A Long Post!!!

Today I am sharing the gorgeous purchases I made at the quilt show.

Three gorgeous magazines for £10 all complete with their pattern sheets

I've never done embroidery and would like to give it a go so I am now armed with these three books of my favourite style.

Bag patterns.....as if I don't have loads already but I loved the style of these when I saw them made up on the stall.

This will be a wall hanging for the landing upstairs I think.

Another wall hanging panel but I have different plans for this. I already have a two metre length of fabric from this line which I will use to make bags and the four small designs will be used as pockets on the fronts.

A pack of fat eighths....Down By The Veggie Patch by Anni Downs. Not too sure what I will make with this but I have ideas.

Fat quarters to make embroidered labels for anything I give as gifts.

Fat quarters for stash......I couldn't resist.

Half metres for stash.

Bargain fabrics for stash.

Chosen by Ruby for new aprons for herself and Marlowe.

A kit to make a Christmas wall hanging which includes everything except the backing fabric and the wadding.

My DMC thread chart was old and battered beyond belief so I have replaced it with a new one which includes all the new colours. The little cross stitch kit is for Ruby to have a go at.

I want to have a dabble at cross stitch again and this book has some beautiful small designs which hopefully it won't kill my eyes to do.

.....and that is it. No damage to my bank account as it was all bought with money I had for Mother's Day and my birthday.

There were a couple of things on my wish list which I forgot to even look for but one of them....a light box.....should be delivered this week and all I need to do now is find a page magnifier for the cross stitch charts.

Even with all this stuff there will be no crafting done today as I have some catching up to do after a lazy Monday....well ti was my birthday...lol....and a day out yesterday looking after Ruby and Marlowe at The Doodle House.

I hope you are all having a lovely day.

Sheila-x-

Murderous Thoughts!!!

There wasn't a lot to say yesterday.
I was hot and cranky and Andy decided he wanted a cooked lunch of a pie with veg and gravy which didn't help. Not a lot of love went into that meal I can tell you.....just lots of wondering how I could murder him and get away with it....lol!!!

I didn't get much done in the way of housework. The kitchen was tidied and the hoover was thrown round and then I spent the rest of the day finishing this..........

....a proper little dress for Marlowe.
I'm going to see how it fits her and then I may make a couple more in some different fabrics.

When I took it down the garden to take the picture I noticed that our Agatha(panthus) is looking like she is loving this weather..........

.......so many more flowers than she had last year.
I think this border will have to be thinned out soon as it's getting pretty crowded now. The sedum is massive and taking over so that can be split and some replanted in the front garden.

Eagerly awaiting the postman this morning who should be bringing me a parcel of two boxes of threads. He usually arrives just before lunch so until then I had best go and get some cleaning done upstairs and then sort out something to do with Miss Ruby who is coming early today for her Wednesday visit now that she is on holiday from school.

Hope you all have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

Getting Ready For Another Busy Weekend!!!

Today I will be starting my weekend clean up a day early as I will be spending time looking after the girls on Saturday and Sunday while DDIL is working from home again. It has come round a bit quicker this time as she has taken a colleagues turn so that they can enjoy their full seven day break.
So I doubt I'll get any sewing done today.....maybe some cutting out but that will be all.

These were passed on to Miss Marlowe yesterday.........

These are the last I will make for her in this style as they are the largest size we can go on the pattern.
The next step is proper frocks with gathering, puffed sleeves and all sorts of stuff to get myself in trouble with.....lol.
Ruby's dress was tried on and fit her like it was made for her....ha, ha, ha and she loved it.
My fabric stash is taking a right old battering so I need to save up for a trip to either Derby or Birmingham to put things right and also to stock up on threads.

Thanks to everyone for the nice comments about my needle changing tool. Such a simple thing but I do find it very useful.

Oh well....time to don the Marigolds and get scrubbing.....after a coffee of course 😁

Have a wonderful day.
Sheila-x-

For Catriona!!!

Hi Catriona.....
As promised here are a couple of pics of the little needle changing tool I made for myself..........

Take a childs glue spreader and trim off a little of the flexible blade.
Pierce a hole just big enough for the lower part of your needle to slip through. I used a tiny Fiskars plier punch but if you don't have have one you could hammer a tiny tack through it to make the hole or maybe heat an old machine needle and push it through.

And here it is in action.
Use it to remove and insert your needles and you should never have a problem again with them dropping into your feed dogs.

I hope you find this useful.
Sheila-x-

A Dress!!!

Another dress finished for Ruby................

Fabric in a sale from Derby Market. Pattern-New Look 6466.
Once I had sorted out the slightly confusing (to me) pattern  it was pretty easy to make and was done in a day.
All I need is for Ruby to try it on so that I can try the shoulder straps for placement and sew them down.

Today I am finishing off Marlowe's tops and then I shall have a rifle through my patterns for something else to make.

We had rain last night....about enough to soak the top quarter inch of the garden if it made it past all the foliage....lol.
I went and stood out in it and could almost hear my skin sizzling as the drops hit it. Oh it was lovely.
Dull and grey with lots of dark clouds today but we are not predicted to have any more rain until next Monday here.

We couldn't face the spag bol last night and had ham and salad instead. The sauce has been frozen to use in a lasagne for Sunday lunch instead.

Nothing much to do housewise today so until I have to prep the salad and cook some fish for tea I can spend the day sewing.
There is a lovely breeze blowing through the back door so it will be rather pleasant to have it blowing on my back and shoulders while I sew.

Hope you all have a lovely day today.
Sheila-x-

Mrs Tea Towel Makes..........!!!

.........Tea towels

During my tidying yesterday these pieces of fabric were removed from a box to make room to squish some other fabric in.

One pound remnants from Derby Market. I have had them for a good while.

Not sure how long they will last but I shall enjoy seeing them every day.

Cold again this morning and the weather forecast says we are getting rain which I will believe when we see it.

Today is a Doodle Day.

Ruby couldn't come for tea on Wednesday so she will be visiting today. Aunty DD has invited us out for tea so we are going to Ruby's favourite place.....the Chinese buffet. She doesn't know yet so that will be a nice surprise for her.

As I don't have to cook today I will spend some time tidying up ready for the weekend. We have no plans for Saturday or Sunday but there are some things that I want to get done and if the cool weather continues I will cook a Sunday lunch.

Ooooh....Andy has made coffee so I'll get off and drink it while it's hot.

Have a happy day.

Sheila-x-

Problems And A Fashion Shoot!!!

I am so sorry for not blogging for a few days but we have some family problems at the moment and we are spending quite a bit of time supporting my Brother in Law who is devastated by what has arisen. There is nothing we can do to help in a practical way but we can be there for him to talk things through and so that is what we are doing.

Meanwhile....in between that and jobs I am still finding a little time to sew and am still on the doll's clothes and here is what I have done so far.......

Both tops here have been adapted from patterns. the trousers and skirt I made from scratch. The circle skirt needs a net petticoat which I shall make if I have enough net in my stash.

The dress was made from a pattern and it actually fit so no adapting and the wrap over skirt was made from scratch.

The green skirt was designed by me using inspiration from my favourite skirt and the circle skirt was again made from scratch....really easy to do.

I need to get cracking on more tops as we now have lots of skirts and trousers.

It looks like the sun of this morning is giving way to dark clouds and rain. Hopefully it will cool things down a bit as the heat here the past couple of days has been horrible.
Even if it does cool down though we will still be having salad for tea. We have hardly eaten anything else for a few weeks....and we even had it for Sunday lunch 😃

Thank you all so much for comments on the last post.

Have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

A Sneaky Peek!!!

This is the little outfit I finished yesterday........

The jersey leggings are made from some pyjamas that no longer fit Ruby and the top is made from fabric I used to make her a top last year. She was thrilled to bits.
I used a commercial pattern for the leggings and made my own pattern for the top.
Today I am taking the top pattern and using it as the base of a new pattern to make a drop sided top to use up the rest of the floral jersey.

Just a few jobs to do before I can get to the machine and then later today I need to go out and do some shopping and call in at the voting station to make my mark.

Spent a mad half an hour at The Doodles last night when we dropped Ruby off. Marlowe has developed the most ear shattering scream when she is excited.It is extremely painful to listen to. I ended up calming her down with a snuggle on my knee and some picture books. Her excitement last night was seeing Ruby. She really loves her big sister.

Laundry to fold and a quick kitchen tidy and that will be house jobs done until tea time.

Hope you are having a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

I Won!!!

I'm very late blogging today as all day I have been fighting a battle. Nothing huge....just tackling sewing with jersey at last.
Battle 1....how to stop it curling....spray starch the hell out of it. It also makes it so much easier to cut.
Battle 2....remember to change to a ball point needle. I didn't and the result was a bit of a hot mess to start with.
Battle 3....the bottom hem on a pair of dolls leggings is teeny tiny. I switched my regular foot to the smallest foot I could find in my collection.....I think it was a cording foot but it did the trick. Next time I'll sew the hems before I sew the leg seams.
Result....one pair of perfectly acceptable leggings....but the next pair will be better.
Tomorrow I will remember lessons learned today and have a go at a t shirt.
I'll be able to start taking photos soon as I am just about to order some proper stands for the dolls. Ruby will love being able to have them standing up.

Over the last couple of days or so the garden has exploded in a riot of colour. The roses and the peony have so many flowers on them. I'd love to cut some for the house but there seem to be rather a lot of ants around the peony and I am not letting those little blighters into the house.

We seem to be eating salad like it's going out of fashion at the minute so I am thinking I might get DD to sew me some cut and come again lettuce in a container on the yard.
Tomatoes don't do well for us so we are not even going to try this year....although once we get a greenhouse we might try again.

Time now to go and settle down for a while to watch Vikings which DD and I are on our third watching of now that we have finished The Sopranos.

Hope you have all had a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

Ready To Wear!!!

One little outfit ready for Miss Marlowe when she comes to drop off Ruby today. I have tried the top on her and she looked adorable in it but I didn't like the buttons I had used. They have been replaced now with these white ones.
There should have been a pair of shorts to go with it too but I got a bit distracted when I was using the overlocker and ended up cutting off a vital piece...lol.....they went in the bin as did the first dress I made in this style for her. I worked to the pattern instructions and it was horrible so this one I made up as I went along. It turned out much better.
So far I have one doll dress cut out.....so many pieces for such a small thing but it's going to be cute.

This morning I have made one large quiche for our tea with leftovers and a smaller one to send down to Doodle Mansion which they can use either for meal or pack ups. They smell lovely and I know DDIL loves my quiche so I hope they enjoy it.

I'm just going to have a quick sandwich and a cold drink....and maybe five minutes with my feet up before I need to have a tidy up and throw the hoover round ready for my gorgeous girl coming so I'll go and do that.

Have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

Organised Chaos!!!

This is the state of my sewing table today. Chaotic...yes but I know what and where everything is.
I have six garments cut out ready for sewing.....which I shall be starting shortly but while I have been waiting for the dog to move from under my feet I have been cutting out a dolls clothes pattern to use some of the offcuts from Marlowe's clothes. Ruby will love her dolls having similar outfits to her little sister.
I should have got some sewing done yesterday but oh my goodness....the carpet shampooing really did me in and I ached from head to toe. I think I should have done upstairs one day and downstairs on another instead of doing it all in one day.......and I needed to whip the beast out again today as Smudge peed in the kitchen....again!!! That dog is driving me nuts. It's a good job I love him so much.

Laundry is almost done and I have a very simple tea to prepare. Andy treated DD and I to a ready cooked chicken this morning so that and a bowl of salad will hit the spot today.

There will have to be a bit of top up shopping done tonight so we'll nip out after tea. Normally I would try and do it on the day we have to take Ruby home to save making two trips but I don't think it can wait until later in the week.

Before I start anything I am just going to have five minutes now that Andy has gone to work and then the machines will be coming out.

Hope you're all having a lovely day of sunshine.
Sheila-x-

....And Another Dress Finished!!!

Ruby's cream with pink roses dress is finished.....

It just needs a wash and a good iron before being shipped off to The Doodle House.
I must admit that I like the black one better but that is just me.
The next one will be the daisy one but I think I am going to get a bit brave and finish the neckline and armholes with bias binding made from the same fabric to give the dress a slightly softer finish and I may possibly leave the zip out.....or I may find another pattern completely. Not decided yet.

I didn't go out to Trentham this morning with DD as I woke up with a vile headache. She has gone on her own and Andy has just left for work so I am having a little peace and quiet on my own. I don't know how long it will last but it is lovely.

DD and I have had a week of very healthy eating so tonight I am going to treat us to homemade fish, chips and peas. Normally we would wait and have it with Andy as he is usually home just after 7pm on a Friday but they have changed his hours so I am going to have to cook twice tonight as we can't wait until nearly 9pm for ours. It's really annoying when they keep chopping and changing their working hours.

Nothing particular planned for the weekend except maybe a barbecue on Monday if the weather is nice as DD has the day off in lieu of working on Sunday. I'll probably catch up with some jobs that have been neglected while I have been gadding about all week.
By Tuesday I will be ready to have the house back to myself I can tell you.

Have a lovely weekend.
Sheila-x-

Another Morning Out.....And This Weeks Fabric Stash!!!

Yet another trip out this morning to Derby although just on the outskirts and not into the city centre as I needed to go to Hobbycraft. I did still manage to buy fabric but it wasn't planned...lol.

So here is all the fabric I have bought since last Saturday.......

The blender fabrics from Derby Market. There are two lots of the red one as when she unrolled the bolt there was a piece already cut...nearly a metre for £2 and then I bought another two metres @ £3.99 pm. Just one metre each of the yellow and orange as I know I won't use lots of those.

One metre of the red hollyhock by Fabric Freedom for £3.99 and then three remnants @ £2 each and they are all a metre or over.

All £3.99 a metre. 3 of the turquoise daisy for another dress for Ruby. 1 of the blue floral to add to quilting stash and I just couldn't resist the chicken fabric which I will probably use for a dress for Marlowe.

A bit of an impulse buy from Hobbycraft this morning but I have been looking for something a bit funky to use with this pattern. A bit pricier than my market finds though at £8 a metre.

They finally had the red in this distressed blender so I had to get some while they have it.

Well now I really do have to knuckle down and get some more sewing done to make room for these to go into my storage boxes because I can't squeeze another metre in them at the moment.

Ruby's second dress is almost finished....just the hem to do and then while I have the pattern out I might cut another one in the daisy print which means I won't have to store three metres of it.....there is method in my madness....lol.

Quick visits to S********'s and M&S and now we are home. More salad for tea today and another session of Sopranos.

Tomorrow will be our last day out for this week and we'll be off to Trentham as DD needs to buy a birthday gift for a friend and you can always find something unusual in the shopping village there.

Thank you all so much for comments on my last couple of posts. Next week I shall have more time to answer you all individually and I badly need to catch up on the blogs I read too.

Hope you're all enjoying sunshine today.

Sheila-x-

The Head Cook Is On Holiday!!!

DD offered to cook today.......she didn't have to ask twice 😁
Roast chicken with all the trimmings....that will do for me.
I guess I will make a start on cutting out Ruby's new dress and there may even be some sewing done.

I know I really shouldn't buy any more fabric but I have decided to go back to Derby in the week and get some of the blender fabrics that were on the stall selling the 100% cottons at £3.99. I'd be daft not to as I doubt I'll ever see them at that price again.

Just have to go and show DD how to make bread sauce and then that will be me done in the kitchen for today.

Hope you are all having a lovely Sunday.
Sheila-x-

So Chuffed!!!

I can't quite believe it but Ruby's dress fit her beautifully. Nice enough to wear on it's own but just loose enough to be able to wear a long sleeved t shirt underneath it on a chilly day. She was thrilled to bits with it and has already chosen the fabric for another one in cream with pink roses so today I will prepare the fabric for that...it needs to be pre-washed and ironed as it was the end of a bolt and very badly creased.

Haven't a clue what I am going to cook for tea tonight. I meant to get some chicken out of the freezer last night and forgot so I might have a rootle around in the veg drawer and see if there is anything I can use to make soup. It's quite chilly here today so I think that would be a good choice.

Feeling a bit better today after a good night of sleep so I am hoping to get lots done.

Have a fabulous day.
Sheila-x-

A Finished Project!!!

This morning before I even did any housework I snuck a few minutes to finish the hem on Ruby's dress......

I'm quite pleased with it but there are things I could have done better so I will be making another one once I have tried it on her. I'm a bit worried the armholes are going to be too big though and as the pattern is already cut to size I may have to see if I can get another one for the same dress.
I have learned plenty from making this......one thing being....as good and useful as pattern weights are...this kind of fabric either needs the pattern pinning to it or to use a rotary cutter.
The starch didn't add much stability to the fabric but I will still do it again with this type.
If I'm not happy with something I will unpick it. I wouldn't have done at one time but if I want a decent end result then I must.....and when unpicking to wear my close work glasses...lol.

I don't know yet what my next project will be. Either something from the UFO box or something for Marlowe to wear.

For now I am off to have my cuppa soup and a read of the papers before I do anything else.
Have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

Just Another Day At Tea Towel Mansion!!!

Life is plodding along quite gently here at the moment. Jobs are getting done and ticked off the list and the search is continuing for just the right wallpaper and curtains for the lounge.
I have set my heart on red and cream checked curtains and can I flippin' find any I like....no 😒 it looks like I may have to bite the bullet....find some fabric and make them which I didn't really want to do.
The wallpaper is just a case of too much choice and not being able to make up my mind.

Just one little fly in the ointment at the moment. Andy has gone down with a really nasty cold and has almost lost his voice. It just came out of nowhere on Saturday evening and he is feeling pretty miserable.

Healthy eating is continuing. I am now below the target I set for myself and and winging my way towards the next target so I am very happy. The only trouble is that clothes are starting to feel and look ridiculously loose so there may have to be a shopping expedition before long. I loathe clothes shopping.

Tea for tonight is all prepared.....chicken breast roasted over peppers, onions and cherry tomatoes, Italian herbs and garlic with roast parmesan potatoes and some veg. It won't need to go into the oven until about 4:30pm so until then I am sewing.....adding the neck and armhole facings to Ruby's dress and then all I have to do is the hem. My stitch ripper has been on turbo with this project but I have learned a lot and will probably find some more fabric out of my stash to make another one.

Not much in the way of sun here today but at least it is dry and reasonably warm.

I hope you are all having a fabulous day.
Sheila-x-

Just As I Thought.....!!!

.......the dress fabric is proving to be a little tricksy but starching it and lots of pinning seem to be helping things along nicely.
The front is finished, part of the back is done and I am getting near to having to sew in the zip. It is years since I sewed a zip in so wish me luck with that...lol.
I probably won't get any more done today as Andy is off....again!!! He's out at a hospital appointment at the moment so I am getting some tidying up done and having a good clean out in the fridge and seeing what we have before I go and do a shop.
His Nibs is fancying a burger for his tea tonight so that is what he will be getting along with yet another bowl of salad. I'll pass on the burgers and have something else with the salad.

Well that's about it for today. Nothing planned for the weekend. DD has some furniture shifting she wants to do in her room and we may have a shufty up to the garden centre....otherwise it's looking like a quiet weekend.

Have a good one.
Sheila-x-

A Doing Day!!!

The brightness of the sun had me up and ready to get going at a ridiculous hour this morning so I aim to get some more of the windows washed inside and out, give the kitchen floor a good mop and feed Andy something nice before he goes to work.
Once he is gone I will be settling down and making a start on turning this.......

.....into a dress for Ruby.
The pattern took hours to prepare yesterday as there are a lot of pieces. I am making the sleeveless version at the top.
If it all works out nicely this will be an absolute bargain of a dress as the fabric....just under three metres....cost £4 for the lot from The Rag Market last year. It's quite floppy so I might try starching it a little before I start any cutting.

I'll probably whip up a salad to use up what's left in the fridge and find something to go with it for tea today....I quite fancy an omelette.

Hope you are all having a lovely sunny day.
Sheila-x-

What A Weekend!!! (Picture Heavy)

You may well want to get a cup of coffee and maybe a snack as today I am sharing my delicious stash from the quilt show.

I have to say that it may have been a small quilt show compared to the likes of The NEC but it was absolutely fantastic and I wish now that I had taken a camera to take photos of some of the awesome quilts in both the competition and on the stalls. If I had a pound for every time I said 'oh how beautiful' I could pretty much have bought up everything there was to buy.
Ruby loved it and didn't want to leave when it was time to go home and she already wants to know if she can come next year. Her joy in everything she saw really made the day very special for me and I am so glad she didn't get bored at all.
Her special task was to find Ganma beautiful Christmas fabric and the girl did very good indeed.
So here we go with the pics.........

Anything to do with Christmas is a must...lol.

I've been wanting the Quilt As You Go book for a while and I would rather like to make a house quilt so these just had to come home with me.

I love Jenny Doan and am considering a subscription to this magazine.

Ruby's little stash....we are going to make her a pin cushion and a little pouch for her scissors with some of this when she comes for her next sleepover.

Traditional Christmas fabric to go with others already in my stash.

Moda Merrily....which I hope will go with the Winterlude layer cake I already have but if not ther is a metre of each which would make a good sized quilt on it's own.

Funky Christmas fabric to make some small gift bags.

This was a very special surprise purchase by DD. Michael Miller-Fairy Frost which really needs to be seen in real life. She was willing to buy me a half metre of every colour there but to be honest some were not really my kind of colours......purples, copper etc.

General stash. The post cartale fabric will probably become a bag.

My most favourite colour combination and will most likely become a quilt for me 😁

12 fat quarters....haven't a clue what I am going to do with it...lol.

Boring purchases which don't really need a picture....3 metres of 120" wide 80/20 batting, four packets of machine needles and a fabric glue pen plus a pack of refills.

I love everything and can't wait to start working with it all.

One of the best things for me was the fact that once we had had enough we just nipped up the road to drop Ruby home and then ten minutes and we were home and soon tucking in to a gorgeous Sunday lunch cooked by Andy.
......and to end the day....an emergency call out from The Doodle House where Marlowe had decided it would be great fun to stuff raisins up her nose and DDIL was worried she may have to take her to A&E. By the time we got there the raisins had broken down and made their escape back round into her mouth so crisis averted. She loved having me look up her nose with a torch so I hope to gawd she doesn't do it again for the sheer fun of it.....the little scallywag.

I expect you are all thoroughly bored now so I will finish up and go and leave you in peace.
Have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-