WOYWW....

 Here we are at another catch up with our creative friends all around the world to see what they have on their desks and a little of what's been going on with them over the last week....I love my Wednesdays.

On my desk today is a box full of 10 little frogs waiting for their eyes [buttons].  A group of frogs is called an army and I feel this is most appropriate as these will be going to children newly diagnosed with cancer and I really hope they will help them in their fight.

Those 10 little frogs used up most of my green fabrics so I contacted Denise from Cabin Crafts and told her what I wanted the fabric for.  She then searched through all the fabrics she had and sent me pics of all she thought were suitable.  These gorgeous fabrics are not only lovely quality and are reasonably priced but they arrived at my door within a couple of days.....brilliant service Denise, thank you so much.

I thought some of you might like to see all the dresses that were hanging up in my sewing room, needing steaming, last week.  Lexi put them all to really good use last weekend....and I can proudly say I was thrilled to be able to watch her dance.

Lexi is now one of the youngest in the group she dances with, as she is now 12, and was thrilled to bits to come away with a third place....she loves her dancing.

I hope your week has been as lovely as mine.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW...

 Happy New Year to you all....I can now say that 2023 is starting rather better than 2022 ended thankfully.  I think that we have both had flu....it has really taken the wind out of our sails but slowly but surely we are both coming out the other side....I have even been in my sewing room!!!

Before Christmas I was given this bag full of cotton fabrics.....I'm always willing to take excess fabrics off people's hands and can always find a use for it.

Since Christmas I have been given a huge box filled with mostly Laura Ashley curtain fabrics .....metres of each one!!

It was Sally, the mum of little Harry Johnson, the little boy who died of cancer at just 7 years old, that gave it to me.  I have told her that I will use it to fill a craft table for her to raise funds for other children with cancer....there is rather a lot of gorgeous fabrics to use.

Sally suggested that bunting sells well so I have already made a start cutting out and sewing bunting flags and have also been searching Pinterest for other iteas of what to make with it all.

The craft table is at a local show in the summer so I have plenty of time to make it all.....its so lovely to be able to dip into a box filled with gorgeous fabrics.

I am starting back to work today and already have several customers wanting to come so filling in a craft table will fill the time I have left.  I will visit as many as I can in between my sewing jobs.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW...

 I've not got a lot to show you this week cos we had a couple of nights away testing out our new caravan.  We went to the super site we went to last time in Llanidloes...it's not too far from home and was a good place to trial everything out...the result was that we are thrilled with our new purchase and planning many more trips now :-)

So I thought you'd like to see the results of my lastest teddy  refurbishment....

He enjoyed his wash and once dry I restuffed him and made him new feet and hands.  Then, when his new eyes arrived, I was then able to give him a new face and finished him off with his new new red ribbon.

I'm thrilled with his new appearance and so is my darling hubby :-)

The only other thing I have to show you today is this fat quarter pack that fell into my trolley at Aldis....I'm seeing a new Fidgety quilt in the making...just not any time soon cos I have about 6 customers coming today and each of them are bringing several jobs for me to do [and one of them is wanting 2 memory bears making].

This is what happens when you take a Monday off so I'm not complaining and there will be spare time at some point in the not too distance future for creative sewing.  If you leave me a little message I will do my best to pop over to yours ASAP...it just might not be today lol

Hugs,

Annie x
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

WOYWW...

Hello all.  This wanderer has returned to the fold this week.  I was away on holiday down in Cornwall with my darling hubby last week with no internet.  Our cottage was advertised as having internet but sadly there was none so I had to rely on my phone for the week....not easy when you run a business! It rained every day but we made the best of our time together.  We saw most places from the safety of our car so the photos I hope to share with you on Friday are mostly taken from the car window.  The world is rather strange out there but we scanned all the track and trace codes, wore masks and used hand gel everywhere but we felt safe.

So, on my desk today.....

I was asked for some special face masks so had to buy more material....such a hardship isn't it? [and I put another order in for more Christmas fabrics yesterday too].

I came home to orders for more masks so I spent Monday filling my box of every day and Christmas masks.

Monday afternoon I was brought 3 nurses dresses to shorten.  My customer had just had promotion so needed her new dresses shortening by 15"....yes she's only little!  Of course yesterday was spent looking after Theo and Maisie dog so these didn't get get done then and are waiting for me to do today.

That's all I have to share today so I will say thanks for calling by and if you leave me a message I will do my best to pop over to yours ASAP to see what you've been up to.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW.....

This is the one where I say sorry for being missing last week.....and yes I'm really sorry because I hate to miss out of my favourite day of the week but last week work really got in the way of having fun.  With the anouncement that from this Friday face masks would be mandatory in shops and enclosed places my world went crazy with orders.  Between 7 am on the Tuesday and 9.30 on the Wednesday I'd made and sold 110 masks!! ...hence why I couldn't join in last weeks fun.

I've also made these.....

These are just 5 of the Memory bears I have had orders for...many more are still on their way....and I'm loving the buzz.

There has been rather a lot of gorgeous fabrics bought from my friend Denise at Cabin crafts....this is just the one lot cos the second lot got cut up before I could take a photo sorry.

When you are making lots of face masks you just have to have lots of fabrics to make them with of course and I'm really loving using all these yummy fabrics to make them with.

And this is my desk this morning in full mask making mode.  

We actually had the weekend away in our motor home...we both needed the break badly and it was so lovely to get back on the road again.  We went to Slimbridge, just south of Gloucester and had a really relaxing few days.

So, as you can see I've been very busy and I have lots more to come yet as I'm expecting about another 10 Memory bears [when they all turn up....probably all on the same day knowing my luck!!].

If you leave me a little message to let me know you've called in then I will do my best to pay you a return visit.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW...

Hello all.  Hope you've all had a great week.  I've been kept busy this week with my mask making.  I aim to make a new batch every day to keep up with demand....It's certainly keeping me out of mischief.

The materials I was waiting for last week to go with the ones Jo made me buy ;-) arrived ...

They're rather pretty don't you think?...and if you look closely on my desk photo you will see some of them have already been put to good use....

Yes more masks have been made...this was my desk yesterday because today I should be making a batch of 5 Memory bears that arrived last night.....they like to keep me on my toes.

These are two Memory bears that I made on Monday for a little boy that's moving from being fostered to his forever home....I do love making my Memory bears for the special little people I get to learn about....he's such a cutie with the most gorgeous dimples :-)

That's all from me for today.  I will do my best to pop over to say hello in between making my Memory bears.

Stay well and happy folks.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW....

Hello all.  Did I speak too soon last week?  As soon as I think the demand for face masks is easing off the Government anounces that it is now compulsory to wear them on all public transport and my orders increase again.  Thankfully so far this week I haven't had to slot in bear making too but I did have a pair of jeans dropped off for me to shorten by 5 cm....I can't see me be able [or happy] to do fittings anytime soon so for now it's just alterations that don't need me to pin them up first. 

So today I'm sharing a few pics taken from my last week...

Here's the first completed order of 15 masks for Barclays Bank in Chelsea, London.  I've not heard about more being needed from the bank yet but we will see....I'm happy with an order of this size now and then.

For those that don't see my masks on my Sewing by Annie Facebook page this is how I display them for folk to choose which they want....I did a quick count up and there was 42 different adult masks to choose from and.....

....30 different children's masks to choose from.

I so enjoy using all the different fabrics.  Each mask is backed with a different cotton fabric so they are all reversable and I love using different combinations of fabrics for each one.

Yesterday morning I delved into what few fabrics I had left and found a few small pieces of different fabrics I'd not used before to extend the choice of childrens masks a little further.....I like to give my customers as much choice as I can.

This a 'Jo made me do it' sort of pic.  

One of our small knitting/sewing shops is sadly closing down thanks to Covid and they are selling off all their stock.  The shop is just down the road from Jo's and she was calling in to give some support to the shop owner.  She said they were selling off 6 fat quarters for just £10 so of course I couldnt refuse....could I?  It's really lovely fabric so I may need a little time to stroke it before taking my scissors to it.

If I'm honest I have also ordered more fabrics from Cabin Crafts too [well worth a look if you're a sewer]...a girl can't make masks without fabrics can she?

That's all from me for this week.  I'm thrilled to say I'm being kept busy with sewing [many thanks to my blogging friends that have ordered face masks from me...you know who you are].  It's making this difficult time so much easier to get through.

Hugs,

annie x

WOYWW....

What a lovely day we had last Wednesday with our Anniversary celebrations.  I took a couple of hours off to visit as many blogs as I could because I had been a bad blogger the previous couple of weeks and had been unable to leave any comments.....life work sometimes just gets in the way and I'm a great believer that while the work is needing doing I have to get it done.  The demand for face masks has eased a little over the last few days so I have managed to build up my stock of them and actually took Sunday and Monday off from sewing....it was much needed as I had worked every day since 17th April and even this workoholic needs to take a break now and then. So here's my shares for today....

Here's my basket full of completed face masks....I feel a bit like an old peddlar woman at times with my basket full of wares :-)

I have now sold nearly 780 masks and have made and given away many more too....never a dull moment eh?

 Aldi's sent us an email to say their fat quarters were on sale so the two piles on the left just fell into my basket [well, I had used most of my supply so it needed to be replenished].

The other fabric is what I have been buying from Cabin Crafts from on Facebook...Denise always provides a reliably brilliant service and the fabric is really lovely to sew with so she comes highly recommended from me [she has already sent me 4 huge parcels full of fabrics and there just might be another one in the post due to arrive today].

On top of the face masks I have had a steady flow of Memory bears to make...the two bottom right are school bears, the bottom right one was made out of a Grandma's nightie and it really made a very special little bear and the top three were made out of the tops that belonged to a lady who ran a local pub....and these three were loved so much that today I have been asked to make another one.

I always love repeat orders.

So folks, today I will be making a Memory bear but I do plan to visit as many blogs that I can...but even the best plans fail at times so just believe me that I will be doing my best.

Hugs to you all,

Annie x

WOYWW...

Actually what isn't on my desks today might be a shorter list :-)

Firstly I would like to show you this...

This was the elastic I had ordered last week.  I had many trying to guess how much I'd ordered to win themselves a couple of my masks.

When it arrived there was actually 480 metres [needless to say a lot of it has already gone] so with a guess at 400 metres the lucky winner was Helen....I will contact you on messenger Helen so you can choose your prize.

I've had a really busy week making masks and am struggling to keep up with the demand for them but in between times I've also done some special sewing...

Meet Bun bun.  He belongs to a special little girl who has Autism and her mummy asked me to make school uniform for him because he goes to school with the little girl every day.  I really enjoyed this challenge.  Bun bun didn't come with a pattern so I had to adjust the patterns I had to make his clothes fit.

I've been told that the little girl was thrilled to bits with him so that makes the challenge well worth the effort.

My next challenge was to make a cushion using fabrics from a wedding dress.  The bridesmaids were pale pink and I was asked to use a little to embellish it.

Rather pretty eh?

My darling hubby has been turning his hand to more baking...this time it was two coconut cakes and a batch of apple cakes....yummy too.

Mid sewing face masks in top gear my sewing machine started groaning and on closer inspection I decided it just might be because of all this grot that I had to clean out of it!!

Yes I am rather ashamed to show you that it had got this full of fluff.

I have shown you my boxes filled with fat quarters  before and it might surprise you to know they are very nearly all gone now on mask making so I had to order more materials....this is the first batch and I have more on it's way  :-)

I love new fabrics.  :-)

Now I've shared all that with you I'm going to show you what is actually on my desk this morning....yes it's a batch of 7 Memory bears.  I cut them out first thing yesterday morning but had lots of orders for face masks so I am planning on shutting myself away in my sewing room today to make these bears.

...if I don't get over to yours til later in the week  hope you will understand...but I will do my best.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles.....week 369

I'm here again with my Friday's smiles.....Well I think it's Friday :-)  All these days seem to be the same at the moment but we've got through another week of this madness and thankfully we are both fit and well.  The weather has changed this week and it's been rather more cold and wet but the garden is really enjoying it.

I will start with a few smiles that have been sent us from the family...

Here's the twins modelling the masks I sent to them....they are growing up far too quickly.

                😍😍

Theo has been training to be a barber and has cut his daddy's hair this week with the clippers.  Don't you just love the concentrated look on his face?

            😍😍

Amy's three have been keeping up with their school work each morning.

They have also been planting all sorts of seedlings and their tomato plants are growing really well.

Top right is Steve with the bunch of red roses he bought his mummy for her birthday out of his own pocket money....he's such a loving young man.

            😍😍

I have been very busy sewing this week and each time I pull out a box of fabrics my little assistant jumps in to help.  She's such a little character.

  

                  😍😍

And finally heres a snap of the latest bloomers in our garden that seem to be enjoying making us smile.

I really hope you have enjoyed my smiles this week and will leave me a little comment and then share yours too by linking them up below.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW.....

Its a conveyor belt type sewing post for this week.  One of my customers asked me to make her some face masks as she was struggling to buy any for her family so I made a few and put them on my Sewing by Annie Facebook page....within a couple of hours I'd sold them all and requests were coming in fast and furious so I've spent my week delving into my stash and doing my best to keep up with demand....it's been rather hectic but I'm buzzing.

I have a system worked out where I iron all the fabrics first [or my darling hubby irons them for me] then I cut out all the required sizes [I've made batches of adult and children sized masks].  I then cut all the elastics for each one and pin them in place on one side of the mask.  I back each one in a contrasting/matching fabric and sew around each one before turning right sides out, pleating each one and sewing around a further twice to securely hold everything in place....what fun I've been having.  I have posted out many orders and others have been collected by local customers while they have been on their daily walks with a strictly contactless transaction....what a hoot!

I'm really missing the friendly interaction I have with my customers but in these difficult times we can do anything if only we try.

I'm pleased to report that Elizabeth is making good steady improvement each day.  Her husband, Alan is making slower progress as he is still convalesing from his surgery too but he's gradually moving in the right direction ....so keep those positive vibes heading their way folk and we will get them there.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles...week 365

Here we are at another round up of all the smiles from the last week....and there have been many :-)  It's so wonderful that in difficult times the smiles keep on coming.  Please join in if you can by snapping a few of your smiles and sharing them with us by linking them up below....we really can't get enough at the moment.....just remember smiles are contagious.

My smiles from my family come to us on a daily basis...

Amy's three have been keeping busy by cooking, planting seeds, making models of the football stadium, power hosing the slabs to name just a few of their activities....they are lucky enough to live in a house with acres of land around them so can enjoy den building, playing football etc all very safely.

The twins have been enjoying camping in their play room and taking a bath pretending they were on holiday in the pool drinking coctails :-)

Lexi has been able to keep up her dance lessons because her dance teacher has been doing them on their Ipads....modern technology really does help at times like this.

Lego has featured in our son, Mark's house...but I'm not sure whether he was building it or Theo.  Mark really loved his Lego when he was a little boy and I'm pleased to say he still does.

He's also been building a raised garden in their back garden to plant their vegetables in [looks like a can of beer helped the progress too].

I've surrounded myself in fabrics in my sewing room....it's been so lovely to make a creative mess and not have to tidy it all away for customers....there's a positive to every negative.

Our back garden keeps giving us more to smile at every day so here is my latest collage to make you smile.

We have also spent one afternoon this week planting up all our veg seeds in our raised bed.  We have covered it in bubble wrap to warm the soil up to get them germinated.

We also have little potato plants popping their heads up and the tomato, courgette and cucumber plants are all growing well.

When it all grows we will be a little closer to being self sufficient....maybe chickens next?....if only the stress of a little Milly barking at them all day would encourage them to lay eggs :-) :-)

I really hope you have found something to smile about during your visit today and will now link up to your own smiles below.

Stay stafe my friends.

Annie x

WOYWW...

Hello to you all.  I'm really hoping you are all safe and dry and not been too affected by the awful flood and wind damage throughout the country.  Shrewsbury was almost completly cut off by the floods.  Thankfully we were not affected but out hearts go out to those who have been.

The weather hasn't stopped the steady flow of customers I've had this last week and this is what my rail looks like....

Since you were here last week I have...

• Shortened 7 pairs of trousers
• Put a new 26" open ended zip in a jacket
• Shortened the sleeves on a dress
• Shortened a lined dress
• Sewed up the splits in another dress
• Sewn a badge on a fleece jacket

And made another School Memory bear...

This one was a special gift for a little girl going to her new adoptive home to remember happy school days when life had been tough.

For those that like to be kept up to date with how many I've made....this one is number 314.  What a lot of love I've managed to spread around the world eh?

You may have noticed in the first pic that the last Luna Lapin rabbit I made was lying down across the legs of the others [that's what you get when you've had little visitors checking out their progress].  He's still waiting for some clothes but you may be able to see that here on my sewing maching today is a little shirt being made for rabbit number 5 so when I've finished this it will be rabbit number 6's turn to be fitted out :-)

Over on my other desk I have a pile of new felt waiting to be made into coats for the girl bunnies....of course when you pay a visit to the local fabric shop you just have to buy something new....don't you?

That's all from me for today.  I hope to catch up with as many of you that I can at some point.  Stay safe and warm my friends.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW...

A new post using a new laptop at the start of our new beginning....Hubby's retirement has started and he was presented with a new laptop for his retirement gift from the Company he used to work for so I have to learn how to use it....including a new photo programme too so here goes....

I have had the promise of several orders of bears to arrived this week plus I have been asked to make a special quilt for a new baby so I've been sorting out my fabrics in the colour range asked for and my desks today looks like this....

The request is for pale blues / greens and colours to go with them so I've sent pages of fabrics to my customer so she can choose …..she's not local so we will be organising it all over messenger but this will be the third quilt I've made for her so it's really lovely to get repeat orders as her new grandchildren arrive.  The first two were for little girls but this is for her first Grandson.

That's all that is on my desk for today but I will be busy getting to know this new laptop....we seem to be getting on well so far :-)  I also have an appointment at the dentist later so wish me luck as I hate dentists!

Hugs,

Annie x