Freshwater east...

Last week, I decided to drive home to Pembrokeshire for the weekend... see family and just chill out. So a stupidly quick decision was made and I drove straight home mins after finishing work and it was well worth it and actually did me the world of good. Comfort food, cwtches with Teal, and walks on the beach... sometimes you need a Pembrokeshire weekend! 

On Sunday we went for a walk to Freshwater East beach, it's not my local beach and there are probably about 10 different beaches along the coast between Saundersfoot beach and Freshwater East but sometimes its nice to go somewhere a bit different...

I love how all the beaches in Pembrokeshire are so different... they say there are over 50 beaches just in Pembrokeshire...  I guess that makes it a good place too call home.

Look at this funny bit of drainpipe, its the first time I've seen one about, but after reading the tube in English not Welsh. I discovered it for fishing tackle flies...what a fab idea. It helps to keep the beach clean and keeps any sharp hooks away from dogs and little ones toes! Maybe they should roles these out nationally?

Look at the stunning colours in the cliff and rocks. The blue greys against the olive greens, warm forest greens all sitting happily along side the mauve and soft aubergine... nature is pretty good at making amazing colour palettes. I'm guessing the house on the hill is a holiday home?... Can you spot little Teal?

Dad and teal... 

Sunday the beach was full of people all taking their dogs out and getting a bit of fresh air.

Sand dunes.

Look at the three complete contrasts on one beach...

How much do you want to pay?... £1 or 5p... It's totally up to you... yes really! Take a read of the sign below, how much would you pay?

Pembrokeshire does beaches pretty well!

Rocking dragon...

Back when I was in sixth form...ages ago (geez nearly ten years ago!) I made this 'rocking dragon' in resistant materials, I can't remember if it was AS or ALevel.

Well when I was home the other weekend, I started looking through my old portfolio work. Most of it I binned, some of it I kept and some of it wasn't to bad! But my rocking dragon still sits in our lounge at home and maybe when I have a family of my own I will take it with me?

I spent the second half of my schooling in Wales and now I would say I have more pride to be Welsh than English... and our rugby team is way better! So not wanting to design something that was the norm, I took the idea of a rocking horse and developed it in to being a potenial Welsh selling toy... I did get a couple of offers from galleries at the time. We have since made templates so that it can easily be reproduced.

A few bits from my project work...

Looking at my key customer children aged between 2 and 6 years.

Looking at the antropometrics of childrens hand span and how they relate to the handle size. 

Marker pen sketch.

Getting the perfect Welsh red stain... it took alot of developing.

 Nearly ten years on its still going strong...apart from Teals addition(when she was a cheeky puppy!)

A not so cheeky Teal x

Ocean's quilt

For a little while I have busy sewing a very pretty quilt for little Ocean. It's made up of all her old clothes from when she was tiny, the colours are stunning going from teal to pinks.... for a while it took a good bit of time swapping around squares and moving the colours about but I think the colour balance is right now.

This weekend I have been busy quilting it, always a slow task. The bulk of the quilt takes time to guide through the sewing machine, but I am half way through and its starting to come together. I am excited to get to the hand sewing part as this is my favourite part...Adding all the little details and embroidering nicknames and messages. I think it is going to look fab.

Look at Ocean and her little sister!

Lovely girlie colours... It is hopefully a palette that will grow with Ocean. At the moment she is 3, and loving pink!...but as she grows and develope the blues and teals will be 'cooler'. I hope it is a quilt that she will love an treasure, and that stories will be read under ... that it is used for picnics and most of all to cwtch up under and dream of princesses and mermaids xx

Slowly sewing the squares into stripes.

This square sums up Ocean... a little Harbour beach girl.

(You know your a real local when you grow up on harbour beach.)

Harbour Beach, Tenby.

Free machine embroidery, backing fabric & start of the quilting.

Colour flow...

Quilting till I ran out of chocolate...(it really really helps you to sew!)

Embroidery threads ready and waiting for the next stage.

I'm excited to see this quilt develope and soon bestf friends Ocean and Lily will have matching quilts!

See past post... http://yellowfields.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/lilys-quilt.html