Flowers, a tortoise and a hare!

Okay, before I explain the above image, I'll witter on for a while about what I've been up to. Yesterday was a beautiful spring day, so I headed to the allotment. The wallflowers and spring bulbs are blooming, and the plum tree has plenty of blossom on it. Last year a late frost meant sudden death for the blossom and consequently not a single plum to be harvested. Fingers crossed this year will be better.

I took a couple of photos of the quilt I mentioned yesterday, the grid pattern improv quilt that's still awaiting its binding.

On to today, I had a walk into town to buy groceries, and decided I'd nip into a couple of charity shops too. Now, this is where the image of the Brian Wildsmith book comes in. I absolutely love the illustrations. They're so vibrant, and cry out to be interpreted in fabric, wool or embroidery. Ages ago I'd had a try at capturing the hare in a small piece of needlepoint.

I stitched it, thinking vaguely it might end up being a pin cushion, but it eventually got incorporated as part of a large needlepoint floor cushion. Anyway, I decided to try making something in patchwork that was based on another page of the book. This one with a mainly bright red background. I'd already got some reds and pinks, but could do with some more. Hence the intention to rummage around in charity shops.

Hmmm ... I came back with a cream coloured fleecey blanket, two paperbacks and two bags of mainly blue fabric scraps. Oh well ...

This is the image I want to - not exactly recreate - but do my version of, however abstract that eventually becomes.

I started playing about with the material I already have, including a vivid red Monsoon skirt I'd never worn so it ended up being cut up for my fabric stash. It featured a lovely embroidery of flowers and leaves. I've made good progress today, so will carry on tomorrow, and see where this latest quilting adventure takes me.

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Sari scraps, PVA, a couple of books and a necklace

I'm typing this as snow's falling, and has been steadily all day. It's not settling to any great extent, though I bet by tomorrow morning the paths will be slippery with ice. Which always makes me paranoid about falling over and at the very least looking undignified, but at worst breaking a bone or twisting an ankle. Oh well, it's ideal weather to stay inside and craft, isn't it? I finally got around to listing packs of sari scraps on Etsy this morning. I only made up six bundles as I've no clue whether they'll sell or if I've set a reasonable enough price point. Time will tell. This is a link to the listing, if you're interested. This vaguely pink fabric isn't from one of my Etsy packs. It's from a bit of experimenting I was doing yesterday. I'd seen a post on Instagram showing how a DIY version of batik could be done without using hot wax. The Instagrammer used PVA instead, and I wanted to try this out....

What are you watching? Part One

Another cold, bright day, and I spent the morning indoors, reluctantly dragging a vacuum cleaner around before getting down to the nicer task of adding wadding to the back of this patchwork. Backing fabric's now tacked on, and it's ready to be stitched. I also squeezed in some reading. I'm currently immersed in 'Transcription' by ever-excellent Kate Atkinson, who can be relied upon for a well-written book. The book I recently finished - hmm, not so good. I'd fancied a lightweight cosy crime, something easy, quick to read, and picked 'A Pen dipped in Poison' by J.M. Hall. Oh my, I've never come across a story in which so many people sigh. Characters sighing all over the place! There's a fair amount of frowning too, and one character is constantly depicted as stirring a cup of coffee, supposedly to indicate thoughtfulness. Seriously, if I was in a coffee shop with her I'd be snatching that spoon out of her hand and yelling 'For g...

HOW TO MAKE: these decorative birds

I suggested yesterday that I'd run through how to make a fabric bird wall or window hanging (can't think of a snappier title for it than that!) so here goes. I'll start with the first decorative hanging I made. It's something you could make in any colour combination you want, and would look good hanging at a window with translucent beads that'd catch the light I used five birds for this, but you could make it longer if you prefer. (Incidentally, if you're wondering about what's hanging off the bottom on this, it's a metal Christmas decoration, shaped like a lantern. For some reason I thought it looked appropriate to leave it there, looped over the end.) WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO GATHER TOGETHER: Assorted scraps of fabric for the front of the birds - aim for a mix of colours and textures. Silk looks good, as does anything with embroidery or intricate patterns. You might aim for a hippy-ish boho look, or maybe you're ...

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