Mollie Makes and a giveaway!

Last week, I got back from my parents to my copy of Mollie Makes on the doormat.... I'm always quite excited by this as it is one of my favourite magazines but this time I was especially excited.... and I mean completely over the top excited.... as I am in it!!! Yes, me and my little studio are featured on the last page of the current issue... eeek!!!

I am over the moon and I think the feature looks great! If you don't know Mollie Makes yet (and if not, just where have you been) check out their website for more info and subscriptions.

Anyway I've also got news of a giveaway to announce! I've been overwhelmed with the online kindness and support over the last few weeks in a month that has been truly awful. I really have appreciated all the messages, emails and comments I've received so to say a little thank you I've been making the prize this week in between father's day orders and I hope you will all really like it...

It's a textile embroidered canvas of a pretty jug of roses on a spotty table! It measures approx 31 cm x 31cm and is stretched around a wooden frame, ready to hang.

There are three ways to enter - please read carefully :)

♥ For one entry, simply become a follower of my blog

 

♥ For another entry, become a fan of my facebook page and share my giveaway with your friends or your business page if you have one

♥ For a last entry, you can blog about my giveaway or add it to your sidebar (feel free to use one of the images above)

Please please please remember to leave separate comments on this post telling me which of these you have done as I will be numbering all comments and choosing the winner by random number generator and I would hate for you to miss out!

This time the giveaway is UK only, due to the weight and size of the canvas for posting and will end next Friday 22nd June, at midday.

So that's it I think... except for good luck and thanks for entering xxx

New things

Hello, have you had a nice weekend? It feels a bit odd to be here writing on a Sunday, I usually do my posts mid week... Now I know this was supposed to be the giveaway winner post, but I do have an apology to make - I may have to leave it for a day or two, I'm so sorry, as I have so much still to do this evening, and with all the various names/shares etc on my facebook page in particular, it is not just a case of doing the random number generator thingy like I usually do, it's going to take some serious name writing out I think!! But I promise I will do it in the next day or two.

Things are still quite busy, and I have commission work deadlines looming this week, as well as quite a few orders trickling in for Mothers Day already. I have also been trying to organise all my online shops a bit better and spent quite a while this morning sorting my Etsy shop out! It's been pretty much neglected since before xmas, I hadn't listed anything new for weeks and I hadn't even taken my Christmas products down. But I gave it a little spring clean and it's looking sooooooo much better!

I've also been making new pretty mirrors and lots of new cards in the last few weeks and have been working hard to get them all photographed and listed in my shops... it takes so much longer than you think to write all the copy and edit all the pics doesn't it??

So these are some of the new designs I've been working on lately...

'Jug of Roses' embroidered mother's day card, can be personalised with your own message, and can be found in my Etsy shop here

'Best Mum'embroidered card

Embroidered cupcake card, really for birthdays but as it can be personalised with your own message it could just as easily be a mother's day card too! 

 Birthday balloons embroidered card...

...and some new mirrors too.... how I love this fabric especially the turquoise!! I've actually been on a bit of a fabric buying binge in the last few weeks, with the excuse that I 'need' it all for my work.... so looking forward to lots of parcels arriving this week!

You can find them here and here

I also made matching magnets as I had quite a few spare bits of fabric which weren't quite big enough for mirrors but a perfect size for the slightly smaller magnets and badges!

So that's about it for tonight as I can't believe it's gone seven already, so quite short and sweet for once! Anyway hope you've all had a bit of sunshine these last few days... We've had lovely weather this weekend (makes up for the miserable weather last week when I was completely miffed as everyone else in the whole country seemed to have sunshine) but haven't actually been out much in it. It just makes such a difference to have the house lovely and bright with the sun streaming in the windows... Really hope Spring is on it's way and it's not just a little tease!

Anyway back soon with my giveaway winner news, have a good week xxx

Happy Spring Colours!

This week has been a funny old week, a bit disjointed really - I'm kind of glad it's nearly the weekend! I finally managed to shake off my cough and cold, felt like I had it for months, but now Karl has caught a sickness bug so fingers crossed I won't come down with that too! I shouldn't complain really, as since I've been working from home I very rarely get ill - since am usually holed up in my little studio where germs can't seem to find me! Guess it's just that time of year.

Anyway, I've been busy with lots of different projects this week, including a couple of secret commissions which will hopefully be used for a new craft book later in the year. I've also been sewing lots of hearts and 'love you' things in time for Valentines and making up a new order for one of my favourite stockists Andrea Willis Designs.

But I've also been doing quite a bit of sewing and making for me this week, in fact I'm totally on a roll! Although I don't tend to make proper lists of New Years resolutions, one thing I did want to try and achieve this year was to make more time for creative projects for myself, my family and the house. Although I am sewing and making nearly every day, most of it is destined for other people, whether it be orders or commissioned work, and finding time and motivation to actually make something for myself is more difficult than you might think, life just seems to get in the way! 

 

Anyway last week I received a lovely parcel of fabrics from the States including some of my most favourite fabrics, all pretty colours, spots and florals.... so gorgeous, I still love the Flower Sugar designs so much!  Plus I didn't get charged any import tax which I thought I was going to, which was a major plus and one of the reasons I'd put off ordering from the States for so long. Not sure whether I just got lucky though, as I'm sure from what I gathered from the HMRC website I should have been charged... Oh well not complaining!! Fabric is so much cheaper over there even with shipping costs that it really is worth it.

Mmmm aren't they just so pretty? :)

Anyway, so I decided as a spur of the moment thing that I wanted to sew a picture for the kitchen! I just woke up on Sunday morning with an idea in my head, there wasn't too much planning, and I made it up as I went along really but I love how it turned out. I used a little wadding and stapled it to one of my canvas frames and hey presto, we have a new picture! We've hung it on the duck egg blue wall and it looks so pretty! It does make the kitchen look even more girly than it did though which I feel a bit bad about but I don't think Karl really notices what I've done about the place half the time!

  

There is something so very satisfying about making something for yourself, I don't know whether that's just me? In fact I might make another similar picture for the opposite wall as there is a little stretch of bare wall which is crying out to be filled!

Whilst I was on a roll and full of enthusiasm though, I also made some 'happy' bunting for the dresser and some pretty little magnets for the fridge. Now Christmas is well and truly behind us, and the house is becoming lighter and brighter with each day, I am filled with the urge to decorate it with cheery Spring colours... am so excited that the warmer, lighter days are coming again, I can't wait for Summer, I'm fed up of being cold all the time!

I also started to make a patchwork cushion last night but I'm a bit annoyed that I've got my measurements wrong and it is going to be too small for the pad I had in mind. Might just add a little border, or make it bigger and use a bigger pad, not sure yet!

 Still loving these fabrics...

There was also a big squeal of excitement here last week when I got hold of this month's Crafts Beautiful magazine (Feb issue), and saw my little house pin cushion has made it on to the front cover! A few of my recent projects have had little spots on the cover but this is the first time anything I have designed has been made the main picture - so pleased!

Here is a little peek at the project itself...

Don't wait too long if you want to catch this issue as I think the next one will be out soon, and for more crafting ideas, go to www.crafts-beautiful.com

I actually got sent a picture yesterday from a lovely lady who had been inspired to make herself a needlecase using my tutorial - it means so much to me when I get feedback like this, to know that people like my designs and that I have been useful/inspiring, it is one of the best feelings! It is the same when people give lovely feedback about their orders - I don't think they realise how much their kind words mean, but it really is appreciated.

Anyway, this post has taken me ages to write and I'm now starving! Think I will go sit and have a little tea break whilst admiring my new picture :) Hope you have a lovely weekend, thanks as always for popping in to read my ramblings,

Jenny x

p.s I know Blogger is being really weird lately with comments - Just a tip I've found is if you refresh the page/blog post it seems to sort itself out and the comment box re-appears! Don't know if it will solve all the problems people have been having but it's worth a try! xxx

Beach Huts and Bunting

It feels like ages and ages since I made anything just for myself but I've had a real urge recently to spend a day doing just that. So much of my time I spend sewing, but often I am just making up stock of designs I already sell, or stitching personalised orders for other people... It's not that often that I have either the time or enthusiasm to actually make something for myself. 

I decided to make a picture because the walls of my studio are looking quite bare, and I wanted something cheery to brighten them up... and what is more cheery than a row of pastel coloured beach huts? And of course there's lots of bunting... which you can never ever have too much of! 

Though I probably should have been sewing the pile of lavender bags on my desk which are all cut out waiting to be stitched, I promptly set about making an absolute mess, completely surrounded with fabric and very much enjoying myself as I decided on the colours I wanted to use...

Being super organised I bought the frame before I started (bargain from Wilkinson's) which is actually most unlike me. Usually I jump right in and create something with such odd dimensions that then I can never find a frame to fit!

All the fabrics I've used are just bits and pieces from my stash, but I made sure to use lots of my favourites.

It's not quite what I had in my head when I started, but then things never quite turn out like that, and I'm quite pleased with it in the end. The pink and aqua make a nice change from navy and red when sewing my beach huts - may even try and develop it into a future design/line, but for now, it is up on my wall and feels just right for the beautiful Summer weather we've been having lately. In fact, talking of which, I'm going to try and sneak half an hours sitting in the sun now before it disappears behind the hill :) 

Thanks as always for stopping by and reading my blog, I hope you have a wonderful Eastery weekend, filled with much sunshine and chocolate! Back soon xxx

A little bit of everything...

Hi all, hope you are having a wonderful weekend:) Well, as usual, this past week has gone by far too so fast, I can't believe we are nearly at the end of March already. Have been enjoying the sunshine as I've been out and about this week, and it's even been warm enough to have the window open in my studio too, so nice! Have been sewing lots this week too -  Wednesday morning I think it was I designed this pretty little handbag mirror, appliqued with my most favourite  of floral fabrics, with 'Best Mum' stitched in the centre.

I wasn't going to do any specific Mother's Day items this year as I've been so busy lately I just hadn't had the time to design anything new. But the idea just came to me, and I'm quite pleased with how they've turned out - I think it's the summery colours, they just look nice and cheerful don't they! Anyway, as I am so late off the mark with the whole Mother's Day thing this year, I've only made a small batch, but if you fancy treating your mum, you can buy one here, I'm sure she would love one, hint hint!

Talking of Mother's Day though, these 'I heart' mirrors have also been selling well this week, most of them are along the lines of I love My Mum, Nan, Granny, Mummy...etc, which is nice - lots of much loved mummies and grannies around! I feel a little like I have been glued to the sewing machine lately though, so am having a day off from it today, but I do have a (growing) pile of these to make up tomorrow.

For the last couple of days I've also been working on another trade order, which I somehow managed to get finished and sent before the weekend - result! It included lots of my printed cards, as well as a selection of magnets and badges such as my little frog and flower magnets. They all arrived in their new home safely this afternoon (I will be doing a separate blog post on this lovely stockist soon) which is fab, am very impressed at the speed of Royal Mail - for once!

Sewing frogs, butterflies and flowers yesterday did make me feel that spring is definitely here, although today the weather is disappointingly overcast and grey....sigh! 

Since I am supposed to be having a 'day off' though (not sure I really know the meaning of those words) I ventured out into the garden this morning, planting up these gorgeous primroses I bought this week. Love the purple and yellow combination, they are very cheap and cheerful, but that's just what I like! It's lovely to look out of the window and see such a splash of colour.

I'm not really much of a gardener it has to be said, although I do really enjoy it and wish I had both a bigger garden and more time to spend in it. I would love one day to have a really lovely rambling cottage type garden, with wild flowers growing everywhere, lots of different grasses and chickens wandering about, but for now I will have to make do with my flower pots:)

So anyway, I best go, it's taken me ages to write this post for some reason! Not sure what I shall be doing this evening, though I may do a little more tinkering with my blog - do you like my new blog buttons down the side? (the ones that link to my website/facebook/twitter). The old ones were just a bit big, so have streamlined them a little, and I have to say I quite like them myself. I also really wanted to get rid of the grey line around my photos in my posts, but can't for the life of me work out how to do it. Have a feeling it may be something to do with the template I've chosen, but any advice would be much appreciated?! 

Anyhow, thanks for stopping by, I hope you are all having a gorgeous weekend, Jenny x

My Sunday afternoon project...

This might be a bit of a random post, but I thought I would write about what I have been making this afternoon! Do you like it? I finally, finally got round to making up this cushion out of a tapestry I did in the Summer. I really love big vintage rose prints, so was instantly drawn to this design, which is called 'Blooming Roses'. I had actually been outbid at the last minute on Ebay for this exact design, but I later found it on the Ehrman website in the sale for much less than I was bidding, total bargain! It is quite small when made up, about 12 inches by 13 inches, but fits my little button back chair just perfectly.


I'd never done any tapestry or cross stitch (apart from in primary school a million years ago) until my auntie gave me a kit at the start of the year. But I really loved it, and it became a borderline obsession that I did in every spare minute I had! I didn't get a lot of work done in those couple of weeks, and so this one I actually took on my summer holiday to Portugal. I might have looked a bit silly doing tapestry on the sun lounger and at the airport, but at least I wasn't being distracted during 'work' time! Anyway, it's taken me ages to get around to finishing it off, but I'm glad I did as it looks so very sweet!




I'm not really sure exactly what it is that I liked so much about doing this tapestry. I just found it really relaxing and such an achievement to have finished it (it took a lot of patience, good job I have a lot of it!) Many needlepoint designs around still seem to be quite old fashioned, I guess because this type of thing is traditionally done by little old ladies! However, with people like Kirsty Allsopp championing crafts and the handmade, crafts like tapestry do seem to be becoming a little more fashionable and there are now some great contemporary designs available too, like those at Granny Knits, which are very fab and funky!

So anyway I am now once again on the lookout for another kit... maybe in time for Christmas, hint hint! There are a couple of 'sampler' type designs which I do have my eye on, but I guess we will just have to see what Father Christmas brings, haha! x

Pretty Sewing Finds...

I haven't had time for much sewing in the last couple of days as I have been busy taking some new pictures for my website. However, I have come across some beautiful 'sewing' related prints and products recently, which I thought I would share...


These lovely nostalgic prints of vintage cotton reels can be purchased from Lola's Room. I love the soft, muted colours and very beautiful styling...


These wonderful prints of a classic Singer Sewing Machine and Vintage Sewing Kit are from illustrator Clare Owen's collection, and can be bought from her Etsy Shop.



A lovely set of four vintage style sewing machine tags by Two Paper Pals, perfect for adding a touch of old-fashioned charm to any gift.



Lastly, this fabulous vinyl wall decal from Grey Wolf Graphics is now on my wish list! Just need to decide what colour to paint my wall first...