in an English country garden..

clematis comtesse de bouchard

achillea wild eve

I have an uncanny knack of choosing plants of a similar colour

and then planting them next to each other.

It's not something I'm proud of!

On my return from anywhere away

my first port of call is always the garden...

even at 11pm like this year.

Well I discovered a shrubby green welcome

something which had to be fixed.

With birthday money in hand

I set about buying mainly lilac things,

which wasn't my intention...but hey ho!

 delphinium 

As you know I lost all my lupins during the hard winter,

so I thought I would try delphiniums.

And I have to say I'm a convert.

The problem with lupins lovely though they are,

when the flowering is over you are left with a large mound of 

uninspiring leaves; not so with delphiniums.

This plant was eaten by slugs in spring

but look at her now!

I think I shall go for some darker blue ones next year

now that I know they grow so lovely.

 cosmos

If you grow anything from seed

grow cosmos.

They produce lovely strong seedlings and flower all summer.

I am in love with this one

which came from a mixed packet.

discovery

There are a lot of fallers this year,

which I leave some out for the birds.

It is one of the first things we planted 

I just wish we had done some research however

as the apples do not keep.

Not the best discovery!

 buddleia royal red

The joy of  a largish garden

means I get to create largish amounts of mess!

It does also mean I can move things about,

something that I get a lot of stick about.

(especially from my Mum)

I tell people that the plants outgrow each other,

but truth be told 

I don't know what I'm doing

and I'm always changing my mind!

 larkspur

Shopping for plants is an addiction

so I get to know a plants worth.

The buddleia for example in the last picture

was £4.99 from the range

I had previously seen it selling for £10 and upwards!

The larkspur was an even better bargain

Four packets of seeds for 99p!!

This is my first time growing it.

Its the same family as the delphinium

but grown as an annual.

Not bad for 25p!

 lavandula alba

From new to old.

This lavender which is white and not purple

is festooned every year with bumble bees.

I'm not sure why they love this particular one

but it is quite pungent.

I may not have a showy garden

but I do have a buzzy one

which is what I was aiming for.....

....just dont let me buy any more lilac plants please!!

eternal sunshine of a spotless mind

Now I know I have said my favourite hangout is in an art gallery..

but who doesn't love a beach?

For me a beach is a natural art gallery

where the artwork is free.

Whether it be the salty sea air or the wide expansive horizon

philosophical thinking always creeps into my mind.

Lately I have been much more interested in the person behind the blog

and not what the latest fabric must have is.

My most recent encounter is a lovely uplifting lady called Connie.

Who blogs from the heart and signs her name your blogging sister Connie,

which somehow makes her human and not just another blogger.

Connie is a big fan of France 

so I was dismayed to read that although she loves France

she will probably never get to visit....

and here we were about to embark on a 3 week trip.

So this is for you Connie.

You may never get to walk on a beach in France

but your spirit will always wander.

Give a creatively starved girl a stick and a blank canvas....

 *just noticed the doggy paw prints!

 * Ile D'Oleron

This morning my winter robin has made an appearance

which means that autumn must be round the corner.

The older I get the faster the years roll by...

the coast has a way of slowing life down,

moments last for minutes

which is good.

I am therefore taking a new approach to my sewing

Hence-forth I am now on a go slow sew.

Your blogging sister

lost in translation..

There is a story here somewhere....

I just wish I knew how to put it together?

1. Lady playing Amelie tunes outside the Sacre Coeur

2. Love locks on a bridge in Paris

3. Me before I lost it*

4. Moi

5. Drawing in the sand is much like epp

once you start you cannot stop!

* if you find it can you please send it back to me?

 

ps. Secretly wishing I was the lady in pic 1.

pps. sand drawing is highly under rated

express yourself!

bonjour mes amies

 Well that was one hot month!

Bear with me as I readjust my head!

loving and leaving you....

...but only for a month!!

Au revoir mes amies xx

 

* nail polish hot and spicy Rimmel

the rose bowl

 A few years ago I inherited this old rose bowl

and have been trying to fill it ever since.

I have resisted picking them until now.

 After the heavens open yesterday I was greeted this morning

with a number of droopy and broken roses.
 Main rose Gertrude Jekyll, New Dawn and Young Lycidius.

 So I had a play.

It's not actually full

but you get the idea.

I made the yearly pilgrimage to Mottisfont Abbey

to see the roses.

I was on the look out for a pale pink/blush rose,

and was rather taken by this moss rose

Jeanne de Monfort.

I quite like the mossy rose buds.

After substantial research

I have a list of possible candidates

Roses

Wildeve

Brother Cadfael

Wisley 2008

Gentle Hermione

I'd love to know if anyone has any of these

or could recommend a rain resistant rose?
Have a rosy weekend!

 

the snowday quilt reveal

   I made a pouff~ee quilt!

That's all I was thinking when taking my photographs this morning.

Sunshine, a camera and a pouff~ee quilt

can be a tricky combination

when trying to take pretty pictures.

See my first ever hold up picture below.

(I call this a pouff~ee quilt because the (john lewis) wadding 

is thicker than the usual heirloom I normally use.)

Before you are dazzled by my over indulgent snaps

I should let you know that this quilt 

was hand pieced 

with vintage sheets

and is unbelievably soft...

Okay go!

You may remember the beginnings of this quilt 

back in January...back when we had snow!

Thankfully the weather is a little better today

but only just!!

I actually finished hand quilting this quilt last month,

it was put aside as I couldn't decide on the binding.

I originally considered a yellow stripe...

but couldn't get the idea of

 yellow snow

out of my mind!

So with the up most of laziness

I struck upon an idea

to bind

 by way of rolling the backing and stitching it down to the front.

Its the second time I've used this technique,

and whilst its a little unorthodox,

 binding a epp quilt can be tricky

especially if you have points that you don't want to chop off.

This way you have control of the binding edge.

It's completely hand pieced

using the English paper piecing method.

and measures 50" x 42"

not huge..but a nice throw size.

I'm so glad you stuck around

for the reveal.

An epp quilt evolves over time...

I like the slower pace

one which I shall be following from now on.

My goal for this year is to finish up my wips (works in progress)

and begin a BIG rose star quilt.

I have a plan

I'm looking forward to sharing it with you xx