solstice things

Wishing you a peaceful solstice time, wherever you are in this world! I’m feeling grateful for all the things this time around the sun: a peaceful place to live, family and friends, the colours of these lush hydrangeas in the garden.

I feel as though this has been my busiest year yet, (in terms of paid work anyway), so it’s felt extra special to wrap up all the work stuff this weekend and focus on a few other projects, such as making fruit mince pies and making a few Christmas gifts.

I also made some air-dry clay ornaments to tie to parcels. These are super easy to make - I bought some plain white air-dry clay and out out shapes with a knife. I found it easiest to roll out the wet clay between two pieces of cling film. I made a hole in each shape with a knitting needle and in some I pressed a woodblock stamp and others a sprig of rosemary, for texture.

After they were dry, I gave their edges a light sand and threaded some ribbon through.

Another project I loved working on recently is a light summer quilt I made for our bed. I used a beautiful piece of Jaipuri hand block-printed cotton I ordered online from this store back in the depths of winter. I was dreaming of a lightweight quilt of some sort, and when it arrived, I knew it would be perfect. I pieced together some leftover cottons for the back of the quilt, and did the same to create the bindings. I used a lightweight cotton batting inside.

It’s the perfect lightweight thing to layer over a thin duvet, and I’m so happy with it that I made another two for some friends. I’ll share those in my next post…

Wishing you and your family a happy and peaceful Christmas and holiday time, if you are celebrating it. See you in a few weeks time,

Melissa X