Blog Archives

Happy Halloween

31/10/2012

Whooohooo - Happy Halloween!! When my daughters were younger, I would decorate the house and have Halloween parties and the girls would dress up and invite their friend over for a spooky evening. Now Beth is at uni, and Alice is working full-time, so Halloween parties and trick or treating is a thing of the past. This year I'm going to have a cosy evening curled up on the sofa with some sewing and maybe watch a film or two. And don't bother knocking on my door for sweeties - I'll be eating them all myself!!

0 Comments

Don't Forget!!

27/10/2012

0 Comments

Don't forget to turn back the clocks tonight!! British Summertime comes to an end, and I'm looking forward to an extra hour in bed in the morning. Poor Mr F is working a night shift, so he'll have to work an extra hour - then when he gets home in the morning, he'll hop into bed and I'll get up and spend a little bit of time stitching!! Perfect!!

0 Comments

FNSI October 2012 Revealed

27/10/2012

10 Comments

Yesterday was Friday Night Sew-In and I had the perfect project to complete. I had already stitched the centre panel of this runner, and had picked a turquoise DMC embroidery thread to use for the stitchery. This embroidery thread co-ordinates perfectly with the fabrics that I was going to use for the border. I had already got a Charm Pack in my stash, and decided to use that. So last night I cut the Charm Squares into quarters. This fabric range is "It's Snowing!" by Debs Strain for Moda.....

.....I've chosen some Christmas themed fabric from my stash for the backing, called "Winterscapes" for Benartex. Now I just need to get this runner quilted and get the binding on as it is part of a Secret Santa Swap that I am taking part in. These colours are really funky and modern, not all traditional and typical of Christmas - hope my swapee will like it!
*Update: I have been asked about the stitchery pattern - it is called "Festive Season" and is designed by Annie Downes, whose website is "Hatched and Patched".

10 Comments

FNSI - October 2012

26/10/2012

0 Comments

It's that time of the month again - and I've got my stitching project all ready for this evening. Alice has gone out baby-sitting for a neighbour, and Mr F is working a night shift, so I've got the evening to myself to stitch away the hours. Anyway, hop over here to sign up - there's still time - and I'll post some pictures of my new project on here tomorrow ;)

0 Comments

Fishes And Tootsies

23/10/2012

0 Comments

Another pair of earrings from Amanda Davie is on a journey over to the UK. Sweet fish pendants are complimented by a little bit of moonstone, and some gorgeous Peruvian Blue Opal for these beach inspired earrings. This is an extra special little present to me! Although they are called "Florida", they remind me very much of my recent holiday to Cyprus. The blue stones are the colour of the sea, and these cute little fishes are just like the ones that nibbled my tootsies.....

.....while I was on my holipops last week with Mr F, I had a very ticklish fishy pedicure. Here you can see my trotters getting pampered - I had a fishy pedicure as a special present for my birthday last year, and I couldn't resist having another one!

0 Comments

Knitting and Stitching Show

22/10/2012

2 Comments

On Saturday 13th October, I had great day out with my daughter Alice, and two friends, Pam and Debs, as we went on a trip to the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace, in London. This was a special treat for Alice, as a reward for doing so well in her A-level exams earlier in the year. It's great having a daughter who likes sewing and doing crafty things.....

.....as soon as we got to Ally Pally we stopped for a coffee to give us a bit of an energy boost before browsing around the stalls, and it wasn't long before I found a quilt that matched the colours I was wearing perfectly! I really do think I should've bought these fabrics as they're very me!! This was on the Lady Sew and Sew stall, and was made with fabrics from the "Prince Charming" range by Tula Pink. Maybe I'll buy a few fat quarters online hehe!!.....

.....we spent ages perusing all the wonderful stalls and got lots of inspiration too. I bought some delicate shell buttons from the "Bazaar" stall - and Alice bought lots of goodies from here too - fabric and beads and sequins and buttons - maybe I'll have to dip into her shopping bag if I run out of supplies!.....

.....this beautiful "vintage-style" fabric will be perfect for making cosmetic bags and lingerie bags - and yes I did manage to buy some more bag handles from the fabulous Button Company. AND I even bought a couple of new feet for my Bernina, including a piping foot that Philippa Naylor had recommended when I went on a residential course with her earlier in the year. We all had a great day out, and spent ages on the way home doing a show and tell, and having a really good natter. Unfortunately I haven't had time to start creating anything with my goodies just yet, as Mr F and I headed off to Cyprus the following day for a weeks holiday with his family - and to attend a family wedding. It's been all go here!!

2 Comments

Nectar

12/10/2012

0 Comments

Yep - I've been Etsy shopping again, for some goodies by my favourite jewellery designer - Amanda Davie. These "Nectar" bee earrings are truely gorgeous. I just love these busy bees, with a sweet little accent charms. Each earring is created from professionally printed images, brass findings, and crystal clear glass. Amanda very kindly added a lever back for me, as I'm always worried I might lose these precious earrings if they're not secured in place!....

.....and then I saw this really unusual necklace, "Fragments", also made by Amanda. The necklace itself is made from eco friendly hemp. She has accented the hemp with a few antique trade beads. This piece measures a generous 40", but can be tied to a shorter length. Each of the charms can easily be removed, and the necklace used for any other charms you might have. My Amanda Davie jewellery collection is growing fast - I think I'll have to request a new jewellery box for my birthday!

0 Comments

Another Commission!!

12/10/2012

4 Comments

A few weeks ago one of my friends commissioned me to make a cushion for her mother-in-law's 90th birthday. So I gathered an assortment of fabrics and lace and zippers and labels and threads and buttons together, then I played around with layouts and colours, and printed off a photograph of her mother-in-law using a sheet of EQ printables fabric.....

.....and here is the result. There is a zipper on the back, and I've sewn one of my labels on the back too! I'm really pleased with this, and think it looks fabulous. I've made several of these vintage" style cushions now, and they seem to be really popular among friends and family, and I think I'll make a few more of these as Christmas gifts. I wish I had time to make some for myself!! What do you think Julie? Do you think the birthday girl will like it?

4 Comments

Scrap Bags and a Perfect Sunday Afternoon

11/10/2012

0 Comments

On Sunday I spent a wonderful afternoon with some quilting friends. We did very little in the way of sewing and we certainly did plenty of eating and chatting! We had all taken some yummy goodies for a shared lunch - Jenny's noodles were really tasty! And the goat's cheese and tomato tart was delicious - I must have your recipe Sarah!! Oh and I just took my usual pudding - strawberry and raspberry pavlova - well I guessed 2 fruits would mean 2 portions of my daily fruit and veg allowance??!! Anyway after lunch and a glass of wine, we had a bit of a show and tell - where I did a bit of showing and a LOT of telling then we had a bit of a look round in Janet's fabric room. Janet and her friend Louise have got an online fabric store, Glenroy Designs, and I couldn't resist a Moda Scrap Bag - in Bonnie and Camille's fabric range "Bliss".....

.....these bags contain the left overs from Moda's production of Jelly Rolls. I've made a quilt in this range of fabrics before, using a Layer Cake, and as I needed something pink and girly for a quilt for a very special little girl - thought this would be perfect teamed with some pretty white floral fabric.

0 Comments

Space Rockets

7/10/2012

2 Comments

I had a trip over to Fabric8 at Felixstowe last Saturday, and saw this fab and funky fabric - "Space Rockets" by The Henley Studio, for Makower UK. (Oh and I also bought some great retro-looking Christmas fabric too by Riley Blake designs, but I'm saving that to show you another day!!) This space-themed fabric was just perfect for a whole cloth baby quilt. I used a metre of the large print for one side of the quilt, and a metre of the smaller print for the other side of the quilt. I used cotton wadding - I prefer to use Quilter's Dream wadding in the select weight for baby quilts as it is so lovely and soft. I never EVER use polyester wadding for quilts for little people as the fibers can migrate.....

.....this is not like the traditional whole cloth quilts you understand, but this is a fab and funky whole cloth quilt, quilted in a 3" diagonal grid with bright threads to match the colours in the fabric. I started off by marking a 3" grid with a Clover Hera marker. I chose an orange Mettler quilting thread for the initial 3" grid, then quilted either side of all the quilting lines using the edge of the walking foot as a guide. Finally I quilted in the middle of the two navy lines with a King Tut variegated blue thread. The same navy blue Mettler thread was used in the bobbin so the reverse side is completely navy quilting - I needed about 5 bobbins of thread for this project! but keeping the same colour saved an awful lot of time as I just made sure I had wound several bobbins before I started quilting!.....

.....the orange print was used for the binding. (I really do love this orange fabric - and I just wish I had more of it!!) and a label added as a final flourish to the back or the quilt - or it could be the front - as this quilt is totally reversible!! Now it's going to be posted off to it's new owner. My friend Vanda has just become a grandma again - this is for her new grandson, Riley Jon. Hope he gets lots of use from this quilt!!

2 Comments

<<Previous

Happy Halloween

Don't Forget!!

FNSI October 2012 Revealed

FNSI - October 2012

Fishes And Tootsies

Knitting and Stitching Show

Nectar

Another Commission!!

Scrap Bags and a Perfect Sunday Afternoon

Space Rockets

About me...

Archives

Blogs I follow

UK shops

Australian links

Scandinavian links