Let's Sew...

Just a quick post, I have received lots of emails and messages following my post on Friday with ladies enquiring about the gorgeous Sewing Machine Cross Stitch Pattern.

It is a design by Ursula Michael from the USA, I bought it from Trudy Anne Designs, Trudie does not seem to have an online shop as far as I can see, but she does sell direct and you can contact her through her email account or you can give her a call.
You can contact Trudy at trudysmith@fsmail.net or call  01484 864594.
I did contact Trudy to ask if she was happy for me to pass on her details and she is, she did mention that these charts are selling really well, she will have more in stock early next week and she can also supply it in a kit format with the fabric and thread.

Go on, you know you want one ;0)

p.s. I have no affiliation at all with Trudy, just trying to help :0)


p.p.s. back soon with a little giveaway!

A Monthly Make March 2012, and a few buys...

Well I'm gonna come running in at the very end of the month and skid to a flustered halt to present my March 2012 monthly make.  This is pretty much the only thing I have completed this month, my Christmas Quilt Stitchery.

I obviously have to turn it into a quilt at some stage but that will be sometime towards the end of the year.

Following my visit to Sewing for pleasure last week at the NEC I attended Pins and Needles today with my friend Nic.  This year it was held at the Newcastle Racecourse which was a much better venue than the aircraft hanger style arena where it usually is.

(I did take some nice photos of the venue and the knitted underwater display which was amazing, I will blog these another time as this post is rather photo heavy already.)

We had fun and I stocked up on some gorgeous fabrics, this little lot were from Just Quilting

This little (*cough*) pile was from Images of Egypt

and here is an array of other bits and bobs, including some quilting gloves, buttons, threads, patterns and hoops. 

Check out my giant button, I love it, bought from Button's Boutique.

This is my favourite buy of the day, it's a cross stitch pattern in the shape of a sewing machine.  I did see this at Birmingham and hummed and harred, but I snapped it up today.  I'm thinking of sewing it in various shades of dusky pinks and greys but I've not decided yet. 

Well all shopped out I came home to a lovely parcel from Emma Bear Forever in the form of these two lovely grey squares.  Thanks again Emma.

Next weekend will be my two year blogiversary, and so I am planning a little giveaway, stay tuned!

Crafting on hold ...

Well it's time for a quick catch up, I have had a mental busy few weeks with work which has left me precious little time to make anything.  I did book a sneaky day's holiday last week though and spent a fabulous day at Birmingham NEC with my friend Lynda, nattering, shopping and generally putting the world to rights! 

This time I didn't spend a kings ransom and only really bought a few bits, a couple of them are for gifts so I can't show them here, but I did get a nice bargain from the Historical Sampler Company this sweet cross stitch, which was in the sale box:

 Lynda and I were lucky enough to meet the lovely Mandy Shaw of Dandelion Designs and we both pre ordered her new book Stitch at Home which I can't wait to get my hands on.

image from Dandelion Designs website 

I have yet another crafty event this weekend in the form of Pins and Needles, at Newcastle Race Course, it's an event that my lovely friend Nic and I never miss.  There will be lots of fab stalls and I think I was a little reserved in Birmingham so that I had enough cash left for Pins & Needles!  

I have fabric in mind and a few gifts... fingers crossed that the crazy grannies with their shopping trolleys, bad attitudes and sharp elbows are going on a different day to me!

In other crafty news more squares have arrived for the blanket swap and I now have quite a little pile gathering up.

The only craft I have been partaking in recently is my stitcheries for my Lynette Anderson Christmas Quilt. I have made a good start on the second big stitchery and only need to complete the border now.

 This is a nice project to pick up and put down when I have the odd 10 mins spare.

 Well, now that my back is no longer sore all day every day (just most days, for a good part of the day) I have started to get the spring cleaning bug.  As I looked around though I realised that it was more than that, spring cleaning just won't cut it, my home needs decorating badly.

I think as I knew I was not able to do it I have chosen not to see it, but it is definitely more shabby than chic at the moment and I am going to put that right soon.

As a consequence my crafting will have to be put on the back burner for a while while I whip this place into shape.  

My beloved, although wonderful in many hundreds of ways, is useless when it comes to decorating and DIY so it's all up to me!  I will use him for any heavy lifting, fetching and carrying and such though, he is good at that.

One of the first things I need to tackle is my kitchen, it just needs a lick of paint and a general clear out and deep clean.  It is so shabby and messy that I can't bear to put photos here just yet, but I will, I must document it for shame's sake.

I'm off to wallow in my squalor :0(

Back Soon

A Few Little Updates

 More squares arrived this week for the blanket swap, to date I have one large and six smaller squares that are itching to be joined together, thanks ladies. 

A little impromptu eBay win this week is this Trapunto Italian Quilting Cushion Kit.  The instructions are dated 1980 and they are typed (as in from a typewriter).  I've not attempted anything like this but I'm looking forward to giving it a go.

I have had the odd hour this week to craft and I have made a bit of progress with my first block for the Lynette Anderson Christmas Quilt.

 It's a bit shabby and creased but it's almost there!

Remember my cosy blanket I blogged about last time, well I popped back in to pick up another one for a friend and I spied the Orla ish one had been reduced by 50%, so for £4.50 I snapped it up too!

 And last but not least, I was the lucky winner of this sweet little Make Your Own Mouse Kit by Bustle and Sew.  I won this over at Annies blog, thanks again honey!

Well I'm planning on making a bit of progress with my Christmas Quilt this week, I will be back with an update soon.

Cosy New Blankie

Just wanted to pop in and share a little love I found this week.  

Super soft 'Vintage' style throw - very CK ish.  It's soooo very soft and it's my new TV blankie, you know when it's a bit chilly or you are a bit poorly and you just want to curl up on the couch.

I have shown it here on my bed just to give you an idea of the size of it, my bed is king size and it almost covers it.  For £8.99 I was rather pleased with it.  There is a stem print one in the same store which is very Orla Kiely - same price.  B&M Bargains again, one of the better cheap stores for neat finds.

In other news I have been busy with my crochet hook as I finished off all of my squares for the blanket swap last night.  I have posted most of these out this morning and the rest will be on their way on Monday. 

 

I really enjoyed making these but kind of glad I've finished now as I have another project that I'm itching to get on with, a Christmas Quilt of all things, in March!

A wonderful Lynette Anderson gift from a good friend and I am itching to make a start on it, I will keep you up to date with my progress on this.

My Slovenly Ways

Well this past week I've been loaded with cold and generally feeling under the weather.  I have not been able to make much as I have been literally sneezing and coughing all over everything.  I need to make more crochet squares for the blanket swap but I don't want to send squares filled with germs so that has been on hold this week.

On Friday I was looking for my phone in my handbag and it took me ages so I bit the bullet and tidied my handbag out!  

Wow, it was so bad I thought I would document it in an effort not to let it get in that state again.

I like to be prepared and I carry loads of crap around with me all day every day (no wonder I have a bad back!) but this is just insane!

The contents of my handbag on Friday...

 Medication for most known illnesses, I am not a hypochondriac honest!

 makeup bag, camera, purse and usb sticks

 diary, notebook, numerous receipts and 4 letters from the taxman (boo hiss!) I need to call them about.

 hairspray, deodorant, perfume, two hand creams, two anti bacterial hand wash bottles, two lip balms and two lip glosses

  A coffee cosy, a strawberry bag, a sewing kit and a pack of mini pegs (WTF!)

 Business cards, 4 pens, a set of post it notes, numerous loyalty cards and a scale rule

 orange raisins, a chocolate bar from Christmas, a complementary chocolate from the takeaway, 5 open packets of chewing gum and three loose midget gems!

 eight nail files, a comb, two hair bobbles and a clip

 a brolly, leather gloves, my beloved iphone and headphones, 3p and a broken bracelet (now fixed!)

 three open packets of tissues, some wet wipes and a cotton hankerchief

 Believe it or not this is is all rationalised and tidy! 

I just can't let it get in that state again and I need to remember one of everything is fine, honestly! 

In other news I have been tempted into the world of Kindles!  Since I have been crafting these last couple of years my reading had dried up.  I just looked at time reading as time away from crafting, but since I have been unable to make much I have found myself reading more and more.  Two of my friends have been tempting me into the world of kindles and I rather quickly gave in and bought myself one (thanks Judith & Beki!).

I LOVE IT!

image from Amazon 

Besides it's technical qualities and the fact that I can take thousands of books with me anywhere, I get the chance to look into suitable kindle covers I can make!

Well, if nothing else it's something else to cart around in my massive bag with me every day! :0)

Monthly Make February 2012

I have been crafting a little recently but I couldn't show until now as I was making this as a gift for a friend's birthday last week.

 Handmade Hexie Knitting Bag

 This took me lots of hours but it was a labour of love as it was for my friend Lynda who I know is in need of more knitting bags (she is the knitting queen you know).  

I do love working with hexies though, it was a real pleasure.

As we are nearing the end of this month I will enter this as my February monthly make over at Annies.

I am still pottering with my crochet squares and I will start posting out once I have a few more ready.

Till next time lovely ladies ...