Castles part 19 and more tales from the potting shed.

March is here and that really heralds the start of the veg plot. We are still eating cabbage and kale from last years sowings and before long, the purple sprouting broccoli will be ready to eat.
I have planted my early seed potatoes and cleaned the greenhouse all ready for action. The rhubarb is up and my raspberry, blueberry and goji berry plants all have new growth and buds on them so fingers crossed for a big crop this year.
I have stitched up the latest part of Castles in the Air and here it is.

The roof of the folly is not too clear but that is down to my choice of greens at the start of the project. I do enjoy doing this, it is great feeling you have a finish at least once a month.
Thanks for dropping in.

Cat's eyes - The bag!!

I completed this design about 2 years ago and it has languished in a drawer since then just waiting for something to happen.
I saw the calico shopper in a local shop for 99p and decided to pop it onto that.
I backed the design with interfacing and used Bondaweb to place it sqarely onto the bag. I then stitched around it to make sure it would stay put and here it is.

The only down side to this bag is that daughter saw it and whisked it off to be her P.E. bag.
I hope you like it.
Thanks for dropping by.

Handbag mirror pouch

This was the freebie on the cover of this month's Cross Stitcher magazine.
I made a few changes to the design for instance, I did the running and blanket stitch in pink instead of blue.

Unfortunatley, the free mirror that came with it is broken. I have e-mailed the editorial team to let them know and I hope that they send me a replacement one - I won't however be holding my breath.

Polstitches

Well I'm not one to break a promise so here are the pics of the things I bought in Polstitches.

It is a fabulous place in the middle of nowhere but it is well signed so eventually we got there.
There was so much packed into the shop my eyes didn't know where to look and I wanted to buy everything.
The fabric is gorgeous, so soft and in beatiful shades - all dyed by Polstitches - the opal fabrics have so much bling in them they almost blind you.
Next door to Polstitches is a quilting shop and that has the most beautiful fabrics and trimmings, I bought some Pom-pom trim to go around a cushion, it doesn't photograph well so I left it off the photo. The other things I bought were these gorgeous fabrics and a kit for a tissue and lipstic case. I thought these would be good stocking fillers for Mum's and Sister-in-Laws this Christmas.
If you are ever around the Carmarthen area of Wales then you must  take a trip up to the shop to have a mooch around. For the rest of us who won't be back or going for a while here is a link to the website.
Polstitches

This is a close up of hte tissue case but you can see it better on the website.
Bye for now.

A holiday and sprouting beans.

Hi everyone, I've been missing in action for a week or so because I have been away on a holiday.
We went to Wales and stayed in a little village called Llandeilo. It was fantastic. The cabin we stayed in was very plush and we have come back all refreshed and raring to go.
Whilst we were in Carmarthen, I went to one of my most favorite shops. I have only shopped on their internet site before but in real life, it is awesome. Wall to wall kits, fabric, threads and charts and to cap it all, a quilting store next door.
The name of the shop is Polstitches and I will post a pic of the things I bought later - I promise!!

When we got home late last night, I was greeted by these little darlings pushing their way up and out. Aren't they lovely?

Time to go but I will be back!

Planted Broad Beans.

I have had several e-mails about this so I thought I'd show you a pic of my planted beans.
I just fill up the toilet roll middles with compost, add a bean seed and water. Then I top up the tubes with a little more compost and pop them on a window sill untill they germinate - about a week.
I have found this the best way to start them off early as once they are ready to go in the ground, you just plant the whole thing into the soil as the cardboard middle breakes down over time and there is no root disturbance during planting.
All I do is water them in the bottom of the tray once a week.
Have a go, it's so easy

Bent Creek update.

Here is an update of my Bent Creek Snapper Year - Feb. This comes together so quickly and I love the colours it uses.

Nataly's Valentine Giveaway and tales from the potting shed

Over on her blog, there is a great giveaway http://natalysneedle.blogspot.com/
The blog is really worth a read and her stitching is exquisite!!!!

My other great hobby is gardening. I grow most of our fruit and veg and love this time of year as I spend many a happy half hour with the seed catalogues chosing what to grow.
I have had a few disasters and failed crops along the way but all in all, I love it.
I have been saving the toilet roll middles for a while now and am just about to make a start on planting my broad beans and peas. This will get them off to a flying start and then when the frosts have finished and I plant them out I will be able to enjoy our first crop sometime in May.
It's blowing a hooley here so I'm going to settle down and stitch for a while before I brave the elements and toddle off to the shed for some compost.
Bye for now.

February Tusal

So the new moon is here and here is my Tusal update. Quite a bit more than last time.
I'm working on Bent Creek snapper - Feb square now so expect the jar to be more red and pink the next time you see it.
Thanks for dropping by.