Moo cards...

so much to love...

fabulous...funky...fast...e-fficient...fantastic...and they were FREE!!!! the only thing is can I bear to give them away...I just keep opening the contemporary...creative...cute little box and looking at them!mmm!

which do you like the best??

summer sweetness...and some making...

a rose is just summer for me..rain or no...that beautiful sweet haunting deliciousness as you inhale the perfume...

and honeysuckle twining high in the trees but still filling the air with its scent

just put your nose into the deliciously pretty Philadelphus or mock orange...mmmm...just wish this was a scented post so you could have the full effect...and the combination of fresh creamy white, soft pink and primrosey yellow is perfection...



daughter mine collected 25 heads of elderflowers to make some delightful elderflower cordial last week...which captures this particular scent of summer beautifully

not all the flowers in our garden are scented..some earn their keep with their beauty alone...I love clematis and have several...they are so obliging and fit in almost anywhere...

and as for geraniums...we counted them one year...all the different types and shades...all their different names...many forgotten now and just loved for their colours and ability to fill the beds with blowsy summeryness (and not be eaten by our slugs and snails...)

and how quickly things change in the garden...I love to follow the flowers throught their different stages...each with its own beauty...

and I delight in the detail of each one...isn't it amazing how how the raindrops balance on the stamens of this amazingly coloured potentilla...

and in the studio daughter mine has been cutting fabrics and planning and making and stitching and ...with no rules or much in the way of a pattern has produced a wonderful dress...it is joyful to watch her at work!

she is an inspiration to me in how she just has the idea, organises herself and whatever she needs, sets to and makes...mind you she isn't thinking about the teetering pile...hoovering and what's for tea...tho' she does often have a pile of schoolwork to get through...

instant patchwork...just cut the squares sew in strips and then stitch the strips together...allow them to gather as they will...

no worries about how to put a zip in...ha ha!! easy peasy...just cut it out of something else with the fabric around and stitch in place ta da! genius! and doesn't it look fab?

she even lined the top...and the underskirt was made from an old lacy underskirt attached to more fabric to make it the right size...

and the top was made from some of my Granny's fabric stash...a pretty broderie anglais in blue...creativity continues in how the sleeves were sewn on...finished off with perfect blue buttons and there you have it!

I am amazed and proud...and think how my Mum and Granny would like to see!

Friday night and I'm loving...

that it's been a delightfully sunshiney day...ok with a hint of cloud...but positively BLUE sky and bright sunshine... huzzah!

that although it's been a bit of a crazy week with a second trip to Newcastle (to get a filling replaced cos it fell out!)... thanks to my nieces' ability to turn themselves into Removal Women...I was able to get my Mum's sewing table which was her Mum's dressing table ..into the car and home...it's a nice link down the years to my grandmother Evelyn who sadly died when Mum was a young girl, so I never knew her..

and here it is in the window of the lounge...awaiting full use as my Running a Busy and Successful Business Desk...and maybe painting up tho' I'm not sure..what do you think?

please note the essential pretty accessories and Homes and Antiques magazine...bags of yarn and wool and other delicious items from Woolfest and...all those things essential to every Business Woman's Desk...

sometimes a magazine just hits the spot cheers and inspires...and I loved the vintage feel and the colours in this one...and this gorgeous red desk...

fab lamp

 

and divine sofas...instant Pink Sofa envy!!

 

a new Very Important and Inspiring Business Only mug from Laura Ashley...just loved the colours...

 

a little yummy fabric from Ikea and yarn from Treacle woolshop

scrummy blanket pieces from Eliza at Woolfest...looking lovely while they wait patiently to be created into something lovely...




that my funky wristwarmers made by Philippa of Wheeldale Woolcrafts... mean my Businesss wrists will always be warm...

and just look at this beautiful brooch from Julia at Handknitted Things...may have to buy some more for pressies...

and finally for Friday...that I have at last been able to start playing with my fantastic new embellisher....or needle felting machine...bought just before Woolfest so I have only just begun to have time to explore it...and I love it...it creates such amazing surfaces and uses up all my scraps of fabric...the ultimate textiles recycling...

 

ooh so many lovely things to get making...but better go to bed now...night all! xx

sunny days...

sing ho for sunny days with green gardens lush after rain, flowers lit up by the sunshine and spirits at their highest in the golden rays of warmth...and light and blessings to all those affected by the adverse weather elsewhere...

I'm off away to the north east again..family meal tonight with loved ones...with nephew and 2 nieces back from uni...a degree to celebrate and just the pleasure of their company...tho it means leaving my little family at home they'll have a good day out in the field and garden here in tranquil Cumbria ...husband of patience is basket making today and who knows what daughter mine will get up to...I'll share her amazing dressmaking with you verry soon!

no making from me this week but have had 2 lovely workshops with wonderful people learning to crochet and suprise themselves with making and sewing delightful bags...fabric, yarn, threads... all manner of textiles we love you!

must dash, go to throw clothes in a bag and gt on my way (did I mention I may just stray into Ikea when I get to Newcastle...more anon!)

hope you have a relaxing Sunday xx

rainy days...

well summer is icumen in but it's taking a while...still at least it's been warmer of late, I have taken off my fleece and hat tho I'm hanging on to the socks. Bless the rain it keeps us cool which is wonderful compared to the hotness of other places at the moment. I am very grateful to live in cool tranquil Cumbria...

keeps the ducks and hens happy

and the snails...

talking of water and wet...ah yes, the washing machine...

with all the broohaha around Woolfest I forget to tell the saga of our beloved 21 year old washing machine...purchased just after we got wed..and it has done so well washing muddy rugby gear in the early days...all through the nappy years... and now teenagedom...and more muddy sports gear...sadly she developed a rather terminal leaky undercarriage and we spent 2 or 3 months mopping underneath and it had to be pulled out into the room for this purpose...so the cats decided it was their new perch and they took it in turns (sometimes!) to lie there ...2 cats can squeeze onto one cushion...Basil trying his best to get his share...(please note the very tidy shelf behind!!)

 

ah bless!

...but with the wooden floor looking a bit dodgy and no sign of a new water pump...it became time to take action.

Hence the trip to Newcastle and there waiting in a certain John Lewis...was the exact same looking model but with extras..that'll do we cried! no choosing or wrestling with model numbers and details of operation or faffin about...we bought it cos it looked just like our old one ...and hopefully it will do us another 20 years.... I am sooo loving it's smart clean lines and how it washes so smoothly and quietly ..and in only 30 minutes too...(note to self...must get out more!)

 

the only snag is the cats have lost their lying about place..ah well, back to chairs, 2 other baskets and a seat by the door or the sofa in the lounge or our bed and other such spots...not much choice really!

news of the ducklings and their hennypenny Mum...and here's all the aunties paying us a visit when they couldn't get into their house cos of the babies...so they thought they'd come in ours!

the babies are now soo much bigger at about 3 weeks old and in their own special hen run...sure their Mum must be looking at them wondering why they like their big water bowl so much!

still cute and fluffy with dinky little wings...they do everything together and scuttle away when you go near...

and talking of hens...here's a gorgeous bag made by Viv at Hens Teeth...I confess I fell in love and bought it there and then through the wonders of paypal and the internet...bless em...

sometimes you just have to have something beautiful to touch and love and which inspires you...don't you just love it! 

she  makes such lovely things...

you can take a look here...