Sunday 29 March 2015

Some exciting news.....

........and its about time I posted again!!!


Well, I really don't know how we can be near the end of March already, the year is flying by at such a pace.

If I have any followers and online friends left, hello again!!!!

And a huge welcome to all my new followers via Bloglovin' !!!!!




I hope you are all well, and if you've been kind enough to wonder where I was, I'm sorry for not posting for so long without announcing some sort of blogging break, although it was unplanned.

I must confess to having lost my blogging mojo during the long, dark and dreary days of January and February, and then suddenly found myself thrown into a frenzy of activity throughout March (not that I was idle during Jan and Feb, busy but just not in a blogging frame of mind!)

So here we are.

One of the things that has kept me busy these last few months is the designing and planning of a new vegetable and potager area to the garden. The old vegetable area had a few raised beds that had rotted away, and with straggly grass paths in between that couldn't be mown as they were too narrow, it was a sad and messy part of the garden. Our occasional gardener Nick, a landscape gardener, is responsible for all the hard work and making my design a reality.

But now it looks like this!!



Am so pleased with it, and now just comes the challenge of finding the time to fill the beds as I'd planned back in the dark days of winter!

I have three established rhubarbs waiting to go back in, and then I have plans for raspberry canes, a dedicated cut flower bed, and the rest over to vegetables and salad crops. The first few years of living here we had fruitful veggie beds but last year nothing happened and this year I've even been too busy to sow any seeds in the greenhouse. Luckily its about time to sow many crops direct so I'm hoping for a dry day this week to do just that.


We've been seeing changes in the fields and orchards where we walk daily, and some days have even been warm enough to go without coats....not these last few days though



Two lovely pieces of fabrics arrived this week. The left hand fabric below is a beautiful vintage piece of French Art Deco fabric, and the right hand piece is a 19th century piece of French Linen Cretonne circa 1870.

I'm hoping to make some cushions from these.



Now for the exciting bit!!!!

On the creative front things have got very exciting!

I took a big step and am now sharing some workshop and showroom space with a new friend who organised the Christmas Fair last year, so am currently getting settled at The Loft Room Vintage Workshop and Showroom in Brenchley, Kent.

Please visit our Facebook page here and give us a new like!

Even better, if you live within driving distance it would be lovely to see you!!! We're only 5 minutes from the A21 near Tunbridge Wells in Kent, and there's a coffee shop on site.

I am beyond excited to be sharing this space with Helen from The Crackled Horse Company, who paints furniture and makes beautiful painted and crafted accessories for the home, and Emma, who creates wonderful crochet and felted items. Two very creative and enthusiastic people!

It's given me the opportunity to bring together my handmade vintage and recycled fabric cushions and accessories, Annie Sloan chalk painted furniture, and vintage finds.

I have a Facebook page also here, Gillyflower Handmade in Kent,  so please click on the link and have a look and add a like too! You can also find me these days posting regularly on Instagram as Pinkgillyflower, so it would be lovely to keep up with you on there too!

Here's a few photos of my handmade items and vintage goodies on display at The Loft Room ......


cushions, pincushions and lavender hearts


vintage fabric lavender sachets and framed vintage fabric


vintage linens, lavender sachets, bunting, cushions, vintage china and cards


more vintage fabric, patchwork, quilted and hand embroidered cushions






vintage fabric cushions, bags and painted wheelback chair



vintage china, silver plated candelabra, bunting and cards

....and some of Emma's lovely felted easter eggs, hearts and mushrooms, and the view looking out of the Loft



Well, now that I'm back in the saddle again I shall attempt to get back into the routine of regular postings, and, more importantly, try to visit all my blogging friends and catch up on your news.

It's so good to be back!!!!

19 comments:

  1. Congratulation on your new enterprise Gill, wishing you every success!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Exciting times, good luck in your new venture xxx

    ReplyDelete
  3. Welcome back to blog land and even though I've been following your adventures on IG, it's lovely to see all you've been up to. All the best with your new venture - exciting times indeed 😊
    Xx

    ReplyDelete
  4. Amazing news, hope all goes well wishing you every success.

    ReplyDelete
  5. How exciting Gilly - good luck with your new venture, Kate x

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hello Gilly
    Congratulations on all that is new in our life. I am sure you are going to enjoy working with your creative neighbours. Wishing you success.
    Love your garden and look forward to seeing what you grow

    Helen xx

    ReplyDelete
  7. Everything looks so pretty! Hope all goes well.
    Liz @ Shortbread & Ginger

    ReplyDelete
  8. How exciting, it all looks absolutely gorgeous, I'm wishing you every success in this new venture. Love the new vegetable garden as well. I've got a similar amount of raised beds, and it's amazing how much you can grow in them. Very envious of your greenhouse as well! Good luck with everything Gill. CJ xx

    ReplyDelete
  9. Lovely to see you back! Exciting news, and all the best with your new venture. Such beautiful makes Gilly xxxx

    ReplyDelete
  10. Lovely to hear from you! Wonderful news for you!! You must be so excited. I hope that it is even better than your wildest dreams and that you love it!!! xx

    ReplyDelete
  11. It is great to see you back in blog-land:) Your garden is beautiful. I have been building garden boxes too. It's a lot of work, but so satisfying. Your shop space is so pretty . . . I'm a huge fan of your work.
    Happy Easter.
    Connie :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Congratulations! Good for you, this new enterprise sounds wonderful and I wish you all the best with it.

    ReplyDelete
  13. It looks like a lovely place to poke around for a while. Pretty romantic things ;,)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hello Gill so lovely to see you back here! I adore your new potager!! Your new working arrangements do sound exciting, such a thrilling new step! Love all your pretty makes here too.
    Happy Easter.
    Helen xox

    ReplyDelete
  15. Wow it all looks fantastic! Lots of luck in your new venture :)
    Jillxo

    ReplyDelete
  16. Ooh! Good luck in your new endeavour!

    ReplyDelete
  17. It looks wonderful, congratulations! :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Oh wow Gill, your vegetable patch looks beautiful! Looking forward to see what you will be growing.

    Wishing you and your family a Happy Easter!

    Madelief x

    ReplyDelete

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