Growing like topsy ...

I thought I'd start with a round-up of what's growing on the allotment and in the garden. These hollyhocks have suddenly bloomed, and isn't that a glorious pink? The leaves do tend to get rust spots, which is a shame when the flowers are so beautiful.

Also on the allotment are evening primrose, dotted around where they've self-seeded, growing here among a sea of seed pods.

The marjoram's flowering too, and will be a bee magnet. They love it.

I think these white flowers are mallows.

The apple tree's going to provide plenty of fruit.

Should be lots of blackberries too. I know I can gather them from the hedgerows, but cultivated ones tend to be more productive than their wild counterparts.

Redcurrants are ripening.

Blackcurrants too.

Gooseberries too, or goose-gogs as we always called them.

In my front garden the valerian is everywhere, another favourite with the bees.

Astrantia, also known as Hattie's pin cushion, mixing with the vivid purple of catananche.

These orange flowers are, I think, commonly called fox & cubs. I never planted them, so the birds must've bought the seeds in.

Mexican daisies are a cheerful addition, and great for covering the hard edges of stone walls or paths.

I don't know for sure, but possibly these purple spikes are a perennial called veronica. Love the slender stems.

Apart from pottering about outside I've been messing about indoors too ...

I made this simple boro-inspired bag a while ago, and it's been hanging around, waiting for me to find a suitable strap for it. Well, I had a lightbulb moment yesterday while I was cutting up a charity shopped shirt. Why not repurpose the strips of shirt material where the buttonholes and buttons are?

So that's what I'm doing. I'm leaving the buttons in place, and I think I'll have just about enough length to make a crossbody strap. I'll be a little rough & ready, but that's fine, it fits in with the rest of the bag. I'm rather chuffed with that nifty bit of upcycling. Sometimes I surprise myself!

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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....

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 ...

HOW TO MAKE: a petal gift bag

These petal gift bags are ridiculously quick to make and really pretty. I can't claim the idea's orginally mine - see Instragram for the source - but here's how I made them. The first bag was the one at the top of this photo, so choosing fabric was trial and error. I went for two prints, though the second bag - with the peppermint green material - shows you're better off choosing a plain and a patterned. Anyway, here goes with my first attempt, I picked green floral for my background and pink flowers for the petals. These cotton squares are 7 inches. Put the squares right sides together, sew all around 'em but leaving a gap of an inch or so unstitched. (I used a sewing machine, but hand-sew if you'd rather.) Trim a notch off each corner, turn rights sides out, poke out the corners and sew the gap closed. You might want to give it a press with the iron too. With the fabric you've picked for the petals fa...

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