Summer - No Sewing?!

I have been away for a while; travelling, sightseeing, having the cobwebs blown from my mind at the seaside, hiking, walking, climbing and resting. And while I did bring some sewing along, I did not sew a single stitch. We had a wonderful time, but I haven't yet sorted the photographs in any way, so my planned post about it all will have to wait a small while longer.
Since we are home again the washing has been caught up with, and I am trying to get on top of the work in the garden. The weather is not cooperating very well though! Still it is worthwhile to take a quick tour:

The hollyhocks are just coming out, the dark one is probably my favourite! The fuchsia has seeded itself and happily grows against the trampoline, and the Penstemon mixes with the promise of Oregano.

The poppies have almost finished flowering, but I think I prefer their seed pods anyway. Mangetout and black currants are starting to get ready to be picked, and the blueberries need rescuing from this rambling geranium! They will need a few more weeks to ripen.

Our rambling rose has almost finished flowering, now it is the Verbascum that attracts the bumblebees. Digitalis have self seeded everywhere, some are higher than me, and branching to give even more flowers! Lady's Mantle gives a nice bunch for the times that I'm rather inside than out.

Lastly, while the different ferns and the damp-loving Gunnera are doing great, my chair sits unused on the grass. I placed it in a spot where the sun should reach it for a large part of the day, but is just too wet and cold to sit still outside.

Since our return I have actually been sewing a small bit as well, but I have to keep that secret for a little while longer.

Lastly, in my previous post, I offered to make a Craft-It-Forward surprise for three crafty enthusiasts. It seems not many people are reading this blog and/or happy to join in with activities like that, but through the comments I have met some lovely people some of whom are happy to be involved spreading some crafty cheer around. If anyone has missed that post and does want to get involved after all, add a comment on that post or this one, or send me an email. I'd love to make your day in some way... Just not everyone at the same time now, please!!

Sandra

Craft It Forward

Several months ago I commented on a "Craft It Forward" post by Fiona at Celtic Stitches. I had forgotten all about it - which is part of the fun - when I received a squishy parcel in the mail a few days ago!

Wondering what fabric I had ordered and forgotten about, I opened it, only to find some wonderful surprise goodies in it!!

From a gorgeous pouch, handmade jewellery pin, and some extra fabric (which goes perfectly with others from the same line I got recently), to a bar of chocolate I was much in "need" of... just perfect. And I received it on a day that I could do with some spoiling, so the timing was perfect, too!

Thank you again so much, Fiona!

Now, as part of the deal, I am going to offer a handmade Pay-It-Forward gift to three (random) commenters on this post (of course)! If you dare to chance receiving a stitched gift from me in the mail in the coming months (I'm not promising when, but within the next year), do leave a comment and I will pick my "victims" after my return from my travels in a few weeks time.
The only condition is that you have to be prepared to return the favour to three others after you have received your gift.

Looking forward to your comments, let's see how many/few people actually read this :-)

Hope you are all enjoying the summer, wherever you are!

Sandra

Tulips from....Delft maybe?!

After I entered the Bloggers Quilt Festival with my last two posts (here in the Art Quilt category and here in the Scrap Quilt category - have you voted yet?! voting is open for one more day, and you have 3 votes in each category), I have actually been sewing!

I had been considering making some blocks from the Cloud9 pattern "Amsterdam Quilt", but I could not find the intended red and pink fabrics for the tulips! In my impatience I grabbed some other fabrics, and made a block anyway:

The block went together so well, that I HAD to make some more, and before I knew it, the kitchen table (which is where I usually sew) was full of them:

Very quickly they were transformed into this:

 A last cream border will be added the next time my sewing machine gets an outing, the strips are cut ready to be sewn on.

According to the song, tulips are from Amsterdam, though the blue colours remind me of Delft blue, so there is some debate about the naming of this one... since it isn't quite finished yet (a quilt isn't a quilt until it's quilted), I may ponder for a while yet...!!

Sandra