Time for an update

Hi everyone,
The days since my last post have flown. I've had some computer woes and some lost mojo days but there are a few things to show you so first up is a cute little sewing bag.



The pattern is from Australian designer Bronwyn Hayes book The Flowerbed Quilt
The front and back have the same stitchery design.
Here's a side view



and a view of the bag when open showing the inner drawstring pouch, needlecase and scissor holder. Fabrics are Rouenneries by French General for Moda.




By the way, Bronwyn has the sweetest little Easter bag pattern with a stitchery bunny on her blog as a free download. I wish I had time to make it but even though it looks quite small I just can't fit anything else in at present. Perhaps next year.....

Another bag! This one is from a pattern by Australian designer Natalie Ross




I used a selection of Tilda fabrics to make this bag



and of course there had to be a matching needle case






I managed to stay with the 2011 Christmas ornament a month challenge. This is the one I've done for March. It's a Little House Needleworks design from the 2009 JCS Christmas ornament magazine.



finished as a simple hanging pillow and backed with Peace on Earth fabric by Moda




Sorry for the rather unimaginative photo but all of my Christmas "props" are packed away!


I finished this small Blackbird Designs piece a long time ago and have only now finished it into a pillow. The date I had stitched on it was 2009 but I decided to unpick that and replaced it with the three buttons



I found the perfect backing fabric in my stash. It has tiny birds on it but you probably won't be able to see them without clicking the picture for a close up.




I've been very much into crochet recently and have been looking around a lot of crochet blogs. I was lucky enough to win this lovely pincushion on Rachael's blog





Rachael said I could choose my own colours so I went for Cath Kidston type colours.
I just love it. Thank you Rachael :)



I don't usually show my cross stitch WIPS until they become finished objects but I've been taking part in a SAL on this blog stitching the Blackbird Designs Hedgerow Birds project bag.





This is how it looks after two assignments. Just one more assignment and the front will be finished.
I'm afraid it's a bit creased but I stitch in hand and I don't want to press it until I'm ready to do the finishing.

Finally, I was going to show a nice sunny beach pic but the weather has been quite gloomy the past few days so I'll show the cake I made this afternoon instead :)
This is coconut and cherry banana bread from Nigella Lawson's latest book Kitchen.



now I don't want to blow my own trumpet here but I actually think mine looks better than Nigella's which looks a bit sad in the middle LOL.


Sad or not this cake is delicious but then Nigella's recipes usually are. This book is my favourite of hers to date.

Well, I think that's it for now. As always a big thank you for visiting my blog and for taking the time to comment. I do love to hear from you.

Margaret

February has been a good month!

Hi everyone,
I've been very lucky this month because I've received two lovely gifts in addition to winning a pattern on a designer blog.
I've managed to stay on top of my one Christmas ornament a month challenge, made a couple of bags and finished a cross stitch piece as well.
So, on with the pictures!
One of the gifts I received was a wonderful surprise package from Valie in France.




A few months ago I had admired her purchases from Rouge petit coeur so
I was thrilled to receive this elegant pinkeep with a little ceramic bird mounted on cream linen on the front





and backed with a very pretty fabric on the reverse



Valie has made other pinkeeps in this style so if you'd like to see more of her lovely work please visit her blog.

My other gift also came from France. Francoise (no blog) sent me the tiniest little pillow which is stitched over one, edged with beads and backed with palest blue silk fabric.
Francoise also sent two Sajou thread winders depicting the Eiffel Tower which you can see in the photo. That should give you an idea of how tiny this pillow is!
You should be able to click on any of the pictures for a better view if you like.



The win I mentioned earlier was the latest little quilt pattern from Gail Pan
Gail is one of my favourite Australian designers so I'm really looking forward to making this up. I love the name she chose for the quilt. Simple Times sounds so nostalgic.



Now on to the things I've been making........
The first is my ornament for this shared blog where we are challenged to make one Christmas ornament a month.
The design I chose for this month is a free design on Tanya's blog called Christmas Eve Flight.
I stitched this over one on 28ct linen and I love how it turned out



I also stitched another of Tanya's designs as a Wednesday night SAL with Angela, Barb and a few others. This is the At Home with Jane Austen Sampler.
I really enjoyed stitching this and want to do a few other of the designs in this series.



What would a blog post from me be without a bag or two? I needed a quick gift so I made another Charm Party Tote. This is a pattern I've made several times before and can almost do it without even looking at the pattern. The fabrics are Plume by Tula Pink for Moda. They are bright! You may need sunglasses :)




Finally a little bag from a pattern by Australian designer Lynette Anderson





This was such a fun stitchery to do although there are a LOT of laisy daisy stitches and French Knots dotted all over the back not to mention some very tiny stitching on the circular design



and because I always love making things with sewing accessories I made a needlecase




using a pattern I have used a few times before from the book by Kathleen Tracey
Remembering Adelia

It's made with reproduction fabrics in the book but the pattern lends itself equally well to more modern fabrics. The fabrics used in this needlecase are all Lynette's designs



and because the fabric with the same design as the back of the sewing bag was just screaming out for one of those round pincushions I couldn't resist seeing how it might look.
I really like how it looks finished off with one of Lynette's wooden buttons in the centre






Well, that's it for this time. As always a big thank you for your visits and for your encouraging comments. I love to hear from you.

Margaret

3 New projects

My new website is underway and I am now posting new projects there.  I don't intend to take down the blogs I have here but will now add links when new projects are up so that everyone can find me.  I am back at work designing fun sew and glue crafts and paper crafts, and I am also designing hats once again.  Here are some new craft projects you'll love to make with your kids.  Just click on each link.

http://teapapers.com/crafts/recyclemake-a-teddy-bear-chair 

Take an empty Pringles potato chip container and make a really cute chair for your small teddy bear or doll to sit in.  Teach your kids it is fun to recycle.

http://teapapers.com/crafts/teddy-bear-pinbroach 

You can make these teddy bear head broaches to give anyone of any age.

http://teapapers.com/crafts/fancy-lingerie-make-upstorage-bag

Little, big girls and ladies will love this project as a gift.

February Finds

I love Miss Dior Cherie. But cost wise, I hate it! £30+ for 30ml. Ridiculous.

I heard Next made a perfume that was said to be identical to it. I heard correct!

Introducing Next, Diamonds. Its fabulous, the bottle is pretty, and the best thing? 100ml...£12!! Bargain I think you'll agree!!

I cannot recommend this highly enough.

Next, you saviours you!

Another recent purchase is Maybellines Dream Satin Liquid foundation. I have tried a few brands of foundation recently, Mainly the Bourjois ones, but found them either really drying or really greastastic!

I find this a lovely balance, It doesnt grease, and it never dries funny. It is blendable, a perfect shade for my skin, and was on offer in boots for £6! Bargain!

Another find this month is Garniers Complete Cleansing Milk. I use this at night to remove all traces of make up. It works really well on removing my mascara (Collection 2000's Big Fake, which is notoriously difficult to remove).

The best feature of this remover, is how soft it leaves my skin afterwards. Its as if I've just cleansed, toned and moisturised all in one go! Its fabulous, and with such a decent sized bottle, I shall enjoy using this every night for a long time to come!

Crown Brushes

I love Crown Brushes. I think they're super quality and fabulous prices.

I own a few already, mainly eyeshadow ones. So i chose two face ones for my next purchases.

These are from the badger series (my fave!). They are soft, lightweight and small enough for a medium make up bag.

I would definately choose 4 of these brushes over 1 mac brush. I think these were around £5 each. Whereas macs can be more than £30 at times.

The flat bronzer is fab for contouring the cheeks and temples. The angle brush i use for highlight, as its smaller than your average blusher brush, and gets just where you need it to!

Perfect!

Elf Palette

I got this Elf palette for Christmas. Its lush, I love it.

Okay so I might not use ALL the colours, but its nice to know if you want a 'different' colour, there's plenty to choose from!

I'm not sure how much this is on the website, but its worth buying i'd say! :)

New Year, New machine :)

My new sewing machine..Toyota FSL 18. I needed a faster mahine for my needs. I will probably sell my old John Lewis mini one.

I love this machine, its sooo fast, has pink on it, and was only £115!

I also picked up this Sewing accessories travel case (both from argos). This was £25 i think.

Its got 5 plastic boxes inside, all with small sections. Perfect for storing threads, buttons, ribbons, bobbins...the list goes on! I have filled three boxes already!

Its also got fab side compartments and a zip compartment, where i store scissors and larger items.

I love it...and its lilac which makes it even lovelier :)

My mum got me these cute embroidery scissors for my birthday in December. So handy for cutting sewing machine threads, and generally just super cute :)