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

Happy New Year

 Here are some of my own favourite pictures from 2018...it's hard to believe we are at the end of another year again...……….

 …………..we had a lovely christmas and i hope you enjoyed yours too...…….

 ………..my christmas quilt was used all the time and i'm so glad i made it even though it's only used at this time of year...……..

 ………..and i do plan to write up the pattern for this (and lots of other makes of mine) this coming year......

 ……...i added some shop bought roses to the bucket of holly and ivy…..they lasted all week....

 …………...my granddaughter wrapped molly up in the christmas quilt...she loved it....

 …………..my elder daughter and her husband hosted christmas day for us all......below is a peek at her pretty dining table...……..

 ………..later in the day when dusk was falling...……...and betsy and molly having their own special dogs' christmas dinners in the kitchen.....

 ………..we had a family buffet at our house on boxing day.....this is the trifle i made just like the ones i made in the 80's :)……..a trip down memory lane as i haven't made one for a long time.....

 ………..the tiny cross stitched dala horse i showed you last time was made into this cute little pincushion using sweet fabrics from the guestroom collection for moda……..

 ……….and i have now begun three new quilts for the new year....this is the beginning of one of them ………...time to tidy up the house and get back to normal again now...……..

………...thank you for dropping by to my little blog space dear readers and for the kind comments you leave...….wishing you all a very Happy New Year and a wonderful time in 2019...….i hope you enjoy your crafty times and find plenty of creative inspiration...…………...back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Merry Christmas

 The countdown is speeding up and christmas is nearly here.....i hope you are enjoying these december days......i am enjoying the homely cosy times ....this is my favourite patchwork stocking and little sign on my cottage garden gate.....

 ……….so happy to get my new red and white irish chain quilt back from the longarm quilter (debbie holland) in time for christmas.....

 ……….it's another for my red and white collection and as soon as i finish one i like to begin another to work on at the same time as other current projects.....

 ……….we have two main christmas trees each year, one in the sitting room (below) which is usually decorated with red and white and often has a pixie nearby….(the other is in our pink lounge and i haven't got a picture of it so far this year!)……...and lots of little ones here and there....

 ……...here's the pixie girl with one of my hexagon bags....perfect to hold a present (or to be a present!)……….and one of the small trees i have grown fond of, dotted about the house.....

 ……….the maileg toys are favourites of mine, especially with my quilts and patchwork or applique cushions.....

 ………..here is the white painted birdhouse decorated with xmas stamps a few years ago....

 ………….love this nordic inspiration...…….

 ……….one weekend afternoon recently my husband was out in the garden tidying up and pruning.....i went into the kitchen to find a big bucket of holly he'd clipped off for me.....

 ……...below is a little work in progress on my christmassy work table....this will be a pincushion made with a tiny cross stitch dala horse and some pretty guestroom fabrics from moda…..

 ………..cakes for the children with snowy white icing and tiny holly decorations.....

 ……...my grandchildren are very excited and i'm excited that we will be with them all on christmas day...…...just got to wrap the presents and finish the food shopping (though my eldest daughter is doing christmas dinner)……….

 ……...i got this little handmade santa ornament at treacle market.....the patchwork heart is one i made to hang on a present.....and below is a basket of baubles old and new...some of you may remember seeing the red and white merry christmas heart felt decorations i made years ago and put on my blog looong ago :)…...so here we are ...my last post before christmas …….at the most wonderful time of the year.....

………….i want to wish you all a very merry christmas and happy holidays....thank you for visiting me here through the year and for the very kind comments you leave me....sending much love to all my dear readers...………….back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

December Days

 These december days are passing so quickly and we are enjoying the countdown to christmas...here is my red berry wreath on the cottage garden gate.....(and in the cottage garden itself there are already signs of bulbs growing and the promise of spring)………..

 ……….the red berries are one of my favourites at this time of year...and here is a peek at my new red and white irish chain  quilt.....more of this soon.....it is one to add to my red and white collection of quilts.....

 ……..here is holly hare.....a christmas gift...…..wearing her woolly hat and striped scarf and a lace trimmed dress made from a lovely old cath kidston red floral...……..

 ………..the pretty hexagons have been turned into bags to hold gifts.....they make nice thread catchers or small project holders once the gift is opened...….the pattern is the one in my book *modern vintage gifts* ………….

 ……...the lining is a candy striped old favourite but the hexies are made from the gorgeous new guestroom fabrics by moda and some pretty red lecien florals too...……...

 ………..the little bag in my book is decorated with fabric flowers but this time i used yo yos….

 ………….i got lots of christmas shopping done last week...….

 ………...both online and when i went to chester with my eldest daughter......

 ………..chester is so full of atmosphere i've always loved it and this time of year it feels really special.....above is the christmas market...……..

 ………...we shopped all day just stopping for a quick lunch and later coffee and mince pies...……..

 ……….heading back to the car in the winter twilight...all the lights twinkling...….
Thank you for visiting my little blogspace dear readers and for taking time to leave me sweet comments...….i hope you are enjoying these december days too....this week i plan to finish decorating the house and will be back with some festive photos soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx