Follow Your Bliss

Follow Your Bliss

"To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose". Eccl 3.1

Friday, 4 July 2014

Homemade Presents:

I love making small craft items as presents for friends and family.  This month it is Covers for Notebooks. One personalised one and a blue and white patchwork one, made from leftover strips of fabric. A Pegbag to co-ordinate with a friend's new kitchen and a tea cosy for one of my Sister's who loves blue and white. 









Thursday, 3 July 2014

Holidays in The Kingdom of Kerry

We decided to holiday at home this year and chose beautiful County Kerry, and it didn't disappoint.  We went in early June and the weather was beautiful, warm and sunny for the full holiday. We were so lucky, we drove around magnificent Kerry, staying in the Muckross Park Hotel, Killarney and The Park Hotel, Kenmare.  

It was such an enjoyable holiday, thanks to the lovely weather. There's no doubt that Ireland is the most beautiful country in the world when the weather is good. 

The Sun shone everyday as we drove around Kerry, with the roof down and the high factor sunscreen on. An Artist's paradise, I may take out my easel to capture the beauty I saw.  Each time I visit Kerry I see with more eye-opening awareness and discover new place to explore. We took in the beautiful lakes and mountains of Killarney. The breathtaking Ring of Kerry enjoying the spectacular Ladies View, Molls Gap, Beara Peninsula, the Gap of Dunloe and lovely Kenmare. Wonderful food and outstanding beauty everywhere. We visited all the beautiful hotels in the area including, Parknasilla, Sheen Falls, The Dunloe and The Park.  Here are a few snaps I took to remember it by.

We stopped off in picturesque Adare, Co, Limerick on the way :

Thatched cottages in Adare


The beauty of County Kerry
View from our bedroom window at The Park, Kenmare
View on the ring of Kerry
Ladies View
in Killarney National Park
Rhododendron growing abundantly in Killarney National Park

Torc Waterfall in Killarney's National Park
Muckross House

One of the Lakes of Killarney


Gardens at Muckross House

Beautiful Dunlow

The Gap in the distance

Kenmare

View from the gardens at Sheen Falls



Thursday, 5 June 2014

June crafts

Sew Inspired to Sew!
While browsing through a friend's craft book "Sew Fabulous Fabric" , I saw a peg bag with a little appliqué clothes line on the front. I just had to make it. Is there anything more satisfying than a line of freshly washed clothes, blowing in the breeze.

Inspiring projects for home and fun. 
I began as soon as I got home, I made the peg bag and then made some of the flower corsages, two really enjoyable projects for using up scraps of pretty material.  I'm not comfortable borrowing, hence the immediate use of the book, I want to return it on Sunday when I meet my friend at Mass.

Front of peg bag with appliqué  
Made from Cath Kidston cotton duck material, strong enough to hold the pegs.
       Finished Appliqué Pegbag

Monday, 26 May 2014

A wet and windy May

"A wet and windy May, fills the barn with corn and hay".  My grandparents used to have this saying. This May has been quite wet, windy and cold.  The rain makes everything so vibrant, luscious and green, it's gorgeous. It also saves having to water the garden and flowers. The trees and grass are so beautiful and green at present.  Last year May was also a cold, wet and windy month,  I am hoping that the spectacular weather which followed in June, July and August  2013, will be repeated this year.  Ever the optimist!

I have been doing a little patchwork sewing.  I decided to use up a lovely Breath of Avignon charm pack to get me started. I bought it a few years ago at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham. I also had a few metres of some of the lines of material, which helped as I needed to add more squares to make up a quilt.

Breath of Avignon 5" charm pack.
First border made with the white Breath of Avignon fabric. 
I intend adding one or two more borders, to use up the red, yellow and blue metres of the Breath of Avignon material I have in my stash.

Another hobby of mine, and one of my favourite things to do in Spring and early Summer is to pick wild flowers.  I love to put them into a little vase or jug.  It is something I have done my whole life. I really appreciate their beauty and think that they brighten up any kitchen table, bathroom or dressing table so simply. Buttercups and daisies are so plentiful in the parks, fields and meadows, I find myself bringing home a little bunch after being out for a walk. Bliss.

"The best things in life are free".

Buttercups and Daisies
Our shed was looking very old and shabby.  My husband was about to paint it a dark green again, to clean it up.  I suggested a brighter colour from the colour chart, so off he went and bought a lovely bright green. I said that I might make little blinds for the windows to smarten them up.  Instead, my wonderful husband made shutters for the windows and we decided to paint them cream to add a little dimension. I think they turned out very well.  Our little dog hanging basket holder (bought at Crufts a few years ago) also got a lick of paint.  Unfortunately, the flowers always die in the hanging basket, I think it is the position or the ivy on the shed.  I had forgotten about this, until the petunias died during the week.  We had to move the basket elsewhere.
Shed makeover.
There were baby blue-tits in the bird house, but alas the activity stopped over the weekend.  We found three dead little baby blue-tits in the wonderfully made nest when we went to investigate. We're not sure how many there were originally. It was so sad, as we had weeks of enjoyment watching the male and female flying in and out of the little birdhouse feeding their young.  We don't know what happened. Nature's way, perhaps!

Tuesday, 13 May 2014

Earth's crammed with Heaven

"Earth's crammed with Heaven and every common bush afire with God".  Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Last of the Spring wild flowers

Wednesday, 7 May 2014

Thursday, 1 May 2014

Happy Mayday

1st May or Mayday.
"Ne're cast a clout, till May is out".
The old Piseog - "Ne're cast a clout, till May is out"!.  My Mother used to use this piseog, when as children, we wanted to shed a layer of clothes or start wearing our Summer clothes, thinking Summer had arrived. Piseog is an Irish word which means Superstition in English.  Given how cold it is today and how warm and sunny it was earlier in the week, this old saying makes sense.  

Bluebells in the Woodlands grow.