Monday 27 January 2014

Little by little..............


Thank you all for your lovely comments in my last post, I hope you all had a good weekend.

Ours was quite a relaxed affair. After a busy weekend last weekend, when we visited Chartwell in Kent to see an exhibition of photographs from the finalists of the International Garden Photographer of the Year, in association with The Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, (well worth a visit if you live nearby as some amazing photographs from all over the world ) as well as shopping trips and lots of dog walks, we decided to chill out this weekend.

We got up late both mornings.............

...........went for lots of long walks ( Bella and I reckoned we clocked up about 9 miles!).......

.....lazed around doing lots of reading afterwards to recover (currently reading a biography of Diana Mosely by Anne de Courcy)....... 

.........and enjoyed cooking and eating lots of home cooked food (Chicken fajitas with all the "trimmings" one night, salmon with coriander pesto on a bed of spinach with sweet potato chips the next ) . 

We had green smoothies for breakfast each morning, made from spinach, frozen tropical fruits (mango and kiwi) and banana, all whizzed up with ice-cubes and some water in a blender - tastes a lot nicer than it sounds, and you can't taste the spinach at all....honest!  And you feel so healthy and smug afterwards so you feel no guilt whatsoever when you indulge in wholewheat pancakes with nutella and bananas to follow, he he!!!! 

Yum!!!


Logan in the "recovery" position........


but only after a shower in the bath to wash off the mud, followed by a drying session in front of the fan heater....only then is he allowed on the sofa!

.......not another 3 miler...........


Yay, I have finished the reverse applique stage of the latest cushion, phew! 

Got there little by little, aided by some beautiful soothing lute music by John Dowland. Now for the fun bit, to play around adding a few finishing touches and see what happens!



Whilst out and about on Friday, I picked up some pretty primulas at the local garden centre for £1 each.......pots (above) and tray painted in Annie Sloan "Duck Egg"














..........and I supported the local department store by buying a few balls of yarn for my next crochet project, which I am still deciding on. 

I kind of know what I want to make in my minds eye - a simple throw from blocks, joining as I go,  just in these three colours - but I have yet to find a shape and pattern that is just right, so I will be looking for ideas on blogs, Pinterest and in books. Worse case scenario, I will pick a block from one of my crochet books and go from there.






The yarn is just sitting there waiting.............

........meanwhile the tulips are just starting to open up........


......and there is lots of cheerful colour in the sitting room now, thanks to the flowers and flowering plants, for the many dull and wet days that we are still having - although today was an exception with plenty of sunshine and blue skies.





Hope you have had some sunshine too!



14 comments:

  1. What a beautifully fresh and Springlike post ... perfect for this wet and grey day! M x

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  2. Your primulas are so pretty - such lovely colours.
    Liz @ Shortbread & Ginger

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  3. Well done finishing that cushion! The flowers look so very lovely and happy in their little pots...can't wait to see what takes shape from those pretty balls of yarn! Chrissie x

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  4. Primula in duck egg blue painted pots.......does it get any better than that!! :)
    Your appliqué turned out lovely Gill!
    Sounds like you had a wonderful weekend, let's hope the week continues the same!
    V xxx

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  5. A lovely, pretty post! Love the cheerful primulas. The cushion turned out well! X

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  6. Heavy fog here Gill, this island looks like Avalon I'll wager...
    Lovely touches, all those little potted flowers...Spring, were are you?
    Wishing you a great week,

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  7. Your primulas add a lovely colourful note and look so pretty in your lovely home! I look forward to seeing how your crochet progresses once you make a decision on the pattern - it is hard to pin it down to one thing sometimes isn't it! xx

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  8. aahhh Logan is just far to cute for his own good bless him ;-) I love Primulas they look so pretty in the planters you have transferred them to, i love spring flowers in the house after christmas it reminds me that the warmer weather isnt far away :-) I cant wait for it and the rain to stop. Your house looks so cosy and lovely. Enjoy your sewing projects, dee x

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  9. You must have had all the sunshine there, none here at all over the last few days. I think Logan's worn out after those long walks, he looks very snuggly laid on the sofa sleeping it off though. Looking forward to hearing what pattern you decide on for your new project. I've used the join as you go method on one of my projects and it makes it so easy not having to sew or crochet the blocks together at the end.

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  10. Such beautiful photos! I've looked at them for quite awhile, sitting here with my morning coffee. I'd love to visit you in that lovely room! :o)

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  11. The reverse applique cushion looks great and I'm pleased to see another project in the pipeline with your pretty yarns - is this the return of the mojo? The primulas are such pretty colours. See you soon.
    Jane xx

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  12. Logan always looks so clean and snuggly when he's on your sofas. The flowers are sure sign of spring, which can't come soon enough for me!

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  13. I love those three yarn skeins together. Pretty flowers too

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Thanks for visiting and for taking the time to leave a comment - I love to read them!
Gill x