This colourful version of an orange-tip butterfly is 'Anthocharis Belia' or Morroco orange-tip.  It has bright yellow instead of the usual white wings on the orange-tip Anthocharis cardomines seen in the UK.

The red robin alongside the river in Tarascon looks beautifully fresh and colourful at the moment.

Le petit jardin's trees are looking as lovely as ever with this season's spurts of growth.

Whatever has nibbled the edges of these ivy leaves has given them a quirky new shape.

Well-tended allotments alongside the Ariege are starting to show the first crops of the year.

Snow melt from the high mountains is swelling the river.

Mont Sédour in the background is home to a pair of Egyptian vultures.

 Another thousand mile journey from Shropshire to the Pyrenees on Tuesday/Wednesday of this week went well apart from a couple of unexpected detours.  The autoroutes were almost deserted as usual apart from in and around the bigger towns and cities so I was snapping away to record the journey.  The chateau d'eau/water tower on the horizon towards the left in the photo above was a lovely shape!

 The miles and miles of flat open farmland to the north of Chartres makes for boring driving but the modern grain processing and storage systems are fascinating.   

 We use this bar tabac just outside Chartres for a coffee stop.  It's accepted as normal to pop over the road to the boulangerie for croissant and cakes to accompany the coffee served in the little bar.  This time we had croissant au beurre, éclair au café and flan.  Délicieux!

 This lovely old cinema in a sleepy little town near Evreux was still in use.

 The spires of the cathédrale in Chartres can be spotted from many miles away as they stand out majestically on the otherwise quite flat horizon.  It's a vast and stunning edifice and has recently undergone restoration and a clean-up.

 Travelling in a car at 110kms per hour along autoroutes doesn't allow for the best of photographs but I managed to capture a few of the chateaux peeking through the trees along the way.

 These tourist placards announce entry into the Dordogne.  Inspirational sources for quilts?

 I haven't yet visited the Pech Merle caves with their prehistoric paintings but I can certainly recommend a trip to Saint Cirq Lapopie.  It's perched on the side of a cliff and is stunningly beautiful.  

Getting ready for Fashion, Embroidery and Stitch, NEC 21st-24th. March 2013!

 I had great fun last weekend playing with the Husqvarna embellisher and using up fabric and wool scraps at the same time!  These colourful cushions and shoulder bags are the result.

The bags have a sturdy black fabric strap and lining for extra strength.

Another  throw/counterpane/cosy knee quilt to add to the collection.  This version makes use of my rusted fabrics to contrast with a dark brown mottled Batik and a pale cream calico.
It's longarm quilted with a heavyweight caramel colour thread on both sides and backed with the same mottled Batik.

Another cosy quilt/counterpane/throw to add to the stock at Apley Farm Gift Shop near Bridgnorth.
This one is pantograph quilted with 8" repeat Peacock Meandering using a pink thread to link with the pink in the main body of the quilt.

How cute!

How inquisitive!

This old tree looks splendid against the sky blue background.
At dusk it's very spooky!

Ivy hues never cease to amaze me!

I used a soft velvet for this 50" x 50" wholecloth  quilt with a striped ticking for the narrow binding and backing.
The edge to edge pantograph pattern is 8" 'Feathered Mum' and is done on the Gammill Longarm machine.

The pile of the fabric and close quilting creates a very sculptural result with the light as it falls on the hills and valleys helping to enhance the effect.

I've used a brown thread to encourage the gorgeous pattern to show up well.