it's been a while

what happened to april? what with school holidays and the royal wedding i somehow lost a month. very little got done in the way of 'work' although i seemed to make lots of birthday presents and wedding party stuff. once that all died down and everyone finally returned to school/work i went into lastminute.com mode and began preparing stock for a craft fair. now that is all over and i finally feel i can breathe again but i am left with this.....

think i need  a studio tidying day.....i can see my sewing machine in there somewhere...maybe i'll venture in later today. part of the reason for this chaos is i had to take a table to the craft fair (what's the point of paying table hire when i have a perfectly good one myself)...the one that was piled full of stuff. and so said stuff was spread around the room at 9.30 on saturday to get the table out and loaded into the car with my stock for a 9.35 departure. i arrived at the fair and the organiser had laid out too many tables and said i could use one of those rather than him moving it and me getting mine out of the car!!!!!!!!! so anyway i arrive back home at 5.30 and dump table and stock wherever i can find space....and there it still lies. the other reason for the chaos if you haven't figured by now is that i'm really messy....

here are some pics of the fair, the first are taken by the lovely Ruben from Kraken Photography who i met on the day

my stall

some of the great stalls

clutch purse

a gaggle of flo dolls

lovely summery flower corsages. wear as a brooch or in your hair

some of this scrumptious stock will be added to the shop later...once i tidy the studio and am able to find it!!

time to get on now i suppose as i have sewing to do.....sample cushions for a local gift shop for thursday, 3 birthday gifts for parties the kids are going to this weekend, sofa covers for next week and my son wants his quilt made so that he can take it to cub camp (we've only been talking about it for 3 years) he obviously knows that mum needs a deadline....he goes on the 28th may.... better get cracking.......oh and tidy the studio first and update the shop.

the kettle is calling 

until next time

x

Friday Folksy and WIPs

happy friday people. the weekend is almost here ..yay. before i go window shopping i thought i'd show you what's in my wip box this week as well as the quilts i'm working on at the moment. 

here is a box of lovely things waiting to be stuffed. some liberty fabric bunnies and birds plus vintage/vintage inspired  fabric ponies. a large bag of stuffing and my favourite stuffing tools await these little chaps. but they look so lovely lined up in their box it seems a shame to disturb them. these are destined for a craft fair at the beginning of may although i might put some on the shop too.

ponies, birds and bunnies

below is one of the vintage quilts from the states that i have been repairing and which was is destined for the craft fair however when i washed it a few days ago i fell in love with it. it is currently resting on the end of my bed. although it is an old quilt i don't think it had been washed before. it was badly stained and marked along the edges. a cool wash removed most of these easily, no need for secret recipe soaking. the beauty of washing quilts for me is the gorgeous puckering that happens between the stitches. i always wash my quilts as soon as i finish the final stitch of binding but not everyone does...i love seeing them drying on the line. 

this is a wholecloth quilt and the hundreds of hand stitches create the pattern. it is a beautiful quilt with hours and hours of work put in to my someone. i'm not sure i can part with it just yet.

and here is a strip lap quilt that is in the process of being handquilted. love the colours of this.

and here is the vintage feedsack pieces now pieced into blocks, just need to put them all together.

so i've got a few bits and pieces to keep me busy for a while.

now for shopping! i'll keep it short this week as i've rambled on enough and time is fast running out.

this week i have chosen a selection of gorgeous things that i would be delighted to open this sunday.

click on the image to take you to the folksy shop.

anything from pants and paper would be nice

just what i need to keep my lips soft

you can never have enough buttons especially when they are as beautiful as these

i need to create a path up to the chicken run via the washing line to stop me slipping in the mud in winter, i really love these sparkly stepping stones

 

love these

any of those lovely things would be wonderful but i'm sure i'll get some gorgeous handmade pressies and most importantly lots of huge huggles. can't wait.

have a good weekend

enjoy.

x

Friday Folksy

is it that time again! every week i promise myself that i will update my blog with something interesting in between my friday folksy window shopping excursions but yet again the week has whizzed by and i haven't managed it. i would like to say it is because of this lovely cliche.... so much to do; so little time.....but in reality it is this....so much to do; too disorganised/easily distracted doing research on the interweb/chatting networking/ etc etc you get the idea. some of the posts i have in mind are these; quilts in progress plus new vintage quilts just arrived from the states. the story of flo. whats in my wip box(es). recent adventures with little ed. i will try my hardest to do one this week.

but for now there is some window shopping to do. I couldn't decide on a theme this week so i'm using a quote instead by the wonderful william morris.

"have nothing in your house that you do not know to useful, or believe to be beautiful"

i so wish i could live by this completely but some things are not so easy....such as the growing collection of decorative salt and pepper sets/china thimbles/i heart (insert holiday destination) eggcups that we keep receiving. i know these to be neither beautiful or useful! i can only break sooo many and did manage to 'lose' a whole box of these lovely items in the last house move....but still they keep coming. 

enough rambling, here is my selection for this week.

click on the images to link to the wonderful folksy shops

useful and beautiful

useful plus beautiful because it incorporates my love of old tins and all things green

so beautiful and with 50% from each sale going to help people in japan it is definitely useful.

beautiful and useful

too beautiful to put things in but useful as inspiration

once again useful and beautiful. mr morris knew what he was talking about....

just beautiful...been coveting this for a while

and i think i'll end with another quote by william morris

enjoy

"the true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all details of daily life"

x

folksy friday

it has to be a red theme today surely. i thought about not being so obvious but actually i quite like red. so here are my selection of red goodies. click on the image to go have a little lookie on folksy.

first up is this very cute bird and made on the opposite side of the kent coast from me.  i just love those little feet.

how funky is this suitcase. it makes me want to plan a weekend away.

and whilst away i'll need something to put all my spending money in.....

(why don't my zips look so neat   :-(......)

if you have no one to take with you on that weekend away how about shy andie.  i'm sure she'd love to see the sights...and she won't answer back or moan at how much you're spending. she's adorable.

i believe that you should always have a notebook of some kind within arms reach to scribble down the creative thoughts that suddenly fly through your mind. if you have to go searching for something to write in you risk losing what could have been the best idea of your life.....that's my excuse for having so many notebooks and i'm sticking with it. you can never have too many notebooks....or shoes.....or chocolate....

a perfect splash of colour in the corner of the room. love this.

whilst i'm looking a lounge furnishings lets throw in some cushions..(another item you can't have too many of!)

 

and now for some reason folksy has become inaccessible! is someone trying to tell me that i've spent too long window shopping under the pretense that it is work and really should be getting on with some sewing by now.

oh well folks it looks like that's it for today. must begin my long commute to the studio...via the kettle.

til next time.

enjoy

x

todays wips

today seemed like a good day to start work on some vintage quilt blocks i've had a while. these were bought from an estate sale in the states, a bag of blocks put together but never finished. so this afternoon i began sorting sorting and trimming.

work is tough sometimes!!! the blocks are put together with some lovely old feedsacks as well as some dress fabrics. i always think it such a shame that someone put so much effort in to starting a quilt but for whatever reason it was never finished. i will piece the quilt top together, add some wadding, backing and binding. the quilting will be done by hand to suit the age of the cloth. hopefully someone will love it and want it on their bed or sofa. i'll post more pictures as i do more work on it.

i also stitched a pile of birds, bunnies and ponies from some gorgeous liberty fabric and quilting cotton. a few evenings by the fire with a chop stick and big bag of stuffing are what i have ahead of me. life in the fast lane!!!

i wouldn't change it for the world.

be thankful for all that you have in your life and stop worrying about all that you don't have. if you are reading this on your laptop or phone and have a roof over your head and people in your life that you cherish then you are blessed. do not take it for granted.  

X

constructive distraction

despite having an order to finish by tomorrow for a local gift shop and loving my work....listening to 6 music with a never ending cup of hot tea and sewing Little Eds together,what's not to love(!)......i am finding myself seeking distraction today. and so instead of squandering the day and then working like a maniac for 20 minutes before the school run i thought i'd make my distraction useful. so i've made myself a cup of tea,yes another one, and i'm going to do some show and tell :-)

firstly i want to show the proof print of my first woodcut that i'm working on for a printmaking course i'm doing and LOVING. inspired by this little book on how to be a better wife.......

this is just the proof and there is more cutting to do yet but i am happy so far especially as i got the text the correct way (it has to be cut out in reverse). 

here are a couple of extra words of advice i'll share with you

don't let your husband have to search the house for you. listen for his latch-key and meet him on the threshold.

don't greet him at the door with a catalogue of dreadful crimes committed by servants during the day.

and lastly

don't think your husband horrid if he seems a bit irritable; probably he has had a very tiring day, and his nerves are overwrought.

so take note girls and get his slippers ready!!

don't panic; i have 'don'ts for husbands' too and will be doing something from that at some point but here is the first sentence; this makes me laugh every time.

my dear sir, you are neither as bad nor as good a fellow as you imagine yourself to be.

and so i must return to these little guys happy that my distraction has indeed been constructive.

Friday Folksy

i know it's not friday yet but as i didn't get around to doing a friday folksy last week and will be even busier tomorrow than i am today i thought i'd steal away with a cup of tea browse the scrumptious goodies in folksy whilst i wait for the studio to warm to somewhere above freezing so that my fingers will function...........

anyone who knows me will know that i have a bit of a thing about the colour green. i wouldn't call it an obsession as such but my green fabric stash is definitely my biggest!

so here are some lovely green things made by some very talented crafts people.
click on the images to link direct to the folksy shops.

when it comes to books i am and always will be an unashamed folder of the corner of the page...this seems to bring out the 'marmite' reaction in people...they either love or loathe this behavior. some see it as wrecking the book somehow. i LOVE books and believe they are to be used and cherished and don't mind pencil notes in the margin or folded pages however if i lend you a book take note that i do not respond well to torn pages or books being used as coasters!!!!!! you have been warned.

now if i am borrowing a book i wouldn't do any of the above of course so i'd need a lovely bookmark like this

this little bear is beautiful and not just because it's green

these birds are divine in their simplicity and one will soon be winging it's way to my studio :-)

guess which one ....

love this cushion....i ran a book club for eight years!! will have to add this to my wish list.

not sure why this came up in my green search but i'm putting it in anyway.

a beautiful example of what can be done with simple thread

this just makes me wish i could knit and crochet better

all the dresses on this shop are beautiful, i regularly window shop here

birds are another obsession.....

that really must be it for today as the studio is now filled with warmth (i live in hope) and work is calling...just make a quick cup of tea before i start.

enjoy.

x

folksy friday

inspired by the amazing david nash programme on bbc4 last night i thought i would choose wood as todays theme. here is a link if you didn't get to see it http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00ymlhp/Force_of_Nature_The_Sculpture_of_David_Nash/

this is what my husband made for me for our tenth wedding anniversary back in september. probably my favourite gift ever.

it sits on my desk by my sewing machine so that i can pick it every now and then and hold it.

so beautiful and tactile.

and here is some of the incredible stuff i found on folksy.

this is so beautiful ..... i could store my buttons in it.

another wooden heart

how cute is this little boat

because we always have plenty of hugs in our house

this bowl is beautiful

i wish i had space for this

this is pretty funky and a great way of recycling

these are such a simple shape and so beautiful

i wood (sorry) go on but as much as i love the world on virtual window shopping the sewing machine is calling.

i hope you enjoy my selection.