Spring and things.

 

This is a happy Tally.

Another walk along the estuary on a beautiful sunny morning, plus some water and a lot of mud, topped off with a dash of drift wood, all equals one happy dog.  

 

It was a really quite chilly but the picture makes it look warm with that big expanse of blue sky
 and a few cotton wool clouds.  

I love the light at this time of year and can almost feel myself waking up as the days get longer.
It is definitely my favourite time of year.

 

On the making front, I have finally finished my Moorland Blanket.

Thanks again to Lucy from Attic 24 for such a great pattern.  

 

I think this may be my favourite blanket so far. The wave pattern of stitches makes such a close weave (if there is such a term in crochet!!) and the result is a really cosy blanket.
And then there's the colours.. 

Sky colours are not my usual choice but in combination with the rest I am a converted person. 

 

That's better. The right way up.

I would have had a lovely picture of this held out carefully by child number 1, but the risk of using teenagers to do that sort of job is that they use the opportunity to hold up various fingers as well as the blanket!!! And their daft mother doesn't see until she uploads the photo.

So this 'draped in the tree' version will just have to do.   

 

And finally a garden catch up.

This blue is so vivid. I think the plant is Lithodora but don't hold me to that.  

 

A patch of marguerite daisies that all came from one tiny cutting given to me by a friend about 6 or 7 years ago. I just keep taking more cuttings and planting more because they are so easy to do and look after themselves - my sort of plant.

 

And its apple blossom time again.

Oh, and new peg bag time...
 

 

I hope spring is springing with you too.

xx

Cock-a doodle-doo!

I have been on a trip to Cowslip this week and was lucky enough to be given a workshop for my birthday. It was a whole day spent making chickens and cockerels which may sound a bit strange but was really good fun and quite challenging. I can never believe how quickly the time goes on days like this. Before you know it it's time to go home and I feel like I could just settle in for the week!
The day was run by Helen and Ellen who were lovely.

So the workshop was called Cock-A-Doodle-Doo and here is my cockerel which I have just been finishing off today..

 

He is about 16" tall and stands alone without any props.
He is made from fabric and stuffing with some wire in the tail feathers and legs and you get the patterns for both the hen and cockerel to take home.

 

We have been exploring the garden together and he looks in his element out there. I'm not sure where he is going to live exactly. The chickens and cockerels on the tables in the café at Cowslip looked fab but he is a bit on the large side for our table so he might be relegated to the fireplace
or a sunny window.

Meeting our girls..

Just wanted to show you these angelica plants too that I am loving at the moment.
The tallest ones are around 4 ft.

 

And finally this spell of sunny weather has meant the farmers have been out working on the fields. This one is near our house and I love to walk through the newly cut piles of grass
 following their wiggly lines.

And so does Tally, if a lot more slowly than she used to.  

Coming out of hibernation

 

I was lucky enough to get this  Sue Spargo calendar for Christmas and have been pouring over the pictures ever since, it is just gorgeous. I just wish she lived in the UK or that I had time and resources to pop over to Australia for a workshop!

 

Anyway, I have been trying to think of an idea for a leaving present for a friend and the result is a bit of a "mash up" (if that term can be used in sewing!), but was inspired by the calendar and is definitely still a work in progress...
 

I am learning some new embroidery stitches which I found here, but mostly it's just fairly plain and simple stiches but a good chance to play with colours. The bits of applique are felt and the background various bits of cotton and some linen scraps. I think it will end up as a cushion but I'll keep you posted.
 



This beauty is flowering its socks off on the table and making me very happy. I bought the Amaryllis bulb just before Christmas and the first head has four enormous flowers on it.

And to top it off there is a second shoot just ready to burst into bud when this one fades. Bulbs never cease to amaze me and I hope they never do. There is nothing quite like planting a brown, flaky onion and watching it produce this in just a few weeks. 

 



The garden is very wet and soggy but there are signs of spring around the corner with daffs, hellebores and snow drops all out and this tiny hint of pink on the magnolia promising more to come.

It is so good to see the blue sky behind it but the forecast looks like more grey tomorrow.

I am off to enjoy the sunshine while it is out.

x 

Colour in the Garden

I love May.
The garden really starts coming to life and every day there is a new flower or shoot to see.



Anthemis Cupaniana (Sicilian chamomile) - known here as Carine's daisises. She gave me a sprig to root about 8 years ago and we now have 5 or 6 huge plants. They flower their socks off until summer time when they can be dead headed to leave the silver foliage.



Aquilegia or Granny's Bonnets are self seeded all over the place. I have tried growing some other varieties but they don't seem to do as well as the wild ones.



Chives. Again self seeded from one very small clump grown from seed and far too many really but I can't bring myself to dig them up because they look so pretty.



The wisteria has finally reached the top of our pergola after 7 years. My dream of sitting underneath shaded from the sun is still a way off but does now seem a possibility.



Osteospermum- an old favourite.



Valerian- planted on top of a wall to try and compete with the ivy and stingers. Doing well now that it has established.



Violas by the back door- planted last autumn and nearly given up on until we went away at Easter and they were tended by person with green fingers and lots of patience! (not me)



And finally for the flowers (yet more purple!!) the Centaurea montana Purpurea - or Mountain Cornflower. It spreads like wildfire but I figure anything that competes with the weeds and looks this good has got to be ok.



Cosy Stripe Blanket number two is coming on but more slowly due to the lure of the garden.



And this is another WIP - scraps bonded to some double sided sticky stuff ready to make a few more badges.



Tally is outside in her favourite spot again taking it easy!

 

Just a quick update as I have been playing with flower patterns from a new book lent to me by Mum.

 

"100 flowers to knot and crochet" by Lesley Stanfield.

 

I did actually get this book out of the library a while back after reading about it over at Attic 24,

but I think my limited crochet skills have improved slightly since then.

Nevertheless I am starting with the 'Basic Designs'.

 

These are two Hellebores, a small meconopsis and a sprig of mistletoe.

They are all made from some wool I had in, old embroidery wool I think,

but I am going to have to get more.

 

It's the colour that is important to me so I may need to hunt around a bit but will let you know.

 

 

 

The Asters are coming out fairly early and the colours are gorgeous. 

 

 

I love the purple and yellow combination with the Rudbeckia.

Skirts and Flowers

 

Two new skirts for the summer, made using my well loved and used pattern by New Look 6053.

I have shaved half an inch off the waist edge and added an inch to the bottom of view E.

 

It is straight forward and very quick.

 

The fabric was bought online from The Village Habberdashery and they were great.

The blue one is Desert Flower in Navy by Hatbox. It's a lovely thickish cotton

and I haven't bothered lining it.

Don't look at the lack of matching down the side seam, I didn't have enough fabric to do that!

And if I'm totally honest there is a corner patch on the back aswell, but shhhhhh!!
What would Patrick and May say!!!!
 

 The brown is Ume on Russian Caravan.

This is a fabric designed by Umbrella Prints, an Australian Company.

Their fabrics are just gorgeous but not easy to get hold of here in the UK until more recently.

Again this skirt is unlined.
 

A couple of headless shots so you can see them on.



And in the garden at the moment...
 

Calendula
 

 

Feverfew

 

Hydrangea pots 

 

Sweet peas growing up the shed.

 

And finally a WIP -

a holiday bag made from some scraps of the Umbrella Prints fabric.

It's nearly that time of year again.

Bits and Bobs

 

Woops this is the wrong way up but never mind!

I have been quilting the scrappy triangles.

I tried using some lovely multi-coloured thread and quilted around the triangles first

but that got unpicked, it looked all wrong.

Then I did some straight lines which I haven't used before,
 quilted using the walking foot and they are by no means even but I quite like them anyway.
I certainly won't be unpicking these as it would take hours!
 

 

Now I need to trim the edges and bind it- will keep you posted.

 

 

I was given this lovely tiny pin cushion by a friend last week.

She made the felted ball herself.
 

 

I love it and am hoping it might save me finding pins in my cuffs when I'm out shopping!
I can see myself forgetting I'm wearing it though too which could be a laugh.
 

 

I took this photo of a lilac tree in the garden today.

The tree was a present about 5 or 6 years ago and it is just beautiful.
 

 

I wish you could smell it too.

I will be picking some for the house now that the tree is big enough.
 

 

And finally, a bit more purple from this patch of self seeded chives in the gravel.

The original clump of chives were in a raised bed but they self seeded and I can't bring myself to pull them out as they are so pretty.

A sunny evening

 

The sun was lovely this evening after a pretty wet day and I couldn't resist another photo of the scrappy flags in this light.
 

 

As I was taking the pitures it reminded me that the washing line is still propped up in the middle of our garden table where the umbrella usually goes because the base broke - another job to add to the list!!

 

 

The pink magnolia (not sure of the species) is now in full flower. 

 

Beautiful against the blue sky,

 

 

as is this cherry blossom I think.
 

 

We have a patch of wild garlic under a holly bush.
 I suppose it's a weed really but it's so pretty and is quite good at covering the ground and keeping the weeds down so I like it.

 

I got this picture and it wasn't until I saw it on the computer that I realised there was a tiny snail and a fly on the picture too!

 



And finally the daisies.

We have about 5 or 6 big clumps of these now and they all come from a tiny cutting supplied by a friend a few years ago.

Again I'm afraid I'm not sure of the plant name but I will ask her if she knows.

They are a perennial and just flower their hearts out at this time of year and well into the summer.
 



WIP

 

There is a lot of 'Work in Progress' around here at the moment and not much of it sewing.

These are three grain bags ready for filling.

Quick and easy projects perfect for a quick fabric fix.

 

And I just had to show you this beauty..
 

 

It is a Pineapple Sage, or Salvia elegans.

There are very few flowers out in the garden at this time of year

and these red spikes are just lovely.

I think the plant is a tender perennial but it seems to survive in our back garden.

Cuttings are easy to take just in case the cold weather finishes it off.

 

Pink Elderflower Cordial

We have a pink elderflower in the garden and I used the flowers mixed with some white ones to make a second batch of cordial.

I was hoping it would turn the cordial a pinkish colour 

 but had not expected them to work this well..

It is a beautiful colour and even diluted is a pretty shade of pink.

 

Here it is next to some strawberries from the garden.
I have never managed to get strawberries to work in our garden until this year.
I moved the plants to a raised bed and they seem to love it there and haven't been eaten by anything apart from us yet!

Geraniums are looking pretty too.

 

 

Bringing some outdoors in

 

I couldn't resist bringing some of this into the house to look at.

 The shrub is a deutzia longifolia (just had to look that up!) and is one inherited with the garden.
 It is just beautiful but only for a week or two.
 Unfortunately it has no scent but it makes up for that in looks I think.
 It just happens to go perfectly with a peony that is also out at just the right time.

 

This is the first dahlia of the year with some astrantia.












 

 

I have been making some elderflower cordial this week.
 

Off to sew now!

I hope you have a good weekend.

A Busy Week

June is a busy month in this house with lots of birthdays as well as exams and courses.

I have been working on a dress which is based on an amalgamation of two patterns (I and S) from The Stylish Dress Book by Yoshiko Tsukiori.

I wanted the basic shape of dress S with the gathering on the bodice, but I like the v-neck and sleevelessness of dress I.

So, after a bit of fiddling about, and a bit of shaping of the side seams I ended ip with this..

Sorry about the photo but it's quite hard to get a photo of something you are wearing I find.

 If I had a mannequin I would use that to hang it on, but I haven't so you will have to do with me!

 

The bodice worked quite well I think and it is really comfortable to wear.

I also added a lining to the skirt.

The linen creases fairly quickly (you were right Mum!) but I'm not too bothered about creases.

Cakes for a birthday tea...

 

 and leftover sweeties..
 

 

on a crocheted doily.

 

And finally a beauty from the garden this week..

 

 

 a foxglove.