Lilacs and Littlies

When I came back from the felter's convergence , with of course more thrifted fabrics for my Stash , I walked into my studio and it suddenly hit me..... I had reached maximum capacity!!

"Girl" , I told myself ," you have got to stop... Or seriously start doing something with it."

So I reconsidered what my girlfriend N. had suggested a short while ago ; that we start something together. So I got back to her with a plan : that we keep our own special skills for ourselves but that we get together in making and selling things from all those salvaged fabrics. Our first sales will be at the Rudolph Steiner Fair end of November. So we are now both starting to make a beginning hole in The Stash. We have a plan about quantities (probably too ambitious) and what kind of style and even a bit of a green philosophy about it.

It is quite exciting to have a goal , it doesn't seem so overwhelming now.

We also came up with a name for the joined work ; "Stitching Sisters".

Who knows where this will go.....?!

The first radishes I have ever grown! They are just so red! They were just about popping out of the ground ,so it's very easy to see if they are ready. You can just feel how fat they are at the top and pull gently if they feel right! Can't buy these at the supermarket...

Like the green tablecloth? Destined to be cut up into something cute , maybe some children's gardening pants.

And this is how I learned to eat radishes , from my Father-in-law , dipped in a little sugar. Crunchy with a little bite , these radishes are mild in heat. It makes a yummy snack , and I don't feel guilty about the sugar ; after all, we dip strawberries in chocolate....
The lilacs are in bloom. My love got this tree when it was a sapling and we didn't know what colour it would turn out to be. I was hoping for a lovely ,well , lilac colour , because I find white flowers often a bit bland. We were quite excited when this reddish purple came out. It smells divine!!! Can't stop myself ,each time I walk past , to take a sniff.
And the banksia rose looking at it's best . A froth of little yellow roses with garlands overhanging on our porch. Spring looks a little like a garden party at our house.
I found an old faded tablecloth quite a while ago.

It has children's pictures on it by Lucie Mabel Attwell , a very popular artist in her time. Although some of the pictures are extremely faded , I recognized them straight away , since I have a nice collection of vintage illustrated children's books .

I am now in the process of re-drawing the outlines with a light blue fabric pen. I studied the pictures in her old book , to see how she did the lines and the faces etc. My plan is to make some nostalgic bunting out of it , fit for a children's room. Unfortunately the fabric isn't strong enough for daily wear anymore , so lined as bunting just to look at and enjoy , seems the best way for re-purposing this tablecloth.

I wonder which children had their supper served on this?
I can only do it on a sunny day , so that I can see the faint outlines on the fabric. The solid colours have stayed on better . Here you can see 2 children on mother goose . A bit of a surprise , I couldn't see what was there at first. I think it will go well with soft faded polka dots or florals.