Elephant Cushions

Remember this? Well I found a ready made matching cushion a few weeks ago in a charity shop that totally matched! I absolutely had to sew up my scrap to make a matching pair...

They're boasting on my new bed in my new flat in Glasgow West End - very chic!

Vintage Linen

Mum's been dredging through grannies drawers to find the old embroidered linen and has found a good few tablecloths lurking in the charity shops for a few pounds a piece also...they're for the party in the summer...VERY english :)

She added this cushion cover to her collection the other day as well...the 2 sides are very different and don't particularly match, but are both gorgeous! I'll show you again once its stuffed :)

Treacle's snuck a paw in there too :) she approves!

Homewards Bound

I got home from Glasgow last weekend with a whole car full of flat stuff which we moved out. The car was so full!! There were knives and forks in all the car door pockets and books underneath the seats...nil visibility the whole way home but we managed :)
The next challenge was squashing everything into cupboards and wardrobes (wardrobes being the difficult one!)...
My two wardrobes couldn't really handle all the new additions! sew the 'winter' wardrobe has been packed away and all my floaty summery bits remain :)

...a good few bags of clothes (labels!) will be appearing on my ebay store soon, and an awful lot have gone of to charity shops :( i hate parting with clothes!
Oh yes and a vintage fair just happened to be on the day after i came home...I picked up a gorgeous indian embroidered panel which I'll hopefully appliqué onto a cushion cover.

Just look at that neat embroidery! Found a few books too: R. L. Stevenson's Treasure Island, Christian Andersons Fairy Tales' and Maya - the adventures of a little bee.

Look how lovely the prints are :)

Happy Mothers Day!

Happy Mothers Day! I made a card as usual, but was even more fuelled to DIY it after popping into Clinton Cards and seeing all the little cards at £5.00 each. No thanks! Anyway, Scherenschnitte came to the rescue with a gorgeous paper cut out (very fiddly - had to get the scalpel out!) that worked very well.

Download your own PDF and have a go yourself here - but do check out her other designs, they are all equally delightful!

I got a bit paper-cutting mad and found this idea on How About Orange and used that to frame my message as well. I copied her pattern but its basically a well thought out paper snowflake! I can't wait to try some other designs :)

Oh and i found these gorgeous earrings on Folksy which are very Mummy Sew. Just missed the sale *sigh* but Gama agreed to pop a little Happy Mothers Day note in the packet for me which was lovely of her and meant i could post direct to Ma.

To Finish...Happy Mothers Day MummySew! Thank you for your love and attention, your patience and education. I cannot wait to see you again :)

What Dreams are Made of...

I went hunting for circular knitting needles and crochet hooks today...I hunted through the local charity shops and found some 2mm knitting needles. Are they used for ANYTHING?! I cannot for the life of me find a pattern for anything done on 2mm 80cm circular needles *sigh* They just get added to the pile then and the hunt continues. I might ebay it.

I want to make hats - ravelry has been taunting me with these things. I would love to try all sorts...

• a loose hat to avoid hat hair issues
• a lacy cowel for snuggling into
• a cosy shawl which would be lovely in the recycled wool from here

But they remain dreams until the right equipment comes my way. I did find a whole lot of vintage material and crochet scraps, which i resisted up to a point. Not having a sewing machine here is killing me. I am itching to get at big prints and make some handbags. I treated myself to some miniatures which proved wonderful inspiration for the upcoming Mothers Day.

Oh and the tiny little Petit Fours cases are so useful at the moment!

Presents from the Postie

Mr Postman brought me presents yesterday :)
Some more ridiculously soft wool from, of all places - Amazon! (here) Here's what it looks like as an addition to the blanket...its slowly growing inbetween revision and salsa-ing...

I think it matches quite well and I love crocheting it, its so soft! I'm up to about 60cm across - such a long way to go! A ball of wool only goes around twice now so i'm wondering how far i will get with my current stash! There may have to be some more sneaky buys along the way.
I'm currently contemplating whether i can pull off a little patchwork pincushion without a sewing machine. I do need something to stick pins in - needle books aren't quite as useful as a good old pincushion. We'll see...watch this space eh!

Book worm alert!

What I actualy mean is, failed book worm alert...since I've been neglecting the long hours i used to spend with my nose in a book. When i spend hours in the library looking up medically things all day, the last thing i want to do is come home and read. But i do miss it.

Conundrum eh! Well it hasn't stopped me buying books, i suppose ill get to missing it enough that i'll eventually pick all these books back up. My most recent purchases were from a few tables outside on Byres Road...and among the stacks and stacks of books i found these:

Now Mummy Sew cries her eyes out every time she watches The Bridges of Madison County - sew i saw the book and thought i better give it a go before i see the film. Saving it for a cry day though! And Daddy Long Legs - my Nan has a copy of this - but this is illustrated (see below) and its seewww cuuutttee! I will have to read it again, i've no idea what its about but i have fond memories of it lurking in the back of my mind :)

Besides those, these have been lurking on my shelves for a while. I'm half way through vanity fair - keep putting it down in annoyance at Becky Crawley and her vain vain ways. And the hunchback of Notre Dame - well it just needs to be read.

That top book is 'A childs garden of verses' by R L Stevenson. What gorgeous illustrations! The book on the right is one of the illustrations from Daddy Long Legs...

Twit...

...Twoo!!

I got back from my weekend away to find these adorable little ones adorning the mantlepiece. Aren't they the cutest, cuddliest little things!!

Ma found the owlets over at Roman Sock, and they appear to have been pretty speedy little things.

Pictured here with some of the wedding flowers they were giving away. Dozens on jam jars - so sweet!

And below a pressie from Tom - a bit fat squashy seat to plonk myself on for the inevitable bike rides. It was pretty wonderful, I have to admit - 15 miles against the wind on the coast and no sore bottom! Has to be a first :D

Finito!!

Sew whats been happening in life? Well yesterday....(why wasn't this in yesterdays post? Who knows) I finished my Art A-level!! YAAAAAAY!! So glad thats all all over. It's so hard to be creative when you have a title to work to. Anyway, my project titles that ive been working on since September are self chosen 'Conflict' which evolved into work about the Suffragettes, and again, self chosen 'Infection Control' which was mainly textile based.

I chose Art and Literature out of the given list for my exam and used Little Red Riding Hood, looking at its dark side. Anyway, i'm mounting up next week, and if i get it all up on the walls, I'll pop a few pictures up :)

Now a sight such as this greatly upsets me. I love post. LOVE it. adore it. It is my reason for getting up in the morning! Literally. Sew when one of these comes through the letter box, its awful! I have to wait a whole extra day! AND i have to go and get it myself. The trouble is...when I go and collect it, I am convinced the post-lady is going to come while i am out and leave me another one. It's awful. :(

Aaaaanyway on a bright, cheerful, flowery note - look what Mummy Sew made!

We found a PDF tutorial here at Roman Sock. Aren't they cute :D Other cute things of the week - check out what i got in part of a Matchbox swap from smokeyquartz. Her etsy store is fabulous - i just love her headdresses.

The bag is so wow and the buttons are POW. The teeny tiny little book is just wonderful too! The ribbon, i bought myself the other day when i was in Skipton getting myself another teapot painted...pictures later!

Tea for Two

Wedding presents pre kiln. I love this place - coffee and clay. Tom enjoyed it too which was wierd...but awesome.

That and some homemade placemats will do for the wedding i think - pictures to come hopefully when they're all finished.

Sew a Collar

This came in a mix bag of stuff from the most recent Leeds Vintage Fashion Fair in the town hall, i didn't realise what it was until i got it home. Other ribbons and such were lovely, but this was raggedy and had obviously been hacked off something (I just wish i knew what!). There is also a matching but slightly lacier bib...which i think will be sewn onto a strappy white top, on the neckline...so watch this space!

Anyway, the collar needed only half an hour to a few seams and fix the clasp a little and actually looks rather quirky now. Especially with a strapless or low top. Good find methinks :)

Sew I spent a bit of money...

Vintage fairs and charity shops were raided this weekend when I finally woke up from my night shifts and I found this gorgeous selection squirreled away at the back of shelves and such like.

Keep posted - I have some lovely ideas for bags coming up!

Also bought a whole sewing box full of vintage pins/needles/crochet hooks/threads/pin cushions etc etc etc...all for ten pounds! its beautiful - wooden with three tiers folding out and a central handle. Brill!

and here it is:

Sew I made a teapot...

Had a wonderful day out with Ginger in a little cafe in Skipton called coffee and clay - SEW childish, but wonderful fun. Its called Coffee and Clay...
I did a little teapot for one (not that we don't have enough teapots!) and Ginger did a little Cupcake pot.
Sew here was mine...
And hers...
And we went back a week later (which turned out to be about three I think :s) to collect after they've been through the kiln. What do you think?
Coffee and Clay do gorgeous little events - childrens parties and adult BYOB evening painting sessions. Love it!
But anyway...time for a pot of tea i think! :D