First one..............

Hello everybody, and thank you for your visit and comments on my last few posts! 

I'm not sure quite where the last week has gone, but I was busy out and about with friends which always seems to make the time fly, as well as the usual chores, a bit of sewing and a bit of reading.

On the creative front, I am chuffed to have made my first Etsy sale! Someone has purchased one of my hand-embroidered hearts made from vintage wool.

This came as a huge surprise as I had only stocked my shop for the first time before Christmas with Christmas stock, and had just been thinking that as I had missed the opportunity to have a January sale I may as well remove the mostly Christmas themed items.

But I had completely forgotten the potential for Valentine's Day gifts!  Many of my listed products are hearts,  made from vintage mangle cloth, linen and wool, and not all are purely festive, and so I should have jumped on the bandwagon a little earlier and listed some other items that would fit the bill as a gift on Valentine's Day. 

I shall try and list some of these lavender stacks in my Etsy Shop in the next few days, as they would make a sweet scented gift, and not just for Valentine's Day. 

Should anyone be interested in purchasing one before then, please email me for details.

In the evenings I have been enjoying these enchanting novels by Sarah Jio. 

I'm not good at book reviews, but to give you some idea they are mainly set in the Seattle area, and are written in a way that makes it hard for you to put down. One is set on an island ( The Violets of March), one in a waterfront floating community - think Sleepless in Seattle! (Morning Glory), and one in a beautiful old English manor house (The Last Camellia). They are beautifully descriptive, and so the settings in which they take place become easily imaginable in your minds eye as you read - you can envisage being there. These all  have a flower link running throughout, as suggested by the titles, but are foremost stories with a mystery to unravel from another generation, of life and love, of chance, sadness, dreams and missed opportunities, of tragedy and of lives interwoven across several generations. 

Each one I found hard to put down.

Each one I was sad to finish.

When I've had the chance I have been plodding on with my reverse applique cushion.

Having found the reverse applique fiddly and time consuming, I am now enjoying making it!  

I have added stitching around the leaf shapes in dark yellow, orange and red thread, and am in the process of embroidering little white French Knots.

Just embroidering what is in my minds eye rather than having a design on paper.

Logan lies behind me whilst I sew, as this is not only the best place for watching the world go by, but it also provides the best light for stitching by, especially on the greyer days.

To cheer up the grey days, more pretty primulas have somehow found their way inside the house, this time into the bathroom.

And whilst I ponder on what design of blanket to make with the yarn shown in my last post, I am reminded several times a day when I pass the little crochet corner on the landing, of the unfinished bright granny squares blanket waiting in my basket.

But it's not all unfinished works around here! 

When on my last crochet roll, I did manage to make and finish a little denim blue beanie hat just before Christmas. Using a pattern from one of the Nicki Trench crochet books, probably the Cute and Easy Crochet one, it turned out well and fits beautifully. 

Wishing you all a happy and creative week!