Summer Flowers on Blue and White

"The fragrance always stays in the hand that gives the rose."

   (George William Curtis)

Setting up for Tea

I am thinking its nearly time for a tea party again!

While the summer flowes are blooming and its mild enough to either sit outside or at least with the top of the Dutch door open, I should invite some friends over and serve up some hot, liquid gold, strawberry cake and halibut mousse croissant sandwiches!

Dressing the Dining Chairs for Summer

Hi Everyone!
Join me over at PINK PAGODA for the Blue & White Monday bash!
Check out everyone's blue and white inspirations, and hopefully you'll find something to inspire you too.
(or just get your blue ad white fix)

I'm back at it!  Now that it's spring and I have spring fever,
it's time to begin where I left off before the holidays began, last year.
Time to finish sewing up the casual linen/cotton slip covers
for my dining room chairs.  

There are four.  I made the third this past weekend while
watching episodes of "Time Team" on youTube!
(the fourth chair's fabric has not been ordered yet, but I
am having fun narrowing down which one to have printed)

I design all my own fabric and sell it in my shop, Lilyoake,
on Spoonflower.
Here's a link to it:
Lilyoake on Spoonflower
Let me know what you think!  I have pink designs coming soon...

I chose to slip cover each chair in a different pattern.
This works for me because I used the same shade of blue in all
the fabric designs so they really do go together well, without
looking so mixed as to be weary on the eye!
This pattern I used on the third chair, I call "Seaside Garden Stripe".  It's a soft Swedish Gustavian blue and white stripe with a smattering of blue and white roses over it.
(I actually designed the fabric with a horizontal stripe but to fit my patterns on the piece I had printed, to maximize use, I used the pattern in a vertical format. It works well either way!

Thanks for stopping by to take a look at my latest project!

Spring Sewing Projects

Please join me at TPP Blue & White Bash!

Hello Spring!

(at least in our minds, if not reflected in the weather)

Every spring I draw up a list of home projects to complete and hope to get as much accomplished as possible and this year, having designed and printed through Spoonflower, a grouping of my fabric designs, I am hoping to sew up some slip covers!

I love the look of linen slips on furniture - it has such a summery feel.

And now that I have designed over 106 Swedish Gustavian-inspired blue & white fabrics, I am ready to begin the make over.

Eventually I will have wallpaper printed too

and redo my dining room.

But, one thing at a time!

I've also become obsessed with designing tea towels and they can be found in my Spoonflower shop

LilyOake on Spoonflower as raw, unfinished fat quarters for you to bind off as you please, or as finished (prewashed, ironed and edges bound) in my ETSY shop, LilyOake on ETSY

I add more every day.

I design more every day!!

 I am so happy to be joining an amazing group on The Pink Pagoda with her Blue & White Monday linking party!

I wait for each one she hosts so I can see what my fellow blue & white lovers are doing!  I've also got my eye on a couple of her blue & white vases and am deciding which ones to purchase for my cottage!

Check out her online shops and indulge yourself in her art or china - its a look that will never go out of style!!

And do check out the other links to fabulous blogs...I guarantee you will be inspired by their great ideas!

Hints of Spring

Bird song and sunnier days with temps nearing 60.

Buds appearing on trees, hydrangeas and lilacs....

Fresh and green.

I love this time of year!

I decided it was time to indulge in a few bunches of tulips for the cottage.

I am counting my pennies twice, lately, as I save up to buy plants for the gardens and relandscaping, and also to buy house paint, now that I have chosen the color!

But a little indulgence in some "spring", can't hurt either!

Happy First Day of Spring!

I'm sure many of us wish there were more visible signs on spring this year, then just a calendar date!
So here are my spring lilacs from last year, when our warm weather arrived way ahead of schedule and my lilacs were in full bloom at least a month before they normally are.

I can't wait for this year's blooms. I have been keeping a close watch on the budding of the leaves and other signs of spring, around my yard.
It felt wonderful last weekend on a mild day in the low 60's, to be out dead heading hydrangeas and cutting back the roses.
I couldn't help but blow a few kisses at the 16 lilacs in my yard, starting to leaf out!
I will do a big photo shoot of this year's crop, as soon as they arrive.

Most of these lilacs are specialty varieties from
The Hulda Klager Lilac Garden in Washington
I make a trip there every May 1st to buy another plant or two for my yard.

Did you know LilyOake is the ancient English folk name for the lilac?
It's my favorite flower and I thought it was perfect for my business name.

Enjoy!