I love drawing but always feel as though I should take up painting or go back to screen printing or something to bring my work to life and give it colour and depth. The only problem is I think I'm a bit too lazy to get the paints out and I don't really have a space dedicated… Continue reading A little machine embroidery lesson…
Category: Sewing projects
My first attempt at dressmaking!…
A couple of weeks ago I attended a dressmaking workshop at the lovely guthrie & ghani in Moseley, Birmingham. I had booked it as a spur-of-the-moment 'thing' when I was inspired by the amazing people on the Great British Sewing Bee programme. I really didn't think about the (nearly) 2 hour journey to get there… Continue reading My first attempt at dressmaking!…
Something new…
Okay, last night, unlike most nights when I go to sleep as soon as my head hits the pillow, I really struggled to switch off. My head was buzzing. Firstly, because I just watched the brilliant Great British Sewing Bee - and then promptly booked myself on a course led by Tilly Walnes from tilly… Continue reading Something new…
Lotta lampshade anyone?!…
Okay, so I recovered the 1980s St Michael Tiffany lampshade yesterday. It only took an hour or so and I really enjoyed having a bit of a play, for once without hundreds of pins. However, I'm still not sure I have somewhere I could hang it (hence the hanging basket shot in the garden). I… Continue reading Lotta lampshade anyone?!…
Practice makes perfect…
It's been all about practicing this week. I finally stripped my old lampshade frame yesterday. I think I had been putting it off because I was worried about what I'd find and there didn't seem much point until I had chosen some fabric to recover it with. Amazingly, the horrible, faded, dusty cover came off… Continue reading Practice makes perfect…
Our house is becoming a gilhoolie gallery…
I keep telling myself it won't be long until the sun's shining so that I have an excuse to buy some new clothes, have a barbeque and sit in the garden sipping a nice cold glass of Pimm's... well you have to dream don't you?! At least I finished this machine embroidered picture today, oh… Continue reading Our house is becoming a gilhoolie gallery…
Recipe competition – win one of my tea-towels!
Ana from Granada in Spain recently ordered one of my machine embroidered cup of tea tea-towels from my Etsy shop. I found out yesterday it is going to be a prize for a recipe competition on her blog Cazarecetas. You can read the English translation here. It's not a brilliant translation but gives you a… Continue reading Recipe competition – win one of my tea-towels!
Streetly stitch? Never heard of it!…
Well, I hadn't until ten days ago. It's a stitch used a lot in making hand-stitched lampshades and now I have finished making my first one, I can (almost) streetly stitch like a pro! I attended the second day of the bespoke lampshade course at Homemade London on Sunday and I have only just recovered.… Continue reading Streetly stitch? Never heard of it!…
Handmade little present…
I decided to make an egg cosy for a little girl's birthday present this week. Okay so it's not the latest expensive girly toy but it's hand-made, personalised and I had fun making it while the boys played with their friends... It's good practice for next week too, when I'm planning on machine embroidering my… Continue reading Handmade little present…
It’s good to learn something new…
I had the best day yesterday on the first part of the bespoke lampshade course at Homemade London. It is being run by Angela Constantinou from Cocoon Home who is lovely; a brilliant teacher who is passionate about sewing and making lampshades. I really had no idea how traditional lampshades were made but after reading… Continue reading It’s good to learn something new…
