River Mersey, Quilts and Wedding Week!

Posted on 2 June, 2013 by patchworkfairy

River Mersey and Liverpool skyline on a rainy day

River Mersey -Battle of the Atlantic ships leaving

Been a jam packed week this week! On Tuesday Mum and I went to Woodside in Birkenhead to see the ships sailing off after the Battle of the Atlantic parade. Funnily enough the best viewing point was from inside Home Cafe – so we settled ourselves down with coffee and yummy stuff to watch the action. My Dad, a merchant Seaman in Battle of the Atlantic, died 6 years’ ago and so Mum brough a cutting from his special plant in her garden and we threw it into the Mersey in remembrance. It is still possible to see it floating away on the left on the picute above, although only if you know it’s there!

Dad’s flower just under the water!

Here it is just floating away!!

Wednesday was my stay-at-home-and sew day! I finally finished my quilt!! I have been buying Liberty Tana Lawn squares for quite a while and these make up most of the quilt apart from the very centre. It now adorns my settee ready to keep my toes warm at the chilly end of the summer days!

Patchwork Quilt mainly from Libery Tana Lawn pieces

And here is my latest effort – my jelly roll strip quilt – this is to take camping with me when it’s finished.

Hippy Camping Quilt

Thursday I went to my Quilting class at Voirrey Embroidery. It was a very chilled out morning learning patchwork techniques which we had to sew by hand – very good for making sure you know how to do something properly!! There were only four of us and we drank coffee, sewed and chatted while learning from Maureen, the talented teacher who made the process fun and relaxing at the same time! Oh and I had to buy some fabric too! The choice is fantastic at Voirrey’s as there are lots of fat quarters to choose from and some already made up into project packs. I will say more about the course after my next Thursday session.

To finish off my week on Friday I went shopping for my daughter’s wedding dress. Mum, Daughter’s BFF (who is Matron of Honour) and I went from shop to shop admiring and criticising etc each dress until we found ‘the one’ in the last shop. Daughter looked beautiful and we all struggled not to cry as she perched on a box in the centre of the room looking like a fairytale princess. Why oh Why did I refuse to try on traditional wedding dresses when I got married and opt instead for a cheesecloth dress in true 70’s hippy style? !! What a special time I missed sharing with my mum. But at least mum got to experience it with my daughter and me this time – only 30+ years later!!

Wedding is in August so not long to go – I better get cracking with the Wedding bunting!! However just for now I’m having a rest and going to check out what everyone’s been up to over at Handmade Monday at Handmade Harbour

‘Dog’s Trousers’!

Posted on 22 May, 2013 by patchworkfairy

Actually I haven’t made any ‘Dog’s Trousers ‘! it’s just that I felt like shouting out ‘Dog’s Trousers’!! when I found that the dog’s bed was ripped ( I wonder how?!!) and bits of memory foam were all over the kitchen 🙁 Dog’s Trousers!! is a phrase I learned from Radio Merseyside when Billy Butler once had a ‘phone in for people to tell the strange things their parents’ had uttered in an attempt not to swear. Unfortunately ‘Dog’s Trousers’ has stuck in my mind and sort of comes out unbidden in times of stress.

Anyway the mess in the kitchen made me decide to make the dog a new bed! So first I made a calico sack with one side open and into this I scooped all the memory foam – this was not a pleasant experience as the dog spends a lot of tme in bed these days – then I sewed up the gap and put the newly covered bed in the washing machine. Next I made a nice brushed cotton cover with an envelope ‘pillowcase’ type of opening and this has gone on an old pillow as a temporary bed while the memory foam dries out.

And here she is looking like butter wouldn’t melt…. or beds wouldn’t shred….!
Jess in her new bed!
Jess on her new bed cushion!
Now over to Handmade Monday for some reading!

Sewing Caddy and Visit to London

Posted on 19 May, 2013 by patchworkfairy

Well this week has been a catching up and making useful things time as I have been on a little trip which took most of my energy! I went to London overnight with my daughter and two grandchildren to see my son-in-law -to -be getting an award from work as he has been ‘down there’ on a training course for 8 weeks. Here we are on our sightseeing day!

Granny and Max outside Buckingham Palace

Although I had a lovely time the only energy I had left for sewing was enough to make a very small thing – a caddy to hang from under my sewing machine to keep my scissors and seam ripper always to hand!. I had been promising myself a sewing caddy for ages as they don’t take very long to make really. I used a fat quarter which had cats and kittens neatly depicted in little squares just the right size for pockets!

After heming the cat fabric I sewed it on to a plain calico background and then sewed straight lines to make separate pockets. On the top I sewed some little loops of bias binding for my tweezers etc and to the right I made a little pocket, stuffed it with left over fabric strips and used it as a pin cushion!

Sewing Machine with new Sewing Caddy

So that was my week, what about everyone else over at Handmade Monday? Why not take a peek at what they have been up to!!

xxAlixx

Dangers of Craft Lamps – I nearly had a fire!

Posted on 12 May, 2013 by patchworkfairy

Here’s the mini bunting I made from the scraps I was given last week!!

It hangs below my Angel in the front room – seems appropriate given what happened last week because – Oh my goodness – I nearly had a fire!

The morning sun fills my craft room and makes it a very nice place to work. Last Thursday however it nearly caused a tragedy! Bright sunlight was streaming into the room and onto my lovely magnifier lamp which I use for close work and threading my overlocker. Unfortunately the magnifier top was burning my calendar!

I had woken earlier than usual and strangely for me had jumped straight up. My husband was just leaving for work and as he left mentioned he thought there was a strange burning smell. I had been doing pyrography the night before and just thought it was a lingering smell from that. However, as he left I went into the craft room and noticed how strong the burning smell now was! I couldn’t believe it when I saw that my calendar had a hole in it with the edges brown and the first whisps of smoke starting! What a shock! My eyes travelled from the smouldering calendar to the large magnifier lamp and the sunlight puring onto it!! I quickly moved the lamp away from the window and covered the hole in my calendar with a metal tin, fortunately the smouldering died out!

It’s not very often these days that I am up before DH goes out and often it is an hour later when I arise. In that time the fire could have taken hold and I could have lost all my fabric at the very least, at worst the whole house could have gone up while we slept!! I can’t help but think my Guardian Angel woke me up that morning and helped me get straight out of bed! (Thanks Dadxxx)

So if you have one of these lamps make sure it is not near a window or that you cover the glass magnifer top at all times – you never know when the sun will come out. Hope none of the lovely crafters at the Handmade Monday linky party have had anything so scary happen? but if you too have any danger warnings please let us all know!!

Creative Craft Show in Manchester

Posted on 5 May, 2013 by patchworkfairy

Creative Craft Show in Manchester! Oh what can I say except it was FAB FAB FAB! It was a crafter’s dream day out. Good friend, craft stalls and good coffee! About half the show was card making and scrapbooking which I like but am trying to stay from away from due to need to do some housework occasionally… We drooled over some lovely fabric (not literally!) and chatted to some really nice stall holders about their craft. I now badly want to learn how to use the Lucet! I will even hold a workshop day in my house if I can get 9 others to join me and pay a max of £25 to cover the tutor and associated costs!! If you’d like to come please let me know!!

One lady who we particularly talked with was Lesa from Natural Leigh who seemed very empathic to my friend’s recent troubles and put her hand on her arm in unspoken support. I sensed the healing touch even standing next to her, my friend was quite moved. Before we moved on this lovely lady cut two pieces of her newest charcoal design in the lovely French chambray she sells and gave them to my friend to make herself something! She then cut two more and handed them to me saying that I ‘must have gone through it with her’! We walked away a few minutes later with our fabric scraps and some sweet smelling hemp rope as well! We felt quite moved and blessed.

So at home this weekend I wanted to make something special from my fabric pieces. As I turned it round and round in my hand an idea took shape!

French chambray fabric pieces

Can you see what I have started to cut it into?

It’s so lovely and soft to the touch I very much want to order some and make something for myself! I am going to treat myself to the rose pink fat quarters I think!

I am also going to see when the next Creative Craft Show is taking place and plan another road trip, but for now I am going on an online trip round the fab craft blogs at Handmade Monday.

Bye for now!

Threads and Spools and Happy Overlocking!

Posted on 3 May, 2013 by patchworkfairy

Almost a year ago I bought an Overlocker after trying one out at a friend’s house. Since then I have been collecting jumpers from charity shops, friends and relatives which I can cut up and upcycle into something new.

Arm wearers from upcycled jumper cuffs!

It’s great fun using an overlocker as:

1 it sews extremely fast (scary at first)

2 it neatly finishes the seam on ordinary garments whilst sewing the seam

3 the seams can be sewn so that they show on the right side of a woolly garment as a style feature.

These arm warmers were one of my first makes overlocking.

I have had great fun cutting up and creating new items from my jumper stash and so I was heartbroken when my lovely machine stopped working. However, to cut a long story short, it turned out to be the old cheapo threads I had used when the original cones ran out. I was advised that Coats Moon thread is one of the best for overlockers (and great for standard sewing machines) and so I was delighted to find a whole range of them at Calico Laine in Neston! They sell the small ones for 99p – £1.30 or the same colours on a cone for £3.49. If you can’t get to the shop you can order by from the website http://www.calicolaine.co.uk

Moon Thread with matching spools

These threads are lovely and do work well in both my machines. A good tip I have found is, as soon as I open new coloured threads I make bobbin spools one too, and store them together in little plastic boxes. This ensures that if I want to use any threads on my ordinary Janome sewing machine I alway have matching needle and spool threads ready to go. Little things like this make me happy! So get a bargain box of 20 spools for £4.99 and you’re all set up!

Wonderwool Weekend in Wales Yippee!

Posted on 28 April, 2013 by patchworkfairy

What a lovely birthday weekend, DH agreed to go to Wonderwool Wales with me! We set off Friday night to Llandridnod Wells and found we had been upgraded to a suite from a double room – big comfy bed and our own little sitting area with couches, TV, DVD player and music centre!It was so relaxing after our drive – we had a jacuzzi bath as well – so we relaxed in comfort with a nice bottle of birthday wine while I planned how to enjoy the next two days!

Saturday we browsed round the book shops and the vintage shops in Hay on Wye. There was a lot of vintage lace and embroidered cloth in one place which wasn’t for me but would have been a fab find for someone! We also managed to find a coffee shop with home made cakes and another with home baked Cornish pasties! Oh I do know how to enjoy myself!!

Anyway, on Sunday after a very satisfying brekkie, we arrived at Wonderwool just after it opened. It was already bustling and there was some very unique and interesting clothing – and that was just the customers! Weird and wacky outfits- knitted, crocheted, felted, sewn or spun – it was either for sale or being worn by a customer or stallholder!

If you love wool you should really make time to visit one of these shows. There were lots of balls or hanks of ready to use wool and even more piles upon piles of wool tops for spinning. You could get plain (raw?) wool tops or some that was already dyed. Some of the colours were enchanting, I watched a demonstration of how to blend wool rovings into a swirly mix of purply pinky loveliness!

Up till now knitting and crochet have been my thing but what really inspired me today was the art of spinning with a wheel. I would very much have liked to have bought a wheel right there and then and sort out how to use it afterwards! However, I managed to be sensible and resist and instead listened to the advice of a lady in the Spinners and Weavers Guild who suggested learning how to use one first and trying some out before buying, then looking on eBay once I knew what type suited me.

She also told me some Guilds lend out Spinning Wheels to members for as little as £5 a month and that would be a great way to find out if Spinning is something I will continue to enjoy doing. My mission now is to suss out a spinning workshop or course which is within reasonable travelling distance of Wirral or somewhere with accommodation (little spinning holiday!!) If anyone else fancies learning and is near enough to split traveling costs I’d love to hear from you!

So what did I buy? Well a lambs wool cutoff to ease the dog’s arthritis by lining it’s (memory foam ) bed! It really is comfy and warm – I know cos I have my feet on it now while travelling home (I’m not driving obviously!)

A pack of dyed felt with some orange and turquoise pieces to make some additions to the sewing bag I started last week. The felt is on one of the lambs wool pieces.

Lovely felt!

These dyed silk hankies – not sure for what yet – I just love the colours.

Dyed silk

Over now to Handmade Monday – see what you have all been up to!

Bags and Buttons!

Posted on 21 April, 2013 by patchworkfairy

Had a lovely time this week using up some of my stash with the jelly roll I bought recently! I have booked myself onto a 4 week quilting course at Voirrey Embroidery and I am really looking forward to 3 hours sewing and learning on Thursday mornings! I have to take basic sewing kit with me so it gave me the perfect excuse to make myself a new project bag.

Two jelly rolls sewn together

Here are the straps on the bag – I used a plain turquoise for one side and a hippy swirly orange for the other!

Half finished bag with straps sewn on

Now I have to put in the zip and then make a lining with pockets to sandwich in the wadding.

To finish with I am going to add some of these LOVELY buttons from Berrynicecushions on Folksy. She has some wonderful buttons for sale, painted with floral patterns. Click here if you want to see what else she has!

Turquoise buttons for bag

I’m off for my Sunday night fix now over at Handmade Monday to see what everyone else is up to!

More fabric buying..

Posted on 7 April, 2013 by patchworkfairy

Eek been buying fabric again ! I really should be using up my stash as soon the craft room won’t be usable but will just be a giant fabric store room!

I just couldn’t resist this jelly roll

lovely jelly roll!

and when I opened it – wow! all hippy tye dye and flowers and ‘peace’ printed!

hippy flowery fabric!

So I really had to make something! First I was going to make a bag out of the strips but somewhwere along the way (you know how it is..) it turned into a cushion made out of other stash with some vibrant purple from the roll as the border!

Patchwork cushion!

Very pleased with myself and I’m keeping this one for our house!

I still haven’t heard from the person who bought the Faery Garden even though I sent two messages so I don’t know if it arrived intact but am guessing it did or I probably would have!!

Over to Handmade Monday now for my Sunday evening treat – reading all the other crafters’ adventures!!

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Making and Posting!

Posted on 31 March, 2013 by patchworkfairy

I am feeling much better this week, thank you to everyone for the get well wishes!

This week I have been making and sorting my items for a craft fair yesterday. The fair was another dismal one with hardly any footfall. People around me sold nothing – some left early, obviously fed up. I only sold 3 things 🙁 but I received an email custom request from Folksy so that cheered me up!

Something I wanted to ask all the lovely crafters at Handmade Harbour is whether or not you all know about the postal increases from Tuesday? Not only are prices increasing – but categories have been altered – for the worst as far as posting by handmade sellers are concerned. The Post Office lady explained it to me when I went to post one of my Faery Gardens which sold on Folksy this week.

Glass jar with ivy and yellow flowers hanging down with a little dainty faery sitting on green glassbase

Faery Garden

I boxed up this bottle garden and wrote “FRAGILE” and “KEEP THIS WAY UP” all over the box. It cost £2.70 first class which was fine. – BUT – then the Post offfice lady explained that ‘Fragile’ items don’t get any special treatment and will be tipped out of the sack along with everything else. (duh?) The most you can hope for is that they won’t kick it about !!!! I haven’t heard from my buyer yet as to whether she received it undamaged. I have posted one before which arrived safely so I am really hoping this will too!

However, she then dropped the bombshell that along with the increase in postal charges the categorization is changing, so that a small box similar to mine would no longer be classsed as a packet, but would from now on be a small parcel with the associated charge of £5.30 at PRE rate changes! Who knows what it will be from tomorrow?

So now what do I do about my Faery Gardens? I sell them for £5 – no-one is going to pay more postage than the item costs to buy – effectively doubling the cost. Although there is no increase for ordinary first and second class post, Royal Mail are reducing the size allowed for ‘letters’ and ‘large letters’ so that fewer items will fit into these categories.

If you want to check out what it will mean for your business http://www.royalmail.com/prices-2013 will tell you!

I think these changes will have implications for sellers of handmade items which are at the lower end of the price range. Someone buying something as big as a Faery Bottle Garden but costing say £40 won’t be as bothered at a £5 p&p as someone buying something under £10. Has anyone any thoughts about what they will do? Over to Handmade Monday!!