Winter Flowers

One of the things i love about my job is that i use brightly coloured fabrics, threads, paint and papers in the designs that i produce......and the magazines and books i work on are also colourful and pretty......so the combination of these things keeps me cheerful in my brightly lit studio throughout the winter days no matter how dull and grey they may be outside.......

 ..........this patchwork bag is one of my projects in this months crafts beautiful magazine (the 250th issue!)....i used some of my favourite fabrics from pam kitty morning and sew mama sew (find them here)....and i used waste canvas to cross stitch a pretty posy of flowers on a white patch to add extra texture and interest.......

............i like the combination of coloured backgrounds, white fabrics and printed text and will be exploring this look further...maybe a quilt?...........also featured in this special anniversary edition is an extract from my book Simple Sewn Gifts.....yes, one of my bunnies is in crafts beautiful :).........and i will have some more bunny news for you coming up very soon..............

 ...............today was sunny here with a frost that remained on the grass all day long...........in my spare moments i have been making many more daisy granny squares for the new blanket...........i love the sweet yarn colours in the sunshine on my craft table...............

.......................and i have also been piecing together some new blocks for the next quilt..............

 ............flowery fabrics mixed with a few checks, and sometimes an applique flower is the plan.....i will show you more of this soon in a special quilt post when i also hope to show the finished farmer's wife quilt......i've made the binding so just have to sew it on now :)...............very exciting to be so close to a special quilt finish..................

................some real flowers are gracing my sewing room too...........love these pretty pink and white tulips............the blue hyacinths are almost over now but some white ones are just about to bloom so i still have some scent.....

.........now i am off to hook up a few more daisies.........and sew on a bit of binding.........i have lots of lovely crafty things to keep me busy through the winter days...........i am working on a giveaway too especially for my lovely readers and hope to have it finished in the next week or two so look out for that :).............thank you so much for dropping in to see me and for your kind comments and emails.........i love to hear from you........wishing you all a happy and crafty winter week .........back soon xxxxxoooooxxxxxx

Crafty New Year

                                                   *********HaPpY NeW YeAr *********

......i have begun my crafty new year by filling the sewing room with flowering hyacinths.........so heavenly to have the delicious fragrance and see those lovely flowers while i sew..........i have some happy new year crafty makes to show you today............first of all is this little mouse.............called mousie........

..........i bought the tiny bed in york over a year ago and planned to make a little toy to go in it........it was such a small bed i decided it had to be for a mouse, and a very tiny one at that.........and i needed to make a teeny patchwork coverlet for the tiny bed too.............

............i finished sewing this over christmas, i loved adding little stitches and embellishments like applique and buttons and a teeny bow.......i didn't use wadding in this mini-iest of mini quilts, just backed it with a soft cotton fabric and sewed through the two layers...........

.........the little mouse has a flowery nightie to wear and a tiny pillow to sleep on.........i have always loved doll's beds and now i have my little daisy often visiting here i have a good reason to provide tiny beds for playing with....daisy just loves to tuck up her toys tenderly and i often find them 'put to bed' around the house........this little bed must be meant for a princess i think as it has a little crown decoration cut out of the frame.............

 ........... there is something else brightening up my wintry sewing room ..... a new sewing basket....a lovely surprise present............and even brighter..........some colourful new crochet daisy granny squares have been hooked up during the chatting and movie watching times we've had lately...............

                              ............i love the idea of a whole blanket made from daisies...........

 ...............i am trying out some different ways of combining them and joining them before i decide on the actual blanket itself..............lots of inspiration from many of you clever crochet bloggers out there :)....

 .............this is for a cushion...........i like it but think the extra colour round the white daisy petals makes it look more like a normal granny square and less like a daisy if you know what i mean :)..........so i will try it again and see if i can make it work another way..............

..........this is my project in january's crafts beautiful magazine......some of the patterns can be downloaded from the website............there are lots of fresh and inspiring new year makes inside...............

...........and i am just choosing fabrics to begin a new quilt.......i am still quilting the farmer's wife quilt but it will soon be done, and last year i really enjoyed making the blocks for it one by one when i had time between work commissions and other wip's.........so i've decided to start a new collection of quilt blocks and i'll be showing them to you sooooon!!..................thank you for popping in here......wishing the happiest of happy new years to all my lovely readers.........back soon xxxxxooooooooooxxxxxxxxxxx

Calm and Bright

We have had a lovely christmas and i hope you all have too.........it seemed to pass so quickly.......we had a lot of happy times with older and younger members of the family and it was a real pleasure to see the children's shining eyes and rosy cheeks on christmas day...............

 ............i had been sewing right up to christmas and again soon after because i love it soooo much....crafting makes me happy :)...........this is a textile themed drawstring bag for giving hand made gifts in, and then for using to neatly store away crafty items or to take small projects about in.....i will be using one for my new crochet project (more about that soon)...............

...........and this adorable fabric bowl was made by my sweet blog friend teje who is so talented and makes really lovely things for her etsy shop here and whose lovely blog is here...........i saw the fabric bowl on teje's blog and immediately loved it so was very glad she had one in her shop.....it fits in perfectly in my sewing room and i have loved looking at it over christmas :).............teje also sent me a lovely gift................

 ...........this sweet little soft pinwheel star decoration which will be treasured for many christmases to come......

...........here are a few little pictures from our christmas home............a silvery blackbirdie, pretty glass containers and candle holders, a little glimpse of the gorgeous jingle bells bunting which was designed, printed and constructed for me by my daughter rosie......(this is another treat to treasure for the future too)............ and teje's lovely bowl filled with festive fruits.......

..........we had a little christmas tea party here yesterday for various family members............i am thinking i have maybe had enough mince pies now ;)..........

..............a gorgeous greengate cup holding some pretty little tete a tete bulbs was an extra surprise present from my daughter sarah..........

.............one of the things i love most about the time around new year is having bulbs coming into flower, especially hyacinths, narcissi and paperwhites ..........they are so deliciously scented and the pure colours and crisp flowers cheer up even the dullest of days.........we have had a lot of rain here and some very squelchy muddy country walks and breezy seasidey ones............

............still a few days of holiday to go for mr p and we are making the most of it...........i hope you have  had a happy holiday over the past week too..............thank you for reading my blog and for your very sweet comments and emails.............it's wonderful to be in touch with so many other crafters around the world and to share our makes and crafty lives............wishing you all a very Happy New Year and a fabulous, inspired and creative year in 2013................back soon xxxxxxxxxxxooooooooooxxxxxxxxxxxx

Home for Christmas

 Home is where my heart is that's for sure, especially at christmas time......i've been cosying up our home this week ready for the festivities to start at the weekend........lots still to do and despite the many lists and the multiple checking of them i always forget something but it never really matters.............

.........i have managed to find some crafting time too of course, and made this little elfin house cushion....

..........i am so loving these candy colours together too, a mix of some of my recent favourite fabric scraps...

........some little winter elfin homes made from simple life fabrics........love the pink floral with the blue gingham............but i also love so many of the other prints too.....so had to make a couple more........

                           ............snowy and frosty effects thanks to wonderful picmonkey............

 .........i made some little ginger sponge cakes this week, with lemon flavoured icing and finally used the cross stitch effect reindeer and snowflake cake toppers that i bought last year.......we all enjoyed them as well as some mince pies..........and some snow bites.........

 ..........i have a few wreaths around the house, most are quite simple, one is made from red and green jingle bells, bought last year, another is a very bright shiny bauble one.......sometimes a friend of mine makes us a fresh garland for the front door which always looks so pretty.........

..............and some of the hyacinths i planted in various odd containers are flowering now and scenting the air along with the winter candles............

 ..........i am still wrapping presents, and some have still to arrive from online ordering but there is still time....
just about (fingers crossed).........thank you for dropping in to see me here in my little blog home, especially at this busy busy time of year.......it's always so lovely to see you :)................

............i would like to send everyone who reads my blog my warmest wishes for a very happy and peaceful christmas........sending love to all my dear readers and sweet blog friends and wishing you all happy holidays.........back soon (in the bit inbetween) xxxxxxxxxxxxxoooooooooxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tis The Season...

........to be crafting :)........and one of the crafty things i have loved making recently is a new bunny........

                                                            .............meet little nell............

             .............here she is with the most adorable package of christmas blocks ...............

..............and here she is amongst the christmassy things on the dresser, looking very cheery in her red gingham skirt (with matching ear linings), lots of buttons, a small applique crown patch on her red felt coat to celebrate the rather regal year we've had here in old blighty, and a sweet bow at her waist................

..........as well as crafting little nell, i have been decking the halls with all sorts of greenery from our garden..... we have some sweet little rosehips, still loads of red berries, and so much ivy to pick from......

..................i love using the greengate jugs for flowers and foliage, they look so pretty to me.............

 ...........and the crafty decorations are all in place now........not too many of them this year, i'm finding a more simple and pared down look is creating a peaceful feel.........still loving the red and white though :).....

 ........little nell has now climbed into a brown cardboard box and nestled down in layers of soft tissue paper......because she had a journey to make............

                ...........she has gone off to a new loving home, taking merry wishes with her..................

.......i am sending you all lots of merry wishes too as we get closer and closer to christmas....i hope you are enjoying the countdown of the days, feeling merry and bright and jolly too............thank you so much for visiting me here in my little space............it's wonderful to see you..........back soon xxxxoooxxxoooxxx