A Spring Outing and other stuff

Thankyou for all your comments and best wishes on my last post, it's good to be back even though I am still far, far behind with catching up with you all.

Hope you're all enjoying this gorgeous Spring weather! 

There's lots happening in the garden now, and today I've had a great day out with my daughter who is fresh back from a long weekend in Paris! Paris in the Springtime, how wonderful!! Next time she visits her friend there I think I shall tag along ;)

Today we visited Scotney Castle in Lamberhurst, Kent, a National Trust property and only 10 minutes away from us. Rather than tour the house on such a sunny day,  we wandered around the gardens and grounds and down to the old, ruined original building. 

My daughter took all of these photos on her iPhone and has taken some lovely shots with the ancient buildings reflected in the moat.

we loved this colour blue on the garden door with the red camellia!

steps up from the sunken quarry garden, made where they quarried out the stone to build the new and much large Scotney Castle in the 1830s.

camellias in bloom

the original medieval castle, mostly in ruins, but partly intact and there are still a few rooms to explore, and a story of a priest who hid undiscovered in the Priests hole whilst the house was searched!

Years ago, way before our daughter was born, we saw a Shakespeare play here one summers evening with the backdrop of the ruined castle......so atmospheric!

Such a great place to visit!

Back to the Loft Room tomorrow all day, and hoping to finish a glass cabinet that I started painting on Tuesday in Annie Sloan "Provence", a gorgeous turquoisy teal colour! Just sanding, distressing and waxing tomorrow so should have some photos to share in my next post.

I have a few items of vintage furniture already in the shop that I've painted recently, including this oak wheelback chair that had seen better days, but with a bit of glueing and a coat or two of my own colour mixed from Annie Sloan Original, Duck Egg and Louis Blue its looking much better.

Enjoy the rest of the Easter holidays and hopefully lots more sunny days!

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!!!!

Happy New Year!!!

Just a quick post to wish all my friends and followers a Happy 2015!!!

To welcome in the New Year I am having a sale in my Etsy Shop with 15% off everything until 15th January 2015!!!!

Use the coupon code NEWYEAR2015 at checkout to apply discount.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!

Last post of the Year!

Hello hello, is there anyone still there?!

I hope everyone had a good Christmas? 

It's been a month since I last posted!

I never intended to be away from blogging this long, but as my regular readers will know (as I bored them silly with photos of my makes for months!) I had been busy preparing for a Fair, then once that was over it was full on with the Christmas preparations, and now suddenly here we are out the other side and just about finished for this year!

The Fair went brilliantly, and was well worth all the hard work, and Christmas was good too with family here both Christmas Day and Boxing Day, so the time in between was busy with shopping, cooking, cleaning and decorating.

Now we're nearly at the end of the year, time has slowed down and we're enjoying long daily walks and leisurely pottering around the house, eating too many chocolates and watching too many films, but its the only time of year when we get to do this so I'm giving in to it!

Next week all should return to normal for us, and I will then get back on with some sewing. But in the meantime I'm having a complete break from it, mainly due to the fact I can hardly get in my sewing room for the mess!

I'm looking forward to the New Year, to the days getting longer, to watching for signs of life in the garden, and to the occasional warm and springlike days that we sometimes get in January and February.

I'm one of those people who likes to take stock at the end of each year, to look back on what I did, what I achieved and what I didn't, and to make plans and set goals for the coming year. 

Do you do that too?

And of course there's the usual resolutions about eating better, exercising more, planning menus properly etc etc.......and this year, to blog more regularly!

I'm hoping to catch up with you all very soon, but in the meantime...............

.................. here's wishing you all a happy, healthy and creative New Year!

Quick Post!

Hi everyone, I've been pretty remiss at blogging and blog visiting recently I'm afraid, mainly because I'm working flat out to get enough extra stock for an upcoming Xmas Fair, and partly because I'm finding at the moment Instagram is such a quick way of keeping in touch and sharing.

All will be back to normal post Fair though, so I hope to resume "proper" blogging and catch up with you all then.

In the meantime I only have a few photos to share (hooray you say!) of a few of the things I've been making since I last posted. There is probable more stuff posted on IG though, so please come and find me there - I'm Pinkgillyflower on IG!

I made two cushions from a gorgeous 1950s barkcloth type fabric, which features ornate flower pots and stands - the yellows and reds are really vibrant and the photos don't do the fabric justice.

It was a fabric of my Mums, and she gave it to me a few years ago when I was after some 50's fabric. She bought it for kitchen curtains which she never then got round to making. I shall make her some pot holders or oven gloves for the kitchen from it I think.

The last of the Christmas decorations are finished, and I have put a few for sale in my Etsy shop here.

This last week or so I've been trying to focus on gifts for the stall. I have plenty of cushions naturally, but usually like to take smaller gifts along.

I have made a number of vintage floral fabric lavender hanging sachets as decorative items for hanging around the house from door or cupboard knobs. They are backed in either vintage linen or vintage French ticking - again there are more photos on my IG under Pinkgillyflower.

I've also been making glazed cotton chintz drawstring bags - I find the good old drawstring bag invaluable for keeping bits and bobs in, and essential when going away. I am making various sizes and mostly from lovely chintzes from the 80s and 90s - Warner, Laura Ashley, and a French design by Marignan (the green and white).

But the pretty yellow floral is a modern cotton, although in keeping with my ethos it is second hand!  Back in May at the Decorative Living Fair at Eridge Park, in Kent, I bought a load of this gorgeous Tanya Whelan fabric, yellow cotton with white polka dots and pink rose clusters, from Selina Lake, author and stylist. Selina was there promoting her latest book "Outdoor Living" and was also selling props from photo shoots.

Below is the original vintage pink roses on yellow chintz which inspired me to make these bags. I found it last year and love it, it hangs in my bathroom, and I've had it in mind for a while to make some for my shop from the pretty floral chintzes in my stash. So out they've come and I'm on a roll with them!

Below also is a Laura Ashley chintz bought back in the early 90's to make curtains, and a pretty small scale Warner chintz - these are partly made bags which I must finish off.

Anyway, I'd better get back on and finish off those bags plus make a few more!

If anyone lives in the area, the Christmas Fair I'm going to be at is at Brenchley Memorial Hall, Brenchley, near Tunbridge Wells in Kent, just 5 minutes off the A21.

It is on Sunday 7th December and should be full of lovely vintage and handmade goodies! I haven't done this Fair before but I think it will be worth a visit. It would be lovely to see you!

Have a great weekend!