Sew little bit of love

This is my new best friend, I have been struggling all week with an infection and finally got my antibiotics today. I am grateful to live in a country where they are not only available but also at a reasonable cost thankfully I shall soon be feeling better and back to my usual bouncy self. 

The reason this little cushion is my best friend is that it is filled with bulgar wheat, you can heat it up and this lovely warm square sits on my lap and gives such a gentle comforting heat that eases the tummy pain. 

I love how things evolve, I made the ribbon weave last year and created the front with the little buttons and hand embroidery but then I did not quite know what to do with it. I had plans to make it a wallhanging, or a cushion but it was only the other day that I realised it was the perfect size for a wheat bag, (about 20cm square). When you are feeling poorly there is nothing like a bit of love and warmth to ease the pain and this little heart has finally found its place in the world. 

You can make all different shapes long sausage shapes to go round an aching neck, I have even made a eye mask for a lady who had fallen and bruised her eyes. You can also put these in the freezer to keep you cool for bruising or headaches. 

I backed it with the remaining teal velvet I was given at a WI meeting two or three years ago. I had made a Christmassy cushion with it as well and had shown it to the sewing world editor earlier in the year, she wanted it for a project and so I thought I would give it a wash, that wasn't the best idea because the fabric was not colour fast! It was a disaster and I had to start all over again! Have you tried shopping for christmas fabrics in early August? giggles the shop assistants do doubt my sanity at times, but they know me well not to raise their eyebrows until I have left the shop! 

Ribbon Storage

This doesn't look a very inspiring pile, the papers are lovely, but CD's abound and I find it a struggle to throw them away and the same with cotton reels.

 I can't show you my muddled pile of ribbons just suffice to say they are quite a sight to behold. So I thought of a way of creating some sort of storage for them.  It took minutes to do the job with the help of a glue gun the reel looks pretty and I now can store the ribbon without getting into knots,  they do look a bit sparkly! 

You can fine trim the edges with a nail file if the paper bothers you, and the odd blobs of glue fall of of their own accord if you forget them. Now they can be threaded together with some more lovely ribbon and they can look beautiful along the studio walls. 

Focus of attention

I really enjoy going to the dump, you never know what you might find and this little wooden noticeboard was rather lonely and a bargain for £2.00. As you can see a lick of paint can make all the difference. 

It is a great shopping list reminder, but the picture is a bit fuzzy unfortunately due to my lack of height to get a really good shot! 

This photo shows the lovely Tilda characters and all the glittery effect around the frame. It was such fun to do. That is what I love about my home, all these little things around that I love not just because they are pretty, but because I created them. 

Cupcake Mansion

A friend of mine was moving into a flat above a bakery, so I decided to make her a cup cake themed cushion. I love working with tweed, it is simply wonderful fabric to use and does not fray too badly for appliqué. Fabricland was once again my supplier, and the flower fabric was already in my stash as was the cherry button at the top. 

The idea came from a welcome to your new home card I had made her, and I particularly liked the little dormer window at the top of the house. 

I used a black stitched outline to give it the feel of a child's drawing and also created a little sunshine in the clouds. I coloured it a little more using crayons. She was absolutely delighted with the cushion. I think I was too.

A case for vintage re-incarnation

I simply struggle to resist the little napkins and tablecloths that are on the shelves of charity shops for pennies. They are the refugees of an era where families all sat round the dinner table and ate with napkins and linen table cloths. I am so pleased that the crisp white linen table cloths had long gone as my children could never keep their spaghetti on a plate! How they managed to keep the linen in such white pristine condition with no washing machines shows they had skills way beyond my abilities even with my eco bubble samsung! 

I love to find new lives for these poor refugees, and this one is a little needle case. You can gauge how small it is by the size of the stitches. I cut round the appliqué leaving a seam allowance and then used a modern vintage styled fabric that was in keeping, fabricland has lots of different varieties at the moment, all thanks to Kath Kidston. I backed it with the extra stiff iron on interfacing you use to make curtain pelmets it gives the needle book a good solid shape. The button was from my stash, and like everything I remember buying it at one of those craft outlets in Dorset, a small sideline for a potter and so lovely. 

Pink, blue and white

Autumn is the time for warmer textures, and I love the feel of this soft tweed, the colours are so pretty and I think it is only right to have a union Jack cushion in 2012! The bath bombs are ready to use on those dark winter nights, nothing like a bit of strawberry fizz to perk you up. 

I have just hooked out my cord skirts and jumpers, I love this time of year, cosy nights, warm clothes walking in the crisp air with sunshine. A poet once said that Autumn makes every leaf a flower and that is true. It is late coming here, we are already in October and from my window I watch the trees dancing but they are still very green. I have the heating on, and I am wearing my lovely soft velvet coat again. Simple pleasures. 

Apron love

I love all things domestic, I also enjoy wearing clothes that feel good. I was inspired by the fabric when I was sent on a course to London. Near our HQ is a wonderful fabric shop and there was a whole range of lovely heart fabrics in all different sizes. I could imagine it would be the best thing for a fifties inspired apron and bought enough for a project. I don't go that often and I have always regretted the times I have seen something and not bought it! (That is my excuse and I am sticking to it!)

I admit it is hearty! I researched several vintage designs of aprons and there were many fifties aprons that had heart shaped bib sections.

The problem is that sometimes the bib sections don't keep their shape so I re-enforced this with some interfacing, in addition I also re-enforced the front of the tie section so it keeps its width and does not fold over as some tend to do.

I wanted some form rosette on the apron and found this lovely pin from the British heart foundation, very apt in our year of the Queen's Jubilee and the Olympics! 

I love suffolk puffs, (now called yo yo's thanks to our American cousins) I remember making a child's toy at school it was a long caterpillar made from these puffs. My mother would not buy new material for it, so I had to cut up an old dress. I don't think it was finished because it was a very lengthy process, but I am so pleased to see things re-invented and renewed. 

I made the tie nice and big, to create a lovely bow on my bottom! It adds to the appeal of femininity, which is what the fifties era personifies.

It is a period where women were able to wear very feminine clothes, together with new materials becoming available so much happened to change the lives of the Brits from the deprivation of war to the optimistic 60's. I am going on a fashion lecture about this era as it is a particular interest of mine.

The skirt section is a half circle and it feels lovely as it sways around, it reminds me of a gypsy skirt I had in my dressing up box as a child. I think we should all dress up still! 

It is one of those things that I can simply slip on and indulge in a little baking imagining I am Doris Day! it makes me feel wonderful, just like a little girl again! Now that can't be bad can it?