Spring forward ......

Despite the dismal wet weather this week it has been so nice to have lighter evenings and in what seems a matter of days there are tiny buds bursting out all over the garden and my first rhubarb is now about 6" long and I can't wait to use it in the recipe that Delia is doing for Waitrose at the moment.

What sort of week have you had???  I've gained another year and had a busy day on Wednesday with family and friends visiting with flowers, chocs and some new Per Una items for my summer wardrobe (which is somewhat empty at the mo after a clearing out frenzy last year).

School finished for us on Thursday and I now have some 'me time' till the minded children return to me on 11th April ..... the last two mornings have been lovely and although I wake up at the same time I can just stay in my PJs for as long as I like and don't have to rush around like a mad thing.

I've been taking advantage and have had a tidy up in my craft corner and have also finished another WIP

This is a 3' square patchwork throw edged with a piece of vintage filigree crochet which was once the edging of a table cover .... I'd previously upcycled the embroidered cloth section and popped this to one side .... isn't it funny how things just come together sometimes ..... I was debating what to finish the border with and tried several pieces of fabric but wasn't happy and when I picked this up it was perfect.  It was still the continous square frame shape from when I had carefully removed it from the cloth and fit like a glove!

The patchwork itself is made with some FQ of tiny ditsy floral prints designed for doll's house furnishings .... if you look closely there is a lovely William Morris inspired design and although my photos make it look quite brown there are a lot of pink/peach/green shades.  It is backed with an ecru coloured piece of embossed linen (forgot to take a photo of that .. oops).

Today has been nice and sunny and I have been wanting to take a drive over to Berkhamstead to do a reccie on the monthly Arts & Crafts Market held in the Old Town Hall with a view to taking a stall later in the year. There was a nice selection of stalls and not too much competition in the handmade sewn/crochet department so I have made a request for a stall.  Berko is a nice old market town with some interesting buildings and some antique shops ... this one is an absolute gem and there was much temptation with vintage French fabrics which were sadly out of my budget at the present time.  There was also the most gorgeous vintage patchwork quilt dating to the early 1900s ..... it was very much on the string quilt lines but each 3" square had hand sewn strips which were only around 1/4" wide .... the detail was amazing and to think that it would have been sewn under oil lamp or candle light.

A little antique centre in the town called Castle Antiques is well worth a browse and in here I found these .... a piece of striped fabric and a vintage crinoline lady table cover ..... I have some plans in my head for this little lady.

Hope you have all had a lovely week and I wish you a Happy Easter ..... I'm off now to do some more of these