Indigo Blue

See me in Sew Hip Issue 38

2012-01-30T22:02:00.000Z

Last August I emailed several ideas to Sew Hip and was astounded when the editor said that she was interested in all of them! I was featured in the [revious month where the magazine tells the reader what is coming in the next issue. I was sort of hopeing that I may have been on the front cover.....well I am

.....bottom left hand corner!!

I made the three pin cushions and wrote up the instructions.I really enjoyed making the samples and last week they were sent back.

Lovely pictures were taken and I was delighted with the full page photograph.

Lots of close-ups which show the detailing. (Can you tell how pleased I am with this?)

I now feel inspired to dig out the old felt and make up some more items. I have signed up for a Craft Fair just before Easter and I do need some more stock. Perhaps some of these would be the ticket.

Have a great week everyone and remember the deadline for the giveaway is tomorrow.

OPAM - Table Top Ironing Mat

2012-01-29T10:18:00.002Z

I was given a mini hot iron for Christmas and it prompted me into making something that I have been thinking about for ages.

In the attic it is not easy getting a full size ironing board up the curve if the stairs so a table top ironing mat seemed to be in order.

I still had a few quilt blocks to use up and by adding a few more rows around the outside I made it big enough for most jobs that could be ironed on a table.

I put a loop in one corner so that it can be hung up when not in use.

I added one of my labels for posteritiy.

Just big enough for applique, quilt blocks and adding bond-a-web nd taking to workshops and classes.

Hanging up when not in use.

Next is a little pouch to keep all of the interchangable tips that come with the mini iron. Use a another quilt block, I think.

PS. Enter Website name comp by clicking on this link

www.indigo-blue-designs.blogspot.com/2012/01/website-name-competition.html and leave a comment to enter.

Prizes for the Website Name Comp

2012-01-28T18:23:00.021Z

After Ballet this morning I sorted out the prizes for this giveaway. Glad that 5 have signed up already, would be nice to have some more.

*So there is Pin cushion kit with Cath Kidston fabric and the instructions are in my tutorial sidebar.

*Plus 2 sheets of felt

*Bundles of ribbon

*A roll of Amy Butler fabric

*1 fat quarters of fabric

* A pincushion kit with Cath Kidston fabric (the instructions are in the sidebar under Tutorials

*Chiffon bag of buttons

*A keyring made by me using Cath Kidston fabric (not shown forgot to add in pic)

To Enter:

You need to leave a comment on the previous post gibing your suggestion as to what I could.should do about a name for my website.

If you are not already a follower you could do that to but it is not compulsory.

So some on folks, lets that those ideas.

Deadline is next Tuesday 31st January 2012

Good Luck

Website Name Competition

2012-01-26T22:20:00.000Z

Over the past year I have pondering about setting up a website. I did dabble in this a few years ago. I have been considering whether to do a blogshop or a www website. I have been spending the last few months investigating several options and tonight I have been looking at Create.

However, my question is......what shall I call it?

Shall I keep it Indigo Blue? I have all of the stickers, labels etc as I have used this name since about 2008.

Shall I go for something else like "Stitched Creations" with a different colour scheme?

After all I do create items using a range of techniques such as the cushion above.

So here is what I thought we could do.

I was going to post a giveaway for my 4th blog anniversary last September but my Dad passed away then my 800th post but Tiger was very ill, plus work etc. So I thought that now I could have a website site naming propsal Giveaway and do all three together.

All you need to do is leave a comment here with your suggestion. Regulars will now what I make. If you are not sure then there is a link to my Etsy shop (which could also do with a make over) and make a suggestion for a website name that suits what I make and feature on this blog and sell currently on Etsy.

You can enter as many times as you like but put a different suggstion in a different comment as the number generator will not recognise the number of suggestions you are making.

I will then use the number generator and pick a winner(s) and send a prize from my growing Giveaway Bag but it will be of a fabric-ribbon-magazine, useful lovely type of prize.

I will feature this tomorrow as I have just thought of this and not taken any pictures.

Anyone can take part. You do not have to become a follower but it is an easy way to find the results post in your Dashboard to see if you have won.

So my creative friends get thinking and I am keen to see what you come up with.

Deadline for this is next Tuesday 31st January at midnight.

I shall post the prize pics tomorrow. I also have some good news but I have to wait until tomorrow to tell you.

Pop Art WIP

2012-01-25T18:31:00.000Z

This year I have been asked to teacher Art to Year7 and 8. I like to actually have a go at the wook that the students are asked to do and it enables me to see what pitfalls they may encounter before they reach them.

So I found a sketchbook like theirs and started to produce some of the tasks in advance so that they could get an idea of how to work and create their own interpretation.

I needed to choose an artist from a list of three.
I chose Romero Britto. I have previous posts on this artist.

Sorry, this picture has been rotated, we also looked at existing bold graphical images including chocolate wrappers.

We also looked at stencilling with acrylics. I have a picture of this but blogger is being silly with it so I shall leave it out. Once all of this was done we then designed an image in the style of our chosen artist on to a wooden board using acrylic paints.

Below is my effort.

Using a sponge I coated the background in turquoise and being acrylic I needed to let it dry overnight.
I then pencilled on my design, keeping to the theme and artist style that I had chosen.

The areas of colour were then added using my research as reference.

Once all of the colour has been added and allowed to fully dry, I used a thick permanent marker to go around the edges and add any detail.

It is now sitting in a stand on a shelf in my classroom.

I really enjoyed this project. This week we are starting Tribal Identity. Lots of pattern and lovely research to be done. More on that another time.

London Science Museum Summer Visit

2012-01-24T16:55:00.000Z

That would be Summer 2011 that I am referring to. I was going through my Picassa file and noticed that I had not posted about our visit to London. For the past few summers we have been visiting my sister in law in Seaford and if we can a trip to London has to be done. We live in Cornwall to it is quite a distance to manage otherwise.

So off we went on the train and first visited the Natural History Museum to mainly look at the Egyptian exhibits because Sophie was doing a project on them in the September. Then it was off on the underground to ..............

..........the Science Museum above.

We just wanted to see it all, but there was one exhibition there which really interested me and is not normally there.

An exhibition on how the fashion industry is trying to combat landfill and recycling of fabrics and other materials.

There was a lot of information about possible new fabrics of the future. I hope you can see the text as I did not have a notebook with me, tut tut!

This dress was really eye-catching and I had to really think where I would start to actually put this together.

Carefully folded pieces of newspaper. How many do you think there are?

It looked even better in the flesh.

I did manage to take pictures of some of the information posters which explained some of the garments.

The above information goes with this eye-catching white dress.

Sorry about the reflection in the glass, did my best to avoid that.

This is a message that I cover as part of my lessons.

It was only a small exhibition and it was a pity that it was not publicised more but Sophie was very interested in what she saw. The next generation needs to be well informed. Roll next Summer as i think we would like to try the Art galleries next.

Postage Stamp Charm Quilt Swap

2012-01-23T12:54:00.002Z

I was blog hopping last week end found this swap/challenge on The Curious Quilter blog. I really enjoyed taking part in two quilt alongs a year or so back and I do have tiny scraps of fabric which I do not really know what to do with. There will be regular sign ups as we go along and I felt it was a challenge that i could dip in and out of depending on my work load.

I have decided to use 2 inch squares and my shoe box is gradually filing up. I have a 100 squares cut up and ready to swap when I am assigned a partner to send them to. I will then recieve some in return which will be different...and so on.

I will also need to decide what to make my charm squares into. I was thinking of small but useful items which I will be able to complete and not fall behind with. I like several items on the go at a time and this will fit in well with the makes that I have started in the New Year.

So do pop over and read the posts shown so far and see what you think.

OPAM 2012 I have signed up.................

2012-01-22T09:37:00.001Z

I have signed up to OPAM 2012 again, this will be my third year and it is really one of the most motivating things that I have joined in with. Even after having a blog for about four and a half years the struggle to upload the image with the link etc in the side bar had me at odds with my beloved little netbook. I shall never understand ICT, why it should work with one thing and then drive me to despair when doing exactly the same task again (I have uploaded more linked images that I care to think about but still ended up swearing under my breath).

Well, moving on....it can be found in the side bar and links (hopefully) to Peg and you will be able to see all of the other OPAMERS and see what they are making. Their work is brilliant.

I have made several things already this month and I shall add them once I have checked that they meet the guidelines of the challenge. This year I must also remember a few things myself such as.....

*Remember to take a decent picture BEFORE giving the item away!

*Remember which file I put said picture in so that I can actually find it to post it!

*When I do a mass picture taking session to remember to go back through them all and create an end of month OPAM post using Picassa collage to show my makes for that month.

*Try not to let the end of the month round up sneak up on me and rushing to email my total.

In short I need more time and a much better memory.....trouble is one I never seem to get enough of the first and the late I think might be down to middle age (or lack of sleep).

Since Christmas I have been a little mug rug mad and with some birthdays coming up I think some more are likely to be in the pipeline.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend. I need to go and plan a Textile Art lesson for tomorrow. I am doing a workshop on felting with a group.

Warning PLEASE READ... SPAM EMAIL ALERT

2012-01-20T19:59:00.004Z

URGENT PLEASE READ

I have just had an email from who I thought was friend and it turns out that it was a SPAM email using their address. I was not able to open it as my interent protection stopped it. However it has gone through my email address book and sent the spam email on. So if you have recieved an email with my name just before this one today then DO NOT OPEN IT!!!!!

I have sent an email to my whole address book asking them not to open it and thought I would put it here too.

I am so sorry but came with a friend's email address and did not look suspicous at all. It does not appear to have damaged my laptop at all ( I am using it now) but it has upset me to think I could cause anyone else any problems. I have also informed my friend whose email address was used. I just hope I do not have any complaints from Exeter Uni on Monday!!

So sorry and I wish this kind of abuse of the internet could be stopped.

Crochet WIP Progress

2012-01-18T18:59:00.000Z

A few posts back I said that I was making up a series of Granny squares. Well I have now made them and stitched them together.

I have been using up wool that could not be used for anything really that big other than knitting or Crochet. I tried to spread out the colours across the squares.

By curving round one square I will be able to transform the squares into a bag. My next step will be to sort out a pattern for the lining so that the bag does not over stretch and things do not fall through the crochet.

I hope to have a final view really soon, but I need to crochet the edging and make some handles too. I have seen some similar bags on the Internet but I have figured out the shape and layout myself and considering I am fairly new to crochet I am quite pleased with how it is looking.

Anyway, time to go to my little sewing group and see how my quilt wip is progressing, I have not touched it since last summer.

PS. Many thanks for all of the lovely comments regarding Tiger. It was a very sad day but he is recorded here on my blog and we have talked about him lots this week. Toffy seems ok but has stayed very close to the house this passed week.

Goodbye Tiger

2012-01-15T14:37:00.002Z

I had half written a post about my blogaversary and 800th post giveaway today but something sad has happened.

He had a lovely face and very long whiskers!

Tiger was about 18 years old, give or take a year or two and he was a rescue cat from the PDSA. He had recently developed a form of diabetes, and we were told that we would have to inject him twice a day. Tiger would not have put up with that, he hated having his claws clipped. He did not like being grabbed and held down. Only the Vets seemed to get away with that. We felt that as long he was not in any pain and was eating and drinking we would not go down the injection route. Some may not agree with this but we felt to stick a sharp item in him at least twice a day and not be able to explain to him why was a bit cruel. So we have been keeping a very close eye on him and was one of the reasons why we did not visit anyone over Christmas as we did not want to put him in a cattery, they probably would not have taken him anyway.

We noticed weight loss, especially when we were travelling back and forth to see my Dad. He was eating well, Tuna being his favourite, but the last few days we have seen a rapid down turn and last night he was eating but could not stand for long or walk. Could not get comfortable and was crying a bit.

One of the oldest cats in the area and none of the other cats ever bothered this old boy.

This morning when I got up he was worse. Hubby had left at 7am to go to the NEC to see the motor show, the first time he has gone anywhere like that with two friends for years! Excellent timing.
Tiger would not eat, kept falling over and was clearly distressed, so I rang the vet emergency line and Sophie and I were asked to take him in.
After a quick check up he was quietly put down at about 1.15pm. I asked Sophie to wait outside but she said no and wanted to stay. This aspect is all part of being a pet owner but it was a first for me at 42, so I was not sure how she would react, I had always been at school or college .when this ever happened with my parents pets. I know have to tell hubby when he gets in as we did act quickly this morning and I have decided not to ring and tell him but wait until he gets in. There is nothing he can do.
So it has been rather a bad day but it was for the best. We have pictures and stories to look back on and we knew when we took Tiger on that he may not last long, it has been about three years. At least it was in a warm family home with comforts, and not stuck in a large cage where we first met him.

He loved lying in the sun on the decking all afternoon!
We decided to make the last few months/weeks as comfortable as possible and he was purring a little and spirited even when the vet picked him up, and we made a fuss of him right up to the end. Toffy is sitting on one of the kitchen chairs next to me, he is going to wonder where Tiger is at dinner time but he will adjust.
So....I shall post my giveaway in a day or two time.
xx

Take a look at.....

2012-01-12T21:34:00.001Z

Whilst looking at google images for flowers I found this.....

Now, I think that this is perhaps taking your hobby a little far when your new paint job in the style of cross stitch. I have to say that it is very cleverly done, so neat and it in colours that I really like.

Not sure that it would look right on a silver Vauxhall though.

Progress with WIP's has been slow this week and i seem to have started about three things all at the same time. I will try and post what I am doing this weekend.

I wonder if anyone has tried a patchwork/quilted look to a car? I could then be tempted...........

Recycled Cards

2012-01-11T22:52:00.000Z

I thought that you would like to see something that Sophie and I made together at the weekend.

Old Christmas cards, hole punch, old pinking shears, thin ribbon, sentiment stickers.

For several years Sophie and I said that we should recycle our cards and make them into something, and this time we did!

We cut the cards into shapes and punched a hole.

Sophie added the stickers on the back and looped the ribbon through.

We soon had a small pile of tags ready for next Christmas. Any cards not used were put in the recycling and the above tags have been put safely in one of the small dresser drawers where we will be able to find them.

Our organising of 2012 is still going strong.....so far.

What you do with all of your Christmas cards?

I was sent a lovely card two years ago by Lise at The Chocolate Cat with a round patchwork cushion on it and I have kept it as a bookmark as I liked it so much.

A lovely treat.......

2012-01-09T22:25:00.001Z

I think that word has got round that I like Cath Kidston. Whilst studying for my Fashion degree I did develop an allergy to calico and used pots and pots of Nivea and Atrixo at the end of end day. I do not have this problem to the same extent but I am prone to dry and irritated hands when using rang of fabric, paints,PVA and washing my hands in between tasks, that I still use quite a bit of hand cream.

SO when I was given the above for Christmas....well my little face just light up with pleasure and appreciation not only for the brand but also the though for my poor over worked hands!

The nail file is in my handbag, the hand and cuticle cream is by my bedside and the soap on the shower room. All set for lots of hand TLC after many a sewing session. I think this set is still available on her website.

A Lovely gift which will be put to good use.....thank you.

The winter months always takes a toll on our skin and needs a little help, so what is your favourite hand cream?

Mug Rugs for everyday use

2012-01-08T19:46:00.000Z

I really enjoyed making the Christmas mug rug but that has now been packed away until next time. This meant that I needed one to replace it, that could be used everyday and washed etc. I decided to modify a quilt block that I had, to sort of recycle its use.

Lovely bright colours which will brighten up the dreary evenings as I wait for the clocks to change back. At the moment I am going to work when it is pitch dark and just about getting home before it is dark again.

I wanted a bright colour for the back that would not compete too much with the front. The red spotty fabric links with our kitchen colour scheme should this en up in there with some red floral fabric which I liked. In between the layers is some cotton stitched batting which can be used in all sorts of things including this insulation of curtains. I have used it many times and these mug rugs are good at using up the smaller pieces.

I then stumbled on this fabric and an idea sprung into my head about making a couple of these as birthday gifts.

The darker fabric was given to me by a friend the year Sophie was born (2002) so about time I used it! I wanted to add something new to my mug rugs to added some fancy stitching using my sewing matching using white thread on a grey linen.

I had enough to make two, Tea for two, even.

I top stitched around the outside using matching thread.

Then I gave them a careful press on both sides.

So far I have made 5 mug rugs and I agree that they are really addictive. My next aim is to dig out any scraps and make some more as gifts as they do not take up much space to store them. This project could be a good introduction to quilting for my students at school. A Mother's Day gift perhaps.

Have a good week.

Still organising 2012

2012-01-07T19:52:00.006Z

Over Christmas I was blog hopping and discovered quite a few people determined to really go for de-cluttering their homes. Now we do not exactly spend much or throw money away, but having been in our current house for about 12 years you do accumulate things.

So I have picked up on a couple of ideas and come up with what I intend to do in January, and that is to de-clutter one item a day. The item will either be given to Charity (I have a bag in position and when full will be taken to the Charity shop). Or given to a friend to use. Or put in for recycling or up-cycle for a different use. Progress so far........

January 1st An old rusty tin. (Recycling)

January 2nd Old cheap plastic ink pen.

January 3rd Four CB's (Charity shop)

January 4th An un-used red Bag (Charity shop)

January 5th Table cloth (Charity shop)

January 6th Heart shaped wooden picture frame (Charity shop)

January 7th Sorted out and removed rusty clothes pegs.

January 8th ???????

Some of the items are really quite small but I need to start somewhere and as time goes on I am sure that it will get harder and the items more significant. If I should change my mind before the bags go to their homes then I can......but hopefully not.

How is your organising for 2012 going? I intend to also sort out my craft/blog and on line shop paperwork next, but that is for another time.

My crochet WIP is progressing and thank you to all of the people who visited yesterday I will have more to show you but I have been marking student homework today so progress has been stopped.

The flower picture? Well I just like it and a post looks a bit forlorn without a picture.............

Have a good weekend

Crochet WIP

2012-01-06T17:45:00.001Z

I really want to use up bits of wool that I have left ovr from various projects and due ot some of the bits not being very big at all the faithful Granny Square seemed the best option.

So, on Boxing day afternoon I started making a batch of squares.

The colour selection is completely random and I have tried to make sure that there is a spread of colours throughout the squares.

I have now finished making all of the squares that I think that I will need to turn them into my first crochet project of 2012. Just need to sort out a couple of things and then I can show you the next stage. This is a bit of an experiment as I have not used Granny squares to making a specific item before. What do you think it might be?

I really like the above picture looks all cosy and warm for some reason.

EASTER SWAP NEWS:

Many thanks for those of you who expressed an interest in an Easter Swap, I am coming up with some ideas and will post when I have got it sorted in my head.

Take care

Organising in 2012

2012-01-04T00:28:00.001Z

A while ago I bought an IKEA magnetic noticeboard to go in the kitchen once we had re-done it. At the time we did not think it went with everything so it has been sitting behind the sofa for about two years.

However, on New Years Eve I went and bought some red gingham, red ribbon, and scoured the house for any red magnets I could find.

I added some of the ribbon in a criss cross so that cards etc could just be slotted in behind them. The ends were neatened by a band of red ribbon. The fabric was then stretched across the back with double strand of thread criss crossing on the back so that the fabric can be changed in the future. I also added a couple of red buttons in the centre of the criss cross.

Then hung on the wall behind the kitchen door so that it does not become too much of feature. Found the magnets............

.................and voila! We have started to organise 2012 by putting some bits and bobs up for Sophie's school dates etc. Incidentally, it is much more covered since taking this picture. However, this is my first make of 2012.

How do you organise all those bits of paper that you would like to throw away but need to keep for a bit?

I have just started.........

2012-01-02T21:26:00.000Z

Just before Chrsitmas whilst out trying to find some stocking fillers I came across the above book.

I remember the BBC TV series fondly and it is sometimes still shown on the Yesterday channel although I am often at work or miss it due to working in the evening.

I am looking forward to a nice cup of tea, a sloice of cake and several chapters of this.

I shall let you know how it goes, by the way I found it in ASDA.

I have completed my first make of 2012 but not taken pictures yet so that is to come plus a belated blog anniversary giveaway and would anyone be interested in an Easter Swap this year?

I am back to work tomorrow so off to try and get some sleep. Even after nearly 17 years i still do not sleep well the night before a new term, I have no idea why. That is where the reading of all the books comes in, th relax and then sleep.

Take care all

Mummy and Daughter time.....

2011-12-30T20:16:00.002Z

A friend of mine has a teenage daughter who kindly gave Sophie a Christmas present. She had a couple of items that she was given over the years but never used. One of them was a sewing kit to make up four beanie buddies with fabric and clear instructions and patterns.

Yesterday afternoon Sophie and I had a go at making the blue bear shown above. We did not have any beanie filling but used stuffing instead. To make her sit up (her because she has pink ears....Sophie's idea) I folded the legs round and added just a couple of stitches to hold it in place.

We are both really pleased with how this turned out and I think that I will take a copy of it to school to use with my little craft group.

The kit said about sewing it by hand but we decided to use the sewing machine to make it stronger. I stitched up the stuffing gap and Sophie has since found a length of bright pink ribbon to tie around the neck. We have been able to make so much this holiday, better organised this year perhaps, but I think it is because we have been lucky enough to have a couple of extra days before Christmas rather than afterwards that has made the difference.

We may have a go at another one on New Year's Day as we are staying at home to complete our nice quiet break.

In case I do not see you beforehand.....Have a very Happy New Year!!

It is hubby's birthday tomorrow and we are having a few friends round so it is going to be a bit busy here.....

OPAM November Round-up

2011-12-30T00:17:00.000Z

I have delayed posting about my November OPAM until after Christmas due to some being presents. I had a commission to make 8 of the spiral scarves in a variety of colours. It came a a direct result of the Craft Fair I did at the beginning of November. I needed to get them to the customer pretty quickly so of course I forgot to take any pictures, but they are similar to the ones shown above. I also started several others which were in fact completed in December so go under that month instead. I only had a couple of sales on my Etsy shop. I have sold much more in person and my word of mouth than I have on Etsy this past year which I have been surprised at considering the economical climate we are all in. I shall see what 2012 has in store for me. I would like to sell more as it help to finance my hobby.

The corsages on the bottom row have been fun to make and I shall show that in more detail in the New Year once I have taken some new pictures.

The bauble decoration was ideal for in front of the TV and I also made some felt ones at the same time, yep that's right no pictures again. New Year Resolution.....remember to take pictures before giving item away.

Plans are now in motion for New Year, we are having a few friends round and my hubby's birthday in on the 31st December, so another festive/celebration on the horizon. Honestly, by the time January comes round we are really in need of a rest after two birthdays, Christmas and New year.

Take care

Christmas Swap.Part 2 - November OPAM Too

2011-12-28T17:36:00.077Z

You may remember a few posts back just before Christmas about a Christmas swap that I took part in. I unfortunately missed the sign up for Chookyblue's Christmas Swap ....again and Wendy emailed to say that she would be happy to do an unofficial swap with just me. A very kind offer which I accepted.

We both opened our main swap on Christmas Eve and I sent to Wendy the following.....

Sophie and I made several decorations similar to this one last year and really enjoyed it, so I thought I would make one for Wendy. Mind you, my fingers were glad when I had finished using all of those pins in!

The main part of the swap from me was......

.... this wall hanging made of appliqued shapes and a layer of organza on top. I went to a workshop a while back and it was called Shadow applique.

I also used this style of tree last year for the Christmas Block Quilting Bee. It is a nice looking tree block and I think it shall reduce it to fit on the tree skirt that I would like to make.

I have already posted about the lovely tree decoration that Wendy made.

It has been hanging on our tree all over the holidays.

Taking pictures on these dull winter days is not good but I hope that the pictures shows you the lovely colours in the fabric that Wendy used for this wall hanging. Funny how we had the same idea.

Unusual colours for Christmas but I really like them.

This is the lovely fabric on the back of the wall hanging.

I enjoyed sending off a swap parcel at Christmas....anyone remember the Christmas Decoration swap in 2008 or the stocking swap in 2009 that I ran? Might try another next Christmas if there is any interest.

This also formed one of my November OPAM finishes as well.

I do hope that OPAM runs next year too as I have sat down today and actually written a list of what I would like to make in 2012. How organised id that!!??

OPAM - Squiddley is created............

2011-12-27T18:07:00.000Z

At the end of last week I was determined to make up Squiddley who had arrived very quickly from Clare's Craftroom in Australia.

I decided to use some fabric that I had in my sewing room, a nice bright green. The body fabric is called Daisy Chain by Amy Butler for Rowan fabrics. I thought it would look good on my new friend here.

I was lucky enough to win a giveaway over at Paper and String a couple of years ago and this included the white pom pom trim. Sophie and I thought that it would add to Squiddley.

Squiddley was fun to make, adding the stuffing was tricky and he used quite a bit to get him nice and firm but on the other hand I now have a bit of space in my fabric box. Using what I have, (which is not much really, no honest), has been a feature of 2011 and I intend of carrying on with this into 2012.

Many thanks Clare for sending the Squiddley pattern, it put a smile on all of our faces.

PS Clare has other patterns on her blog and online shops. Pop over and take a look.

Mug Rugs...My First attempt......

2011-12-26T19:31:00.001Z

After completing my first table runner just before Christmas I decided to keep rolling and have a go at my first mug rug as well. The wreath designs were two fabric squares that I found in a haberdashery a few years ago. I always intended to make cushions but the onset of mug rugs changed that. I added some strips of fabric left over from making the table runner.

Some lovely red fabric for the back. I have read about mug rugs being all sorts of sizes, I really went with the size of the wreath square in the end but found that the final size suited........

....a cup and saucer or.....

........a mug and small plate.

I have now put one of these on the table next to my chair to protect the surface and I will certainly make some more to use during the rest of the year . They are quick and fun to do and will certainly use up all those scraps I have. Inside of the mug rug I used some medium sew in interfacing and with hindsight I think that I need to use something thicker or double it up, but I wanted to use up some scraps and it serves it purpose. However, for gifts it does need to be thicker. These will feature for presents in 2012 me thinks.

Off to make some Christmas tea from Whittards,

Happy Boxing Day.....

Merry Christmas to all.....

2011-12-24T23:25:00.000Z

Sophie and I had lots of fun with our final Christmas make this afternoon. We will confess that the actual walls and roof came from a kit that we found at IKEA in September. I then made up some really thick icing to glue it all together. It stuck it really well too. I then found the smallest icing nozzle that I could and used it to help fill in the gaps. We covered a place mat with foil and "glued" the house down.

I need to be able to get the house over to my in laws tomorrow without it sliding off the board in the card.

We had some large chocolate stars left over from the school cake competition and created a tree with them.

We had soooo much fun making this together. I really have seen a big difference in Sophie this Christmas and we have done so much together since school finished and it has been a real tonic, one I really needed too.

So I would like to wish those of you who visit all the time, every now and then or lurk on the edge of this blog a very happy Christmas and a Peaceful and Safe New Year.

All hits, comments, emails and surprises in the post are treasured and gratefully recorded here at Indigo Blue.

MERRY CHRISTMAS.................

Birthday Treats

2011-12-24T00:50:00.001Z

Having a birthday so close to Christmas is not great really. It gets swallowed up with all of the Christmas preparations, people are busy and everything is often booked up more than a year in advance. So I have learnt to plan small and simple and the day is often a lot of fun.

So this morning I had only a little breakfast as we planned to have lunch at a local pub. I then opened some lovely presents with Sophie sitting very close to me, she absolutely loves birthdays and gets very excited no matter whose it is. Such enthusiasm is infectious and she makes it all the more enjoyable.

I have enjoyed watching the programmes last year and this which go with the books shown and hubby found both on Amazon for me. They are the kind of books to go back to and inspire ideas. They are also fun to read.

Needle or machine felting is a lot of fun and I have enjoyed several Embroiderer Guild classes on this but this book will also be useful to show Sophie too.

The craft book has some lovely project ideas and it is the colour combinations that I like to look at.

There are lovely pictures to look at all through both books.

Handmade Home also has how to make jam and pickles.

We had a lovely quiet lunch at a pub which we have been to for birthday meals before and we were the only ones there....sign of the times perhaps.

Afterwards we went to Wadebridge which has a little cinema and watched Puss in Boots which was really good and 2 hours just flew by.

I was also spoilt with some Cath Kidston items which included a lovely fountain pen. Fountain pens have had a bit of a revival recently on this side of the family ever since Sophie found out what they were and everyone found one which they "used to use". Then new ink has been bought and pens have been dusted off and they are now used with renewed enjoyment. The one I still had I used at school and you can not get the right size cartridges anymore, so new lovely Cath Kidston one was given from Sophie. I think Hubby helped with this. Of course a pencil case is needed to look after the new pen so I shall start the new term all kitted out.

I shall show the compact which my sister bought another time along with some buttons as it is late and I need my beauty sleep, seeing as I am now a year older (sigh).

I also realise that many may not be tuning in for the next few days but you can catch up with my posts in the New year and I might forget to post if I leave it.... does not take much for me to forget you see.

It has been a lovely quiet day which I wanted. The first birthday that I did not have wishes from my Dad which did seem odd and a card without his name. Hmm, there will be alot of firsts for the next few months.

Well, best get my bedtime cup of tea......xx

Salt Dough Decorations

2011-12-22T00:37:00.000Z

I bought this book a few years ago and use it a lot. Out of the blue Sophie asked about being able to make some decorations that could be painted and would last. For some reason salt dough came up in the conversation so off I went to find The Book!

Hey Presto! My book came up good again.

So, in case you have not made this before.....

300g plain flour

300g table salt

200ml of water

teas spoon of oil.

Put it all in a bowl and mix and gather to form a dough. This bit was surprisingly easy.

If wrapped in cling film it will keep in the fridge for up to two weeks.

We then used lots of biscuit cutters to used a BBQ stick to make decent sized holes in them so that they could be hung up.

At one point I needed to sit down due to a hip, tendon, inflammation thing that is going on and I am trying to ignore it..... and noticed just how much my little girl has grown. It is often judged by things like if she can reach the door handles, taps etc. There was a time not long ago when she struggled to make anything at the kitchen counter. NOW LOOK!!!! Watching her working safely and independently tugged a bit that Mummy is not needed as much with this sort of thing, but at the same time it was good to see her having fun and understanding exactly what she wanted to do and taking the lead.

So as not to stick I used some baking parchment.

They went in the oven at 180 degrees for 20-25 mins. We found they they swelled up a bit and took ages to harden.

At the same time we followed Kirstie Allsops idea of putting them in the microwave for 2-3 mins and I have to say that we both agreed they came out better, hardened off faster and did not swell up. So I recommend using the microwave. You still need to wait for them to fully cool down.

Sophie also decided that a few models were needed. Isn't this cute!

They can then be painted using any paints. Sophie used watercolours. Keep the brush quite dry with plenty of paint. Posters paints or Acrylics are just as good.

I used watercolours and then added some gold acrylic paint using the blunt end of the paintbrush.

Added some ribbon......

.....then hang on the tree!

We have uite a few more to finish but certainly a very quick and inexpensive activity.

Christmas Greeting from Wendy

2011-12-20T15:51:00.000Z

I unfortunately missed the sign up for ChookyBlue's Christmas Swap but Wendy (another swapper who did signed up) emailed me to say would I like to do a little swap on the side using the same rules and guidelines.

So this morning guess what arrived in the post!!

A lovely card which says made in the USA on the back and a great tree decoration with fun pom pom trim on it. Sophie had the job of finding a place to put it on the tree.

It looks great on the tree. Over the past 4 years of blogging I have been lucky enough to take part in the odd swap or been sent Christmas items which have been handmade and they are all very unique and add a charm to the house. Perhaps I should do a post on those this week. It really is a lovely shape, great fabric too.

In the top picture you can see a red parcel and Wendy has said that it can be opened this week so that it can be used and seen. I have resisted so far and thought I would wait until Christmas Eve night. I shall also post what I sent Wendy once it has been opened, I do not want to spoil the surprise. I do hope Wendy will like it.

Many thanks Wendy for your generous offer to swap with me and for the parcel you sent. I have also found a new craft blog friend at the same time.

Merry Christmas.

OPAM 2011- Christmas Table Runner

2011-12-19T15:38:00.000Z

I took part in a Christmas Block Quilting Bee this time last year but due to too many problems etc I pulled out. I had several blocks so this year I decided to make them into a table mat which I featured in a previous post and today I finished my very first table runner using some more of the blocks. I was going to make a quilt but felt that several smaller items would be on show and used more.

Our table does open out but so rarely do we do that I thought that making it fit the table for everyday would be a better idea.

I put a poinsettia block in the middle, I have another picture of this but blogger will not let me post it! Typical.

The table is usually pushed against the wall so our Poinsettia sits at one end and helps to keep the runner in place.

I made my own binding and for once it went on correctly first time and I used some more Christmas fabric for the backing.

This has taken several weeks to make and is one of my biggest OPAM finishes. I can not believe that it is nearly another year gone by. I hope that OPAM 2012 will run as it certainly motivates me to make even on those days when I feel to tired as I always feel better after a sewing session. Best tonic sometimes at the end of the day.

I still have some blocks left so I am going to look into making some mug rugs next.

Meeting Father Christmas......

2011-12-18T18:56:00.000Z

This afternoon we took Sophie to Lanhydrock in the hope of seeing Father Christmas. (We missed him last year!).

When we entered the room we saw this lovely tree. Every year there is always such a great tree and whoever decorates it does a brilliant job.

To start with Father Christmas was having a tea break so we had a quick look around the gift shop but then when he arrived back I was quite impressed at how much he looked like the Father Christmas on all of the cards you can buy! He had a really jolly face and the beard was his own and I can honestly say that he was the most convincing Father Christmas I have ever seen.

I am not sure what they were talking about but Sophie was really smiling and everyone behind me went ahhh!

In the little bag that you can see in the picture Father Christmas put a little fluffy toy of a badger and then put in a zip up packet of half size colouring pencils! Two gifts instead of one. We asked her what they had said and why he gave her two items and she said that it was just between her and Father Christmas. I can only gather that she said something nice or kind (?) but I shall never know.........

All that Glitters.......

2011-12-15T15:23:00.000Z

For the last day today I asked my Year 10's to create some Christmassy item ideas that would be suitable to make with a 4 year old.

They had loads of fun making these and they certainly liked going back to a time when making thing like this would have given them pleasure and a sense of achievement.

They may be 14/15 years old but they said that they had been lokking forward to this all wek and had no problem thinking of what to make.

All of ther snowmen reminded of the scene in The Snowman when they all meet up at the North Pole for a party!

Over the past few years penguins seem to have featured quite highly at Chrsitmas time. I even have a Christmas craft book with them in. So the two above were made and turned out really well.

He is such a cute little chap.

There was glitter, PVA, silver paper and cotton wool all over the place. However a lot of fun was had, they thought how they might be able to translate what they had made so that 4 year old could tackle it that what things would they need to have to make the item again. There was a more serious side to things which they understood, but having some fun was also high on the list of things to do!!

Mollie Makes Issue 6 - Coin Purse Kit

2011-12-13T22:40:00.000Z

With the festive break nearly upon us I would like to catch up with some of my sewing projects, I have quite a list!

First up is a kit from issue 6 of Mollie Makes. I have not seen any of these featured on other blogs so if you have had a go at this kit let me know how you did.

The kit comes with fabric and a silver look snap clasp. The pattern and instructions are in the back of the magazine.

I decided to use some fabric that I have had stored away for some time. I have been wanting to use this LOVE U by Deb Strain for MODA for some time but did not know for sure what I wanted to make.

It has a real fun almost summery feel about, just right for cheering up.

Once all of the bits were assembled I cut out the fabric using the dinky little pattern supplied.

The kit and instructions does not mention lining so I decided to cut extra pieces including some interfacing so that I could line the purse.

Gluing the fabric into the metal clasp along with some thick string was rather tricky and I did get covered in PVA, but got there in the end.

I am glad that I used the same fabric for the lining, a nice splash of colour when the purse is opened.

This was quick to make and creates a cute little coin purse to keep change for parking in the car. The material that came with the kit has been bagged by Sophie to use in her card making!

So, did anyone else have a go at this kit? Leave a comment, did you change anything as you made it. has anyone bought purse snap clasps to make their own purses? I am still thinking about making another purse, I think that I will need some kind if pattern and instructions to guide me through the first one, but this kit was a good start.

Squiddley has arrived..............

2011-12-11T11:48:00.000Z

Squiddley has arrived in the UK!!!!

I would like to thank Clare for sending him so quickly, in fact he is in time for a Christmas make.

Also inside was this cute little card and a very striking business card which I have stored away safely.

My only problem is not having the right fabric. So I think a trip round the fabric shops on Etsy is called for this afternoon.

I now need to go and finish the second of three project submissions for a magazine. I am not allowed to say anymore but the first should appear after Christmas, I will let you know nearer the time. I love having a deadline etc. I was astounded and really chuffed when they said that they wanted all three if the ideas that I put forward.

Maybe one day I will have the chance to do a book, you never know. Although I did make a book of my quilt blocks with Blurb dot com. There is a link in the side bar if you have not heard of them before.

Last week i also started this...............

A friend at work passed it on. It is about a lady called Lydia who has survived cancer twice and decides to open a wool shop. It follows the lives of the women who attend her beginners knitting group. I am only on page 97 and I am enjoying it so far. There are many books by Debbie Macomber in the shops at the moment.

Worth taking a look at. I have also been making 8 skinny scarves for a local commission as a result of the craft fair that I did last month. I am definitely not making anything financially with this but I hope that it may lead on to other things in the future. So I have been busy making but I can not show any of it here just yet. I also have about 5 copies of Mollie Makes to catch up on too.

Roll on the Christmas break!!

The Clothes Show Live 2011

2011-12-04T23:37:00.000Z

On Saturday 42 students and 6 staff all staggered on to a coach at 4am in the morning to go the the Clothes Show Live 2011 in Birmingham. Foe those who do not know, it is a large fashion event which includes a professional fashion show. The whole event runs for about 5 days.

We took mostly fashion and textiles students plus some art and media.

I tried to take some pictures with my camera, really I should have taken my SLR but never mind. So please excuse some of the blurs but I hope it will give you an idea.

The show lasted for 45 mins, it included fashion and dance.

The show was based on the floors of a department store as you watched it covered areas such as menswear and womenswear etc.

There were two large video screens on both sides of the stage.

The stage had large screens at the back which projected images which matched the collection of clothes as they appeared.

The picture here shows some of the pictures and it gives you an idea of how big the stage was.

The dancers were very good and added to the show, the models took on the role of showing off the clothes.

There was a bridal section too. I do have my doubts about the dress that looks like she has in fact forgotten to put it on! My lecturers would have raised an eye brow if I had submitted that when I was at college, how times change!

The NEC is huge and outside of the fashion show hall is the rest of the show which has lots of stands showing tends in clothes, make-up, hair and nails.

There was lots of people there.

Some of the stands must have taken ages to set up.

This coat was unusual. It seemed to be made of a heavy weight felted wool, with a lovely shape. I was not sure about the zip up the front, I felt it spoilt it a bit. Some large fabric covered buttons with some embroidery on it would have been better.

There were loads of bags on display but too many people to take any pictures and some stands would not let you.

This stand was interesti8ng and I intend to go back and have a go but frankly when I did my 4qam start had caught up with me and I decided not to.

Strips of fabric of different thicknesses and some were stretchy or brightly coloured. The overall impact was good. Pity it was tucked out of the way in the corner, should have been more visible in the hall really.

This is part of the Rimmel make up stand and they created an orange telephone box. Seems a bit odd but it was really good. It stood out well.

Then in the middle of everything was this yellow cab! Very shiny and much bigger than you think if you see them in films.

I would have taken many more pictures but they would have been filled with lots of people, not being allowed to take some was a bit of a problem but it was a fun and very tiring day. As for next year? Well we shall see.

A Christmas Bake

2011-12-02T22:25:00.000Z

This year Sophie decided that she would like to enter the school Christmas cake competition as part of the Fair this year. You do not have to make the cake it is the decorating that is the main aim.

Together we settled on trying to male a Christmas tree.

We bought some round sponge cakes and stuck them together with butter icing. We shaped another sponge cake and gradually built it up to a point at the top.

Around this we stuck small buns with the top side facing out to gradually make a type of cone shape.

We then hit a problem.

Green food colouring is not as good as it used to be and my butter icing could only manage a bright pale green which frankly looked awful. An emergency dash to Tesco to find some colouring paste, all gone.

So back to the drawing board (with a slight tinge of panic) and we came up with a snow covered tree hence the cream icing. We used two sizes of nozzle and Sophie learnt how to do basic piping.

Sophie then decorated it with strawberry laces, smarties and jelly tots. An all chocolate star went on the top

Finally Sophie put some sparkly parcels on the cake board which came from the decorations section in Asda.

Voila! Sophie's first cake.

The result of the competition is that it was rather badly organised and we came away not knowing who can 1st, 2nd or 3rd and Sophie has decided not to do another one. This is not the first time that she has thrown herself into something and then it has not been followed through.

We did put ours up for the silent auction and someone happily took it home with them. So in that respect the cake was a winner with someone.

Off to the Clothes Show at the NEC tomorrow with 43 students so I better get some sleep.

Copying Craft Work - How do you feel?

2011-11-28T21:31:00.001Z

I have just read a blog whereby the post writer has admitted to seeing an idea at a craft fair and then going home, copying it and then posting how to do it on the Internet!

Now, if the crafter had put it on Youtube or any other medium then I suppose that it goes with the territory, whether it is moral or not. However, I do not think it is fair to copy an idea and then without consent, post how to make the item on a craft blog.

What do you think?

As you know, I do the odd craft fair and I bet someone is copying my ideas somewhere, but to actually post it on a craft blog where other crafters may have probably had their work copied at some time or other are viewing the post seems to make it worse.

I do not think that it is setting a very good example. I am not a saint, but I acknowledge credit if I am using an inspiration from elsewhere and I certainly do not copy (see work inspired by Romero Britto recently) as I think it would show what a BAD crafter I would be if all I could do was copy.

I am not so naive not to realise that items I put here could be viewed by someone somewhere in the world who is copying them, although I did track down the Turkish blog that took chunks of my blog and emailed the editor about it. Tracking back your visitors enables you to monitor this. But really, we should be supporting handmade and setting an example, not contributing to the problem of copying

Use work to inspire - credit/ask permission/ produce your OWN angle on the idea - then share if you wish.

Am I just on my soapbox? I have had a good day at work so it is not that, but this particular post did niggle me a bit.

I was going to leave a comment on said blog, but hubby thought I might be on the receiving end of some backlash so I have used my own blog and not mentioned any names.

Craft fairs are a showcase for individual work, (often little or no profit is made) not for pinching ideas. The main fun is finding out how you could make it differently, using different materials etc.

Ok, time to get grumpy off said soap box, and yes I am doing another craft fair in 2012.

Take care and keep crafting.

I've WON, Yippeee

2011-11-27T19:08:00.001Z

I recently entered a giveaway over at Clare's Craftroom and I was lucky enough to be a winner.

I have won a copy of the pattern needed to make the fun little chap shown in the picture.

Sophie and I are going to have so much fun making up this little chap.

It has been a lovely surprise which has brought a smile to my face at a time when I may not have found too much to smile about.

Many thanks Clare! xx

I shall let you now when it arrives and a picture of our efforts to make him up. By the way his name is squiddley.

Another Etsy Sale Item

2011-11-25T22:33:00.023Z

I have been continuing with my Etsy shop sort out and planning for another craft fair in the New Year. So here is another lovely knitted bag which has had a lot of interest in my shop but is still there. so I have reduced it and hopefully it will find a new happy owner.

This bag has been knitted using wool which feels like velvet and it has a luxurious feel to it. Would be very eye catching at any Christmas party with plenty of room for everything and more! Will not go out of fashion and could be used every day to work.

Fully lined with strong acrylic handles.

The bag has been created using Moss Stitch, which is one of my favourite stitches. Attractive and strong but still soft and flexible.

Would make a lovely gift.

Pop over and take a quick look.

Free P&P in the UK.

A Relaxing Read...........

2011-11-24T19:17:00.000Z

I do not get the chance to read as much as I would like. Certainly not during the day but I do try and make a point of having a cup of tea in bed at night with a few pages.

I am looking for the next Rebecca Shaw book in a series that I am reading so in the mean time I picked up the book shown above.

It has been good and some nights I have forgotten about the time and maybe put the light out later than I should. I follows the life of a young courtier, Mary, in the reign of Henry the VIII and all of the plotting and beheadings that happened during that part of history.

It starts when she is about 11 years old and traces her life, loves, tragedies and horrors of the time.

How factual it is in certain places I do not know although the author does have a history major. But to be honest I am not bothered, I really enjoyed it and did find it hard to put down.

If you like Philippa Gregory then you will probably like this too.

I am in-betweeen books now as I have a magazine article to do before I get distracted with another "Relaxing Read".

Doodle Doodle Away..............

2011-11-21T20:36:00.001Z

I have finally finished my pages in my Art sketch book that I use for my Year 8 class. It is approx A3 in size and took me several evenings by snatching a few minutes here and there. It is definately a pick it up and put it down kind of activity.

I found it very therapeutic. Does anyone remember the large doodle art pictures you used to be able to get? My Mum did several of them, they were quite popular birthday presents in our house for a while. We had a really impressive wall hanging of a stone urn with loads of flowers in it. Mum spent hours adding colour and it was really effective. Whatever happended to them?

I have found that using a permanent black pen first to outline your pattern works well. Then when you add your felt tips the black lines do not smudge into the colour areas.

Where do I get my ideas from? Nowhere really I just start doodling in one corner and keep going. I put it down (usually to do something really fun like the washing!) and then pick it up again and carry on. Having an inspiration helps I suppose,but I was having a go at Zentangles before I discovered Romero Britto as part of the Art project.

I really do want to do something else with this but it will have to wait as I have a lesson observation this week plus other deadlines to meet. I have completed a Christmas swap but want to wait until my partner receives my parcel before I post it.

Go on, dig out those felt tips or borrow some.

Etsy Sale Price - Crochet Bag

2011-11-20T12:16:00.010Z

After my surprise success at a craft fayre last weekend, I have been sorting out my Etsy shop a bit and decided to reduce the prices on some items for Christmas. The bag above was $35.00 and it is now at $30.00.

More details can be seen HERE

More to add including some new designs which will be loaded up over the coming week. So do pop over and take a quick peek. Hubby and I are going to make more of handmade Internet shopping this year as parking, petrol and just the queueing is enough to make gift giving a chore not a pleasure.
Happy Sunday.

Eden Project - Children in Need

2011-11-19T23:14:00.000Z

We like to support Children in Need every year in some way and this year we managed to do more than normal.

Above is a kit from ASDA created by LEGO of Pudsey Bear. There were lots of pieces inside and Sophie was thrilled that she was able to follow the instructions on her own to make him. The money went to the charity.

Children in Need is on the BBC nationally but our regional programme Spotlight was at the Eden Project so this year we decided to pop down and see what was happening.

As we walked down to the biomes all of the Christmas lights were on. Above is a picture of a tree which is made from plastic carrier bags but the blue lights and tinsel made a lovely tree. The picture does not really do it justice.

Lots of greenery and little white twinkling lights.

This bandstand was near one of the stages.

I turned round to find...........

Pudsey Bear with .....Captain Jack Sparrow?.......Calm down ladies, it is not "THE" Captain Jack Sparrow, but not a bad look alike I have to say and the children loved it. Pudsey was completely surrounded by little children all wanting a hug from this special bear. It never ceases to amaze me just how much money they manage to raise every year despite the economical situation.

The Eden Project has an ice rink every winter and Sophie has been on and on about having a go. Well hubby did his father bit and donned a pair of ice skates to take Sophie out on the rink. The picture above is of part of the decorations which really do make the rink look all christmassy.

I struggled to get a picture of Sophie and hubby but you can see how nice the rink looked.

Some of our school choir took part in the massive choir singing special on the Children in Need programme and they sounded really good in the Mediterranean biome. Over 3,000 children and students look part in a video linked song for Children in Need. A lovely idea and a great evening out.

Quilted Christmas Table Mat

2011-11-18T16:43:00.000Z

Here is one of my makes this month. It is a Christmas block made from some scraps left over from taking part in the Around the World Quilting Bee last year. I decided to make something really simple so I quilt the front onto come wadding.

I used gold embroidery thread and free machined at random all over the outer boarder of the block.

A bit of red for the seasonal touch.

I backed the mat with this lovely fabric and the colours went well with those on the front.

Finally, I added some bright red binding around the edge to neaten and to help keep the shape even.

Voila! First make for Christmas, it will probably go one the coffee table in the living room.

Next on the sewing table is a table runner.

3D Structures

2011-11-17T00:34:00.000Z

As part of my new venture into teaching Art I have been trying some new things. Making 3D sturctures using card and slotting together. This is my second attempt using ovals and it grew from the base upwards. The first model I tried using different sized triangles......well..... it looked awful, but the youngsters got the idea and theirs were much better! Trying to make something in just a few minutes did not help. With the one above I started it as a demo but then sat down with the class and made mine at the same time.

Some came to have a look and then went back to work on theirs. Worked out much better.

I have another model linked to a different group and project but it needs painting etc.

I am finally back in the saddle and went to my little sewing group tonight. First time since the end of August. I finished my first Christmas item but no picture yet. You may remember a table runner which has been sitting waiting for some TLC, that is next. So my sewing mojo is coming back gradually and I promise not to go on forever about models and colouring with felt tip pens but it has really helped lately and I have found a new interest too.

Next week my TA and I are starting up our after school club again. Just could not do it before now, got some ideas too which will involve knitting but we are going to expand into other crafts too.

Birthday Fun

2011-11-13T23:22:00.001Z

Due to Sophie's birthday being in the middle of the week this year we decided to have friends party today.

The food was discussed and purchased, games thought of and the house decorated (including some bunting on the outside of the house!!)

Our first job was to create a little work of art using felt tip pens. Could have used the paint which came with the little pictures, but I did not want any accidents with clothes, floor etc.

These a little canvases which I found in The Range. Sophie has used these on several occasions and she thought that here friends would also enjoy colouring them.

Sorry about the picture, but blogger again has other ideas. Fun pictures though.

We also tried a pinatas ( I think that is spelt right) took a time to open and due to not instructions and thinking there was something inside already, it fell apart and we discovered that it was full of paper!! We have never bought one of these before and we did shake it and as it was so heavy we thought some sweets were already in there. So a "Doh" moment for mummy and daddy and we felt awful about it. In the scheme of things recently perhaps we should not worry about it but it was our mistake and we felt awful. So a bag of maltesers was produced and we tried to save the moment. Sophie did say about trying it again another time. Our new take on pass the parcel by having a lucky dip proved to be ok by having a large bin bag filled with 6 presents and 6 "duds" and each person took it in turns to dip until everyone found something. One person pulled out two and tried to keep two but there you go. Basically said put one back.................

Moving on swiftly.................

As in previous years Sophie asked for cupcakes and I tried to make them look a little different to last year. So plain cupcakes with vanilla or chocolate butter icing. Decorated with a few maltesers and rive paper flowers. All from good old ASDA.

The rice paper flowers are lovely and are not too thick, melt a little on the tongue. I just popped them on top of the butter icing.

Cupcake anyone?

Each girl was to go home with a cupcake, but the next questions was how to do this easily.

So................

.............back to ASDA which is where I found these individual cupcake boxes in the party section. They come flat packed and has a separate inner base with a hole to slot in your cupcake so that it does not move around.

All safe and secure.

There is even a little window so that you can see that cupcake loveliness!

Well.......all over for another year and it will be double figures nest time. So maybe a different approach which involves taking a couple of friends to the panto.

I have an idea to get some more of these and make some Christmas themed cupcakes for colleagues at work this year. Will be a little different I hope.

At Long last..............

2011-11-12T23:35:00.000Z

......after many attempts I have finally taken part in a Craft Fayre that was actually successful!

It was at a venue that I have been to before but not for at least a year. Maybe they missed me!

I had a constant stream of people buying such a variety of items that I could not give a best seller for the day. I do think that I have come to a conclusion though.

I will take part on some of these craft Fayre's but only a couple of times a year, at major holidays for example. I will take only small items and leave the bigger items for Etsy. I do need to look at my Folksy shop and decide whether to keep it or shut it down.

I sold quite a bit today and i have updated my Etsy shop as a result. I also have some items to list which I made during the Summer and put to one side.

I think that the next one for me will be Easter 2012 so plenty of time to sort myself out.

If you have a few mins do pop over to my Etsy shop and see what is there over the next few weeks. Some postage costs have been removed for UK buyers. For overseas buyers if multiple purchases are made postage will be adjusted.

Tomorrow is Sophie's party for 5 of her friends. I have made the cakes tonight and need to decorate them tomorrow.

I shall let you know how it goes.

Inspired Splash of Colour

2011-11-11T21:28:00.001Z

Following on from the other posts this week is a little look in my sketchbook. Using basic felt tip pens and a cartridge sketchbook I used Romero Britto as my starting point and created this brightly coloured doodle.

Thick black lines enhance the colours which you can make up as you go along!

The colour and shapes evolve as you go along and basically anything goes. I did start in pencil and then colour it in, but as the drawing above went on I swapped straight to black pen and then added the colour.

The result is an explosion of colour, time well spent and a feeling of calm and satisfaction.

I created this in my sketchbook during half term when I actually had the time to sit and produce something for me, by me, some me time.

I am really pleased with this outcome and I think that in the future I shall be using this style again, maybe paints, but at the moment the good old felt tip pen is my new best friend.

Happy Birthday my Lovely Sophie

2011-11-09T23:22:00.000Z

I can not believe that it was 9 years ago that the two of us became three. 12.07pm at 8lb 4oz at Treliske Hospital in Truro. Due to not knowing what was going to happen these coming months with my Dad we had not formally booked anything for Sophie so we decided to have a tea with my in-laws and family presents.

Sophie again requested cupcakes which I made last night and then rushed home to pipe after work. They have sugar flowers and then little white chocolate stars.

Sophie chose the flower shaped candles and whilst on holiday in the Lewes area we found a number 9 sparkler which yo can see in the picture.

Sophie went swimming first and gained her 200m badge and a very large certificate which was great on her birthday.

Due to signing up for a craft fayre many months ago for Saturday, Sophie is going to have a little party for her friends at our house on Sunday for a few hours. So I have some activities and bits and bobs for them to do.

I just hope that the weather holds up.

Take care

Romero Britto - Inspiration

2011-11-08T22:30:00.034Z

This year I have been teaching two Year 8 groups ART. I have been following a set of lessons and I have really enjoyed it. The theme is PopArt and I have done this theme before on my degree course and knew several of the artists being looked at but not Romero Britto. When I carried out some research and looked at other examples of his work I thought QUILTS and STITCHING!!!

The picture above is one example of his work.

He was born in Brazil in 1963 and showed a talent for art from an early age. He is influenced by PopArt to reproduce Neo Pop. His work has clean, bold, colourful and patterned images.

I can see the above picture as a wall hanging using applique and quilting. I have seen some work where this has been done.

Lots of lovely bright colours to cheer up these dark wintry days.

Lots of fun images which are fun and easy to relate to and to have a go at drawing.

Thick black lines separate the areas of colour, and bit like a stained glass window or thick applique binding.
Very graphical images.

I like this apple painting, I could imagine other fruit and vegetables being used to create other ideas.
So, tomorrow I shall show you some of my own pages using this artist as inspiration. So get your felt tips out and have a go as well.
xx

Zentangle pattern improved

2011-11-07T22:24:00.001Z

You may remember a couple of days ago that I posted the above pattern but I was not really too sure about it. It did not seem to stand out very much at all.

So last night I sat down in front of the TV and tweaked it a bit.......

I picked out some key background areas and added more black to make the shapes stand out. I think that it looks so much better. I have not started any more at the moment. However, tomorrow I do have some pictures to show you of other work that I have been doing in the Art lessons that I have been teaching this year. I have really enjoyed the new challenge and I have been quite surprised at how I have managed to get on with it. I did lose the thread of what was going on for a short time due to personal issues and therefore was absent from work, but I am now in my stride. So, there is plenty of colour tomorrow and perhaps a source of inspiration that I have found which I want to do more with that may in turn inspire you.

Colour Zentagle Patterns

2011-11-05T15:45:00.001Z

This is one of my early attempts of trying a more flowery look to the pattern. Not quite sure if I pulled it off or not and it did get a little untidy towards the edges of the paper, but on the whole it was a good start. I used artist cartridge paper and a black fine liner pen. I added some detail with a black felt tip pen.

This was the second attempt and I have since added more black to the background areas to bring the shapes out more. I have yet to take a picture of it.

This was again done with a much thinner pen nib and I have added more detail with a thicker sharpie pen. I have to admit that I prefer the doodle with the thicker pen.

Again, an early attempt and I wanted to see what it would look like of colour was added. So I used some watercolour paints. It turned out alright but I think much stronger colours would have looked much more striking.

I stopped doing this one as I did not like the background and I could not salvage it!
I really love doing these patterns and I think that I have maybe started something with the Year 7 Textiles group, especially as a few said that other members of the family joined in and also had a go and creating some patterns!
xx

Zentangle Patterns

2011-11-03T19:00:00.004Z

A short while back I mentioned about creating some off-the-cuff patterns and then whilst looking for something completely different on YouTube I found ZENTANGLES!!

Now, to start with I thought oh yes, I doodle when I am on the phone, in a boring meeting etc so what is so great about this?

Well, it is portable, addictive and fun!! The above is one of my first attempts using cartridge paper and a black sharpie pen. I widened each of the outside loops which seemed to bring out each of the layers even more.

This is a pattern which is linked to a project which I am doing at school. Year 7 are making a hand stitched mini wall hanging based on one of the four elements. I used water to do my example and I got the vote of approval today. I like to show that i can do the work as well as set it.

I shall show you some of their work next week once I have photographed it and marked it.

I have been watching keenly the work over at Crafty Panda who has produced some of the most fantastic patterns ever!! Do go over and have a good look at her current post but also several over the past weeks. Your jaw will drop! They are sooo cleverly done, very well drawn indeed. Do take a look at Youtube as well, there are loads of clips which you can watch and pause to try the ideas yourself.

I did have a go at adding some watercolour paints but I am not so sure on this. I think that the colours need to be much bolder, but I shall try some more ideas and see where it leads me.

Felt Flower Corsages Galore!

2011-11-01T23:21:00.000Z

On Monday there was a great deal of activity in my classroom as 22 students all got to grips with making some layered felt corsages. They were given a large sheet of shapes from which they could choose from plus a box of felt, sequins etc. I showed them how to make a corsage which I feature in a post further down this blog.

They were encouraged to use decorative hand stitches and to look through a very large tub of buttons (this proved to be a very popular distraction for some!).

It was interesting to watch the ideas develop. Usually students are asked to design an item in advance. With this project I wanted the students to 'design on the go' and have a more spontaneous approach. This did throw a few for a bit, but they did get going in the end.

Sorry, this picture has decided not to co-operate. We decided to stick to three layers so that a basic sewing needle could get through easily.

With each group that I have (especially when they are all girls) there tends to be a colour 'trend' which sweeps through during a project like this. In the past it has been either, purple, lilac and more recently pinks and yellows.

So far I had not found a group colour and I am pleased as they are picking colour schemes that they personally like and not following each other.

I included my corsage in the display that we have made of all of the lovely flowers. The background has green paper and paper stalks have been added to the display board. Then using dressmakers pins I carefully pinned a flower at the top of the stalks. I shall try and take a picture tomorrow. We were so busy creating the display that I forgot.

Next week are moving onto ruffled and gathered corsages. This is all part of an on-going accessories project to build up hand skills and confidence in making small things independently. The two above are the first ones completed.

There is so much planned for this group I do not think that there will be enough weeks to do it all. Just the motivation and distraction that I need at the moment.

What do you think then? Not bad as they are only 13/14 years old.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T20:26:00.001Z

Hope you all have had a fun Halloween. We stayed at home this year and Sophie dressed up as a witch and painted her face bright green! Has taken quite a bit of washing off too! We had some great costumes standing on our dooor step and I have to say that they were all polite, complementary of our decorations and only took one of any choccy item on offer. A very friendly Halloween. Pumpkins have been rather small this year so the picture is of last years creation.

Take care

I am Back!! October OPAM 2011 Round up

2011-10-30T20:58:00.001Z

Finishes have been a bit thin on the ground this month but I did manage to make some knitted cupcakes for Gina a Fan my Flame. I used different sized needles to gain different shapes and overall finished sizes. I simply had to use my single cupcake stand to take the picture. These have now arrived at Gina's.

The above is my example which I made along side my year 9 fashion group. I intend wearing it tomorrow. They are making a small range of corsages using a ranges og methods and fabrics. We shall continue tomorrow and i hope to have some pictures to show you later this week.

I am sincerely hopeing that November will be a more fruitful month.

Kind Thoughts and Gestures - Thank you

2011-10-23T01:33:00.002+01:00

The above card arrived in the post on Friday. It is from Lise in Australia and also known as The Chocolate Cat.

It is sending thoughts and good wishes for me and my family for the past weeks and it is such a lovely thing to do. We have never meet but have been in touch since Lise took part in my first swap back in 2008. It is also typical of fellow bloggers but especially craft bloggers. Many thanks for all of the comments on the last post and emails that I recieved. Sorry if it was a bit cryptic but that was how I felt at the time. Actually typing the facts was too much. Although many of you worked it all out.
Another friend, much closer to home, gave me a white orchid. She wanted to do something but was not sure what, hence the lovely orchid. Honesty put forward and a lovely flower to boot, a proper friend in my book, does anyone really know what to say?

I shall be back soon but not just yet, it has not even been a month and adjusting to the loss of a parent takes time. I have started to do some making and tonight I did open up my sewing table in the attic and tidy it up. I have added some makes to my OPAM 2011 list and made some knitted cupcakes but that is all. Trying to concentrate at work has taken all of my effort and everyone has been great, except one person but I suppose everywhere has at least one thick skinned individual who can only put themselves first.

So, a few more days as I need to go away and there is no Internet access to speak of but later next week I hope to have some happier things to show you and write about.

Again, many thanks for your kind words and taking the time to write them.

Bowing out of blogland for a bit....................

2011-10-01T20:21:00.001+01:00

September has been a very sad and emotionally devastating month for my family which is going to conclude with a funeral next Thursday. There will be months and months of trying to come to terms with what has happened and the sheer speed of events.

So I am dropping out of blog land for a bit. I hope to still blog hop and comment here and there. September was my 4th blog birthday but it seems pointless at the moment. I do have a giveaway prize but I have simply not had the time or indeed the will to do anything about it. I have started several projects and had several publication deadlines to meet, which I will complete.I have been off work since last Tuesday and I am not sure whether o go in next week before the funeral. I will need to decide tomorrow. Today Hubby, Sophie and I had to go and find some suitable clothes for Thursday which was a trip that I hope not to have to make again for a very long time.

Take care

Shower room update

2011-09-21T20:35:00.001+01:00

Hi, I am posting from my In-laws house tonight. We have just had a lovely dinner and are now listening to Sophie strumming on her guitar.

So, an update. The above pictures are from Monday, the toilet has been moved to face the opposite way which is where the taps were on the bath. We had to have a new floor as we found out that there was a problem with uneven joists which would explain why we had problems with draining and the level of the floor for so long.

This picture shows where the toilet was and this is where the sink and vanity unit will go. Believe it or not, it is starting to take shape. There has been a lot of plumbing involved today so it does not look like very much as been done, but most of it is under the floor boards.

We have now moved onto and after a hic cup with the tiles, no fault of the tiler or our builder. The titles were delivered at 40pm! The Tiler also does carpentry so whilst waiting he set about hanging at door hinges round as we have decided to hang the door so that it opens the opposite way round. It will gives us more room and will not bang into the shower cubicle.

Today we found the tiler putting up the wall tiles. They are quite large and there was plenty of cutting round awkward shapes. Looking good though and hopefully by tomorrow afternoon all of the tiles will be on the wall and the shower cubicle will be in.

It is great when you see your idea for a room which is put together in your heads actually coming together and you still like it!

Hubby should be back tomorrow if the weather stays fine and the plane can take off.

No more making today but my first fashion illustration lesson was met with ooo's and wow's so that was a good start.

New Designs on Etsy

2011-09-21T00:37:00.001+01:00

I am in the process of gradually up-dating my Esty shop. Three of the designs above are brand new. The heart shape keyring is a repeat design. I have always sold a lot of these items and so far I have not made two the same. I think that the blue flower design is my favourite at the moment. A chance to use my embroidery skills. Any of the above, and there are others already listed, can be made in other colour combinations. You may even have a design that I could make up for you. Pop over and have a quick look HERE.

I have some more to add this week but as my bathroom is in mid re-fit Sophie and I are off to my in-laws tomorrow after school. I need a shower and at the moment I do not have anything. What has hubby done......yep, gone off on a mini business trip, so he will have a shower/bath won't he......typical.

I have not been making much this past week as I have been preparing to start a basic fashion illustration course at school. Has brought back many fond memories of my time at college.

I have been trying to make some crochet flowers this week and some more knitted cupcakes.

Off for some more beauty sleep before another day begins.....

Knitted Cupcakes for Pink Friday

2011-09-18T13:27:00.001+01:00

On Friday 28th February Gina over at Fan my Flame is going to have a Pink Friday Party in aid of Breast Cancer and Cancer Research.

The aim is to knit and make as many cakes as possible and send them to her before 28th. My first offering is above.

This is a very simple pattern which I found on the Internet a couple of years ago. The link and pattern is in my side bar or tutorial links at the top. I am in the process of moving some things around.

I have stitched them together and added some stuffing inside to give it a bit of body.

A felt base helps to keep the stuffing inside and make the cake stand upright.

If you would like to help pop over to her blog, she has a pattern that she is willing to email you if you leave a comment on her blog expressing your interest. The post you need to read I think is 12th September but I can not obtain the link for that particular post today for some reason.

These two cupcakes were already knitted but not finished off so Gina;s idea of raising some money prompted me into completing them.

We often organise something at work for Breast Cancer research by wearing pink on a given day, this is another way of taking part.

This would also be a good way of using up scraps of wool left over from other projects. A spot of easy knitting in the evenings is just what I need at the moment.

Best wishes all.

Bathroom Chaos

2011-09-17T02:05:00.000+01:00

When we moved into our house 12 odd years ago we did have a go at the bathroom ourselves. Due to a lack of money more than anything we did our best. Now we have saved up some money over a period of time and on Monday work will start on changing and up dating the bathroom.

The picture above shows the room striped of the contents and the basin has already been used for washing paint brushes and plastering equipment.

We are going to move the toilet to the other corner of the bathroom where the shower head is and put a basin where the toilet is.

In this picture you can see that we have had the ceiling plastered and that light has now been changed for something that looks a bit like a space ship!

My garage is full of various boxes and pipes. Next week we shall have to stay with the in-laws while rest of the bathroom is ripped out plus hubby is dis-appearing off on a work trip. Why do these thing come all at the same time?

Just like the kitchen I shall keep you posted how things go.

Many thanks for the kind comments further back. I can not comment here about the sad news I received last week, maybe one day I can. It just isn't the right thing to do for me. I have pulled out of an Embroiderers Guild as I am not really in the right frame of mind for it. Another class is sure to come along.

Have a good weekend.

OPAM 2011 - Fancy Lanyard strap

2011-09-15T00:31:00.002+01:00

I have been trying to make a Lanyard for my latest memory stick for most of the summer but I kept putting it off. Finally. today I used my lunch break to do it. I need to start using the stick and losing it needs to be avoided.

I used an existing lanyard to work out the measurements for length. I used the fixings from a broken lanyard as the clips are quite hard to find that small in the shops. Recycling is always a good thing anyway.

New memory stick and recycled fixings.

Looking to see which fabric I could use to make the strap I noticed that my collection of cross grain ribbon was not only the right width, but plus strong enough not the snap. I settled on the one shown above.

Even though the edges are already neatened, the ends taken through the clip need folding in and pinning. I then used the old lanyard to work out how much I needed and then cut it off the roll.

Using straight stitch, secure the folded ends of the newly cut ribbon using a sewing machine or firm hand stitches.

May be not a particularly creative make but certainly a very useful one!

My table runner is still glaring at me as I have been very neglectful these past two weeks, I thought Friday evening I could cheer it up by progressing a little more with it.

Hello to the few added followers who have joined this site. I shall try and pop over to see you if you have a blog etc. But for now, Hello!

Still Here...

2011-09-12T20:47:00.000+01:00

Hi, still here but lots happening and not all good either, in fact some very bad news indeed.

The pictures above were taken at Lanhydrock in June this year, using my little Canon. I and really pleased with the first two pictures on the left. I have been practicing my close up picture taking and with different shaped flowers. Strong colours are working best and with flowers that have strong shapes as well. Some of these will also be made into cards to take to work. The last batch using pictures taken at school to encourage a photography student have been very popular.

Last week I started making some knitted cakes for Gina over at Fan my Flame for charity and I shall post them as soon as they are finished. At the moment they are still in bits!

Have a good week.............

Just amazing!!

2011-09-08T00:15:00.000+01:00

As you know I love make and decorating cupcakes and I have been practicing with new icing tips and nozzles over the past few months.

Whilst looking at my Craftzine subscribers email I saw the above.

I was astonished to read that this is in fact a CAKE!!

Link HERE to see even more examples of very clever cakes on the theme of craft.

Now, I have a machine exactly like this one and I think that it must have taken hours to make this. I am in awe of the talent shown here! Sorry gushing a little here, in fact I have a little green eye envy of the patience that must be needed. Where do you start?

Do take a look at the link, there are scissors, knitting examples etc. It is discoveries like this that makes the Internet so interesting to use. I am off to look around the site a bit more.

Due to personal issues I never got to sewing group this week so my table runner is no further forward but it is on my sewing table and ready to roll.

Nigella Lawson's Tarte Fine Aux Pommes

2011-09-04T15:38:00.000+01:00

Or apple tart to the rest of us!!

A sudden batch of apples from our apple trees meant a dash through the books to find something to make with them, other than the usual.

Well I found a recipe that I thought I could have a go at in the above book. It was a Christmas present about three years ago and it has proven to be very useful book.

So, on page 217, if you have a copy, is this quick and easy recipe for a type of apple tart. I did struggle with the caramelising of the suger etc but just added a sprinkle of cinnamon and brown sugar instead.

I am no pastry maker and for this I was in a bit of a rush so I bought some instead, well the book is titled Express after all and it is suggested as well!

My apples are actually for eating, not cooking but I have very rarely worried about that anyway, just add less sugar.

I tried to arrange them in a nice way, just as the book shows.

I love my new oven which is now about a year old, get good results with it. Lightly browned the pastry was lovely too.

Cut into slices with a cup of tea, or for a pudding with single, double or clotted cream! Yum!

I still have some apples left so I shall stew them up and maybe some apple turnovers, I used to make those when I was at school during Home Economics lessons. I used to make pastry at school so I bet I still could, but there is always the time factor and my hands are way too warm.

If you have this book give it a go, I shall be making a smaller version next time as it is quite filling and makes a lot for just three of us. Or look on Nigella's website, there may be a version there as well.

Enjoy.

Halloween PDF Pattern

2011-09-03T22:03:00.000+01:00

I am gradually sorting out my Etsy shop. I have added the above PDF pattern for a Halloween bag which I made for Sophie to use and thought that you might like.

Halloween often creeps up on me and I have listed it earlier this year so avoid this and get me to think about it too.

There are more pictures here if you are interested.

You could easily change the colours and method of decorating it and this can be made without a sewing machine!

WIP - My first Table Runner

2011-09-02T23:44:00.001+01:00

I have collected some Christmas theme blocks over the last couple of years. Via a swap and a quilting bee. Enough to do something with but not enough for a quilt, which I doubt I would use.

Being a part of OPAM 2010 and 2011 I have been visiting Peg over at Happy in Quilting a lot and seen the lovely table runners that she makes. An idea began to take shape. The two blocks above are my creations.

The block above was made my Carol as part of the Quilting around the World Bee. It has been appliqued and fitted in with all of the other blocks. I am going to make this my centre block.

I had added some gold thread as part of the applique so I decided to add a little gold machining on each of the blocks.

I stitched all of the blocks that I felt went together and it will fit along the dining room table with a block hanging over the edge at each end.

I have two more blocks to add gold thread to and I have some thin wadding to quilt it on to. I just need to find some fabric for the backing.

This is my first WIP for September and I intend finishing it this month. Last Year I got to New Year and realised that I had not made anything festive at all!

I will post the finished item when it is done.

Many thanks for the lovely comments for the August round up.

August OPAM round-up

2011-08-30T23:42:00.000+01:00

No matter what I do I can only seem to make 5 or 6 items per month for the OPAM 2011. Above is a collage of my makes for August. Admittedly they are much bigger than some items made in past months and therefore took longer.

Top left is my crochet and flower loom cushion which I am sat next to as I type this and secrectly my fav due to the lack of crochet tution, a bit of a surprise really. Then my patchwork cushions which are over on the sofa and are standing up well to two cats and a child. Then there is my new blue felt diary cover for my work planner. Due to the fact that it will expand to twice its size over the coming year I just stuck the panel onto the front of the dairy. An actual cover would not stretch very well.

Finally I have the flower corsage from the Mollie Makes Magazine which I really enjoyed putting together with a few modifications.

I am pleased with this months efforts and tomorrow is my sewing group night, so another make for September is in the pipeline.

Many thanks to the 15 new followers who have joined over the past month or so. Plus those who take the time to leave a comment. It is nice to now that I am not rambling to myself and your views are helpful and encouraging.

Crochet and Flower Loom Cushion

2011-08-27T16:58:00.001+01:00

I will confess to staying up last night until I had finished this cushion.

This is the first round item I have crocheted and regular readers will know that I am trying to teach myself. I made this up as I went along and experts may well spot mistakes but on the whole yours truly is a bit chuffed with this! I started by looking on YouTube and found some clips showing how to crochet in a circle. I was going to make some dish cloths. I used 100% cotton wool and kept crocheting. I was on holiday so I could not buy any more as I could not find a wool shop. I decided to stop once the circle looked right on a chair. began the back and then.....ran out. So the back has to colour rounds added on the edge. I like it.

I then waited until I got home to carry on.

I did start to crochet some flowers but saw my flower loom and changed my mind. There is a tutorial for using a flower loom if you have not tried it before. Glover make a range or buy a child's flower loom kit (I did this to try it out and then my Mum gave me her looms) They are ideal for making in front of the TV in the evening. Thank goodness for CSI Miami/New York/Las Vegas!

You need plenty of loops and then careful stitching together so that it does not fall apart when it is taken off the loom.

I thought that it needed perhaps a bit more detail on the front so a few hand stitches in wool using french knots and chain stitch were added. I decided to make each section look different.

I crochet a flower to go on the back. I am going to make some more of these. I used the instructions featured in issue three of Mollie Makes, so not my usual pattern,I did get a bit muddled. I like the final shape, it just took a bit of doing.

My projects are usually fairly well planned but on this occasion the thought of needing a round cushion pad had not registered with me so I had to make one and I think that it could have been a bit bigger. I needed to really stuff it out but I think that more width was needed.

Many cushions go flat with use (in our house anyway) so it will take a bit of time before this cushion will meet the same fate!

So, using two not entirely identical circles, a cushion pad that is not quite the right size,some way of putting it together was needed. I stitched and stuffed the cushion pad but did not stitch up the opening. I then pinned the two crochet circles together. A bit of fiddling about was needed here. Using wool and a 4mm crochet hook I decided to literally crochet the cover together using single crochet. I used green wool for this.

Then before crocheting the gap up I put more stuffing in the pad to really try and make the cover fit better, then stitched up the pad and crochet the rest of the cover opening.

Swapping to pink wool and edging was needed. So using pink and 4mm hook again I chained 4 and then popped the end into the 3rd/4th chain along to give the loop.

It looks better with just this bit of edging.

This is not perfect (I am not even sure it is entirely round) but I really am pleased with this. I actually enjoyed the "what shall I do now" approach to this cushion, in fact that is what made it one of the most enjoyable things I have made for some time.

What next?

Well, I did buy a pattern from Sarah London to make a Granny Square tunic. Definitely a dark winter evening project. Also maybe another woollen item where some embroidery an be included.

I am off to find the ideal spot for my new creation.

Patchwork "Flower" cushions are finished........Amended title

2011-08-25T23:12:00.004+01:00

Amendment: I am a twit! I have another cushion on the go but these are clearly patchwork NOT crochet cushions! Sorry about that, I was writing two posts and got myself in a muddle. The crochet cushion needs a bit more stuffing then I shall post it here.

I did start these cushions before I went away on holiday. On Wednesday I went to my sewing group to finish them. I wanted to make something brighter and with blocks and stripes of colour. The sofa is a green and the pink and white blends in with some other features in the living room.

I used cotton quilting fabric and a simple flap opening at the back. The covers needed to fit the cushion pads that we already had rather than buying more, which I am trying to avoid.

The top one was made a couple of weeks after the other two so it seems to be a slightly snugger fit(?) not sure why but no one here noticed when I brought them home!

I am really pleased with the way that they have turned out. I simply planned them as I went along. I wanted them to be simple and not too fussy. Blocks of colour with a little bit of patchwork.

These are quite large cushions at 18" square each. Nice duck down ones which have lasted and lasted, well worth the money when I bought them 5+ years ago.

There were two smaller cushions on our sofa but I have decided to see how we go with just these three as the other two often ended up on the floor and not used on the sofa. They could always go on the futon in the attic.

I have two more projects cut out and ready to roll. Only about a week to go so I had better get my skates on as work for net term is now filtering through already!

Harry Potter Finale

2011-08-22T12:22:00.001+01:00

With Sophie on her Brownie Holiday, we have tried to make the most of being able to just pop off and do something. So on Saturday we popped over to Truro to see the latest harry Potter film.

Unfortunately there were no seats left so we went out for a very nice Chinese meal. We had not booked but we got in if we promised to be out by 9pm! You had to be there, it was quite funny.

While we were at Truro we did buy tickets for Sunday to back we went again yesterday.

We did see part one last year with a group of friends but this time we went on our own. We were not disappointed it was very good indeed. When you think how young some of the cast members and support cast are plus the expectation that everyone has as well. Hubby was not so sure about part one but you could see that it was setting everything up for the final installment.

The effects were very good and the stone knights were very realistic.

Part one did not have many of the other cast members in it so it was a surprise to see how some of the cast had grown up and changed in that time.

I have not read the book fully yet and once I had seen the first installment I stopped reading it then see the second part before carrying on reading.

Many loose ends are tied up and some odd threads that have been running through all of the films are cleared up.

Not entirely sure about the bit at the very end, I think that the time span was not thought about properly but I will buy it when it comes out on DVD so that I will have the full set plus the books which Sophie can then enjoy. She knows about Harry Potter and wants to see them but has heard that it has some scary bits and has self-censored it by saying that she will see it when she knows that it is not going to give her "horrid" dreams. Not daft my daughter. I also have the books too. The whole series has been very cleverly written and they are fun to read at any age. I have read many David Eddings and Terry Prachett books, so adults who read these should give Harry Potter a try as well.

We are due to collect Sophie in about an hour from her Brownie Holiday and I have really missed her. I am anticipating lots of chat of what she has been doing plus a very tired little girl.

Crafting has been slow this past week as I have been doing marking for next term but my next crochet project is getting there. My sewing table in the attic is out of use due to vents and pipes being put in for an extraction fan of the new shower room, so I have been banished to the kitchen table which already has paperwork on it. I am, however looking at the living room floor as my next work area for the time being!

Happy Post - ATC's July 2011

2011-08-19T14:53:00.000+01:00

I had some happy post this morning which makes up for the bills etc that we found when we came from our holiday on Tuesday.

You may remember that I entered an ATC swap with lenna over at creative swaps and today the return ATC's arrived. However, the first thing to catch my eye was the lovely stamps on the front of the envelope!

Plenty of blue here too which is the colour that I chose to use for my Colour My World ATC's.

Three lovely ATC's based on the theme of colour arrived. Blue, green and pink.

This lovely card has been made by Sue E and is called "Tickled Pink" which is lovely. In the UK we have a charity called Tickled Pink which raises money for Breast Cancer Research which I support so this is very appropriate. There is so much on this card. Very textiles based with braids, buttons and a stamped butterfly. Lovely.

This card uses my favourite colour of Blue and was made by Barbara J from Wheaton IL. It is called "Change of Seasons". Very graphic design and I really like the textured paper which has been used.

Finally, a green ATC which is called "Seafoam Green" and uses lovely textured paper as the background and punched butterflies and leaves. A yellow gem plus "Fly Free" written down the side. I am flying free until 5th September when term begins again.

This card was made by Jo J from Indianapolis, IN.

Now, I have taken part in several different ATC swaps and nearly half have had the same surname of Johnson! They are all different people, but still quite a coincidence I think.

I will now email these lovely ladies to thank them for their cards and put them in a file that I have for my ATC's. Eventually I want to display them when I have collected a few more as I like to see work that has been sent to me and actually make items out of swaps that I receive.

Many thanks to lenna for organising yet another great Creative Swap.

We are back!!!

2011-08-18T06:52:00.000+01:00

We arrived back from our holiday fairly late on Tuesday and ever since I have been washing, food shopping etc.

We have also been suddenly dropped in choosing showers etc for the bathroom as just before we went away we started the process of re-doing our bathroom. It has been over 18 months since the Kitchen saga and we now feel ready for another project. I will need to take some before pictures.

I have also finished my Professor Layton game. I am now just completing any puzzles that I missed as I was searching around the village the first time. I have even completed my current read just before I came home, a completed book in a few weeks, unheard of! So I have started the next one which I will post. I like Rebecca Shaw books, easy to read with believable characters.

I have been a good girl and completed some work for the day job today as Sophie was more interested in re-discovering her toys after 2 weeks away and wanted to spend some time on her own. I now have a to-do list which is making my knees wobble.

I will confess to spending the evening doing nothing and literally painting my nails!

Hubby is off on more boat surveys this week so Sophie and I will be preparing yet another suitcase as she is off on her very first Brownie Camp holiday Friday afternoon!

It is not under canvas but in a hall/hut venue. I shall get a better idea on Friday. She will be away for three nights and she says that she is looking forward to it. It will be the longest that she has been away but also without any family with her. I am going to try an explain this to the group leader without sounding like an over protective and paranoid Mother. Everyone is saying it will be great to have some days to ourselves but actually I hate spending time away from Sophie (she is only a child once after all) but she needs to try things such as this camp so my lips are sealed when talking to her about it.

She wants to take blankey Bear with her but is concerned that she may be laughed at. You mean to say that a bunch of under 11's girls are not going to have a few bears in their suitcases! Blankey will be the first item packed after Sophie give this idea more thought.

I think what really bothers me is that they are not allowed to take mobiles so saying good night is not an option, that will be the first time in 8 years of not being able to do that. Even when Hubby or I are away we ring up to say that to Sophie.

While she is away we intend to sort out things for the plumber and builder to come in plus more work for the day job and I would really like to complete my new cushion covers.

Well I woke up at 5.30am not being able to sleep, in fact I woke up worrying that the water butts keep over flowing and excess water could have a long term effect on the house foundations (I know, mad but there you are) so I shall spend some time today emptying it around the garden. Next week I shall probably be in the middle of a drought!

Does anyone else wake up in the night like this?

Off to make another cup of tea and put the bread maker on.

Professor Layton and the Curious Village - nearly there.....

2011-08-15T11:51:00.001+01:00

Images from Google images

Years ago I bought a Nintendo DS for games such as scrabble, wordsearches and really enjoyed using it. A year or so back I gave it to Sophie as I found the DSXL with the bigger screen much better for my old eyes. I had seen the Professor Layton series before but was not sure. Then at Easter I visited my Mum who had a copy, plus a few others, so I took the opportunity to give it a go!

Well I am hooked!!!

I have been working on the rather difficult puzzles for months and I can put it down and pick it up as and when I get the time. You can save what you have done as you go along.

The graphics are very good and after a bit or getting used to how it all works it is easy to navigate. Sophie and I have worked on some of the puzzles together and on a few occasions she has worked it out when I had given up.

I brought it with me on holiday and I have made so much progress that I am close to the end. I am now trying to solve some puzzles that even the whole house are having problems solving. I have needed a pen and paper for working some of them out which is good as a few times I have forgotten to save and had to re-do some of the puzzles.

The games may cost a bit and you can get them cheaper on Ebay and Amazon, I have had hours and months of fun out of these and Sophie will be borrowing them next. They are good for exercising the brain, frustrating but hard to put down.

I am determined to have this solved before I go back to work.

Has anyone tried any of the other Professor Layton games, which one should I try next? I did exam marking again this year so I could treat myself to another game. It should see me through the cold dark evenings leading up to Christmas!

May - "Can't Resist it" - Sketchbook Challenge 2011

2011-08-13T15:12:00.000+01:00

During the summer break I have been trying to catch up with my Sketchbook Challenge pages.

The theme for May was "Can't Resist it", so I decided to work on how ink and paint can be resisted on the page.

I came across Aquacolour crayons when I was studying for my City and Guilds course and I have loved them ever since. They last for ages and you can buy them in smaller tins than this.

For this page I used some PVA so created shapes and then let it dry over night. Using the Aquacolour I coloured lightly over the pages and then spread it around using water. Once this had also dried I highlighted sections with a black Sharpie marker.

A few words down the side to complete it.

I think that this page will need some more work on it but as it stands at the moment I used the Aquacolour and water to spread and mix the colour and to create quite a wet surface.

Then using salt I sprinkled onto the surface and watched what the colour would do.

I have done this before on fabric and it works really well, but maybe there was too much water or not enough salt but any resisting of the colour is not easy to see. I think that I shall go over this with more wax crayon and perhaps some watercolours to add to this page.

This is another technique that I have used before, but not for ages! Colour wash the page and leave to dry (I normally fit in the washing and ironing during these stages) and then using some of Sophie's wax crayons I melt them and carefully flick them on to the page. I position myself in the kitchen by the sink, light a tea candle sat on a plate and carefully melt the crayon. before it has time to drip or solidify again I carefully flick the melted wax on to the page. You can layer up different colours.

You must be carefully not to flick too much as you will get it everywhere, watch your fingers, this is not something for children to try and watch your surfaces. I have also tried this on fabric too but it is obviously not washable but for backgrounds to stitching or sketchbook stuff it is a lot of fun.

I do have another resist sample but it is at home and I am not going home until Tuesday so I shall have to add this later.

I have also been adding to earlier themes as I like to go back to them. Here are some interesting pictures from google for the "Opposites" theme back in February.

I hope to be up to date by the time I go back to work as I find that I need a decent length of time to come up with sketchbook pages and take an idea far enough to be pleased with it. Snatching a few minutes here and there is not really helping with my progress, but such is life.

National Trust - Nymans

2011-08-11T14:27:00.001+01:00

Earlier in the week we visited some local National Trust sites Firstly we visited Nymans in Haywards Heath. Armed with our cameras, I was hoping to take pictures to use on my cards and inspiration for The Sketchbook Challenge themes, some of which I am behind on. So this post is quite picture heavy but should give you an idea of how lovely this garden is.

The rose garden smelt gorgeous as soon as you walked into it even though some of the roses had finished blooming.

So many different colours and such lovely scents.

Each one looking perfect.

Once these pictures have been printed onto photo paper they will look good on the front of cards that I take into work. In the National Trust handbook there is a glorious picture of the walled garden and I have to say that we were not disappointed in real life either. Here is my version below.

As you walked around the corner it was a brilliant spectacle of colour. It took ages to get this picture without anyone standing in the way due to the popularity of this area of the garden.

The rose garden had direct competition from the dahlias, which I love but struggle to grow in my garden.

All standing proudly showing off their petals.

All delicate shades of colour.

There are so many petals to each flower head.

This is the view when you walk past the fountain in the first picture.

This a corner section as yo walk away from the walled garden. The rest of the garden is also lovely but this section in particular got my camera snapping away.

There is so much to look at including the house, summer houses, woods, picnic areas, shop, restaurant family activities etc. Go to their website and see more. It rained a bit while we were there and it did not make a difference at all.

Creative Giveaway

2011-08-10T18:55:00.001+01:00

I first took part in a Creative Swap in about 2008.

It was to design and make a bag for a bag swap. I still have the bag which was sent to me as part of the swap and in fact all of the swap items are still with me and I make a point of "making" them into something to show them off. I have tried to find the pictures but when I started my blog I was perhaps not very organised with my tag words so now they are "buried" within my blog. Never mind.

I did find this one though and the link here where there is a full post on this.

This was another recent entry in 2011 and I did make some extra versions for my card box at work.

So, getting back to the aim of this post. Lenna, who hosts Creative Swap blog is having a 1000 post giveaway and if you would like to join in, it only takes a minute to click, then pop over. If you are interested in making ATC's, scrap booking, art jounaling, texture work and much more then this is worth looking at.

1000 posts.....crikey! That is a lot of typing and in my case a lot of potential typing errors too!

Click on the badge in the margin at the top of my blog.

Felt and Stitch Flower Panel

2011-08-09T23:44:00.002+01:00

I started this post several days ago it is now Tuesday. I have had problems with blogger not letting me put pictures on at angles which will enable you to see what I have made.

But, I have finally won!!

At work we are issued with a general diary/planner for all of our lessons etc. When we first go them 6 years ago I did create covers to personalise etc, but for the past couple of years I have created my dairy bag and laptop covers instead. So seeing as I was due to go away a nice little sewing project which would not take up too much room in my suitcase was needed.

Regular readers and visitors to my Etsy shop (Which is being re-organised) will perhaps recognise this idea. I designed my first felt flower book cover way back in 2005, wow where has the time gone. I have changed it for this version as no two of my designs are ever exactly the same, that is afterall part of it being handmade.

All felt pieces are hand cut using shapes that I have created. I like to layer the sections up in colours that add to the design.

Each section is hand stitched down using DMC embroidery threads. The centres of the flowers are metal brads.

I do prefer straight running stitch as it does not detract away from the design itself. I wanted to add more to this design by including some hand embroidery in green for stems. Buttons to add as buds plus some more blue brads to add further texture.

Finally, a little controlled glitz in the form of iridescent sequins here and there. I finally used only about 5 or 6 of them.

I also included some chain stitch on the outer blue leaves of the largest flower.

I will attach it to my planner when I get home and it has spurred me on to making more designs to add to Etsy in time for December I just wish I had packed more felt....never mind!

Mollie Makes Issue 2- Felt flower kit

2011-08-06T19:02:00.010+01:00

I am still catching up with my Mollie Makes Kits and my week away has been a good opportunity to do this. The kit above is from issue 2 and this happens to be in my favourite colours.

I did add a bit to this as there was plenty of felt in the kit, which I like, and having the extra time to work on it was even better!

I used the templates in the back of the magazine and pinned them onto the felt pieces and then cut them out very carefully. I wanted the petals to stick up a bit so I added a little tuck in the back of each section and secured with a couple of very small stitches. Then by stacking them on top of each other they did seem to stick out more.

The centre of the flower was harder and after dropping the sections several times I decided to put gather stitches through each of the colour sections, roll them round and then secure again with more stitches.

The centre was then stitched going through all of the layers and knotted on the back.

I used the left over felt to cut some leaves and added these to the back of the flower.

To neaten up the back and hide any of my stitches I added a piece of baby blue felt from my collection which I brought with me for another project.

After all of the cutting, pinning, stitching (and dropping it on the floor a couple of times) and admiring the 3D look is still there.

I have a couple of cardigans at home which will look great with this and I can attach it to my bag as well.

Has anyone else made up their kit? If you have leave a comment and a link and we can all pop over and admire.

2011-08-05T22:07:00.000+01:00

Last night after our Chinese we decided to go and walk it off along the sea front. Sophie took her scooter and hubby and I followed along at a brisk pace! Again the sunset was lovely.

Last year we bought Sophie a cheap pocket kite from Tesco and she has looked after it and brought it with her. It has Tinkerbell on it and after a bit of untangling it flew really well. I struggled to get this picture it was flying so fast. The amount of giggling and sheer joy that this little plastic kite gave was fantastic. Children and kites still amaze even today. Perfect kite flying weather at 8pm!

The beach huts were badly damaged in a storm a few years ago and have all been repaired. I tried for an artistic picture here, but I have not really managed it have I? Never mind. The best beach huts I have ever seen can be found at Southwold on the east coast. They really are a colourful sight.

I do like these boats which had been left on the beach for the next day.

Our main aim today was to drive over to Ashford and meet up with a friend who I have not seen since my wedding in 1998 and then her wedding in 1992!

It was quite uncanny, we have ended up with similar hairstyles, we both had purple glasses and we both think that we have stood the test of time quite well for a couple of 41 year olds. Weird really as we have known each other since we were 4. We went to the same primary school and were in the same classes. I moved away just before we were due to go to secondary school and have kept in touch ever since. We took some up to date pictures as evidence and the four of us just chatted constantly for 6 hours like there had never been 13 years gap. It was only the second time that our hubby's had ever met. A really enjoyable afternoon. We calculated that it is only about 53 miles but due to the winding country roads it took us the best part of two hours to get there!!! As for the state of the roads well......I shall never again complain about Cornish roads. It was a good job that my fillings are secure (sadly I do have fillings despite looking after my teeth) and hubby's car now has a few more rattles than it did before we went. I was given the task of trying to work out where a certain whistling sound was coming from. Has anyone else been given this task? To be honest I do not care what noises my car makes as long as it goes and stops when I want it to...safely. I still do not think we have worked out where it is coming from, although I think it is the air vent. We shall see.

I am really pleased that we went and re-established a link that distance, work and family life has curtailed, but I always think that true friendship can span years without any problem and this was proven today. We have invited them down to Cornwall anytime and show them the sights and sounds, both of their children have body boards, so hopefully we can return the compliment.

It was on my holiday to do list and I am really delighted that I have achieved it. We have made a date to meet up again next summer when we are down in Seaford again and next time I am bringing all of the photos that I can find and embrass our children.

My surprise purchase in Brighton was for my friend who is a TA in a primary school, a lovely large Cath Kidston mug with a lovely flower design on it. Loves tea like me and may take it to work. Thought it would last longer than flowers. Sorry no pic as I asked the shop assistant just to pop a bit of tissue paper round and before I knew it she had gift wrapped it! Lovely of her to do that. I did not know that you could get Cath Kidston ribbon!

We are now trying to decide what to do tomorrow, this holiday lark is really tiring you know.

A rainy day in Seaford

2011-08-04T20:56:00.001+01:00

Today we woke up to a very wet Seaford so we have decided to postpone our trip to London until Monday. I did go on the British Museum website and spent ages looking at it. If your child has a project to do over the summer go to their website it is brilliant. One of the reasons to for going is that Sophie is going to be studying the Egyptians at school in September. I remember doing this at primary school and started an interest in History which sadly did not last as this and many other areas are not studied at GCSE. I did History O'level and I have to say (ashamed really seeing as I am a teacher too) that it was very boring. Government laws etc. I wanted to study Kings and Queens, the Vikings and Romans etc. But it was not to be.

Due to the rainy day we have had a quiet day. I did brave the weather for abut an hour as I nipped out to buy the new issue of Mollie Makes, more on that another time, and to look at the charity shops which are very good here. I got completely soaked but the allotment did need the rain.

Sophie was very good about the weather and read a book and looked at the Internet for the BBC children's programmes. So to lighten the day we headed off to Eastbourne and watched Cars 2. I have never sat in such uncomfortable seat in my life and everyone was fidgeting but Sophie enjoyed the film and we have just had a lovely Chinese takeaway. It is still raining but should be bettter tomorrow. We are off to Ashford to meet up with a friend that I have known since I was about 4. We keep in touch but have not met in person since our wedding in 1998!!

Due to our lazy day I have been able to read some more of my current read and the next one is sitting in my suitcase just in case I get time to start it as well. I also managed some sewing but Ray, one of the cats, had other ideas and kept making a grab for the thread so in the end I read my book with Ray asleep with me. Very relaxing. Both cats have been brilliant considering they have not seen us for a year. I will try and get some pictures for you. They are truly splendid cats.

Once I have posted this I am off to do some crochet and sewing in front of Disney's Nemo.

Brighton in the Sun

2011-08-03T18:43:00.002+01:00

Today we decided to head off to Brighton. Plenty of sun cream needed as it is very hot and sunny again. The above shells were outside an art gallery. A huge bucket of them, all different shades of pink. Would have been better in the sea maybe, but there you go. Good for Sophie to see all of the different types.

These clam shells were really unusual and I have only ever seen them in aquariums too, (They may not be clam shells, they were labelled as such. I have a shell book at home so I shall look it up when I get back). Quite pleased with this pic.

We had lunch at Donatello which is brilliant. Good prices and kids portions too. We go there every year and are never disappointed. you will find it on Brighton Place.

We walked along the Pier and had to go into the arcade as we have been putting 2P in a jar for a year for the very purpose. Sophie actually managed to win a couple of notebooks which probably cost more that they should have but it was a bit of fun for putting annoying coppers in a jar. We looked around the rides, which are very pricey then a young chap came up and said would you like these tokens as I will not use them (with a big smile) I said thank you very much, he said no problem and Sophie used them to have a go on some trampolines. What a nice gesture from a complete stranger!

The weather really was scorching today and if we had not had factor 50 on I dread to think just how red we would be. Hats were a must and we are now getting a picnic tea ready as our Italian meal did us well.

It was a good day out and we are a little tired and tomorrow it will hopefully be off to London for the day. So an early start and plenty of pictures.

A big hello to the followers who have joined this week. I shall pop over and say hello properly this week.

A summer Holiday begins

2011-08-02T22:07:00.000+01:00

We arrived in Seaford in time for tea and then decided to walk off dinner along the sea front. This was the sunset that greeted us. Lovely start to the holiday.

Hubby is working the next day so Sophie and I will wander round Seaford.

So the following day hubby drove of to Portsmouth and Sophie and I visited Toytown toy shop which is literally 50 yards away from where we are staying. She found this cute felt kit and apart from putting a knot in the thread, Sophie made this herself, following the instructions as she went.

The felt flowers are pre-cut and the blue centre needed to be stitched with gold thread.

The other pieces are then stacked up. Now Sophie, really is my daughter because just like my Mollie Makes kit, she wanted to change part of it. Rather than having the red petals lined up she moved them to increase the petals that you could see. A jewel needed to be stitched on and the thread went through the whole felt flower so that all of the layers were tight and secure.

The kit also had some elastic hair loops and the flower was attached to it using double thread and knotted off carefully.

There was enough in the kit to make two of these and Sophie was thrilled with them, she even went to bed with them still in her hair! Ironic really, as she had got up that morning saying that she wished she had bought some hair ties with her.

Today (Tuesday) we decided to go the Lewes and visit some places that we really enjoy seeing once a year. Firstly, we went to the Needlemakers in the hope of finding the vintage shop which usually has

boxes of buttons. Sadly the shop had gone but I did stumble on a fabric shop that had these lovely old sewing machines on display.

I apologise if the pictures are not brilliant as I had to stand on tippy toe on a stool with the zoom full in to get these into shot as the display shelf was right up high by the ceiling! There were one or tow that i had only seen in books. Brilliant.

I struggled to get makers names, but the above machine name was very clear. As for dates, I could research into this. I want to show these pictures to my students in September so some background work will be carried out. There were about 10 machines, I have not seen that many together all at the same time.

I would have loved to have had a closer look at these. Aren't the ones shown above adorable!

The shop is called The Patchwork Dog and Basket in Lewes. Worth a visit. I bought some lovely fabric to finish off a quilt that I have been working on for some time. I shall post about it once I get home.

The weather here has been scorching. I took a picture of the temperature gauge in the car! I bit warm. So off home for lunch. Once the temp reduced a bit we then took Sophie to Eastbourne to Aqua Splash which is a play area with water involved. She was on the go for over two hours and is now completely worn out!

We are not sure where we are going tomorrow, Brighton is looking high on the list at the moment.

I have done it!!

2011-08-01T19:30:00.000+01:00

This morning, seeing as it is too hot to go outside at the moment, I thought I would give changing my blog background another go.

I was looking for something bright, colourful, with flowers and it did not have to be blue.

I decided to pop over to Shabbyblogs.com and take a look.

I did use one of their backgrounds ages ago and they helped me to changed my blog into a three column layout.

I looked through all of the designs, and there are a lot, and settled on the one that you can see.

It is called Lola and you can find it on page three of their backgrounds section.

I have a netbook so I can only see a thin border on my screen, but I have checked it on my hubby's full size laptop and I still like it. So, for the coming year at least this is going to be my blog background.

Hope you like it.

Mollie Makes Issue 1

2011-07-31T19:33:00.003+01:00

I realise that this issue has been out for a while but if you have not bought it yet or seen these magazines then you might like to pick one up when you next see one and have a flip through.

It features all things handmade and lots of ideas. I have not subscribed, which is an option, as I already subscribe to Sew Hip, but I will confess that I have not missed an issue yet.

Sophie wanted me to try the apple cosies so that she can take one into school. It is a crochet pattern so it may take some time. Has anyone else made these up yet?

What initially caught my eye was this lovely little fox made from felt. I have recently bought a little book on how to make felt creatures ( I will feature that another time) and he is really cute. The fact that there are templates/patterns and instructions too are a bonus.

Many printers had copying facilities now or if they are 100% already then I like to trace them off so as not to cut up my mag. Greaseproof paper for lining cake tins is a good thing for this. Comes in a long roll and is not too expensive. There are several sets of patterns and when yo think how much books and patterns can be £4.99 may not be so bad once a month. I do not smoke, and only drink a little. I do not go out a great deal (crikey this is not sounding good is it?) and I tend to keep magazines like these so it is worth it to me.

Plus lots of lovely photography and up to date releases from designers such as Amy Butler.

So far each issue has had a kit on the front that the first issue had a felt mobile phone case. My hubby has had to update his for work so I have been given his old one. It is tricky to use, it clearly has more of an IQ that I do but I have promised to try and learn how to use it over the summer. Anyway, this kit would fit it perfectly. You have templates and you cut out the pieces following the instructions.

I did change the appearance of mine to suit my taste, I did not bother with the circle of felt behind the bird as I did not feel that it needed it. I also machined the two halves together to make it stronger.

I also added a small black brad for its eye which was not in the kit and used matching embroidery thread to put the bird on the front.

I enjoyed this little kit and the felt was quite think and plenty of it. I had some left over to make a simple keyring if I wanted.

Well worth the money, it is printed on thick good quality paper and it is different to many of the other craft mags on the shelves at the moment.

My other issues are at home as we have arrived in sunny Seaford this afternoon, so hopefully some posts of what we are up to and places to visit should you come this way.

Have a good week.

Do not forget to join in with the GO fabric cutter giveaway. Click on the picture at the top of the blog to go to Little Cottage Comforts who is hosting it.

Etsy Up-Date

2011-07-30T01:18:00.029+01:00

Over the summer I am going to be re-organising my Etsy Shop. First up is my supplies section featuring hard to find sequin waste. I have had several enquiries which has kick started me into sorting it out. There will be some new items which I have made and I shall be adding to the supplies section. I am also working on some PDF's sheets which you can buy and download to make up yourself. My daughter loves making things so I will have a Kids section. Could save your sanity during a school holiday. The side bar of items has disappeared along with the link so use the link here or the smaller link in the side bar. This will take a bit of time as there are over 50+ items which I want to change as well as some new ones. I want to detash some bits too. I started to do that using Folksy but nothing much happened.
I am also off for a break for two weeks as well. A much needed brain break then back to it when we get back. So do keep coming back.

Once that has been sorted out I intend on setting up a website again. That is a longer job, but hopefully will be live in time for a certain event which takes place in December. I refuse to type the word in July! I think you all get the idea though.