Jacobs birthday party

We had a lovely time at Jacobs birthday party on Saturday. It was his 1st birthday and he had a few friends round and loads of family. It was great because all of his mum's, Zoe, side of the family (Zoe is my niece) were there (but  for David, her brother, who couldn't make it.) Even her Nan was there which was a surprise for all of us as she doesn't normally venture far from home no matter how enticing it might be. Zoe and her Mum  put on a scrumptious spread and Zoe made some gorgeous iced buns and fabulous cakes( my poor waistline was thickening just looking at them.) Here are just three of the guests having a good time, my granddaughters, Rosie, Poppy and Joni.

Meanwhile, when I wasn't having a good time partying, I made two of these sweet little hearts filled with lavender, to sell on my Folksy shop  (www.folksy.com/shops/plumcottage),  perfect for valentines day! The Laura Ashley  fabric is lovely with a petite pattern in pale blue and white. I cut the shapes out with pinking shears and then hand stitched them together with a darker blue embroidery thread and then a small white heart shaped button was stitched to the top of the heart for a finishing touch.

we all like a bit of bunting

Who doesn't love a show of bunting? I adore it .To me it's a reminder of the 50's and 70's ( yes I do remember them! ) when there were street parties and bunting was hung up and tables covered with cloths were laden with homemade food and jellies and cakes and beakers of squash and who knows what for the adults! Seeing bunting makes me think of parties and holidays and fun!  And I think because I equate bunting with something nice happening I enjoy making them! On that note, this is the bunting I thoroughly enjoyed making yesterday! It didn't take too long as I had already cut out the flags. I decided to have a blue theme and chose fabrics from my stash that also lend themselves to being holidayish when put together (lets hope I  I have achieved that effect.) My particular favourite is the blue flag with the white outline of hearts on . It is  quilting material although I have to admit I have not used it in a patchwork quilt yet! But I am sure I will! I really like the cherry fabric as it is very pretty and quite unusual and have made some nice little bags and padded boxes out of it. 

Rosies quilt

It has been a lovely morning, blue skies and sunshine, after walking Missy and while I still had my wellies on I decided to spend time in the garden, doing all those tidying jobs that didn't get done in the autumn. Managed to do loads and even  managed to dig a bed in the lawn ready to put salad crops into in the spring. No longer dishevelled and muddy and  back indoors my thoughts have turned to future projects, the first two being bunting and a patchwork quilt for my granddaughter, Rosie. The bunting pieces have been cut out and are ready to be sewn.

I always spend ages browsing fabrics and choosing the right ones for a 13 year old was no different. The pale pink fabric and the fabric on the far right are Tilda, which I absolutely adore, and I think the spotty material is also Tilda all bought online. Each piece is 100% cotton and my next step will be to wash them so there will be no shrinkage once it is made up and then washed. Then onto the tedious task of cutting out all the squares. I will keep you up to date on the progress of the quilt

....cute ducks and chickens

It's amazing, I can while away a couple of hours at a time just browsing online looking at fabrics, I just love it! There are so many gorgeous fabrics out there I could spend a small fortune if I am not careful! Needless to say I have a stash of lovely material I have bought online just waiting for the right project! Looking on Ebay I couldn't resist these little ducks and chickens on  this really cute fabric called 'Tabitha' in sorbet by Ashley Wilde. I couldn't wait to use it but what for? I know, an apron, no a cushion, no an apron, in the end I decided to make a rectangular cushion to sell on Folksy as I haven't put anything on there for ages.

 The back is made in two pieces and fastened with 3 white buttons

 And I still have enough fabric to make an apron! 

Shabby Chic

My home is a beautiful Edwardian cottage, with a good deal of the original features still in place, stripped pine doors, high ceilings, waxed floor and skirting boards, anything shabby chic suits it very well indeed. Which brings me to my latest patchwork quilt.

I absolutely love these premier Japanese fabrics by Lecien called 'Durham Anew' and designed by Barbara Riddle. The fabrics are soft to the touch which makes them easy to handle and have a romantic and vintage look. Perfect for that shabby chic look. I was lucky as I bought them as a fat quarter bundle which had a good selection, however when I needed to add to it I could only find selected fabrics as most of the the suppliers seemed to be American not UK based.

This was my first attempt at machine quilting and probably my last. I think the quilt was too big for my machine and it made it difficult to manipulate, in future I will go back to hand quilting, it takes longer but I think I like the end result better. I designed it to sit on top of a double bed and is made up of blocks of 4 x 4inch  together with 3inch strips and 12inch blocks. I did make a boo boo cutting them out as I did not take into account some of the seam allowances on the smaller squares...  :( oh dear...

still the finished quilt looks gorgeous I am very pleased with it and it suits the style of this old house.

Back again!

Yes I am back again and I will not not be so tardy in future. I have been busy creating and crafting and believe it or not I have also, since August, been very busy at the Gym trying to tease this poor ole body into shape and yes we seem to be getting somewhere (but where who knows!) Enough she cried of this fitness stuff and lets concentrate on more meaningful matters such as beautiful fabrics and gorgeous knitted creations! I have to tell you about Katie, my  clever crafty niece who has just set up a facebook page full of lovely crafty stuff with loads of step by step guides on how to make gorgeous bits and pieces, have a look and be inspired http://www.facebook.com/pages/Turquoise-Textiles/261810973846354