July, July, JULY!

It's July !

Summer has arrived for real...

a perfect day, start of a perfect weekend!

Can you tell I am excited?

Here at the beach we make do and talk all about summer, starting a few weeks before Memorial Day.

But summer truly starts with
the Fourth of July...
from now to November the days should be sunny and hot, with a delightful sea breeze by midafternoon.
The roses and honeysuckle are blooming on the dunes...

The daylilies are busting out with joy...

and the hydrangeas are beginning to show....

We made a picnic!
I wore my new Lands End swimsuit!
And let me just tell you, all that fashion-y ultra-cool stuff aside...if you like to really swim, their Tugless Tanks are The Best.

Oh okay, I got a cute tropical tankini for swim parties too.....

The shore birds had their babies out for  wave-chasing practice...

The kids were surfing....

The sand was hot and white , the sky was oh so blue. We found TWO whole perfect sand dollars!

I packed up my little Baskets quilt top, an ongoing repair / renew job...I only sew on it at the beach and there was my needle and thread, still in the half-sewn seam, just where I left it back in October.

It sat in its basket by the back door all winter! :-(

I like to imagine these are tiny beach sand pails. Only a few more more blocks to sew in....

Hope your weekends---and summer days!---are wonderful too!

love

    lizzy

...gone to the beach

Summer Blues HEARTS

Beach Cottage / Summer Blues HEARTS

                        

 Set of 2,   5" x 3"

Hi! Some of you have admired the tiny ticking hearts I use as tags...

Here is a larger set to share!

Antique navy and white French ticking, vintage brass sailor buttons, nice long hemp cord loop. Backs are a fun navy cotton with little American flags. I couldn't resist!

Special [salvaged!] scraps of wonderful old ticking stripes handmade into sachets,filled with Cape Cod lavender and a bit of polyfil for plumpness.*

I love these tied to a white ironstone pitcher filled with little American flags for the 4th, or any summer day... 

...toss them in a bowl full of white shells or, in the fall, red apples.....

How about with a candle, some starfish, a few tiny floats or seaglass---all on an old chipped blue-and-white tureen-plate---

Light summery  scent, simple enough style to sneak into your guy's side of the closet?

*I use the polyfil with plenty of lavender or other herbs not to be "cheap" but because on certain styles I like the look of the plump full hearts. What do you all think? Should I stick to 100% lavender or go with what, to me, looks prettiest sometimes....?

Have fun planning your Fourth of July picnic! No matter what else I do, I always make my classic potato salad and I always decorate with all my collected little flags.
And fireworks, have to have fireworks!

love

    lizzy

****gone to the beach

ps available now , along with other pretties in my esty shop [sidebar, right] and on ebay and always available as a special order, your choice of size, backing, filler, trims...so fun!

Always Looking for that Silver Lining....

So here I am, up early, very cleared decks...now what?

Yes! I'm off to the beach, doll quilt to quilt tucked happily in my bag!

love

           lizzy

gone to the beach