing only a few things on it i found myself sorting out the quilt cupboard and refolding and arranging the quilts (not on the to do list)……..hopefully i will do better tomorrow and tick lots more off...……...

 ……….i even had help from molly with the quilt sorting.....she is lovely and cuddly and woolly at the moment but next weekend is due for her haircut so will be like a little shorn lamb then....

 ……..and here is one of my new projects.....making lots of flying geese for a quilt border....

 ……...loving making these and am sewing the actual geese part by hand in the evenings then joining them by machine to the quilt...…….more of this coming soon...……

……..thank you for your kind new year wishes dear readers and for coming by to see me here....hoping your year has begun well and you have a happy week ahead.....back soon xxxxxxxx