Boxoftrix

The Red Bridge

2012-01-27T23:23:00.000Z

Charlotte and I went for a little drive today across the Forth road bridge on a little errand,

it was a beautiful sunny day, a little cold, but we wrapped up warm

Looking proud in a new red coat, the painting looks complete.

Every time I come to see it I cant help but marvel over this beautiful towering structure and feel too, the sadness for the many who lost their lives in its construction and all to make possible a way across the Forth on train to Fife and beyond

We walked right down to the waters edge where the life boat enters the water, Charlotte loved it,

she just looked around and up and across in quiet thought, even to a 2 year old this is impressive

Then she heard the rumbling . . . . .

a train on the bridge . . . she was so in awe

she wanted to get closer to the edge but I kept her way back, she wanted to see the three swans that were swimming around close to the side

We walked across to the 'Railbridge' bistro where we sat on one of their most comfy sofas by the wood burning stove. Charlotte was quite tired from her Friday morning dance class so it was a nice but not to long outing. She amused herself with a selection of toys from the basket while I enjoyed a nice cup of tea and wrote out my postcard purchased from the gift shop for my swap partner in Anne's postcard swap and the purpose of our little trip to

South Queensferry

I cant show you the one that I made just yet as I will have to wait until it has arrived at its destination accross the pond :)

Three Old Singers

2012-01-20T22:24:00.000Z

On my quest for a neater tidier and more practical studio space I cleared out a couple of cupboards and decided that I should make way for my collection of old treasured sewing machines two of which have been up in the attic for 14 years.

It all started when I read Louise's Christmas day post about her Singer sewing machine problem and how she had contacted Dan for some advice and he had promptly replied and help her fix it, so that she could finish her quilt, and all on Christmas Day..... What a kind soul indeed :)

It prompted me to get mine down from the attic when packing away the decorations for yet another year.
I spent a fascinating three days cleaning oiling and researching each one from the original Singer records now available on line here if you have an old singer you want to find out more about.

No1 1958 Singer 99K Hand Crank built in Scotland

features 'Eye' decals

( K stands for Kilbowie / Clydebank)

I bought this machine in the late 90s from an auction house in the Borders it cost me £5. I thought it would be a nice machine for my April when she was a bit older, I think she was about 4 at the time and it was in immaculate condition you could even say unused. When I got it home I couldn't get it to stitch the needle would go down and up but the spool thread wasn't catching. I put it in somewhere to find the cause and paid £15 to have it repaired and serviced it had a bent needle bar. It now sews perfectly. Unfortunately April doesn't share the same passion as her mother for sewing machines, or even sewing for that matter so it's still in my collection. It had suffered a bit from its time in the loft I don't have a cover for it, it only had a thin plastic dust cover when I bought it, not sure where it went. It had started to show signs of rust setting in on the footplate and other chrome parts but after a good clean and polish it came up fine, now its safely stored in my studio where it will get used.

No2 1945 Singer 99k-13 knee control motorised

I like this one because it is operated by a knee leaver

which is stored in the lid of the Bentwood cover

Beautiful floral endplate

I bought this one the same day as the hand crank one in the same place, in fact I actually bought 3 the other one was similar to this but with a square box lid but I gave this to my niece Bianca at the time for her birthday. Unfortunately it was badly damaged in storage and was discarded about 4 yrs ago. I paid out a total of £15 for the 3 of them.

When I arrived home with them I'm sure everyone thought I was a bit mad as I had already been given an old treadle singer from a church house clear out which I was using as a dressing table.
Sadly I don't have a picture of that one and gave it away when I moved from to Fife

However this was not my total collection as my oldest most favourite and treasured Singer was bought from a second hand furniture place in Kelso in 1985 for, again the sum of £5. I still remember the day, we spent £28 and got a Creeda tumble dryer the sewing machine and an old oak framed mirror. I was still using the tumble dryer up until 2005! they build them to last just like the Singers :)
and I still have the oak frame which I paint stripped.....Oh those were the days lol!
here I am ranting about my quality thrift buys from the 80s and
I'm supposed to be showing you my little treasure .....

No3 Singer 28k 1917

Vibrating shuttle

or Rocket spool as I call it.

beautiful grapevine embossing on the endplate

'Victorian' decals,

a name given by enthusiasts to differentiate between them all as Singer did not give any of the decals names.

sews in a slightly diagonal line and was the only sewing machine I used on a regular basis for all my quilting and craft projects, preferring the hand crank for its control and the beautiful stitching, up until 2001 when I was told by my city and guilds embroidery teacher that things might move along faster if I had an electric sewing machine with stitch width changer and a drop facility on the feed dogs :)

Hope you have enjoyed my little show and tell if you like these little old things then you might like to pop over to Dans blog where he has just restored an old Singer 66 which is the larger/ full size version of the 99 and what a stunning job he has made of it.

Thanks for stopping by :)

Sunny side up

2012-01-19T15:07:00.000Z

This light and magnifier that clips onto my floor stand broke a few months ago,

bought about 4 years ago on eBay along with the stand so, not sure how old it is. I'm hoping I might be able to pick up a new clip for it but I have forgotten the name and make of the lamp. Its a good lamp and the magnifier is very powerful......I found that out when this happened!

to my chair in the studio at the window and the sun came through it.........after that I made sure it was kept covered in its little pocket for safety.

If I manage to get a new clip I will keep it at my sewing machine table but I have decided I needed something a little less weighty and more portable for use on my stand and my hoops.

My mum gave me some money for Christmas and I knew just what I wanted to buy!

After a little bit of research I bought this great little clip on sewing light / magnifier

It's called a Mighty Bright Vusion Craft Light

as soon as it arrived I couldn't wait to try it out , it's so lightweight and easy to use on the hoop and it clips on to its own weighted magnetic base for sitting on a table.

I have been using to sit in the evenings and do a little more on the 28 squares.

Feeling quite pleased today even though its raining and very cold outside, booked a couple of sites for trips away in the caravan .....looking forward to those sunny days!

Not waiting for change

2012-01-16T23:30:00.000Z

I don't normally talk about my health here, I have always intended it to be about creating, sharing ideas and enjoying art and textiles, but if I think back, the reason I started my blog a little over four years ago was to give me a focus while going through treatment for and coming to terms with a Molar pregnancy.

It helped a lot, I did not write about it but rather everything that I enjoyed and it helped so I just kept going.
The treatment (Methotrexate injections) affected my concentration and my eyes so badly that I was unable to spend the many enjoyable hours that I used to on my miniature embroidered pictures.

I forgot that I did this one, I enjoyed working in these colours.

I miss working on the miniature pictures and always hoped to go back to them, after the treatment I had my eyes tested and needed glasses, the optician told me it was just my age and nothing to do with the treatment but how can a person go from working in miniature close up, (6 inches from my eyes) to being unable to see one of her works in her own hands without a magnifying glass within 4 months...is that possible?...perhaps it is I don't know if there are any readers out there who can enlighten me I would love to hear from you, if you had the treatment or if you know about the side effects of the treatment.

I'm waiting to go for tests on my arms. For some time now more than a couple of years I have had pain in my arms, elbows fingers and sometimes my wrists. Some days are more painful than others I wake up feeling as if someone has been jumping on top of my arms all night and that's when it gets me down, I'm not out of bed and already they hurt!

In my head I want to create but at the moment my body is letting me down, and on those days,I find it frustrating, and difficult to accept. I have made several appts. at the doctors and been given various pills, sent for x-rays but the main problem has never been dealt with nor found...that is until now, I waited another year putting up with pain in the hope that it might go away.....silly of me really to think that. We had a new doctor join the practise, she sent me to the hospital consultant, both think it might be Ulnar nerve damage and to determine how bad it is, I need to go for tests, to see how bad the suspected nerve damage is. Apparently my arms will be hooked up to a machine and currents sent to the nerves to assess the damage, I'm not looking forward to it but at the same time I don't want to waste any more time getting to the route of the problem but now, whats worse is the hospital has called to cancel and re-arrange the appointment 3 times since November! I'm now beginning to think that this is how they deal with the statistics of waiting for treatment and actually getting it on the NHS and wondering how long it will be till I get the tests, will this always be something I have to live with. I hope not.

This time I refuse to stop doing the things I want to do, I'm still clearing out my studio of excess clutter and various household unwanteds which always seem to find their way in there, making changes, to make things easier with better use of wall space, drawers and cupboards.

I will take some pictures when its all done.

Things will be a lot easier to find than in the past and I'm hoping to finish all those little projects that have been shuffling their way to the bottom of my basket drawers like this little piece that I worked on at the beginning of the summer.......

A piece of dyed calico from my college samples provided a lovely background for this hand embroidered flower stem which I did quite a few years ago on a plain white cotton handkerchief, I blended both together with tiny straight stitch lines in varigated thread then outlined in my favourite french knots.

Looking at it from a different angle sitting in the work basket I decided this view was better

and perhaps a little heart shaped...now what to do with it......?

Rag rug ramblings & Quilt

2012-01-11T00:27:00.000Z

It seems the more stitch this rug together the more its not going to plan.

This is a view of it sitting face down on the table but it's really not very flat!

It's buckling no matter how I sew it, the middle gets more distorted the more I coil round it.

I even tried going a bit looser with the fabric pieces and the stitching.... its turning into a bowl!

Kevin says maybe its meant to be a hat !

So I have unravelled it and wondering if perhaps I should try going for an oval rather than round rug.

Wanted to show you this.....the next little item of clothing to be made into another patch

sweet isn't it

On her 1st Birthday

Studio re-shuffle

2012-01-09T21:14:00.001Z

A shiney new year and after a bit of a wander around those wonderful ideas on Pinterest

I decided to give my studio a bit of a re-shuffle, I wanted to do a 3 way swap

With my cutting/work table,

my sewing machine table

and the worktop along the back wall.

I felt that as I spend most of the time at the cutting / work table it would be best situated in the middle of the room where the sewing machine table was and that the worktop would serve just as well at the door where the table was under the fabric, button and bead stash. This would leave the back wall free for the sewing machine table.

I got a bit of time in the evening a couple of days ago to get in there and do the swap around.

Two hours later I had managed to re-shuffle it all and then realise that it was all terribly wrong!

It was midnight, I was exhausted and I could see so many things that were 'not' going to work in my favour, so I put out the lights and closed the door on it.

I mulled the whole thing over in my head for about an hour and I realised that with the sewing machine desk in the centre of the room I could see the garden and it has always been very comfortable there, keeping an eye on Charlotte playing and helping daddy in the garden. Changing this would mean having my back to the view the windows were actually placed to accomdate the sewing table position and moving it would cause more negatives than pluses.

So I came to the conclusion that it wasn't a re-shuffle that was needed but a clearout.

Yesterday I put it all back and decided to loose some more things and add some things,

Im still working on it but its getting there, and Im looking forward to a new look and more storage in my studio.....more pictures soon!

Thanks for stopping by I wish you all a happy, peaceful and creative 2012

Christmas past

2011-12-29T22:17:00.002Z

Not a lot of posting got done in the run up to Christmas

and also not as many Christmas makes as last year.
I did revamp an ivy wreath I put together from a garland that was looking a bit worse for wear and I added some little salt dough cherubs which I made about 15 years ago!... I can believe I made them so long ago now and that they have lasted so well.

They look happy here even though it was a quick re-do, I'm sure next year I will spend a bit more time on it and perhaps add bigger bow.

*******

Charlotte and I made some gingerbread men, hearts

and tiny stars

I think it's quite sweet that she calls them ginger bear hearts,

we tied them to the garland that hangs over our dining room archway.

*******

My two older children David and April came home to stay for Christmas.

The template I used to make the stocking last week came in very handy when I couldn't find Davids.

(I vaguely remember it in workshop to do a repair on it last Christmas, now cant seem to find it)

I got some of the shirt scraps left over from the quilt I made him last year and stitched them together to make a new stocking :)

A little bit of felt holly & free machine letters add a festive touch!

I was quite pleased with the result.

Last year April decided to take her stocking away with her and forgot to bring it so her order is in for next year ;)

Santa did eventually come, not a great shot as it was taken at quite a late hour not as late as the time stamp though I think its about a couple of hrs out. I don't usually use the time stamp it got switched on by accident.

and a few hours later...............

a carpet of paper!......

I feel very proud that every toy item that we got for Charlotte was not a 'new buy' but thrift finds on Gum tree, charity shops and our local car boot sale, My older kids too got some items from the same and the 'new buys' that we did get were purchases made possible from selling things we already had and for one reason or another no longer required, clothes, toys, household and electrical items. Both Kevin and I agreed that it was a much more satisfying approach to Christmas spending.

Harry :)

I like to plough through the paper for a couple of hours before we clear up :)

Charlotte with big brother David enjoying her chocolate Santa.

This time stamp doesn't seem right as she was in bed about 8.30pm

***********

Boxing Day, a lovely shot of my girls,

April and Charlotte in her beautiful fairy dress April bought her for Christmas

We had a family get together at ours on Boxing day and I was delighted that some of them took me upon the idea I had last year for the charity shop secret Santa. A lovely time was had by all with some great pressies exchanged each costing no more than £5 from the boot sale or charity shop.

This was my gift

A lovely butterfly candle holder and heart bottle stopper from my nephew Dylan.

I hope you all had a lovely peaceful Christmas
Thanks for stopping by
Yvonne x

Christmas stocking

2011-12-19T14:41:00.000Z

Busy busy with lots of preparations for Christmas!

My friend Vicky asked me to make a stocking for her little Joshua, at very short notice.

She had one made last year for Adam, but the lady who made it for her was not making them this year so she came to me.

She didn't mind if it wasn't the same

(thank goodness as my machine is not a commercial embroidery machine)

and...... I prefer free machine embroidery......with a little bit of needle felting in for good fun!

The only request was that it had to be the same size.

She was delighted with it!

Next year I might take orders for these as it was fun to do.

Memory Quilt & Rag Rug

2011-12-02T12:00:00.002Z

Have made a little progress with Charlotte's Quilt

I changed my mind slightly on the 3rd block, I machine stitched the heart shape that I cut from the little bib on with brown to match the stitching on the flowers and cat, but I decided to hold off on adding the deeper pink flower patch. Instead added this to the 4th block which I made using the another top.

I decided the colours are a better match. I used the sleeves which had a pretty embroidered pattern around the cuff, still have enough fabric from this top to make another block as well as using it to trim the edge of block number two

I loved this little bib which I cut and slightly re-shaped into a sort of fish shape ready to be added to another block......Charlotte insisted that the 'Tombliboos' oversee this recent work

Have made a little progress with the rag rug too!
two more all in one sleep suits added :)

It measures ten inches across now.
Still to add the latest little pile of leftover pieces from the tops used for the latest block.

Anyway!.....about the roses

2011-11-30T15:15:00.000Z

I'm sure that many of you who are creative will understand how its easy to get a little unfocused where there are so many things you want to do and so many projects on the go.

I did start out some months ago with the intention to work for some time exploring and experimenting through a theme, 'Roses', I did some experimenting, and shared some of what I did,

and some I didn't manage to show....

playing around with tyvek

and metal

using the image from stitched paper rose I drew an outline on a metal paste tube

here is how it looks on the other side

then I cut it out

painted and embossed

and re-assembled

I have a couple of ideas in mind but haven't did anything further with it......So

I still keep looking at all the little experimental pieces and pondering over where to go next with my rose theme......I made some little fabric buds which I havent managed to get a picture of, its very difficult here in Scotland at the moment to get good light into a picture unless you go outside and its raining so not possible at the moment I will try and get some soon. What I have noticed is that I never really left the roses theme, I just carried it along with me, I tend to wander over onto other little side projects like the scrappy hearts, I followed that up with some more experimenting with the scrappy fabrics this time it was the pinks and purples box and decided to do this little mirror from the 'new' fabric I made from the scraps

perhaps the colours I was working in drew me back to thinking again about roses.

It gave me a chance to try out those little chiffon roses with the beaded centres

Purple Hearts

2011-11-28T22:43:00.000Z

I made these 'Purple Hearts' earrings from a beautiful gift bag I received for my birthday.

The gift bag was from 'Willow' (I think) with some lovely Burt's Bee skincare products in.

I just loved the pattern on the bag and had it sitting on a shelf in my workshop until I decided to make it into something.

I just thought it was too good to just put in the paper bin!

available here <3

Perhaps they would make a nice gift for someone.....

Happy Scrappy Hearts

2011-11-16T21:31:00.000Z

The little boxes I keep on my cutting table for all the little leftover scraps from projects are filling up

and are inspiring in themselves,

I opened the one with all the blues and greens and enjoyed an afternoon last week

making these little Scrappy happy hearts.

I was going to make them hanging hearts,

then I thought they might look nice adorning a wreath,

but they are so tactile I feel more inclined to display them loose,

where they can be picked up

touched and held

in your hand

they are lovely to hold and

so full of happy!

So they are

available as is

to do with what you wish and enjoy........here

Machine Embroidery ....a little bit of progress

2011-11-07T21:39:00.000Z

Remember this?

Blogged about here Machine Embroidery

Then again here Stitching with Tissue Silks

another abandoned project, well, more an experimental piece,

I didn't have a finished project in mind for it

I retrieved it from the the UFO basket on my worktable ....thinking .... I'm on a roll with this clearing out and finishing things...its quite good :)

Every time I think about doing something more to it, I hit a brick wall and a little voice from my past (A lovely Lady called Pauline, my City & Guilds Tutor) comes in and says "If you don't know where to go next....cut it up and weave it!" (it became the class quote :)

Now I once suggested this in a conversation with some ladies (family who were visiting and requested a little look in my studio) regarding this little piece, the thought horrified them, they said it was lovely as is and that I should just frame it.

That was never going to happen!

So out came the scissors!

Im sorry to say I dont have pictures as I set about it one evening while pondering in my little studio and the evening is never a good time for pictures.

This is what it looks like now.

I did weave it, well I have never did this with a piece before..... I then machine stitched it to some lovely teal coloured velvet fabric.

Im thinking it's going to cover a mirror frame ..... well I have a pile of those that need used up! .......I really am on a mission to use up stash and finish projects :)

I dont think I'm going to machine stitch on it any more ....Im thinking the next step is to get it on a frame and hand stitch some more detail into it and perhaps some beads.

Any thoughts on this? I would love to hear them.

Thanks for stopping by!

Yvonne x

Pale Pink Inchies

2011-11-06T20:47:00.001Z

I started these little pale pink inchies when I was working on the romantic hearts collection.

I set them aside for other projects and rediscovered them a few days ago,

In another effort to de-clutter my sewing table I enjoyed some inchie time.

Pretty peachy pink pastel shells, bugal beads

tiny pearly glass seed beads, flowers and dragonflies

crystal amethyst, a vintage diamante,

a shiny silver star, antique lace ......

french knots, shell button hearts, a romantic ribbon rose.

each backed with white cotton and hand stitched edging

and if you know of a place that they might feel at home .....available here.

Thanks for stopping by!
Yvonne x

Memory Quilt from baby clothes

2011-11-04T15:07:00.002Z

Charlottes Quilt

as mentioned in my previous post I have begun making my way through Charlotte's baby clothes to make her a keepsake quilt.

The first two blocks I worked on were pretty T-shirts age 12mths

The pink one had curves at the two top corners where the armholes start so I cut off the puff sleeves and overlapped the corners to make it more square.

To the cream coloured one I added the extra hem frill from the back panel to sit above the front one.

The next one was a bit more tricky

A pretty tunic dress 3-6mths so not very big and a little stained in places. I was able to save the embroidered parts and I had to cut it into four and use some fabric from the back to get big enough pieces for a block about the same size as the other two. I added a pretty embroidered motive saved from the back of the pink t-shirt and the back hem frill which I might sew along the middle.

Next I cut up a little bib

separated it from the towel backing

Cut into a heart shape it looks quite pretty

....and this will complete another square.

All those little bits left over wont go to waste, they have all now been added into the rag rug!

I'm so enjoying these two projects working on :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Yvonne x

Two String Rag Rug Loom

2011-11-02T22:52:00.002Z

I decided not long after Charlotte was born, I was going to make a quilt from her baby clothes, or some of them, she had so many pretty things. A couple of weeks ago I sorted through them all choosing what I thought I could use in a quilt and I gave the rest away.

I have started on the blocks but first I wanted to show you this

These are the leftover bits, I decided to have a got at making a little rag rug.

This is the beginning

Pretty isn't it!

I pulled out an old book that I bought for pennies in a library sale about 10 yrs ago.

Rag Rugs by Ann Davies.

The book covers so many methods and after a couple of evenings reading the different styles I decided on the Loom Technique, this was rediscovered by Ann in a long out of print American book and works on the principle of the oriental Ghiordes knot.

After a lot of searching on the net it became clear that I wasn't going to pick up one of the looms from a stockist any time soon. However after finding a few pictures of different versions, some made of wire some of wood I run the idea by Kevin and he offered to make me one.
How lucky am I!

Made of 2 pieces of wood (I knew those old kitchen shelves would come in handy one day!)

two large screws to hold two balls of cotton string and two eyelet screws to guide the string and hold in place

(I just loop it round once and tighten it)

One large hook at the bottom to hold it taught

and its ready to go!

with little pieces of cotton measuring half an inch wide x 2.5 inches long

I used a little cutting gauge made from a strip of cardboard.

I got my trusty assistant to to the next bit, she is very keen to have a go!

fabric looped over the top and up through the centre of the strings

These are fairly quick to do and once you have gone all the way up the string

its time to unhook and pull this length in front of the front hook again.

The length is worked on continuously until you have a few feet, then its time to coil it round and sew it flat on the back...... this is what it looks like

then pulled down tight to the hook....and so on.

So far I have used the leftovers of 3 little tops and one pair of all in one PJ's

and I'm just about ready to stitch some more in place.

What I like about this method is its easy to carry around and you can do it while you sit in the evening.

They are all fabric, no additional backing required and can be popped in the washing machine.
If you have any memories or stories of seing rugs made in this way I would love to hear them and any pictures of any of those rugs would be lovely to see.
Thanks for stopping by
Yvonne

Black & White

2011-10-20T22:50:00.000+01:00

I spent most of my creative time this week working on my Black & White quilt.

I used black poly velvet in strips between the squares and around the edge.

Side 1

I'm quite pleased with how it has turned out so far......

its not finished though......I hope to work on each of the squares to hand quilt around the flowers but that can be done as and when the mood takes me :)

Side 2

Now it sits on my sofa and I can cuddle under it in the winter evenings.

Just in time it seems as I think I'm coming down with a head cold and in need of a little comfort :(

sniff sniff

on another black and white note this is a little Zebra I bought last year for Charlotte's Christmas, she has now outgrown it

(catching her toes under it on Monday while trying to have a go! :( poor wee thing)

Hes a lovely little wooden rocker, I bought him from a lovely seller on EBay.

now he needs a new home.

cute isn't he!

I was always going to fill the name in

but never got around to it. It kinda suits him anyway
So Clark is heading on to gumtree to find a new home, and
yesterday Charlotte and I went for a drive to collect a new rocker

needless to say shes delighted with him! she can just about climb up all by herself and as you can see, has had lots of fun already..... thanks to Gumtree, my favourite place at the moment.
The best thing about it is, it's free to list and sell, meaning the sellers gets to keep 100% Thats good for everyone :) I know its been around for a while now but I think its growing and more people are using it everyday worth a look for those who like a bargain.

Baby Bunting for 3

2011-10-08T15:29:00.002+01:00

More Baby Bunting

for

Tanar

Erin

Emily

3 more new babies

each one different and unique :)

Baby Bunting can now be ordered from my Etsy shop here : Boxoftrix

We have been having lots of rain :(

so earlier this week Charlotte and I made pancakes

Here she is watching out for the bubbles.......

....... and today fairy cakes

but she prefers to eat chocolate toast with a little ketchup on the side.....

Blogger is at it again! for some reason I am unable to leave comments on some of the blogs I have visited tonight, its very annoying. I type in a comment, click the send and it deletes the comment!

Summer almost gone

2011-09-28T23:37:00.001+01:00

However it was quite a lovely day here in Fife
I did pop out to the caravan to take some more pictures .....

retro door ribbon curtain .....

paper flowers to hide a little hole......

more little changes.........

before .......remember this.......

and after.........

I used hologram fablon on the worktop

this is what it looks like underneath now .............

The cooker lid

and inside the cupboards............

I used a roll of water resistant tile effect wallpaper which was given to me by a fellow camper in the family.....he purchased two of them at a car boot sale for £1!.....no good to him.....not his colour..........perfect for our little Monza :)

This little pull out rack is for wine, but the bottles are too tall for it, so I will need to spend a little time altering it, for now it holds our 3 lanterns nicely.

our colourful selection of dishes.....

the wardrobe and privicy curtain, this gives us a little separate bedroom at night

blossom fairy lights fixed in place.........

and the back fold down table, which I decided to decoupage with some origami papers and a few coats of varnish.

Had to show you this.....she loves to come out and site here while I potter about fixing things

shes looking at some caravan books :)

We did manage to get away in our little Monza for a couple of long weekend breaks.

with so much unexpected work to be done on the van we were lucky to get away in it at all!

Here she is with our new lightweight awning attached, its a porch awning, but quite big and almost covers the whole side of our little Monza

and doubles our space ......

breafast with a little singing thrown in .......

and a party....... Happy Birthday Harry!.......Chocolate cake for all :)

you can see my little kitchen set up in the background......we dont cook in the van we had this foldaway kitchen, which holds everything we need to cook and store our gas camping stove, electric frying pan, pots & kettle. There is also a larder for storing food items that dont need refridgeration.

Yes it did rain but look at those two wonderful rainbows which were so bright and a joy to see!

So we look forward to many more happy days in our little van

MONZA Madness!

2011-07-25T12:22:00.001+01:00

We have spent so much time on the Monza that we think we must be mad!

but there has been progress, its coming on a treat......

The new blue line gives it a fresh look. We used Japlac ' Flying High' for this.

The exterior paintwork is not a job you can rush

Kevin is using Hamerite Smooth white on the metal siding, it's very thin, runny paint and dries quickly. We have been having great weather which is ideal for keeping us motivated to get things done, but in the real heat of the day the paint is drying fast on the brush! I did have a go with this, to help Kevin but you can only brush on small amounts at a time and Kevin has already mastered it, I have to admit, I don't have the patience to do it, so I went back to my curtains....

The new carpet, which took me 3 days to fit all in one piece, with the help of our trusty electric staplegun......worth it though it looks fab and feels great underfoot. We had some great recycled felt wool underlay left from another project just taking up space in the shed

It's great to find a use for it,

made from re-cycled woolly jumpers and other clothing

no doubt, it will keep us warm at night.

All the original metal air vent covers were still intact but a bit rusty.

A nice coat of black sorted them out.

Our new seats

I was lucky to find a very large pair of vintage curtains on ebay, big enough to recover the all front and back seat cushions.

..... and some beautiful blossom print furnishing fabric I bought on ebay about a year ago was just enough to the millimeter to make all the curtains.

I added blackout linings.... to keep the early morning sun rays out and also to keep the van cool in the hotter days.

The front seating and dining area. The seats make up a double bed.

The black and white cushons are from IKEA they are feather filled and big enough to double up as pillows.

I bought these about 5 years ago they are as new, packed away when we got a new sofa that did'nt need them it's good that we can now use them again!

This is the back sofa area which makes into a double bed.

Curtains closed so I could see how effective the pretty blue blossom flower lights are.

Table rail re-fitted just below the window.

I didnt want to refit the large heavy folding leg back on to the front table. We bought a new black 'Vika Curry' (strange name for a table leg!) from IKEA ...for only £2.04 its worth a try. We already have these legs on the worktop in my studio and they do the job. The advantage is the pole can screw on and off quite quickly and can be cut to size with a neat plastic foot to cover the cut edge and gives a nice finish.

Kevin is adding a layer of Sikoflex sealant to the plate before screwing it down as the table is lightweight particle board and there isnt much for the screws to grip into.

This is the topside of the table.

After removing the heavy fold up leg I turned it over and used filler in the various screw holes where the fixings had been damaged and re-postitioned about six times.

I gave it two coats of white vinyl silk paint and set to work to give it a new lease of life with a decoupage finish using stamps.

I bought a lot of 400 world stamps from ebay cost about £3 I was delighted with them some of the pictures are beautiful.

We also added to the stamp pile with some old UK and USA stamps which had been taken from old letters that my dad had kept ...some from his brother and sister in USA, my mother was going to hand them in to charity but I felt that they were special and hung on to them. Im glad I did.

My Dad would have loved what we did with them.

Kevin also added to the stamp pile with some 1st issues that he has had since he was a boy, his dad had collected these for him over the years.

I really enjoyed working on this. It was like doing a jigsaw with no set picture to follow.

I attached each stamp with PVA glue using a flat brush. The finished surface was sealed with a few coats of clear varnish.

So our little table has some history captured in it and all can be enjoyed, we both agreed this was a much better way to keep them and enjoy them, than having them sat piled up in a drawer.

We will never tire of sitting here with all these stamps to ponder over from around the world.

click on the picture to see more detail.....

Hanging just below the front window.

A little candle lantern from the garden I revamped with a couple of coats of white paint.

As you can see we have already tested out the lovely large vanilla scented candle inside!

We are so looking forward to getting away in our little van.......not long now!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures of what we have done so far :)

Caravan update

2011-07-08T17:47:00.001+01:00

Progress continuing, interior paintwork finished, for such a small space the painting has been a major job, so many fiddly bits and different surfaces.

Most areas took 3 coats or more to get an even finish.

The cupboard doors are finished in a lovely shade called 'Blue Reflection' by Dulux this paint was the best to work with, giving excellent coverage and a great finish. The real bonus was we already had 3/4 of a tin of this, left over from redecorating our bathroom.

We decided to keep the original handles and painted them successfully with this.....

...... another free find.....left over from my ceiling light re-vamp

I also used it on the foot pump for the water which was a horrible grey colour before.

Kevin has been replacing the white plastic inserts which go into the rubber surrounds.

This has made such a difference!

One window needs replacing but until we find one it will need repaired.

There are still 3 areas to be worked on one is the wardrobe. Not sure if I want to paint this or wall paper it, which is more likely. It still has the original wallpaper & paint finish inside.

Then there is the toilet / storage cupboard. This has a double fold out door to allow more space for use as a changing room.

and the kitchen worktop area.

This had a Fablon /sticky plastic covering on it which I removed leaving a sticky mess on the Formica surface beneath.

A nailbrush and some kitchen cleaner with bleach soon sorted that.

There is some damage to the surface but a little bit of filler will sort that out. I'm not sure I could live with that blurry Formica which is also on the tables underneath more Fablon.

Front table

the back fold down table

I replaced the rear section of the front benches with thicker hardboard but the front sections have removable hardwood covers.

One of them had a very poor repair using pieces of laminate flooring and some very long dangerous screws sticking out!

It had crack on one side only so I decided to repair this with some paper mache, this should be strong enough to hold it for now. I'm sure we will replace it eventually.

This is the back pull out bed section

before

and after

So next will be the carpet, curtain & cushions :)

Progress :)

2011-06-30T14:49:00.003+01:00

It's always nice to take pictures and see how things have progressed .............

I was lucky enough to find a full roll of wallpaper with a similar texture to the original wallpaper but with an added lilac box shape here and there on it, it cost £1 from the bargain basket so I wasn't going to complain about the lilac squares. I ended up using the whole roll! and this is how it looks after 3 coats of vinyl silk paint. I used half and half PVA + water rather than wallpaper pastei

you can still see some of the lower squares, but these will be behind the seating area.

after the cushions and curtains are in place there wont be much of the walls to see in this area.

to the left, cupboards above cooker / sink unit and this lovey glass shade houses a gas lantern, still working I'm told, but we don't have any of the little mantels that go in it, will have to get some to try it out. Apparently they give off great light and warmth.

This is the back section, all painted, just the cupboard door to go back on now then it will be the seats and curtains :)

Here is a sneaky peek at some beautiful vintage fabric curtains I sourced on eBay

and

some furnishing fabric I bought on eBay about 2 years ago which I just loved and hadn't a clue what I was going to use it for!

I just love the white blossom flowers.

We can do this

2011-06-29T19:49:00.001+01:00

So after much thought and weighing it all up Kevin said 'This is doable, after working together on a big project such as the Boxoftrix Studio....we can do this, we can fix her up, turn it around'....

he removed every rotten piece of wood possible ...........

then the window had to come out (which had moss growing inside the corners) and the rubber surround. I set about giving a good clean and used some scratch and haze remover on the plastic and a lot of 'Astonish' abrasive cleaner on the metal frame.

rebuilding a new wooden frame on the inside

using wood and metal brackets, its now stronger than ever......

he coated the surrounding remaining wood with fence timber care.

the new wood is already treated.

front panel cleaned and painted and a nice clean window back on what a difference it made!

and inside..........

This was such an exciting moment to see these boards going on, double thickness for strength.

all finished with sealant.

the side window rubber surrounds were also removed to make it easier for the next job

A great job don't you think?

Now we know whats behind there and feel much better that we will be able to sleep safely in her.

3+ weeks and we have achieved so much already

There is still much to do! every day a little more painting and sewing...

... more pictures tomorrow.

A new project ...... more than we anticipated!

2011-06-29T09:56:00.003+01:00

So I have finaly got a little bit of time to sit down and write about 'our' new project,

3 weeks ago we bought a caravan, we wanted an old one, not too big, light and easy to tow,with a simple spacious interior that we could redecorate.

We chose this

A Monza 1200s built around 1980 we think

some inside pictures ......

We were quite pleased with our purchase and once we got her home we set to work.

The exterior of the van seemed in good shape for its age with only a small dent on the front, she needed a good wash and probably re-sealing on the rails. Kevin began removing the old sticker lines from the side which were long past looking good and missing completely in places.

On the inside, with carpet curtains and cushions removed, Harry and I set to work with the paint.

looking a bit like a building site now!

Curtains back for a little while, this is the back of the van with a few coats of white eggshell paint to cover up that blurry wood effect finish, those two long white things at the bottom of the picture are the front seating benches removed and painted and siting on top of the back seating area. A bit drastic to remove these your thinking but, as we soon found out 4 days into starting out project, totally necessary......

This is what we found under the seats and carpet ......

further investigations revealed the full extent ......

running along the front...........

the other side not much better under the now crumbling wall, it was actually the worst side!

this van was advertised and sold to us described as

'There is no leaks or damp present'

and

'This would make a perfect starter van and you will not be disappointed'.

Would you sleep in this?

The wood that came out of this side actually crumbled in our hands like compost!

It was at this point I felt sick!........ quite ill in fact for a few days....... I found it very difficult to eat.

This was supposed to be a happy purchase, a lick of paint, a freshen up and we would be off on holiday this summer here and there.....something a bit warmer to sleep in than the tent, which we loved, but sold that to pay towards the cost of the van.

I sent pictures and an email to the people we bought the van from, expecting at least a little money back, they claimed they knew nothing about it.

We got an email back, but no offer of any partial refund.

We now had to decide what we could / wanted / needed to do.

Sell as is, or fix.

What would you do?.....what could you do?

Bunch of Grapes Trivet

2011-06-23T23:56:00.000+01:00

When I was about 14 yrs old my parents took me on a 4 week trip to America to visit family in Delaware. It was a wonderful experience in so many different ways. We have a large extended family over there, all from my Dads side. One lady I met, a very creative person, had a chest full if things that she had made by hand. One of those things stuck in my head, I really liked the idea of it, it was simple, 100% re-cycled and a usful little item.

A trivet in the shape of a bunch of grapes!

This little project has been filed away in my head for ...dare I say it.....32 years!

In an attempt to get more things out of drawers and bags and into jars and onto shelves in my workshop I came across a tube with some saved bottle tops and I instantly remembered why they were there.

The time has come I must do it, I thought it must be the longest 'to do' ever and I knew I had some velvet jeans fabric leftover in the perfect purple for my project.

The other items you will need are 29 bottle tops,

soft light coloured pencil,

a small jar lid, scissors, a needle and purple thread and a scrap of brown felt (for the stalk)

and some chocolate to enjoy while you stitch!

This little lid was a perfect size, but anything that has a diameter of about 5-6 cm is fine.

draw round the lid making best use of your fabric.

cut one out and size it up with bottle top,

there should be enough to wrap and meet in the middle.

cut the rest out

Thread your needle,

double the thread till the ends meet and knot the end,

stitch a running stitch around the edge and pull the thread to gather in the edge evenly,

fit the bottle top inside

and pull shut and close with the couple of secure stitches.

one grape done, 28 more to go!

stitch together on the back,

sliding your needle through the fabric edges with a couple of strong tight stitches

build up the shape as you go....

here is a front view....lovely velvet grapes!

finished shape,

I decided to keep it to 2 at the bottom but you might like to add another one in to the point

making it 30 bottle tops.

a simple piece of rolled felt stitched at the top
and secured on the back

To add a leaf detail draw a simple leaf outline

you will need a pencil, freezer paper, some felt fabric, a needle and hand embroidery thread

(I googled grapevine leaf images and then just copied one freehand with a pencil)

Iron the freezer paper onto the felt (my felt piece was a hand dyed scrap in muted colours of green)

cut out the leaf shape with felt and paper ironed together

try for size against your grape trivet.

Thread your needle with a length of hand embroidery thread (I used Caron Wildflowers - shade 06)

Start at the base of the centre vein, use the pencil line as a guide and stitch a chain stitch up the centre.

then on the side veins.....

I found the freezer paper helped to keep the felt firmer

when you have completed your stitch lines, carefully peel the freezer paper away.

run a line of fabric glue along the back of the stitch lines........

......and press down onto the grapes then leave to dry

Finished trivet!

We use it every day to sit hot dishes down on and protect our table.
This is fun to make give it a try!

Posting problems

2011-06-22T13:09:00.000+01:00

Hate to go on about it , its boring when its not your problem but.....I'm still having problems with blogger, not being able to sign in when I want to post a comment on other blogs, keeps saying I'm anonymous ...perhaps I am !

So I don't know what to do to fix it its so frustrating!

All I can do is post on here and leave comments on non blogger blogs.

Oh it's been to long! ...I know!

2011-06-18T22:54:00.000+01:00

That's what I keep hearing myself say, too long since I posted, I'm still hear, still busy,

very busy in fact!

Something happened you see ..... it was my birthday and I got some lovely gifts but one in particular was a book ...I had only added it to my Amazon wish list but a few days before, I blame Mary Poppins and this post its all her fault.....if I hadn't read her blog it might never of happened!

The book you see was so lovely so inspiring that I had to have one or should I say 'we' had to have one

its too late tonight.... more later ....

Frustrated with Blogger

2011-05-28T20:30:00.000+01:00

Im extremely frustrated with Blogger at the moment! there is a known unresolved fault that is affecting some bloggers, me included which happened on 23rd of May. They are working to fix it but nothing sorted as yet .

I would just like to let everyone that has posted comments on my posts and also to other bloggers that I follow....I am not ignoring your comments and I am reading but I am unable to leave any comments on my own or any other blogs.

However I can leave a post so just wanted to let you all know.

Yvonne x

A little gift

2011-05-26T23:31:00.000+01:00

It's my birthday today,

I used to always have a gift to buy and give on my birthday too as I was born on my Dad's birthday.

He is resting in peace now, we said goodbye to him in Oct 2004, but he is never forgotten.

My birthday is always a reminder.

So in the true birthday spirit of giving ......I have made a little thing to share with you.

Embroidered Jar Lid Cover

I liked this jar, tall and slim, I thought it would be useful for storage in my studio but the black lid was a bit boring, my initial thought was to glue a paper cover on it, then I thought a fabric instead. Then I decided it would be a perfect little project for some hand embroidery.

My inspiration for the flower design came from the lovely book

The new crewel by Katherine Shaughnessy.

Although I did not use crewel wool or linen twill fabric as described in the book,

I liked the patern and the way the flower petals overlapped on some.

I used a piece of white cotton curtain lining and some DMC embroidery threads in 3 different shades of blues and a little bit of red rayon floss.

3 cotton wool pads

thin double sided tape

ribbon to edge.

embroidery hoop, needle, scissors

and a clean jar with lid (preferably one with a deep sided lid)

I haven't gave any measurements as jar sizes vary, and each one you do will be unique.

Keep your design simple and have fun.

1. Put you fabric into the hoop and lay face down on the table using a light pencil draw round the lid to leave a circle on the back side of your fabric.

2. Draw you flower outlines within the circle.

3. Embroider the flowers, I used 3 strands for flowers in satin stitch 1 strand red for french knots.

4. Chain stitch round the flowers using the circle on the back as your guide.

5. Stick a layer of double sided tape around the top edge of the lid.

6. Take the 3 cotton pads and gently tease them apart to fit the top of the lid.

7. Remove embroidery from hoop and trim off excess fabric leaving enough to cover the deep edge of the jar and a little over.

8. Place embroidery right side face down on the table with the cotton and lid centred on top, peel away backing tape.

9. Bring the fabric up matching the chain stitch edge with the lid top rim and press against the tape

10. Repeat on the opposite side to keep fabric centred

11. Repeat on the other two opposite sides.

12. The tape should allow some repositioning of your fabric until you are happy that the chain stitch edge is lining up to the lid edge.

13. It should look something like this.

14. Add another thin layer of double sided tape to the lower edge of the lid and peel backing tape away and press the lower fabric edge against it.

15. Trim away excess to lid edge.

16. Add another layer of double sided tape over the fabric this time around the bottom edge of the lid and cover with ribbon strip.

17. Secure edge with another little snippet of tape.

And there you have it......finished!

Of course the idea could be used to make a lid cover for any size lid,

it would be nice to see yours if you make one :)

Sketchbook scribbles & doodles

2011-05-25T07:32:00.000+01:00

I have enjoyed getting in touch more regularly with my sketchbook these days.

I have it constantly to hand, well I say 'it' I actually have six that I can think of off hand that are currently in use but I'm trying to stick to one at the moment.

I think it would be great if I could keep one for a journal, one for my rose theme, one for jewellery etc, but it never works out that way and they are all mixed up....no rhyme or reason to them.

I thought you might like a little peek at some random pages

petals

still working on this one

tree with birds

prisma pencil overlay

doodles .......

knots and buttons

Rose of Sharon Quilt

2011-05-21T23:31:00.002+01:00

Firstly I want to show you this picture of the Rose of Sharon quilt my sister Theresa and I worked on for her daughter Adele. It's a double bed size completed in 1994.

As I wrote previously, I'm now working on a black and white one, a smaller version, for my sofa, a square one with 4 blocks each side.

After I posted about the problems I was having with the grey fabric, I read Anne's post about using freezer paper for applique I thought that it looked like a much better way so I gave it go.

If your read her post the shape is first cut out of freezer paper this is then ironed onto the right side of the fabric, however....I didn't have any freezer paper but the outline of each shape was already drawn on the back of each of the cotton pieces so I thought I would give it a go with the glue

you can see the coloured glue along the snipped edge up to the line.

edge folded over with the use of a cocktail stick

the finished piece already to sew on.

This worked fine I thought but I decided to get the freezer paper to try it out on the bigger bits to see if it would give me a smother rounded edge and to try it on the grey fabric.

The freezer paper method worked great on the cotton fabric but not the grey, it wouldn't stick with the glue, the folded cut edges kept jumping back up and it also melts too easy with the iron....as I found out on my trial piece, so after about 30 mins trying to get the edges to stay stuck under, I melted the whole lot with the iron!!!! grrrr.....I didn't keep, I popped it in the bin, decided not to let it annoy..... it sorry no pic.

However I'm still delighted to use this new method for all the other pieces and have found the sewing machine method of backing the grey pieces and turning right sides out is the best way forward here.

I have now competed the first two blocks for the second side.
The glue method gives a much neater finish and I find the pieces a lot easier and quicker to stitch on.

Not the best picture I have to say but I took it this evening in artificial light.

I'll get a better picture tomorrow of these and all the other 4 completed for the other side of the quilt.

In remembrance

2011-05-19T11:40:00.001+01:00

Today I have lit a little candle from Lourdes for a very dear Lady, a very old family friend Betty, who sadly passed away this week. Her funeral is today but I am unable to be there in person, I don't have transport today and it is too far away to take public transport. I feel sorry that I can't be there.

Betty has gone home to be with Ben her husband who died a few years ago.

They didn't have any children of their own but they shared in our family occasions, weddings, christenings, my parents silver and gold wedding anniversaries and special birthday events. They used to enjoy visiting when we were children and always took time to chat to us kids and would bring us sweets.

Both were very good friends of my parents, Ben was my Dads fishing pal and they would sometimes spend sunny days out with us on some loch or river picnicking & fishing.

I am sad that she is gone but happy that they are together now.

May she rest in peace x

Custom Converse

2011-05-16T10:46:00.001+01:00

Arnt these cute! first size pink Converse in little size 4

Little C has had these a few weeks now and they kept calling me to pretty them up.

So on Saturday I spent a lovely sunny afternoon in my little studio watching C and her daddy tend all the new life in the garden that is suddenly sprouting up.........and I set to work.

I still have some little snips of that pretty rose fabric left over from her douvet cover re-make which I also used in the tea party and dolls pram projects

So I started with that for inspiration

and chose some beautiful co-ordinating pale blue variegated DMC cotton Perle and stitched around the edge.

then some bullion knot roses, with a touch of crimson in the middle.

(can you see my rose theme is getting everywhere)

I found the last of some beautiful hand dyed Oliver Twist stranded cotton in shades of blue and green....perfect.... and I had just enough left for this little project.

Replace the laces with beautiful pale green satin ribbon

each side is unique

and now they are very pretty & girly

I had so many ideas of different way to customise these little cuties but it took my rose theme to get me inspired to do it!

These are my son Harry's

he hasn't worn them very much and now sadly he has outgrown them :(

shame :(

Not to worry, ..........they fit me! :)

Watch this space!

Thrifty finds and blogger

2011-05-15T10:27:00.000+01:00

With blogger being down last week, it was difficult, I was itching to post, been busy with so many different things and thrifty finds to show

like these lovely little things!

Soap dish £1

Pink Lidded dish £2.50

1 of 2 cotton embroidered pillowcase 50p for both!

I have some more things to show but no pictures as yet.

********

The little tutorial I posted earlier was sitting waiting to go when all the trouble started.

Unlike some I was lucky in that only one of my posts was affected and even then only a couple of minor things. On the other hand my draft post in my dashboard were multiplied by 3 in some cases, much better than being wiped out. I guess it was all down to timing and I have a habit of saving myself as I go along, just in case, I know they are saved every so often as we are writing but I'm a just in case kinda gal.

So I hope you enjoy the little tutorial I have written while playing around in my roses theme.
Yvonne x

Foliage to Fabric

2011-05-15T10:04:00.000+01:00

Fabric Leaf embellishments

From foliage to fabric

I love using transfer mediums especially

fabric crayons and paints

The simple leaves from my yellow rose were perfect for taking rubbings from with the crayons

I painted over these with the transfer paints

and cut them out

I laid these out face down onto white cotton fabric, covered with more fabric to hold the paper cut outs in place then pressed them with a hot iron.

********

I didn't get a good picture of the transferred images before the next stage but have since did some more of these and decided to iron the image onto pale green cotton shirt fabric to good effect.

******************

Transferred images covered with little pieces of chiffon and organza fabrics

free machine stitched around the outlines

You can still see the leaf crayon imprints through the organza

Then I went a bit mad and had some fun with some more free machine embroidery

trimmed to the stitched edge

Fabric Leaf embellishments

Hope you enjoyed this little tutorial

Transfer paints by Decca

Fabric transfer crayons by Crayola

Experimental stitching

2011-05-11T12:33:00.000+01:00

A little experimental rose piece I worked on over a couple of days.

Not very good I might just add, the blanket stitch around the openwork leaves a lot to be desired but its just a fun piece, I didn't have a plan, just used the outline of one of my stitched paper roses. divided it into sections with a running stitch.

I just wanted to have fun with some fabric scraps and threads and a sudden urge to hand embroider.

I learned some from this exercise too, the fabric I chose was not really suitable for openwork, the weave was to open and it frayed at the edges, was quite difficult to keep it in shape, it had a bit of stretch to it too which didn't help, my own fault for not consulting one of my many needlework books which might have advised on a suitable cloth!
Talking of cloth I was quite annoyed with the amount of dirt that built up on the cloth over such a short space of time and I did wash it when it came out of the hoop yesterday but there is still a visible grime circle line where the hoop had been.

Later on last night I was reading about Catherine's dress, so beautiful with all that hand embroidered lace, totally exquisit! and she carried it so well....every step, so elegent and graceful and swishy!....... ...anyway ........yes I was reading about the ladies who worked on the lace from the Royal school of needlework and how they were kept in the dark over what the lace was for or which designer they were working for....what a wonderful job to be able to sit and embroider knowing its going to go into one beautiful creation after another......anyway ! .......these ladies who worked by hand on the lace for the dress had to wash their hands every 30 minuets! ......so I was thinking its no wonder the dirt that collected over my little rose sample after sitting on the arm of the sofa in between being picked up worked on and set down every couple of hours or so over the space of 3 days!

anyway!.......what I was thinking after I read about the embroiderers and the hand washing was, surely they must have ended up with very dry hands and if not what were they using in between washes to keep their hands and fingers soft and able to work?
Perhaps I should be asking the Royal School of needlework that question.....hmmm

While studying City & Guilds Embroidery a few years ago one of the ladies in the class introduced us to that wonderful stuff called Udder cream, yes for udders! ..... I'm sure many of you have heard of it and use it. Available at the vets Im told.
The beauty of this stuff was that it could be used as hand cream but would leave no greasy residue so ideal if your working with fabrics and threads or beads.
I asked her to get me some the next time she went to the vets, I don't have any animals so was not a frequenter of the vets.
Needless to say the large tub kept me going for some time but it didn't last for ever.
About a year ago now I purchased some online, but when it arrived it was the most, disgusting pink runny gooey mess and useless. So I was put off buying any more.
So what to do ?......what do you use?(do let me know)......what do they use? (RSN).......what vet can I get that good udder cream from? (note to self: try and remember who got it for the ladies in the CG class).......all things I have to find out for next time........

Watercolour dying and painted quilts

2011-05-10T20:26:00.000+01:00

Some hand dyed pieces of trim in rosy colours

I've had a little box of Pentel watercolour fabric dyes for a few years now, I think they are great for dying small quantities of fabric, lace, trims, and threads. If you are like me and dont do a lot of dying but like to dabble now and then, these are ideal. I like them because there is no mixing up or measuring out or that feeling that you have to grab every bit of fabric around to justify a bucket load of dye. They are fixed with a hot iron and washable after fixing. The cost wont break the bank either and great for workshops etc.

Thinking in the theme of roses .............

Pretty pink daisies, cotton lace trim, and some silky leaf lace edging

The quilted pieces are samples I've been working on.

The top right sample with the quilted leaf design was brushed with the watercolour soloution letting it soak in, this was after I had painted it with a coat of green fabric paint and a roller. Its not very noticable in the picture but I added irridescant watercolour medium to the solution which adds a little sparkle to it.

Inspired by a tutorial in the Quilting Arts magazine 10th Anniverary issue by Ana Buzzalino who was inspired by a painted quilt technique used by Laura Kemshall, on further investigating I found Laura has co written a book on the subject. The painted quilt.

I have borrowed the book from the library for now but I have added it to my 'worth buying' list.
Also while going through some back issues of Workbox I found a picture of one of Laura's beautiful art quilts, which was displayed in her first solo show at the festival of quilts 2004 at the NEC Birmingham

Beautiful isnt it!

I want to do some more reading on the subject before doing anymore to the other two samples.

My dyes as you can see are running out I will have to get some more, I bought this little box of 12 from Millers art shop a few years ago. I couldnt find them in their online shop, so after varoius searches online, it took me a while, I tracked down a supplier of these little tubes of paint in the UK you can get them here

Baby Bunting

2011-05-09T19:17:00.000+01:00

Baby Bunting for Joshua

Back

All in a row ......

In bright sunny colours!

Prisma Petals

2011-05-05T11:12:00.000+01:00

Prisma Petals

I have been playing around so much with my 'Rose' theme and have so many things to share it's difficult to know where to begin ... It started with the simple petal.

From a beautiful bunch of flowers I was given at Easter time I took a single yellow rose that was starting to wilt. I wanted petals in shades of pink and had an idea.

I removed the petals and laid them out on a sheet of white paper.

and took a picture

Then I changed it to black and white and lightened it up

I popped a couple of printed copies of this into my sketchbook before we set off for a weekend break away.

I also took my Prismacolour Pencils.

See what happened

The dark areas add depth to the hand coloured image

Pink Petals!

When cut out they look quite good !

A page in my book.......

Other possibilities that came to mind....... colour in paint shop pro (or similar editing software)

save image and print on to image transfere sheet then transfere to fabric.

or just photograph your handcoloured petals and print onto transfere sheets.

Playing around with image size could be interesting too.......

I will add this at the side of my blog as a tutorial link for easy reference.

A little corner of my studio

2011-04-28T08:59:00.001+01:00

This little corner of my studio is so much busier these days so I took some more pictures.....
Remember my little shelves, they are filling up, not all are new purchases I might add, most have been hiding in drawers and bags and baskets now I can see them all and be inspired to use them more often in my work.

I added a little spice rack shelf, another charity shop find, painted white, it cleared the top shelf above,

better used to store these little chunkier ones, perfect for mixed objects

I ~~stole this idea~~ noticed when I visited my sister Theresa in her little Bizzy Blue Bee studio she was using her mug rack to hang all her scissors on while mine was lurking under my jewellers bench looking, and probably feeling totally unloved and unwanted .... :)

its perfect and simple, they used to hang out in all sorts of places, around the sewing machine cluttering up the table, under fabric bundles in the thread caddy, or under the samples and stash in the shallow wooden tray on the table............. now I see them all....thanks Theresa x

I knew these boxes were perfect for my little scraps when I spotted them in Poundland

the lids are hinged too which makes it so much easier to access those little scraps

I'm thinking I need 2 more........ for my sheer fabric scraps and my lace pieces.

I'm using this space so much more now, I love it! .... and it keeps my sewing table free of clutter.

The Soul of the Rose

2011-04-26T21:16:00.006+01:00

A beautiful title for this lovely painting by John William Waterhouse and one of my favourites by the artist. It perfectly describes the feelings it evokes when I admire it.

I have decided to work within the theme of roses on my experimental journey .....

I've been making lots of mess in my little studio......I'll show you a little bit of what I've been up too

I wanted to spend more time exploring thread sketching. Some of you may have read my post here about my little play around after seeing it in issue of Cloth Paper Scissors.

So with my theme of roses in mind I had another little play around,

first some sketching.......

I used cartridge paper from a sketchbook

then I added some printed text paper to highlight

I then painted these with artist watercolours and free machine stitched, highlighting the shapes and lines.

I used an embroidery foot, regular black sewing thread and dropped the feed dogs on my machine.

I forgot to photograph the roses before I stitched nor the stitching process, when I get excited about going on to the next stage I sometimes forget opps

I also added some gold foil and coloured cellophane from Cadbury's roses chocolates

here are some close ups

textured paper

a leaf skeleton

embossed paper....

pink textured foil

purple cellophane sweet wrapper

I'm pleased with the results..............

here's a better view of the ochre one, I think the paint is a little thick on this, I might wet it and remove some..... see what emerges

I like the shape and flow of this one....

picture is a bit blurry,

a closer view.

Its great fun to thread sketch .....have a go if you do I would love to see

Easter Flowers

2011-04-24T22:57:00.000+01:00

I hope you all had a peaceful Easter Sunday

It was lovely and sunny here today in Fife.

Our church alter was decorated with beautiful Easter Lillies. Spring green branches and daffodil bunches tied with white ribbon to the rafter supports added a beautiful simple touch.

After church our little one spent some time in the garden with daddy weeding and planting new things. It was lovely to see them both enjoying the sunshine.

This was a bunch of flowers which were showing signs of growing thin when I read Rhiannon's post about her flower table decoration I decided to do the same, I think it looked pretty.

I totally love this pale green vintage table cloth

I picked it up at our local car boot sale last weekend for 50p!

Throughout the day I enjoyed working some more on my black and white quilt, but more on that tomorrow.

Happy Birthday April

2011-04-23T21:45:00.001+01:00

Happy Birthday April

My daughter 19 today!

We enjoyed a family lunch together of dare I say ....Takeaway pizza!

yep no cooking...... great! and for afters,

I made this sweeter than sweet cake topped with loads of butter icing, sugar sprinkles, dolly mixtures and silver dragees, the filling was of Bon Mammon blacurrant conserve and yep more butter icing it was delicious and all gone now.....

Shes gone home now to have a party at her place, hope shes having fun x

Songs Of Praise

2011-04-19T15:26:00.000+01:00

How very fortunate I was, to be given the opportunity to sing in Dunfermline Abbey recently with Songs of Praise.

On April 2nd there was a rehearsal from 7pm till 10.30pm

The hymn books were handed out and as we sat waiting for the conductor and crew to begin the proceedings I flicked through the blue book. I was familiar with only two of the hymns and could sing only one of them without the book!

As the evening of song began we worked our way through all 10 hymns with the conductor Gordon Stewart guiding and entertaining us in the most amusing manner.

There was no filming on this evening only singing. We were told that they had decided to make a few changes to how they normally do things, so with us we had this extra practice evening and then there would be two evenings of recording live five hymns each night. Apparently in previous recordings they would record the singing and then the congregation would sing or mime to playback. So we were the first to do this all live! Quite exciting really

The two evenings of recording and filming took place on Friday and Saturday (15th & 16th April)

From 7pm till 10.30pm on the Friday and a little earlier on Saturday from 5pm till 9.45pm.
The Abbey is stunning, it was lovely to be there and the lighting was beautiful.

On the Saturday evening we were accompanied by Alba Brass who were excellent

There was also a children's choir but I didn't catch where they were from and forgot to find out.

We had to wear the same clothes on both filming evenings and sit in the same seats too as the hymns will be played over 3 shows in August (7th, 14th & 21st)

I feel very privileged to have been a part of such an enjoyable and spiritual event, made all the more so by Gordon Stewart a very distinguished and accomplished concert organist, teacher and conductor among other things. Born in Dundee, the son of a minister, he has conducted Songs of Praise many times and at many memorable events such as, the opening of the Olympic Games in Athens and also in Johannesburg, South Africa at the end of apartheid. He has played Celebrity Concerts in such places as St Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral to name a few.

During the course of the 3 evenings he told us many humorous and uplifting stories of his travels and some of his father who was a minister. If ever there was a person perfect for such a job it is he. There were moments throughout when we had to wait for lighting, cameras and crew to fix problems, change positions, re-take and run through films and sound to get things right, each time he was there with another timely piece of humour to keep us entertained and relaxed. He talked us through each hymn, made us think about the words and feel them and sing from our hearts, he reminded of why we were all there, to sing in praise of God and to give his message to those who faithfully watch the program, those who may be unable to attend church or would not be able to experience these beautiful hymns of praise in such a wonderful setting.

At the end of Saturday evening, my arm ached from holding the booklet up, my legs were tired and my vocal cords were feeling a little achy and overstretched but none of that mattered. I came away with a feeling of great fulfilment, a heart full of joy and song! It didn't matter that I didn't knew the hymns because by the time we had finished filming I knew them all...I am ten hymns richer!

When everyone was heading for the door, I seized the opportunity to speak to Gordon, to shake his hand in thanks and tell him what a wonderful experience the 3 evenings had been and one which I will never forget. I asked him to autograph my ticket as a little memento and he happily obliged.

It was a huge time commitment and I was very fortunate to have been able to do it. Thanks to Kevin I was able to take the time out of family routine, leave him with it all.... the dinner, the mess, getting Charlotte settled for bed, the bedtime stories and the tidying up, it’s usually very much a joint effort in the evenings as we are both tired from our busy days. So a huge thank you to you Kevin x

When the shows go out in August I will be watching, but not to see if I can spot myself in the crowd. I will enjoy hearing the hymns and remembering the evenings I spent in the presence of God with my fellow Christians from churches all over the area, Gordon Stewart and the wonderful people who work so hard to bring Songs of Praise to a worldwide audience.

More thoughts

2011-04-14T23:29:00.000+01:00

A big Thank you ladies for your lovely and encouraging responses to my last post. I really appreciate them all and thank you for taking the time to read and respond.

I hope I didn't put anyone off opening an online shop. I will keep my shops open as I still have items for sale in them but not sure I will re list when they run out. I wont be making or designing specifically to sell but if by exploring and creating I might make a bit of art along the way, it may end up in my shop for sale.

What I'm letting go of it those thoughts of looking for ideas and making 6 of something or a collection of jewellery when it all just sits there waiting to be constantly re listed. Your right Wendie and Anne it does take the pleasure out of making things big time. I'm letting go of that pressure which I have placed upon myself . In the past Kevin has pointed this out to me before but I have always hung on to the feeling that things would get better and eventually the sales would go up and I would enjoy it but it never happens.

I'm happy with the things I make I know they are good quality but the time and effort that has been put into them sometimes up to 4 hrs a piece seems wasted when they don't sell. I don't like to ask too much for my items but it was pointed out to me quite recently that they were perhaps priced too cheaply and this might be off putting to buyers, I felt that if my work was put at a price that most people would pay they would sell quickly and I could justify taking the time to design and make more. I was quite proud of my last collection, I felt it was a little bit different and that it might appeal to some who liked the vintage look with the vintage buttons and pearls and crystals, it got lots of views, got featured in a few treasuries and favourites on etsy and flickr but not one sale and I'm left wondering why? ...not to mention the disappointment I felt. ...gosh this is beginnings to sound like I'm having a good moan...!

Taken on one of our camping trips a couple of years ago, isn't it beautiful......

I think Etsy and Folksy are great places to wander round and I have managed to buy some lovely things from different parts of the world.

I am sometimes surprised at the prices some people get for their things and good for them for getting the sales. I'm free of having to think all this through to a conclusion and free of the endless feeling of pressure I put on myself that I need to be promoting my work and shops all the time on other sites which I don't really want to spend time on.... its just not worth it for me.

A Change in direction and Letting Go

2011-04-12T20:55:00.000+01:00

I had a plan, that when I got past the 2 O'clock feeds stage with Charlotte that I would get back into my little studio and start creating, get my little business up and running, design new collections of jewellery and sell them in my Etsy and Folksy shops. The 2 O'clock feeds took a lot longer to drop than I anticipated, in fact she never slept through the night until she was into her second year. Many months of sleep deprivation is something that took me a long time to accept and deal with. I was lucky with my first 3 children all were sleeping through the night by 14 weeks even the 3rd who was breast fed, I now realise that I was a very lucky mummy back then.

I don't know whether it has anything to do with the age difference in me, I totally love her, but at times it has been such hard work. My energy levels and my expectations of myself in being a good mum don't always match up. I try to be the best I can be and expect more of myself than is physically possible some days.

I know there are lots of Mums out there who do it, stay at home and be with their children, try to build a business up slowly as they go along, blog about it, sell online, sell at fairs and through shops etc and it works well for them and I totally admire them, but after months of trying, making, hoping, listing, waiting and talking things over with Kevin, I've finally admitted to myself that this isn't for me. It's not working, I'm not getting anything out of it.
So I'm letting go..... It seems that if you are not willing to give 90% of your day over to constant self-promotion online through facebook, twitter etc then your work is just not going to get noticed and I'm not willing to use my precious time in this way.
In my heart I'm an artist and that is what I'm going to concentrate on. I need to spend the time that I do have for me exploring, drawing, painting, experimenting with stitch, fabrics and thread. When you start making things specifically to sell something gets lost, forgotten, unused and I miss that ..... I want it back!

My first journal page, I can now understand how therapeutic creating a journal page can be!

So I'm going to do just that, ....get it back!...... forget about making to sell, spend more time exploring, being creative and enjoying the time that I get to spend in my little studio.

It's a new beginning in a way and I'm excited about it! It would be nice if you, my little list of 41 followers will stay with me for the creative journey.

Pincushions & Cake

2011-04-04T16:28:00.004+01:00

I decided to add a flower to my apron after all

........ in the form of a pincushion.

Then I made some bigger ones ...

Peachy Pink Flowers

Pale Pink Rosebuds,

Peachy Pink Rosebuds

...all available in my Esty shop shortly

Boxoftrix

I made a cake for Mothers day, I was not overly tempted by any of the cakes or deserts in the supermarket so I decided to make my own

Victoria sponge

..... topped with butter icing and pink caster sugar,

decorated with a sprinkling of silver dragees.

........ filled with strawberry formage frais and blackcurrant jam

Delicious it was...even if I did make it myself :)

12/04 Update : I should have got around to it before now but I seem to be saying that to myself a lot these days.

I took some pictures of the lovely gifts my four children gave to me for Mothers day

Wine, Chocolates, two beautiful plants, in colours I love :)

Can you see the beautiful pink glass plant pot just behind the chocolates

There was a chocolate orange too but we ate that before I managed to get a picture

and these are just so cute x
I feel very lucky and blessed to have 4 beautiful children

New Apron

2011-03-24T15:25:00.001Z

Yesterday I decided that I would have a little break from the black & white and jump into a little project I have been wanting to do for a while.

To make a jeans apron to keep my sewing and craft bits and bobs handy and just for the fun of it really!

I saw Betz Whites tutorial for her cute little apron a while back and made a mental not to self to have a go soon, I then saw another one from Lucy at My Byrd House and this simple idea from Kleas if you don't fancy the sewing option.

Having a few pairs of old jeans stacked in a drawer in my studio I opted for a pair of Kevin's as the pockets were bigger and all that was left of these was the top bit, the legs having already been used for bunting triangles..... no waste in this house!

So here is my version

I was able to just use the button closure so no need to add ties

Love this fabric which I used for the inner back pocket

some leftover cotton tape stitched along the bottom edge and some of my fav blue and green buttons to finish ..... quick simple easy...made in an hour!

Me sporting my new craft apron!

Now I'll know where to find my tape measure, little metal ruler, pencil, notebook, scissors, needle threader, chalk and lip balm. I might decide to add a little pin cushion and a fabric flower or two!

WIP applique

2011-03-24T10:13:00.001Z

A close up of the leaf section of the ROS quilt

This is one of the first ones I stitched on, they can bequite fidley to do because of the fabric I have chosen. It's a rayon type fabric that freys easily but it has a lovely sheen on it and is hardwearing.

I decided against bondaweb after it left glue marks on the fabric and made it quite stiff, ok for wall hangings but not for a lap quilt, I want if to drape nicely and feel soft.

Theresa suggested that I use a different method for these pieces, she showed me some applique pieces she had bought from USA which had been backed , this made them easy to sew on and took the frayed edge problem away. I wasn't keen at first but after stitching another couple on, I decided I would try this other method. I don't know if it has a name, if you know of it and can tell me what its call do let me know.

You could do it by hand but I decided to use my machine

The fabric is pinned right sides together with a thin backing fabric, and the outline of the shape is drawn onto the backing fabric.

The outline is then stitched on the machine, leaving an opening somewhere

the piece is then cut out and trimmed close to the stitch line turned inside out, ironed flat then stitched in place. Here is a picture of how it looks.

It's not as flat as the other one but still looks good, and I think it will be more durable.

I have to say it was so much easier to stitch down, although some might think this is cheating.....

I decided to try this method with the outer petal section and took more pictures to show you.

As these shapes had already been cut out and marked with the outline on the back, I place these right side down onto the backing fabric and stitched on top of the outline

Cut them out and sniped across the corners

turned them inside out..........

I used this ball end tool to help me get into the corners

and ironed them flat.

it was more difficult stitching these into place and some puckering occurred on the inner petal piece as you can see in the next picture......

but I was able to straighten most of it out when I stitched along the other side

this puckering is mainly due to the fact that the inner petal pieces were not a more uniform shape as they were stitched on the using a different method......hope I'm making sense here

I think if this method was used for the inner petal pieces also then they would all fit nicely together.

Although this method, does take more time preparing the pieces and involves using the sewing machine, its quite straightforward and I think once you have the pieces it's still enjoyable to sit and hand stitch them in place, what you don't get is the fiddly fraying edges popping out and I'm not having to find the outline all the time.

I will decide at the end of this forth block whether I will carry on with this method for all the shapes on the blocks on the other side, or to revert back to just using it for the grey leaf sections where it worked well.

Its been so long since we worked on Adeles quilt I forget how I stitched them.

W I P Black & White Quilt

2011-03-21T22:35:00.003Z

I started this quilt in February, but haven't taken any pictures till today.

My sister Theresa bought me a beautiful stack of black and white FQs for my birthday Last year, to make a quilt for myself. She saw me admire the fabric bundle at the creative stitches show and bought me it.

It has taken me so long to start it because I just couldn't make up my mind what I wanted to do with it.

A few years ago when I used to live in the country Theresa and I lived next door to each other in farm cottages. We spent many a winter evening by coal fires stitching and sharing ideas and fabrics.

One birthday she bought me this book

I have made and re made many of the lovely projects in this book and it has remained one of my favourites

We both worked on this quilt pattern from the book for her Daughter Adele.

A beautiful Rose of Sharon Quilt

It was a lovely pattern to work with, all hand appliqued.

There is a little bit about the original quilts (there were 4 of them)

all made by a mother and her sister for her 4 daughters.

If you click on this picture you can read it.

It was only quite recently when Theresa was mending the quilt for Adele that I remembered how I had enjoyed working on it so much and it was later on that evening that it struck me how beautiful this quilt would look with the black and white prints.

I couldn't wait to get started

so far I have completed 3 blocks the quilt will have 4 blocks on each side. the centre circle is black velvet and I plan to get more velvet for the sashing and borders.

These are the rest of the blocks all cut out and ready to stitch.

Each square measures 17" the finished quilt size will be about 48"square.

I will try to get a picture to show you, of the quilt we worked on together for Adele.

Rosebud Floor cushion

2011-03-20T21:13:00.004Z

It's all thanks to Susan at 'Living with Punks' and her fab 'Land of Nod inspired floor cushion' tutorial.

Her tutorial is so well thought out and so easy to follow.

I just had to make one....

I used a length of fabric that I had cut from some IKEA curtains you might recognise the fabric.

I made my own piping from some rat tail cord and some pretty floral print fabric from my stash...

I thought the french knots would add a girly feel and highlight the floral piping

I added a zip (one of 3 I purchased from eBay for a couple of pounds)

I wanted to be able remove the fiberfill to wash the cover. Charlotte helped me stuff the fiberfill which was reclaimed from a single quilt who's stitching had come undone, rendering it useless as a duvet but still usable for this cute project.

I calculated that this cost me less than £2 to make as I had almost everything that I needed.

French knots are my favourite embroidery stitch these did not take me as long as you might think.....

Beautiful variegated cotton Perle from DMC, One of my impulse purchases at the recent Creative Stitches show in Glasgow, not knowing what I was going to do with it, I just loved the colours, it was a perfect match for the flowery fabric!

and a perfect fit for Charlotte she loves the feel of the little rosebuds.

I'm so pleased with how it has turned out!

Sunny & Bright!

2011-03-19T21:59:00.000Z

More baby bunting

For Millie

another order from a friend........ in lovely sunny Yellows, reds & oranges!

These are not colours I usually choose to work with so I found it challenging

....but fun and now I have some lovely new colours added to my stash!

Baby Bunting

2011-02-26T21:03:00.001Z

I worked on this little bunting banner last week,

Ordered by a friend of a friend for her new baby girl

I think she is about 6 weeks old.

I like it when I get an order for bunting for little ones.

Change re-vamp and recycle

2011-02-24T23:43:00.004Z

So we bought this light / swirly ball fitment about 2yrs ago, It seemed to go with the decor and the furniture, When it was fitted, I kinda liked it but over the past 6 months I just kept thinking it's not me...if you know what I mean.

The fitment which we used to have up, an eBay purchase about 7yrs ago we painted it silver and I loved it, I should have just kept it up there, but instead it got put in the loft for a couple of years then back down when I decided to paint it green, cos I had a small tin of metallic paint, bought in the sale and the bedroom needed a fitment to go with the new colour scheme.

I was happy to be using the fitment again. Pictured here without the shade and ready for another revamp...yep the silver ball swirly thing has been removed.....and I yes, I did find another nice shade for the bedroom :o)

spent 2 hrs this afternoon painting it by hand with a little brush........... but you will have to wait to see the finished piece, I didn't get a picture in the daylight.......

Update: 28.02.10

All finished and fitted. The inside of the flowers I have kept the original pearly silvery pink...

I like it black. K says if it has to be moved again he will have to rewire it the cable is so short,

I think I'll keep it here...its more me :)

********

Couldn't resist taking this picture yesterday as I shared this little box of treats with Charlotte, she was particularly fond of the tiny meringues, but the mixture of lemon infused raisins and yogurt covered peanuts were simply yummy!

......just one of the little surprises in my 2nd Graze box which arrived on Monday

This was my first box which arrived on Saturday and it was free!

I'm quite enjoying this new found treat, ideal for popping in your handbag and keeping one sustained while stitching away in the studio! ideal in fact.

Tomorrow morning Charlotte goes to her little dance class which is held in a soft play centre nearby, afterwards the mums get together for a chat, they do have a cafe where food and cakes can be bought but I decided that I was going to stop trying to buy food and drinks there because the service is so slow and awful and normally the drinks are cold by the time you get to sit down and food takes ages to order and get that I had started opting for the fast cake option for lunch instead (very naughty!) I will go armed with my 2 little graze boxes that I have left of today's selection and a GRAZE voucher code ( 853Q3T63 ) for everyone to get a free box online with no obligation to sign up or buy anymore if they don't like :o)

I wish I could remember the blog that I got the link about Graze from, I was catching up on so many and I forgot take note.

Update: I remembered it was Linda aka Blue eyed girl

Back again soon with more pictures of makes and re-makes!

It's easy when you know how.....

2011-02-16T10:11:00.000Z

My Son David is at university in Dundee.

He manages to visit about once a month as he doesn't drive and its about an hour away from us.

Its always lovely to see him. A couple of weeks ago he called me to talk about the rag bracelets that I made him which he wears all the time. He asked if I could teach him how to make them. So at the weekend we spent some time my workshop and went through each of the processes.

These are his first ones.

He managed to make about 12 while he was here.

I was quite impressed at how quickly he learned how to do them and put together some lovely colour combinations, added bigger buttons and really went for it. It was lovely to watch him stitching away and really enjoying the time.

I gave him some supplies to take away, lots of buttons, fabric & elastic cord.

He's hoping to make a little bit of spare cash selling them to fellow students and friends,

I made him a little sewing case and stocked it with the things he will need.

This piece of leather was cut from an old wallet. I thought the inside suede which was as new under the fabric lining of the wallet was perfect for a more manly sort of needle case.

I added a ribbon loop for scissors and a couple of felt pages for pins and needles.

David was delighted, now he can make his rag bracelets anywhere.

And indeed he did all the way home on the train and text me to say he had sold his first one on the journey home ....result! :)

You can find the link to my rag bracelet tutorial on the side bar.

And the winner is........

2011-02-14T23:07:00.000Z

Silke ... congratulations! please choose your heart from my Etsy shop.

Thank you everyone for taking the time to leave a comment on the giveaway.

I hope everyone is having a lovely Valentines evening x

Romantic Hearts Giveaway

2011-02-07T21:44:00.003Z

Romantic Hearts

all of these and more are now for sale in my Etsy shop.

Perfect for giving and wearing on Valentines day

and everyday for that matter...I'm wearing mine now :)

This is the one I chose to keep I love it so much

I thought also it was time to say thank you to all of you who take the time to visit and read and leave a comment or two I really do appreciate them all and it means a lot so I'm doing my first giveaway on the 14th February and what better to give than a heart........of your choice!

Just leave a little post telling me which brooch or pendant you like best and why, does one jump out at you? is it your colour?........ is it perfect for your top, dress, jacket, would it team well with some earrings you have or just look fab on your bag or hat! ........I want to know

Of course if you win and the one you like best sells before the 14th then your next favourite one will be sent :o)

A little bit of fun I hope you will join in.

Love Yvonne x

Little glimpses......

2011-02-04T21:23:00.000Z

Silk, french knots and delicate lace........

ribbons and seed beads..........

embroidered and beaded.......

diamante

crystals and roses .......

buttons and bows.......

a little glimpse of my new collection.......

Bright colourful sparkly

2011-01-18T22:56:00.004Z

Inspired by my latest collection of jewellery

16 Jewel coloured inchies

Available for sale in my Etsy shop

Photograhic prints of all my inchie sets also now available here

New Textile Jewellery

2011-01-11T09:45:00.001Z

Im happy at last to be able to finally post pictures of my new collection of textile jewellery.

These new pieces are silk with machine embroidery and hand finished with beadwork.

Big Heart Brooches

Only three of these are available each is unique in colours, shape size and embellishment.

Pendants

delicate layers of silk, machine embroidered

and hand stitched with a selection of tiny beads

crystals

and tiny french knots

with a felt back and hand stitched finished edge

again each one is unique in colour, shape, size and embellishment.

these are just three of my favourites

The full collection can be seen in my Etsy shop.

Peony Treasury

2011-01-08T23:29:00.000Z

I was pleasantly surprised to have my Pastel inchies included in an inchie treasury by creativeseconds on Etsy today. I noticed that a few things have changed since I last listed or spent any time there. One of them being the Treasury list and how it works. It's much better now that you can save the treasuries that you create to your Etsy profile...great idea! after all the hard work it doesn't just disappear after 24hrs or was it 12hrs I cant remember....also its nice too that you don't have to try and grab one as the list goes vacant so much fairer don't you think? I decided to make one and the first thing that came into my head was 'Peonies' they are such pretty flowers big but also delicate and they are indeed an inspiration to so many artists.

PEONY

I've been working on a collection of pendants and brooches that a started last June, I cant believe they have sat so long unfinished on my worktable, put aside for other projects and the summer holidays.

I decided to work on these to get them completed and into my Etsy shop too, new year new collection and all that.

I finished them today...yeh!.... Ive been feeling a bit under the weather for a couple of days which has slowed me up but I got there eventually! I'm quite excited about these new pieces :)

Only problem now is getting a good light to get some good shots, I prefer to use natural light always and its in very short supply here in Scotland.

So here's to tomorrow and hopefully a brighter day in all respects :)

Inchies

2011-01-07T14:11:00.002Z

Pastel Shades

Today I reopened my Etsy shop and decided to sell some of my inchies.

I enjoy the process of making inchies.

I enjoy seeing a set come together and find new ways and new ideas to embellish them with each set I create unique.

Pink & Red

There are so many ways to use inchies, in bigger pieces of art, embellishing journals, bags, purses, iphone and ipad cases, jewellery making, quilts.......these are just a few, I'm sure there are many more.

I'm selling them unframed to keep costs down and allow you the choice of how to use them. I will however be sending them out mounted on card, ready to be framed. The set of 16 fits nicely into a square frame available from IKEA. I have shown pictures of each set on the listings in the black and the white frames.

These two sets are now up for sale and I'm hoping to get more up for sale soon.

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Update : Pastel inchies set now SOLD but photographic prints are now available of my inchie sets in my ETSY shop.

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28 Squares No 8, 9 & 10

2011-01-06T21:59:00.000Z

I worked a little more on the 28 square sampler in memory of my niece Bianca

No 8 Christmas Tree

No 9 Pumpkin

No 10 Gift

The sampler so far.........

I thought it would get at least a little bit easier to talk about the reasons for the things that I stitch in the squares, but as time goes by and I pick up the sampler and work a little bit more on it ....it just gets more difficult