… a catch-up!

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.

 

… waving hello :)

Posted in: Home Life, News

A big shiney WELCOME to my new subscribers ~ I am so appreciative that you have chosen to come along on the lemon loves journey with me … and it is proving to be quite a journey too! Following the launch of my facebook page a couple of weeks back, I am meeting new makers and creaters online who give me constant inspiration and drive. I am also taking gradual steps towards setting up my online shop ~ lots to do yet but it is getting nearer and I am getting excited!

If you want to keep up to date with all the news and developments, remember that you can subscribe here just at the click of a button, for updates and my free monthly newsletter … or come over and join my facebook page.

In other news … my fabric collection has been boosted over the last week by some rather gorgeous bargains and finds, and by one brand new full price fabric (I very rarely buy at full price, but this is for a specific project and I have been searching for the perfect stripe for weeks now!) It is by Tanya Whelan, and is very pretty indeed!

Tanya Whelan ticking stripe fabric

This beautiful blue linen woven tablecloth grabbed my eye in a local second hand shop, it is destined for cushion covers I think …

Blue linen tablecloth

… this pretty 1970′s floral print is only a small scrap, but will compliment a number of fabrics I already have …

Yellow floral vintage fabric

… and keeping with the vintage theme, this gorgeous barkcloth, probably 1960′s or 70′s was impossible to ignore and found it’s way into my ‘shopping basket’ just the other day …

Vintage flowers barkcloth

… so cheerful!

Finally ~ my favourite local craft shop came up trumps again ~ they sell reclaimed, donated and unused fabrics for wonderfully reasonable prices, and I found this …

Orange and Green print fabric

… I don’t usually go for silky shiney fabrics, but the colours and print have a glorious 1950′s vibe which I am loving right now, and I see this working beautifully for bag linings or cushion backs … I am very much in love with it.

My sewing maching time over the next two to three weeks is going to be very limited due to other commitments … so I am going to spend my time staring at these little beauties and dreaming of what they may become …

… anyone want to join me?

 

… new beginnings

Posted in: News

Whether it be a big bar of my favourite chocolate …

Galaxy chocolate bar

Unwrapped Galaxy chocolate bar

… or a new blog …

Galaxy chocolate bar, one piece missing

… taking the first bite is always the best bit!

I’m glad you are here to share it with me.