Tag Tuesday-Away With the Fairies

On Tag Tuesday this week, the theme is

Away with the Fairies

Here is my Fairy tag.

I used an image from 

The Graphics Fairy of a beautiful

fairy with butterfly wings.

I placed her on a background of flowers,

and also some grass with flowers, and trimmed

the edges with lace.

I photographed the tag outside in the garden.

Pattern and Colour Inspiration from Library Books

Over the past couple of weeks I have enjoyed looking

at these library books. 

Stitch at Home by Mandy Shaw, has some

delightful stitching projects. As the front

cover says " over 20 handmade  fabric and

embroidery projects" I like the heart motif

used to demonstrate different stitched, and the

simple designs such as the houses on the cover.

The Hand Printed Home by Jenny McCabe

promises "35 stylish projects using stencils, 

 lino cuts and more".  There are lots of ideas

for practical projects, which I liked.

Screen Printing at Home by Karen Lewis is

similar in style to The Hand Printed Home, with 

lots of inspiring projects to "Print your own

fabric to make simple sewn projects".

I was the first person to take this book out of

the library, which is always a good feeling!

Colour on Cloth by Ruth Issett, a book to teach

you to "Create Stunning Effects with Dye on Fabric"

is an old favourite of mine, which I borrow

from time to time. What I really like about it 

is the colour combinations, and it is a good

book to browse.

Sneak Preview for Caversham Arts Trail

I am working on some stitched pieces for The Caversham Arts Trail

in May. Here is a sneak preview!

The Vyne

At the weekend we visited The Vyne, a National Trust Property.

There is a fine Tudor house, beautiful gardens with a lake and woods.

Tudor House

Guarding the entrance

The 1632 summer house

The roof of the summerhouse

The edge of the walled garden

Entrance to the walled garden

Hundred Guinea Oak

Wild Flowers

The weather has been amazing this week, with glorious sunshine.

I have been out and about with my camera. Walking along

the River Thames at Shiplake, I found some wild flowers

to photograph.

A violet

Violets

White violets

Celandine

Dappled sunlight

I am not sure what this is

River Thames

Ivy covered tree trunk

Blossom

Old Man's Beard

Dinton Pastures

Dinton Pastures, a country park near us, was the perfect

place for a walk over the Easter weekend.

There were a lot of water birds on the lakes, and  

green shoots are appearing everywhere. The  weeping willow

trees look particularly attractive with their green

hanging curtains.

Close up of weeping willow

Willow tree

Black Swan Lake

Kingfisher sculpture