Reddy Made

Some new friends...

I know its totally over the top but I wanted a tea cosy and I wanted a cute one - one the kids would love too. This is version 2 and the first gingerbread were a bit anorexic and slightly scary looking. Some of you may recognise the idea - this tea cosy is a homage to one of my favourite paintings by Sarah Jane Szikora called the Foolish Little Buscuit. For those of you who haven't heard of her, her paintings are truly delightful - I saw the print years ago for £150 which I am now kicking myself as today I googled and they were selling it for £1500! I wouldn't have sold it but I sure can't afford it now!

I celebrated the new cosy and first day back at school with a tea party, and a home-made Victoria Sponge! I've never made one before as you can probably tell by the wonky jam. I certainly wouldn't win a rosette for presentation!

This is my other new best friend. I finally gave in to my crappy sewing machine and splashed some cash on a new one. I can't tell you how many ways I love this machine, but if I had to name one, its the window bobbin. How many times I swore as I struggled to pull the drawer off my old one. And I mean swear. Proper swearing. Well, I was once a Transport Manager!

The second best thing is the thingymabobby that keeps your lines straight whilst quilting. Hoorah. No more rulers and pencil marks that never wash off. Now I'm not suggesting that my lines are any starighter but I did love the military way that arm stayed in line.  I experimented on a piece of fabric I had originally started some freehand embroidery on (and then got bored). Half an hour later I have a play mat for Edith. I had only had my machine 20 minutes before I started on this - and 15 of that was driving up the M4. Excited . Very Excited.

Oh and I have a new obsession. I'd like to call them corsages but they are almost the size of dinner plates! They nearly went on the tea cosy but the Naughty boys won the day. Any suggestions welcome.

But this one is staying as its not so huge and it makes my denim jacket feel all girly. I have to curb this flower fixation or I'm going to end up looking like a mad old lady!

However, at least I'm not wearing a purple beret. (Anyone who watches The Apprentice will know what I mean!)

The Sewing Madness is finally over...

and at last Xmas can begin.

I have been so unbelievably stressed over the last few weeks and its all because I had left my Xmas orders until the last minute which is so me. Everything culminated this Friday when I finally finished and I have locked my sewing machine away until Xmas is over. On Thursday I actually sewed for 7 hours straight through finishing at 12am. I had a bit of a funny turn and couldn't sleep at all. I think I was so wired on cups of tea that I started to halucinate! Anyway, moan over (noone asked me to start this did they?) as for the last 2 days I finally got around to making presents for my family, and with my creative juices flowing I finally got to make what I wanted! This is the fruit of my labour:

Toilet Bags and Accessories for Mum and Big Sis

A tarted-up £3 apron for my mum off the kids

Pink indulgences for all the lovely little girls in my life,

Patchwork skirt and matching bag for my neice

and more bags because when I started I couldn't stop. If you met my neice Beatrice you would understand why. She is so beautiful and innocent and just loves girly things. Oh to be 9 again.

I am thoroughly exhausted.

Some things I learnt on the way:

1. I should say no more often

2. I should be charging more

3. I really enjoy seeing my stuff around the place

4. I should stop procrastinating and just get on with it!

Ok I admit it...

December is here, honest.

Even though it's raining like it will never stop and they had to go and cancel our village Frost Fayre tonight, I got into the Xmas spirit with my two friens Harvey's Bristol Creamand Nat King Cole. You see I've had a pig of a week, which all started when I realised that yes, it is December, no, I hadn't started any of my Xmas orders and to top it off, I had to work in London this week and I put my house on the market. Hooray for over-tasking. Anyway, it has got better. I have completed:

1. Seven appliqued aprons

2. Four appliqued cushions

3. Three Bags

4. One Child's Tote. So sweet...my teeth nearly fell out!

5. One pencil roll

6. An appliqued Gym Bag

7. And a large Red (Very Red) Santa Sack

I took a break from this activity today to take the kids to get a tree. I can't believe it is a year ago that we bought our first real tree and I was a very happy 6 month pregnant lady, brimming with Xmas cheer and looking forward to a year off work. Well, actually, I'm back in work in January after nine months. But don't worry, it's only 2 days a week, and its a new job in training which I have wanted for so long. So happy happy! Makes such a difference to 5 years ago after I had Dylan and they made, yes, made me go back 5 days a week. Anyway, enough of that, back to the tree.

Off we trotted to the mudbath, sorry I mean, Wentwood Forest. I wanted it to be magical, but the mud just got in the way. Anyway, the fun always starts when you get home and we had a great time putting all the dec's on. Edith was slightly freaked out, but come on, to an 8 month old having a tree in the house must seem a bit weird. My conservatory smells of Radox and I'm getting more Xmassy by the hour!

Where did the time go?

First of all, can you believe its December already? Well I can't! And secondly, what happened to November??

One minute I was enjoying half term with my Dylan and the next minute I'm watching MTV and they said it was 22 days til Xmas - oops - better get some Xmas shopping done.

Anyway, in reality, I put my head in the sand for a few weeks. It all started when I took my goods along to a friends house for a craft sale. Ionly sold 1 bag I'd made, but came away with mega orders, especially for aprons and cushions. I think it was the thought of appliqueing (!) so many letters, but I simply lost my mojo. Every day I got up and thought, I'll sew tomorrow. And I didn't. I didn't completely give up though, and in the meantime made 2 Disney costumes for school, an inspired Victorian outfit including mop cap for my niece, and lots of hearts and gingerbread men.

I enjoyed them.

Anyway, opening the first door of the advent calender freaked me out so I have been working like a dog on my Xmas orders and am ploughing through quite nicely.

Don't worry though I have been busy - I've read 4 Tudor novels in a month, which is pretty good going - so if anyone needs any help on the old history, just give me a shout!

Freaky Yorkshires and a Room of my own

Well, if this isn't a sign that Halloween is on its way....

Its an important day in our house today. Edith is six months old today and tasted her first Yorkshire pudding. My hubbie is from Barnsley, and now deeply rooted in Wales he is always in charge of the pudding batter. Dylan calls them crumpets(!) and now that Edith has started to chomp them we will have to start making more - believe me , 12 puddings disappear very quickly, especially when your parents unexpectedly turn up (every week) just as they come out of the oven! It will have to be 24 from now on!

I had a lovely surprise on Friday. My parcel from BigBucketGirl arrived for my Back to School Swap. Poor old BigBucket, her computer has been crahed since early September, so finding my address etc has proved a proper pain, and she has had to communicate through a friend in London. Honestly, I was happy to wait! However, it was such a lovely parcel that I am so glad it arrived. Its all a bit spooky though. She lives not far from me, around the  same age and her little boy looks like mine. We even have the same handwriting! My sister was really spooked when I showed her the card "that's your writing!" - I think my sister thinks I have lost my marbles and started sending myself parcels!! Oh and her swap bag was made out of the same material as mine to DottyCookie - apples instead of pears - Its like the twilight zone!

 

Such a lovely parcel

Thank you BigBucketgirl, and please come back to us soon - I miss you!

The other big thing that happened this weekend is the creation of a sewing room for me! No I haven't had a quickie extension built - trust me we've extended this house as much as we can (and its still tiny!!). I had started to get really fed up with sewing in the kitchen. Every night I had to get everything out and then put it all away again. A real pain. It meant that I refused to go to bed until a project was finished. With a six month old, I'm pretty tired as it is! My mum, bless her, has been so supportive and on Friday after suffering my second Migraine in a week, could see that I was really stressed. You see, I have so many orders to finish for Xmas and I had just run out of inspiration. Anyway, she just happened to mention in passing that my "outhouse" could be used as a sewing room. This "outhouse" was the old passageway out the back before we had our conservatory built. Since then it has acted as our den of iniquity, the space where stuff goes to rest before the skip or the attic. It was such a mess that I had stopped going out there as it made me weak with embarrassment. So armed with her suggestion I set about sorting it today. After a trip to Homebase and a lot of help from my dad I finally finished this evening and am currently typing on my new sewing desk. These pictures do no justice to the enormity of achievemnet. The room is only 85cm wide!! And I am 85cm from my neighbours kitchen window - I think my first project will be some curtains!

On the windowsill is a cotton reel holder made for me by my dad. Thanks dad, you are a star!

I wish you could see how cramped it is in here. I love small spaces though, they make me feel safe.

In the meantime I have been a busy girl and more bags to sell. I've gone back to the old Swag Bag, I love making this bag, but it uses a lot of material. Always worth it though.

I have already sold these, so I think I will never have any stock for my shop online,  but with my new room I can get busy busy...

Is there room on the broom.....

....for a baby like me?

I couldn't resist.

Is that a chill in the air?

I don't know about you but I am having a serious wardrobe malfunction. I keep dressing for autumn and then changing by 11am because I'm boiling! However, I definately felt a little chill in the air today. Time for some new bags with and Autumn feel. This is my latest fabric stash, and I'm really looking forward to making some new bags as I've sold all my stock!

A bit of seasonal purchasing today too. Can't beat Monica's fabulous stash of fabric from New York - so fabulous, but thought I could rustle up some Xmas decorations and a sweetie sack for Dylan for Halloween. I'm sure I start organising these things earlier every year! Oh and the trim is for a petticoat to go under Edith's dresses - remember them?!

This is what I have learnt

1. Read the instruction manual

My sewing machine broke over the weekend so off I went back to the shop for a new one. I'd only had it 3 months, but I didn't pay much as I wasn't sure if I could really sew. Anyway, I decided to read the manual for the first time and found that those extra bits that I threw into the drawer were really very very useful. Firstly the zipper foot. Wow! Thank goodness for these little things. I can't believe that I ever attempted to put a zip in without one!

Ditto the buttonhole foot!

Decided to have a practice on a make up bag and now I've got a serious addiction....

2. Cheap thread is a false economy. No pictures just statement. Oh and cheap bobbins ditto.

3. Small houses and no sewing room demand organisation.

I was sick to the back teeth of getting everything out of the understairs cupboard everytime I sewed and then having to put it all back again. And then I saw this box across the aisle in Hobbycraft and it was love at first sight.

This may seem like a really obvious solution, but for a seriously disorganised person its like discovering fire or reinventing the wheel.

4. Little things make a big difference

Trying to get Dylan to clean his teeth and wash his face in the morning can be a challenge , until I made him his very own washbag. He has cleaned his teeth 3 times today, simply because he loves having something that is solely his. Had to make one for Edith too!

Oh and the long thing is a cotton wool dispenser!

A weekend at home

Isn't great when you have nothing planned and then loads of things happen....for the good. Its not often that happens in our house, trust me. After a busy weekend travelling last week and with me going into work tomorrow for 3 days, I really needed some time at home. As you know, I live in a really really small village where nothing happens (honest), but this weekend it was like the carnival had come to town. If a man on an elephant had strode into the village square I would not have been surprised.

Firstly, we had a visit from a beautiful steam engine, which stopped literally at the end of our road to fill up with water. It was a blink and you'd miss it moment. Dylan thought it was the best thing EVER and hasn't stopped talking about it all weekend. Thank goodness we don't live in a city or I think he'd burst!

The front carriages must have been first class, and the passengers were tucking into breakfast complete with crisp white tablecloths and champagne. When I think of my horrible, sweaty commute into Bristol, standing all the way, jostling with other angry passengers it makes me wonder whether we really have it better these days...

Later that afternoon it was back over the railway bridge and across the road to the open day at Magor Marsh, our very own wetland reserve. We saw woodpeckers and baby swans, and the kids fished for bugs. What a great day out, and all organised by volunteers. And the weather was just superb. A real Indian Summer day. Maybe next time, I opt for sensible footwear though, as swan poo and sandals don't mix well (or rather they do!)

I would love to share all the magic of the day but my camera run out of batteries. And actually I was quite pleased, as I really got to muck in instead.

Oh and the best bit was the tea-so-stewed-you-could-stand-a-spoon-in it and a slice of chocolate cake. You can keep the mocha-latte-frappachinos thanks.

I've had a pretty busy week-weekend on the bag making front too. I've been tinkering with my "bucket bag" design and have finally come to a definitive design. I'm loving mixing and matching the different fabrics and colours. This morning I managed to get away ON MY OWN to the local fabric warehouse which was bliss! I had an hour of mooching around picking up lots of bits and pieces and some lovely material

My mind was racing on the journey home and I could't wait to get the machine out and have a butchers at a new bag - Its like a serious addiction.

And I found this little contraption that presses these studs in so I can now close the bags - hoorah!

I can add it to my growing collection - I'm having a stall at the School Xmas fayre so I'm trying to build some stock up. However, every time I make one I just want to keep it myself!

I'm like a magpie. I would love your advice on craft fayre's. I have no idea, and am really struggling on the pricing.

I also bought some oilcloth to make washbags. My friend had asked me to help out, as she needed a waterproof washbag for her 2 children, and had seen some in a mailorder catalogue for £18. Blimey, what a nighmare to sew! I had to put talcum powder on the shiny side to get it through the foot - Is there a proper method that I'm not aware of - help!

Anyway I persevered and this was the result.

If I could just get the needle situation sorted I'd be churning these out like there's no tomorrow!

The ego has landed

I came home from shopping today to find these had arrived.

Its the ultimate ego trip - but I can't wait to start sewing my name into things. They are so cute. I then googled the name and I came up on the first page. The internet astounds me sometimes.

Anyway, I have been experimenting today. On my shopping trip I picked up 2 size 18 smocks for £8 to cut up and use for bags (better value than a size 8!). The fabric was so lovely, but very flimsy so I bought some iron-on interfacing. I've never used it before and I found it a bit tricky. The end result is interesting and I'm trying to get used the the bag being a bit "crunchy" if you know what I mean.

I even went the whole hog and put pockets in, stuck a corsage on the front and used some nickel loops for the straps. All in all, I'm quite happy for a first attempt, but the speed demon in me was getting very frustrated with the nickel loops - I think I won't bother next time!

Oh and I just had to stick a label in!