Bits and Bobs

I am sitting in front of the computer in a creative rut. My new fabrics arrived from Japan yesterday and I am desperate to play with them because they are so gorgeous. I have been making some more wallets and they are going quite well and so I want to try them out with the new fabrics but unfortunately I have run out of zips. The obvious solution is to go out and buy some more but LSH has the car! There is one place I could have got to by Metro (underground train) but I have just rung them and their zips are 3x more expensive than the ones I got last week :(

So hopefully inspiration will strike and I will think of a lovely zipless-project to make this morning - although I should really do some housework!!!

Yesterday I decided, after reading lots of different blogs, that I needed a dedicated sewing area where I could leave my machine, cutting board and iron up permanently without the risk of splatterings of food etc from the children. Our house isn't really big enough to do this in but I have gone ahead anyway!!! It isn't fully organised and "prettified" yet and I really must make some curtains for this end of our downstairs room as it is only a single glazed window and it is freezing here at the moment. I told LSH that I needed a wheely-chair so I can scoot along from machine to ironing board and back to the computer (all in one line) but he sensibly reminded me that as we have NO money at the moment I couldn't have one yet! The dining table is now shunted down towards the sitting room end so it feels a bit crowded - but at least my bit is nice now! (me, spoilt? never!!!) The only real problem is that I will now have my back to the room when I am sewing and I will have to tidy the garden as I am looking straight out onto it and it is a mess! I'll show you a photo of my new sewing "room" later when things are a bit tidier!

Fred's teacher emailed me a photo of the cushion he made her at the end of last term so I can show you that now. When we were in Italy he did a lovely stitchery of a lizard and he also has a ladybird cushion and giraffe stitchery underway. I wonder when he will decide that sewing isn't "boyish" enough? Not too soon I hope.

You can't really see in this picture but the cushion is made out of black fabric with chalk board writing eg ABC, 1+2=3 etc so I thought it was particularly relevant for a reception school teacher!

Ally (my big sister) also sent the photos of the wallet that I made for her - and very cleverly included one showing how well her credit cards fit!

Finally here are a couple of cushions that I designed myself. I am always in such awe of designers and think I could never do it myself but here is proof that I have (twice!) even if it was a few years ago. (I do design all my blankets myself with input from the people that order them and I draw the images free-hand without templates etc so I suppose that is my own "creation" but I never really think that I am able to design things)














I love using "heavy" denim with "dainty" patchwork fabric and stitchery designs (especially with seams or pockets as you will have seen before!) although these photos are a bit dark. The red one was a sketch I drew on my birthday a few years ago when we were staying in a lovely Bed and Breakfast in the Cotswolds and the chicken one is sort of a "photo" of my back garden a couple of years ago with the banties and their hen house and the runner bean wigwam. I no longer have the hens but they were beautiful when they trotted around the garden although LSH didn't like the little presents they left lying around!