My creative space....

this week is completely full of Flossie's curtains!!!!

This is a job I have put off and put off! The absolutely gorgeous fuschia hot pinky red silk curtains were unlined and were hanging nicely at her window thank you very much, but every time I went in they shouted at me! Honestly they did.

Line me, line me!! they yelled. Every last bit of light came through and what's more the sumptuous colour got a bit diluted too.

Now I had some plain calico curtains which were no longer needed but were exactly the same size so I have finally got the ladder out and taken these ones down to attach the plain ones as lining. One of the reasons I put it off it that these curtains are 11 feet long! The windows are Victorian and very high.

I have finished one and it looks soooo much better! It looks and feels rich and warm and heavy. And of course, the colour is there in all its richness. What's more, they've stopped shouting at me!!! xx

See more creative spaces here.

What's Hot and what's Not.....

I'm joining in with the lovely Loobylu again and what is HOT this Wednesday?

HOT is:

An assistant

I have a new assistant. She might only be 9 years old but boy, is she good! She has memorised my 70 colours of felt for Feltgirl by name, knows where they go and can wrap with tissue and coloured tape like you wouldn't believe. She has also insisted on 're-arranging' the felt shelves and they look beautiful -

She has also nagged me about the pile of paperwork that needs filing until I've done it! (and yes, before you ask, she is getting pocket money for it!!!!)

New things taking off.

There's nothing like making something for the first time and really liking it but not being sure anyone else will - then someone comes by the stall, and buys it! This happened with the make-up bags this week - I made them a couple of weeks ago and I really like them, love choosing the colours and the achievement of putting in the curved zip! And this week I have sold 3 of them. I have a couple left if anyone is interested here.

Birthdays

My lovely eldest turns 17!!! this week. I can't believe it and whilst in some ways the years have just flown by, I can still remember that feeling of bringing him home from the hospital and being so blown away by the fact that they actually let us keep him, and that we actually had a baby! I remembering staring at him sleeping for ages, taking in his little face, just watching him, hardly believing he was real.

Almost done digging.

Believe it or not, I am putting the diggers under hot this week, as they are almost done digging! It is raining a lot here and where they were digging has turned into a swamp, but it is nearly back to the level of the rest and the huge yellow digger has gone. They've just got to lay some grass, and put back our fence. I shall be so glad when they've gone completely.

NOT

Finance rules

Why is it that when you've done quite well on a market stall, or at a craft fair and you're feeling quite good about things, thinking well, the kids can have some Christmas pressies after all, that a huge bill for something turns up within hours of you having the extra money?

It happens so often in our house that I think there must be a technical term for it. (Apart from sod's law, I mean!)

I had a little extra cash this week and first my eldest reminds me the French exchange trip he is going on needs paying by December, then my youngest son comes up with a letter about another school trip, then the garage decides it wants paying for the work on our car and my little bit of extra cash has gone, and gone 10 times!

An avalanche of Ironing

I thought I had this figured out. In a house with six of us, it does pile up very very quickly, but little and often was the way I had decided to go. Then I had a busy week last week, didn't do any and lo and behold, the mountain is building. It is threatening to fill the whole house. We will all be found in a couple of days, buried under an avalanche of ironing.... xx

My Place and Yours - through the front door......

This week I am joining in again with Pip's meme, and the theme queen is Femme de Montmartre who asks - "what is it you see when you enter your home? And how do you feel?"

Well, I must tell you, I just absolutely LOVE coming home. Not because our home is perfectly finished. Ha ha ha ha (manic laughing!!!!)

But because it's where I feel warm, and happy and relaxed. At this time of the year, when it's almost dark after the school run, it's wonderful to come back to our cosy home and shut the door against the dark, damp evenings.

Our hall is long and when we first came to view the house before we bought it, there was a motorbike parked in it! Living at that time in a smallish house with 4 growing children, space was what we craved. And space is one of the best things about our house now. It may not be finished (oh no!!) but our hall IS done!

It took a long time, we lived with bare floorboards and splinters on the stairs for months cos we couldn't decide whether to stain them or put carpet down. I am really glad we finally went for carpet as it is so warm and sunny even on a cloudy day! And that's what I feel every time I come home - happy to be back, cosy and warm, and ready to put the kettle on..........x

Winter shoulder bag.....

Well, working patternless is remarkably free-ing!!

This is how the bag turned out -

It is darker than this - a rare bit of morning sunshine has bleached it in the photo! And what you can't get from the photo is how wonderfully touchable the fabric is! It is pure new wool and so strokably warm and soft. I'm pleased at how the velvet piping turned out, cos it was so tricksy to sew being fairly narrow to turn into piping!

The plastic orange 'things' look just how I thought they would and I think add a bit of zing to the darkness. I am in love with the Anna Maria Horner fabric too - it adds such warmth to a winter bag.

There are various technical bits - I added a magnetic fastening courtesy of the wonderful Lisa at U handbag, I also added a zipped and lined pocket, and a keyring clip so I won't scrabble at the bottom for keys like I usually do!

So there it is - not without it's difficulties though - because I ended up finishing it late at night, some part of my brain had already gone to sleep and instead of interfacing for strength, I reached bizarrely for the fusible web!!!!!!!!!!!! Ugh!!!!!!!!!!!

I didn't actually realise this until the bag was finished and it kept making this kind of crinkly sound!!! Couldn't work out why - I told you it was late! So, I had to open the lining again and rip out the paper backing! Duh!!!

I sewed it back up and must have left a tiny bit of paper in my rush to try the bag on - but that's the difference between making something for myself and something to sell, I would have been a total perfectionist if it hadn't been just for my use!!

As it is, a slight little crinkly noise, every now and then, will hopefully remind me to go to bed earlier and not get carried away sewing!! x

(slightly wonky angle courtesy of Flossie who had just about recovered from nasty virus tho' not enough to hold camera straight! Or maybe it's artistic?!)

My creative space....

looks like this -

some gorgeous pure wool check in dark navy, some velvet piping (which was VERY tricky to make because it was sooo narrow), my trusty new scissors and rotary cutter, and the lovely lovely plastic transparent orangey 'thing' which I bought cos in my mind, I saw it completely as a part of a shoulder bag strap.

I have no idea what it is supposed to be for, but that's what it will be for me.

Oh, and some vibrant Anna Maria Horner fabric for the lining.

I am making a winter shoulder bag. A soft, warm bag with a hot lining - and gadgets! I will show you if it comes off!

I say if, because I am doing it patternless, without a parachute. But with BIG ideas. x

See more creative spaces here.

What's Hot and what's Not.....

Goodness, can't believe another week has gone by and it's that time already! Well, here goes:-

HOT

Crafting headway

I have made a bit of crafting headway this week - I have a shopping evening at a fashion show tomorrow evening and the usual market on Saturday where people are starting to do Christmas shopping so I do need to get my stock levels up!

So, I've made a few new cafetiere cosies in some new colours, a sweet green floral, a 'shaker' style ticking, and (my personal favourite) some lovely dark chocolate with pale pink polka dots:

I have made 2 of each so will be putting them in the shop as well as having one of each new colour for the shopping evening!

I've also made some new felt lavender hearts and the smell in my little sewing room was just gorgeous while I was making them. So calming!

BBC Radio 4

What would I do without this?! It is my constant companion throughout my day, I particularly love the afternoon play, the book of the week and the Woman's Hour drama. At the moment this is Charles Dickens' 'Our Mutual Friend' which is one I haven't read and which is SO atmospheric to listen to whilst I sew.

2 helpful men

I am lucky enough to have a Dad and a hubby who are used to my strange requests and when I found out that my Dad was planning a visit to Ikea a couple of days ago, I knew he wouldn't mind picking me up some more glass jars for my buttons - yes I know those of you who saw my button photo would probably have thought that is definitely enough buttons in jars! Well, you see, once I'd started sorting and tidying, I just wanted to finish it once and for all, and I needed some more jars...

So my Dad kindly bought some home. Then, well, who was to go to Ikea the very next day without any warning, but hubby! and I only needed a few more to be absolutely finished!!!

If you are entirely fed up with looking at buttons in jars (are you mad?!) then please look away and scroll down now, but for those who want to see the entirely finished set of shelves - ta-dah!!!

oops, couldn't fit them all in one photo - but there are 2 more shelves under the bottom one of the above photo, and these beauties are on the very bottom shelf! All these buttons are for sale in my shop and my etsy shop, cos I do like to share!

Okay, no more button photos for ages now! (promise.)

NOT HOT

Lost things

Our house at the moment seems to be swallowing things.

1 mobile phone, 1 ds charger, some maths homework, our vid

eo camera, another ds charger, a mobile phone charger, a metre ruler (how?!) are among the things that have gone missing.

Sometimes, these things do turn up but more often then not we spend precious time running around looking for them. Usually just at the actual moment that they are needed. Never the night before, in good time........

Digger invasion

After my post last week, things have moved on......part of our fence has been taken down,

the blackberry bush in the field has been flattened and ripped out, and a fence has been erected in part of our garden.

They've even put up a sign up for us, in case we were to take a stroll around the garden during the works!

It is quite horrifying to look out of our kitchen window and see all this within 20 feet!

Time flying

Is it just me, or is time going much quicker than it used to? It sometimes feels as if my life is in fast forward mode. Where did the last week, month, year go? How did my children get so big, so quickly? Why can't I remember each and every last minute?

Is it because we have so much to think about/do in our lives? I'm sure I remember days and weeks of monotonous boredom when I was younger, nothing much happened, days were the same and lasted for ages....... that doesn't seem to happen now, there are lists of things to do/make/buy - everything is rushing by! and I don't like it!!!!!

If you want to see more Hot and Nots you need to visit Loobylu and you can also join in!

My Place and Yours - my secret weapon.....

is easy!!!

I have to admit that I am a tea-aholic! My working, creative day is fuelled by a zillion cups of tea.

Well, actually, that should read mugs of tea, from my early morning cuppa courtesy of Emma Bridgewater (obviously the mug, not the actual tea - Emma Bridgewater does not make my morning tea!)

to my latest favourite from Cath Kidston, bought in St Ives this summer:

to the beautiful Susie Watson mug bought by my gorgeous eldest son last Christmas as a surprise. (He knew I yearned for it and saved up for it himself over a few weeks!!)

Then there is the one from the big tomato company that I have absolutely no idea why my husband keeps making my tea in!!

And finally, my all-time favourite of the moment, again from good old Emma Bridgewater, which incidentally has become a favourite with S too, so much so that there is often a 'race'to use it first!

On and off, all through the day, when in any doubt, I put the kettle on. It has helped me through mental blocks in creativity, calming too much excitement over button deliveries, and sustained me through into-the-night sewing marathons! My friend and constant companion, my secret weapon - tea! x

See more secret weapons from the theme queen this week at meet me at mikes.