My top 10 posts of 2025

Each year I like to take a look at which posts from the previous year have been the most popular and while I’m at it I also take a look at the posts that have been around for a while and still get looked at, and I like to share that each year. Yes, it’s nerdy, but I love it. I’m not sure why but there’s often surprises along the way, in both lists - so let’s get on with it, shall we.

Starting with my most popular posts from 2025, I loved the Unearthed exhibition so it was great to see that post topping the list:

1 Previewing Unearthed: The Power of Gardening at the British Library (Ad)

An exhibition about gardening, and at the British Library - which despite living in London for a very long time I’d never been to! It was great to be invited along to the preview and help share the word about this fabulous exhibition, which a cut down version of later toured the country. I’d love to know your views on it if you managed to get along to it.

2 Traditional Quilts by Hopkin Rees at the Newark Quilt Show

It’s great to see one of my posts from the Newark Quilt Show on this list, and the quilts by Hopkin Rees are amazing. It’s my local quilt show - just ten minutes or so down the road from home, and a bright spot in any January!

3 The Chef's Table by Adam Frost (Ad)

If I’m honest, this would be my perfect garden - and you can see why my love for succulents everywhere has come from! Actually, when I can I move into this garden? I know I can’t, but if I could, I would!

4 Gardeners' World Live 2025: Win a pair of tickets for Sunday 15 June (Ad)

Thankfully I’m not the only one that’s a fan of Gardeners’ World Live, and once again my competition post makes this list, so that’s good to know. I’m proud to partner with the Gardeners’ World Live team on this, and hope this partnership will continue.

5 The Biba Story: The outfits

This post is quite a different genre to my other posts, but I’m glad it’s here - and I was pleased to get along to see The Biba Story for myself, again in a museum I’d never been to while I actually lived in London. I guess somehow museums weren’t always on my radar in my busy working life!

6 Inside the fabric and haberdashery departments at Liberty

It seems I’m not the only one to enjoy a look around these departments in Liberty, and it’s easy to see why. I did leave with a couple of pieces of material, which I haven’t used yet, so I was quite restrained as I could have left with so much more quite easily!

7 Make a Metre Matter with Gardeners' World (Ad)

Another Gardeners’ World post on this year’s list, this one is a pre-show post that encourages us all to Make a Metre Matter - and that’s all it takes to make a meaningful difference.

8 Gardeners' World Live: What a show! (Ad)

We’re not done with the love for Gardeners’ World Live just yet - you loved this post almost as much as I loved the show. Choosing one photo to represent the show was tricky, but I’ve gone for Nick Bailey’s Make a Metre Matter garden and his rows of cabbages - I still want to grow any kind of vegetables in straight lines, maybe one day!!

9 Revisiting the Orangery at Belton

This is one of my favourite places, and one I’ve realised as I’m writing this post that I don’t get to visit as much as I could, or should. Belton is our nearest National Trust garden, so there’s really no reason not to get myself along there more often, is there?

10 Floral Art at the Devon County Show

There’s some truly amazing floral displays in this post, and who wouldn’t want to wear a hat such as this?

So that’s quite a list, and it’s great to see some of my favourite posts and places appear again.

So onto the second list

This list is posts created at any time by viewed in 2025, the year in brackets is the year it was originally posted - and this list is often very similar to the previous year, although often the order changes somewhat - and it has this year too, though not number one slot!

1. Filling our gabion baskets (2017)

2. A walk from Kinoulton to Hickling and back again (2024)

3. Previewing Unearthed: The Power of Gardening at the British Library (Ad) (2025)

4. My IKEA hack: HOL storage table to laundry basket (2015)

5. Our first visit to the Newark Garden Show (2024) new

6. Storing logs in our gabion baskets (2017)

7. Bagels, cream cheese & jam (2023)

8. In the Orangery at Belton House (2022)

9. Planting a strawberry border (2016)

10. Sean Murray's Great Chelsea Garden Challenge (2017)

There’s two new entries this year, but only one of those posts - Previewing Unearthed (at number 3) is from this year. The other new entry is at number 5, a post from last year which shares more from our first visit to the Newark Garden Show, which is another great local show.

Thanks for being here again over the past year, and bearing with me with this post which you know appeals to my inner nerd. I already can’t wait to see what this year brings!

I’ve added the *AD tag to some of the post links above as they contains links to posts which were declared as ads when they were published on my blog.

Post Comment Love 23 - 25 January

Hello there, 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.

This week feels as if it’s the first week back to normal since after the Christmas break, which seems a long time after Christmas, but there you go. I’ve been back to yoga this week, and back to Reformer Pilates too - and boy I know about that with an ache or two. Today I’m off to my patchwork group and tomorrow morning it’s my sewing group, so the routine is back routine-ing with a vengeance.

But it’s been oh so grey, and wet, the worst weather I think. Though I did stop and take a picture of the last rose that attempted to flower, needless to say I think it probably won’t do much now!

Have a good week.

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Click here to enter

Sue Jennings' One Block Wonders at the Newark Quilt Show

Last weekend it was the Newark Quilt Show, the first of the year - and one that’s particularly a favourite of mine, not least because it’s just ten minutes up the road. This year I didn’t have a shopping list in mind, so forgoing my own advice, but I was happy to have a wander round before wandering round again and deciding what to buy - I’ll share more about what I left with in this month’s what’s new in my craft room post soon.

I did however know in advance that I wanted to do one of the workshops, choosing Shabby Chic Rosettes with Kate Crossley - and that meant I needed to be there early on so that I could claim my place in the first come, first served booking system. And mission accomplished, I’ll share more from the workshop in a separate post - but it was fab, and for a change I finished one of the rosettes there and then with another (still) to finish at home.

Getting there early also meant that I could wander around the quilts displayed and take pictures much more easily than later in the day as I discovered, and so I decided to make the most of that.

Today I’m sharing some stunning quilts, which are known as one block wonders. I’d heard of them, and seen a few but didn’t really know much about them until now. They’re quilts which as the name suggests use a single block, and that’s usually six repeating triangles joined to make a hexagon, using the same parts of a design from either several panels of fabric, or the pattern repeat.

It’s easy to see why they can be referred to as kaleidoscope quilts, but they also divide the quilting world though I’m not really sure why. As I said before they are stunning, though if truth be told I’m not really a fan of panels generally, but here how Sue has treated them may almost change my mind. I do much prefer the floral versions though, so maybe she won’t after all, but I can still appreciate the work and artistry that is evident in all of her quilts.

Sue Jennings began quilting about 13 years ago as therapy after a head injury and says she’s an ‘eclectic quilter’. When she first tried the One Block Wonder about seven years ago it wasn’t the happiest experience, but tried again about two years ago after seeing some lovely fabric, which was more successful as you can see.

WILD BLOSSOMS OBW, SUE JENNINGS

The fabric above - Wild Blossoms Ombre by Robin Pickens - is the fabric that inspired Sue to dip back into One Block Wonder quilts after the abortive attempt seven years before, and says ‘it was made by cutting strips then triangles from six repeats of the yardage’.

The fabric below is Brassica by Philip Jacobs, and Sue liked the yellow, blue and pink combination but could only find a small amount of the fabric. So not wanting to cut the peaks off the hexagons she added some solid fabrics at the top and bottom. Again, this was made by cutting strips then triangles from six repeats of the pattern.

BRASSICA, SUE JENNINGS

Sue then joined a Facebook group for these types of quilts which she says ‘opened her eyes to the possibility of using fabric panels instead of yardage’ to make these quilts. And those which follow here are my favourites (after the two pictured above) which were on display at the show, there were probably as many as I haven’t included and they were all stunning - I know I keep using that, but they truly were.

The mermaid below was her first attempt at a One Block Wonder from seven panels by Josephine Wall named ‘Call of the Sea’ and Sue says ‘this quilt had a steep learning curve’ - I’d say!

MERMAID, SUE JENNINGS

ARE YOU HAVIN’ A GIRAFFE 2? SUE JENNINGS

Sue has made two of these quilts, and it was the strong design on the panel and the saturated colours which attracted her to the panel by Rubin Design Studios. I also see the attraction to the strong colours, and somehow I think the approach of these quilts make them pop even more.

The Steampunk Raven is one of Sue’s favourite quilts, and it’s easy to see why - but she says she loves birds with attitude! Again it uses seven panels from Rubin Design Studios in Colorado. This was a great choice to show in Newark which holds two Steampunk festivals each year, and which we’ve not yet managed to get along to see firsthand, yet!

STEAMPUNK RAVEN, SUE JENNINGS

MYSTICAL PANTHER, SUE JENNINGS

The Mystical Panther panel is another from Rubin Design Studios, and the attraction for Sue here was the intense stare of the big cat. Sue treats her quilts as art, and they are intended to be hung on walls - and each of these made from panels would make a huge impact on your wall, wouldn’t they?

MYSTICAL ELEPHANT, SUE JENNINGS

The final quilt I’m sharing by Sue is another from a panel by Rubin Design Studios - I’m learning as I write this post that I’m also attracted to their panels, and that if I’m ever in Boulder, Colorado I should avoid their studios or else I might find myself with multiple panels and a plan for something similar!

For this quilt Sue has also changed the colour of the elephant’s eyes, as she thought ‘the orangey red eyes on the panel made the elephant look angry’ and no one needs an angry elephant on their wall do they, so she painted over them using textile colour. You’d never know would you?

They really are stunning, I’m still in two minds about the panel versions, but those two at the top of this post I’d happily accept one like that. I’m not sure I’m ready to make one though - my list is already too long, and I really don’t need another challenge just yet, but I guess never say never!