Strawberry Hearts

 Another week here in our home and some more pictures to share with you dear readers.............this is my strawberry hearts quilt which i made over ten years ago and showed first here on my blog.....

 ............people have often asked if there is a pattern for this quilt and now there is.....

 .........and it can be found in my etsy shop (link in sidebar).........this quilt was made with some of my favourite cath kidston fabrics of the time including the strawberries on blue print which gave the quilt its name and also became my logo both here and on instagram......

 ............this quilt has lots of different hearts in varying sizes.....it has worn well over the years, and i'm glad to have finally written a pattern for it.....

 ...........i've been busy in the garden again.....here is the first clematis i planted last year in my little cottage garden now in flower against the white picket fence.....

........and in the greenhouse there are cuttings from geraniums, pelargoniums and tiny bellis daisy plants grown from splitting the bigger plants that were still growing in the garden....v excited about growing these new little bellis daisies..............also lots of seeds growing which you can't see in this picture......

 ...............one of our recent sunny walks...........this is an old disused railway line which became a lovely walk way edged with trees and wild flowers...........

 ...........when i found this partly finished needlebook made from pretty japanese fabrics i just had to stop and finish it...........

 ...........it's funny what you find when you are looking for something else...well, in my sewing room/studio/house that is :)........

 .............this week i got some flour....quite an exciting moment many of you will agree.....my daughter found it in the farm shop and brought me a bag so i was able to bake these mini carrot cakes....they tasted lovely...

 ............a little garden view complete with beehive, bluebells, daisies, tulips, alpine flowers trough, and rusty metal candle holder for those balmy summer evenings...........and below is some of our apple blossom..........just love it.....lots of bees do too and it's been very peaceful watching them.....

.........thank you for dropping by to see me here lovely readers and for your kind comments......i hope you are keeping well and safe during this strange time, and finding happy moments and creative inspirations to keep you cheerful............wishing you well till next time lovelies......back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Vintage Charm Quilt

 Hello dear readers.....hope you are well and safe reading this week's post from my little bit of blog land.......this is one of the quilts i've been working on during lockdown.....

 .............i had a lot of 5in squares left over from charm packs and decided to combine them in a charm quilt....some of the fabrics are richer and darker than my usual palette but i love them too and especially combined with lighter florals....i think it gives a very vintage feel.....

 ............i also made lots of fussy cut rose appliques (backed with fusible web) and scattered them over the quilt, sewing them in place with blanket stitch.....

 ............here's the quilt on the kitchen table a couple of weeks ago having the layers pinned together......

 .............and here's a picture of the quilting style.....straight line quilting at 1/2 in intervals on some squares and on others different patterns using the stripes as a guide or quilter's tape to form diagonal lines......

...............have been reading a lot, both new books on my kindle and some old favourites that i'm re reading like nella last's diaries here......

 ............and on a sadder vintage note.....our lovely cath kidston shops all across the uk are closed...not just because of coronavirus like many shops but permanently :(....so sad to see those pretty pastel painted shops disappear from our high streets though luckily we can still buy online from their website.....here is a table full of CK china ready for afternoon tea.....

 .............and here is a big treat we had this weekend.....a homemade strawberry and raspberry trifle...

 ...........tulip time now......these were some planted in a pot on the patio....later i'll put them in the cottage garden so i can be sure of some pink ones in there next spring.....

.............i want to say a big thank you to those lovely readers who told me the blossom i showed last week looked like crabapple blossom....yes, and isn't it just the prettiest......am now wondering if we can squeeze a little crabapple tree into our garden......thank you everyone who left me a comment about it :) x

 ..........today is a little bit grey and rainy here after all that endless sunshine and blue sky....but the garden will be glad of the rain and we planted the sweetpeas yesterday so a nice drink will be good for them....so the seasons and the flowers continue in nature despite all the turmoil of the world at the moment...........just keep on keeping on everyone.....

.............thank you for your visits here lovely readers and your kind comments......wishing you a peaceful week with sunny days, happy moments and plenty of crafty inspirations....stay safe and take care..............................back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

Bluebell Time

 Hello lovely readers......it's bluebell time again here and there are bunches in little jars and jugs all around our house......

 ..........all these bluebells came from a wild bit of our own garden................

 ...........as you can see below.......the bench here is not that old but it has not fared well being left out in all weathers and is very rusty and rickety now.....however i am keeping it a bit longer for my photo shoots.....

 .................like this one with my gather the flowers quilt............

 ...........the pinks and blues in this quilt remind me of my favourite flower colours....though of course i love them all really..................

 .............and despite having a garden full of yellow and orange tulips last year when i thought i'd planted pink ones.....here are some pink ones this time :).............

 ...........on one of our daily walks we found some gorgeous blossom......two trees mingling....

 ..............not sure what type this is.....i tried to look it up but didn't reach any conclusion....looks a bit like apple blossom but too many petals...........so will have to go back and see if it has fruit later in the year........unless anyone recognises it and can tell me?

 .............more blossomy close ups..............

 ..............love the deep pink becoming paler as the flowers open............

 ...............latest fabric play is this piece of patchwork and fabric collage.......this is for a project bag......lots of things still to add and quilting to do but it is really fun to make.......

..............thank you for dropping by to see me here dear readers......and a special thank you to those who take the time to leave me a sweet comment and let me know you are there, that is so much appreciated :)........i hope you are all keeping well and safe and finding some crafty inspirations during this strange quarantine time.........enjoy all the small things each day and take care lovelies........back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Easter Time

Here i am back with some pictures from our easter....a rather different easter this year in many ways but still with lots of things to enjoy......

 ..........the potting shed is now open, aired, swept and de cobwebbed and i took a few pictures in  there of lettuce the sugar bunny, the patchwork birds and little hen and my favourite pastel egg wreath that i've had for a few years now.....

 ............and for easter day itself here's lolly another sugar bunny in her easter dress as always.....

 ...........i made some little egg cosies with appliqued roses on them....

 ...........have been adding rose appliques to a quilt lately which i will do a post about soon.....

 ............and then i thought they'd look pretty on some stripy blue and white fabric for some spring time egg cosies....perfect for all these leisurely breakfast we can now have....

 ............the picnic quilt pattern is now in my shop (along with the bunnies, birds and little hen...link in sidebar).......we have enjoyed our garden picnics this past week and i'm hoping all the extra attention means our flowers this summer will be better than ever ;).......

 ............one of the walks we love and a route which leads to our little town is through the norman churchyard.......below is a picture of flowers in the grass there......like a tapestry.....

 ...............and a beautiful large clump of primroses..........

 .............last week our elder daughter who lives nearby gave us these delicious hot cross buns.....and on easter sunday she cycled round (on her pink bike) with chocolate eggs for us.......and ocado have now given me a slot again for two weeks running so my shopping delivery is back to normal...though still no flour for some strange reason..........

 ..............it's the strangest time and in many ways a sad time...but also a peaceful, stepping off the busy merry-go-round of work life for most of my family......and how amazingly beautiful this spring is with its blue skies, sunny days, blossom and so much human kindness being shown.....every thursday at 8 pm everyone in the uk goes out on their doorsteps to clap for the wonderful NHS and other key workers......we can hear the clapping (and cheers and whoops) carrying across the gardens and through the trees.....it's an amazing and moving time............

.............thank you for coming to visit me here in my little blog space dear readers.........i hope you and your families are keeping safe and well..........sending you warmest wishes lovelies.......back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Blossoms, Birds and Bunnies

 Hello again dear readers............hope you are keeping well and safe....here are some cheerful pictures from my week.....beginning with my work table covered with spring things....tiny bunnies, flowers, sewing things, mini eggs and some tiny toys from my husband's childhood that i found in a box in the attic....i selected the tiny hens and sheep for this time of year......

 .............the farmyard animals were always some of my own favourite toys too.....the tiny gambolling lamb on the right is much older than the others (and is made of lead) so it must have belonged to the previous generation....

 .............up the cottage garden path now.....a vintage bucket filled with narcissi and surrounded by tulips, hyacinths and primroses......as well as perennial plants growing ready for summer flowering......

 ...........and the cloche waiting to be put to use for some tender new plants (the cloche was bought from the national trust shop a while ago)...............

 ............i was so busy living in our little quiet lockdown world i nearly forgot about easter.....

 ...............but then i remembered and out came the blossom wreath and decorative eggs and my patchwork birds.....

 ..............and some spring flowers from the garden filling small jugs here and there......

............the pdf patterns for the tiny bunnies and patchwork birds can be found in my etsy shop link in sidebar.......i've been busily sewing new things this week and will show you pictures next time.....

 ............our permitted walk each day is a real pleasure......and i know we are very lucky to live where we do and have pretty places to wander while social distancing must be observed.......the blossom trees in people's front gardens are such a joy to see.......

 .............i always love seeing this pretty house with it's timeless feel and blooms and blossoms.....to the left of this picture is a walled vegetable garden where a man was working and we had a little chat, keeping several metres between us of course......everyone we meet is friendly and smiling.....

................a glorious magnolia tree up close.......the blue sky is so beautiful and perfect to show off the blossoms...........

............and on the edge of the woods in a shady spot was a big patch of forget me nots...........the beauty of the spring this year seems more powerful than ever with all the uncertainty and worry in the world right now.......but we must all keep on keeping on and hope for it to pass quickly......thank you for visiting me here lovely readers and for the kind comments you leave me........keep safe and healthy lovelies.......have a happy easter and i hope you find lots of small happy things to enjoy each day........................back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx