… fabulous fabric finds!

Apr 12th, 2013 2 Comments
Posted in: Home Life

Just popping in to share some recent goodies that I have added to my growing fabric stash …

Vintage Barkcloth

… I found this today, at one of my favourite hunting places, Echo, it is a beautiful barkcloth, in fact two pieces of vibrant, abstract, beautifully textured fabric, which I can’t wait to transform …

Vintage Barkcloth

… the texture of barkcloth makes me so happy, luckily, I recently found this piece too …

Vintage Barkcloth

… gorgeous autumnal colours in an abstract leaf print.

I have also found a couple of pieces of reclaimed fabric with a vintage feel, first up, this teal and turquiose rose print, which was a skirt for sale in a local charity shop … it is now two lengths of lovely fabric …

Fifties style cotton

… and this brightly coloured abstract print – again from Echo … brighter than my usual choices, but I think I am going to enjoy working with it!

Fifties style cotton

Finally, I have found a couple of pieces of reclaimed linen … one of my staple fabrics to work with …

Reclaimed linen

… love that weave and texture!

This weekend I am hoping for a day of stitchery, and also some brightness so that I can set up a photo session for my completed bags …

… hoping the weekend brings whatever it is that you need too!

 

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… beauty in the detail

Mar 11th, 2013 4 Comments
Posted in: Made by hand

Purely self indulgent ~ I love these images …

fabric detail - wools and tweeds

fabric details - weave and patterns

fabric detail - barkcloth colour and texture

… I love the textures, the tones, the weave. I see colour, shape and structure. I see simplicity and complexity side by side. I see beauty in the detail. I am learning that is where it is often to be found. I am opening my eyes and letting it in.

And I wanted to share it with you.

 

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… a catch-up!

Mar 8th, 2013 1 Comment
Posted in: Home Life, Made by hand

Well, you know it has a while since you last checked into your blog, when you find 650 comments in the ‘spam’ folder! Wow, thank you, blog builders, for inventing spam filters!

Yes, it has been a while, and here is a little peek of the good things that have been keeping me busy …

… some fabric shopping …

new fabric

… I found this little bundle of prettiness in a local antique centre, although these all seem to be pretty modern and unused to me, they were certainly a bargain!

I have also been busy at the sewing machine, stitching up a little mountain of fabric baskets …

Fabric baskets

… fifteen of which will be winging their way up the M6 to a lovely gallery where they will be part of an exhibition running from March through to June … more about that in the next week or so!

And in stitching up a little mountain of baskets, I found myself with a growing pile of scrappy squares, which were cut from each basket to make the pattern … and not being one to throw fabric away … I found myself stitching the little scrappy squares into strips …

Patchwork strips

… which look a bit like this …

Patchwork strips

… I am so in love with the whole mustard – teal – grey combo at the moment, these just make my heart sing! I’m not sure yet what they will become, but the combinations of vintage and modern, textures and patterns mean they won’t be sitting in the ‘to do’ pile for too long!

Any ideas?

I have also been lucky enough to have the time to enjoy our local annual film festival …

Blackmail by Alfred Hitchcock

… especially exciting for me, was viewing Blackmail, a silent film made by Alfred Hitchcock in 1929, which was screened with a live Piano Accompaniment by Stephen Horne … it was full of all the melodramatic glances, and staged poses, held for the camera which silent films are known for, but to have the pianist sitting just metres away, improvising the musical score as he viewed the film, and even throwing in a bit of flute playing for the mournful bits, was wonderful!

Before I leave you, I just want to share a warm welcome with my newest subscribers, thank you for joining this little corner of cyberland … I do usually blog every week, and am very happy to have you here … my recent absence is a mere hiccup.

 

Wishing you all a lovely weekend. And a very Happy Mothers’ Day to all the British Mommas reading.

 

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… step by step

Jan 15th, 2013 7 Comments
Posted in: Made by hand

I am making a quilt … step by step …

… remember these?

Nine HST quilt blocks

Well, I have now completed all twelve blocks … one for each month of 2012 … and I am at the stage of stitching them together … which involves spending at least an hour crawling around on the floor …

… placing, tweaking, matching and much hmm-ing and ha-ing … to decide upon the ‘perfect’ arrangement of blocks and borders …

… eventually – I think I got it!

Excuse the wonky photo … I have now sewn the patterened border – or sashing, as I think it is known in quilting circles – onto each of these blocks, and today I will stitch the blocks together to make a quilt top. Hoorah!!

Step by step, and I will make a quilt!

 

In other news ~ I had a lovely message about my blog this morning, which has really brightened my day ~ more about that on Friday!

Hope the sun is shining as brightly for you today as it is here.

 

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… trees!

Nov 14th, 2012 4 Comments
Posted in: Out and About, Walking

Oh yes! I do love a tree. From it’s rooted sturdiness right up to it’s highest sky-reaching tip. And this time of year is one of my favourite times to tree-spot ~ especially when the sun shines ~ and it’s my Birthday ~ and I get to have two, YES, TWO walks in one weekend!!

My trusty camera was by my side as you know I love to share the beauty …

Tree on Bringsty common

Tree on Bringsty common

Tree on Bringsty common

Tree on Bringsty common

Tree on Bringsty common

Trees at Wigmore

Tree at Wigmore

Trees at Wigmore

Trees at Wigmore

Trees at Wigmore

Trees at Wigmore

Trees at Wigmore

Trees at Wigmore

I love their grandeur and solidity ~ their connectedness to the land ~ their intricacy and pattern. The detail and texture of their bark ~ their shape and form ~ the beauty of their skeleton. The way they punctuate our landscape ~ colour our view ~ serenade our ears. Their uniformity and variety ~ their play with light ~ the journey they take our eyes on from land to sky. And their own cyclical journey through the seasons from bud to lush to glow to fall.

I know I am lucky to live in a tree rich county ~ to enjoy daily sights all year round of beautiful individual trees and whole woodlands full of many varieties, shapes, colours and contrasts. I want it to stay this way.

 

To find out more about the current threat of disease to our beautiful Ash Trees, click here.

 

 

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… fabric finds!

Oct 8th, 2012 2 Comments
Posted in: Home Life, News

First up ~ I need to say sorry to my lovely subscribers ~ it has come to my attention that lemon loves email notifications stopped going out over a week ago! The system I use is telling me that all notifications are going out, however you guys aren’t receiving them. Ho-hum! I love technology! I are now aware that the system isn’t working and will be looking into the problem. In the meantime, I can only apologise, and once we get things sorted out, I will re-send the September Newsletter, which most of you didn’t receive. Sorry.

 

In other news ~ I have been struggling recently to find any decent fabric in my usual hunting places ~ I have been wondering where all the lovely old table cloths, bed linen and curtains have gone to. I was even starting to worry a little ~ although the chances of me running out of fabric any time soon are very slim!

But it seems that fabric goodies are just like London buses, and over the past couple of days they have been coming in thick and fast!

These three lovelies are all very different ~ but look at that colour match!

vintage fabric finds

I’m not usually drawn to large floral prints, but something about the colours and those black tulips lured me in …

vintage floral fabric

… I have no idea what I will use it for, but I love it!

Barkcloth is always a winner with me ~ and these colours are lovely and vivid …

vintage barkcloth

… and of course, a taste of the 1970′s is always welcome …

retro pillow case

… and this green flecked wool/mix weave is one of my favourite shades!

wool weave

Finally, I found this duvet with two matching pillowcases in a local vintage shop ~ I’m sure it is not vintage at all, infact it seems very current and just about new ~ but it was a bargain, and it is gorgeous, and I know people will love these colours!

floral fabric

… you can see the reverse side is a coordinating stripe ~ I am so looking forward to stitching this up into something new!

Wishing you all a good and happy week!

 

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