Octagons + Squares = Cobblestones

Hello lovely lovelies♡ A beautiful welcome to you♡ I am sitting here in the fernery gazing out the windows. My little place is beginning to awaken from the deep slumber of Old Man Winter, and Lady Spring (as I think spring must be a lady) is beginning to stir everything with her  magic. Day by day Lady Spring is sprinkling here and there a delightful preview of what is to come when she comes to stay in a little while. The daffodils are beginning to flower, and very soon they will be everywhere, causing me to smile.

Sitting here inside the fernery, even as I look at the peaceful vignettes which surround me, which embrace me, I cannot help but think upon this raging world in which we live. With every new day it seems another catastrophe rages on  some horizon, somewhere in the world. If only  'the world' would wake up one morning, and decide it was going to be better. To be kinder. To be gracious. To walk a mile in another's shoes. To be compassionate. To respect others, even though beliefs held tightly are poles apart. To treat others as one would love to be treated. A simple ethos really; but somehow, seemingly impossible. It's been one helluva week, hasn't it?? Is there a country in this world where all is well?? Thankfully, there are a crush of beautiful people, selfless souls who are graciousness personified, who with their everyday acts of  beneficence show kindness and humanity; show love to others as they go about their day♡ Thank you, all you beautiful people♡

But, as this little place's ethos is a cheery one, let us chat about other things. Pleasant things, such as hydrangeas, cobblestone patterns and mindful slow hand stitching, shall we?? As after all, it is Sunday where I and other lovely ladies from all over the globe enjoy a chat and a show and tell about what we are hand stitching. 

Besides sitting here pondering the state of this rather sad world with a sorrowful heart, I am stitching. My fingers are stitching along octagons and little squares in the form of cobblestones. A hydrangea-filled cobblestone path on which to skip along, if you like. When last you visited I was tossing up whether I would fashion a simple cobblestone pattern quilt, or a more complex one mixing the octagon shapes with eight-sided stars. Simple, won out. Just a simple quilt with hydrangea-filled octagons and little squares of another patterned fabric. The fabric I have chosen for the squares is leftover from another quilt I stitched ages ago. Both these fabrics evoke a vintage aesthetic. To me, these patterns remind me of a tablecloth that might have graced the kitchen table of my childhood....way back in the 1960's. I am not being finicky with the placement of the  hydrangea-filled octagons; just placing each one wherever they fall; perhaps with just a little tweaking. Some octagons are filled with full blown hydrangea flowers; others are just a wisp of a flower with leaves, or a butterfly or two, as the main focus. I am enjoying stitching these cobblestones. I am loving stitching the pretty blue hydrangeas. Blue is my favourite colour, and hydrangeas my favourite flowers. I haven't made up my mind as to the size of this quilt. I will just play and see what happens.

Alas, another photo shoot in the fernery. The fernery is my little cocoon from the big, wide, nasty world, these days♡

Another Sunday afternoon drifts by. Just sitting here, thinking, praying; stitching happy cobblestones. And....drinking tea, because somehow tea helps when pondering the world and its unholy messes. Tea, and stitching pretty pretties♡ Lovely friend, may you.....and I, this week, be a little kinder than is necessary♡ 

Until the next time..........