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!

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

Lee Ann Womack - I hope you Dance.

I love this beautiful song, listen to the wisdom it imparts and enjoy.

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.

London in Springtime

We visited London last weekend and had a wonderful time.  On this visit, we started at The Victoria and Albert Museum. We decided to take the bus to most of the places we visited and we soaked up the wonderful atmosphere of London. We walked around some of London's beautiful streets passing the former homes of Winston Churchill, Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Sherlock Holmes. On Sunday morning we took a stroll in Regent's Park. The weather was lovely which made the whole weekend very pleasant and enjoyable. 

Victoria & Albert Museum

This wonderful museum has floors of magnificent displays of art and design.  There is art, ceramics, sculptor, glass, textiles, furniture, medieval and religious objects to name a few.  My favourite floor was the one with hundreds of displays of porcelain and china. I spent 3 hours and still only touched the surface.  Below are some of my favourite exhibits.

 "Kimono for Women" Silk with embroidery and tie dying kimonos. 1800 - 1880

Just one of the hundreds of blue and white porcelain samples on display

More blue and white examples of porcelain and china.

An English copy of an Amari original plate.
Its design reminds me of the Dresden plate used in patchwork.

French Sevres

Beautiful array of English china and object d'art.

A few of the lovely teapots on display

Unusual green object d'art From China

This beautiful Armchair on display is from the late Ming or early Qing dynasty about 1600-1700

The V&A houses millions of items and it is wonderful to see such a collection of treasured items carefully displayed, appreciated and obviously loved.  I was so grateful that these treasured object d'art were collected and on display for the public to enjoy at no cost. So wonderful.  Thank you.

We also visited and did a little shopping at Fortnum & Mason, my favourite London shop.  I bought some beautiful fabric in Liberty and lovely gifts for my family at Harrods.

This wonderful shop is the essence of England.

Lovely Emma Bridgewater jug and Breakfast Tea bought at Fortnum and Mason

It is always a pleasure to visit London.  There is so much to see that a single visit is never enough and a return visit is always a possibility.  Until the next time, cheerio London.

Happy Easter

We are celebrating Easter Sunday this year with all the family and friends at our granddaughter's Christening. Easter Sunday Mass which includes the Baptism followed by Lunch with the people we love.

I made some Easter crafts and gifts.  Easter material is hard to find, but thanks to the Internet, I bought some really lovely material and made some pretty little hearts and gifts for Easter.  

Easter Tree 

Teacosy and heart ready for Easter

Cowslips and Patchwork

Patchwork squares for Easter teacosy.

Co-ordinating heart

Pixie House and Bunny made from pretty flannel

Hearts galore!

More Hearts

Bunny Heart.

Happy Easter

Easter Joy:

The true meaning of Easter for me is about Love, Joy, Forgiveness and Hope. The end of Lent brings the celebration of the resurrection  of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The church services from Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday are meditative and impart a feeling of forgiveness, peace, joy and love.

He is Risen

I watched one of my favourite films William Wyler's "Ben Hur" on Palm Sunday afternoon.  The beautiful scene when Jesus with kindness, patience, calmness and love helps Judah Ben Hur, instilling in him a sense of hope, for me is one of the most powerful moving moments in any film. The kindness, forgiveness and love in the film (apart from the hatred, jealousy and power) is both thought provoking and inspiring. "The World is more than we know" is one of my favourite lines from the film.  Ben Hur is on TCM again today for the Easter Holiday, if you haven't yet seen this wonderful epic film, treat yourself, I promise you won't be disappointed.

Ben Hur's second meeting with Jesus.
This time he returns the kindness earlier bestowed on him by Jesus.