end of May already!

wow that month went fast didn't it!

turquoise and red forever

1. Patchwork bag and brooch, 2. Phone iPhone case (Valentine red), 3. Bottle Cap Pincushion #274, 4. drink me, 5. Color Me Pink, 6. Hot In Here, 7. cerise1, 8. stitching in the shade of the lilac tree, 9. anouk03

some flickr favourites and my latest work too
i just love this colour combination.

lovely post :o)

ooh look what the postman brought me
a lovely parcel all wrapped up in pattern paper and brown string

pretty things inside the envelope
i've been lusting after that matryoshka fabric for ages!
{click on the photo's for bigger views}
love the vintage pattern/button card

ooh ooh my own "button thief"
i love this picture

altogether now

a personalised starbucks coffee mug

and some very mod buttons AND a layered button pendant
WOW what a cheery start to the day
a lovely parcel for no reason but much appreciated
thank-you so much Apryl

check out Apryl's lovely crafty and baked treasures
on her blog

http://meridianariel.blogspot.com/

not much of anything

I've not got a lot of craftiness to blog this week
i have been busy drafting more cross stitch patterns
but have nothing much stitched up to show off

accidentally arty photo of us in his sunglass lenses!

i bought some new fishing nets and as it was a lovely sunny day
we went and tested them out at the rockpools
if you look very very VERY close in this bucket you'll see what we caught!

oh i do love to live beside the seaside :o)

*******

I bought a couple of tiny hoops and a booklet of embroidery stitches on eBay
and used a scrap from a vintage table runner i'd upcyled
to try out a few different techniques and colours

why do i do my best work on scraps of fabric
that i meant to just doodle on ??!!!!

my best friends wedding . . . . .

As per usual i was totally disorganised and started on this the night before their wedding,
they had the nicest, low-key and laid back wedding EVER
they wanted no fuss - just their friends to come and enjoy their day
they were not in it for the presents. . . . . .

BUT
Lisa is my very best friend
we met twenty years ago
when we both worked here
http://www.bluegallery.co.uk/
she was there for me through good times and bad
she was like an extra parent to my daughter for her first five years
and if you can't make something to celebrate your BFF's wedding . . . .

^ LOOK LOOK LOOK ^
french knots
i can do them at last!
it's only taken me twenty odd years of trying
and now i know how there is no stopping me!

the photo's aren't great
but i gave it to them now so it's too late to take more

***CONGRATULATIONS***
Lisa and Sam
Mr & Mrs
wow does that mean you're grown ups now?

*******

to make this little sampler i used a vintage embroidered doily,
i drew on a heart with water erasable pen but it was really old so seemed to be fading as i worked!
i worked the hearts outline with chainstitch and filled it with french knots http://stitchschool.blogspot.com/2010/01/french-knot.html
i used the full 6strands of cotton so i got a very raised heart
then i added the date and names
i would've prefered to have marked them out too as there was no room
for correction as the floss marked the fabric if i unpicked a stitch
so i had to embrace freehand
i actually really like the more hand written effect
i finished the hoop using my tutorial
i used black cotton velvet and some sweet little heart buttons.
{the doily had a cotton lace edging which i was going
to leave showing but it was a bit too kitsch tbh}

just adding a little bit of colour on a cold wet day.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/scrumptiousdelight/

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ItzFitz

http://lilfishstudios.blogspot.com/

http://bluefishhandmade.blogspot.com/

http://kitschensinkuk.blogspot.com/

http://www.etsy.com/shop/kitlane

they definately cheered me up
:o)
hope it worked for you too!

more upcycling - pjs to lunch bag!

my boy's glow in the dark skeleton pajamas are sadly outgrown!
i've been "trying" to take them to the charity shop
but i just couldn't do it
so inspired by MeridianAriel
i did this instead!

no it's not a ribcage vest
although that would be cool!

after sewing along the bottom edge
{please ignore the awful stitching
me and my machine have a love/hate relationship
mostly based on pure spitting hatred}
i slightly shaped the bottom
and i also hemmed the other edges.

and now my son has a new school lunch bag!
cool!
i was inspired by this tutorial
by MeridianAriel

http://meridianariel.blogspot.com/2010/04/upcycled-tshirt-projectbook-bag.html

she just got a fancy new sewing machine for her birthday
so watch out for other new sewing projects on her blog :o)