Baby Bunting

It's been a long while since I've had a finished project to share
here with you. The last ones were my apple bags back in July,
a long time ago now, really. But I did make and finish something
over the summer school holidays and it's this bunting. A friend of
ours asked if I can make one for her friend's baby and I was more
than happy to oblige. I haven't made a bunting in ages but I've
always enjoyed making them. From choosing the fabrics to sewing
the appliques and adding the binding, a bunting is always a fun and satisfying project to work on.

 I usually attach the appliques by machine but as it's been awhile
since I've done any machine embroidery, I decided hand stitching
would be easier, even quicker this time. I do like a blanket stitch and
 I think the ones here make a nice, colourful outline to the letters and elephant shapes so I'm pleased I decided to do them all by hand. My
 friend was really happy with it, especially with the little elephants.
 I think they're rather sweet too. A happy, enjoyable project, all in all.
Hopefully Baby Albie and his mum like it too!

A lovely and warm Tuesday evening to you all. See you soon!

A Patchwork Blanket

This is my patchwork blanket. It's taken me awhile but here it is
finally all quilted and finished!

It was back in February when I started piecing together my fabric squares. I used two Moda charm packs called 'Marmalade' by Bonnie
and Camille. This was the part that I enjoyed most. It was easy and
relaxing to do and it didn't take me long to stitch them all together.

The next step was basting the quilt top, batting and backing material together. I used normal safety pins for this and didn't have much
trouble doing it. Now I can start hand-quilting but this stage didn't
go as smoothly and as problem-free as the previous two.

Quilting is basically just running stitch worked through all three
layers to keep them together. But even with a no.9 quilting needle,
the longest in the set of six that I got, I really struggled to do this.
I thought the batting, which was leftover from other projects, was
perfectly all right to use. I didn't expect that it would be a little too
thick for quilting. I didn't want to change it though so I had to find
 an alternative to the (useless) quilting needle.

I tried a curved one. It went through the layers easily but it was very awkward to hold, making it difficult to make even and straight stitches.
I gave up on this too. Then at the suggestion of a lovely old lady who
 runs a haberdashery in Whitby I decided to use an embroidery needle.
It's as thin and as sharp as the ones for quilting but it is longer so can
 be held easily while working through the layers. This time it worked! Finally I was able to make progress with the quilting. Hallelujah!

 My stitches are not small, even and perfectly straight as quilting
 stitches are supposed to be but they are neat and effective enough.
And after all that kerffuffle I was just relieved that finally I managed
to get the quilting done.

When it came to adding the binding, I found I didn't have enough
blue bias binding to go round the blanket. It was Markie's brilliant
idea to use two colours instead: dark pink and blue. Well, why not?
It's a bit unusual but again it worked. One of the many things I've
learned from this project is that sometimes you have to think outside
the box or in this case, outside the square!

Despite the quilting hiccups, I'm still glad I kept going and didn't
give up on this blanket. It's actually not very big but just perfect
for covering my lap or both girls' laps when they're watching tv.
The backing material is vintage brushed cotton. It is super soft
and cozy, I'm very sure this blanket will be very popular around
here when the colder months come.

 One other thing that pleases me about this project is that once again
 I made something from materials I already have. It is always so
satisfying to be able to do this. Plus the fabrics are just gorgeous.
I'm actually really happy with this blanket. I love it!

A Pirate Costume

This week I have been busy putting together a pirate costume
for Markie. Their topic at school this half term is titled 'A Pirate's
Life for Me' and all their learning are linked to pirates. As it's the end
of half term next week, their class is having a pirate dress up day.
And of course, as the costume maker in this house, I have to come
up with something that she can wear for this fancy dress day.

I started off by having a look in Pinterest for inspiration. I also looked
in her closet to see if there's anything she can use and found her red
and white stripey dress. She can wear a waistcoat over it and with
 a bandanna and an eye patch I thought she'd look piratey enough.
So that was decided, but first I had to make the waistcoat.

I've never made one before and just wanted something that
would look sort of like a waistcoat. I made a pattern based on one
of her shirts and this had three pieces- two for the front and one for
 the back. They were sewn together and this is how it turned out:

The fabric I used was leftover from her ladybird costume. It's
so flimsy I've had to line it with calico but it also saved me from
having to deal with hems so that turned out okey.

To add a little pirate touch, I embroidered this skull and cross bones
and created a badge.

 The armholes don't quite match and it's all uneven but it's wearable
and I think it goes well with the stripey dress. I'm actually pleased
 with it-- I didn't have to buy any of the materials, Markie likes it
 and most of all it fits!

I hope our girl pirate will have lots and lots of pirate fun at school
on Tuesday. Once again it's been a pleasure making her a costume.
I do wonder though what the next half term' s theme will be...


Hope it's been a nice week for you all. Enjoy the weekend!

Simple Pleasures

Simple everyday things that have made me happy this week:


A beautiful hand painted card from Markie for Mother's Day

School got cancelled on the Friday so she wasn't able to bring

this home til Monday. It doesn't matter at all that I got it a day later.

I think it's wonderful! 

French toast and bacon for breakfast

We have these every Saturday. It's yummy and filling, our all time

favourite way to start a weekend.

Repurposing these set of face cloths

They're nicely soft and thick, and cheap too. I've added ribbon
hanging loops and they're now our new kitchen hand towels.

Meatballs made by my husband with help from the girls

We had them for dinner last Wednesday but there are still enough left
for another meal and sandwiches for lunch. Can't wait!


Lulu's lovely way of arranging her toys

There's always some sort of pattern and order in the way she places
her toys next to each other. She says she's "putting them in right
order". I wonder what she'll be when she grows up.



A bunch of daffodils

Whether in buds or in bloom, they're one of the best things about spring.



Washi tapes from Wilko

I love their spring colours and they're brilliant at prettying up
 jam jars and just about any old thing.

Simple things, simple pleasures.


Hope you've all enjoyed the lovely sunshine today.
Thanks for stopping by here. Have a nice week!

Pot Holders

After making my crocheted pot holder in January, I decided
to make a couple more to use in our kitchen and here they are.
I have hand and machine stitched these two instead of crocheting
 them and I think they've turned out okey. The red one is a bit wonky-
 I was too caught up with sewing the binding to notice that one side
 was more curvy than straight. Oops! Never mind, it's still fine and
 it was good to practice attaching the binding. I'll try and remember
 what I've learned here when I get to the binding stage of my
 patchwork quilt later on.

These pot holders are about 6.5"x6.5" square and all the materials
I used here were from my fabric and sewing stash. The wadding is
 the same one I used for my patchwork quilt and tea cosy. It's thick
enough and these two are great for lifting lids and moving pots
around when we're cooking on the hob. I think they're also good
 as table mats and they add some lovely colour to our kitchen.
I'm really glad I made them!

So it's Friday again. Wishing you all a great weekend full of fun
and sunshine. Ours will be a staying in sort of weekend- Lulu's got
the chicken pox so we can't really do much. We had plans to go
walking with the girls in Derbyshire but that will now have to be for
another time. Anyway, enjoy your weekend and see you soon!

Five on Friday: Good Things

It's Friday once again, time to join Amy for 'Five on Friday'.

Today I've chosen five good things from the past week and a half.
These haven't been the easiest of days, with Markie unwell with
 chicken pox and my husband working for seven days in a row. We were
all tired and a little bit grumpy at times. We felt sad and worried too.
But there were still good and happy things and these are some of them.

I'll start off with Markie getting better and going back to school
this week. Thursday and Friday last week were her worst days-
no appetite or energy at all.Then she perked up over the weekend
and it was such a relief to see her starting to get better. She's still
full of the horrible spots but she's not letting them bother her.
 She's so good. On Wednesday she joined her class for a trip to the
Butterfly House. She had an amazing time and I'm so glad she didn't
miss out on this because it's something that she's been looking
 forward to for ages. Here's a little drawing that she did after
 the school trip. It's a little bit crumpled but I love it.

I found time to sew here and there and finished making my pot
holders. In the evening I've been crocheting too. They are good,
enjoyable, calming distractions and I'm grateful for them.

I've been trying to get back into reading for sometime now but
none of the books I've tried have really grabbed me until this one.
This was a great read, really enjoyed it. I've already started on
the next one, also by Kate Atkinson, and it's good too. After such
a long time, I'm glad these two books have come my way.
I'm now inspired to keep reading.

A Tea Cosy

This is all about my new tea cosy. It's my latest finished project-
another tick in my things-to-make list. Hurray!

I've made tea cosies before- a couple to sell at craft fairs and another
two as presents- but this is the first time I've made one for my own use.
Until recently I've preferred tea bags to loose leaf tea. They're quicker,
easier, fuss-free. We have two tea pots in the house but we've seldom
used them. Then over the New Year I decided to use up this tin of loose leaf tea I was given ages ago and developed a real fondness for it.
They do taste better and I have come to enjoy the whole process of
making a 'proper pot' of tea. And in a funny way it feels to me like
 a more grown up way of making and consuming this favourite drink.
 So now that I'm a convert to loose leaf tea I use one of my tea pots
(the smaller of the two) everyday and it needs a little cosy to keep
it lovely and warm and so, of course, I just have it make it one.

I was going to crochet it but I couldn't decide which pattern
to pick- there are just so many brilliant ones out there!- and decided
to do it by sewing. I found my old pattern, adjusted the size a bit
and started cutting and sewing away. I wanted cherries to applique
on the outside and chose to make them using the crochet brooch
pattern from issue 43 of Mollie Makes. I love cherries, they're a
 favourite motif. I've added them before to other projects
 (you can see more here and here).

I'm really pleased with it. I like the combination of gingham, crochet
and little spots together. I'm glad I chose to make it this way.

It is also a treat to use. It's got the same waddling and backing material
that I've used for my patchwork blanket. It is thick and can keep
my tea pot warm for a long time-- a very cosy tea cosy!!

So that's my tea cosy. At the moment I'm making a couple of
pot holders for the kitchen. They'll take awhile to finish I think. We have
chicken pox in our house right now. Markie came home from school today with itchy spots that are unmistakably chicken pox so she's
off school for the rest of the week. I'll be busy giving cuddles and Calpol doses for the next few days. I doubt I'll have much time for sewing.
 We'll see. Anyway, thanks for stopping by here. I hope you're all having
a nice Tuesday evening. Have a lovely rest of the week!

Cushion Making (again)

Every now again I like to change our cushions around and make
some new ones. They're a really easy way to cheer up our living room
and they are quick projects too. I made these two in spring, quite
awhile ago, and I fancied a bit of a change. So a few weekends back
when I had some free time I decided to get my sewing machine out
and make a couple of new cushions for our sofa.

I used Bunting in Gold by Cloud 9 Fabrics for this cushion.

I love the simple pattern and the colours and as it's flannel it's

super soft and so lovely to touch. I didn't know it was flannel

when I bought it from this shop but I'm glad it is because it's
 such a great material for cushion making. It's making snuggling 

in the sofa even nicer now that the days and nights are colder.

This one is a tea towel that I bought in the summer sale from

 this online shop. It's too lovely to use for wiping dishes but perfect

for making a cushion cover, although I had to use calico for the
back as there wasn't enough material for both sides.

These are just simple, envelope style cushion covers, 

no buttons or zips but I splashed out a bit on the duck feather

cushion pads. Oh my, they are so wonderfully squishy and comfy--
we love our new cushions A LOT!

So another happy cushion making hour for me with very
happy results. Fingers crossed I'll have many more!



I hope you're all keeping warm and dry this week.
Thanks for stopping by! See you soon!

Nice and Happy Things

Just a few of things making me happy lately.......



.........making this little bag for my older daughter.

It was a quick and easy project and now she has a
bag to keep her dance shoes in.

.......another Sunday afternoon spent baking with the girls.

This time we made Mary Berry's sultana and orange traybake. Yummy!

.......a dry and sunny morning like we had today.

We went for a walk before heading to a nearby playground for
some playtime, something we haven't done in ages and
the girls loved it.




.......this Bjorn Wiinblad plate from my mother-in-law.

It was a surprise Valentine's Day present for us and it's a lovely
addition to our little collection.




........reading my favourite magazines with a lovely cup of tea.

It's my preferred way to spend an hour in the afternoon alongside
crafting, baking and looking round antiques shops of course.



Thanks for reading!



Have a lovely week!

Home Sewing

I always love a bit of home sewing,
making things for my girls and for us to use at home.

I made this elephant cushion soon after buying my sewing machine
about two years ago then this patchwork blanket when I felt braver and
more confident with machine sewing.

 These were bandana bibs I made for my youngest when she was a baby.
They're made of cotton fabrics and an unused towel.

 Some of the other things I've made:

a case for our Kindle with a little applique,

 a peg bag with apple motifs,

cushion covers to brighten up our sofa

and this bag for my eldest girl's dance shoes.

I have to admit they're all a bit wonky in places
(don't look too closely at the patchwork blanket!)
 But I guess that's perfectly all right.
They're just for us so there's no pressure to get all the shapes
and stitchings right. I can relax and take my time which for me
 are parts of the joys of home sewing and crafting.

I'm hoping to do more of this in the New Year but for now
there's a commission I have to finish (the last one for this year)
and presents to make for Christmas so I better get on with them.

See you soon!!

x