WOYWW 273

GOOD TIMES, THESE ARE THE GOOD TIMES,
LEAVE YOUR CARES BEHIND.....

A longish post today....desk first and then some photos from a fun weekend! So, you enter at your own peril :-)



New stash and work in progress feature on the desk today - I'm making some bunting for a new arrival. A friend from my band had a little boy - 10lbs 8oz - that makes you tense up a little, huh?! Welcome to the world, Jacob.  At the back, you can see some more of that gorgeous blue fabric from a few weeks ago - I had to buy some more, I just love it. Gonna make a craft bag for ME!  Whilst I was in buying mode, I also got three reels of thread that total 3km in length. That's a lorra sewing in store for me!!


So, what does an old purse, a battered old hat from Oxfam, a scrap of dress fabric and a few beads equate to? Ah, you'll just have to wait and see....grin. It's going to be an interesting project for a mate of mine.......


And this is the finished tote that has now gone off to be taken to Denmark sometime soon. I rather like it though the box construction took longer to make than the normal totes and took more fabric too, but it's worth it, I think.

Feel free to jump ship now, as we're off on a ramble!
Shaz and Doug Silverwolf came to stay for the weekend so we took them to Winchester. First stop was the cathedral, one of my favourites in the UK.....


I like the way the architecture goes everywhere!


Even the graffiti is old......


Patterns are everywhere - the medieval floor tiles are some of the best in England...


The simplicity of the patterns appeals to me a lot.

This lock is from 1529 and still works!

But what I love about Winchester most is the successful mix between ancient building and the modern art that is all around the environment....


This was the high altar...we all stood for ages trying to see things in the chaos/elemental forces portrayed here. It was mesmerising...


My favourite statue by Anthony Gormley...though it is even better when the crypt is slightly flooded and there are reflections everywhere....


But if I could take one thing home, it would be this great big hunk of wood. Goodness, this speaks to me. I love the size of it, the spirals, the fish, the golden highlights...everything!!


Gorgeous....


It just gets me...I think it's wonderful.

Three to finish.....
This reminds me of an Escher drawing or a scene from Labyrinth!  I love Romanesque arches.
Me and my old man captured in a viewing mirror!!

And finally, after all that culture.......
A Man and his Mountainous Scone!!  It didn't last very long, I can tell you :-)

It was a fun weekend Shaz and Doug - thanks for coming down!!

It'll be a shorter post next week...promise!!

WOYWW 272

YOUNG HEARTS RUN FREE....

Hi everyone, hope you're having a good week! Mine has been really quite busy since we last met....what's been going on?  Well, join me for a coffee and biscuits and we'll have a natter......


You find me mid cutting out of the components of a tote bag which will eventually be en route to Denmark!  This will be the first time I've used that Botanicals fabric. D'you know, I really like it!  I already had this spotty contrast fabric - in fact, it's what's left over from last week's ironing board construction - and found the two went really well together. Look....


I love it!  So that's the work in progress at the moment.

Do you need a refill of coffee yet?  I'll put the kettle back on - wait a minute, I'll be back! I can do tea, if you'd prefer? And a slice of lemon drizzle cake too?


I bought the printed hessian on the right in a sale. It was £3.99 a metre. I thought it would make great shopping bags, especially if I line it. I've never worked with hessian before, so it may turn out to be reminiscent of the Great Oilcloth Fiasco of 2012....or it may be ok. I thought it was worth a try for that sort of price. And I was given 2 metres of the fabric on the left by a friend who is decluttering!  I'm sure that can be put to good use somehow :-)

The rest of the week has been spent gardening and cooking - we threw an engagement party for our son Owen and his fiance Jen.

That was fun!  Now I'm not the best flower arranger in the world but I did this for the party table:


I really enjoyed snipping and shoving the flowers into the oasis!  


How's that for a shot of In-Your-Face-Hot Pink?? Love it :-)

Well, that's it - coffee break is over. Better get back to that bag making. TTFN xxxx

WOYWW 271

I SAID......PSSSSSTTTTT....STEAM HEAT....

Yep, I can hear you saying.....she's finally lost it.  Steam heat? What's that got to do with her desk?

The sewing/crafting purists amongst you had better look away now. I warn you, it's not pretty

 My ironing board was a disgrace - great big tears in the top of the cover - so yesterday, after a rush of blood to the head, I decided to launch in and make a new one.  First, I rough cut some fusible fleece as a template. Then used that to very roughly (cough) cut out some fabric.  Ironed 'em together, turned over a disgracefully uneven hem, threaded the only bit of elastic I had through..... et voila.......

Just don't look underneath too closely!!! *Snigger*

Ironing will be a lot more fun. WHAT?? Wash your mouth out, LLJ......I despise ironing apart from crafty necessity. At least I can admire the lovely spotty fabric while I'm merrily singeing some shirts..........

Here's the loud fabric from last week - I'm just topstitching the edge of the bag.....

It's fun but floppy......now come on, stop tittering.....I should have put some stiffening (!!) in it. However, it would be great to roll up and stuff in your handbag to take shopping as a Bag for Life. The dotty lining made me happy :-)

And finally ....a bag I made quickly as a present for someone.
Goodness, I love that fabric...I may have to go back and get some more.  Life's hard, eh?

Gotta go, the ironing calls.....bahahahahahahahaha...........

WOYWW 270

I'LL BE WEARING RIBBONS DOWN MY BACK THIS SUMMER
(Hello Dolly)

Straight to the desk...and don't spare the horses!
What a tip!  I've dragged some fabrics out for inspiration as I'm going to make a few things to send off for someone's charity stall.  But the question is, do I have enough of that Union Jack to make a carrier bag tube? Sadly no, so I'm going to have to rethink what to do with that small remnant.  I haven't cut into that moths/botanicals yet.  As the old song says: 'I'm busy going nowhere....'!!


Well, this is a bit more like it!  It's always tricky to know what's going to sell at a venue you know nothing about, but tote bags are always useful...... That green really pops.


This is my Downstairs crafting project (and no, I don't mean a Vajazzle....!!)  It's a rainbow blanket that I'm running up for another charity. It's fairly brainless stuff which means it's highly appropriate for me :-)  After seeing Debbie Rock's incredibly beautiful and complicated crochet sampler stitches recently on FB, it made me realise that it's all about the colour for me and the meditative qualities of mindlessly zipping up and down the rows. But I don't half admire those who can take on treble treble stitches and laugh nonchalantly........

This was the outcome of the Doggy Bag:
Hopefully, if the pooch grows too big for it, the little girl can still use it for other things.
I made a pretend 'dog collar' which can be used as a bracelet or pony tail band. Julia helped me make a chipboard heart shape covered in pretty paper, with jewels and ribbon..but I forgot to take a pic of that...DOH!


It was my birthday last week (thanks to those who sent cards btw!!)  I had some great prezzies including some lovely fat quarters from my mate Helen and a riotous rigatoni of ribbons from Janet Fairythoughts....so gorgeous, they made me very happy and will most definitely get used soon!  But my weirdest prezzy was from my menfolk who gave me a test where you send a cheek swab off and they trace your DNA back and tell you where your ancestors came from.  I love it!  I've got a sneaky desire to come from Viking stock...must be the horned helmet in the wardrobe........*wink*

Have a great week  xx

WOYWW 769

 WE'LL MEET AGAIN.... I'm going to take a break from blogging for a while - please don't worry, all is ok! - think I just need a...