Friday 28 June 2013

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!
 

Wednesday 26 June 2013

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

Monday 24 June 2013

label day

This can only mean one thing right?
At long last I have a finished 2013 quilt to share...
oh but not yet!
Come back Wednesday,
hopefully I won't leave you wordless xx
Click here for the snowday quilt progress.

Friday 21 June 2013

geraniums or pelargoniums

geraniums

biokovo, tiny monster, ann folkard
pat, splish splash, ballerina
terre franche, pink cinereum, spinners
After I counted the roses I began to wonder
just how many geraniums I have.
Well it seems I have totted up 12 species
though have many more clumps.
I couldn't be without geraniums
they are great space fillers
that said they can become a bit unruly.
Don't be fooled by a geranium with a name like tiny monster!
My favourite at the minute would be 
the terre franche bottom left 
(local plant lady purchase)
I just love the heart shaped petals!
pelargoniums
It has come to my attention that there is still confusion
between geraniums and pelargoniums.
Pelargoniums and geraniums both belong to the Geraniaceae family,
which is where the confusion began.
For a great explanation click here.
Here in the UK
geraniums are hardy, whereas pelargoniums are not
end of discussion!

Monday 17 June 2013

blooming june

 young lycidius, gertrude jekyll, souvenir du docteur jamain
(roses appear much richer in person)
2013 has not been a flaming June
however things are catching up
after a non existent spring.
I have eleven roses in my garden
four of which are blooming now.

 Every year I write a list 'plants of interest'
and 'plants most definitely wanted'
I do usually prefer to grow my own
but when it comes to roses
that's a bit tricky.
I have two new roses 
rosa mundi and
the above is the first bloom ever in my garden of
rosa veilchenblau
which has been on the latter list forever...
Its a rambler which I have planted behind the pond.
It has clusters of small purple flowers
and smells divine,
some say it's an orange fragrance
I think it smells like a delicate perfume.
I cannot wait for the fence to be smothered in roses!
The next three plants will always appear in any garden of mine,
they are what I call good do~ers.
Above is the lovely alchemilla mollis
which will throw itself about the garden.
 Geraniums~ I have a fair number
(that's another post)
This one was £1.50 from the 'plantlady'
up the road.
And allium christophii.
I love alliums.
A garden's not a garden without alliums!
How does your garden bloom?

Wednesday 12 June 2013

Quilting On The Go ~ blog tour


 Hey readers
most of you will know that I love epp
(English paper piecing)
and that I am not one for courting sponsors and the like...
However when I was asked by Jessica from Life Under Quilts
if I would like to have one of my quilts in a book about epp.
well who wouldn't jump at the chance right?
Roll on a year and here we are on the blog hop tour for
 Quilting on the Go.
Whats more
two lucky readers will get to own their own copy
by entering giveaways hosted by Lesley @  Stitch Literate
and Lucy @ Charm about You
(see below for dates)
For me it's all about the top of page 48!
For you it's a fabulous book 
with EVERYTHING you need to help you learn
or further your epp skills.
I met Jess after she invited me to join her diamond epp flickr group,
I was at the tail end of my summer of love quilt
(what no pictures)
so was glad to meet likewise quilters.
I didn't even know that what I was doing was called epp!
 So what do you get?
140 pages of awesomeness!
So many inspiring ideas
with great fabric combos.
Really clear photos and step by step instructions on 
getting started
creating a travelling sewing kit
quilting methods
binding
fussy cutting
fabric ideas
making labels
etc...
Oh and let me not forget the projects!
I rarely see book projects that I want to make,
so when I received my copy 
I was surprised how I
fell in love with epp all over again
thanks to Jess's ten stunning projects
from the ever popular hexagon cushion,
to her signature memory quilt.
One of my favs is this cute pincushion.
  You may think that I might give a biased opinion
but I really do think the book is a triumph.
If you've fallen in love like I have click a button
and find more awesome reviews
overseas readers




UK readers below
you may find the book in the UK has a different cover.

The lovely people at paperpieces
 are offering readers 20% off their entire shopping cart,
 no minimum purchase, with the code UNDER20 throughout the entire book tour.
What better way to get you started
than with the hard work cut out!!


 So here are the dates for what looks like a very 
exciting blog hop.
This was my first blog hop so
I'm feeling quite chuffed to be part 
of such a great ensemble!

June 11    Lesly at Stitch Literate           http://pickledish.blogspot.com
June 12    Clare at Selfsewn                  http://selfsewn.blogspot.com/
June 13    Christina at A Few Scraps      http://afewscraps.blogspot.com/
June 14    Victoria @ Bumblebeans        http://bumblebeansinc.blogspot.com/
June 15    Amanda Jean at Crazymomquilts   http://www.crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/
June 16    Laura at Quokka Quilts                http://quokkaquilts.blogspot.com/
June 17    Lucy at Charm About You            http://www.charmaboutyou.com/
June 18    Katy at I'm A Ginger Monkey          http://www.imagingermonkey.blogspot.com/
June 19    Ara Jane at What Ara Jane Loves        http://whatarajaneloves.blogspot.com/
June 20    Kathy at Pink Chalk Studio Blog          http://www.pinkchalkstudio.com/blog/
June 21    Jessica at Life Under Quilts                http://lifeunderquilts.blogspot.com/


I hope you felt my love for 'Quilting on the go'
Don't forget to enter the giveaways!!
* please note that my rose star tutorial
doesn't feature in the book,
but is available here on my blog.

Monday 3 June 2013

iris and june


 Well we didn't have to wait too long.
Thank goodness for the sun,
it could easily have been a damp squib of a flower.
So what do you think?
 I have to say I was a tiny bit underwhelmed that it wasn't very showy
(compared to cultivars)
but to be truthful I placed it next to the pond
where I'm creating a wilder look..
so natural is good.
I think this may be the start of a new love affair..
I can hear you say what with Mr frog?
haha very funny!

On writing this post 
seeing the photos en-masse
I cant help thinking they remind me 
of a certain painting by a certain Vincent...
*Iris Germanica

Saturday 1 June 2013