Deliberation lies ahead

If you’ve been here for a while then you’ll know that I’m a fan of scrappy patchwork quilts, and may even know that I had a grand plan to make my own using fabrics from my stash. As it turned out, progress has been slow - it’s been on the go since 2017, but as the saying goes you can’t rush a good thing! Or that’s my excuse anyway.

Over the Christmas break of 20/21 I picked it up again, the delay had been cutting the cream fabric which surrounds the coloured blocks, and once that was done I’ve been plodding through making up the blocks. The pattern says twenty blocks, but I’ve decided to make more i) for practice, ii) because I’d already sewn more when I realised and mostly because iii) so I can make sure the quilt fits a double sized bed.

This week I finally met the target of my forty blocks. Some are better than others, but overall even though I say it myself, they’re pretty good.

So having reached the target, I’ve stepped out of my chain sewing comfort zone and I’ve trimmed all the blocks so the final cream piece can be added on all four sides.

The next few stages are ones which create some offcuts. Hating waste I contemplated what I could do with them, but as I have no need for even more new projects they have gone into the bin.

Now I’m ready to square off the blocks. I’ve practised this next step on my wonkiest blocks, with the ones where the seams were not quite aligned. And I’ve surprised myself - this was my first sewing project for a long time, and since I started putting the blocks together I temporarily broke off to sew masks for both MOH and I during the early stages of Covid.

I’ve got fifteen blocks that are trimmed, so that leaves 25 to go - and then the deliberation and procrastination can start as I’ll need to decide on the layout for the quilt top, and exactly how many blocks I’ll use and the subsequent adjustments needed for the rest of the pattern.

With any luck, and a good wind behind me, I could actually have a quilt top in the not too distant future!

Eight cards for summer

Back in May I shared the cards from the card box subscription service by The Card Boys which I signed up to at this year’s Grand Designs Live. This week I’ve received my ‘summer’ box of cards and I’m just as pleased with it as I was that first box - and I’ve used over half of those.

Each card is a mini piece of art, and the scheme supports independent artists and illustrators, and provides me with something different to cards from high street stores. The artist’s biography and details are on the back of each card, so it’s a great way to discover artists, and great for artists to get their work more visible.

There’s eight cards in the box (for £24) but I’ve only got photos of seven - that’s because I used one and sent it off before I thought to take a snap.

ARTIST: LAURA BARNES

ARTIST: GRACIE GERSTMAN

ARTIST: MICHAEL BARTLETT

ARTIST: EMMA TOBEY

ARTIST: MICHAEL BARTLETT

ARTIST: FLORA DUKE

ARTIST: LAURA BARNES

There isn’t a card I wouldn’t use in this selection - and as last time, it’s the last image that is my favourite. Which is yours?

Frances' Garden at Gardeners' World Live

You’ll remember from my highlights post that Frances’ Garden was my highlight of the show, so I thought it about time I share some more of the pictures I took on our visit. It was a hot day the day we visited, but little did we know that there were so many more hot days to follow, though as I’m writing this post it’s just a chilly 21 degrees - quite a change from the 28 degrees we had the other day, and the 34 degrees forecast for next week. I’m not entirely looking forward to that if I’m honest.

But anyway, Frances’ Garden. It’s a sustainable garden which reimagines an industrial space. As the explanation board said, the idea is to immerse yourself in a landscape that may have been build a hundred years ago, though instead of industry this has been harnessed for the sustainability and productivity for both humans and wildlife. And, as you’ll see, there’s plenty of touches that will most likely set your memories racing.

It’s built from reclaimed materials and showcases wildlife friendly, native planting as well as more unusual herbs and edibles. The garden definitely feels welcoming for wildlife, and every time we walked past the garden there was always a queue, which we eventually gave in and joined.

We weren’t disappointed.

I told you it was a great space, but that wasn’t all. There was a chance to peek inside both the shed and the greenhouse structures, and the detail in these was on another level. Sourcing this, alongside putting the garden space together and making the whole plot look as if it’s been picked up and placed here from another space is amazing, and that goes beyond the design - the whole team should be very proud of what they achieved. And they definitely deserved their Platinum award.

It’s easy to see why it was top of my list isn’t it?