Upstairs Downstairs

Did any of you start to watch the new series of Upstairs Downstairs? I have recorded them all but as yet have not watched any! So for those who have and also remember the 70's series how do you think it compares?? Is it actually the same house that they used last time??

Merry Christmas!!

Just a quick message to all the wonderful people I have met on here, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a happy new year!

Sorry for not posting for so long! In the last few months there have been a few ups and downs, and I have also moved address! Will tell all in 2011 when i promise to blog at least weekly once again!

Merry Christmas from me and Ralph Xx

Finished!

And finally here they are! excuse the room as it hasn't been decorated yet! but i'd rather hang the curtains now and not have to press them all over again! Well I'll be posting my next project shortly and it will be very flowery for all you vinatge lovers!

More curtains.......

Well instead of another no make weekend I decided to make some curtains for the spare bedroom, I bought the fabric as a possible for the new sitting room curtains, but it was a little too dark, but for the spare room I think they will be fine, the fabric is a faux silk so I am going to Interline it and use a hand sewn heading, I will post a pic in the next few days when they are up! Hope your all having a productive weekend too!

Changing Tastes or am I mug?!

I was having a laugh the other day when I was emptying the dishwasher, how funny how an item you bought years ago that you thought so nice at the time, and how our taste evolves over time, I remember buying the sunflower mugs about 20 years ago, and how the bee printed on the inside was so unusual, I remember the Laura Ashley mugs with the lemons on and at the time I bought matching fabric and tablemats, I then remember the blue and white spode mugs they were in a set of six, far more than I could afford at the time but I loved them, then the hand painted one's again with a lemon design, I bought these in Heal's in the Kings road when a friend had a flat nearby. And then the one you will all recognise the Kath Kidston strawberries, and finally the one I bought the other day in sainsburys for £2.50! with the blue hand painted dots (not sure if they are hand painted!) as they are a little Emma Bridgewater in style!

Fabric Sale!

Starting to list some fabric on ebay, once again I am regretting it even before it's sold! So I will be listing it in 2 Metre Lengths at a time! my e-bay seller name is 'witneycurtainco' if you fancy a peek!

And If you do like any of the fabrics I have more of them, but don't tell anyone!

Passing Fashions

No before you ask I am not going to be using this fabric for my curtains! It might be vintage but it's certainy not faded! But I have got meter's of the stuff so I think once again it's time for a Ebay fabric sale! I remember using this Ramm fabric when the English country house style was so fashionable in the late 80's, I wonder how many years will pass before it becomes fashionable again??

Cast your votes!

Fabric no 2! What about this one bit more cream??

Painting

So fed up of plain cream walls so thought I'd better start some decorating! Decided on Overtly Olive for the fireplace walls, and Natural hessian for the rest of the room, can't decide what fabric to choose for the new blinds though, so I am gonna keep hanging samples up till I see something I like! What do you think of this one?

Finished Curtains and Blind

As promised here is a picture of the finished curtains! will try and get some better pics the flash would not work and I still haven't read the new camera's instruction book! But curtains looked lovely and the client ws pleased so good result!

Pleats & Pins

Just in case you were wondering I have been busy sewing since I last posted and finally everything is nearly finished! The Interlined curtains are made and ready to hang, the pelmet requires one more row of piping on the top and the velcro stitched on and then there finished!

Here are a few pics, one of the pleats being pinned out and the other of the nearly finished pelmet! I will post them fitted in the next few days!

Pomegranate & Bee!

A few more I ran off tonight, and what's better they were free! just downloaded them onto a dongle put them in the machine and pressed start! The pomegranate is giving me idea's for a kitchen Roman Blind or something, I wonder if there is a market for machine embroidered blinds?

And still more sewing.......

I have decided i'm not making these is the letter 'S' is required, it felt like the first one I ever made going round those internal corners! This is going to be a cushion I'm not going to pipe it just have the back of the cushion made up in the floral the same as the lettering. I'll finish the back and put the zip in now and then it's back to the embroidery machine!

More sewing....

Just a few more embroidery's I wizzed off last night, one is for my cousins son Wyatt, love that name so unusual! and the other is for my mother, not sure if they will be cushions or lavender hearts or what don't care just like making them at the moment, but now I am going to put the new machine away for a while and finish the applique cushion I started last week! Hope you are all having a good weekend.

Machine Embroidery

Yes it's finally arrived my new toy! Had a family meal out last night so only had about an hour to hurriedly read the instructions and had a quick play! Well for my very first attempt I was very pleased, although I must say there is very little I had to do! thankfully the machine does it all for you.

Well I have attached a pic of my first attempt and I am very pleased, were out again tonight my cousin son's 1st birthday, but hopefully i'll have all weekend to explore my new toy!

Excited!

Just starting a few more of the applique cushions, here is a quick pic once again need a nice royal blue thread to highlight the lettering have to pop out and get some in the morning, it's a gift for a friend and she leaves in the morning so will have to be quick!

Other news I have treated myself to a new Embroidery sewing machine, it's due to arrive on Tuesday and it feels like waiting for Christmas day as a child!

Once again Silversewer's expertise has helped me choose the best machine for me, and she also advised me of the best place to buy it! And I can't thank you enough for recomending Drummonds of Edingburgh the friendly service I received over the telephone left me in no doubt of dealing with a shop several hundred miles away! Highly Highly worth a call if your thinking about a new machine.

Finished Blind!

Well that's another 2 blinds out of the way! The blinds were fitted in a top floor flat, my friend wanted a plain fabric so she can accessorize with cushions and throws! Now I just need to finish off the other curtain job I have, and then I can start having some fun again.

Lazy Weekend

Well it was my new years resolution to post on a more regular basis, but I've broken it already! and I had been getting new followers and more readers which I am so pleased about so I must carry on the good work! I cant even put it down to being particularly busy, I think it's just the first few weeks back at work after such a long break!

Well the pic above is what I'm doing at the moment, it's a pair of roman blinds I'm finishing off, I'll post a pic of when they are fitted!

I have also been inspired by a new friend I have made in blog world called 'silversewer' she is so organised with her meal planning, and I am as far away from that as can be! I am as we speak roasting a chicken, stuffing roast potatoes and veg, which is rare for us! I usually cook what ever processed frozen food is left in the freezer and if the freezer is empty I order a takeaway! Really wasteful and I need to save some money this year for a few things I'm planning, so I can do without takeaways at £20 a throw!

Back to the subject of crafting!! I have so much curtain work to finish off it's untrue! I'm going to get my head down now and plough through it then I can start being a bit more creative again with the cushions and embroidery etc.

I hope you are all well, and I'll be back in a few day's!

Lovely Day

well I had a lovely day today! bagged another day off of work and so decided to have a bit of a day out! First of all a trip to Hobbycraft, really only needed a few rolls of thread and thought I might find some inspiration, felt it was a little bit samey, nothing really unusual just tapestry kits teddy bear making kits and lots of art stuff, oh well I then had to run an errand for a friend in Wiltshire, so I decided to ask my Aunt if she fancied a trip in the car, she had been snow bound for about a week, she has a problem with her hip and didn't want to risk a slip on the ice so she was well happy to get out for a few hours!

So after we did the errand we had a quick look round Dunelm Mill in Swindon, the sale was on and they had some good stuff! I bought some buckram and a few other bits I needed, we then nipped into Sainsburys where my aunt did a little shop, she doesn't drive and rely's on her pushbike to get shopping, so I think she appreciated the day out as much as I enjoyed her company!

Above are a few of the purchases and finally I have machine appliqued the Love Cushion, only my second attempt but I can really see i've improved, what do you think about a matching tassle in each corner when I turn it into a cushion??

Lark Rise to Candleford

Yes the new series started tonight! And as usual excellent viewing! I just finished watching the first episode, and now i'm wondering why can't we have a permanent 3 times a week soap of it? no more Eastenders, Coronation Street, Emmerdale need I go on! We are all unfortunately too aware that we must lose loved one's that children take drugs and people get stabbed walking to the shops, so why would anyone want to watch it on TV 3 or 4 nights a week and then all showed again at the weekend for those who had the good fortune to miss it!

Let's have make believe televison land where for a few hours a week we can dream of how much better life used to be! Of how wonderful it would be to live somewhere with a Greengrocers a Tailors and a Forge, much better I think than a Pimp, Dealer, and a shady car sales man!

Is it just me?

Inspired!

Well I didn't have any correct coloured thread to finish the Love cushion, so I had a go with some other scraps of fabric so I could practise my zig zag applique, I really need more practise as you can see! but I am really pleased with the overall look and as they say practise makes perfect! And then I thought while I'm at it i'll pipe it and turn into a cushion cover!

Love Cushions

Well I must be bored today, or should I say inspired? I have recently become a huge fan of Jan Constantine's embroidery, in fact I have ordered the book, but tonight after looking at her web site I decided to have a go at a cushion cover, I know some of the letters blend into the gingham background but I think if I embroider or zig zag stitch in the matching claret shade it will stand out well, I hope anyway! But this will just be a practise run as the fabrics were all I could find tonight.

So far I have just cut out the lettering and used bondaweb to attach to the back fabric, but again tricky part is finishing it off!

Sew!

Well I have been a bit bored today snow is still outside so rather be in a warm house looking out at it! So I thought I'd have a go with a few of these Cath Kidston projects! Well the supplied pre-cut fabric for the bag was a nightmare or rather I should say the roule loop! bagging out 3mm of fabric and navvies hands are not a marriage made in heaven!

So i've started the bag but I am leaving the button holes and roule loops for when I have more patience! The padded heart was much easier thankfully!

Happy!

Well even though I did have to go back into work thurs and fri, and I had gotten very depressed after finishing work on the 19th December, and returning on wednesday 6th January, and then being snowed in on the wednesday an extra day I wasn't expecting! too much of a good thing syndrome me thinks! and the thought of going back filled me with dread! However It's friday night! And I received lots of wonderful things in the post! See pics! Kath Kidstons Sew finally arrived belated christmas present! Everywhere around here had sold out of it! And my most favourite magazine House & Gardens!

Not sure what i'm going to do with the hand bag thing when i've made it! Don't Laugh!! If my mother doesn't want it I will do a draw and one of you can have it LOL

Oh and new people have admitted to following my blog and added themselves as friends! So many thanks for that and I hope I don't dissapoint with boring posts!

Let it Snow Let it Snow Let it snow

Well it was meant to be my first day back at work today after the Christmas break but just after 6am I received a text from my boss saying the office was closed! So I took some pictures of the snow and found a black and white picture of the cottage! Hope your all enjoying being snowed in!