A Very Special Day

It's been a very busy few weeks here at Flutterby Patch.

Much plotting and planning has been going on.

Cakes have been made and scrumptious edibles goodies prepared and all because..........

on Sarurday 20th March, the first day of Spring......

my dear son married his sweetheart.

 Promises were made and rings exchanged

Hymns were sung and prayers were spoken.

And then the happy couple joined their wedding guests for the celebration.

The scrumptious goodies were consumed

and everyone made merry.

 And so, two days later, it all seems rather quiet.

The excitement has waned and suddenly I've realised that Easter is less than two weeks away.

But fear not..... my needles are out, my yarn is prepared and and the little scene above just might give you a clue about what I'm planning to knit next.
Until next time,
Eli
Pictures were taken from Jill Barklem's wonderful 'Summer Story' in which Poppy Eyebright married Dusty Dogwood.

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

Lovely lavender

Who couldn't love lavender. It sings of summer days.

This little scene was created by my daughter last July. Whenever I ask her what she'd like as a gift for her birthday her reply is always accompanied by a sweet image. She popped into her garden with this little dolly, sat her amongst the lavender flowers and 'snapped'.
And so, dreaming of summer days ahead I have spent the week thinking of the colour lavender and all my favourite flowers in shades of mauve and purple.

Sweet smelling lilac has to be my all time favourite.

With refreshments served in my purple pansy mug and something sweet to eat in shiny purple wrappers, I've been busy creating the pattern for a new little character to put in my Etsy shop. She is of course dressed in shades of lavender.

Her name is Lucy Lavender and she's a bit of a rascal as you can probably see from her cheeky smile. She comes with a little rabbit who is holding a tiny carrot. I hope the pair don't cause too much trouble round here!

Temptations

I called at my local Laura Ashley shop earlier this week to pick up their new catalogue.

As always it is full of the most gorgeously tempting must haves.

Don't you just love this cerise combination for a summer picnic in the garden.
I couldn't leave the shop without taking a quick look at the curtain fabric, and guess what? The winter sale was still on and fabric was marked '50% off'.

Here was an offer too good to resist and I was quick to spot just what I'd previously drooled over for my spare bedroom.
Now half price, this palest pink and aqua was the perfect match for the bedspread I'd bought last year.

So I returned home with my 7 metres, packed away my knitting, and set to work making curtains.

Before I hang them at the window I shall give the wardrobe and chest of drawers a fresh coat of paint and then ....well .....a new carpet would nice!
I guess I'm going to be busy for a while!
Until next time,

Eli

Sunny Thoughts

Greetings friends. What joy!.....We've seen blue sky this week and a friendly yellow sun has popped out from behind the clouds to say "hello".

Birds started singing and suddenly I felt that winter might be giving way to an early spring.
So, I decided to do a bit of early 'spring cleaning'. You know the sort of thing...taking everything out of a cupboard in order to lovingly sort through the contents and then put it all back a little more neatly than before.
Needless to say there were a few 'treasures' in the cupboard, not least this little bag that I made for my daughter over 20 years ago.

 I didn't have to ponder long on the reason for making it as a quick look inside revealed all!

Daughter had taken it to a family wedding the highlight of which had been picking up handsful of confetti to fill her bag. Well, what else would a little girl use a wedding bag for?

This is the little matching dress I made for her all those years ago. Over the years I've given away quite a few of my children's clothes but I do have a habit of hanging onto the handmade ones.
Squirrelling away these things is a family failing that I inherited from my mum. 

Mum hated parting with the little dresses she'd lovingly made for us. Here is a cutie she made for my sister when she was two. Many years later my daughter delighted in wearing it. Needless to say it's been laundered many times but is still as pretty as ever.

How nice it was during a week of sunshine to receive a 'sunshine award' from my blogging chum Carol at Wee Cute Treasures. A very big thank-you to you Carol for considering my blog to be a worthy recipient.

I'm going to pass my sunshine award to some little girls and their mom.

They live in the States and whenever I visit their blog I find them wearing the prettiest dresses. I really love the little poem I found on their blog this week and if you have a passion for wearing dresses I think you'll love it also so do take a look. You'll find it at Sweete Felicity.
I hope the sun is shining for you wherever you live.
Until next time,
Eli