Blowin in the wind

 

Ever since my daughter was little, I've wanted to make her a little bright and cosy quilt like the ones we used to see in her story books, where the lucky owner's of such quilts were little woodland creatures.

This sort of thing.........

 

Both these illustrations  (above and below) are from Woodland Stories illustrated by Eric Kincaid.

 

But being a busy working Mum then, bringing up a little girl, I never found the time to quilt.

But now I'm not working, and being inspired recently by the lovely quilt on the front cover of Nicky Trench's book "A Passion for Quilting" (mentioned a few posts ago here ), over the last couple of weeks I have finally got around to making that woodland quilt.

 

 

 

 

 

I finished hand sewing the binding last night, and this afternoon saw it blowing in the wind in the sunshine.

 

 

 

Even though it was on the line for taking photos, I haven't yet washed it, and I'm looking foward to seeing how it looks when washed - I know it will probably soften and gently pucker, making it seem a little time worn.

 

 

Both Bella and I are pretty happy with how it's turned out, and for me it's a first in that I have made my first machine-quilted quilt.

(My last full sized quilt was hand quilted).

It's a generous single size quilt made from 6" squares and quilted "in-the-ditch". I used mainly fabrics from my stash, with a few old fabrics and fabric from some of Bella's clothes from when she was little. The only fabrics I bought were a couple of new pieces near the end when it was laid out and I could see what colours were needed - the bright green floral and the small pink and red on white print.

The cheerful bright yellow backing and self-binding are a Robert Kaufman print, bought in the sale.

I love the way the light shines through in this photo.


So Bella now has a quilt to take away to uni to snuggle under and remind her of home.

 

Tulips from Great Dixter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you all had a lovely Bank Holiday weekend here in the UK. For once the weather was pretty good!

We ventured out on Sunday for my birthday treat to visit the beautiful gardens designed by Christopher Lloyd at Great Dixter.

The tulips were glorious, and I'll let the pictures speak for themselves............

Enjoy!


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Am having a few computer problems at the moment (gnashing of teeth - is it gnash or just nash?)

Whatever, I like the word regardless of how it's spelt as it  feels the right kind of satisfying word to describe my irritation and frustration at wasting my day today on the pc instead of being outside gardening or working on my latest sewing project - to be revealed soon I hope! )

Hope all well with you, and thanks for all your comments on my last few posts!

 

Country style / shabby chic Pots Tutorial

How To Paint Tin Pots

Here's a quick tutorial on how to transform modern galvanised tin pots /plant holders into something a little more shabby chic and modern country style.

You need:
paint - I used Annie Sloan "Original"
wax - dark or antique
galvanised tin pots /plant pot holders
brush for applying paint
cloth or kitchen roll for applying wax.
scraps of fabric
hessian
fabric glue or pva glue
brush for applying glue

 

What you do
- make sure pots are clean (if already used)
- apply paint sparingly with random, messy strokes and don't worry if you miss areas
- lightly sand in a few places
- dip scrunched up cloth or kitchen roll into dark wax and apply randomly and sparingly in a few places on pot
(optional - I added a bit of loose compost that was in the bottom of one pot to the paint whilst still wet - a happy mistake due to my messiness!)

 

 

- roughly cut a strip of hessian 2 to 3" wide.
- fray the edges roughly, and twist and distort the strip to make it look a bit ragged.

 

- hold strip around the pot, cut to allow few inches overlap, brush some glue where the ends meet and stick down - overlap roughly unless you prefer a neater finish. You can also glue the strip to the pot if you want it to be permanent. ( I didn't as I found the fabric strip held the hessian in place pretty well.)

 

- tear strips of fabric about 1" to 2" wide, longer than the circumference of your pot - you can tie several strips together.

- tie fabric strip on top of  the hessian

job done.

 

Probably best for indoor use due to the use of fabric.

Maybe to keep your herbs in on the kitchen window sill?

 

There are of course lots of other variations you could play around with - I shall probably do a few others now I'm on a roll!

* * *

later the same day.........updated to show another variation.......the pink basil pot

two coats Annie Sloan "Antoinette", no sanding or wax, stencilled letters on hessian, tied on with jute.......

simples!!!!

you're getting the idea now....................

have fun!