Folksy Friday plants and birds

Annis and I found the gorgeous cup by Julia Smith and the beautiful aubergine print by The Botanical Concept and then decided to put them together to create a theme of birds and plants



If you click on the pics they should take you to the homes of these lovely items.The clay birds are by London Clay BirdsThe plant markers are by Little Brick HouseThe watering can card is by Elli Moodyand the love birds are by Kirsty Elson Designs Hope you enjoy our choices as much as we enjoyed looking at all the lovely stuff on folksy.

rabbits, rabbits everywhere

The rabbits stem from my daughter's desire for a rabbit.  They began in a ladylike sort of style, this one being my favourite with her chi chi french red scarf...

But then I got some heavier weight linen and cotton ticking, they seemed too robust for the delicate ladylike rabbit above.  In fact the fabrics called out for linen thread and wonkiness, so I went for it and produced Annis's favourite...

And Annis's favourite won out, I love this fabric even though the ears are a pain to turn out (some swearing involved) and this one is a little more ladylike with her antique blue eyes and delicate blue flowery scarf...

Anyway the rabbits are listed on my folksy shop although at the moment I am struggling to get good photos.  The rabbits are a distraction from the doll hair problem and I think I may go and make some more cats now for the upcoming Mazey day stall.

scary looking swimmers

Ok they're a little scary at the moment but they are awaiting hair, and hair is the problem, I just cannot decide what to do about it.  I know I don't want wool, I have thought about swimming caps but they would still need a little bit of hair.  If anyone out there has any ideas I would be grateful as I am thinking about doll hair morning, noon and night now!

I should add that these girls are inspired by the 'Battery rocks swimmers', a small (unsurprisingly) number of all year round sea swimmers who swim from Battery rocks.  At the moment I can only dream of ever being hardy enough to belong to this elite group!

St Ives

It's a funny thing, St Ives is so close, only a few miles away, but we rarely go there, so yesterday when a friend needed his surfboard taking over we visited.  It does get unbelievably busy over late spring, summer and autumn and everything does cost 25% more than Penzance but it's just beautiful when the sun's out

This was someone's yard that we sneakily took a picture of while they had nipped indoors.  I just love those battered chairs and all those plants in pots and old sinks

doors on the back streets

pink flowers in the memorial gardens

Porthmeor beach, looking up to the Tate (and the cafe where milkshakes cost £3.50!)

So we ate pasties and ice creams and fudge and sauntered around the shops, sat on the beach and watched the sea (too rough for swimming) and the surfers and felt like holiday makers for the day.  Sometimes it's just the right place to be.

and the winner of the replay is...

You could get tired of seeing this photo, who knew a giveaway could be so complicated!  I decided to redraw as I have no contact details for the original winner and they haven't been in touch, so the new winner is...

...Colleen who recommended yankeequilter.com.  I will email you and hopefully this purse will be winging its way to you soon!

Sadly I was a little ahead of myself yesterday and today was just toooooooooo cold for a swim but you never know, tomorrow might always be better

in the sea

Today is a special day, my first official (or unofficial) sea swim of the year.  I don't have a wetsuit hence the photo of lovely ladies in their swimsuits (you didn't think I would put one of me up here did you?). 

I have a plan, it is only a plan, nothing concrete, to swim in the sea every day until...(the original plan began on the 1st of May but I was weak).

Of course it's easy to have a plan on an evening that feels so hot I thought the radiators had come on, so I won't be too hard on myself if I fail occasionally.  But I keep hearing how good it is for you, my children swim in the sea all the time and they are very healthy so I intend to do it, most days, hopefully.  Anyone out there up for a challenge?  There are rivers and lakes out there too.  Anyone???

The weekend in yellow

sun, sand and sea, everything seems brighter in May.  A lovely weekend spent by and in the sea.

There's a little problem with my giveaway, the winner had no email address and has not been in contact so I will give it a couple more days and then redraw from the list.