Autumn decoration

October is the start of the crafting season - in my life anyway as Christmas isn't far away.  And a change of season is the cue to bring out my autumn decorations.  It seems this autumn's must have is the white mini pumpkin.  They are in all the most beautiful Instagram photos.  I think they may be called Mini Boos but they haven't reached us up here in North Wales.  So I thought to make my own.  Its an easy crochet pattern I found at Plant June and you can make two or three in an evening - well, perhaps crochet one evening and put together the next.  June crocheted her stalks and so did I previously, but for my little white Boos I used a small stick from the garden or a cinnamon stick and a die cut felt leaf hot glued in place.

Next I stitched acorns using this pattern from Tatiana Maximenko.  You might have seen I used her pattern for the mushrooms I photographed for my last post.  Tatiana's patterns are beautiful, simple and photographed in detail to help you in your sewing.  Her stitching is perfect and I must admit it needs time and patience to achieve anywhere near the same results. I need to try a few more as, of course, practise makes perfect - well as perfect as I can get.

My last project was somewhat easier to execute.  I was looking through my pile of Landscape magazine back issues for a cake recipe I remembered - I thought last year.  But I was distracted by the cover of a winter issue featuring decorations using Honesty seedpods.  I'd collected the dried pods earlier in the summer and they were stored in my shed waiting to have their seeds saved for next year.  I sacrificed a few to make these lovely window decorations.  I stuck the seeds to the "silver pennies" with a dot of liquid craft glue and then used the same to glue them into a flower shape.  When the sun shines through the window they light up!

Have you ever noticed the seedpods are three layers thick.  There is a stronger outer layer and inside is the silvery tissue paper thin layer with seeds on each side.  Such a clever design!  Its quite easy to peel the layers apart with your fingers and of course easy for the winds of autumn to separate those layers too and fling the seeds far and wide.  Isn't nature amazing.

May Day Catchup

Well April flew by and was surely a month of contrasts! We did have a few sunny days for walking on the beach and even a visit to the local nature reserve.

But there have been plenty of dull, cold and wet days just right for staying in and sewing. I discovered flex frames and gave them a go. I've always wanted to make little coin purses but have been put off those snap frames as they looked rather difficult and I didn't fancy all that glueing.

The flex frame is much easier and suitable for straightforward flat purses or the boxed corner kind. I found a nice pattern in this gorgeous Japanese craft book (don't worry it's the English version).

Anyway, it seems I missed Easter altogether here on the blog but I did enjoy making a few Eastery bits and bobs when I found Manuela's Etsy shop and her cute felties. These chickens were my favourites. I managed to machine stitch them rather than hand stitching as recommended in the pattern.

Okay, I know snails aren't normally an Easter image but they were so cute I couldn't resist! Could you!

The garden has come to life again and is demanding my attention.... rather more attention than I've been able to give and there's a lot of weeding to catch up on!

The trouble with leaving the blog for a month is there is much to catch up on - I think rather more than will fit into one blog post. So I'll finish now and hopefully write a bit more later.

But one more photo from the garden. These little creatures demand feeding every day now as they are busy with courting, nest building, egg laying and brood feeding. They are costing me a small fortune but they give so much pleasure I don't begrudge them one shilling! 

Sweetly Stitched

We celebrated Mothering Sunday last weekend here in the UK. My mother is 92 and not in good health so apart from flowers there is nothing she really wants. But I wanted to stitch something for the occasion and as I'd lost my phone case the week before decided to make one.  I based my make on a project for an eyeglasses case in Amy Sinibaldi's Sweetly Stitched Handmades

so I can fit it into the 2017 Sewing Book Challenge over on Instagram. However I have changed the design a bit by decorating the front with some sewing illustration. I've a Pinterest board of mid-century czechoslovakian matchbook labels - such wonderful designs - and adapted this boy and girl to fit in with the Mothers Day theme. I haven't tried to translate but guess these two labels are encouraging a healthy diet but I changed the cabbage into a bunch of flowers and the dish of yogurt(?) into a nice cuppa!

I liked the project so much I just had to try a few more and this time did use Amy's design. Pretty happy with how they turned out. And of course they don't have to be for glasses. My phone fits perfectly into one and I'm sure you can think of other uses - a few sewing notions or crochet hooks for crafting on the go comes to my mind. I like to have a few small items on hand for gifting and these fit the bill nicely.

After all that stitching I awarded myself a Mothers Day treat of a Sunday afternoon walk by the Alwen Reservoir.

After watching an item on BBCs Gardeners World the Friday before I was on the lookout for Lichens and Mosses as I seen lots there before. I wasn't disappointed - just look at those colours!

Then in the evening it was lovely to see that very same area featured on another BBC programme Countryfile.

PS - I found my phone case under a chair a few days later whilst looking for something else!!! Isn't it always the way! 😄

Post Haste Challenge Bag

 

On the last day of the month I'm fitting in my single project for the monthly 2017 Sewing Book Challenge over on Instagram. I only managed one challenge make in February - why does this month always seem to fly by so quickly? It is only 2 days shorter than the other months!!

The Long Handled Bag pattern is from Sew Illustrated by Minki Kim and Kristin Esser and is a gift for a sister whose life has suddenly been turned upsidedown - and not in a good way. I'm hoping the cheerful print and gingham will in some way brighten the dark days she is going through at the moment - and also be useful for carrying little comfort essentials on hospital trips.

Although I used the bag pattern straight from the book I changed the surface decoration as I was bowled over by the gorgeous Stitched Rose Bag Minki blogged last week and tried a simplified version of her design. Because I wanted to get the bag finished quickly I used a patchwork "cheater print" from LECIEN I'd been hoarding for a year or so. And I had a large reel of woven braid found in a charity shop which was just the right colours and the perfect width for the handles.

I used stamps for the flower embroidery, though I didn't actually stamp on the fabric but used a light box to trace the outline image on the stamp set's acetate holding sheet straight onto the linen with a Frixon pen.

And I added a bit of colour with Copic markers - if you try this be careful to colour with the lightest touch and pale colours so as to prevent any bleeding over the stitched lines. It all came together very nicely and was finished in one day - though I have to admit rather late in the day! Now I just need to get it to the Post Office post haste!

2017 - a year for some crafty challenges?

Firstly I want to thank you, Julie, Anja, Yve and Simone, for you kind and encouraging comments on my last post. Especially as I never get round to reciprocating on your blogs, though I do visit honestly! I love you guys! :o)

As always I/we start the new year full of intention and enthusiasm, which usually fizzles out by the end of January.  However I have not made resolutions this year but have signed up for a couple of challenges. I've already mentioned Minki Kim's 2017 Pincushion Sew-a-Long and have so far notched up at least one of each design. There's still a couple of weeks before the end of January when the SAL ends and I know I won't be able to resist a few more - yes they are addictive but what do you do with a mountain of pincushions!

Another challenge I've signed up for will last a bit longer - until the end of 2017 in fact.  Like me Carla Peicheff has a shelf of craft books full of wonderful projects seldom utilised. I have to admit I've at least twice as many volumes on my shelves (well at my great age I expect I've been collecting many more years than Carla!) all of which contain at least one project I've intended to make. So the challenge is to make at least one thing from a book on that shelf each month.

And guess what, I've already made two this month!!! It helps when I have some reason for making and I'd been asked to make for a new baby.  So I dipped into Amy Sinibaldi's lovely book Sweetly Stitched Handmades and made the cute teddy bear nursery cushion and a ruffled bib.  I know only that baby is a girl named Mia so do hope these will be to the parents' taste.

There is one more challenge signed up to and its one I've made for myself.  That is NOT to buy ANY fabric, yarn, or haberdashery in 2017. If you could see my sewing room you would have a fit (sorry - I'm certainly not going to share any photos of it here or anywhere else)! Something needs to be done! So unless I absolutely have to buy something, like plain linen or interfacing or something else absolutely necessary for a particular project, I'm not going to be beguiled into buying that oh-so-pretty fabric, that bargain price yarn or anything else I covet on someone's IG feed or blog or pinterest board.

In fact I started off well in December and made all my Christmas gifts from stuff I already had in my huge stash. These makeup brush travel rolls were made for my often travelling nieces and were created from pieces from my scrap bin and braid that was used to tie sets of teatowels I'd bought at Primark earlier in the year. I did however have to buy the wooden toggle buttons. This project is from another favourite book Sew Illustrated.

Now I've got the bug I'm looking for a couple more challenges to keep me busy.  Let me know if you see a good one.

Supermoon Monday

Okay! We've had all our September family birthdays; we've had Halloween, and Bonfire Night; and this last week has seen Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday passing in their turn. Every year I get the feeling this is the right time to turn thoughts to the festive season and gift ideas. And tonight there was a supermoon which, apparently, was the largest since 1948, which just happens to be the year I was born!  I think its an omen! Tomorrow let the stitching begin!

I have made a start - I took some inspiration from Minki and Kristin's fabulous book Sew Illustrated and stitched a couple of coaster sets using patterns in the book.  Seeing photos on my Instagram account my sister ordered her Christmas gift and now I have a suspicion "coasters" will be written against quite a few names on my gift list this year! And they look so nice tied up with a matching gift tag don't you think!.

I chose some suitable images from my stamp collection and a piece of lovely red gingham for the Christmas coaster set. Its easy to transfer designs to the fabric by stamping them with a light neutral colour ink like grey or brown and machine stitching over the inked lines. However my preferred way to transfer the patterns is to use the images printed on the stamps' acetate holding sheet and trace them with an erasable pen. Use a light box if you have one or, in the traditional way, tape to a window. Outline stamps work best.

I've also made some bookmarks using stamps.  They are perfect little personal extras to slip in with a gift book - and who doesn't enjoy a new book at Christmas. Now, I need a little Pinterest browsing to fill up some of those other empty spaces on my 'to-make' gift list. Time is slipping past so quickly.... I thought I was writing this post at the beginning of the month but suddenly find its already half way through!!! Agh!!

First things............

First thing is to thank my lovely blog friends Simone, Lin and Mrs A for their so so kind comments on my last long overdue blog post. You are wonderful people!

And I don't know about you but my first thing most mornings (if I have time) is to try to catch up with everything on line - Facebook, Instagram, Email, Pinterest, Twitter, etc, etc, etc. This is combined with having my breakfast but in a twinkling of an eye a couple of hours whizzes past and its 10.00am already!

I'm not a coffee lover but I rather wish I was as apparently it gets one going for the rest of the day - and I need to get going!! Especially on a day that is meant for sewing/crafting. Today is a charity shop day and I'll be off in an hour or so but I'm making time for a blog post first.

I made the top coffee picture for my sister who is definitely a coffee addict and reaction on Instagram persuaded me to stitch a couple more to add to my gifty stock. I'm really loving this "sewing illustration" way of making fabric pictures. I recently bought a coffee themed stamp set from Altenew which is just right for stitching. I do hope a "tea set" is somewhere in the pipeline for release!

Happy Summer!

Its been a while - my last post had the title Happy Spring and now we are in July and it is apparently Summer. We are enjoying sunny days and blue skies (as on this day in May at Llandudno) but also many grey days and lots and lots of rain.

I've been busy making of course and trying to keep the garden in some sort of order, as well as working part time, volunteering in the charity shop and sharing the care of my frail 92 year old mother. I've also been keeping in touch on line via my social media accounts - my Facebook page is up to date, I occasionally "do" Twitter and when I inherited a smartphone from my nephew I was finally able to have an Instagram account - something I'd been wanting for some time.  However my blog has been neglected and I'm sorry but I have been determined to catch up with myself before Autumn sets in!!!!!!! Today is that day.

I'm thinking I can't possibly update on everything so here are just a few things I've made. I made this little quilt for a friend's first baby. I actually started and blogged the little embroidered patches in January though the quilt was't put together and sent off until May. I hadn't made a quilt in years so this small project was just right. And apparently baby Mai and Mum in Hawaii love it.

And this little pin tray says it all where my crafting time is concerned - embroidery, hand and machine has been my love over the last few months. 

I've been practising my machine 'handwriting' a lot and have been able to use some of my stamps and dies for applique.

I gained a new stitching hero too - Minki Kim at Minki's Work Table. I've found so much inspiration on her blog and excitingly there's a book due for publication in September - can't wait!

The other time consumer is the garden of course. With all the rain the garden has been growing apace and is rather turning into a green jungle - apparently its the same all over the country at the moment. Turn your back on a weed for five minutes and it will always take advantage. But my old faithfuls still seem to fight their way through - like the verbascum and David Austin rose above.

The other big thing at the moment is the raising from the dead of my own small back garden. Over the last 15 or so years (yes YEARS!) I've completely ignored it in favour of my Mum's large garden. But this spring I found a strong and reliable friend of a friend who was willing to take on the task clearing and reviving this small patch.  Work is still in progress and although I didn't take any "before" photos through shame, I have taken a few along the way to this interim stage.

And I'm delighted to see the birds and some beautiful plants have been hiding away all this time and have now come into the light so to speak.

There haven't been many days out or excursions but my sister arrived at the weekend for a month's stay at my Mum's so if the weather behaves I hope we can be out and about a bit. I'll be putting my camera in my bag to record anything photogenic along the way but in the meantime if you have stuck with me and have occasionally wondered where I was you might like to take a look at either my crafty facebook page or my Instagram feed. And there's a link to my personal Facebook at the top of this page.

See you soon!!! I promise!

PS I Love You

I made another zip purse/pouch (don't really like that word pouch!), intending to post on Valentine's Day but for various reasons it didn't happen. But I'm going to blog it anyway and damn the consequences!

As travelling crafter I'm always looking for plastic bags to put bits and pieces in but this is much nicer..... Oh yes, I don't have a significant other to give this little love token to so I'm having it! When I saw the heart block idea on Pinterest http://craftcouturebytc.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/tutorial-paper-pieced-heart-with_21.html  the first thought that came into my head was the Beatles song and I Googled it to see when it was released as I can play it word perfect in my head. But what came up were pages and pages of links about a film I'd never heard of.

After further investigation I found it to be the B-side of Love Me Do released in October 1962 and I remembered it so well as it was the first single I ever bought.  Both sides were played over and over in my bedroom on a tiny record player I'd received for my birthday, no doubt driving my parents mad!! Ah, memories memories!

Summery Outdoors Stitching

 

We're enjoying a rather changeable July here in the UK. Sunshiny hot days, the odd heavy thundery shower, and days when the breeze is just too cool to sit out.  But on evenings when I can I like to sit on my Mum's front porch with a bit of stitching, watching the birds and the hedgehogs gobble up the bird seed I've just scattered on the lawn.

This week I've been busy with a small patchwork project from that talented duo at A Spoonful of Sugar.  Who doesn't need a small sewing kit to take on travels - either when holidaying or crafting away from home.  The pattern is an instant PDF download here.

I'm on my third kit already - the first two being gifts for my traveling sewing sisters and the third will be for me.  Such small scale patchwork comes together very quickly and if you enjoy a bit of hand sewing the whole project can be put together without a sewing machine if you choose.  I did resort to my machine for the outside quilting and stitching on the binding but its really not needed.

And sitting out at this time of year I cannot ignore the lovely sweet scent of the Mock Orange (Philadelphus). One boundary of the garden is lined with the shrub and its in full bloom at the moment. It doesn't last very long and soon there will be a shower of confetti-like petals every time the breeze blows. So I'm making the most of it.