A make a month ♥ May 2012

My goodness, it's the last day of May already

can somebody please tell me where it went???

Here is my make for May

It's a pencil roll

a rainbow pencil roll

Oooooh I love a rainbow

always have : always will

there is just something about them

they are 'happy' making

This is for my little niece

not my littlest niece though, that is her sister

she will be getting one for .....dare I say it....Christmas

(sorry, that just snuck in there)

 

I was going to embroider the words ‘Mia’s rainbow’

I made the mistake of asking Mr Sweet and lovely G if that sounded ok

they confused me

easily done

Lovely G said that it should say “ Mia’s pencils”

Mr Sweet, on the other hand, said it should say “Mia’s rainbow pencil case”

I told him that that was a little long!

I wish I had stuck to my guns now though
I like Mia's rainbow

I’d love to know what you think, should it say pencils or rainbow?

I’d like to get it right as I am planning on listing them
 in my Etsy shop at some point

I went to C&H fabrics to hunt down some rainbow ribbon to tie it with

and found that amazing rainbow elastic

I couldn't believe my eyes

it was as if it was put there just for me

so I changed my plans and added a button and loop

 

I photographed it the same day as I showed you my quilt fabric

hence the background…it probably wasn’t the best idea

rather busy

but there you go

I had such a lovely time choosing all the fabrics

that’s always the best bit, don’t you think?

(unlike the tidying)

I googled ‘pencil roll tutorial’ for a pattern
there were lots

but in the end I decided to ‘wing it’

on the whole it turned out pretty well

there are a few ‘updations’ (as my lovely G always says)

 that I will make to my next one though

I spent some time laying out my fabric squares a couple of days ago

for the 'flower patch' quilt

 (I have literally just named it that)

OMG

I hope I haven't bitten off more that I can chew

look!!!

That is A LOT of squares!

154 to be exact

possibly not that many for you clever quilt experts out there

but it does feel a little daunting to me

...but ooooooh they are so pretty

like a sweetie shop of fabrics




Changing the subject completely...
 Lovely G wanted me to show you his new fish tank

All the plants are in now
including six moss balls
which I think are amazing and genius

just love them

he has six little neaon tetra fish
 named 'The Saphires'
more fish will be added this weekend I think
I am sure you will have another updation soon ;o)

Guess what???  exciting news...
My sweet B is coming home this weekend
for the WHOLE summer
she has her last exam this afternoon
GOOD LUCK
my sweetie
♥ 
and next week
both Mr Sweet and our lovely boy
have a week off work too
so we will be out and about
things to do : places to see
plus some serious swinging and chilling time
(Oh you know what I mean ;o)

pimms anyone?

I may not be around for a couple of weeks
hopefully there will be some quilt action to show you when I return

Right I'm off to hang out the bunting!
if you are celebrating the jubilee..have fun
I for one, can't wait....Yipeeee

have fun lovelies

lots of love
j x

swinging & sewing

WOWEEE....

.....it's been warm hot this weekend!

I am a wuss when it gets too hot

I can be found hunting down shady patches with a cool drink

Over the weekend most of the veggie seedlings have been planted out

Mr Sweet did most of that to be fair… in the heat of the midday sun
....crazy man!

I did mine in the pleasant cool of the evening

You may remember that in my last post I mentioned about my
new 'splash out' purchase

Well with perfect timing it arrived on Friday afternoon

my boys built it that evening 

we have all spent happy times sitting, swinging and generally enjoying it

I am over the moon
I have dreamt of owning one all my life
seriously.

This is the view from it, looking up the garden
we have a steep uphill garden.

Even after all that rain just a little while ago, the grass is starting to look a little parched now

(rather like me ;o)

I think it needs a little pimping up

...what do you think???

While Mr Sweet was playing cricket
and my lovely boy was doing computer-y things

I spent a peaceful couple of hours on Saturday afternoon

sitting and swinging and drinking pimms

(I think I made it a little strong, I felt quite tipsy when I got up!)

 whilst doing a little therapeutic rainbow embroidery for my ‘make a month’

it’s a birthday gift for my little niece

Here's a sneaky peek

(I’ll show all next time)

You may also remember that I had another plan up my sleeve
 for 'operation garden chilling'

....I am going to attempt a garden quilt

this will be my first ever quilt...I am excited

and a little scared!

I have purchased the fabrics.....

It was SO exciting

they are from Tilda

I am so in love with all of her beautiful designs

so much so, that I couldn't decide which pack of fabric squares to go for

so in the end I got one of each

there is another pack too, I missed it placed after the pimms incident
  but not to worry, it is now happily reunited with the others

I chose the beautiful blue oriental flower fabric for the backing
I was after something that wouldn't look grubby too quickly.



 I am need of some advice

and I am hoping that you lovely ladies can help me
I have no idea what filling (or even if you call it that)
 to sandwich my quilt with
I would like it to be lightweight but very poufy
so that it will be comfy-cosy to lay on
I'd like to be able to wash and tumble dry it
and to buy it mail order
I think I am going to tie it but I may decide to hand stitch it
(if that make a difference to what filling to use)
any suggestions of what to buy and where to buy it would be so appreciated
thank you in advance

Thank you too for sharing the blue poppy love
It's still looking gorgeous
the main flower has now lost its petals
:o(
but a second smaller flower has opened on the same stem
I shall be saving those seeds


Righty-ho
I need to do some watering now
with a watering can...of course!


Have a happy week
lots of love
j x

blue magic

I have been waiting for this beauty to open for a few days now...

 

Meconopsis or Himalayan blue poppy

(I hope that's right anyhow :o)

...I kept popping out to tend to it

protect it from slugs and frost 

and to gently stroke its very bristly stem

and two days ago

KA...ZAM !!!

there she was in all her magical, mystical beauty

she kind of glows

sorry about the gazillion photos

Isn't she a stunner?

I have three but as yet there are no buds on the other two

I keep going to check on her

I think I am under a spell....

Yesterday I made a big decision

which is...

To enjoy the garden more

we spend loads of time out there 'doing stuff'

busy busy busy

but I'd like to spend more time out there 'NOT doing stuff' 

 just enjoying it

SO...

I splashed out and ordered one of these

I felt VERY frivolous but did check with Mr Sweet first!

I have another plan coming together too

more on that next time

Thank you so much for all of your sweet messages on my last post

I am feeling much brighter...thank you x

 

more soon

lots of love 

j x

a catch-up

Hello

Its been a whole week since my last post.....
a funny old week too
I've really not felt myself, it's been a struggle
I think I have been spreading myself a bit thin
but this week, I have a fresh new outlook and feel altogether much brighter

I have some photos to share with you

Family news

These are from my lovely boys 18th birthday

He is just about to venture into a new hobby...

tropical fish keeping

hence the cake banner

The fish tank (which is HUGE!...he never does anything by halves ;o)

is ready and waiting 

The cute little fish are from this lovely shop

I ordered WAY too many of these
500 in fact....yes I know....what was I thinking?!
we have the things coming out of our ears


My Sweet B has her first end of year exam tomorrow
she is such a hard worker and has been revising for weeks
she still feels like she hasn't done enough
 I know she will do so well
she has such a pretty little head
 but inside she has a brain the size of a planet
how does it fit???

GOOD LUCK MY BEAUTIFUL GIRL
♥

Shop news

My Etsy shop has been very busy
which is fabulous and very exciting
With every single sale I feel so honoured and happy
that somebody has chosen to buy from me
when there are SO many fabulous shops on Etsy
so thank you to all of my lovely customers

The 'Brit Chicks' have been flying off the shelves
out of fifteen listed, only five are still waiting for new homes
they are happy little tinkers

These two owl buntings were a commission from a little while ago
 I forgot to share them with you
...they were for two little sisters
I hope they liked them


Garden news

Sweet violet

:o)

This gentian is the most magnificicent blue...I just love it

Apple blossom from a couple of weeks ago
this has to be my favourite blossom ever

We have also made a little cutting patch at the very top of the garden
I say 'we'....it was my idea but my man did all the hard work!
I like to share you see

I did sow the seeds though....see I did do something!
I am hoping that by the summer it will look like this

aren't they pretty
and perfect for all of the celebrations this year
I am so excited
I'll show you when there is something to see

I got them from Sarah Raven (of course!)
....you can find them here







Well I think that's about it for now
I hope you all have a great week
and thanks for visiting
x
I was planning on giving my sewing room a much needed tidy now
but it's actually sunny outside so I think I will make the most of it

more soon
lots of love
j x

the' Brit Chicks' are here

Well in my shop actually!

They are ready and waiting
(very excitedly)
to celebrate the Queen's golden jubilee and the 2012 Olympics
 with YOU

I will be adding more tomorrow
They are all perched on my shop shelves now

Thank you so much for your gorgeous birthday wishes for my lovely boy

He was so chuffed

and kept asking to read them as I published them

I feel quite worn out with all this celebrating!

Back soon

lots of love 

j x