Contented

Happy Friday!

I've finally been able to enjoy some fun sewing this last couple of days.  The dreaded Santa's Grotto curtains are finished (hooray!!) so yesterday I had a lovely morning playing around with fabric, cutting and sewing and generally making a huge mess all over the dining room table!  I made a piece of patchwork which was to be the front of a cushion cover.

The fabric was pieced directly onto a piece of an old fleece blanket, a technique I've seen on a few blogs, and I was really pleased with how this worked.  I then machine quilted around the squares and, this morning, I cut up one of Peter's old shirts to make the back.

Such a brilliant idea to use the front of the shirt, so I didn't have to worry about making any kind of opening at all!  I think I might check out the charity shops for some flannel shirts, then the cushions could be even cosier!

I had bought some cheap cushion inserts from Argos which, by the way, DON'T!  They were rubbish and only about half full so I cannibalised some old Ikea cushions we had lying around and put some extra stuffing in to make the cushion nice and firm.  I am so pleased with how this has turned out so there will definitely be some more being made very soon!

Also making me happy today is the fact that my little pink baby quilt has been featured on Katherine's blog, Wolly Wotnots, as part of her Pink Friday series, in aid of Breast Cancer.  Do pop over and take a look if you can.

I also finished writing my letter to Susan for the Letter Swap and got that posted off today.  I wanted to make something a bit different for the envelope so I had great fun cutting and sticking pages from old magazines!  

 

I hope she likes it!

Have a great weekend!

R x

 
 

Starting small

It feels like an absolute age since I've started any new sewing projects.  Since finishing the quilt, the only sewing going on has been the very boring but necessary, back-to-school kind - taking up trousers and sewing in name tapes etc.  Amazing how quickly you can fall out of the habit of doing something!  And, although the hols aren't over quite yet, this morning I felt like I really wanted to start on something now.  I recently discovered this lovely blog and browsing through the posts this morning gave me just the inspiration I needed!  Melissa makes some amazing things from felt and when I found this fab tutorial of hers on Sew-Mama-Sew I knew it was the perfect project to get me back in the swing of things!  Unfortunately, I also decided that it would make a lovely present for someone, so I can't show you any pics of the finished article yet - sorry! 

 

But it was such fun to make, choosing all the different colours and cutting out the little shapes.  And I think it's given me just the oomph that I needed, so that now I cannot wait til I can get the sewing maching out again, and maybe start on another quilt!

Have a great week!

R x

Yesterday and tomorrow

Yesterday was our 18th wedding anniversary!  How can it be 18 years already?  It's scary how quickly time flies by.  We didn't do anything special but Peter bought me some lovely flowers and we had a tasty takeaway for dinner - yum!

 

Yesterday was also an important day for us as we had Joe's social communications assessment.  You might remember that we were told there was a six month waiting list, so we were expecting it to be around Oct/November time, so this was a real bonus to get it this month.  It all went well, although I once again found it very hard to answer all the questions, and Joe went off with the speech and language specialist for his own assessment.  Anyway, to get to the point, they did give us a diagnosis there and then of Asperger's Syndrome which is actually a huge relief to me.   We've kind of been going on the assumption that that's what it was since we first saw the paediatrician back in Feb, so to have it confirmed it great - AND it means that we can start back at school in year 2 knowing that's what it is and we can then take things further from there.  I'm still not sure if he'll get a Statement - he is pretty bright and I'm not so keen on him having that kind of label, but if it means he gets more specialised help then it may be for the best, we'll just have to wait and see.   But in the meantime, I'm actually feeling very positive about it - it's just how he is and I wouldn't change that for the world, he wouldn't be Joe otherwise!

Now, onto the "tomorrow" part of the post - it's the BIG LAUNCH!!!!  My bloggy collaboration with Emmais all set to go live tomorrow and I'm now feeling both excited and a bit nervous about it too!  I'm still not going to spill all the beans yet, but I can say that it is green, we want you ALL to get involved and we hope it'll make a difference, and that we'll have some fun along the way too!  So please do come back tomorrow to discover what it's all about!

See you then!

R x

 

Fabric show and tell

Hello!  How are you all today?  Good, I hope!  Well, I promised to be back with some scrummy fabric to show off, so here we go!  I had two orders arrive over the last few days, the first to arrive was this little bunch from Fabric Rehab:

 

Some cute owls, sweet Alexander Henry birdies and, in the middle, some Saffron Craig pink dandelions, which I am super excited about, it's so lovely!  And also from Fabric Rehab came these two:

Fabulous Parisienne ladies! 

And then on Monday, another parcel arrived, this time from Pink Chalk Fabrics, who had a sale on.

 

Some really lovely blue Olive Rose and then a bit of Heather Bailey Freshcut - I've had this before (I think it was actually one of the first fabrics I bought when I started sewing!) and I also think this is the first time I've gone back to buy more of a design.  I'd used up all I had and didn't even have a scrap big enough for my coin collection, so when I saw this on sale I just had to get some!

 

I also snapped up these two - pink woodgrain effect, which is rather funky, and another very cute Alexander Henry print called Petite Granville.  All this lovely new fabric has, as usual, got me itching to start making something!  It feels like I haven't sewn anything for ages, in fact, I actually cleared away all the fabric lying all over the place and put away my sewing machine at the start of the hols, but I think it might have to come out of it's hiding place sooner, rather than later!

Today I also finished the scarf I started, I really enjoyed this stitch, it needed a much lower level of concentration which suited me perfectly!!

 

 

What else was I going to talk about?  Oh, yes,  a film review.  On Sunday William and I went to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.  It was ... well, okay.  I should point out that William really enjoyed it but I felt a bit lukewarm about it.  I will admit that, out of the seven books, this was probably my least favourite, and it probably didn't help that I re-read it just before we went to see it, so I was all too aware of all the stuff that was missed out - stuff that I personally thought was quite important to the plot - like the fact that the locket was supposed to be Slytherin's, what Dumbledore suspected the other horcruxes were, and the big battle at Hogwarts near the end - all missed out!  I thought it had quite a different feel to the other films too, the music was very different and it didn't seem to be quite as action-packed as some of them either.  (And ending on such a sad note kind of puts a downer on things too!)  

Also on the subject of films, I was quite excited to see a trailer for The Time Traveller's Wife, a book that I really, really loved - although, perhaps excited is the wrong word - just watching the trailer made me cry!  Imagine what I'd be like watching the whole film!!  I think I might have to wait until it's out on DVD and I can watch it on my own and boo my eyes out without getting embarrassed! 

Finally, I promised some news about my secret project!  Well, it's going to be a new blog, set up by myself and my lovely blog friend Emma, and it will be launching next Wednesday, the 5th August!  We are both really excited about it and hope that lots of you will want to join in too.  I can't spill any more beans just yet, but stay tuned, and don't forget to come back next week for the big launch!

R x

Easter hols

School holidays are usually very laid back affairs in our house, and this one is turning out no different, which is just the way we like them.  This week we've been mostly at home, just mooching about, but at least the kids have been able to get outside in the nice weather.   It's been lovely to see them playing out there together.  Today, however, has been a bit grey and drizzly, but was brightened up no end for me by another lovely package from the postman:

 

Actually it wasn't from the postman at all (he just delivered it - haha!) but from one of my newer bloggy friends, Lisa.  I won a runner up prize in her giveaway and just look at the lovely things she sent me!

 

(check out the cute little origami bird on the front of the parcel!)

  

A felty hot cross bun, some yummy chocolates and jelly sweets, and a pack of easter bunny decorations, which you can't actually see in the above photo, so here they are on our easter tree:

 

Lisa is another lady who is very talented with felt - not only does she make hot cross buns but loads of other, rather realistic looking, sweet things such as fondant fancies, party rings and, my favourite, fab ice lollies!  Do go over and pay her a visit - tell her I sent you!  Thank you again, Lisa!

Don't forget to come back tomorrow for the big birthday giveaway!

R x

Buttercup

Good morning!  Isn't it a beautiful day?  I was a bit worried yesterday afternoon when it suddenly became freezing cold and very grey again, but this morning is glorious sunshine again.  I'm feeling quuite chirpy today because yesterday I made a bag and I'm so pleased with how it turned out.

 

It's the buttercup bag which is available for free here.  As it's a free pattern, it's for personal use only, so I can't sell this design but I don't mind one bit because it's actually the perfect size for me (I prefer small bags) so I can imagine making this in all sorts of different fabric combos (a different one for every occasion perhaps!!)  and it will be lovely for gifts too.  This is the most complicated bag I've ever attempted - only because up till now I've only ever made very simple tote type bags with straight edges - but actually wasn't too tricky at all (once I'd got my head around the pleats and how to pin the curvy bits!) It was also the first time I used interfacing and magnetic snaps and, whilst there are probably a few little details that I would do differently next time, it still turned out remarkably well for a first attempt.

   

Have a fab weekend everyone!

R x

Gobsmacked

Oh.  My.  Goodness. 

Once again, I have been completely blown away by the kindness and generosity of fellow bloggers.  This time, the blogger in question is Claire of Matching Pegs in Australia.  Some time ago I won a little giveaway on her blog - the prize was some cute mini pegs (natch!)  Shortly after that, Claire blogged about a quilt of hers that had been published in Australian Homespun magazine, and I very cheekily asked if she could send me a copy of the magazine, and I would send her a UK title in return - a mini swap.  Anyway, this morning a parcel landed on my doormat containing this little lot:

 

Not only did she send the magazine and the pegs (in the little fabric bag) but also:

- A note paper set (her giveaway question was "name your favourite stationery item - mine was pretty notepaper! How thoughtful is that?!)

- A felt flower brooch in purple and lavender - perfect colours for me

- A little tin containing the tiniest star shaped buttons you've ever seen!

 

- And finally, this beautiful stitchery design

 

Claire also wrote me the lovliest letter, including some instructions for the stitchery (which is good as I've not done much in the way of embroidery so I don't want to muck this up!)

 

Here's the page with Claire's quilt on - isn't it fab?!  Thank you so much Claire, what a wonderful bloggy friend!  There will be a parcel winging it's way to you very soon!

R x

Little birds......and a win!

A while ago I won this little dish of wooden bird shapes in a raffle - it actually came with a bottle of home fragrance oil that you were supposed to drop onto the shapes and it would scent your room.  The oil smelled absolutely vile, but the shape of the little birds really appealed to me and so I held on to them with the thought that I might be able to make use of them in some other way.  They're pretty small, only about an inch and a half across, but I've traced the shape and enlarged it to make some templates.  I have already used the design for a little applique on a needle case I made, but today I enlarged the shape even more and came up with these:

a little robin, very cute but a bit drab I felt, so,

a much more glamourous version!!  I think I might make some of these as teacher gifts come Christmas time.  I'm trying not to think about Christmas too much - we still have our main birthday season yet to come - but so many of you out there are already showing Christmassy things, it's hard not to! ;-)  I'm thinking these may look good strung together in some kind of garland?  What do you think?

Finally, my day has been made today by discovering that I have won the monthly giveaway on Paper-and-String!!!  I screamed out loud when I saw my name on Sarah's blog, this is the first bloggy giveaway I have won and it's even more special by being one of my favourite blogs too, I just love Sarah's felt creations and I am fast becoming a regular on her shop site too!  Thank you so much, Sarah, I can't wait to receive my parcel!