Cushion Making

I had a bit of free time on a weekday afternoon a few weeks
ago and decided to spend it making new cushion covers. I wanted
a change from the dark blues and oranges of the cushions we've
had all winter on our sofa and chose fabrics with more cheerful
 colours for these new ones.

This was the first of two that I mananaged to make. I love the mix of
blue, green and coral on this material which was part of an FQ bundle 

from the V&A fabric collection that I bought at half price in the post
Christmas sale. I just think it's so pretty.

I like the fresh colours on this second one, all greens and yellows.

This fabric was from the lovely Virna, just one of many lovely things

she's recently sent me and the girls.

Here they are both, my new cushions, giving our sofa some
spring and summery brightness. Not bad for an hour's work 

on the sewing machine methinks.

I have plans to make a third one and it will have appliques.
Fingers crossed I'll have time for more cushion making soon.


Thanks for reading!

DIY String Storage Jar

I'm always on the look out for clever and easy ways to keep all
my crafty notions neat and tidy. While browsing through last month's
issue of Ideal Home magazine I spotted this string storage jar.
I really liked the idea of using a jar to keep strings, ribbons, bakers'
twines and even yarn. But this one was rather expensive so I thought
of making my own cost free version. After all it's really just
a jar with a hole in the lid.

It was easy peasy even when I had to make the hole the old
fashioned way--with a hammer and nail.

Ta dah! A nice little string dispenser/holder/storage jar.
So simple and works great.

I'm keeping it plain like this but I might pretty it up with
a nice sticky label or some washi tapes later.

Thanks for reading. Hope you're having a happy Sunday!

Long Weekend

Hello!

Belated Happy Easter!
I hope you've all enjoyed the weekend and had a wonderful
 time with your friends and family. My husband was off work
for four days from Good Friday and we started off our long
weekend with a picnic in Castleton in Derbyshire. This
is one of our favourite picnic spots in the world.

We came here for the first time a couple of years ago and
we loved it. It is such a beautiful place. It is near the centre
 of Castleton but probably because of the stony path and
because it's a bit secluded it is less busy compared to other
 parts of the village and so it's nice and quiet which we like.
It was a beautiful, enjoyable morning, a great day to be outdoors.
I went to church in the afternoon feeling tired but very happy.

These are cupcakes Markie and I made during the week.
Because it was for Easter we added the mini eggs on top which
was great fun to do. And they were delicious, very chocolatey
as expected, which we love. I think we'll be making these again
very soon.

I had to rush a bit to finish these pocket dolls I was making for the girls.
I finished them very late on Saturday evening and I think they really
 believed me when I told them the next day the Easter Bunny came
round and helped me with their dolls.

They certainly believed he came round to our house and
left these paper eggs filled with chocolates.

And he also left chocolate eggs for them to find in
Nanny and GrandDad's garden. It was fun!

And he brought other treats too.

Even Mummy got a little nest full of yummy eggs!
We're certainly looking forward to the Easter Bunny
coming again next Spring.

 I hope next year I'll have time to make Easter decorations,
 and maybe an Easter tree. I'll definitely try to finish
 whatever presents I'll be making for the girls days--
and not hours--before Easter Sunday!

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great week!

Lenten Stitches

Every Lent parishioners in our church are invited to bring
a piece of cloth about 6 x 6 inches square, each piece representing
our worries and pains or those of loved ones. All the pieces are
then sewn together to form a patchwork panel, a 'Garment of Suffering',
and this is brought to the altar on Good Friday. Afterwards it is
draped over the cross where it will stay for the next few months.

Since joining the parish four years ago I've always wanted to take part
 in this but I always forget to bring our piece of fabric before the
 deadline and this has always annoyed me. This year however I've
made sure I remembered and I brought ours in weeks ago.

It was my husband who suggested that I 'decorate' our little square
of fabric. It is very simple but by adding these motifs* it has become
even more meaningful for me. Like every other family we have
our worries and we have so many things to pray for especially
this year. All of these will be laid on the altar tomorrow alongside
everyone else's in the parish, reminding us that we really can't
do this on our own. I find this very comforting and uplifting ,
and will give me great hope, which for me, is what Lent is all about.

Thank you for reading. We wish you all a blessed and
very happy Easter!





*All the crossstitch motifs were taken from Sweet Stitches from 
the Heart and Doodle Stitching: Embroidery and Beyond, except for
the Philippine flag which was my own little design.

Lovely Happy Things

a slice of perfectly baked polenta cake

masking tapes with very pretty floral patterns

blue skies and bright sunshine at the city farm

sweet and delightful Turkish Delights

clean and shiny surfaces after a good old spring clean

a not so pretty but very useful wall storage

Thanks for stopping by. Have a sunshiny weekend!

Making

Hello!

I hope you're all having a lovely Wednesday.
This is just a little post to show you what I've been busy
making lately. As always there's crochet and a bit of sewing too.

This is the back panel for my cushion cover. It's a project that's
been slow going but I've made some good progress over the weekend.
 Now there's just seven more rows to go and I'll be closer to the
 finish line.

Then I'll have to find out how to block and crochet the two sides
together. Any tips or advice for these will be very welcome.

On the sewing front I'm making two pocket dolls that I'm planning
to give as Easter presents for the girls. They're from the new Hoop-La 
magazine that I've mentioned on a previous post.

So far it's been fun choosing the threads to use and trying
different embroidery stitches. I'm hoping for a chance to sit down
and do some more stitching later.


That's it from me for now. Back soon!

Parcel Joys

Just after the New Year I wrote about the lovely presents
my friend Virna from Craftmates sent me (you can read all about
 it here. ) And I'm delighted to say that I've recently received another
parcel from her and as always it's filled with the prettiest and
sweetest things. Would you like to have a look?

Lots of lovely fabric...

.....crafty goodies..

...and vintage treats.

I have to say that's the cutest handmade needle case I've ever seen.
An aboslute treat to use. I've already turned one of the fabrics into
a cushion cover but I'll wait for as long as I can to use those masking
tapes and buttons. They're just too pretty!

The girls got their own presents too, the lucky things. Virna sent
them a separate parcel with these inside:

And they adore their presents just like I do mine.
Virna has really spoiled us with these generous and
 GORGEOUS GIFTS! Thank you, our lovely friend!

Thank you to you too for stopping by. I hope you've had some
parcel joys too lately. Have a fun week ahead!