Friday 26 February 2021

Signs of Spring

Hello everyone....today i'm sharing some very springlike photos with you....it became warmer here last week and very cheerful too....we had some lovely sunny walks through the woods and on the beach.....
.....and did lots of gardening......and here is my easy four patch quilt to show you...inspired by lots of lecien and pam kitty morning fabrics on a floral and garden theme.....the pattern for this sweet and simple quilt is now available in my etsy shop link in sidebar....
.......this is such a lovely time of year....even though winter may come back again it's wonderful to have more light each day.....to feel the air warming up and to see all the bulbs and perennials showing green shoots...and early spring flowers bringing bright dots of colour here and there.....
........the four patch quilt is one of my favourites to make and i'm planning a summer one made from this pattern now....just got to finish a couple of other projects first ;)......
.........one of the things i love most at the moment is being able to snip some tiny flower posies again...
.....just a few little spring blooms to fill a tiny pitcher like this make me so happy.....
........the easter decorations will be up soon......i made some more little fabric hens to nestle among the flowers and eggs this year...more coming soon (and pattern in my etsy shop)........
.......everyone feels more cheerful in the spring....and if you are a gardener or flower lover then it's a really wonderful time......below are some crocus in our garden.....they have been popping up here for many years....
.........sometimes a few new ones spring up all by themselves......
.....when i was working in the cottage garden this week i had a 'secret garden' moment when a small chubby robin joined me and stayed close for a long time as i cleared leaves and cut back dead stems....and then a second robin arrived and perched on the picket fence.....it was a lovely moment :).....i think they are nesting in the beech hedge nearby and i hope to see more of them in the coming weeks....
.........today i will be taking photos, sewing a quilt border and baking some scones.....the sun is shining and the birds are singing.....
.......thank you so much for visiting me here dear readers and for the kind comments you leave me........they are very welcome.....hope you have a great weekend with lots of sunshine and flowers.......keep well and take care lovelies........back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
 

Friday 19 February 2021

Cottage Garden Quilt

Hello again everyone....here i am with some springlike pictures today..... this is my cottage garden quilt...
.......inspired by cottage garden flowers and tilda apple butter fabrics, i made the quilt top last spring....
....other work took over and it had to wait in the to-be-quilted pile until recently when it was beautifully longarm quilted for me by debbie holland of longarm quilting.com......
.......it's a simple irish chain design with added appliqué flowers and i fancy making it in other colour ways too...a two colour one would be lovely as well.....
....i'm glad i used the apple butter fabrics for this, and some of my other quilts too...it's one of my very favourite tilda fabric collections....
.....more sewing inspired by spring colours......primroses and soft shades of green for thread and buttons....
....after a few days of bitterly cold weather it suddenly changed .....the temperature rose, the sun shone, the birds sang and the air had that mild spring feel and a leafy almost flowery scent....
.........pegged up in my sewing room are little heart blocks for a new heartstrings quilt i'm making...
........this quilt will be made from new fabrics but will have a vintage feel......
.....the spring flowers growing in pots or displayed in little jars and bottles bring me endless pleasure each spring...when i used to paint flowers all day as my job i used to become very inspired at this time of year....nowadays fabrics are both my colour palette and medium of choice for designing but flowers are still a wonderful inspiration.....
........cheery little tete a tete daffodils growing in pots bringing spring indoors.....and one more view of my new quilt (you can find the patterns for the cottage garden quilt and the heartstrings quilt in my etsy shop, link in sidebar).....

 ......thank you so much for visiting me here dear readers, and for the kind comments you leave me....it's always a pleasure to hear from you.....wishing you all a good week with happy crafty times and some flowers too........take care lovelies.......back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Friday 12 February 2021

Vintage Modern

Hello again dear readers......today there are lots of pictures around my home to show you....beginning with this view of the spare room white bed and checkerboard quilt with an exciting new addition......
.....this beautiful canvas print was kindly gifted to me by photowall......i love this iconic image and think the vintage modern style goes well with my quilts and other textiles.....photowall offers prints, murals and photo wallpapers too with the size you need.....so many fabulous images to choose from......
......this one suited the look i love...but there are many others i really liked too, in fact it was hard to choose from so many favourites......if you browse their site for inspiration for your home you can have a generous 25% off any photowall products until the end of february....by using my code helenphilipps25........
.........the vintage theme and the red white and blue look continues here in our attic......
......a couple of days were spent up here at the top of our tall old house having a little sort out....
.....it's so high up it's like being among the tree tops with the birds......
...........there are lovely views across the roof tops to the sea but i will save those pictures for another time....
........things in the attic....
..........lovely old frister and rossman sewing machine......
.........and the old wooden bed up here was made for my husband's grandparents when they got married  over 100 years ago.....the bed below is much newer (and more comfortable) and the new print really brings the room together now........

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 .........thank you for visiting me here lovely readers and for your kind comments......wishing you a happy valentine's day and a wonderful weekend.....keep well and take care lovelies....back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Saturday 6 February 2021

Love Tokens

Hello again dear readers.....here we are in february already......and here are some love tokens....
...i made these little love tokens with simple cross stitch and fabric scraps......they are easy to sew and can be popped in the post....one is a brooch cushion which keeps tiny brooches safe, one is a pincushion and one is a gift tag which can be added to any present for a token of love.....
........they are fun to embellish with paper flowers, fabric flowers, charms, buttons or whatever you fancy...pattern is in my etsy shop link in sidebar.....
..........sewing lots more hearts this week too, making pretty blocks for my newest heartstrings quilt....
.........got my little sign up too.....and here's the little sugar mouse in her favourite red and white striped cardie.....
......some pretty flowers in my sweet vintage marmalade jar......
........and with some cutter quilt hearts.....
.......these hearts are made from a piece of patchwork i created first (as i didn't have an actual cutter quilt to hand).....
....and here are a few more......the pattern for these (and the birds below) is also in my etsy shop....
....now is a good time to sew some little things and to send a little love out into the world too....
....it's cold here today and rather grey....i ventured into the potting shed to take this picture...can't wait for spring to arrive and to be out working in the sunny cottage garden again.......lots of green shoots and bulbs out there showing so much promise....

 ....thank you for dropping by lovely readers and to those who leave me a comment a big extra thank you...it's so nice to know you are there :)......sending lots of love to you all....keep safe and well and have a wonderful weekend.....back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx