Make it bold, make it bright

Hey, what happened to summer? I’ve donned a warm jumper today, and a mug of hot tea is constantly in my hand... My poor mother, visiting from America, is borrowing cardigans and I’m turning on the heating for her!

I am battling that dull grey sky and the very chilly temperatures with bold and bright colours:

I finished a bit of Florentine embroidery for the &Stitches blog. (For those new to my place here, I write a post for the embroidery-themed &Stitches site a few times a month.) The history of needlework is so interesting – the methods, materials and origins of different techniques – and Florentine embroidery dates back centuries – you can read more about it here.

I was going to frame this little sample, but Bunny loved the rich colours so much that I made it into a little lavender sachet to sit by her bed. I backed it with regal purple satin so it feels soft and silky in her hand.

oooo, rich!

I’ve also brightened up the day with a mandala for Lucy’s Yarndale project:

I made this using Lucy’s mandala pattern, which luckily just made it under the 8-inch limit, I must have been rather chilled out when I hooked it up!

The palette isn’t random – I chose these colours because I wanted something bright; I wanted to link my American roots with my British home, so I used the patriotic red, white and blue of both countries’ flags; and I included pink because it is my favourite and my best! 

I’m going to send this mandala to Lucy tomorrow, but I will miss it, so I have plans to make another, similar mandala to keep for myself, adding a few more pretty brights...

It’s midweek in the half-term holiday, and despite the dreary, cold weather, we are making the most of my mother’s visit. The girls love having their grandma around and are enjoying being suitably spoiled...

A chocolatey tradition has started between the three of them. My grandma makes the very best fudge in this whole wide world (shall I share the recipe?). Little Flower is a particularly avid fan, and she requests it regularly from her Grammy (who, until LF’s arrival, only made the fudge at Christmas. Now she makes a huge batch to send over each time my mother visits!).

The night before she leaves, my mother tells the girls to have three spoons ready in the morning. Within minutes of arriving, after an overnight flight and drive from the airport, the suitcase is open and a big slab of fudge is on the table, with three greedy ladies digging in...

I’m not allowed to argue that it’s barely 10 a.m. But who can fault the smiles and giggles as they tuck into marshmallow-studded fudge, happy as can be that they’re together again!

How are you doing this week? 

Chrissie x