Bags and Baskets

 Happy new week dear blog friends......we have lots of patchwork bag pictures to show today......

 .......and this is my new peg rail put up by my kind hubby after lots of indecision by me about where i wanted it......think we found the right spot :)......

 .........this little bag is a vintage charm style version of my drawstring bag in my etsy shop (link in sidebar).....

 .........you can make it look so different by using a mix of very dark and light fabrics for the squares, then sewing appliqué fabric roses on top here and there......

 ........and adding some buttons, beads and ribbon to make it special......

 ..........below is my vintage patchwork tote bag (no pattern yet), drawstring bag made with tilda fabrics, my vintage charm quilt and new french market basket......

 .......and some big pink hydrangeas too.......

 ........have been having a good time making these vintage style creations this year.....

 ........love these little quilts and have a much bigger one in the works now with many more roses...

 ..........here's a picture of our garden a few days ago.....lavender, agapanthus and day lilies....in the warm sunshine.....

 .......today it is blowing a gale and raining so not a bit like this.......but it might be nice again tomorrow......love these day lilies close up so pink and pretty with such interesting centres....

.........thank you for visiting me here and for the sweet comments you leave me.....they are so much appreciated.....wishing you all a wonderful week....hope you are keeping safe and well and enjoying some creative inspirations and some pretty flowers.......take care lovelies.......back soon xxxxxxxx

New Book

 Hello again lovely readers.....today there is some exciting news.....here's the cover of my new book called home sweet home sewing.....17 new designs exploring my love of fabrics, patchwork and colour....

 .........and i thought it might be fun today to show some of my own pictures taken during the making of this book............it is published by tuva who make very beautiful colourful and exciting books for crafters......this is the honey hives quilt photographed last summer on the picket fence in my cottage garden.....it seems we had a lot of very tall cosmos growing there then :).....

 ..............the honey hives quilt uses patchwork and applique....it was long arm quilted for me beautifully by debbie holland of longarm quilting.com and i also added some hand quilting to it too....

 ..........there are lots of smaller projects in this book too like the cherry pouch and the pretty drawstring bag below.....and here are the adorable cherry charms in use..........

 ..............for cross stitch fans i have included a cross stitch house sampler style cushion.....teamed with lovely tilda fabric ......

 ............i love close up pictures of fabrics and sewing...here's one of the circle table topper up very very close ......

 ...........some toys were included too.....these are made from my little deer pattern.....

 ...........and i used simple patchwork and embroidery for this vintage style doll's quilt....

 .............and here are the sweet cherry handles on a little bag........

 ........you can probably tell it was a lot of fun making this book and i am delighted that it is now available for pre order on amazon......it will be on sale in a few weeks in bookshops and elsewhere too.....hope you enjoyed this little peek behind the scenes of some of the selection of projects....there are also sewing notions, coasters, charms and decorations to be found inside the pages of home sweet home sewing.....

............thank you so much for dropping by to see me here dear readers...it's so lovely to hear from you and i really appreciate your kind comments......hope you are keeping safe and well my lovelies.....take care....back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Garden Quilt

 Hello again everyone...from my sunny and rather hot cottage garden today......

 .............showing one of my older garden inspired quilts....a scrappy four patch made with beautiful lecien and pam kitty morning florals, including the pkm floral catalogue print which is one of my very favourites....

 ..........bright geraniums against my quilt and the quilt spread out on the cottage garden picket fence....the big daisies have grown taller than ever this year....

 ...........lovely lavender in a pot from the rhs show last year......

 ............a close up of the garden inspired quilt...........

 ...........in the veggie patch......runner beans growing well and will soon be big enough to harvest....

 ..............sweet peas every day now......and beautiful tomatoes ripening..........

 ..............hubby has been tending them and brought some in for my salad making.....

 ..............it's been a lovely sunny week so far with a huge downpour of rain in the night....lots of poppies have popped up like weeds among the sweet peas but they can stay because i love them....

 ............last week i had a lovely surprise when i won a giveaway over on instagram.....a book signed by the author sophie claire and other treats too like gorgeous provence style lavender bags and a packet of forget me not seeds.....i'm enjoying the book and it is scented with lavender from the pretty little sachets that came with it in the parcel :)..............

 ............by the way sophie's books are available at all good book shops, on amazon and in supermarkets.......and she sewed the pretty lavender bags herself too ......

............off to do some watering of the pots now and then some hand quilting this evening.....thank you for dropping by dear readers.....it's always a pleasure to have your visits and your kind comments.....hope you are having a good week, enjoying these august days and keeping safe.....back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sweet Peas

 Happy august dear readers.............here i am with a whole lot of colourful sweet peas from our garden......i wish i could bring their gorgeous scent here too..........

 ..........i love my new birthday jug...the foxglove design from susie watson that hubby gave me.....

 .........we were late this year getting and planting our sweet peas and they were late flowering too....

 .............but now they have made up for it and we are enjoying a nice bunch every other day....

 ..........sweet pea and other flower colours often inspire my designs.......like this little log cabin quilt....

 ....and this floral pincushion with applique roses and lilac fabric..........

 ...........love these words (from a lakehouse fabric).....the seeds you sow...

 .............another birthday present here too.....a pretty candy pink and white striped cornishware mug....

 ...........sweet peas are one the most evocative summer scents for me......

 ............i've been growing them for many years yet they still bring me the same delight each time...

 ...........rainy purple sweet peas......

 ..............just for a change big daisies and clematis in the cottage garden :)........and below more sweet peas in the garden.....i've since removed all the twining tendrils (as reminded by gardener's world) and they are growing even better...

........thank you for popping in here lovely readers and for your kind comments......wishing you a happy week ahead with sweet flowers and sunny days......stay safe and keep well lovelies.......back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx