HO! HO! HO!

HO! HO! HO!

Finally got around to finishing some mini 10" linen Christmas Elf Stockings, for sale in my blondedesign shop, EVEN though I have a list now reaching approx 20 orders. But I needed to take time out, just to do my bits, otherwise I will be sewing Elf stockings in January.... Which doesn't seem like a bad idea. So note to self, do not attempt to 'make' come up with 'ideas' from MID October to I guess MID December.

Make Stockings in the summer slump or no joke January

and make THREE of everything or at least two

BE prepared for custom orders.

Happy Sunday, I'm off to cut felt strips for my pincushion rings to sew on the train at 6.30am, I have a 300 ring blanks to make (not all at once!) - and as I sold 5 today alone, I need to replenish the non existent back up stock!

And a BIG sorry I am reading blogs but no time to leave messages, maybe by mid December, normallity will reture to my house and I can get a haircut, go for a coffee, and and see the seafront once more.

Karen X

SUPERHERO BEANBAGS

A super large project I was working on for a customer, 1m square beanbag cushions. Fully lined with internal zip to top up beanbags, and zip on the outer cushion. Baby cord in super bights that I now can get in lime, blue, black and yellow! Selling these as custom orders on babyblondedesign in customers own colour preferences. And I already have an order for one at work!

Is anybody else having lack of time to blog? Just wish I was this busy all year around, maybe I could one day get the dream of giving up working for somebody else. I just need more hours, I have so may ideas and things to make, but all I am doing is making custom orders from folksy and etsy! I had a plan of making tons of elf stockings to sell at work, so far the fabric still sits on the shelf in the cupboard.

Kxx

LOVE TOTES

New to my blondedesign shops, fully lined 20" x 14" shopping totes, with an added bit of love!

Happy Weekend.

Kx

Dear nephew Thomas I'm a bad Auntie

Dearest Thomas

I know quite a while ago, (2 years....) I started to make your name in felt to spell THOMAS, I made the T and M in blue felt, and then I made the O and S in lime green felt, and finally should have made the yellow H and A to finish your name. So for now we will have to call you TOMS.

I got an email message from a buyer on folksy asking if I did felt letters as they were missing a couple as their supplier had let them down, and could I do them quick as they had been waiting a while for them.

Thomas as you know I am blonde, (with a little help from a bottle), but blonde all the same. I replied saying, of course I could, just let me know the sizes and colours and if you have a picture of the other letters I could them match them up. (At this point I would like to let to let everybody know, I did not have a clue this was sis-inlaw and my cute nephew wondering if he will ever get his letters before his 10th or even 18th birthday!).

And then the picture arrived....

So Thomas, I promise tomorrow night I WILL be making your missing felt letters. And you will recieve them before the week is out. And when I see you you will get a big sloppy kiss, even if you don't want one, and I have to chase you around the garden.

With lots and lots of love (and a massive SORRY)

Auntie Karen xxxxxxxxxxx

FINALLY FINISHED QUILT

 Feel like I have been making this quilt for ever, but now I have the bug!

Laura Ashley and a bit of vintage floral thrown in (same as my FQ floral bundles I sell.)

 Pre-washed, to pucker the fabric giving it a vintage feel.

 Free hand stitching on the gingham.

I machine bound the front of the binding and hand stiched the back.

Kx

TIME FLIES!

 Where does the week go! I didn't feel like sewing all week, I think it was the weather change, going to work in the dark at 6.30am and arriving home in the dark at 6.30pm, think I was going through a week of SAD syndrome, or it could have been to do with taking my calorie intake down to around 1000 and having no energy to do anything. But I feel great now and have lost 6lb in the week, so I am going to up the intake just a little so I can lose less next week a max of 3lb.

 These are a few tissue cases I have made today, I am liking the 'clashing colours'

 This is new in a wonderful blue no fold 1 inch bias binding, for sale in blondesbackyard for only 30p per metre. This will make great ruffles along the bottom of a skirt or even down the front of top, on cuffs, or to jazz up a tote bag.

This baby pink single bias binding 1 inch folds to 1/2 inch, is perfect for binding the edge of baby quilts, this colour also goes great with grey, and I have some grey linen coming in, so I will be attempting cute bound purses in this with the grey linen. this is 45p a metre in blondesbackyard.

Have a great weekend, and I forgot to do the wool FQ giveaway, so i will be uploading tomorrow, and do the draw later in the week.

Kx

JUST PLAYING WITH SCRAPS

OK, I made it a bit too wide and not long enough,

but perfect for those odd sox waiting for a partner to find.

Kx

THE FINAL CURTAIN....

This what Saturday night boredom does for you......

After having dinner and watching X Factor with Hubby, we couldn't find anything we really wanted to watch on TV, so Hubby played PSP and decided to see if I could make a dress in a night....

One Butterick pattern £6.00. Cut to size 14, (and that just fits, think I need to lose an inch or two!).

One pair of curtains from the charity shop £6.00.

The fabric for the these is really heavy and quite thick to work with and where I was to gather the fabric I put pleats that laid flat in instead, on the skirt and on the shoulders. I haven't hemmed it yet, but I can sit and do that in front of the TV tonight.

Think I might be making more, I am going to hunt out a sightly thinner curtain fabric and make the wiggle dress next. So if you a hording old curtains of funky fabric and you are looking for an individual look, look no further.

Kx

MAKE - SCRAPPY BIRD TUTORIAL

SCRAPPY VINTAGE BIRD

Do you want to make one of these really tweet birds?

Follow the instructions below.............Kx

 This paper pattern is A4 so if you can copy and paste to fit an A4 great, if you can't email me @ sewsimple@hotmail.co.uk and i'll email you back with it,

 First cut out your pieces of fabric 2 for the bird, 2 for the wings & 1 bottom strip.

Put a mark on both bird pieces where I have written mark.

I have used unbleached cotton / linen and vintage floral fabric from one of my FQ bundles.

 Place the wings where you thing best, and at this point embellish or do any thing you want to your bird, before we sew it together. Sew the wings on. I want mine to fray.

 Starting with one bird piece place your long bottom strip tip on the mark (as shown on the top picture)
Pin if you want, I have pinned to show you but find it easier to work without pins and the pieces are so small.

 I sew only 1/4 inch from the edge..If you have a bigger seam then the bird will be smaller, otherwise you can just enlarge you bird pattern to size bird you want

 One side sewn and it will look like this

 Next attach the other side in the same way, once sewn your bird should look like this.

Next flatten, line up the beak and tail, sew from where you see the cotton stitches under the beck to the cotton stitches under the tail (leaving 1 to 2 inch gap on its neck/back to turn fabric).

 No need to buy a load of polyfill, plus I wanted these birds to be a bit more organic, so I have stuffed them with fabric scraps.

 One stuffed bird, ready to be hand sewn shut.

Last add some button eyes.

 Scrappy Bird 1

 Scrappy Bird 2

Scrappy Bird 3

I just recieved these!

How Wonderful - Thank-you Jackie!

I never receive flowers, Hubby's idea of flowers is the petrol station variety, he wouldn't know where to start, and walking into a flower shop would be like walking into the ladies underwear department of M&S, like the other guys you see following their wives around looking like rabbits caught in headlights.

Jackie my late fathers cousin came over to the UK from Canada a couple of weeks ago and spent the week with my mum visiting The Eden Project, Que Gardens and other country houses and gardens. They stayed with us (not long enough) over night before Jackie headed off to Gatwick, A few glasses of vino and then they were gone.

I don't feel like I was the hostess with the mostess to deserve such a beautiful bunch of flowers, but all the same they are taking pride of place on the Mantle piece in the lounge.

Thank-you Jackie. Kxxxxxxxx

p.s. Look out for my scrappy bird tutorial later tonight, for the birds you see in the picture.

THE C WORD

I know, I know, I know its not Christmas

But I have an excuse, a couple of these Elf Stockings are going off to a new home at Country Touches along with a few other items. Some of you may already be lucky enough to have your items in the shop, she will soon be launching on NOTHS, but check out their website, I'm in love with the knitted hot water bottle covers, very cosy;

http://www.country-touches.co.uk/

Now off to make mini stockings half the size in the tiny mixed spot fabrics, and I will be putting together a tutorial on them....

Happy Christmas sorry have a happy Wednesday!