Jacobs birthday party

We had a lovely time at Jacobs birthday party on Saturday. It was his 1st birthday and he had a few friends round and loads of family. It was great because all of his mum's, Zoe, side of the family (Zoe is my niece) were there (but  for David, her brother, who couldn't make it.) Even her Nan was there which was a surprise for all of us as she doesn't normally venture far from home no matter how enticing it might be. Zoe and her Mum  put on a scrumptious spread and Zoe made some gorgeous iced buns and fabulous cakes( my poor waistline was thickening just looking at them.) Here are just three of the guests having a good time, my granddaughters, Rosie, Poppy and Joni.

Meanwhile, when I wasn't having a good time partying, I made two of these sweet little hearts filled with lavender, to sell on my Folksy shop  (www.folksy.com/shops/plumcottage),  perfect for valentines day! The Laura Ashley  fabric is lovely with a petite pattern in pale blue and white. I cut the shapes out with pinking shears and then hand stitched them together with a darker blue embroidery thread and then a small white heart shaped button was stitched to the top of the heart for a finishing touch.

we all like a bit of bunting

Who doesn't love a show of bunting? I adore it .To me it's a reminder of the 50's and 70's ( yes I do remember them! ) when there were street parties and bunting was hung up and tables covered with cloths were laden with homemade food and jellies and cakes and beakers of squash and who knows what for the adults! Seeing bunting makes me think of parties and holidays and fun!  And I think because I equate bunting with something nice happening I enjoy making them! On that note, this is the bunting I thoroughly enjoyed making yesterday! It didn't take too long as I had already cut out the flags. I decided to have a blue theme and chose fabrics from my stash that also lend themselves to being holidayish when put together (lets hope I  I have achieved that effect.) My particular favourite is the blue flag with the white outline of hearts on . It is  quilting material although I have to admit I have not used it in a patchwork quilt yet! But I am sure I will! I really like the cherry fabric as it is very pretty and quite unusual and have made some nice little bags and padded boxes out of it. 

Rosies quilt

It has been a lovely morning, blue skies and sunshine, after walking Missy and while I still had my wellies on I decided to spend time in the garden, doing all those tidying jobs that didn't get done in the autumn. Managed to do loads and even  managed to dig a bed in the lawn ready to put salad crops into in the spring. No longer dishevelled and muddy and  back indoors my thoughts have turned to future projects, the first two being bunting and a patchwork quilt for my granddaughter, Rosie. The bunting pieces have been cut out and are ready to be sewn.

I always spend ages browsing fabrics and choosing the right ones for a 13 year old was no different. The pale pink fabric and the fabric on the far right are Tilda, which I absolutely adore, and I think the spotty material is also Tilda all bought online. Each piece is 100% cotton and my next step will be to wash them so there will be no shrinkage once it is made up and then washed. Then onto the tedious task of cutting out all the squares. I will keep you up to date on the progress of the quilt