Its Spring :-)

Hello dear friends & readers,

My favourite season has arrived . . .  spring.

I love spring  ...  to me it is the season of "hope" ...   after the winter it makes me feel full of hope when I see my plants & bulbs peep through the soil & rear their heads again 

Although our winters here are getting milder, it still fills me with hope when things come into bloom again

My magnolia is in full bloom & I can enjoy it from my dining-room window

My young friend Rebecca is having her first baby & they have found out it is going to be a boy - they have decided to name him Toby

As I knew she was a golly lover I decided to make her a golly for her baby shower gift ... I knew just the pattern too 

I chose Tobias -  a Melody Daly design out of the Handmade Magazine 

I decided to do a "kiwiana themed golly" as I knew Rebecca loved this particular buzzy bee fabric

His top is a lovely soft polar fleece that I already had in my stash

I stitched his name on with beads but (should they decide NOT to name him Toby) they can be unstitched easily

While I was making him up I made 2 extra bodies to have as stock for the Cottage

I did one as a boy & then the same body,  but dressed as a girl

Last year I did this pink colourway, but I have not used this boy golly fabric for the boy before ... I was really pleased with the end result (& especially delighted that I found my bumble bee buttons which matched the bow tie fabric perfectly!!)

taken before the stylist came along & did her hair properly !!!!!

I gave her a toy to hold, but he just gets to hold her hand

This giraffe had browny coloured dots on its body so when I wanted to change them to hot pink, I simply held my hair dryer against each one & it loosened it .... you may already know this tip, but some of you may not ... I use this method for loosening the glue on lots of things & find it works very well  :-)

After reading this particular post from Raewyn I decided to use some of my flybuys rewards points to buy the Rosemary McLeod book for myself ... I had coveted it for quite sometime but it was rather expensive to purchase

I haven't found time to read it thoroughly yet but a couple of patterns that really caught my eye were these ...

a gorgeous vintage stitched apron . . . 

& I thought this applique picture (above) was just beautiful 

I was lucky enough to catch up with some lovely friends last weekend & this is the surprise gift they gave me ... have you seen these ??

They are called Tili Jars ... & they have 1001 uses (apparently)

I just adore it ... as soon as I opened it I immediately thought "red buttons"  . . .  but now I am thinking perhaps red jaffa lollies ??!!   But I am not too sure how long they will remain in the jar (knowing my willpower - or lack of)!!!

Finally to share with you something just a little bit personal ...

"Sometimes in the middle of an ordinary day ... life gives us a fairy tale ..."

When I was 27 years old I found myself with a broken marriage & 2 young sons to raise on my own ... to say that they were difficult years would be an understatement ... 
sometimes it felt like it was all uphill. When my boys grew into teenagers they pushed hard against every single boundary I set them. Somedays I think we just got by on pretty much "a wing & a prayer"

my son laughs at this old picture "Oh Mum your so 80's - look at your fashions" he says

Some people wish for great & wonderful things for their children ... I did not.   I never wanted my sons to rule the world or become rocket scientists ... I simply wanted them to grow into decent young men who were good & kind to others & to each other & to themselves ... & most of all, I wanted them to be happy.

My youngest son (above) & his lovely partner have been saving for what seems like forever to do a trip to Europe for 6 weeks - it feels like they have been poor for a very long time.  On Sunday they flew to Paris & on Wednesday he proposed to her in that wonderful city of love ... my heart is bursting with happiness & joy for them both - he told me before he left he had found the one he wants to grow old with ... what more can he ask for?
And my eldest son is getting married in my garden in late November to his lovely partner also.
As their Mum, what more can I ask for??
Thanks for letting me share that with you all.

The Mr's old work boots, now growing moss & planted with polyanthus ... love the little foxglove self-seeded into the crack where the lace-up was.

Have a great weekend dear friends 
sending wishes of happiness to you all - thanks for popping by - your visits make my day  :-)
much love/hugs/friendship,
Julie x0x0x