It's a PJ kind of day . . .

First up a big warm welcome to my lovely new followers, and thanks to everyone who has entered my little giveaway.  If you missed my last post, there's still loads of time to enter so pop over here if you like  : - )

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So I got up this morning with the intention of spending some time in my little craft room picking & choosing some yummy fabrics in preparation for starting a new quilt.

  Yes, yes, I know it's still January and my self-imposed challenge is to not start anything new until February.   But that's the beauty of self-imposed rules . . . one has the power to change them on a whim. 

 And today, m'dears - I have a whim. 

It is  a.l.m.o.s.t  February . . .

It is a wee bit snowy outside . . .

. . . and when I opened my fabric stash cupboard, I spied a cosy bundle of pretty brushed cotton that has been waiting patiently on its shelf for well nigh a year now,

 and I thought to myself:

 "It's a PJ kind of day . . ."

from Rosie Loves Vintage

So I hauled out the pattern, switched on my trusty machine, threaded the bobbin and spent a lovely few hours turning that fabric into super comfy PJs.

Quite a nice way to spend a snow day, don't you think ?

Whether you're basking in sunshine or slipping around in snow, I hope you've had a happy day too.

'til next time,
xoxo

Presenting "Pretty Petals" . . .

Firstly,  a happy welcome to my newest followers, and then a big thank you to everyone who has left such lovely comments about my recently completed makes.  You are so delightfully kind . . .

So, are you ready for another one ?

Presenting my finished-at-last  "Pretty Petals"  scrappy quilt,

TAH - DAH . . .

 

The pretty, pale colours are actually much softer than they look in the pics.  Here it is in situ on the sofa in the corner of the little room it was made for :

This quilt has been in the making for absolutely ages, so I'm chuffed to have finally finished it.  The fabric is Petal, by Tanya Whelan for Free Spirit,  which I completely adored and just had to have from the moment I saw it.  

And a big thanks to Anita and the other lovelies at The Quilter's Den and Bee Quilted in Warwick - my LQS -  for the encouragement, advice and beautiful loopy quilting.

So that's another WIP turned into an FO and ticked off my List . . . YAY . .  much happy dancing . . .

Wishing you a happy, crafty weekend,

'til next time,

xoxo

My little crafty space . . .

'Tis a mizzy day here . . . rain, mist and jolly cold to boot, so I've been keeping warm doing some baking.  A yummy Victoria Sponge for Book Club tomorrow morning, and a tray of fudge as a treat for the Hubby.  It's a really old recipe of my Mama's and I haven't made it for years, so here's hoping it tastes okay.

Anyway, I digress.  Back to the story of my little crafty space . . .

A while ago we decided that a couple of the rooms in our house weren't working properly for us, so we jiggled things around, did some re-arranging, lived with the new arrangement for a bit - and then promptly re-arranged again.  

And finally I think we're happy  : - )

One of the changes was the relocation of my craft room, so I seized the opportunity to have a good clear out and get organized.  Doesn't it amaze you just how much crafty stuff one can accumulate ?

So over the space of a few days, said stuff was sorted, filed, re-arranged and then transported downstairs to its new home.  A new trestle and shelf was ordered from the good old faithful blue & yellow Swedish store and the Hubby was set to work assembling them.

So here's a wee peek at my new-look crafty space . . .

Need to make some pretty tie-backs,

and wind up the lead under the ironing/cutting table, 

but the two most-adorable-pups-in-the-world have given it their (paw)stamp of approval.

All my craft books and files are neatly tucked away in the bureau, 

and my fabric & wool stash is sorted.

Methinks some pretty jar covers need to be crocheted too, so that's been added to my list.

Hope you enjoyed the guided tour . . 

Happy middle of the week - trust you're having a fabulous one.

'Til next time,

xoxo

ps. apologies for the not-so-great pics, it's the English grey winter effect.


edited to add:
1. the little sign is from the delightful Chipper Nelly
 2. the fudge didn't set - we now have a tray of sticky toffee ; - )

Sunday . . .

 Unfortunately The Hubby has now succumbed to the dreaded lurgy too, so it's been another quiet weekend around here . . .

Wish the humans would hurry up and get better so we can go out for a walk...

..oh well, maybe we'll just lie around and watch tv too !

I did get some sewing and knitting done though, so I'll be back soon with another show-and-tell post :-)

Hope you've had a good weekend?

xoxo

Home again...

Had a fab time in Stockholm - what a beautiful city it is.  If you haven't been - put it on your list !

Having a lazy morning, enjoying the sunshine, chilling with my Ben & Jerry-dogs and catching up with my Reading List :-)

Of course, I really should be doing the washing & a grocery shop etc etc, but there will be time enough for that later . . .

Happy Thursday !

xoxo

All is calm, all is bright...

I love days like these... 
Sunday, a day of rest.
Blue sky, sunshine & a light breeze.
Birds chattering in the trees.
It's peaceful.   And just lovely.

  Even the usually exuberant Ben-dog is just sitting....

Looks like Summer is here at last, so we've been dusting off, sanding down and sprucing up the garden furniture this weekend.

It's not quite finished yet, but I'm really chuffed with the newly painted bench. Now I just need to sew some new cushions for it (somehow it just wouldn't seem right to put the old ones back on). So that's my project for the week ahead...

Hope you're having a happy and peaceful weekend too. xx

Tah dah...

 

So it's been raining pretty much all week, with just a few snippets of sunshine in between, and it's not exactly warm either... but I finished the quilt for our room so the winter bedding has been laundered and packed up into the attic, and replaced by all the pretty new summer linen.

I'm thinking positively... surely Summer can't be that far away?

"April showers bring May flowers", so the saying goes, and every day more trees and flowers are blossoming and looking wonderful. Several parts of the country have already been declared drought areas because we've had such a dry and mild winter. So, we'll enjoy the rain whilst it's here, enjoy the beauty that it brings, and wait patiently for Spring to turn into Summer.
Anyway, the rain outside is always a good excuse to stay indoors be creative...
Have a good week,
xoxo


 

Pretty things...

Just a little collage of some pretty things acquired this week... a new swimming costume & sun hat for our upcoming holiday and the sweetest Thank You card from two little friends who came to stay recently. Some new bed linen & towels that I'd ordered from Cath Kidston (LOVE their gorgeous things) arrived this week, in the prettiest packaging. Isn't it sweet?  Even our usuallyquitefussyaboutwhatIlick pup, Ben gave it the stamp of approval!

So, the new linen has all been laundered and as soon as I finish the hand stitching on my current quilt-in-the-making, the redecoration of our bedroom will commence.  Yay - can't wait to see it all finished.
Have a happy weekend all,
xx

A happy & blessed Easter...

Spring has sprung...

We've had such glorious warm, sunny days this week - have to keep reminding myself that it's only March.  But Spring has definitely arrived and I love this time of the year when everything that's been in hibernation for the winter, starts to come back to life. 

This morning, much to my delight, the first tulips in my cutting garden popped open so I got my camera out and had a wander around to snap some pics. 

 

The Horse-chestnut tree is budding too and starting to look so pretty.

On the craft front, I'm almost finished my current knitting project and then it's time to get going on my next quilt. I had really wanted it done for Easter, but that's next weekend already so we'll see how we go.  Will keep you posted...

Quite the quilt...

 Ta dah!

At last.. it's finished.

I started this quilt in the middle of last year but in the general hustle & bustle of friends coming to stay and life happening, it lay half-done for ages.  Until last month when I resolved to get it finished before starting any new projects.  And here it is.. all done :-)
It's not going to win any prizes for neatness or complexity, but I'm so chuffed with it and it looks very pretty, spread over the bed in the guest room for which it was intended.  
And this past weekend, it welcomed its first guest and was declared "lovely".


Starting to plan my next one now... I'm thinking red/cream/duck-egg blue... Hmmm...

Where it's at...

My crafting space... it may be the littlest room in the house, but I love its cosiness and the joy of being surrounded by all my craft stuff.  And of course, being able to leave anything & everything lying around, just how it should be.