May Bank Holiday

Unusually, this May Bank Holiday was mainly sunny, here in West Norfolk. Not always warm, though  Sunday was actually HOT! Monday was dull then we had heavy rain which lasted throughout the evening and night. Unfortunately when I took the garden photos it was just a bit overcast, so not the best shots, to be honest.

Some lovely Spring flowers - I always think our garden is at its best at this time of the year.

Yes, my little Square Foot (actually metre) Garden is coming along. About to be overtaken by a rogue foxglove, but I never mind where they self seed. The radish is steaming ahead and the spicy salad leaves. The parsley and chard are taking their time but I think that's normal. I've forgotten what else is in there, but I have written it all on a plan Jim made for me.

Here at the bottom of the garden is a planter Jim built with the help of a bare-footed Fraser, our youngest grandson, when they visited three years ago. I am growing more parsley, herbs and ….. I forget what else!  in here. You can just see my early new potatoes in their bags, also coming along nicely.

On the stitching front, this was my work table on Friday:

And here is the finished LOVE cushion :

And by yesterday I had designed and begun this one:

Here are some pieces I painted with chalk paint, as I began to tell you in my previous post. They are now waxed and finished. I'm on the hunt for other pieces to paint - it's a bit addictive!

I also did my cookery book holder, and the dining room mirror frame but I can't get a good enough angle to photograph it.

So there we are, I've been busier than I thought! More cushions to make for the June Fakenham Makers' Market, and another chair to paint; It should keep me out of mischief! Hope you are all enjoying some sunshine (though it is VERY blustery here today) and managing some creative moments of your own.

April

It's a beautiful Spring day as I sit here typing this post. I've just had a very quick scan of my regular favourite blogs and will be back to read properly when I've finished this - it seems as though many of you are experiencing "challenges" at the moment, so well done you for managing even one post, let alone the several that I must catch up with. I'm late again, it scarcely seems worthwhile even mentioning it, as it happens so regularly these days.

However, some nice garden photos have galvanised me into action so here we are! I have actually sown my Square Foot Garden and can see the seedlings pushing through, also have a load of other seedlings in the greenhouse. I know this is very small beer to those gardeners among you, but to me it is a tremendous step forward, and I'm immensely proud of myself! No photos yet, though, as there isn't much to see.

I probably take the same photos every year, the garden is looking so fresh and pretty at the moment I can't resist.

This "Mystic Moonlit Hare" cushion was bought at the Fakenham Makers' Market last month by my lovely blogging friend Kathy Black, from Norwich, and having seen it on my face book page, someone has commissioned me to make a similar one for them.

Still got the detailing to stitch, and the two woollen disks at the right side are the hand-made buttons for the back. I'm also working on this one:

And completed this one last week :

Sorry not the best of photos. Here's the reverse, showing the hand-made buttons :

Also, in a burst of activity over the weekend I bought some chalk paint and wax and painted our kitchen stool. It is duck-egg blue, which is not the shade I'd wanted, looking for a soft, pale green, but I quite like it.

I bought the pale blue and a soft pink, and I have two dining room chairs I need to get my hands on - I've been gradually painting the four of them over .....erm....... two years!

I didn't do the craft fair this month, but I am about to apply to do another couple soon. Oh! And I can't finish without thanking my kind-hearted blogging friend Dc from frugal in norfolk blog, I know many of you follow her avidly. She has been to see me a couple of times now, and made her way, DH in tow, to bring me a bag full of lino boards and lino cutting tools, having had the conversation with me about lino-prints many months ago - you'll have to search back for those posts! Thanks so much Dc- whose name I shall never now forget but which I wouldn't dream of publicising here!

So a very Happy Spring to you all, and those of you who need it, I hope you receive kindness and support in your lives.