Sew Hip magazine....

Yours truly is in this month's issue - issue 21 of fab crafty mag - Sew Hip!!!!

I LOVE this magazine - which has none of the 'stuffiness' or old-fashioned-ness(!) in the worst sense of the word, of other crafting magazines. It is modern and bright and has loads to inspire - if you haven't already, check it out!! You can get it online or I do know WH Smith's has it.

Look! There's my cushion! on the Editor's page no less!
very strange seeing my name in print!!
This is one of my earliest patterns and I love the versatility which choice of fabric can bring - the look of the cushion is completely changed depending on the colours/patterns you pick.

This one was made which totally recycled fabric - the floral pattern was a little girl's dress, the checked orange was a man's shirt and the backing was a linen sheet.
Really pleased with the styling - love the bare brick wall and shabby chic chair!!

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and it's time for the ***offer of the week*** at Feltgirl.com and you're going to like this!!

JUMBO cotton ric rac in 3 beautiful colours!!

This is SO gorgeous - you can stitch it whole for a big statement or tuck it under and have a wonderfully wavy edge!!

There's a jumbo 25% off this week only making it only £1.60 per metre. Comes in teal, lavender or peachy-pink - if you've ever thought about trying this, now could be the perfect time. x

Brooches...

I've been busy today making some brooches using lots of my favourite vintage fabrics and some of the lovely American vintage buttons given to me in a swap with a lovely american lady called Kathy....These were a lot of fun to make and it was very relaxing sewing on the tiny beads (you can just about see them on 2 of the brooches), fiddly but strangely relaxing....

Like anything, when you make multiples it is lovely to put them all together for the picture and see all the colours....
Very satisfying! x

Sightseeing...

We visited Tenby, which is a beautiful town surrounded by a medieval stone wall. There are plenty of quirky bits - can you spot the sea through that narrow gap?and a bit closer.....
and this is the sight that greets you at the end of the passageway.....then if you turn around....these pretty houses overlook the harbour....just look at all those colours! Ooooh! I feel a stitchy picture coming on!! x

A medley of 'stuff'!

St David's, which is where we went camping, is apparently the smallest city in the United Kingdom and this is the pretty Cathedral.....we were so lucky with the weather and, as you can see from the photo, it was a lovely warm ice cream day when we visited....

we also did plenty of this at the nearest beach.....
and had fish and chips for dinner overlooking this wonderful bay....like something out of the 'Famous Five'....just look at those caves.......which might be hiding smuggled treasure..

Now, there is a lot going on here at the moment, which I will be able to share with you later, but I have been busy doing some online shop housework and I've changed the 'Offer of the Week' to these beauties... they come in 6 colours and you can get 36 of them (6 of each colour) at the moment for £4.32 which is a whopping 25% off!!

So if you've ever wanted to try them, now's the chance. You can get them under 'Offer of the Week' at Feltgirl.com and however much you buy, the postage is only £1.80 in the UK. Overseas, there is a bit more added on but it too, is fixed.
I must just say that today is a very special one in our house - son #2 got his GCSE results today and he did really well.....last year he took Maths and Statistics a year early and got an A and a B and today he got 4 A*s and 4 As!!!! We are so proud as he just got on with it all quietly!!! And he so deserves it - he's worked very hard. He starts college next week to do his 'A' levels and has plans to be an architect!! Proud, moi!! I should say so. x

Butterfly.....

While we were camping, we used my pretty folding table from Paperchase.......and who should flutter-by one morning........

but this beautiful and very friendly butterfly!! I think she wanted some friends to play with.....

She was there, basking in the warm sun for a good few minutes, long enough to have her picture taken by several mobile phones and for me to go get my camera!!!

Maybe she was talking to them? or just showing them what a real beauty looks like!

Choosing.....

We had a luverly week near St David's in Wales and were sooo lucky with the weather. Had some days in hot sun on the beach, lots of body-boarding in the sea, and a whole lot of good times..... including the time we stopped in the very pretty Aberaeron for some honey ice cream...

We sat, licking our ices, each choosing which house we'd have (I was quite partial to the pretty lilac one, or the less modest one to the left of it, depending on whether the children were included in my fantasy house buying or not!!)
When we each had a house, obviously we just had to choose a boat....
(Mine's to the middle left.)

Pretty house, sailing boat, ice cream. What more could you want?!! x

Travels....

from home to here....to here.....and back again. Home.....all the more lovely for having been away! Hello again, lovely people. xx