Spring Wreath

I really love Bustle and Sew I love the feel of her designs and this bunny was from one of her patterns, however as I was putting the fluffy tail on with my needle felt, I realised that it might give a more natural look if I was to continue. While I might love her patterns I struggle to follow instructions and once the bunny became fluffy, I decided to do the yo yo flowers too! 

The heart wreath is such a pretty design which added to the springtime theme and I really enjoyed making the daffodils! I did try tulips but they did not work out! 

I finished the top with a bigger yoyo and hung it with some starry ribbon

I have some black beads somewhere, so until I find them his eye will have to remain just a little spot

I really enjoyed making these tiny yoyo’s some of them as small as a 5pence piece, I also used brads and small ribbon flowers from my collection. The wreath is now hanging up heralding in the spring, under my little egg tree. 

I went to the Eternal maker on Saturday to top up my felt stash, there are so many gorgeous things you can make with felt that I have a hankering to make. 

I also tidied up my little scrap basket, after the yo yo class a lulamae’s I needed to re-organise, other items will go up in the loft storage, as I don’t like having too much out – I find it too overwhelming! 

We headed to a lovely tea shop this afternoon for tea and cake, at the Riverside tea rooms in Amberley, it was a little too cold for a walk but definitely one that we will go back to with the dog. Lovely selection of cakes. We can’t wait for the museum to open it looks a great place to visit. 

Saturday Shopping

It was my birthday on Friday and lovely A gave me a voucher to spend at the Eternal maker, so I spent Saturday afternoon browsing round the delights of the shop, I adore the table laden with china cups filled with  a wide variety of buttons, or the cosy corner of ribbons of every tone and shade which makes me feel like a hunter gatherer if only for fabric, ribbon and felt.  Saturday was such a dull overcast day, typical of January that it was a lovely way to spend the afternoon, T came along too and we followed the visit with tea and cake in a nearby cafe to thaw our fingers and toes. (If you intend a visit it is well worth investing in several layers, the shop is not very warm and I had to give up once the cold had seeped into my bones!) 

The biggest difficulty I have is can be a struggle to find fabric and notions that match my ideas, I have lost count of the number of times I have desperately searched the shelves of fabric stores only to have to give up my project simply because the fabric to bring it to life is elusive. Ideas often perplex shop keepers, I have often heard them exclaim “no-one has ever asked me that in all my years owning this shop” or “why on earth would you want to do that?” so EM is a welcome relief, the staff are so helpful and when I told them what I had in mind, their expert knowledge of the wide range of fabric for sale, some of which journeys from as far away as Japan; soon had me smiling with pleasure. Not only that, but suggestions and exchange of ideas flowed easily, I always feel I leave the shop with a friend behind me. 

I gathered these lovely cotton ribbons together, I was particularly delighted with the red and blue ribbon at the bottom because it was exactly what my project needed. 

This fabric is called the vintage workshop, I love the combination of pattern pieces alongside vintage sewing instructions. It is an Amy Barakman design from Red Rooster fabrics. 

I simply could not resist this Trefle crazy sewing pattern by kokka, my inner compulsiveness struggles with the upside-down design, but I love the retro colouring and style. It reminds me of the french schoolbook I had back in the seventies!  I love this pattern because it offers so many colour combinations to pick out from the lovely bright reds to the pale blues and lime green. 

These lovely notions are so beautiful that I will struggle to cut this design up! I love the little buttons and the keys, it is simply delightful. It is a Charlotte lyons design from Blend, called walnut farm. 

So that is most of my supplies in order, now with a little sketching and research, I am almost ready to begin, but I can’t tell you what it is just yet, you shall have to wait and see. 

In praise of hand stitching

These little lovelies were inspired by the pretty one I bought yesterday. I do love my sewing machine but it is so easy to get caught up in trying to avoid as much hand sewing as possible in order to get things made. Hand stitching is easier in a lot of ways when it comes to smaller scale items, and it wasn’t until I was sitting on the sofa stitching away while enjoying a film that I realised how transportable hand sewing is. 

I think the pace of making something stitch by stitch is so satisfying, it feels like more of a connection somehow. You can really make the stitches almost invisible in a way that machine stitching can’t achieve, and it is why most couture garments are still hand sewn today. 

What I most like about these projects is that they are made from scraps of material that are too small to make into anything else. I love this vintage rose fabric so much that throwing it away seems such a difficult thing to do. What I like most is drawing out different aspects of the colours. Photographed with a blue background brings out the cool tones. I like the way the red dot fabric draws the red of the rose out but the roses are more subtle when surrounded by the blue stripe. 

It was while I was investigating pictures to do with hand stitching I came across this marvellous site, it is a needlework encyclopaedia and looks to have been written in the late 18th early 19th Century. It is a wonderful find; I have enjoyed reading all about the joys of needle work, especially the following advice: 

“Long experience has convinced me that no kind of needlework necessitates a stooping or cramped attitude. To obviate which, see that your chair and table suit each other in height, and that you so hold your work as hardly to need to bend your head at all. The practice of fastening the work to the knee, besides being ungraceful, is injurious to the health.”I thought ergonomics was a modern invention, it is good advice though, especially if you, like me, intend to indulge the joys of hand sewing. 

As you can see, I am getting better with each one, this one is made from lovely Clarke and Clarke fabric with some gorgeously soft tweed, the tweed matches a coat I have. I love the middle button it is one of Tilda’s collection of brads. I am making quite a few for Christmas presents.