Back home in the Cotswolds

Hello!

 

I hope you are well.....

 

I've not been around to write my blog for a while....it's been nearly a month!

 

I do have a good excuse though...

 

I've just returned from a fabulous holiday.......

I'm not going to tell you all about it straight away.....I thought I'd slip a few photos and clues into my next few posts to see if you can guess where we went......I've lots to tell you!

 

Back home to a colder climate.....today we went for an afternoon walk making the most of the sunshine.

 

Lots of beautiful animals about today :)

 

This pony had found a sunny spot in her field.....

Our neighbour's donkey was peeping at me.....

These two horses were well wrapped up against the cold wind......

Down at the canal, Mr and Mrs Duck....

Further restoration work has taken place on the old canal.......

.......including work on the footpaths.......

The sheep by the river were enjoying the dappled sunshine.....some were having an afternoon snooze...

Spencer played with his ball, letting it fall into the canal.......

and then fetching it again......

But we knew it would end in tears.....the ball floated in too far in.........

......and despite his efforts to retrieve it.......

(he hasn't learnt to swim yet!)

 

....poor Spencer lost his ball :(

 

He soon forgot about it though.......

The sheep were probably thinking, 'Silly dog...what a fuss about nothing'.....

These cattle were milling about....

 

The lonely pony was too far up the field today but the cheeky Belted Galloways were nearby......

...and the turtles were on the pavement!

 

 

It was so lovely to see all these animals.....

 

Maggie xx

Custom Baby Quilt with Birds and Russian Dolls

Last time I told you I'd been busy....

Today I would like to show you a baby quilt I have just completed...

 

The top is a patchwork of gorgeous fabrics chosen by my lovely customer.....

I tried to make the best of the patterns by fussy cutting most of the squares.......

I had great fun designing the layout :)

 

 

The fabrics are very colourful and put together they make a rich and interesting quilt for a baby to look at.....

 

I love this bird fabric with its blue background......

There are lots of things for baby to see......

 

Birds......

....Russian dolls.......

........lorries, cars and buses....

.....an elephant, giraffe and zebra...........

The backing is white with little Russian dolls and makes a lovely contrast to the colourful top.....

The red polka dot binding pulls it all together......

 
 

I hope you've enjoyed this post about my latest baby quilt.

 

I don't know whether you noticed but that cheeky Spencer managed to sneak into three of the photos!

 

See if you can spot him!

 

Maggie xx

Cute Little Wade Minikins

As you may have gathered, I love collecting things....but I especially love collecting vintage things!

 

This post is to show you part of my collection of Wade Minikins.

Minikins are very cute little porcelain figurines produced in Staffordshire England by Wade in the 1950s.

They're only about 1"/2 .5cm high so don't take up much room but sadly I'm letting go of my collection as I really need to make room for other (small) things.

 

Wade made three series of Minikins with various sweet little animals including rabbits, cats, mice, dogs, donkeys and cows.

 

Most of them have pretty hand painted decoration including flowers, musical notes, hearts....and some are glazed blue or brown.

 

What I love most about Minikins is the different expressions on their little faces....they all have different eyes, mouths, noses.....

Before they go, I thought I'd show you some of my favourites.....

 

Look at this cutesy little mouse with a red flower....

Cheeky cat with green starburst....

Contented bunny with winky eyes.....

 

This little bunny is love.....

 

and this one wants to dance to the music....

Look at those lashes!

 

 

Sooo sweet little brown mouse.....

 

Smiley blue bunny winking at you!

And my very favourite - she's a bit worn but sooo lovable........my musical cow......I'm keeping her!

 

 Hope you've enjoyed this little peek at my Minikin collection :)

 

Maggie xx

 

Circus Patchwork Baby Quilt

Happy Jubilee Monday!

Today I want to share with you a patchwork baby quilt that I completed this week.

It was the same pattern as the nautical patchwork baby quilt that I made earlier this year...

It was a special order from a lovely customer who had chosen her own fabrics to co-ordinate with her baby's nursery.

And what a lovely choice!

Here are the gorgeous fabrics for the patchwork top including a Cath Kidston Circus fabric....

I fussy cut the circus fabric to make the most of the pattern..

I think Mum, Dad and Baby will have such fun spotting the different animals....

As well as keeping baby snuggly and warm....

I packed it up and posted it to my customer. I was so glad to receive an email from her saying she thought it was lovely too.....and a perfect fit for her baby's cot....she very kindly sent me a photo.....

Doesn't it just look gorgeous with those pretty cushions and sweet little softies?

Yesterday whilst it was raining, I worked a bit more on my Fractured Pinwheels Quilt - the one with the pretty Lakehouse strawberry and rosebud fabrics? I'm hoping to have some photos to share with you next time...

In the meantime, enjoy the rest of the Jubilee celebrations :) Go away rain!!

See you soon,

Maggie xx