Beautiful Barbados Flowers

I don't know what the weather's like where you are but I could guess that it's cold and maybe raining or even snowing.

It's pretty miserable here with lots of grey days, rain and wind.

So my aim today is to brighten your day with a colourful post showing you some of the beautiful flowers I saw in Barbados.

Here goes!

Enjoy!

I hope you enjoyed my photos and, don't forget, Spring is nearly here!

Thanks for popping by!

Maggie xx

Our October Garden

Yesterday I was in the process of collecting together and sorting all my WIPs to show you.....I have quite a few, you know....then the weather turned sunny and I thought I'd better go outside and do some tidying .....so the WIPs will wait for another time.....

So here is a glimpse of our garden instead....

Delicate Cosmos...

Garlic flowers....

Rudbeckia......

A spider above our heads.....

Marigolds....

This sunflower just about to open....

Hot lips Salvia has been blooming all year and is still pretty.....

A sedum.....just bloomed....

 Japanese anemone...first time this has flowered.....

Looking forward to roasting this butternut sqaush....

A few damsons this year.....

 Spot the spider!

I've been clearing the greenhouse and tidying the roof terrace....

Still a bit to do yet!!

I've picked the last of the tomatoes and a few sorry specimens of pepper and cucumber...

Spencer has been helping me as always....

There's still lots of runner beans....they have been delicious and tender....we've tried to pick them before they get too big..

Looks a bit cloudy over the town.....time to go in for a cuppa....

If it starts raining, I'll be sorting my WIPs!

 

I'll leave you with these curious calves that I met on the Common last week...

Adorable innocent little faces...

Thanks for visiting!

Maggie xx

Paisley Garden Chair Cushion and a Giveaway

I seem to have been working on my second garden chair cushion for weeks!!

You know what it's like. You cut out the fabric, then something else turns up, and it gets cleared away. You get the the fabric out again and make a bit more progress, then something else happens or you get distracted and it gets put away again! Well that's the way it's been for me making this quilted cushion. 

But hooray! It's now completed!

I just love this beautiful fabric with it's large paisley pattern. It's been in my stash for a while and it's so nice to see it put to good use at last. This mix of colours just to be one of my favourites!

For some reason it turned out even shorter than my first cushion shown below ..... even though I added a few inches to the length! It's a mystery!

But I love it anyway!

So now Chris and I don't have to race each other to the roof terrace to grab the chair with a cushion as now we have two!

Now we just need lots more sunny days so we can sit out in comfort and enjoy the garden. Really enjoying my sweet peas this year.......

Spencer seems to like them too!

Cute eh?

Talking of sweet peas.....have you entered the Summer Flowers Giveaway over at Mary Jane's Tearoom?

Lots of gorgeous goodies to be won including a Cath Kidston storage bag! 

Take care 'til next time.

Maggie xx

Blue Skies and Holiday Blocks

Hooray for beautiful blue skies......

 blossom on the apple tree.......

and gorgeous purple aubretia.........

Doesn't the sight of them just give you a boost?!

 

Last weekend we took a short break away. It was our first trip out in Harvey J this year.

 

Best of all......I got to drive!!

We found a lovely quiet campsite near Leominster. There were beautiful views....

and lots of space for Spencer to run around.....

He even found a doggy friend to play with. Spencer made us laugh as when he had had enough of playing, he would dive under the van where the other dog (who was bigger than him) couldn't reach him!

 

The weather was ok, quite cold, so I made some time to make a block for my holiday quilt. I made a simple template, cut out heart shapes and hand sewed them onto squares. I tried to keep to reds and blues. It was very enjoyable :)

I sewed the squares together on my machine back at home.....and this is the completed block...

I have another block to show you from my holiday in Devon last month. I had trouble with the centre and have unpicked the stitches and resewn it a couple of times. It's still not perfect but it was getting to the stage where it was going to end up in the bin or out the window!

 

So please don't look too close!

 

The block is called Clay's Choice, Star of the West.....and several other names (besides what I called it!).......

I had to show you this pic of our neighbours' donkeys......mum and baby.....who came to greet us on our walk last week.....

Down on the canal there are three little ducklings......

And the other day I made a potato and spinach frittata....never made one before and it was surprisingly nice!

I'm finishing this post with a burst of flowery loveliness....our azalea :)

 

Happy crafting 'til next time :)

 

Maggie xx