Post Comment Love 11 - 13 July

Hello there, and welcome to this week’s #PoCoLo - a relaxed, friendly linky which I co-host with Suzanne, where you can link any blog post published in the last week. We know you’ll find some great posts to read, and maybe some new-to-you blogs too, so do pop over and visit some of the posts linked, comment and share some of that love.

Please don’t link up posts which are older as they will be removed, and if you see older posts are linked then please don’t feel that it’s necessary to comment on those. If you were here last week it was great to have you along, if you’re new here we’re pleased you’ve joined us.

It’s going to be another hot one though, the UK’s third heatwave this summer. I think a trip to the coast could be in order at some point to cool down, and no doubt plenty of other people will have the same idea. Hopefully we’ll be able to keep cool (and I hope you can too), it is after all the perfect excuse to enjoy an ice cream or two.

My photo this week is my astrantias which are finally flowering - yay! I bought them last year and they’ve been giving me some worry, as I thought I’d lost them in the heat much earlier in the year, but they’re back.

I first saw these delicate but clearly quite determined flowers back in 2014 when we visited the garden at Bosvigo in Cornwall, a private garden that is absolutely beautiful then and I’m sure it still is today. I’d never seen them before, didn’t know what they were, but knew I would have some at some point, and now I do.

Have a fabulous, but cool, week.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Making my Mystery Block of the Month: May 2025

You’ll have seen that I plan to complete Sherri’s mystery block a month quilt and yesterday I shared the test blocks which I made into my seventh charity quilt, today I’m sharing the centre block I made for my own quilt.

And yes, it’s July and I’m only just sharing my May block - holidays, heatwaves and life have played their part here!

In last month’s post I speculated that the next block wouldn’t be a star, and I was right. It’s a flower, though this one looks decidedly less tulip-like, though I think that’s down to my colour choices.

I remembered to pay attention to my seams and I’m happy with how they turned out. They’re not all perfect, but then again this is a flower and not all flowers are the same, and they all still seem to look pretty good.

Head-scratching? Which border…

Even though I have my handy hand-scribbled plan for the eventual quilt layout, I still found myself scratching my head to work out which of the green borders to use, and which side of the block they should go.

It took way more brainpower than it should have, but I ended up with this visual reminder to save me going over it all, and doubting myself each time. It’s not necessarily conventional, but it worked.

I’m pleased with my completed block, and couldn’t resist seeing what it looked like next to April’s block.

I’m even more pleased with this small preview of how the quilt will turn out, and although the green borders are not the same I’m happy with how they’re working out. It’s back to a star for June’s block so I’ll be back to the navy fabrics again, and hopefully I’ll be sharing it sooner than you know…

Join me hopefully later this month to see how I get on with the next mystery block, and check out my previous posts for my mystery block quilt or the charity quilts made from the test blocks.

Walking East Stoke's lanes: June 2025

Even though I was away for the first part of June I’ve still managed to sneak in two walks, one to the pub for lunch and back again - probably not one of my best ideas as it was one of those very warm days! And the second on another of the heatwave days, but not until the early evening when things had cooled slightly, and thankfully there was a warm breeze.

It’s interesting to see how the same routes change throughout the year, and for this post with the sun too. I’m not sure if my phone camera needed a clean, or if that’s just the affect of the sun in my photos, who knows - probably a bit of both to be honest!

BLACKBERRY BUSHES TUMBLING OVER THE CRASH BARRIERS

MOOR LANE

YOUNG BLACKBERRY FRUITS

MOOR LANE

I was surprised to see the blackberry bushes already clambering over and through the crash barriers, but on closer look some of the flowers were still visible and the fruits were only just starting to form. Phew, I love some blackberries but it felt way too early - thankfully nature agrees.

A GORSE WITH SPENT FLOWERS

MOOR LANE

The seemingly ever flowering gorse wasn’t flowering - it looks like we missed it’s swan song, as pods of seeds were in their place. Nature has its calendar doesn’t it, and that includes growing sloes ready for them to turn a deep blue later in the year.

YOUNG SLOES

ON THE PATH TO ELSTON

The foliage was lush and full along the path to Elston, so it was great to get a glimpse of the crops in the field beyond the path.

CROPS GROWING IN THE FIELDS BEYOND THE PATH

ON THE PATH TO ELSTON

And the haws are starting too, some more advanced than others.

HAWS - GREEN

ON THE PATH TO ELSTON

HAWS TURNING TOWARDS RED

ON THE PATH TO ELSTON

Just look at the thorns on this, the stem had been folded in half but it was still growing and ready to catch whoever got close enough. The rose’s flowers had gone, and there’ll soon be hips in their place I’m sure.

LOOK AT THE LARGE THORNS ON THE ROSE STEM!

ON THE PATH TO ELSTON

ROSE HIPS TO COME

ON THE PATH TO ELSTON

This clump of rather dishevelled daisies by the roadside caught my eye - I knew exactly how they felt being out in the heat! Thankfully though I could retreat inside for a pub lunch, so it’s not all bad.

DAISIES FRESH AND IN DECLINE ON THE ROADSIDE

MOOR LANE

A few days later and after spending the day avoiding the heatwave’s temperatures and the sun, I needed some air. There was a brisk wind, which turned out to be much brisker than I anticipated, but it was nice to have a bit of a blow down Moor Lane, with an oddly warm summer wind mostly against me, whichever direction I walked in!

THE GRASS ON THE RIGHT WAS BLOWING IN THE WIND

MOOR LANE

SEED HEADS AND LADY BIRDS

MOOR LANE

There were seed heads, lady birds, clouds above hedgerows and a lone red poppy growing in the verge. More unusually a clump of purpley-blue geraniums also caught my eye, not exactly what I expected to find on the side of this country lane.

CLOUDS ABOVE THE HEDGEROW

MOOR LANE

A RED POPPY GROWING IN THE VERGE

MOOR LANE

GERANIUMS GROWING IN THE VERGE BRINGING A POP OF BLUE/PURPLE

MOOR LANE

Heading back towards home from the A46 I was captivated by the young teasels swaying in the wind, and it was pure joy.

A TEASEL ESCAPED THROUGH THE CRASH BARRIER

MOOR LANE

The teasels also reminded me of a long gone family friend who made hedgehog animals from dried teasels, with hand stitched clothing - something I hadn’t thought of for a very long time, but a memory that was clearly not that far away.

Thanks for joining me for this update, if you enjoyed this post you may also like to see all of the posts in this series.