Ali has just made one of my biggest chores much more pleasant. For now, instead of just hanging the washing  on the line as quickly as possible with any old peg I create poetry instead. And just so you know: What you see is a piece of string tied to my lilac bush with stunt vintage washing. I […]

I did write about my design wall at the beginning of the week. But since then my blog has had a mini meltdown and my post has vanished without a trace. So my apologies if you have seen this already, but here it is again: I whitewashed some cork tiles and stuck them to the wall above my book case […]

I seem to have accidentally become a collector of china dogs. It all started when I found the fox terrier (recognise him?) in the charity shop and just had to have him. And then my boys gave me the corgi for christmas. And now, anytime anyone finds a china dog going cheap they buy it for me. I even […]

The twins are Alexander Ford Robertson and William Marsden Robertson. Born 22nd August, 1899.                      This wonderful christening (?) photograph was taken at “Moffat’s Photographic Studio, 125 Princes Street, Edinburgh and much, much later bought by me in a junk shop for £2. I entered the studio […]

I chose a glass table and put it right in the middle of the room, under the skylights. So I can walk right round three sides of it, which is wonderful for cutting fabric. I sit with the green cupboard behind me, facing my design wall on an embroidered cushion on a turquoise plastic swivel […]

So, over my next few posts I’ll be showing off my new studio! Just so you can picture it: my studio used to be part of our garage. We knocked a door through from the kitchen and in a year have gone from this to this (that’s the same wall in each photo): Now, it’s only small and I […]

    Yesterday we cleared some of our long neglected back garden and found a little clump of these buried under a pile of leaves. Stunning aren’t they?      

Meet Flopsy. I can’t remember not having her.  And I have never seen another rag doll anywhere that I like as much as her. Now, for the past 7 years Flopsy has lived (completely ignored) in Joe’s bedroom but I have finally reclaimed her and now she lives in my almost finished studio.  Which I may actually show you next week.   […]

Guess who came for elevenses today? The Dottie Angel and her best friend Debbie! So, yesterday I made my ‘signature’ sticky ginger cake. Only to find out far too late that Tif really, really doesn’t like it. No problem says I. I’ll make you an English cream tea instead. Which I did. Sadly the scones were inedible… So Tif had to […]

This week has been all about snow. It doesn’t generally snow in our part of England. But we still woke up on Monday morning to over a foot of it. And so, with school shut we played the day away. Do you see the snow on their hats? Their father has a wickedly good aim.