creative makings

This week I have been bitten by the sewing bug. The need to sew and stitch had been coming on for quite some time. I was reading Mollie makes. An interview with Dutch designer Marieke Voorsluijs of Club Geluk, where she shared her top decorating tip, "don't think about it - just make it,"  was enough to topple me into action.

I would make a quilt, not a big and complicated quilt, but a smaller, more random one where I could experiment with what would be my first quilt, and how it all goes together. 

Started the evening before in my craft room, and then moved into a sunny spot in the living room to continue the next day. There I discovered there is nothing nicer than stitching together pretty pieces of vintage sheets, in the sunshine, with the doors open, and the sounds of birdsong wafting in!

First I made panels, very randomly. Mainly by eye and without a cutting mat or rotary cutter, so matching up squares was not really likely!  In my mind I had the idea of french seams. So after stitching and pressing, I turned over my panels and stitched them on top.

I top stitched above the pressed seam. Now in my mind this may be a french seam, but I can't swear on that! It may be that the seams need to be pressed open and stitched on both sides. Or possibly top-stitching isn't necessary at all. 

Anyway, after ensuring my seams weren't likely to come apart ever.

  

Each panel was then pinned, stitched and ironed together and the new joining seam was top-stitched. Miss trissie worked hard and was companionable. That is until I tried to short cut on filling up the bobbin and a rather rightious jam occured. Technical skills were needed together with a butter knife and a pair tweezers and say no more. Short cuts don't work, mainly.......     

I backed the quilt with a very pretty and soft terry fabric. I'm happy to have found something to use this for, because it really rather lovely. I folded the edges over and under to make the bias binding and you guessed it, top stitched around this, securing it nice and dandy. I won't mention the corners other than to say there is definitely a corner trick I really want to learn! The idea for using the backing material for the bias binding came from the lovely, and colourful, Lisa, of mrsbobobun on her post here. She makes me want to sew.

and sew I did. Here she is, done and dusted. Or should I say stitched and pretty.

Ready to?...... well, I'm not really sure. She measures 80cm x 120cm. Maybe a small throw, or a little something for somewhere. She will find her place.

I discovered that I love my pin cushion brought a few years ago at a craft market. It's big, which makes it nice to use. It can always be found.

I discovered that using a pretty mini quilt, also from a craft market, under miss trissie helps her to slide easily around on the table as we cavort.

I discovered that using my material cutting scissors for cutting up dog chews in the kitchen, wasn't a good idea. And that my Mum's lovely gold, vintage scissors need sharpening. How do I do this?

And just maybe a purchase of a cutting mat and rotary cutter might be considered. 

I also love the perfumey smell of the vintage sheets when they're being ironed. A little strange perhaps but it reminds me of all the towels and sheets in my Mum's linen cupboard! 

and it's been so nice to use my vintage fabric and actually work with it. I think a cushion might be next.

I have been pinning lots of vintage sheet inspiration here. Feel free to have a look. Right now there's a lawn that needs mowing!

Are you trying any new crafts lately?

hope you have a lovely day,

Heather

X

feel better outside!

rain on the apple blossom

'Feel better outside, feel better inside'.  This is the logo for the charity Ecominds, and they are so right. I came across one of their leaflets about improving your mental health by getting outside and into nature.

We know this don't we. We hope this is an instinctive thing, good for our well-being on all levels. Whatever the weather. But when someone is really low they don't always find the ability to go and do these things.

rain drops on a feather

I know my walks with my dog up on the common or in the woods, are a real life saver. Couple that with getting outside and being active and in my case a weekly run in the gym, and the sense of well being can be profound. Especially when life is challenging.

green and fresh on the woodland floor

At Ecominds they suggest these five steps to well-being :-                                                                        

Connect,

Be active,

Take notice,

Keep learning,

Give.

This is great advice, we hopefully will all be doing this and feel well in ourselves. If you know anyone who would benefit from this advice please give them the details of Ecominds.

beautiful deep pink cherry blossom

Just stepping outside the door helps, a moment to breathe out. Technology can leave me feeling jangled. But it soon settles after being outside.

my driftwood corner

Just outside my kitchen door I am growing some strawberries, raspberries and few herbs that need a bit of looking after and encouragement, or maybe re-potting. I hope to be able to make some fresh herbal tea. I'm thinking Mint tea and a Lemonbalm tea would be nice. They smell so nice and fresh.

strawberries and driftwood

I found my driftwood down on the beaches of the River Severn. I must go there again so I can add to my collection. Of course if you do live near a beach, it must be a fantastic place to walk and breathe out.

A pretty Ribes bush I planted a few years ago

I love this plant, it's called a Ribes. It's reminicient of a raspberry plant and it's going to make a very pretty bush at the front of my garden. Grow, grow little bush!

Hope you are managing to spend time outside with nature!
What outdoor activities keep you sane?

*  *  *

Just to let you know that anybody who is interested in finding out more about mandalas I have added a new link on my previous post. I notice there are a few mentions of mandala around in the blogasphere at the moment. Have a good week.

Heather

X

mandala making

today I found myself in an unfocused haze,

 the different threads of my life I was following seemed to to be out of my reach.

all those details, plans, momentum, lost in the ether.

a change of plan and quite honestly, too much time on pinterest, 

still important things happened, but my clarity and direction seemed to be flung wide open.

So many threads, all important,

but I found my way back to this.

very soothing, very easy, very intuitive.

I have always loved mandalas, of all different kinds,

from the patterns on the beautiful moroccan tiles, to the delicate crochet and mandala artwork.

and I've always wanted a mandala drawing book......

apparently a mandala contains all possibilities inside and outside of us,

and creating a mandala is a way of opening ourselves up to these possibilities,

and can help us become more focused when we feel scattered.

sometimes i think confusion and chaos, and the unexpected, is life's way of throwing us wide open,

so that other new possibilities can appear,

this of course could be a good thing,

sometimes i fear i won't find my way back to all my threads and that somehow i'll have to begin again.

and for some reason that's really worrying!

I can start to resemble a hamster on a wheel, trying to keep up with them all.

sometimes surrender is the only option!

***

this mandala will eventually become a cushion, 

i'm enjoying it's roundness, 

i'm sure there will be many more! 

  

Booty!

Yes that's right, car boot sale booty!

This May Day in and amongst the gardening and mowing we went car-booting. The first of the year. I went with good intentions, unless of course I found a pile of lovely vintage fabric, I really wasn't interested! Not your usual kind of find really but sometimes you never know.

I have been quite good of late. Mostly I'm trying to de-clutter. The stream of things going out has been quite good. Except for my recent thrifted suitcase, things have been quiet.

......but I must admit to feeling a bit twitchy, starting to slowly become convinced there must be a pile of good things waiting somewhere for me! I start trying to plan drive-bys into my day. Charity shop drive-bys! Our best shop is just out of town.......,

Anyway......,

I did of course indulge, and here are my finds;

It all started with these flowers. Please can somebody tell me their name?! I feel a little silly not knowing, but I don't really buy a lot of cut flowers, other than the odd bunch of Daffs. These were so pretty and reasonable that I had to buy them. The pink flower is just so exquisite.

and then I found some well needed flower pots for my window sill. 

followed by this 70's shell hanging plant holder! and another very well matched pot from another stall. Are you sensing a theme here?! I love this, I'm now looking for a pretty leafy plant to sit in here.

This tablecloth. I always buy these. Do you know if they have a name?

A stoneware pot, just right for my utensils. They don't fall over!

Oh and five crochet cushion covers, 50p each! I know I could have left some for someone else, but I don't know what came over me!

Several little tomato plants came home too. I have some simple plans for growing a few edible things this year. Like Rocket and Giant mustard leaves and maybe some Kale. I'm not going to go mad, but I do want to join in with the growing season.

Will you go car-booting this year? They are great if you have younger children moving up through the different stages. Or will you be there selling things, or perhaps avoiding bringing home more things?!

  

Tea.....

Tea revives the soul don't you think?

In China and Japan it is custom to drink tea with food. Warm tea, not boiling hot.

It is believed that warmth is needed to support digestion.

In fact the idea of drinking a very cold drink with food or at any time is considered detrimental to health, as is very hot food and drink.

Think about the warm drinks given to babies to help their digestion.

In Chinese medicine it is believed that the process of digestion is linked to the process of the mind and thinking, and that if one is out of balance it can effect the other.

Therefore over-thinking, worrying, the process of taking in too much information can upset digestion.

A poor digestion can leave the mind feeling fuzzy, heavy and over-loaded.

Creating a feeling of space and a clear mind helps digestion.

The warmth of the tea supports this.

Really, try it.....

Recently I have re-discovered my herbal teas. I have been drinking Jasmine tea or Peppermint tea with my food and I swear it's addictive, and a great reason to use all those found and pretty china cups.

I make the pot with a third cold water and then add hot. So it's ready to drink with my meal.

And it's really nice. Even when it's a hot day. It's really quite refreshing!

All I need now is a pretty Japanese tea pot, and more moments gazing up at my magnolia tree.

I hope you manage to find some space around all the different things calling this weekend. More about this idea another time.  

Heather

X

Reasons to be cheerful.....

(Warning, this post may contain flowers, crochet, chocolate and suitcases!)

Isn't it wonderful how just putting together a post can be enough to help us see the cheerful things around us? There's something about the process of blogging that enhances life and makes me notice more the good things. And it lifts you up. It becomes a little bit part of who you are. And we need that don't we?

The whole sequence of photographing, editing, and loading photos to flickr, where I can see them altogether, on display, in a colourful group, is very satisfying in it's self. Things change and evolve as I learn more. I like the cheerful reminders pictures bring us.

Okay, so here are my reasons to be cheerful........,

1. Sunlight dancing through beautiful soft, pink blossom in the park. Makes my heart soar after this long cold winter.

2. Blue skies, the promise of a gorgeous sunny day on the top of the common.

3. The wild flowers growing here in April.

4. At home experimenting with pattern and colour, I'm really enjoying my hobby!

5. Wandering around my garden now it's spring. The red tulips are divine, such a gorgeous colour, and the Daffs, well, they're just magic. So many pretty kinds have been planted here.

6. Little glimpses of cabin life as I wander by. Looks like someone has an admirer!

7. A beautiful and unusual Japanese style blossom tree outside the cabin, so pretty.

8. The last Easter egg! Yes, I like white chocolate.......no problem there then :)

9. Another cushion on it's way. I'm always ridiculously thrilled to send a cushion from my etsy shop on it's travels!

10. My new thrifted, blue suitcase. In mint condition for three pounds! Just look at the inside! and it's now become a great storage place for my shop items.

11. Birthday flowers for me. Aren't they heavenly! Simple is best right.

12. Another year older and wiser. Thank goodness for pic monkey editing.....!  I like dusk!

This week looks like it will be a challenging week for us. Several quite important things need thinking about and new decisions will maybe need making in the not to distant future. I'm just trying to keep steady here. Really there are so many good things. When the time is right I think we will be able to embrace them more so, and enter into the spirit of things with more gusto. For now it's just a time of holding this space and moving slowly through the challenges. But life is good and there are so many reasons to be cheerful.

Have a lovely week.     

Heather

    X

new clear spaces and a good morning

Yes, it's a lovely morning here today. Sunshine and a gentle breeze blowing some fresh air through the house and some gentle chiming of my wind chimes. The birds are singing and some doves are cooing outside my kitchen window, where a nest has been built in the tree outside. It's almost spring. And when the wind rustles up a bit more, I'll close all the windows and be grateful for this moment of fresh air indoors and wrap my woollens around me again, for we are not really there yet! but almost.

I have been moving furniture around in my house, a favourite occupation of mine. Last week found me in the attic, moving my piles of things around. Well, I tidied piles around the edge, some old toys went, a bit of clutter went. In the middle I made a pile of boxes, the ones I really want to get to. These contain photos and documents, of at least 3 or 4 peoples lives! and as much as I can't face sorting it out, I think that there are some pictures that would be great to have in our lives and enjoy them. And so a huge amount of procrastination is going on around these boxes!

And they are sitting there in my subconsciousness! the other night I dreamt the ceiling in my house, (it's a bungalow) was collapsing, and that someone had put a washing machine up there.

Clearly I want to get into these boxes.

...... and so I moved furniture around the living room instead! This little farmhouse table was hanging out with my craft things. It's a friendly table. Just the right size for this bench. The other table was quite large and imposing and actually nobody really sat there. The bench, don't tell anyone, underneath all the blankets and sheepskin rugs, it's just come straight in from the garden, mildew and all. It's almost falling apart, but when a girl wants a bench, only a bench will do!

I like this new space, it feels much more welcoming and comfortable. My sleeping buddas are there in the background, lugged in my back pack all the way from Thailand, all those years ago are some of my very favourite things. The garden falls away on a slope behind the house, where I live everybodys garden is a slope!

My kitchen window! I stand here a lot.....but it's a nice spot. I'm watching the doves nest building here. I'm feeling quite protective about the whole thing. Worrying about the wind blowing too much, ready to run out and catch any falling nest.

I have de-cluttered my whole kitchen, there is still a fair amount, but a car full has gone and there's a certain amount of air and space around everything. Which really is what I want.

In my mums kitchen all her plants seemed to really flourish, I think she must have whispered sweet nothings to them while she washed up! and so I have lined up my plants and will see if I can encourage them.....I'll show you them again when they're blooming!

thank you for your comments on my last post, so sweet and I enjoyed them so much, it's such wonderful encouragement. Blog on! ....... onwards and upwards, that's what I say!

wishing you a good week,

Heather
    X

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