Hearts and Flowers

I expect lots of hearts will be being made and bought as valentine's day fast approaches ...of course i am making some too....but then i am always making hearts here for one reason or another ;-).....................

 .....this blue flowery one is a sewing themed one for someone who *hearts* sewing just as much as me....

....and as well as hearts we have some flowers today .....this week i was given some beautiful tulips by my elder daughter which were chosen specially for me by my little grandson Charlie :-)) ..... they have really brightened up the house which was rather grey on one or two days and absolutely freezing cold....or sunny and still  absolutely freezing cold....but while the rest of the uk is now out playing in the snow we haven't got any at all!! .....not a single flake...

 ....i eyed the sledges in the cellar today rather disappointedly :-( ......but never mind the good news is that here the temperatures have gone back up and i can remove at least one layer of rowan felted tweed cardigans and one woolly scarf........

 .....do you remember this little yellow home sweet home heart i showed here last year? i am going on a stitched heart hunt around the house (and potting shed) to collect them all together and hang them up for valentine's day.......

 ....the baby bunny heart here is my project in this month's Crafts Beautiful magazine...read more about it here.......the name Ruby is one i really like, it is also the nickname of one of my younger sisters x.....

 ......naming things is something i always enjoy, and i love the names of the quilt blocks in the Farmer's Wife Quilt book....here are two new ones i've made called Spool and Old Windmill..........

....and here is a quick picture of my cosy Spring Flowers blanket, still striping merrily along and keeping me cosy at the same time....it's always a good idea to hand sew a quilt or crochet a blanket when the weather is chilly isn't it?
Thank you for dropping by today, it's so lovely to see you.....i hope you are keeping warm if you live in the colder parts of the world...(or just right if in the warmer ones).....and that you have a wonderful, happy flowery week....back soon xxxxxxx

Sewing Things

 Like most creative people, i love the tools of my trade, sometimes it's paints, brushes, thick creamy watercolour paper, fine nib rotring pens, tiny bottles of ink.....but at the moment mostly the tools of my trade are sewing things ....besides the computer of course ;-)......and i love all the little things i use each day.........

 ....the scissors, threads, needles and pins....and of course the pin cushions......and i had an idea to make some new ones as gifts shaped like...gifts!..... this idea was one i used for my crafts beautiful magazine xmas project which was a cushion that looked like an xmas gift tied up with ribbon with a stitched tag.....

 .....i made three little pincushions from some of my favourite fabrics....and tied a bow round them, gift-style....

 .....and then i made some little tags using rubber stamps and bits of cardstock, patterned papers and fabric scraps......i love to do these for fun, and then the ideas are useful for magazine commissions later.....

 ......the china blue card stock is a lovely shade, i think....reminds me a bit of my cornish blue blanket edging...

 .......a little tag makes it look more present-like and it's always nice to write a special message to the recipient....

 ........so after lots of playing with these....well only a short while really as i have been working very hard on the top secret project most of the time and these were very quick to make......i had a play with the button factory set my daughter gave me.....now i've made covered buttons before, often with cross stitch on them, and had one featured as part of a corsage in Sew magazine last year.......but i have never had a whole set of button moulds to play around with at once.....so this was fun to do......and i made lots very quickly (some better than others as some were a bit wonky)....

 ....but i am very pleased with my new collection of covered buttons and will be adding them to my quilts and cushions....and anything else i can think of too......

 ....i have had to order a large amount of fabric lately for the secret project, and have turned into a bit more of a fabric aholic than i already was.....i've found some more ranges that i fell in love with which haven't yet arrived in my sewing room but will be here soon and i can't wait......

.......but this sweet jellyroll  from tanya whelan has appeared already, and before i open it and work with it i decided to have a nice photo or two to put on my blog and enjoy it all rolled up like this.....sew pretty....
Thank you for dropping in today, it's lovely to see you........... I hope you are having a cheery week and if you live in the uk or anywhere else where the temperatures have dropped..............keep cosy!......wishing you a happy new month ...............back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Big Bunny

As usual there has been some sewing going on here.....and today i would like to show you a new BiG bunny....meet ruby! Lots of lovely readers have been in touch since my last book was published in 2010 to say how they have enjoyed making things from it, and many of you have made the bunny...i have seen lots of sweet and colourful versions.... everyone makes their own slightly differently which is fun to see.......

 .....i recently had another look at the book and the bunny and decided to enlarge the pattern page by 150% on a photocopier......i adhered the pattern to thin card using spray mount, and then cut out the rather large shapes......and then i began sewing ruby........i love making toys and am collecting old books filled with patterns and information for crafting them which are proving very useful.......

 ....just to show how much bigger ruby is, here she is with her little brother from the book below.....

.... besides sewing and other crafting, i have been painting something white.....it doesn't feel right for me if too much time goes by without me painting something white.....and this time it was an old ikea cupboard  which was rejuvenated with a pot of farrow and ball (shade: pointing) and is now in my studio, being filled up with bright crafty bits and bobs.......

 ....the studio hyacinths have finally opened  their pretty blooms and are filling the air with a wonderful fragrance......

....i hope you have a happy week filled with the things you enjoy....thank you for popping in to see me here, i do enjoy your visits and your sweet comments make my day.......sending you sunny wishes...back soon xxxx

Crafty New Year

 The winter hearts here are some i made to add to gifts this christmas....scented with pot pourri or dotted with a fragrant winter scented oil, they are a sweet little extra to put inside a package, or hide in the pocket of a bag or other gift.....

                                                 ......or to hang on the outside of a gift bag......

 One of the best crafty things in 2011 for me was finally learning to crochet......and i have been making granny squares in my spare moments ever since that hot sunny day when i first began.......

 ........i made this cushion as a present  for one of my dearies who just loves pastel shades......

 ......and a bright one, below being wrapped up on my desk......having enjoyed the granny square for quite a few projects, i have now decided to move on to a granny stripe so will be back to show you that in the new year.........

 ......there is a big pile of fabric waiting in my studio for a whole host of exciting new projects....this year i will be working on my next book, well i already am, but it takes a while ;-) .......i love the thought of so much crafty creativity stretching ahead over the coming months....the feeling is one of real happiness......

 ....i wish you the same feeling of joy and happiness in your creative world this year too.......

Thank you for reading my blog during 2011 and for your very sweet comments and emails.....blogging is so much more than i realised when i began and i love to visit all of you around the world and share a little of your creative lives too....wishing you all a very Happy New Year and a wonderful, inspired and creative year ahead....back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

Sew Festive....and a Winner!

 This weekend I have been shopping and sewing....lots of Christmas presents have been gathered ready to wrap, and there is some secret sewing under way....... but first i must make an announcement.......

                                         ....the winner of the Woodland Winter Giveaway is.........
                                                               Apple Blossom Barn
                                                         
....congratulations to Denise, and if you would like to email me your address (my email is on the sidebar there) your parcel will soon be winging it's way to your pretty home........
i would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway, i loved reading your sweet comments and finding lots of different blogs to enjoy, and hearing from old blog friends too of course....i wish i could send a gift to you all....but i will be holding regular giveaways in 2012...so good luck in the next one!

.....And now for a little festive sewing......a while ago i showed you some lovely Liberty fabrics....

....i like to use Liberty tana lawn in small amounts and this little gift bag was a perfect project for that...

 ........i used it to bind the top edges of the thick pure wool felt bag.....and made some yo yo's too.....

 .....and here it is in this month's Sew magazine, with a redwork cross stitch bird design appliqued on the front as well.......

 .....and here is a matching Christmas tag i made too, using bright beads for an extra festive feel.....you can find more ideas at Sew magazine here.......

.....this Scandinavian style applique Christmas stocking was made for my book Simple Sewn Gifts, and i loved sewing it....the fabrics were from a delightful little bundle that one of my daughters brought me back from a college trip to Amsterdam,...so it was lovely to use them in this special project.....here it is hanging on my mantlepiece at the moment, with the candles lit and everything cosy.....
Thank you for visiting me here today...wishing you a wonderful week and warm and happy times...back soon with lots of Christmassy pictures xxxxxx 

Autumn Days

Sewing and making is the theme today.....more toadstools - or mushrooms - are appearing around our house, some decorated, some not.....all dotty whether they are large or small....

...i am really enjoying exploring this idea and have lots more mushrooms that i want to make yet......

 .....i made some simple card templates to create the top of the toadstool and the stalk which can then be used to draw round and make lots of others quite quickly.......

 .......so far for decoration i have made some felt flowers, but have some other ideas percolating too....

 .....as i'm working on spring themes in my studio this week, it's fun to also make something with an autumn feel in my spare moments.....it feels just right to be making these just as they might be appearing in the woods nearby or even in the garden almost hidden amongst the leaves.....

 ......i had a wonderful surprise this week when a parcel arrived for me...the next picture shown below is of the gorgeous bag that i won in Karen's wonderful giveaway over on her blog Karen's Crafts here....i was thrilled to receive this lovely gift as you may imagine, and even more so when i discovered.....

                                 ......lots of other treats and surprises hiding in the pockets....

 ....an adorable pincushion, a pretty tissue cover, and  lovely crochet jam jar cover so beautifully made by Karen, and a sweet little strawberry pink candle, too. Thank you so much Karen for these generous gifts....do go and visit her lovely blog it's lively and inspired and full of crafty things....

 .....my autumn days wouldn't be complete without a quilt or two on the sofa, and that thought this week inspired me to tidy up my quilt cupboard, which i have mentioned and shown before and is in the sitting room, handily next to my sofa where i spend many happy hours stitching away. Sometimes i keep fabrics in the cupboard too but at the moment i have taken them all out for a grand fabric sort out...so there are just quilts in there which seemed like a good time to take a photo....

 .....while they are tidy and folded neatly.....the fabrics are now in the dining room also known as the sewing room in a huge pile and i am going to organise them ready for a big project that is about to begin....

.....so much sewing and quilting and mushroom making this week.....i love it! Other things i'm loving are: berries, crunchy leaves, cosy evenings by the fire, candle light, apple and blackberry crumble and custard, home made bread {in a breadmaker so didn't take me long ;-)}, reading a Persephone book, piecing a quilt, watching the grandbabies laughing and playing together, hearing the front door when Mr P arrives home from work...so many simple things to enjoy and make the most of......i hope you are having happy times this week too. Thanks so much for dropping in to see me and for the lovely comments. I'm off to do some crafting again now....but i'll be back soon. xxxxx