SweetMyrtle

Merry Merry to you all! Have a good one and thank you for visiting here this year. the handbag goes to Simone... a very Happy Christmas to you x
with love
Ginny xxx

winter solstice

today on the winter solstice i awoke early. it is a beautiful day here, warm with blue skies.

the planes have been making glorious vapor trails.

i braved the supermarket first thing and as i expected it was still pretty busy with people crazily loading up their trolleys.

i didn't need too much. most folks seemed happy and festive.

there were queues but i enjoyed queuing, which may sound strange, but i think queues are essential for slowing us down and they often promote conversations with others who otherwise we may not get to chat to. i made friends with two dear elderly ladies and they shared with me all their plans for Christmas.

a teacher's gift made by smallest girl

today we are still gift making. we are going to make a few of these. my eldest is cross stitching; see here, but no peeping if you are Grandmother Myrtle (my mum reads my blog) and smallest is making a stuffed robin for her granddad.

and me, well the sewing machine will be out soon too.

Later we will go for a walk, light a fire and share some food and welcome the return of the sun and the days once again lengthening.

 

the December Love #4 robin brooch is flying off to Sonia in France. hope you like him Sonia x

I have enjoyed my December Love series of giveaways... i do think that attempting 10 was a little ambitious in the run up to Christmas. like with most things i didn't have a plan.. the gifts just happened. As there are so many giveaways about  this December i have decided to do one final giveaway now and then maybe carry over the last 5 into February. February is my birthday month and a month when a little love and sharing is just what we may be in need of during the cold days.

so the last giveaway is this pretty handbag that i made  as a sample for a workshop earlier in the year. All the fabrics used have been recycled in some way. the floral linen is a remnant and the suede for the flower is taken from a swatch book.

If you would like a chance to win it please leave a comment. i will draw a name on Christmas eve and send it out in the new year. Open to anyone, even if you've already won something. i would love it to go to someone who likes it : )

 wishing you a very happy winter solstice

G x

december love giveaway #4

in our family we have a particular love for robins.  over the years we have made and given lots of  robin themed gifts.

one year i made this stationary wrap for my dad using the robin photo i had taken.

my mum also asked my husband to learn to play  this song 'Robin's Return'  for her as a Christmas gift. (he is still learning it)

 this week at our last children's sewing club we made robin brooches.

i have made an extra one to give away.

i also made a Christmas pudding.

and a tree.

they were fun to make and easy for the children too. i also made a reindeer which many of the children decided to make. my sample now adorns my new rapsberry red coat

 

If you would like to win the robin brooch please leave a comment at the bottom of this post. It is open to anyone and i shall draw a name at 7pm GMT tomorrow evening.

G x

december love #3 winner and some pots

Thank you for all your lovely comments about my images in my december love #3 giveaway post.

Tracy Dragonfly's name was pulled out of the hat so i shall be posting the postcards off to you Tracy : ) do pop over and visit Tracy's blog. she is posting each day during advent, so there are lots of lovely posts to read.

thank you to everyone who has been leaving comments and taking part in my december love giveaways. It feels really great to give back to all you wonderful supportive twitter & blog friends.

my first thrown bowl

i shall be adding  a few more giveaways this week,  i am not sure what yet but please do enter, even if you have already in previous posts. you never know, it may be something ceramic!

a dish with pressed in decoration and  glazed using oxides made at my pottery  class this term

 

Well Christmas is tumbling towards us and tonight i ran our last evening workshop of the year; a festive evening with mulled wine and mince pies as well as some sewing. we were making flower brooches and there were some delicious colour combinations going on... just gorgeous!

tomorrow's final workshop of the year is with our children's group who will also be making  brooches. we shall be helping them to create festive brooches of robins, christmas puddings & snowmen. i am really looking forward to it!

wishing you a lovely last few days of the week and i shall pop back with another 'december love' post soon x

 

December Love #3

hello! are you beginning to feel festive?

well it certainly is feeling very wintery here now and my little garden workspace is very chilly so i am doing most of my sewing in the house while the space warms a little and even when it does i still need to wear my coat and my fingerless gloves (made for me by the lovely diana from pebble-dash a few years ago, thank you diana x).

we lit our first fire of this winter on Saturday night which was glorious. do you remember how this was one of my dreams realised at the beginning of 2011?

i cannot express how happy an open fire makes me feel. i love everything about it, from bringing the wood in, to lighting the fire, stoking it and watching the flames.

well the last 3 gifts of my 'december love' giveaways have been posted off and today i have...

...'december love' #3 for you, which is...

a set of 6 postcards made from a few of my favourite photographic images.

i had lots of different images of my photos printed last autumn which i made up into sets and gave to family and friends as Christmas gifts and thought it would be nice to offer some here. I hope you like them x

the above set of 6 are

1.viburnum 2.dreams 3. agapanthus 4. geranium posy 5. sweetmyrtle wishes 6. winter sky

i have tied the set with twine and they would be sweet as a gift or to keep for yourselves.

 if you would like a chance to win this set please leave your name in the comments section and i will draw a name out of the hat tomorrow evening at 7pm GMT.  flickr friends can comment via flickr here.

i am off back to my sewing now so i can keep the shop stocked with pretty brooches.

wishing you a lovely Monday and keep warm x

G x

sock creatures & December Love #2 winners

my smallest girl and her friends  have been making sock creatures for a school fundraiser.

one of her friends suggested they make sock worms,

so she did.

 

and then she  made a sock penguin

.

i have never seen a sock penguin before, have you?

 

The winners of  my 'December Love' #2  are ..

Emily from Mousy Brown and

Kate from Harmony and Rosie.

Please email me with your addresses and i will post off your hearts.

Gx

p.s. more December Love coming up very soon xxx

December Love #2

Today i have made some simple fabric heart decorations for you. i have two to giveaway.

The first is made from soft brown and pink wools and  is unscented

The second is made from linen & cotton fabrics and is lightly scented with lavender harvested from my garden.

both have been finished with glass beads.

 

to enter today's giveaway please leave your name in the comments section below and i will draw 2 winners, (one for each decoration) tomorrow evening at 7pm GMT

don't forget to let me know what your favourite colour for a decoration would be and also which of the above your prefer.

tonight i will be helping others to make their own scented decorations  at a workshop  at The Farnham Maltings.  Alice has made up some of her special xmas spice scent  so i know i shall return home smelling gorgeous!

wishing you all a lovely evening.

Gx

 

December Love #1 winner

Thank you  for your lovely comments about my brooches and for entering my  'December Love' first giveaway.

Congratulations to Catherine from Knotted Cotton, number 1 popped up in my random generator so you have won a bespoke handmade brooch. 

Hello - Your brooches are lovely! I would be very happy if I could have one like the red velvety one in the middle of your picture.

Posted by: Catherine | December 05, 2011 at 09:40

Please drop me an email  with your postal address : )

 

Things are getting a little more Festive around here, mainly as i have been making baubles...

these were made as samples for a workshop i ran last night.

It was so much fun.

please pop over to my Alice and Ginny blog to see the wonderful creations that were made by the group.

it really  is amazing what you can do with some paper, trims, glitter and a little imagination.

please pop back for my 'December Love' giveaway#2 very soon

G x

December Love #1

December Love  giveaway #1 is a handmade brooch made by me in the colours of your choice.

if you would like me to make you one then please leave your name in the comments section with your colour and fabric preferences. I will put all your names in to a hat and pick one name out at the end of today. I will then email the winner  to ask for your postal address.

I will send the brooch anywhere in the world too .

good luck

G x

p.s. the Pay it forward 3  are  Ella,  Emily & Jo x

Hello December! & Pay it Forward

Congratualtions to Glynis who won Janet Clare's beautiful book and little Fred in the giveaway on my last post. Glynis wrote to me yesterday to say thay had arrived safetly and that they were as lovely as they looked on the blog.

Thank you Glynis i am so glad you are pleased x

Well hello December! I am pleasantly pleased to see you! I have not done a thing to prepare for the festive event which is rapidly approaching and yet with this turn to a new month I am feeling excited.

my excitement stems from it being a family time, a time for slowing down. i am lucky that i feel no pressure in it all being perfect.  we are entertaining on Boxing day for 11, (yes and in our tiny house), but i know there will be food,  company and some festive fun and games and that sounds great to me.

I have been thinking about how much people mean to me; family, friends and cyberfriends too and feel like I want to say thank you, to put back into the world in a small way to show my appreciation for all that others bring into my life. 

i enjoy giving and inspired by Julia  I would like to give away some small gifts during December here on my blog.

the idea came to me whilst washing up (i often get inspiration whilst at the kitchen sink). I initially thought that,  like Julia,  a gift each day of Advent sent to one person drawn from who comments on that day would be good. i now realize that due to other responsibilities that each day may be difficult for me to keep up so I shall post with about 10 giveaways over the month. Are you up for it?

Today though i want to share a Pay it Forward that i signed up to in 2009 on my friend Caireens blog.

The idea of a Pay it Forward is that 3 people leave their names in the comments to be sent a handmade gift by the blogger, and in return, will forward something of their own once they receive the gift and then promise to make and send a gift to the first 3 people who leave comments on their blog and so on.  Caireen beautifully describes it as 'a stone rippling in a pond, sending out lots of handmade goodwill!'

Well I was one of 3 lucky people to be chosen by Caireen and this is what she made and sent me;

a specially made 'Clutter Bucket',  some of her recycled gift tags and a beautiful photo card.

Thank you Caireen, i love them!

So would you like to join in and pay it forward?  you have a year to make up and send off the 3 gifts. If so please leave your name in a comments section. I  will take the first 3 bloggers names and promise to forward a handmade gift to you within 365 days - When you receive it, blog about  the pay it forward and continue the love by giving something that you have made away to another 3 people. 

I shall be back with a 'December Love' giveaway post soon.
love Ginny x