keeping on the straight and narrow

It's amazing what you can do with a few straight lines!

The first day of half term Boy was engrossed in Harry Potter, Baby was in bed sleeping off a cold and our little girl and I had a rare opportunity to get out the sewing machine that we gave her for Christmas. Whilst I set the machine up (which involved a lot of hurrumphing as the bobbin is impossible to get in properly) I let Girl browse through one of Sarah's and my favourite books Sew Pretty Home Style.

Naturally she chose to make a Make up bag and so we adapted one from the book. Obviously I had to help her sort out the fabric and make sure everything was pinned in the right place, but then she was able to sew the whole thing together. All she had to do was sew a few straight lines.

And with those straight lines she was able to create this lined and trimmed pouch for all her beauty essentials - Not bad for a 5 year old!

butterflies and bunting

After a week of doing nothing in Devon it was my intention to come home and not leave my sewing machine for days however the amazing weather we've had today has meant any sewing attempts have been futile.

I sat in the garden with a pair of scissors and a pile of fabric cutting triangles for this bunting I've been making out of old embroidered tablecloths. Ever since Julie Arkell taught me that it is ok to tear up old books and make them into bits of art I have a new approach to anything old.

Meanwhile the children spent a happy morning waving fishing nets in the air trying to catch butterflies. I love the way such simple past times can amuse the children for hours and with The Bumper Book of Nature we have we've endless fun ahead of us. It's got plenty of ideas of things to do outside, much of which wont be new to anyone who grew up in the country, but it is a great reference book from bugs to birds, butterflies and wild flowers, and nicely presented to boot!

sew pretty christmas homestyle

If you still have some Christmas presents to find and would prefer to sit in front of your sewing machine rather than traipse around the shops in the cold and wet then take a look a sew pretty christmas homestyle.

I've recommended the original in this series in an earlier post and this book is done very much in the same style, so you spend a lot of time admiring the pictures and lusting after the fabrics.

I was instantly struck by the angel wings and absolutely had to make a pair for baby and as I don't seem to have any fabric that is remotely fitting I raided hubby's wardrobe and used one of his old shirts. I have to say that I think the result is enchanting and it really didn't take much time to make. A perfect Christmas present for any little angels out there!

book making

I had a real treat of a day on Saturday. Firstly I had a bit of a shopping spree at the fantastic Christmas Vintage and Handmade fair in Chipping Sodbury. Sarah was there with her camera and will elaborate further I'm sure but, needless to say, I came away with bags a bulging. Then I whizzed off to the Brewery Arts Centre for an afternoon course in contemporary book making with Katherine O'Connell of The Quality Bureau.


It was a really good course, well thought out and we learnt a lot in just 3 hours. I came home with 7 little books of various sizes and styles, as well as plenty of ideas. I would definitely recommend it to any one else curious to give book making a go.

Well that's a few Christmas presents sorted!

toys to sew

It's got to the time of year where I pull out all my books and search through looking for ideas for children's Christmas presents. One of my favourites is Toys to Sew by Claire Garland. It's got some great toys of varying levels of difficulty. The felt toys are fairly simple but look really good but my favourite has to be the basic doll, and then all the clothes you can make to go in her wadrobe. And there is a boy's version, the jolly pirate.

I made the doll for our little girl's birthday present last year, along with frilly undies, pyjamas and a dressing gown, (this is the book I plan to use when I sit down to make doll's clothes with our little girl and her new sewing machine). I bought a cheap toy bed from Ikea which I painted and then covered the bedding supplied by Ikea with a nice linen, appliqued with a butterfly to match the pyjamas.

ok, I know the eyes are a bit odd, but that just adds to the character!

wedding book

I may have been quiet recently, but I've certainly been busy. Last weekend saw us trying to whizz up the M5 for a wedding in Whitley Bay. A while ago the Bride and Groom asked me if I could make them a wedding book for all the guests to sign as a memento of their day. I jumped at the opportunity to get my creative hat on, not realising till too late that I haven't a clue how to make a book. Thankfully I had a very useful chat with, and was kindly lent some books by Katherine O'Connell of The Quality Bureau, a resident maker at the Brewery Arts Centre. I used the a picture of the St Mary's Lighthouse as this was where the wedding ceremony took place and then looked at old books, typed up some bits of love poetry (using THE typewriter) and dug out some old scraps with an Italian theme (they're honeymooning in Italy) and lo and behold I had a book.



I'm definitely not an expert, but I'm off on a contemporary bookmaking workshop run by Katherine in a couple of months and I'm really looking forward to learning more.

little pocket mermaid

I just wanted to share with you these photos of a mermaid I made for my mother in law as a thank you for letting us use her house in Cornwall. The pattern came from one of my favourite making books Embroidered Treasures by Claire Garland. I've made a couple of other projects (and I know that Sarah has too) and so far I have been successful in my creations, which is a sign of a good book!
The book does recommend thread colours etc, but I rather disregarded that in favour of what was already in my sewing basket. As a result this mermaid does look rather like she could do with her highlights being re-done.

perfect pinny

I'm so chuffed with myself. Not only have I managed to make an apron before the end of the week (and wrap and post it), but it was so easy that I decided to make a corsage as well. The idea being that while you are doing the preparation for a dinner party you can use the basic pinny and then when the guests arrive you can jazz it up with the corsage (ok white is not the most pratical colour for this, but then if you spill a big splodge of tomato sauce you can cover it with the flower and no one will any the wiser).


I have to thank Amy Karol's book bend-the-rules sewing for the pattern (if you can call it that). It is her Amazing Tea Towel Apron. If you haven't got the book it is worth buying, I've made a couple of other things including a tea cosy, and this and this smock. The photos are bright and fun, the designs are fab but, as the name suggests, they are not labour intensive and you get quick results. This apron must have taken 5 minutes (I didn't use a tea towel but I did ignore the option to add darts). Now there is no excuse for you not to make your own.

sew pretty homestyle

There are so many brilliant books to fuel those of us that are artistically inclined and some are definitely better than others. We thought we would do a regular review on books that we've seen and really liked.

First off is Sew Pretty Homestyle by Tone Finanager. Sarah first showed it to me on one of the only beautiful sunny days we had last year, I sat in her garden loving every page, went home and ordered my own copy. It's bright pages are full of easy to follow ideas, the pictures are fab and you want everything that you see. Sarah has been prolific at label making and I'm particularly fond of the corsages, which I've adapted and added to tiny shopping baskets making great gifts for little girls.

However my best creation so far is the stuffed dog. I made this for my Goddaughter when she was born. I used a pretty rose fabric, made little fairy cakes decorated with roses for the mum and everything in white boxes tied with pink ribbon, rose stickers with a sweet smelling rose to top it off. Gloriously pink for a new born girl.