wild times

been pretty wild and windy and cold round these parts of late...but still there are brave flowers brightening up the garden and hedgerows and the lambs are growing bigger...I love the little black nosed ones with black stockings (rather St Trinians in a bizarre way...)

well-wrapped up I try to get out along the road for fresh air each day....a neighbour has some glorious wallflowers...fantastic colours just glowing against the grey stone wall...

a gift from the hens pressed into my hand this morning by husband of patience... fresh clean warm egg...so beautiful and perfect...so satisfying that we are supplying a few friends now with eggs on a regular basis which means daughter mine earns a little for her endeavors (mucking out!!) and we know we are making sure a few more hens have very happy lives...and we can all enjoy delicious cakes and eggy dishes made from really fresh eggs

a rainbow appears like magic over my studio...wherein lies the crock of gold... no...so much better than that...my stash of all kinds of colourful fabrics and textiles, cottons, silks, felted wool...threads....buttons and beads...sewing machine and gorgeous books and lots more lovely goodies!

so beautiful...and then the rain and hail came lashing down... 
and in the studio...a hive of activity as I prepare for a craft fair and for Woolfest...so many things to do and sort and sorce and decide...labels...packaging...labels...leaflets...how to set up the stall...a big sign to make...oh and stitching some crafty creative stock for the stall...but do you know what? I am LOVING every minute of it because I am doing it all for myself and no one is dictating when or how I do it!and I had a lovely machine embroidery workshop yesterday which just makes my heart sing!

  

 

and tonight in the kitchen we are keeping warm and snug....husband of patience has been alone with his willow again and now we have a giant basket and some new bases drying by the Aga...it's so good that he too is now making and creating and has found something he loves to make...and we can grow it too. He harvested a little this year and there will be more to come. Very simple and satisfying!

hope its a lot warmer where you are...have a creative week xx 

forget me not...and physio...

came across my Mum's stash of wool last time I was home...bits and bobs...mm...how to make good use of the oddments of wool and make a little something to remind me of my Mum...perhaps to keep in my studio... she must have spent many hours patiently teaching me to sew and to knit and to crochet...she was the one who fired up my passion for making...thanks Mum, miss you but think of you each time I use my beloved sewing machine you and Dad bought me for my 21st birthday...we finally got round to choosing it when I was 31...and it's now my best friend...

thinking crochet...thinking good activity for my wrist and hand... I love Granny squares...this is a recent goodie I found in a charity shop...love the colours...turquoisey and creamy...yummy!

and here in this month's Mollie Makes is the answer...

gorgeous crochet from Ilaria Chiaratti - so beautiful with the chair and rug and lampshade and cup and table...and little mat and....

think I will focus on making maybe a square a day and that will be good therapy...and hopefully I'll end up with a lovely cushion...crochet is just soo addictive...

mm...thinking I may do a more random version as I'm not sure about all the white in our house...and I have got a very interesting collection of yarns...but I rather like them...

and my other physiotherapy...and mind therapy...is getting creative...it's a bit of a challenge but I seem to be able to do most things...slowly...

loving having piles of gorgeous felted wool fabrics to make into lovely bags and brooches for my next craft fair...love this soft green for spring...add some pretty cottons and a little free machine embroidery...a stitch here and a stitch there...

got soo much to do...really musn't hang about so much on these enticing blogs and facebooks and websites and etsy shops and flickrs and pinterests and lord know what else...so many tempting beautiful makes and makers and deliciousness to look at...I have decided I shall have a 'no computer' day on a Sunday...and a day off from everything...started yesterday...missed it in a strange way but had a restful day...read my book...sat in the sun and crocheted away...bliss!

happy monday to all my lovely readers, have a great week...xx

all in a day's sewing...

so happy to be back in my studio...my second home where no housework or domestic chores exist to distract from my making mission...

 

a reddish pinky felted jumper is carefully cut to shape and I decide on a floral decoration...a bold choice of a lighter pink and some orangey wool fabrics with reddish buttons...seems an odd combination but it works for me...

a little creative machine embroidery...

one of my favourite pincushions ...from Eliza Conway who always has a wonderful stall full of handmade gooodies at Woolfest

 

 sew on the designer label...!!

choose a lining...and some buttons...more playing with colours

 top stitching the layers together...always a very pleasing moment!

all the leftovers are too enticing and delicious so they go in a bag and one day I WILL have an embellishing machine to turn them into something BEAUTIFUL...nothing is wasted...

and the finished bag has a moment of exitement as it stars in a photo shoot... what do you think?

I am soo happy! and the best bit is I can do it all again tomorrow...hope you've had a lovely day too...

chicken love...

when we've been away it's so nice to come home...and be greeted by two cats most indignant that we've not been there to let them into the warm cosy kitchen for snoozing...and a bevy of running hens scooting up the path from the orchard (well a bit of field with some fruit trees in)...even the geese honk a noisy greeting..home to fresh air and green grass and hills ,...and getting greener by the minute as the opening hawthorn leaves green up the hedgerows...breathe it all in...then into the house for the unpacking ceremony...piles to add to the piles...

many thanks to kind friends and neighbours for the looking after of everything...and thanks to chickens for the lovely brown eggs...which daughter mine soon has whipped up into a fab cake to share with friends...

thought I'd just share with you the inside story...no, not our house but the henhouse ...tho' the hens often want to pop into the kitchen to see us...and Emilia especially is always keen to join me in the studio...here's an insight into the secret life of our chickens...Rosa sitting patiently...clever girl...when she got off there were 2 eggs...and next time I visit...3...it's magic...beautiful warm fresh eggs and all we give them is food and water ...and some love

Bluebell looking in on me looking out! I think she wants to know who's on housework duty this week cos the perches could use a cleaning...

any chance of a little tasty something from the feed bin?

and here's the cat who thinks he's a dog...sharing the chicken's run outside... warm and happy cat!

off to my studio today for some making...Woolfest is in June and now I can sew again there's a lot to do but it's all exiting and feels so right...I just love being in the studio surrounded by fabrics and threads, able to stitch and sew and get on with setting up my workshops - got a new machine embroidery workshop to plan too...still couple of places on corsage making on Thursday 19th...leave a comment if you're interested...

hope you're having a lovely weekend too and getting some sunshine xx