Red Fox Becomes 3D

Periwinkle Calico WIP

Caitlin, sitting pretty amongst the periwinkle and celandine, is wearing her new A-line, panel skirt.

Before cutting into this lovely Spring with a zing fabric by Dashwood Studios, Wild 1041, I made up a prototype skirt in calico. As a learning exercise this was invaluable. It showed up the trickier seams where it was helpful to tack before machine stitching.

Hawthorn in Flower

Julia Hathor's new Yellow Rose Cottage is just waiting to be woken up by Spring. The stone mosaic on the chimney breast is a delicately sophisticated detail suggesting the possibilities of an ancient Forest Hunting Lodge.

The exterior with its thatched roof and wood-framed windows has the painterly quality reminiscent of Helen Allingham's English country cottages. Here, you can spend time wandering or sitting by the fountain in the sweet scented garden, enjoying the bees and butterflies taking the nectar from the spikes of lupins, hollyhocks and delphiniums.

Last summer I was excited to spot giant hollyhocks again; apparently resistant to the horrible rust disease. 

Maybe we should not mention the bear?

In the foreground is a flowering white hawthorn and the RL hawthorn is flowering in earnest now. In England, Spring progresses at a walking pace, starting in the far south-west corner, steadily advancing on the North.