Thursday 28 January 2010

Sneaking a moment

If you are ever down near Chichester you really must visit this store. When I visited last summer it was an alladins cave of treats, with things round every nook and cranny. Now they've moved and found this wonderful location it's a feast for your eyes the moment you walk through the doors. It was heaven. Welcome to The Eternal Maker.










It had this lovely tree display inside from which, on the day I visited, hung loads of lovely examples of their work to inspire you on. And no, I didn't take these photos... merely pinched them from their own blog and I hope they don't mind!








They had so many lovely fabrics and trimmings and buttons.... lots and lots of buttons. I promised myself when I walked in that I would only treat myself to a few things and I think I did quite well. There were some lovely japanese fake patchwork fabrics which really caught my eye......






.......some patterned fabrics that looked quite unusual but would be great for embellishing and then some spotty fabrics. I do do spots! And I couldn't resist getting a bit more of the jumbo ric rac. I used it on the cushion that I made for Cait and have never seen it anywhere else.

Mr BB and I are off for a weekend in Cambridge, just the two of us. I shall have to remember this indulgence if we go near shops whilst we're there!!!!

Sunday 24 January 2010

Cheat Street

Well clearly this blogging is going to keep me on my toes. Two weeks on and that half finished cushion cover is ... yep you guessed it...... still half finished. I've not been idle, as I've now quilted it and added a yoyo to the front but I've been a little busy elsewhere.

I had the most wonderful time sledging with Niamhy and Cait in the snow, whizzing down a hill screaming at the top of your voice is so very therapeutic, and for the very best in sledging you really must try lying on a body board face down! Fantastic.

I've also had two weekends of catching up with friends which is a real buzz at this time of year. Met up with an old work colleague in London and took the opportunity to hunt out one of my favourite bookshops. Full of visually stimulating books and I couldn't resist buying this lovely gem.



It's a fab book of wonderful prints to inspire your creative side and the best bit is is that they all come as image files on an enclosed CD so you can print them off again and again for all number of crafty creations. Wish I had found out about it ages ago. Every year for Caits birthday I decorate the house. It's at the end of November and a great excuse to start lifting the spirits ahead of Christmas. Of course 9 years ago when I started the tradition my decorations were far simpler than they are today! Still now I've got a good companion to help inspire me.

As I've been a tad busy over the last two weeks I'll show you something that I made just before the mad Christmas rush, when I wanted a little project to keep me busy during the evenings. Cheat street I know. I had loads of fun making him from some scraps I had left over from a cushion that I'd just finished making for Cait. Cait has a great eye for colour and pattern and I was asking her opinion as to what colour the eyes should be ..... she that had the great idea of making them odd and I loved it. So I'm pleased to introduce my latest doorstop creation.



And it wouldn't be right to overlook the cushion that I made for Cait. She's real blue and green girl and I was dead chuffed when I gave it to her and she loved it.



So I'll challenge myself to get out this week and buy a cushion filler and then I'll have no excuse not to get my log cabin creation completed. I'd like to... I'm ready to get creating something else now.

Sunday 10 January 2010

My First Post

So, I've been trying to work out what you write in your first post. An introduction to who I am sounds too cheesy so maybe I'll just show you a photo of what I've been doing with my odd spare moments whilst we've been snowed in.



So you've guessed it I like sewing! I like all sorts of crafting and having poured over numerous books and blogs for several years now I thought maybe I should join in, have somewhere to chronicle what I do.

I guess because it's christmas and I've just had time off from work to indulge myself that I've got a real drive for making things right now. I had a great christmas this year and had nearly the whole week off leading up which gave me loads of time to indulge myself making things with Cait (12) and Niamh (3).

Paper chains were first.....



And then there was the marathon task of a gingerbread house! I wasn't convinced that we'd be able to pull this off as novices... but have to say it worked quite well. Making it was fun but deocrating it with all those sweets even more so!



And in between all that fun I decided that my friends with little people should have a handcrafted crayon roll. It's lovely to make things but even more so when you can try to pick the colours and look that you think that person might like....





I love red and green at the moment.

I also made a necklace for my best mate and some lovely bunting for my two year old nephew but I forgot to photo them!

So I think that's all I say for now. I've finished quilting the cushion cover and have made a yoyo to go on top so maybe I'll finish that off over this week and show you the finished article later. Meantime..I'll add on some of my favourite blogs.