Shabby shop finished

Sorry it's been a while since I was last here but sometimes life just gets in the way. However ... my little shabby shop box is now finished so there are lots of photos here.

 

 I realised just now that you can't actually see inside the wardrobe which contains bales of fabric, cards wrapped with lace and some pretty boxes.

 More fabric inside this low shelving unit, topped with baskets of wool, bags of patchwork fabrics and dress patterns.

 There are cushions piled inside the little cupboard in the centre of the floor and plants, birdhouses and jugs.

Vases and more gift boxes on the little wall shelves. Patchwork fabric on the wire shelves.

Flowers everywhere.

In and amongst I've been taking an online workshop on developing sketchbooks. If you're even slightly interested in the topic I can heartily recommend Dionne Swift's workshops. We worked at our little books for two weeks and I now have so many circular ideas for stitching projects and also lots of new techniques for working in my sketchbooks.

Work in progress on a cold February Yorkshire day

I know that some of you who live far away from here are suffering heatwaves but here in Yorkshire it's cold. Not wet today (for a change) but still cold. On days like this I like to get out in my garden (it's small so it doesn't take long) and walk around to see what's happening. There's not a lot of colour out there but what there is I took pictures of to share with you.

Can you see the snowdrop? There are two buds just on the verge of opening - how I love to see the first snowdrops of the year. They really lifted my spirits.

 The primroses are still flowering despite their frequent batterings from torrential rain and frosts.

 The hellebores too, beside the garden pond.

And indoors an orchid flower which has been open since early December. It's fading a little now and has lost most of its greenish tinge, but it still makes me smile every day.

So, what else have I been doing? Well, there's a little progress on the shabby shop.

 I put a couple of coats of paint on the mouldings. There's more to do on this yet to knock back the dark grey patches.

 The window is painted and fitted, and I've coated the outside walls with PVA glue and crumpled tissue. This will be painted when the glue has dried and it will look like rough render.

On the stitching front ...

 Mostly I've been stitching the outlines (cordonnets) for the workshop pieces. The workshop is now just eight days away and I still have a few more to go. In between I have stitched samples of the stitches I plan to teach the 30 people who've signed up. I know it's far too many but I didn't think to set a limit as I never dreamed that so many people would be interested. So - a valuable lesson learned and I'm getting as prepared as I can, remembering the old adage "Failure to prepare is preparing to fail".

I need a little respite from stitching outlines occasionally so in between times I've been stitching Magda's friend Isabella.

I made this little patchwork project bag a few weeks ago and forgot to show you. Just two log cabin blocks made from striped and checked fabrics in lovely faded red and linen colours.

And last but not least ... Red Square. There is a lot more work to do on this yet but it will be a real celebration of all the gorgeous red silk fabrics in my stash.