Bird painted wooden beads

With spring being just around the corner the garden is full of birds, both big and small. Time to paint some new beads with some of the stars of the garden bird parade that happens every day.

The blackbirds come in tribes these days. With it being a cold winter these birds, who are usually wary of other blackbirds in their territory, become much more tolerant. In hard winters I have counted as many as nine blackbirds in the garden at once.

 The blue tits are nearly always in the garden. Such colourful little birds and always a pleasure to watch.

 The greenfinches have been fewer in number for a few years. Ravaged by a bird related virus, there are only two or three that visit now.

And many people's favourite, the robin. There are a few robins in the garden at the moment, this being mating season for some robins.

You can find them on Etsy or in my web store.

My first quilt

Just before Christmas I finally finished my first proper patchwork quilt. I am so pleased with it. So the seams are a little off in places and the colours are not always in the right places - or even the right pattern for the project. But I made a proper quilt.

I used several charm packs and fabrics from Moda in traditional patterns and backed it in fabric from the Gratitude collection in Parchment, also by Moda.

At the moment it lives on my bed. It is an excellent extra layer on the cold winter nights. However, what really struck me when I finished it was how close I felt to history. For centuries people made patchwork quilts to use up old fabric and make something functional. It would often come from necessity rather than fun. But there is something very wonderful about a home made quilt. It gives a comfort that I have never felt from a shop bought quilt. I can't help but wonder if that magical feeling happened for our ancestors too.