Pretty Things

Good morrow dear people! I am feeling rather jolly as I have not one, but TWO days off in a row! Its very exciting. I'm not sure I have adapted that well to having my weekend stretched to a day off every couple of days, fantastic though it sounds in theory. 

I have a bit of a random selection of items to show you today- starting with a very colourful make for my new iPhone (I'm getting very gadgety these days!) Having made a home for my hudl to live in, I thought I had better do the same for the phone and was inspired by one of the postcards I received in the Blues Postcard swap- you know the one with the stripy quilted background. I collected together a group of happy singing fabrics and started hand stitching the stripes to a calico background. 

When there were enough stripes to nicely cover the phone I layered it with some of the lovely bamboo batting and a piece of the pink/orange floral fabric, sewing the right sides together at the top and bottom so I would have a neat edge at the top, then machine stitching stripes for the texture and finally folding and sewing into a little pouch. It not perfect as the fabric at the opening is quite thick and I did break a needle on it! But it perfect fits my phone and is bright and cheerful. 

 I hope these photos aren't too blurry or pixelated, these ones were taken on the phone so they probably aren't great quality. I just wanted to share with you the gorgeous window display at work created by the lovely Kelly. I had a bit of a hand in this one, choosing and collecting together items for display which was great fun. It has been split into two halves- this first half was to be sexy (key word!!) purples, taupes and greys. It had to be full of throws and cushions, especially the lovely picturesque Voyage cushions.

Its really pretty!!

The second half had a more nautical theme with lots of red and blue, fishes, spots and stripes.

This is showcasing our household items (technical term) so I had to iron lots of aprons, tea towels and tablecloths the day before. Not brilliantly, so if you happen to walk past, don't scrutinise too closely.

And finally, I have had a lovely Three French Hens ATC from Pat. Quite similar to mine really, taking literally the French part and giving them little hats. Fantabulous!!

Blue Winter

I had been feeling a bit blue with all of this rain we have been having but the sight of my 'Blues' postcard returns has cheered me up no end!

(By Pat)

Isn't the top one lovely? Such gorgeous rows of patterned cottons- very regular striping too, most impressive!

 (By Wendy)

This one from Wendy is absolutely amazing! So textural- the photos (hudl camera) don't do it justice, there is actually quite a bit of turquoise/green in there and lots of sparkly iridescent fabrics all trapped under a thin layer of organza. So beautiful.

 (By Carol)

Some beautifully subtle block printing going on in this postcard, and I love the painted lace leaves- a technique I have used myself on many occasions.

 (By Wendy)

Not only did I have the postcards in the parcel but also my 'Winter Scene' ATCs. Super exciting!! Not many people joined in this swap it turns out as I got one of my own back- not that I mind that much as I rarely keep my own work and it is nice to pretend you haven't seen something before and admire it all over again.

 (By Annie)

I really like that the two other cards I received kind of follow the same themes within a theme but have been approached so differently. The scenes are actually quite similar but they are beautiful in their own ways.

They all work so nicely together as a collection.

The kitchen is surrounded with flowers at the moment. We are feeling super springlike and bringing the garden in (sort of) with big bunches of flowers.

The Irises are on the turn now so I will have to look out for a new bunch of beautifuls to replace them.

Light!

It was lovely walking to the bus stop yesterday morning (well,as lovely as it can be at quarter to seven) because for the fist time in a long while, I could see where I was going without the aid of streetlights! It has really been noticeable this week how much lighter the mornings are now. On Monday the street lamps were turning off as I stood at the bus stop (a friend asked me if I pretended to be Dumbledore with his light absorbing clicker thing...Harry Potter jokes!) and yesterday they weren't on at all. Spring is coming!! Yay!!

All of the potted flowers on the windowsill have gone bonkers and are flowering left right and centre. The Hyacinth's scent is so powerful it can be smelt all round the house!!

And I have finished the third instalment of the 12 Days of Christmas swap- Three French Hens! I think the nice thing about doing this in un-Christmassy times is that you then get a much wider variety. If we were to make these whilst feeling festive and surrounded by the colours of the Christmas season, they would be so different, I think anyway. Say bonjour ladies.

Valentine's Day!

I'm only a day late in wishing all of my followers and lovely readers and friends of Dotty Textiles a very happy Valentine's Day!! I hope you all got spoiled by partners, friends or loved ones.
We have a great tradition amongst my girl friends that is a bit like a secret Santa but for valentine's cards instead- that way us singletons don't get left out. I got a rose this year for the first time ever which was very exciting!! (Even if it is only a plastic one- it will last for much longer that way, lol.)

Kitchen Flowers

The kitchen is filling up with gorgeously lovely and colourful plants and flowers. I just can't help myself at this time of year when suddenly there is such a lot of seasonal choice appearing in the supermarkets- hyacinths, daffodils, irises, crocuses...- and end up buying something nearly every time I go out!

One of last week's (or maybe the week before?) purchases was a little pot of very promising hyacinths. They are supposed to be purple (looking good!) And after a full day of sun yesterday, are nearly ready to reveal their colour and scent! I have had to tether them together though as the heads are getting so heavy they were starting to fall over.

Today's purchase was this little pot of Tete-a-tete mini daffodils. Hopefully after a bit of water, TLC and sunshine they too will be shooting up and flowering like crazy.

I'm not forgetting the winter wonders either, my Christmas cactus, pink cyclamen (in the top photo) and scarlet poinsettia are still powering on through, with flowers on all of them. Such marvellous plants! (The cactus belongs to The Sister.)

Although I love buying potted plants that will renew and re-flower over and over, there is nothing like a vase of cut beautifuls. I ended up buying a few bunches of my favourites at the supermarket this morning- purple irises, delicate baby's breath and pink carnations, mingling together with the last of the daffodils. So pretty!

What flowers are in your kitchen?

Little Sunday Loves

♥♥ The last of the daffs on the kitchen table.

♥♥ The 'Two Turtle Doves' ATC return from Paula. This is growing into a rather lovely collection!!

♥♥ The first signs of spring in the garden. Yellow crocuses and little snowdrops.

♥♥ Looking at paint colours as we plan to redecorate the bathroom (feature wall calling!). Just looking at this Farrow and Ball paint chart makes me smile, they have such funny names for their colours.

How about a bathroom covered in 'Nancy's Blushes'?

Or creating an ambiance in 'Elephant's Breath'?

'Darling we've just redecorated with 'Dead Salmon'!!!

♥♥ Finishing off my trio of themed 'The Blues' postcards. I have been using these as a kind of embroidery practice, remembering some of my favourite stitches. French knots, long stitch, whip stitch (and whip stitch over the whip stitch), back stitch and possibly a variation on stem stitch? Maybe?

As usual, I can't wait to see the returns of this swap!