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Lou Best

@louabest

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Lover of strong hot tea and fiddling and faffing creatively, be it sewing, gardening or painting! Escaping as often as humanely possible to Salcombe!

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Those black patent leather MaryJanes were always my favorite…especially the click-y sound they made as i walked through the halls of the elementary school.
Until one year, the family trip to the Golden Goose shoe store resulted in the purchase of the most awful pair of gray Hush Puppies (iykyk😆) The soles were rubbery and made no sound whatsoever!
I suppose my mother thought I was growing up and no longer needed the clicky-heeled shoes. I begged to differ.

Fast forward to my 14 year old self…loving every episode of Little House on the Prairie…wearing my long hair in braids and pinafores over flower-y calico dresses my mother made for me. It was in this year, between little girl and growing up girl, that she surprised me with the sweetest pair of Pappagallo tan calfskin leather MaryJanes with red gingham lining. There was a tiny pearl button clasp…be still my heart…and this meant the purchase of the *no fun dull gray shoes* was forgiven (but apparently not to be forgotten 😂)
Today, as I stitched feverishly to finish this sweetest project, I remembered the tiny buttons on those shoes. I thought about my newest pair of pink velvet Maryjanes and how much I have learned to embrace wearing what I like.
I reached into my #travelstitchingcase and retrieved the tiny box (sweetest gift from Nicki last year at her studio) filled with the teensiest vintage seed beads and sequins (the most thoughtful gift from dear @louabest as they were from her late mother’s collection of sewing bits and bobs)
Those itty bitty beads in the softest shades of pinks and whites were just the thing to stitch onto the Sanguine slippers…and the perfect size to create the daintiest necklace.
And then I remembered the collection my sister and I had all those years ago in the 60’s and 70’s…and how many chokers we fashioned from those itty bitty beads. Goodness, it’s been quite a sentimental jaunt down memory lane, today.
How has your Monday found you? I’m hoping you’re off to a good start on this week, dear friends.
@louabest @stacynashdesigns @nickifranklin_needlework @the_stitchery_sisters #crossstitch #stacynashanimalcrackers #stacynashdesigns #weeksdyeworksthreads @weeksdyeworks

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Lou has had some incredible results in the build up to Christmas here at @marchon.harpenden

So happy for her, results like these are life changing and we couldn’t be more excited to see what’s to come now that she has built the habits and routines necessary to effect change for the first time in YEARS! What a win 🏆 Proud of you @louabest

#marchon #harpendengym #fatlossjourney #fatloss #fitnessresults #transformation

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Now that was a magnificent day!! 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼

Very surreal being there today but I loved every minute of it!

Met beautiful like minded people and Zoe and Neil were fabulous hosts!

Thank you so much for a day I will never forget! 🥰

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Wow! My favourite day of the year so far! What a way to celebrate #britishflowersweek

@zoewoodwardgardening put out a call to anyone who wanted to help get her plants into the ground and she has been in for an operation and is not allowed to do heavy lifting.
Well my pal @peacheysnaps and I jumped at the chance.
I personally was so pleased to be able to help Zoe as she has taught me everything I know about flowers.

We had a super day, planting out, meeting new friends and listening to Zoe teach us more about flowers and Neil kept us laughing 😆

So fun and rewarding- oh and I came home with 5 dahlias I don’t have space for 😬😬

Absolutely loved it. Was feeling so ropey last few days and this has perked me up 😁

#growwithzoe #growalong #growalongwithzoe #growalonggang #swancottageflowers #swancottagegrowalong #CutFlowers
#BritishFlowers
#HomeGrownFlowers
#SeasonalFlowers
#FreshFlowers
#GardenGrown
#UKGardening
#FloristLife
#FlowerFarm
#FlowerArranging
#FlowerLovers
#FlowerInspiration
#FlowerBouquet
#FlowersOfInstagram
#WeddingFlowers
#GardenFlowers
#SustainableFlowers
#FlowerGrowers
#Blooms
#FlowerPower

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Salcombe 2024 💙

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☕️🫖💕Tea💕🫖☕️

Can we just talk Tea for a moment please? Or any Hot Drink to be fair! But I will start it off with Tea!

I have wanted a Teas Maid for as long as I can remember but I could never warrant the cost for you! I found this one on my local Selling site for £5! What a bargain - it’s immaculate and it works perfectly! I am sooooo happy! We tried it this morning for the first time and it was delicious!!

I LOVE a cup of tea but I like it strong and full of flavour! Very little milk and no sugar or sweetener! How do you like yours?

Do you have a favourite Tea? I have a few - are you ready?! 🫖☕️💕🤣
Pukka - English breakfast - love it - can’t find it anywhere local to but it though! @pukkaherbs
Tea Pigs - everyday Brew - it’s a treat @teapigs
Twinnings - English breakfast tea - it’s a treat @twiningsuk
Yorkshire tea - love it! @yorkshiretea

I would love to drink more herbal teas though - I have started drinking some chamomile and I need to find a free tea I like! Do you drink any other tea at all?

Do you like tea bags or loose leaf? If I am
Honest I prefer teapot with loose leaves!

I have tagged a few people who I thought might like to discuss Tea! Feel free to tag anyone else to join in!!!

#tea #teadrinker #potoftea #teabags #loosetea #morningtea #afternoontea #anytimetea #teawithfriends

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With the holiday season coming up fast the little mice are keen to get into a festive mood ! These mini stockings have been hand drawn on gorgeous vintage French linen for you to embroider using your own threads and colours and make as you choose ! The patterns come with backing linen and are £18 a set plus £3.85 tracked UK postage or £11.85 international tracked airmail.
They are approx 6 inches long and 4 inches across at the widest point .
Not yet available in my shop so please send me a private message to order . Payment via PayPal please.
#mice#mouses#festive#holidayseason#christmas#stockings#giftstockings#christmasstockings#christmasmagic#embroidery #handembroidery#embroiderypatterns#makersgonnamake#stitchersgonnastitch#embroiderersofinstagram#sewsisters#vintagelinen

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📚💕🌻May Wrap up🌻💕📚

Oh what a glorious month of reading with so many hardbacks! I love a hardback book! Do you prefer a paperback or hardback? What I did realise this month is that I don’t have anywhere near enough hardback book sleeves 🤣🤣 - so I made myself one or 2 more! 🤣💕😙

As well as these wonderful books I also had a wonderful month as I had an author event with the amazing Raynor Winn and a wonderful painting course with the amazingly talented Emma at Nickys glorious studio! What a stunning May!

All the relevant reviews are up on my grid if anything takes your fancy. There was a lot of wonderful books this month, hence why I read so many I think! I actually don’t think I could choose my favourite book this month! What a wonderful position to be in! If the reviews are not on my grid it’s because I DNF the book or didn’t enjoy it. (Always feel free to message me and ask about it though!)

Do any of these glorious books tempt you? Any of them on your TBR?

#book #bookworm #reading #bookish #bookstagram #bookaddict #bookaday #booklover #readingismyhappyplace #bookcommunity #booktime #books #bookstagrammer #bookclub #reader #readmorebooks #booklife #booklover #bookaddict

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🎨🎨💕💕🌻🌻😘😘So a few days ago I was lucky enough to have a wonderful 2 days and 1 night away doing a wonderful watercolour garden journaling course with @valerianstudio at @nickifranklin_needlework studio.

Apart from painting with my children this is the first time I have picked up a paintbrush and I loved every second. The whole course was relaxing, calming, so informative and so accessible for anyone. I was worried I was going to be totally rubbish but actually under the amazing guidance of I have produced a few pieces I am actually quite proud of.

I met some amazing ladies who were all simply wonderful. The pieces that the other ladies produced were amazing! I will definitely be looking out for more course by the wonderful Emma, I really hope to get a few more under my belt by Christmas! I can’t tell you what an amazing couple of days I had, I cannot wait to do it again! I think I may have found a new hobby! So lovely to meet you all and see a couple of you again. 🎨💕🎨💕

#watercolour #gardenjournalling #beginner #painting #friendship #metime #calming #relaxing #ididbetterthanithoughtiwould #thestitchery #nickyfranklin
#valerianstudio #emma

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So now that Oxygin 2.0 is very much a runner (watch this space for update)it seems only fair that Mrs B should get her dream car
#Mercedes #e350amgconvertible #mercedesbenz #mercedesbenzmiltonkeynes #dreamcar #softtop

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Next up in my collection of Coronation pieces is a bookmark which as you can see ties in nicely with the Needle Case design. This is a simple kit which is also good for those beginning embroidery or returning to it .The kit includes hand drawn design on vintage french Metis linen plus backing fabric, threads, needles, full colour photo, instructions and comprehensive stitch guide plus optional Pom Pom trim for the bookmark end.
Pocket friendly at just £12 plus postage . If you decide to order both these kits postage will be combined.
PLEASE SEND ME A DM TO ORDER. The kits will be dispatched from 5th April and please allow 14 days for delivery.
#bookmark#coronation#kingcharlesthethird#royalty#royalfamily#hismajesty#handembroidery#vibtagelinen#vintagethread#drawnbyhand#commemorative#socialhistory#historyinthemaking#embroiderykit#handmadekit#heirloom#stitchersofinstagram#handsewing#embroiderersofinstagram#sweetlittlekit

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