Treasure!

I love reading other people's blogs when they show me the fabrics they have been buying and the new lines of designer fabrics they have been spending hours choosing.  I also love other people's blogs when they show me fabric they have chanced upon and found at vintage shops and car boot sales.

So today's post is all about the 'treasure' I found at a little table top sale in our village WI hut yesterday.

I found a pretty floral duvet cover in green (my favourite colour), and some pale blue pillow cases

I had been in need of some blue solid colour for some lunch bags I am making so was thrilled to bits with this  -  The lady behind the stall kept telling me what good quality the bedding was and how much wear it had left in it etc (I daren't tell her I was just going to chop it all up!!)

Then I came to another stall where a lady was selling fat quarters for £1.  So I had these four.

And she had a carrier bag full of scraps for 50p

All end pieces of solids.

Whoopie, I thought all my birthdays had come at once!

Now then - I don't have a lot of space for storing fabric, and I don't want to get to the stage where I keep tonnes and tonnes of fabric that I will never use, so I am giving myself a rule that my fabric stash has to fit in my chest of drawers.

They are now bursting at the seams

Best get sewing then!!

x

Thank you teacher pouches

It's that time of year...... we have nearly made it to the end of term.  The summer holidays are nearly upon us.  So for my eldest daughter it's farewell to the two pre-schools she has been to.    So, it's been zippy pouch crazy round here for thank you teacher presents (and I am not alone, I have read three other posts full of zippy pouches today - so I feel in very good company)

Here are my efforts.

My daugher chose which fabrics she wanted for each teacher, and then I made them up into pouches using this wide mouthed zippy pouch tutorial.     It's a good tutorial, with three different sizes to choose from.

They have been filled with small notebooks, tissues and the obligatory chocolates.

I also made a fat quarters worth of dumplings...... terrible picture, if the sun would just shine my photography would improve!  Again these will be filled with chocolates and are thank you gifts for when my youngest daughter moves from the baby room to the next level!!

I have been trying to teach Hope to sew, and although she doesn't usually have the inclination or concentration to sew with me, this fabric reeled her in, and she made this bag with me in two sittings.

I enjoyed this pattern for a simple tote bag, as it doesn't have the gap in the bottom of the lining, instead the top stitching finishes off the bag so it's neat everywhere and really looks great inside and out.  

Look - it's reversible.

A week of lovely things

A few fun things have happened since I last blogged.

I spent the night at the Leicester space centre with 44 Brownies.  Which was lots of fun - space-tastic!

I got my Bee Blessed blocks made...........  really enjoyed this pattern and had enough blue in my stash to make two.

And today I have had the loveliest of days with Di of Willowbeck Designs. 

It consisted of chatting about sewing, catching up on events in our families, looking at quilts, looking at (and stroking) fabrics and pillows, having the most delicious soup for lunch.... and then just when I thought things couldn't get any better Di said 'shall we have a go at making a framed purse?'.

So..... check these beauties out!

Mine is the one on the left below.  I love this fabric.

 Big thanks to Di - who's instructions were great - now I will check out the flickr group for the framed purse swap with interest (I might just have another go!)

I have also been going crazy making 'thank you teacher' zippy pouches - more of those in my next post


x

Cards

One of the blogs I love to follow is Jane from Kirby Jane Crafty.  She has some lovely ideas, and I have had a few nice ideas and inspirations from her blog.

Recently she made some cards from pieces of fabric..... and I thought I would give this ago (as I save every tiny weeny scrap I decided this would use some odd bits up)

Here are my attempts