Making the Most of Summer

As mentioned on a previous post, I am not a great lover of the summer months but I appreciate that without the sunshine I wouldn't have such beautiful heads of hydrangeas.

My candle melts are on display with scents to remind me of the cooler autumn days ahead (sorry summer lovers!)

This is my favourite room in the house where a gentle breeze flows in from the window.

You can just about see a window box full of tutti frutti nasturtiums outside the window.

Here they are from the other side.

It has been a good year for them.

It has been a good year for the sweet peas too.

The blackberries are making an early appearance and the tayberries are long gone.

Tomatoes hang in bunches in anticipation of being oven roasted!

The acorn squash are taking over the garden!

French beans and runner beans compete side by side up the shed wall.

Polo, photographed after her summer treat of pro-biotic yoghurt showing off her very yoghurty beak!

Prim and Proper

I am a big fan of American primitive style stitcheries but have been unable to find exactly what I want while surfing the 'net. I like the simplistic styles of stitcheries that are mostly back stitched in one colour onto a calico or natural type of fabric and backed with a wadding and made into a project such as a wall hanging, cushion etc.

As I was unable to find a suitable stitching project I decided to design my own! I have hand drawn a 'primitive style' cat above to be used as a stitchery, applique or even a paper pieced project. The pattern is FREE for you to use in your projects but you may not copy or print off copies of the image to sell. It is not for commercial use. If you decide to make something using the design then please credit me as the designer and link to my blog where possible. I hope I haven't scared you off!!!

I will try to get the image into a suitable format for downloading and printing off but haven't yet figured how to do that!

If this post proves popular I may consider doing monthly downloads of my stitchery designs. Any suggestions for themes would be useful too!

Edited: In my haste to get the post up I have noticed the poor quality of my image. I will get a better photo put up in the next few days and have the design in a downloadable format in my sidebar.

Summer Loving?

I don't know if I have mentioned it on here before but: I am not a great lover of the summer season. For most people they look towards summer with eager anticipation but I dread it!!! I dislike the humidity, the heat, the flying ants, neighbours burning rubbish when you have your windows open, the tennis, the cricket, the dried up lawn, itchy eyes, heat rash etc etc!!!!!!! I much prefer the freshness of the spring and the coolness of autumn. Thank goodness for the shady places like the woods above.

In fact, I could make a never ending list of all the things I dislike about the summer, but I won't. Instead I am going to focus on the good things about summer such as the vibrant colours of the flowers that I grew from tiny plug plants..............................

........................and the home grown fruit and veg that we have been feasting on this last week....

............. and the delicately scented roses that have been giving an ongoing display this year.....

the jasmine flowers that give out their heady evening perfume

sitting in the garden until dusk

drinking a chilled glass of wine

eating simple salads

watching the swifts fly over in the early evening

longer days that mean more time for crafting

hanging the bed linen out to dry on the washing line and putting it back on the bed that same day

the lighter mornings............

What do you enjoy about the summer months?