spring flowers and winter hats

The sweet peas are from my garden. This year I remembered to plant them early and they are just starting to flower. I love the colours and how they all look so good together. And I love the smell! And the crazy tendrils twisting around everything.

The beanies are for my young great-nephews who live in the UK. I did wonder about adding the pom-poms. I asked a work colleague's seven-year-old son if he'd wear a beanie with a pom-pom on it and he said yes. My nephews could always take the pom-poms off if they don't like them. The hats will still keep them warm.

Reading Case histories by Kate Atkinson and Gee's Bend: the architecture of the quilt edited by Paul Arnett

cupboard love

Some beautifully worked old linen tablecloths found at the back of a cupboard at my mother's while helping her move house. They are all handmade right down to the crochet edgings.

pattern

These drawings were made by me when I was six or seven years old. They are from a school exercise book I found at my mother's while I was helping her move house. Each page of the book has rows of neat letters with drawings below. I think the drawings were designed to help with forming letters. For instance, the kites are with the letter 'v'. I can't remember if we were meant to embellish the shapes or if I was overly enthusiastic. The only comments from the teacher are "too big" or "too small".

This drawing is my favourite and, strangely, goes with the letter "I". When I was a child we lived in a suburb where every house had a rotary clothesline - just like in my picture. There were lots of kids in the neighbourhood and we had some good times over the long, hot summers.

Reading Welcome to your new life by Anna Goldsworthy