Love this #70: A quilted vegetable patch or three

Yes a quilted vegetable patch, in fact three. I saw these back in April when I went along to a crafting show at the Excel. I'd booked a slot at a learn to crochet session which ended up being cancelled and as I'd had to buy a ticket to the show I went along anyway.

Although I managed to leave the show with some crafting goodies, it was a small show and I probably wouldn't go again. The highlight for me was the quilts on display, today I'm sharing three of those, and the detail on them is exquisite.

1. The vegetable patch

This quilt by Megan Barley is inspired by a friend's allotment. The vegetables are instantly recognisable aren't they and the quilting on the background adds texture to the "earth".

It's very clever and very creative, but there was more to come.

2. Growing Green

This quilt by Lesley Brankin held my attention for such a long time and even when I was writing this post my eyes continued to explore its detail. Carrots, beetroot and parsnips are all allotment staples and I love the seed packets, which were transfer printed. I'm also a fan of companion planting and making above ground look as pretty as below ground is productive. Sadly not something I'm achieving on my allotment right now, but give it time. And measure that time in years and I might be part of the way there!

I wanted to show you the detail on this quilt, so here's a couple of close-ups of the beetroot and of the flowers and butterfly.  And yes, there's embroidery and beads on there too.

3. The allotment

Margaret McCrory's quilt has quite a story. Its inspiration was her daughter's allotment and the connection she had with her grandmother's garden, and she wrote about this on fabric, painted over it and then cut it up to use on the quilt. There's photos of flowers, fruit and vegetable memories too.  And I'm pretty sure I can see a shed, which as you know I don't have on my plot.

And since I wrote that poem things have got worse as our makeshift bench storage has started to fall apart and needs some TLC. But that's for another day, today I'm just admiring and in awe of the skill on display in these quilts.  

Aren't they unique works of art?

A month full of notebooks

And you know how much I like notebooks - it's been a good month!  I've been back to TK Maxx in Orpington, I just popped in one lunchtime to see what they had. And ended up leaving with more than I bargained for, ah well I'm sure they'll come in handy.

It started with a pretty daily planner, which has a tear off strip on the side for the to do list part, a clever idea I thought.

And then I spotted the A5 notebooks, and I knew it was dangerous. And how could I choose?

THOUGHTS

BRIGHT IDEAS

LET'S DO THIS

Yes, clearly I didn't choose, I bought them all - but at £5,99 a pop that wasn't so bad. I like their motivational messages too - and in the right order, there's the starting of a plan too.

But that's not all.  There was one more I couldn't resist.

MAKE IT HAPPEN

I love this bold design and at the moment it's in the pigeon shelves in the porch, so every time I walk past it it catches my eye and reminds me what to do.

And if that wasn't enough, earlier in the week I was at the TK Maxx and Homesense Christmas in July event - more on that next week - and I left with a lovely personalised notebook.  And yes, my personalisation was 139a - what else?! - I even watched it being done, absolutely fascinating.

So my July in paper has been all about notebooks. But you can never have too many, right?

Love this #69: Saltcreake Designs

A sunny Saturday morning in Norfolk and we popped along to see who and what was in the pop-up shops at the Dalegate Market in Burnham Deepdale. A fantastic idea and somewhere I'll be stopping in again the next time we're in Sunny Hunny. 

This weekend there was a sweet company, an artist and some woodcraft with items made from new and reclaimed wood. MOH was quite taken with a standard light made from an old beam, and it was lovely but something else had caught my eye.

And that was these upcycled home decor pieces by Saltcreake Designs - aren't they fab?

I loved them, but just don't have the space for them right now so I didn't leave with one, although I would have been more than happy to. I am though, adding these to an ever growing list of home items so that when I have the right space I know just what to buy. 

My favourite was the picture frame and chicken wire noticeboards, such a lovely idea. My dad and MOH were in agreement though and couldn't see the attraction of some jubilee clips on a board with some old jars, or a picture frame with chicken wire. Clearly it's one of those things that divides the genders in my family.

What do you think?