back again!

I know it's been ages but what with changing computers I started to have all sorts of problems uploading photos and in the end I gave up. Well hopefully all my techno problems have gone away!
I recently made this sewing roll for myself from linen and odds and ends of curtian fabric which makes the roll a little firmer than using cotton.

I attached peices of fabric using ribbon and tape to a peice of calico

 and bound it with stripy quilting cotton and that was the front of the roll finished. I then made the inside of the roll.

At the top I made  a zipped pocket sewn on to a peice of red and white spotted lining, then attached a felt heart for holding needle or pins, 3 small pocket made out of tiny whites dots on red fabric and edged with cream cotton lace and finally a long pocket edeged withe ribbon. Both the exterior and the interior were sewn together. A ribbon was attached with a button. Et voila.

what exactly is the colour natural?

That is the question I should have asked myself before I ordered fabric online to make roman blinds for the spare bedroom! Could have been disaster as I thought natural linen was a cream colour, silly me it turned out to be a sort of greyish colour. I was so excited when I opened the parcel, I was expecting a linen fabric with a light cream background with a gorgeous pattern in raspberry. Disappointment at first, it wasn't horrrible, it just wasn't what I was expecting. I checked the invoice and yes this was the fabric I ordered. Three metres at £38 per metre guess I had better like it! And I do, I love it. It is a cabbages and roses fabric called natural meggernie raspberry, 100% linen and 2 roman blinds later....

Not wanting to throw anything away that can possibly be recycled, the existing blinds were deconstructed and I reused the blackout lining and the cord tapes which were already attached, saving me the time and trouble of having to measure and sew new ones on! I was able to use the cording system on the smaller blind, but the chain on the larger was broken and I couldn't buy a replacement chain, so had to buy a roman blind kit, that was a blow!

This firescreen is one of my latest finds and it is perfect for our Victorian fireplace. I am guessing it is 1950's but I don't know. It seems to be hand and not machine embroidered and is framed in lead. I found it in a secondhand shop in Ipswich full of vintage and retro stuff that had mostly been renovated. It's in a lovely condition and I love the colours and isn't Mr Peacock majestic?

And another one of my vintage finds, again I am not sure of it's age, but is in a very good condition, the chain on the back is a bit rough but you can't see that so I don't care! The mirror is bevelled and has a hardwood surround , probably mahogany or oak. It looks superb and totally at home in our front room.

I love rummaging through second hand, car boots and charity shops. You never know what you might alight on, something for the home perhaps or perhaps some fabric to add to an ever growing stash, which you just know, that sometime in the future it will be perfect for a make you have in mind, just like the patchwork throw I recently finished. I need, no, I want a new sofa but with too many animals who want to either rub themselves against it when they come in from a walk or need to sharpen their claws on it, I had to concede that it was not a good idea so this was second best. Made in 10 inch squares from curtain fabric bought in Laura Ashley sale and remnants from my stash. I lined it with 4 large squares made up from a green and white checked duvet cover and some curtain fabric picked up in a charity shop. Et voila! Transformed!

That's all for now, I have a new craft in mind and I will let you know how I am getting on!

gorgeous....

Refreshed from our Baltic cruise it is now back to reality! We had a lovely holiday, a leisurely Baltic cruise, I say leisurely but quite honestly in parts it was hectic! The absolute highlight of our cruise was St Petersberg. A two day stopover, which meant a full on, two day tour, on the hottest 2 days of their summer! This was following port stops on the 3 previous days, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Helsinki, which were all fabulous but done at our lazy pace rather than a frenetic tour! St Petersberg was so opulent no wonder the starving and downtrodden masses eventually revolted! The architecture was fabulous, and the decor was all so gorgeous it made my mouth water! To labour the point one of the rooms in Catherines Palace.

and then there is the Amber room, unbelievably beautiful, the walls are covered in Amber, has to be seen to be believed, unfortunately we were not allowed to take any photos in this room. When the Germans besieged St Petersberg in WW2 they stole all but one single piece of Amber! The palace was all but destroyed, razed to the ground, however the Russians have done a remarkable job restoring it to it's former glory, (goodness knows how much that must have cost!)

Catherine's Palace

Before we went away I was desperately trying to finish some knitting and my blue quilt. I managed to finish the knitting but  sewing the jumper up escaped me, so that's still to be done ( I hate the sewing up bit ), but I did finish the quilt and I really love this one, I just love the mix of blues and whites and the pretty pattens.

and the back of it, white sheeting and blue embroidery thread

One more for the collection!