Piles...

I don't know what it is about Monday mornings, but there are always piles of things to be done... ironing, washing, paperwork, phone calls... they seem to spill out of one week and land with a thump on a Monday morning!! 

Having attacked the washing and paperwork... notice the ironing still didn't get done, actually it is the one household chore I hate doing.... I love washing and having my line full of billowing clean sheets and clothes.. but the ironing... no! I often say that I'll get in the habit of ironing things as they come off the line but the resolution is short lived!! Oh well... back to much more important things... as I said before I rambled off in a different direction, once the other piles of jobs were done, I could turn my attention to this gorgeous pile.....

This is just a small part of my ever increasing fabric stash. I love fabric and always have to touch and feel it and buy it!!  I especially love pattern and colour, it really does lift my spirits and give me a huge amount of pleasure. As I looked through this stash today it reminded me of so many things... a skirt I made two years ago for the summer, the umpteen bridesmaids dresses that I made for my sisters wedding over 13 years ago, thrift shop finds, my table top tents (see www.joharo.co.uk )  I love it!  It does always eventually have a use, and today was no exception. I decided that, when I eventually find a gazebo for the event this weekend , I would like to string some bunting around it to make it look really colourful and inviting. So, I set to, cutting out lots of triangles with my pinking shears - I usually make my bunting double sided but, as I wanted to make about 16m of it I decided to go for the quicker option.  This is the next pile that I had made.....

Lots of lovely , pinked, little flags...

Once the flags were all attached to the ribbon that I just happened to have had for a few years, I was thrilled with the result. I can just see the flags dancing and waving in the wind - not too much I hope - and looking delightful.

As the weather was not at its best today, I strung the bunting over the shelves in my lounge, just so you could get an idea of what it looks like.... Isn't it just so pretty?

OOOh... and you can also see some of my beautiful china... I have a real soft spot for floral china. I have been collecting it now for a long time and I find it really hard to walk past thrift shop windows without scouring for my next exciting find... the shelves are groaning now but the collection keeps on growing. The set on the shelf above was some of the first that I bought. It came from The National Trust, and, as you can see, I treated myself to an 'afternoon tea' set. 

Here is more of the bunting... what do you think?  On this shelf there is the pale green glass jug and tumbler set that I brought from  thrift shop in Torquay. I really like this coloured glass, it's so unusual. I will be using the set as part of my display this weekend as I find that earrings look great displayed hanging from the edges of the glasses- it sets them off well. The other cups and saucers are from a new set of china from Portmerion called 'Crazy Daisy'. The vase on the left hand side was a present from Harriet for mother's day... she took herself off to China Blue in Totnes and painted this vase especially for me.. isn't it sweet?

Even better was the fact that Rosie picked me some daffodils for mother's day and the two were perfect together...

Wishing you piles of happiness xxx