Flutterby Patch

Little pots of colour

I love having flowering plants on my kitchen window sill throughout the year. This is the grape hyacinth I showed you a couple of weeks ago and as you can see it's just beginning to fade. So I now need to consider what will take its place.

I recently found a really nice book on container gardening which contains some great ideas that are definitely going to get used for future window sill colour.

I love the idea of using odd cups and mugs for herbs. The cup could stand on a saucer if you decided to drill holes in the bottom (special 'glass/china' drill bit needed). If, like me, that presents too much hassle then just plonk the plant in the cup, fill with compost and give it small amounts of water daily.

Here's something else I have plenty of.....old plates! The blue and white teamed with snowy white looks so summery don't you think?

I'd never considered using vintage style tins. Drilling holes in these for drainage would be easy enough.

And here's a novel idea for a party..... Tiny flowering plants in tiny containers, gorgeously wrapped in pink paper (or fabric) and tied with a satin bow. Don't they look pretty on the glass plate as an alternative to cupcakes (not as yummy though).

And here's the book I used for the photos. It contains loads of creative ways for using every-day items as containers for plants and is full of pictures which are bound to tempt you to try some of them.

I'm off now to sort through my old cups and mugs.

Until next time,

Eli

Which colour?

Didn't we all have fun choosing a name for our various blogs. I know I did. Typically I changed my mind several times as my poor frustrated daughter will testify (she'd agreed to design my banner!) Eventually I opted for the name 'Flutterby Patch' as it perfectly describes me. I regularly flutter from one thing to another with great enthusiasm, a trait I know I share with many other bloggers. Let me give you an example of my fluttery character....

This morning I decided to begin my next knitting project and needed to find the right yarn. I have a large stash of mouth watering shades and so I knew my choice would be difficult. Perhaps a colour wheel could help.

So I spent the next 20 minutes looking through my various craft and homemaking books for a colour wheel. I knew I had a picture somewhere but this example is all I could find (I should have tried looking on line).

Whilst looking through my various homemaking books I took out this Laura Ashley book.......Big mistake as I forgot all about knitting and was swiftly diverted to room redecoration.

It was published in 1995 and some of the decorating hints and tips look a little dated by today's standards but it contains many wonderful coloured pictures.

These gorgeous neutral and natural shades immediately inspired an idea for a knitting project (more of that in another post).

This morning's dusting of snow has all disappeared but there is a chill wind and so these reds were a welcome sight......... I fell in love with some gorgeous red floral curtain fabric in the Laura Ashley shop last week and am currently trying to decide which room to re-decorate so that I can use it.

Warming yellows and I'm thinking Easter and springtime! My knitting project could certainly have an Easter theme.....more in a later post!

Show me green and I think of the garden. It will be so nice to get out in the sunshine again........ Break off here to water the indoor potted plants.

And on to blue. I love it! I have collected blue and white china for many years.

 Just look at this dresser weighed down with the lovely stuff.

No, it isn't mine I'm afraid, it's a pic from the book.

By now knitting was far from my mind and it was time for a warming mug of coffee, a blue and white mug of course. The picture behind was done by local artist Meg Falconer and I fell in love with it immediately I saw it. It hangs on my kitchen wall and is the perfect foil for the blue and white china I have in there.

The inscription around the edge of the picture dates from the 9th century and I find it very evocative. It reads..... 'I have tidings for you. Wind high and cold. The sun low, short it's course. Cold has seized the birds wings'.

So, did I make any decisions about which colours of yarn to use? Well...I thought I might choose green and pink!

Perhaps I'll return to the knitting after lunch. I'll let you know how I get on!

Until next time,

Eli

Patchwork of memories

Just look at this little cutie with enormous tears rolling down her cheeks. Doesn't she tug at the heartstrings? I came across her many years ago when reading stories in an old Mabel Lucie Attwell book.

The little poppet had gone to stay with her grandma but felt so lonely and homesick in grandma's big bed that she sat and wept.

But of course kindly grandma came to the rescue and sat on the bed to reassure her little granddaughter that she wasn't alone because she had the patchwork for company. Every single patch told a story. And with that grandma proceeded to identify the various fabrics and recall the memories attached to each. The little girl was soon so wrapped up in the colourful stories that her sadness quickly melted away.

This little tale inspired me to make my own patchwork of memories about 15 years ago. I remember sitting with my mum in wintertime sorting through loads of tiny fabric pieces that we had both squirreled away over the years. Every pattern had a tale to tell. I spend many hours hand stitching squares and hexagons into a cover for a single bed.

There are my mum's earliest dresses and those she made for my sisters and me; plus the dresses, blouses and shirts I made for my myself and my own children. There were so many colours and patterns to juggle with that in the end I simply set them out in squares of nine blending shades.

Although my mum is sadly no longer with us I know I will always feel close to her when I look at the patchwork we put together all those years ago. To everyone else it will never be more than a colourful bedspread but for me it will always remain a patchwork of happy lifetime memories.

Update - ABOUT MY DOLLY
As my blogging chums Debbie and Helen have commented on the sweet dolly I used for this post I decided to add a little something about her. I happened to spot her on Ebay about 8 years ago and it was love at first sight. She is a 1930s American doll from the Madame Alexander doll company and wears her original clothing (the name Madame Alexander can be found on the back of her head). She has composition head, arms and legs but a cloth body so is easy to pose and loves to be cuddled. My American friends will of course be familiar with Madame Alexander dolls, but for those who aren't, here is a link to a short history of the company.

Until next time,

Eli