Monday 29 November 2010

Moo

So now that i am sewing again and thankfully selling again, i thought it best to get myself some little business cards.  My husband thinks that they are ridiculous and too small.  What do you think?



Shed loads of things are happening at the gallery so i am being kept very busy, not to the mention i have been struck down with a "bug".  Are you all snowed in?

Tuesday 23 November 2010

Dressmaking Fabrics - Quilting Fabrics - Interiors Fabric - Designer Fabric - Dress Fabric Suppliers

Dressmaking Fabrics - Quilting Fabrics - Interiors Fabric - Designer Fabric - Dress Fabric Suppliers

Martha

I have been stressing today about a hospital appointment my daughter Martha has tomorrow at Addenbrooke's hospital in Cambridge.  Not only do i have to work, leaving me only just enough time to get there with her, but it is a 90 minute journey each way and they have informed me of lots of tests that will be run whilst we are there.  So, apart from deciding to eat chocolate, drink tea and ignore housework today in an effort to calm myself I have also decided to make MArtha an apron for Christmas.  She really loves to cook from casseroles to cakes (although can not always taste due to her many allergies).  I have always oggled the lovely fabrics here but today have bought this one.  Lovely dont you think?  If it goes well a link to the shop should come up in my next post. (she says hopefully)

Monday 22 November 2010

Basket case

Back when i was teaching myself to sew and making my first bag, Lisa Lam's site U-handbag was my sewing bible and i am assuming a lot of you are major fans as well.  The goodies that she sells in her shop ensure that you are able to add the necessary bling to your bags.  It is amazing what a silver ring or a wooden handle can do to a bag, it adds another dimension and takes it up a level in the handmade world.  I think so anyway.  One of the first bags i made was using Lisa's tutorial for a basket bag.  Lisa very kindly allows you to use her free tutorials for your own commercial use which is just fantastic.  I found some handles in my stock and some Amy Butler fabric that i had bought a while ago so I got cracking on making another basket.  It was really lovely to make this style bag again.  A sense of calm came over me.  The shape is simple, showing off the fabric's design and this simplicity gives a sense of class to the bag.
What do you think?
If you have never encountered Lisa's blog and you like to sew then you really really should.



i wish my bottom was a neat as this.
I am planning to make a ring today, photos and a possible tutorial will follow soon.  What have you been up to?

Friday 19 November 2010

spooky

So yesterday was a day at the computer for me.  Adding things to my shop and working on the gallery blog. I had treated myself to some yummy soup by a company called Gorgeous - very tasty and low in fat.  I cannot find a link for them but when i do i shall post it.  The skinny range is beautiful. I then bought a pomegranate to mix in with my Greek yoghurt for pudding.  After i had cut it open i realised how pretty it was so took a photo.

So then as i was browsing around reading all the other lovely blogs that are around, i read Jo's and look what i found.  Although Jo's was more than a pretty picture and i wish i had read it before i tried to eat my fruit. Pins are a good idea.

Added these to my shop today.  Hope you like
cheeky little purse

Funky lining

red rose hair grip

Have a fantastic weekend xxx

Woo Hoo

The purple bag is sold.  Yay

Thursday 18 November 2010

At last

I have finally got a couple of new items in my shop.

Cute little evening bag

Funky retro glasses case

Very pleased with myself. Let me know what you think.

Monday 15 November 2010

Blimey

Well to say that last week was stressful and busy would be the underestimation of the year.  But everything turned out okay.  Martha ( my youngest) chose a particularly bad week to be ill.  Bless her, she had full blown flu and is only 4.

As a weight watchers leader it was big launch week last week, so i was extremely busy with my meetings.  However it was also the Ladies Evening for the gallery and i had promised to bring some goodies.  I decided quite early on that i would just take a sample of each design so that people could then order a custom made bag.  From previous experience, people generally say "oh yes i really love that, but could i have it .."So i got cracking with the sewing last week and managed to knock out a few things.  Photos will follow in the next post (hopefully today) when i have finished cropping them etc as some are going into my folksy shop.  On that note, what do people prefer Etsy or Folksy?  Would i get more traffic if i reopened my Etsy shop?

One thing i did get at the Ladies Evening was a do it yourself Mural kite from here.  Sarah the owner is so lovely.  When Martha and i get round to painting the mural by numbers i will post our progress!

Hope you lovely people are well and i will be back shortly with photos.  First must eat - Tostadas here we come.  Yummy

Thursday 4 November 2010

Is it just me

I have re-started my fitness regime after half term, although I was able to get out for a walk during their week off I didn't get to the gym.  It started off with an absolutely glorious day at the London yoga show.  I went with my school pal Sarah. We are both yoga enthusiasts (other people may refer to us as yoga bores) and have known each other since we were three. So after meeting up, topping up caffeine levels, and trying to work our way around the ridiculously badly designed guide we went off for a wander.

Although i have practised yoga on and off for15 years, my regular weekly practise has only happened for the last two and a half years. Throughout my relationship with yoga, I have tried many different strands of what is  a beautiful discipline. Firstly with Iyengar, then Hatha, Anusara and now Ashtanga.  I have fallen in love with Ashtanga yoga.  It has a beauty about it, coupled with extreme discipline that is addictive.  It is also (I believe) one of the purest forms of yoga and stands tall amongst the onslaught of celebrity yoga's that are flooding the market at the moment.  Sarah encouraged me to try Ashtanga as she is a fan and has been practising Ashtanga regularly for the last ten years.

Due to an injury in her back Sarah and I had decided to have a relaxed wander round and so had not signed up for any workshops.  We sampled teas, back massages, a very strange form of meditation with people waving their arms behind us which reminded me very much of an episode of friends in which Phoebe picks at Ross' bad aura. Finally we got our asses moving in a taster workshop with the wonderful (and slightly sexy) Michael Gannon.  Although just 30 minutes it really was an incredible experience to witness his yoga in action.

I also bought two incredibly pretty scarves and after sampling different teas, finally settled on purchasing these which I can tell you are incredibly tasty and calming.


So continuing on with my fitness regime, i went to my normal Body Combat class on Monday and then for a quick swim at the gym on Tuesday.  It is here that i discovered that I must be a complete prude.  I am one of those that when in a communal changing room takes underwear off as discreetly as possible.  Or if getting dressed after a shower, gets underwear on as quickly as possible.  I am reasonable happy to wander around in my undies but would not wander round completed naked.  Well it would seem that i am completely on my own in this.  A packed aqua aerobics class emptied into the changing room and without fail all of them were not only skipping around naked, but bending over to apply lotion, coming over to chat to me - the list goes on. I would so love to have that amount of confidence in my body but I obviously i don't.  Am i alone in this?  Am i the only one who feels inhibited in such an environment?

On a final note, have you ever seen the site called Misi.  It is a lovely site, obviously similar to Folksy and Etsy but very nice nonetheless.  The teacup that you can see in the link arrived on Monday and it is truly beautiful and smells gorgeous.  Check it out.

Still nothing on the sewing front but i have high hopes for this afternoon and tomorrow.  I am just off now to interview a photographer for the gallery which will appear on their blog.  Plus another interview with an artist this evening.  Any tips gratefully received.