Spring is for... picnics!

I planned on making a picnic rug for someone for Christmas but ran out of time - so with my best friend Holly's birthday looming, March seemed like a good time to get down to it.  Learning points: 1. patchwork laid out on the table looks bigger than the finished article (kinda obvious but I forgot about the seam allowances :)  2. Batting looks thinner in the store on a great big roll than when it's squished between fabric and backing  3. I don't like working out technicalities such as fixing ties to the backing which would like up when the rug is folded / rolled - hence the carry-bag instead!  So although it's a bit small, I think its just about big enough for Holly's gorgeous baby boys to sit their behinds on and enjoy a good old fashioned picnic.  And the bit that made me feel fabulous was stitching on my little label - printed on this amazing cotton a that you can just run through your printer.  Happy days.

And - a couple of weeks after writing this post, I received this - I do like a happy customer!

Sticky bits and pieces

One of my excuses for having a subscription to Country Living magazine is that I use their lovely pictures for my decoupage stash - I have to admit that I have a pretty substantial stash and my mini-projects don't seem to dent it much, but better than dumping the whole magazine in the recycling bin I think.  My latest efforts have resulted in a fairly presentable upcycled tray which I acquired for £1.50 at a boot sale, and a few cards ready to pop in the post for Easter.  The latter started off looking more shabby than chic but once I got into the flow I was quite pleased with the results. 

No progress on the knitting front yet though; I know I found a pattern I liked a while back but now I can't find it anywhere - but... in my search I discovered the wonders of Ravelry, and I just know I'm going to be hooked! 

The never-ending-quilt is done!

Well it took me an awful long time to finish, but I am very proud to say that I finally got there! I made the quilt about 6 years ago under the expert tutorage of the lovely ladies at Busy Bees Patchwork (who very sadly lost their entire stock to a fire recently - this must have been heart-breaking but they have rallied admirably and are keeping their brilliant courses going).  The machine stitched pieces were completed in a mere 6 weeks of classes + homework; and then it was down to me to put the backing on and set about hand stitching.  I worked on each square in turn but there were long periods inactivity where I got distracted with gardening and other crafty delights.  Towards the end of last summer I decided to take up knitting, but forbade myself from getting started until I was done with this, which spurred me on to doggedly keep at it.  So at last it is done, and I am inordinately pleased with the result.  Now... where are those knitting needles?

A treasure unlocked

When visiting my Dad and step-ma Sheila a few months back, somehow the conversation turned to my ambition to one day acquire a pretty vintage sewing machine, to remind me of the one my mother had and sadly lost, on which I remember stitching simple garments (and tying off the thread ends as it didn't do reverse or zig zag or anything at all other than straight ahead).  It transpired that Sheila had something similar residing in a dark corner of a cupboard under the stairs - she had lost the key to the locked cover some years ago and was contemplating a trip to the dump....  I pounced.  Confident that my terribly clever husband could turn his hand to a spot of lock breaking, and having been reassured by Sheila that she would have no plans to use it even then, we brought it home with us - and now this little beauty (which weighs something in the range of a small car) is in my very proud possession.  Pretty cool eh?

High Tea and thoughts of spring

I finally got around to making a Tea Cosy for my lovely tea set - Inspired by something I saw somewhere but cannot now locate, but something like this one on Pinterest.  I made the fatal error of putting 'felted tea cosy' into Pinterest and Google and Etsy, resulting in a happy but unproductive hour or so marvelling at other people's talents - this one and this one were my favorites I think.   Anyway, my version was cobbled together from a shrunken child's wool jumper that has been lurking in my 'it will come in useful one day' pile for a year or so.  It's a long old time since I did any kind of embroidery, and even a basic blanket stitch took some scratching of head and giggling at my ineptitude.  But the final result I am very pleased with, and is just one more reason for endless cups of tea, which as my children know only too well is my cure for any of life's little challenges. 

Now that Christmas is behind us, I thought I'd try and steal a march on spring and start thinking about a crafty Easter, so I unscrewed the little dried flower press I picked up at a boot sale last summer and carefully extracted the flowers I selected in Autumn.  Some of them survived better than others, but overall I'm quite pleased with the result.  Now all I have to do is figure out what to do with them - but that's the nice thing about crafting, I do enjoy the general faffing around with pretty bits and pieces. Oh, and looking for inspiration on Pinterest of course :)

Christmas present

Well I didn't manage to make very many presents this year, but the ones I did get finished were well received.   Inspired by some lovely decoupaged clothes hangers I spotted on Folksy (which sadly don't seem to be available any more), I used Annie Sloan's famous Chalk Paint to brighten up the wooden hangers I picked up at a boot sale a few months ago, and added some little lavender filled hearts.  I prefer the flowery ones over the hearts, but the set of 3 go quite well together I think. 

Next was my first ever attempt at an apron - I have been meaning to make some for myself forever and just haven't quite gotten around to it.  This one was from Butterick 5125, but as you can see I used some contrasting fabrics and a pocket instead of a bow.  In the first picture you can see the adorable little vintage Bissel carpet sweeper which my Mum gave me for Christmas as a present for Dolly - can't wait to see it in situ!  I was surprised at how long the apron took to make, but I suppose I didn't pick the very simplest pattern - I like the frills and edging though.

Lastly there was this funny little reversible sunhat, made from this Betz White pattern - a lesson in attention to detail if ever there was one; I sort of ignored the crucial little bit on the download that told me to check my printer was true to the sizing on the pattern, so unfortunately it came out way too small for its intended recipient!  All is not lost though - my lovely neighbour Marjorie is both petite and elegant and makes the hat look rather stylish, so it found a good home after all.

So now it's back to a final push to get the everlasting-quilt finished.  I am ITCHING to finish it as I have promised myself I will not start on anything new until it's done.  Patience never was my strong point, but I will persevere.

Hidden talents

In this busy busy life we all seem to lead, it seems ever more challenging to find time to sit and stare, or pick up a needle and thread, or put pen to paper.  On the other hand, we have a world of loveliness at our finger tips, awash with beautiful creations on Pinterest, blogs, Tumblr - easy then to think 'I don't have time for that' or 'I couldn't do anything as clever as that'.  Well if you can find a few moments and a drop of self belief, you may pleasantly suprise yourself.  I am so impressed with this beautiful picture my daughter produced right out of nowhere, having not done anything at all artistic since her school days.  I think it is perfectly charming, and can't wait to see what comes next!  Inspiration, I think, for us all.