feeling green

i don't know whether it is the first shoots of spring or what but i keep being drawn to greens this week.
I just hauled a big pile of samples from my basket after a visit to a client , and thought what a beautiful little random pile of green they were.

 the little stripe in the middle you might not recognise, but it is a sneak peek from my new collection.
i have also had a move around of our paintings, i have always loved this little green still life which mr h bought for me in new york 10years ago, and now it is happily sitting next to my duck (needs a frame) by the uber talented daisy murdoch - one day i will have one of her sublime portraits (before she gets too famous!)

i have been pinning slots of green on pinterest too

and if these beauties from elaine pamphillon don't make you feel springlike i don't know what will!!

shades of grey

i think i have mentioned before my fondness for grey in interiors.
it is such a restful shade, and fits with my ethos of less is more (it is a pity i am incapable of living by this maxim!!!)



above helen turkington interiors via achica.



all images are from my colour grey board on pinterest
which is about as addictive as blogging!

















the great thing about using grey in interiors is, that you can use it as a wonderful blank canvas background and then add a zip of colour to take the room in any direction you like.



here with yellow.



and here in a contemporary interior with a classic toile in vivid pink.





and here in a contemporary nursery with turquoise and mimosa.



what colours are you loving at the moment?

the Graphics Fairy

I've found a new blog that I absolutely love. I discovered it when creating 'thank you' cards for baby's birthday, she had to cover the designs with sequins, but you could do so much better!

I'm into the designs of Thornback and Peel and the Archivist Press at the moment and I wanted a lithograph type image of a vintage tea cup (in keeping with the tea party theme). At first I couldn't find one, then I came across The Graphics Fairy which is full of fantastic images, in fact she has 2,500 free clip art images! Now I'm addicted and can't stop thinking of reasons for using them, she also produces good images for transfers so you could have hours of fun updating some old clothes.

Now I'm off to see what graphics she has to offer for valentines!

baby shower gift

Well this is a first for me. Tomorrow morning I have been invited to a baby shower. I'm not entirely sure what to expect but decided that it is certainly not something to turn up empty handed at!

I have a superstitious streak that wont allow me to take anything for the baby until it is born (anyway I'm still working on that gift) but as the snow fell on Saturday I decided to use what I could find lying around the house to create a gift for a mother-to-be.

Some scraps of fabric, lavender and lavender oil and a box of salt....and I produced some lavender bath salts for a relaxing soak and a small lavender pillow to help aid sleep. A good night's sleep may be wishful thinking, but hopefully a good bath will be just the thing.

One thing I discovered I didn't have lying around the house is the appropriate foot for my sewing machine - some of our stuff is still in storage from the build, including most of my sewing kit. Obviously the last time I used my machine before the building I was doing embroidery. As a result I had to hand stitch the lavender pillow, using tiny, tiny stitches to stop any lavender flowers escaping, so what should have been a 5 minute project took me ages!

handmade from scrap bags

Jo and I have been lucky enough to take part in the fabulous vintage handmade textile fairs, and by far  our best selling wares are our scrap bags. We have several customers who make a beeline for our vintage sewing baskets filled with scrap bag packs. I thought it was high time we showed you how easy it is to make something from what is essentially a bag of  bits and bobs and small scraps of fabric.

so here goes in step by step photo instructions a kindle cover! (can be easily adapted for an iPad or phone!

 one of our small scrap bags.

 measure kindle and cut 2 x outside pieces and 2 x inside pieces, approx 3cm longer and wider than the kindle.

 bondaweb the reverse side of some scraps

bond a design on to one of the front pieces. i chose a leaf motif and an old linen button

 stitch some decorative lines on - will also stop the fabric peeling off over time.

do something creative with the other side!

 so here you have front , back and 2 inside pieces.

 sew the front to the front inside across the top edge, and repeat for the reverse side

 press flat.

 sew around the edges starting from the bottom of the inside. leave a gap to turn through.

 turn right side out through the hole, press and machine the hole shut.

 tuck the inside into the outside and press flat.

pop your kindle in!! not quite 5 mins, but about 10-15!