Stitchin' up a storm

Well what a lovely long summer it has been - sunshine, holidays and high-days (not literally, but that natural high I get from the fabulous Standon Calling), and to top it all off, the shiniest sugariest cheeky cherry of all time.... the man (or woman, I know not) from Canadian immigration s/he say YES!!!!  So our Nova Scotian holiday-dreaming-home-away-from-home home will pretty soon become our homestead-crafting-glamping-gorgeous-gorgeous-permanent home, and the UK will be our holiday destination to spend quality time with family and friends.  So, so happy. Cue much writing of lists, and a little scratching of head when I discovered how expensive it is to ship goods - what to do with my humungous fabric stash?!  Mental switch from bargain-buyer to e-bay-seller as a hobby, and a determination to stay home and stich instead of go out and spend.  Starting with some fabric purchased several months ago for 1. glamorous fifties trousers from this pattern ....

 

.... which I am rather pleased with and planning to wear to the next Lindy Hop social, and 2. homesteading dungarees, from this pattern.  I have a bit of an obsession with dungarees, a result of spending far too much time in the perfect world of Pinterest  and deliberately ignoring the knowledge that I always end up covered in muck even doing a bit of ladylike potting.  I was a  bit worried about the outcome being more 70s throwback than vintage lady gardener, but I like them enough to maybe try another pair in a more suitable shade of mud-brown.  But with a few flowery touches here and there of course.

 

 And I couldn't resist stitching my little label where no-one can see it - if the next pair turn out well, maybe I'll be brave and stick it on the outside.

 

Phil the Pheasant

My big brother's 60th birthday - what to get for a present...?  I was perusing the lovely homewares in John Lewis when I spotted this - gorgeous.  But maybe I could make something...? Decided to try my hand at something pheasant-themed - a bit dubious whether my rough and ready applique methods (pins / a spot of glue / machine zig-zag) would meet the challenge, but apart from the much-too-big feet which were hastily disguised, I quite liked the result.  Enough to wrap it up and give it to my brother anyway.  It reminds me of the beautiful cottage we used to live in - we had a pheasant that would eat out of our hands, and also a characterful neighbour called Phil, so it seemed appropriate.  Not sure my brother will call him that or anything else, but I hope he's a comfy armchair companion.

 

A Crafty Corner for the Summer

Dilemna - wanting to crack on with my little hexagons and also wanting to be outside in the sunshine. Solution - deckchair, table and tray - ta dah!

The weather was perfect this weekend and I really felt like I was on holiday, managing just a sprinkling of chores so I felt deserving of a few hours in the sun. I even invented a lovely summer drink to add to that holiday feel - ice, juice of half a lime, a couple of sprigs of fresh mint and lemon balm, fill to the brim with cranberry juice and top with an edible flower (chive in this case, which looked pretty and I couldn't detect any hint of onions!). Delicious and refreshing, and I suspect rather good with a splash of vodka too. How I love summer.

My other new obsession

Crystalised edible flowers - so pretty and really , really easy to make.  I finally got around to having a go after discovering I had aquired no less than three cut-out-and-keep recipes in my stash; to my delight they are really simple to do and look soooo pretty.  Probably a bit o.t.t. on this particular cake, maybe less is more, but I was showing off to my good friend Holly, the Queen of Baking.  I think it worked :)

My latest obsession

Hexagons.  Little patches of prettiness, so quick and easy to make, they multiply like little flowers blooming from tatty scraps of leftover fabric - so simple and yet so lovely.  This is a new discovery for me; my fabulous friend Jane sent me a little package ages ago, containing the templates, a few cut pieces and few extra bits of fabric - all for the princely sum of £1.15.  I've researched a whole new world of hexagonal quilts on Pinterest and I think I have decided that I like the randomly pieced ones best, which has the added advantage of not having to plan how many of each fabric to prepare.  Eagle-eyed quilters our there will spot that I started tacking my fabric right through the paper, but then I saw this and it's soooo much easier! Hoping to make a small-ish quilt/throw for Dolly, although my lovely husband said he quite fancies one for his den.  The way I am going at the moment, it will be no problem to make two!

Pretty as a picture

A little while ago my rather clever daughter showed me her first attempt in many years at putting oil to canvas and I was over-the-moon-impressed. 

Well, guess what? I am now the VERY proud owner of my one of her original artworks, which I absolutely love because a) it is beautiful, b) my fabulous daughter painted it and c) it absoutely encapsulates everything I love about our Nova Scotian home-away-from-home.  

What a very lucky Mum I am.

Cute as a Cupcake

My lovely friend Karen's adorable daughter Alice had her 3rd birthday last week; I decided to make her an apron as a present, but after hours of searching t'internet for a pattern for the kind I had in mind, I did a makey-uppy newspaper pattern, which is definitely not my forté.  I got the vital measurements from children's clothing retail sites and went for it - the inital idea was to have no bows or buttons, but I ended up adding buttons in case too small to go over her head!  In fact the whole thing looked worryingly small when it was done but I hoped for the best and popped it in the post. 

I was rewarded with the most gorgeous video of Alice wearing the outfit and saying 'thank you' - with her Mum telling her to 'Say 'Bye! Wave!' to which of course Alice responded with 'Bye Wave!'. Bless.