Sunny Easter weekend

Happy Easter - a bit late I know but again the weather has been so good I have been outside away from the computer
The apple blossom has bloomed on the apple tree in the garden. Last year we had little blossom and only about a dozen apples on the tree, this year it is thick with blooms so we are hoping for a bumper crop of apples.We spent the Easter Weekend with the family up in the Scottish borders.
and went to the beach to create sculpture ..
and watch the wild life - on the way to the beach we saw a deer, a mole and buzzards flying over head.
The flowers on the shore were as good as the Gardens at Howick Hall last weekend - these bluebells were right at the edge of the beach. and the wild garlic filled the hill sides with pungent smelling flowers.
and there was still time for a little bit of knitting - I finished this baby hoody. Just buttons to add and it will be off in the post to Glasgow.

Happy Quilting xx

Howick Hall Gardens

The weekend started well with sunshine and a quilters lunch at the Herb Patch. Margaret is showing off her latest quilt another sampler quilt. Beautifully quilted as usual. When I go to quilt shows with Margaret she is often in awe of other peoples work asking why should she bother. The hand quilting on this quilt is so beautifully done that's how she has made me feel this time - I couldn't attempt anything like that. The quilt was just waiting for the binding to be finished - I bet its on the bed by now.
Making the most of the weather again on Saturday DH and I visited Howick Hall in North Northumberland. Home to Earl Grey - Prime minister of England in the 19th Century and inventor of Earl Grey Tea.
The gardens are an arboretum with species from all over the world - from our common woodland flowers to ...
more exotic specimens.....
and you can walk through the gardens right down to the sea. I remember swimming in this cove as a child (were summers hotter or the sea warmer then?) We always had egg and tomato seaside sandwiches.
But on Saturday we had scones with homemade rhubarb jam and of course Earl Grey Tea.

Hope you are getting out and about enjoying the spring sunshine too.

Happy Quilting xx

Shortbread buttons

Now I am not a great cook but when I saw a recipe for shortbread button biscuits in the new May edition of Country Living magazine, I just had to give them a try. I was delighted with the finished product.
Suitable for knitters , quilters and tea drinkers in fact anybody who likes needle crafts and biscuits. The only down side was the 3lb bag of rice flour I carried from Fenwick's delicatessen I bought to make them, I now have one arm longer than the other.
and they are absolutely perfect to show off the glass dome I found in a charity shop for £1 last week, a perfect fit for my glass cake stand.

I have been too busy in the garden this weekend to do any sewing or knitting - the sunshine was too good to miss. This lovely shrub has bloomed again I think it is called Brides Bouquet - and it is absolutely laden with blooms.
as is the cherry tree in my front garden. ....and now we can have fancy close up shots with the new camera!!

Happy Quilting xx

Pansies and other gorgeous things

Now I have 2 cameras, I have been experimenting a bit to see if I can improve the images on my blog. So now we can have every photo in close up.........................a bit further away ..............or at a distance....... Which ever way I look at them these pansies have bloomed magnificently with the spring sunshine. I bought them at the beginning of November as winter flowering pansies to brighten up the front of the house. After 3 weeks the snow came and wiped them out. Fortunately I had not got round to tipping the planters into the compost bin and suddenly they have bloomed again.The daffodils are also blooming ... these ones showing off in a jug I bought in a charity shop to put custard in at Christmas. But watch out for that table cloth - when I bought the fabric I wasn't sure what to do with it. But a metre of Amy Butler fabric for only £6 deserved something special.But I think it is more useful as a pinny. I can just about make this pattern with my eyes shut now. A present for a friend who is retiring - I hope she doesn't feel tied to the kitchen sink by the apron strings!! I bought these lovely little tags from Helen at Busy Bees Studios open day last week.And I've been putting them on everything I've made this week. A pair of quilted hotties.And a sweet little make up bag made from a Moda Honey bun which is a tiny jelly roll of 1 1/2 " strips of fabric. They came in a pack of 2 and have been lurking at the bottom of my stash for the last 2 years or so.
I have torn myself away from the sewing table to do a bit of gardening, I bought some new lavender plants, a few primroses and a pretty white flowering perennial called Snow Cap.
And here it is with all the other gorgeous things that I bought from the gorgeous Helen at her gorgeous Busy Bee studio in the gorgeous sunshine last weekend.

Hope you like the photos

Happy Quilting xx