… feel good fridays

Posted in: Home Life

So lovely friends, welcome to my first ‘feel good friday’ … it’s a new little adventure, and it certainly does feel like a good thing!

Taking a moment to notice the good things that the week bought into my life … and asking you to join me!

Here goes …

~ finding a forgotten box of buttons ~

box of buttons

~ noticing the evening light ~

evening shadows

~ spending time with my lovely Mum on her Birthday ~

my lovely Mum

~ buying myself some of this gorgeous fabric from here ~

Image: Lu Summers ~ Fabric Available: http://www.etsy.com/shop/summersville

~ a phone call from my little Brother ~

~ an acupuncture session to heal my back ~

~ blueberries with vanilla yoghurt ~

~ getting started on a writing assignment ~

~ seeing some blue skies ~

Ah, doesn’t that feel good … feel good friday’s … yes, I like them already!

Let me know what bought a bit of goodness into your life this week!

 

… a bargain

Posted in: Home Life

So, after what feels like weeks and weeks of grey, cold wet weekends, we were blessed with a weekend full of skies that looked like this …

summer skies

… and I found myself at home nursing a poorly back whilst the rest of the world set out for hilltops, beaches, parks and riversides! Oh, glum!

I took the photos above from my bedroom window and the garden, and imagined I was standing on a cliff top feeling the salty breeze whip my hair into its usual ‘been for a walk’ mess!

To cheer myself up, I gathered up a stash of recently found fabric bargains and got busy with my camera!

fabric bargains

I scored the selection above in a local craft shop which sells off donated scraps, leftovers and offcuts at amazingly cheap prices … I was so pleased with the colour match …

fabric bargains

… and the textures.

I also found this beautiful woollen offcut in the same shop …

wool weave fabric

… it seems to combine the colours of autumn with the colours of the sea. Two of my favourite things!

A friend of mine took me to a little antique/junk shop which she knew had a box full of bargain ribbons … and I couldn’t resist a selection of gorgeous colours…

satin ribbons

… and the local Hospice shop came up trumps with this pillow case …

thrifted pillowcase

… loving those cranberry colours, and look how well they go with this grey weave I found in another craft shop in town …

fabric bargains

Finally, not a bargain at all, but so gorgeous I couldn’t resist, these lovely ribbons were found hiding in a box in my local stationery shop … no idea what I will use them for, but the colours and patterns are lovely.

pretty ribbons

Just looking at them makes me smile ~ reason enough to buy them methinks!

And so, as consolation for missing out on the best walking weekend since March, I am taking myself, and a cup of tea into the garden, for some birdsong, some Spring breezes and a game of ‘lets pretend’!

garden

Anyone want to join me?

 

… completion

Posted in: Made by hand

Oh, it does feel good to finish something … I am a great planner, an erratic starter and a slow finisher … draw your own conclusions! But I am loving getting one of these little blocks finished every month …

HST Block of the Month quilt block

I am following Jeni’s Block of the Month tutorials over at In Color Order, each month we make one of these blocks, and by the end of the year we have enough to stitch up a quilt … so the final completion is still a long way off, but the feeling of getting at least one project started and finished each month, is so good!

HST Block of the Month quilt block - detail

I am loving the learning process too ~ and feeling quite pleased that some of my points are matching up beautifully …

… I am even ignoring the flaw in the fabric which I didn’t notice until I was finished …

HST Block of the Month quilt block - detail

… because that is just going to add to the unique character of the completed quilt …

HST Block of the Month quilt block

… and so far, it all seems to be coming together quite well.

Wishing you all a very happy Monday!

 

… Florence

Posted in: Home Life

What better way to start the weekend!

 

She has been singing this in my head for the last 24 hours, so I thought it was time to let her out!

Wishing you all a lovely day!

 

… orange!

Posted in: Home Life

How can you not love orange? The colour of sunsets, pumpkins, goldfish and Vitamin C …

Orange gerbera

… tigers, tangerines and the 1970′s!

Orange gerbera

Orange gerbera

Orange is all about the energy of red and the happiness of yellow …

Orange gerbera

… which must be why these glorious gerberas have been lighting up my world all week!

And according to a little bit of googling ~ orange is also the colour of creativity ~ so I am soaking it up! Wishing you all a wonderful Wednesday.

 

… making Birthday gifts

Posted in: Made by hand

Five steps to making the perfect Birthday gift!

1. Secretly find out your friends fave colour by casually dropping the question into a ‘quick quiz’ on facebook!

yellow fabrics

2. Select a range of fabrics in said colour ~ YELLOW!

cushion planning

3. Play ~ oh yes ~ that’s an essential part of the process

cushion fabrics

4. Stitch & Stuff

lace detail

5. Stand back and admire!

yellow cushion

yellow cushion

Of course, the best bit is the moment of giving … happy, happy!

Cushion made by hand, using a variety of vintage and reclaimed fabrics with a cotton lace trim. If you’d like something handmade and similar, click on the ‘contact me’ button above!

 

… things to do

Posted in: Made by hand

Today I have a lovely ‘things to do’ list …

First up, I am meeting my talented friend for coffee, (check out her beautiful hand made dolls) followed by a quick skip around the charity shops eyes peeled for gorgeous fabricy bargains …

… then home, for an afternoon of assignment writing … oh! Maybe that’s where the loveliness ends … as my computer sits next to my fabric stash, next to my waiting to be finished projects, next to my waiting to be started projects …

… but there will be other days, and on one of those other days, these buttons …

buttons for bags

… will eventually be sewn onto these little bags …

handmade bags

I think of them as my ‘inner hippy’ bags … lined with flowery goodness, and awaiting completion …

'hippy on the inside' bag

… a bit like me!

Happy Friday folks ~ fill it full of love and peace!

 

… you guys!

Posted in: Home Life

Thank you so much for your comments and thoughts on my last post ~ it is so good to see through other peoples eyes sometimes … and I am thinking I will be making a quilt using these glorious fabrics … backing with a polka dot in the coffee and white.

I’m really excited to get going on this, but with two writing assignments due in May, it might be a little while before the scissors hit the fabric, so to speak!

quilt swatches

I love that you come here and read my little ramblings, and seeing your comments is always a gift … and to welcome some new visitors here I am linking up with Lily’s Quilts Small Blog Meet today …

Lily's Quilts

… and so, as a welcome, or a thank you, I wanted to share with you these beautiful irises …

iris in bloom

… they were for sale on the flower stall at our weekly market ~ and I couldn’t resist …

Iris bud

Iris close-up

Iris close-up

… so I thought you might want to share in the beauty too!

Because you’re worth it!

 

… choosing

Posted in: Made by hand

Ah, the luxury of choice, but also …

… ooh, the confusion … ever since I stitched this lovely cushion for a friend of mine, I have been in love with this fabric combination …

Rose cushion

… and I have been pondering how best to use it to make a quilt … seeking out suitable fabrics to mix with and compliment these lovely roses has been an ongoing task …

Rose and neutral fabric swatches

… wondering if less is more …

Rose and neutral fabric swatches

… loving the rose with the polka dots …

Rose and neutral fabric swatches

… I am picturing a quilt made with quite large fabric sections, using maybe just two or three prints, like this …

Rose and neutral fabric swatches

… or maybe this …

Rose and neutral fabric swatches

… what do you think? Maybe using the polka dot as the backing fabric … or should it be on the front … ooh, the confusion of choice! But also, ah, the luxury of being able to ponder!

 

… people

Posted in: Out and About

At the end of a dull and wet week in England~ville … a little reminder of brighter times!

On our recent fair weather jaunt to Cornwall, I found my camera lens was drawn to the people around me … especially those on the beach and the sea … those who were soaking up the warmth of March, celebrating the unexpected sunshine, making the most of a glorious spring …

… the wave riders …

surfers

… the sun seekers …

sun seekers

sun bathers

… the beach walkers …

dog walker

treasure hunter

… the fun lovers …

sea waders

sea waders

… the day dreamers …

sun seekers

… the paddlers …

paddlers

canoeist

… and the thrill seekers …

surfers

surfers

… all finding their own way of connecting with the sunshine, the sea and the chance to step out of the routine!

All proving that this makes perfect sense!

Time to book another holiday methinks!