Anchors Away

Tulips!!! Ah, it's like Spring in a teapot. The daffodils were looking a bit lonely in there this morning as I had to throw a wilting bunch away yesterday, so I topped it up with these gorgeous white and purple tulips- mixing up the colour hit!

My nimble fingers were stitching away yesterday, and I joined together the postcard square with another piece, then worked more rows of running stitch. It's quite therapeutic just doing lots and lots of running stitches and the texture is really nice with the built up rows.

Ooo but this one was a challenge. Trying to keep the blanket stitches even and relatively symmetrical took a lot of tongue sticking out concentration but I think any irregularities are sort of hidden away, and I am really pleased with the overall effect. The shape of the anchor was bondawebbed on originally, which makes it much easier to stitch around.

More running stitches! Wahoo!

Not including the anchor square (as it hadn't been started when this photo was taken), there are so many patches now!! It is getting very exciting. I am not going to stitch any of the squares together (well, unless it is expressly needed) to see if I can change a few around at the end, making my quilt more unique.

So Sunny!

It's so sunny!!! Yeeeaaahhh!!!! I spent this morning sat in the garden, in a sheltered sunny spot, drinking coffee and being serenaded by Mr Blackbird. It was so lovely!! This was followed up by successfully boiling my first ham ready for tea, and making gingerbread people (part of the ginger parcel sent by The Mother).

Last night I finished another Sew and Stitch square!! Apparently this one is going to be joined to another square and then the running stitch theme continued up. The shadows make my running stitches look like they are pulling really badly, but I don't think they are.

Such a gorgeous day, and so balmy!! There is just a whiff of summer in the air!!

Morning Pootling

Hello Everyone! Happy Saturday to you all. Have you had a nice day so far? I admit I allowed myself a long lie in to help recover from a splitting headache I had yesterday, so haven't seen much of the morning. The sunshine is glorious though, and really makes my daffodils look lovely in their teapot.

I finally have a flower from my snowdrop plant pot, the hyacinths that were bought at the same time have now flowered and almost all gone, just two little flowers left nestled in the leaves.

The window ledge is looking very green at the moment. All leaf and barely any flowers. The plant on the left is the snowdrop- has anyone ever seen such a tall one? It's just gone so absolutely mad with leaves and length the flower sort of looks a little out of place, perched on the top like that.

I have been trying to make my own flower themed postcard for a MixedMediaGroup_UK swap, although have been feeling distinctly 'hmmmish' about it. There are plans to add wired ribbon flowers to it, in tones that match the pops of red on the fabric and to smooth the lace and current flowers together, but I think I will think about it some more before doing anything. Possibly I will work on some Sew and Stitch pieces today instead. Do you have any nice plans for the afternoon?

Chimneys, Ginger & Chains

Do you like my title? I am very tired (serves me right for starting to write a post so late at night!!) and couldn't think of anything more exciting or cryptic than that. What you see is basically what you are getting this time, no hidden secrets in this post!
At uni I have been working on a new triptych idea that was suggested to me last week. Using a sketch of a photograph I have, I split it into three and have been painstakingly hand sewing the design onto three 10 x 10 cm canvases- which is a lot harder than it looks I can tell you! There is a nasty hole in one of my fingers through too much hard needle usage so I now have to make doubly sure I use a thimble and lots of hand cream. Today I finished the first two and have started the third! So excited to see them all together!

Coming home from a long day at uni, to find an unexpected parcel from The Mother, is just the best thing ever!! She has been saying that she has been finding it hard to come up with themes for the latest parcels, although I think she is doing a sterling job. Who would have though of ginger for a theme? Works well. So far I have eaten the poor gingerbread men, and might have cracked open the Fox's biscuits (just to make sure they survived the journey you understand....), and had a ginger hot chocolate. All very scrummy- and surprisingly good with pancakes!!

Did you enjoy your pancake day? Any unusual recipes you have been trying out? I am a traditional girl by heart, and my favourite topping is the classic lemon and sugar. So yummy! I was the chief pancake maker this evening and it all went smashingly well! No upsets on the floor (or the ceiling) and no wasted batter either. Fabulous!

When not mixing and swirling and ladle-ing and swooshing and flipping and serving and topping and, oh mmm, eating(!) pancakes, I spent the evening working on some new ATCs. These ones are for a chain stitch swap. I have cheated a little here as the foliage is actually a bought fabric with a machine stitched chain (presumably done on a Cornelli machine) that I have embellished with my own detached chain stitches and some beading. I am really pleased with them though, especially the below ones. They are really pretty, even if I do say so myself!! (The little bee has been made almost entirely out of layered detached chains!!)

The First Day of Spring!

Happy 1st of March!! And Happy St David's Day!! I am feeling very Spring-like today, and have treated myself to a coffee in bed with all of the curtains open so that the sun can pour into my room and the blue sky can smile down at me. I did have to venture into the kitchen to make the coffee though so took some photos of my daffodils in the teapot.

I have got a little routine at the minute concerning these daffodils, as soon as one bunch looks like it is on the turn, I buy another one and combine the two so we have everlasting daffodils!!

The garden is a really lovely sight at the moment (as long as you look at it with a view finder and pick out the best bits), lots of little bright flowers hiding in the flowerbeds, and we have already had lots of two legged visitors today!

I had some sMaShInG post the other day! It arrived on the same day that Emma did so I have only really just had a chance to look at it, and there were lots of goodies inside the big cardboard box!! It was this months Sew and Stitch delivery but also contained another folder for all of the magazines to live in (a good thing too, the other one was getting very full and heavy), as well as a subscription present. Can you guess what it is?

It's a little sewing box!!! Only a diddy one, but is big enough to keep all of the threads we are collecting, as well as the buttons and ribbons, and the little sewing kit tin they have also given us.

Sew and Stitch will have to wait for a while though as I have brought stitchy business home with me for the weekend.

I have been playing with bonding different fabrics together (this thin blue cotton is blended with a stripy white and red men's suiting fabric- although you can only really tell when it is held up to the light) to see what textures, colours and patterns can be created. This is thinking in terms of lampshades really, a kind of what-can-be-revealed-when-you-turn-the-light-on type thing.

This one isn't destined for lampshade life, it's an experiment in bonding fabric shapes down (quick and easy!! Very different in comparison to the time consuming stitched pictures!) and then stitching over the top. You don't think they look too much like salt and pepper shakers do you?

And finally, this one is my longest piece so far!! The shapes have been cut from vinyl and have the front of one stitched picture, meshed together with the back of another. Just an idea that a tutor had, to go from solid and neat to broken up and slightly messy. I think I will try and mess up the neat one with tufting and loose threads, but we will see.

Just to show you the different fabrics bonded together here, the top fabric is a really thin white cotton with a chequered weave, and has been bonded to a red check printed fabric.