Sowing Season....... and a Winner!

 Happy April everyone!.........the new month - as the old rhyme says -  really is bringing the primrose sweet and scattering daisies at our feet and i have a flower packed post today :).........

 .............all the daffodils and narcissus are flowering in our garden this week and there are lots in jugs and other containers around the house too.........as well as lots of flowery fabrics like the ones in this finished hexie cushion made with gorgeous, colourful pam kitty picnic fabrics............

 ...............the cushion will look perfect on the painted garden bench this summer............

 ............i may just have to make a few more too though my next project is going to be a flowery quilt..........and i began a new granny stripe crochet blanket requested by one of my dearies at the weekend.....

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 ............the bellis daisies have been a real pleasure to have in my sewing room over the past couple of weeks, such a cheery little flower shape and pretty colour................

 ..............the hexie cushion on the rocking chair, a nice and simple painted chair looks lovely with a patchwork cushion, i think..................

 

 ............some of our garden daffodils in full bloom.......this week i am sowing seeds and weeding the tulip patch which has begun to flower and as soon as more flowers are open it will be time for a photoshoot......a family of newts have moved in to the completed garden pond and last week two big ducks (mr and mrs mallard)  arrived to inspect it but didn't stay long, just had a paddle and a little rest...........

 ...............i love browsing through garden books and catalogues, including vintage ones, at this time of year especially........love all the ideas to try, and tips from gardening friends too..............

 ...............i was a very lucky mother this weekend and had lots of gorgeous gifts from my dear girls for mother's day............lovely things which will be appearing in my photos for quite some time :).......

 .............and speaking of gifts.......it is now time to announce the winner of my recent springtime giveaway.............the random number generator had to be used this time as there were a lot of entries (too many for a hat).....thank you so much to all those who took part and for your very kind comments..........and the winner is..........farmgirl sam...........congratulations, sam, and if you would email me your address i will send your parcel of gifts straight to you :)......................

 ...............i am busy working on some patchwork projects this week, so will be returning to the cutting table in a moment or two.........i'm creating a magazine commission as well as a new quilt for me so all the fabrics  neatly stacked in the fabric cupboard will soon be scattered far and wide while i choose the patches.............love it.....though not so much folding them all back up again later..........

..............thank you, lovely readers, for visiting me here and for your lovely comments which i do appreciate so much..............i hope you have a happy sunny week with plenty of flowers and crafts to enjoy..................back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxooooooooooooxxxxxxxxxx 

Flowers and Crochet

 I am sharing two of my favourite things here today......as it says in the title, flowers and crochet :).....but first i must say a huge thank you to everyone who has entered my springtime giveaway on my previous post (open till march 31 if you would still like to put your name in the draw)...............i have so enjoyed reading your lovely comments, and finding some new bloggers to visit too........my pastel ripple blanket is finished and has been photographed........

.............and i have been loving having jugs of spring flowers in my studio and sewing room while i work this week ...............

..............the weather has been sunny, rainy, bright, but most of all chilly with a mean east wind.....

 ...........i finished off this ripple by sewing on a bobble trim, like i did with the bright ripple stripe i made last spring, but this time i used white bobbles which blend in with the last white stripes.......

 ............i have been working on my secret projects.......(all magazine commissions which will pop up eventually here)..........some of the projects involve paper crafts and scrapbook techniques which i so love to play with sometimes............my desk is covered with crafts materials and ready for a big tidy up now......................

 ..............here is the pastel ripple hanging on the potting shed door..............and some of my chalks...

 ...............i notice i seem to have used a lot of the pink one :)................

 ............... sweet pink hyacinths from the garden......i plant the potted hyacinths and other bulbs outside after they flower in the house each year and now have quite a collection outdoors each spring.......below are pink primula from outside daisy's pre-school.............and some soft new yarn....

 .................and a new persephone book..............i am not sure yet what i will make with this gorgeous new yarn, at the moment i am just enjoying having it there looking delicious.............

 ...............the little crate is handy to put a project in and pile up the yarn in too......i am always moving my crafty stuff about depending on where i want to work on it and also in an effort not to take over the whole house with it ;)..............

 ..............i keep sewing things on a tray (which is often in my photographs) and that is easy to lift onto a higher table away from small children's hands.......scissors and pins and needles are always in use around here........

                              ................one of my favourite spring flowers is the bellis daisy..............

                         .............i love to mix the garden flowers together with pretty china.....

..............and as this post has so many flowers, i had to have at least one blossom-against-blue sky shot, and here it is..............blissful cherry blossom on some small trees in the old village churchyard....if you stand right underneath the sky looks full of flowers.................thank you for visiting me here in my little blog space, lovely readers, and for your sweet comments........i wish you a happy sunny week with flowers and crafts to enjoy wherever you may be.........back soon xxxxxxxx

                                   *****my springtime giveaway is open until monday march 31*****

Spring Time Giveaway!

 It's spring time, the sun is shining and it's giveaway time here!.....as promised, i have put together a  collection of crafty treats for one of my lovely readers to win.......they are all pretty, flowery, dotty and bright...............

 ............the parcel will contain five treats................the first is a bright pop travel sewing case from
cath kidston.................all neatly packed inside and easy to take on your travels..............

................the next gift is a bundle of spring inspired fabrics in pinks and greens, one of my favourite combinations........

 ..................i have made a little flowery decorative heart to include..................

 ...............and there is a reel of cath kidston spotty ribbon ...............

 .................and finally i made a little floral and dotty spring birdie, just like the ones i designed for issue three of love patchwork and quilting magazine...............

 ..........if you would like to win the parcel of goodies all you have to do is leave me a comment on this post.............if you are a follower, or a new follower, you are welcome to add another comment to be entered twice.................the giveaway is open to everyone, worldwide...............

 ....................and it will be open until midnight on monday 31 march...................

 .................the spring flowers are looking so lovely this week, a bit of sunshine makes them all open up and i have picked a few to enjoy on my desk......the pot above is an unusual primula that has flowers like little rosettes and the scent of roses :).........the flowers below are from my spring cutting patch...............

 .................i am working on a new commission today and wish i could show it to you but it has to be top secret for now.......in my spare moments i am making more stars for my star quilt...........

..............and doing a little crochet too.............i have finished the ripple blanket so hope to show that as soon as i take pictures of it....i really like having a big stripy blanket to crochet and miss it now it's finished........might just have to begin another ripple, or perhaps i'll do a granny stripe next time....i love having something you just pick up and put down and add a row to now and then......

 ............we had a sunny, breezy weekend and got lots of work done on the pond...........i also went on a quick shopping trip with sarah and daisy and we visited the cath kidston shop :)..........daisy got some ck flowery shoes which she loves very much............

................thank you for visiting me here, lovely readers, for all your kind comments and blog friendship, and thank you to all who share my crafty interests here and through my books and other work.......the giveaway is just a little way to thank you all.........wishing you a wonderful week ahead with sunny, crafty, happy times..............back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxoooooooooooooxxxxxxxxxx

Makes for March

The sun is shining here and the birds are singing.......we had a lovely sunny weekend too and got a lot of our pond making done.....i will take some pictures of it soon...........but today is all about stitchy makes................

 ...........first is the kitty quilt, which i finished last week, adding the binding one lunch time and handsewing it in the evening watching a movie........so glad it is finished and ready for picnics :)........

 ..............the kitty quilt is of course made with pam kitty picnic fabrics available here and here......

.............the quilt pattern evolved on my cutting table as i made blocks and tried them together......i have more blocks made from this gorgeous collection which are for a sampler quilt and will be showing those soon too...........

 ............i love the bold contrast of the navy blue fabrics............and i love the pale blue wreaths and roses print, one of my favourites....lots more future projects will be created with this one ........

 ...................when i studied textile design as a student i gradually learnt that the overall effect of a textile pattern seen from a distance is as important - or maybe more important - than just the close up design...............i love to see fabrics draped and crumpled like the pictures above and below........

 ...........i really like the effect of the backing with the kitties and balloons print on cream..................

                                      ................perfect for the children to love too.............

 .............as well as making things for work, for fun and for others........someone has made something for me too..............the very kind and generous dorothy of the lovely crafty blog dorothy's room held a giveaway recently and i was one of the lucky winners..............dorothy created this lovely sewing wallet, beautifully embellished with so many sweet touches...............

 ...............inside there are lots of useful sewing pockets which dorothy had filled with treats like fabric, a crochet hook, glittery thread, ribbons and chocolate............such a lovely gift to receive, and i will be showing this again i am sure as i will be using it a lot.............thank you so much, dorothy :)

 .........the next make is a new bunny for spring who has hopped into the new issue of crafts beautiful magazine, out now and full of spring ideas..............i made this little bunny especially for the spring issue (she has a lovely lecien flower sugar dress and a little crochet sweater).....find out more online here................

 .............now i am busy working on other design commissions, as well as making my hexies and fitting in a few crochet stripes on my ripple blanket too.....i still work on that sometimes and am hoping to finish it soon so it will be another 'make for march' rather than another wip ;)...........

............thank you so much for visiting me here, lovely readers and for your kind comments, such a pleasure to read..............i wish you all a happy spring week with sunshine and crafty times...........back soon (with a giveaway)...............xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxoooooooooooooxxxxxxxx