Bundles of Fluff

I had planned to complete the tidying up in the cob shed but I had to steer clear because the three robins had hatched.

It was difficult to distinguish what is beak and what is claws.

The parents were a bit edgy so I left the door open and tackled the back of the pond. 

I didn`t clear too much undergrowth because its nice to have cover around the edge for the little creatures.

I removed old bracken, brambles and nettles.

We also cut back some of the over-hanging trees.

I planted two new roses. I think I got them in a sale for 

about £1.50 each.

The blossom is glorious, crabapple, apple and quince.

I hope the wind tonight, does not ruin it all.

 

The insect hotel is surviving well. I have added a few more pine cones.

 

 In this photo you can see clary, poppies and pansies which have all seeded themselves.

Here poppy seedlings are coming up amongst the new gladioli.

And they will be staying there.

 

Finally here is a picture of my icecream cone tulips, a present from our good friends.

 

 

 

Bunnies, Nests and Lambs

Oh, Freshwinds has been buzzing. Lots of visitors and lots of sunshine and plenty of insects.

So lovely to see returning visitors and pass the time by the pond whilst watching wiggling newts and hopping frogs.

The silly robins built their nest in the fairy house which was on its side in the cob shed. Luckily no eggs at that stage, as I needed the house to go back in the fairy garden.

Then they decided to build the next nest in a plastic bag full of glittery curtains.

When I took the photo there were two eggs, now there are three.

Under the cob shed roof rim the wrens are nesting again .... not a very safe position though.

 

The self seeded clary has attracted ladybirds.

You will find 20 stone ladybirds hidden around the garden.

They seem to move around quite a lot. 

The tiny nursery is doing well. Hopefully people will pick up a plant at very reasonable prices, to remind them of the garden.

I keep replenishing it with little gems.

This is the little lamb that nearly didn`t make it. Thanks to loving care, he is well on the way and absolutely loved by my great nephew, who visited at the weekend.

Yesterday all three tortoises were trundling round at a rate of knots in the very warm sunshine. They were loving it, as were all of us.

 

We need to tackle the pond but have to be careful due to the wildlife. There is a huge "island" in the middle formed from waterlily and iris root. Some needs to go. The irises could take over if we allowed it.

At home I have been making pompom bunnies.

Some of these are for sale in the little craft shop.

 

Everything is in control in my greenhouses.

And the double tulips look like peonies.

What a wonderful Easter weekend we all had.

 

 

 

Julia`s Jeans

My sister-in-law, Julia, gives me her unwanted jeans and I have often used them for small scarecrow outfits.

But the storage box was getting quite full, so I decided to make a quilt .... rather different than my usual ones. 

I began by doing some pinterest research and found a few ideas to try out. 

 Next I began cutting out the rectangles.

I decided to stick with striped fabric as a contrast.

It was mainly ticking.

 

Each denim rectangle was flanked by two striped pieces to make up to a square.

There were lots of odd pieces so I cut them up for the nursery children for collage.

All the squares were then pressed open and then pieced together like this.

It almost looks like they have been interwoven.

 

Next, I sewed them together, and did some decorative stitching 

in thick white crochet cotton.

After that the wadding and calico were pinned together.

The whole quilt was very thick so I thought sewing through the layers might be quite hard.

After consulting my cousin Joanne, a quilting expert, I decided to knot it, again using the white cotton. 

Each knot was cut to a regular size.

Finally I gave it a wide denim border.

 

The most satisfying thing about this quilt is that every part is recycled.

Now I just need to decide who to give it to!!