Pretty relic

When I moved from Chichester to Petersfield I brought with me a jam jar of poppy seeds collected from the garden. And I love to see those same poppies flowering here. My Chichester garden was special to me.  Quite big for a small Victorian semi and I had a winding flagstone path laid from one end to the other. I designed it in three sections with trellis dividers and raised beds. I think that garden sold the house for me. And I admit it hurt to leave it behind.
Now that the Chichester house is on the market again I am able to check out pictures of it online. The house is exactly the same except all the floors have been stripped and stained dark. But the garden is different. The path is gone; the raised beds are gone and the trellis walls are gone. The bordering hedges have been left to grow up high and the whole garden is covered over in grass.

Eating the garden

Cool clothes for a hot summer

Tricot Too's windows show Out of Xile, Lauren Vidal and European Culture clothes with my jewellery and handmade doll.

One of my new style brooches on a pale grey Out of Xile top.

Colourful display

This is what my work looks like in Tricot Too, Petersfield this week. Colourful.
Tricot Design in Arundel is now offering a wide range of my buttons.
I am thinking about jewellery design and doing something exciting looking with a re-cycling theme - time to get out the pliers and wires again.

Pansies and strawberries

Little Alpine strawberries throw out runners throughout the garden. Up until now the wood pigeons which peck at anything that moves in the soil have left the strawberries for me. Is it thanks to these wood pigeons, roosting in a neighbours' garden that I haven't seen a single slug or snail this year?

Small things

Miniature seed packets and miniature vegetables; a tiny handmade teddy and a brooch I painted and don't want to sell - all set against a postcard my daughter sent me from the States and a beautiful label on a box of soap from France.

A Handmade Christmas

Yes, I know you don't want to see that word... But I am planning ahead!
A Handmade Christmas is the title of three new workshops for the run up to Christmas. Starting late September: A Handmade Christmas - Gifts; then in October A Handmade Christmas - cards, gift tags and wrapping and in November A Handmade Christmas: decorations for the tree and house. What do you think? I am excited already!

Making Buttons update

As the Make Your Own Buttons workshop on August 11th is full I have started taking names for a repeat workshop the following week. If you want to join us on Wednesday August 18th 10 - 1pm  let me know.

Workshops and roses

These roses from the garden are called Queen of Sweden. They decorated the kitchen table at Wednesday's 'Free Knitting' workshop. I should instead be showing you the gorgeous pieces of knitting that were created but I forgot to take a picture. It was a relaxed morning with non-stop chat and a good time was had by all. One lady travelled over from Bromley in Kent - a long journey to Petersfield and back!

In Tricot Too's window this week

Clothes by Out of Xile and American Vintage. Necklaces by Jenny Stacy.

The garden in bloom

A David Austin rose with a lovely fragrance - the Mary Rose.

A new peony planted this year which is supposed to be palest pink but actually, it's white.

Lupins, the purple one is a particularly nice, glowing colour.

Flying to NY

I selected these buttons for display at the Eastern Long Island Quilters Guild Annual Show. That's in New York State. I don't know how they knew about my buttons but I'm glad they did. The buttons, along with a couple of my painted buttons are at this moment flying across the Atlantic Ocean.