jottings

Hmm, blogging seems to have taken a bit of a back seat lately, my computer time has been shrinking as my to-do list at home gets longer. It didn't help that our computer monitor died - it is off to be mended tomorrow, in the meantime the computer is connected up to our rather large tv!
I did finally manage to snap some shots of two new notebooks, the first is now available here, if you are looking for a summery/cheery place to write all your jottings. : )

Big Lunch

On Sunday our street had a street party, that was part of the uk wide ‘Big Lunch’. It was such a wonderful idea and definitely a big success, the road was closed and bunting put up, there were tables and chairs down the middle of the road and people barbecuing in their front gardens. There were face painters and a jazz band, a raffle and lots and lots of sunshine. It was lovely to see so many children out playing, and a great opportunity to meet and chat to neighbours. We are hoping that it gets repeated next year! And thanks to studio35 for including one of my fabric boxes in this gorgeous treasury. : )

it's getting there!

Do you remember this picture from last summer of the new flowerbed I had just finished digging in our garden? It is now a year later and it looks like this! This is the first summer that our garden has felt like a garden to me, and I have spent quite a lot of evenings watering it in this hot weather. It makes such a difference to have an outside space that is nice to spend time in. : )

Done!

I can't believe it but I have finished Holly's top already, and I love it! It was so easy to make, if you have a little girl and would like to make one, I found the instructions here. It only used about a yard of fabric for her size, and it is reversible, so two tops in one, just turn it inside out when you want a change! (which Holly has done already quite frequently!) Holly loves it too, her favourite side is the birds (what good taste she has) but I almost equally like the pink, which is a japanese fabric I couldn't resist buying a while ago. She has already decided when it is going to get its first outing, what a success. I'm not sure if/when the novelty of being able to turn it inside out and look like you are wearing a different top will wear off, I think I would like one myself! (This is what I will be doing this evening, three bags of broad beans from the allotment that need podding/blanching/skins removed) : )

making

Lots of making has been going on over the past few weeks, with not much actually making it onto here - I need more hours in the day! I have some new items to show you which still need to be photographed, so I thought I would share some other things I have been making. First is this delicious honeycomb, it didn't last long! This was my second attempt as the first tasted right but stayed very sticky and didn't set. This lot was better so got the full treatment of being covered in chocolate. I will definitely be making this again! And I've decided to make something for Holly. I found some great instructions on how to make a summer reversible top, this is as far as I've got at the moment, these are the straps in progress, showing the two fabrics Holly chose from my stash. (I even let her choose my favourite bird fabric, I hope this top turns out well!) Finally a great big thank you to Blossom Daily for featuring me on her blog, click here to read the full post! : )