Mandy Shaw 'Stitch at Home' - Cottage Sewing Case

Mandy Shaw's cottage sewing case has been on my 'to make' list ever since I bought the book (at least 18 months ago) but I never seemed to get round to it, as is so often the case with my craft aspirations.  Lynda made one a few months ago and having seen it last weekend my enthusiasm was renewed to crack on.  I expected it to be complicated because of the fiddly compartments but it was a lovely project, perfect for a warm, rainy, evening indoors.  (Which is a good thing, given the weather here this week!)  It was pretty quick to make.  I started it with Season 1 of Orange Is the New Black on Thursday evening and have been sitting in my craft room at night - after dinner and dog walking - with the windows open and a scented candle on the go, contentedly blanket-stitching.  I did make a small adjustment to the pattern and used an elasticated band for the thread holder rather than the felt one described in the book.  That way, it will still hold a spool of thread as it becomes thinner with use.  

I think I need to make a few more sewing cases so that I can have one per project (I usually have a couple of sewing projects on the go at any one time) and I am inspired to have a go at designing a case myself.  I have also bought a couple of other patterns, including one by Aneela Hoey and one by Lynette Anderson.  I have been using a vintage-style chocolate tin for hexes on the go and the cottage case will make the whole project perfectly portable.  I pop my thimble in the little gingham pocket and I have everything I need.

Jake is with us this weekend.  He finished his GCSEs on Monday and I am delighted for him. He has worked hard, especially over the last few months, and deserves a long relaxing summer.  It has been lovely to see him and we have had a nice quiet weekend.  I made dinner at home on Friday evening with peach bellinis (for the adults, obvs), a selection of cheesy and cool dance music (from my gym iPod  and Harry Potter Cluedo.  Then we nipped into Cambridge for shopping and fish finger sandwiches at Bill's yesterday.  It was pouring with rain and we spent a lot of time puddle-dodging, but Cambridge is still so beautiful, even in foul weather.  We've had a lazy morning today and we're about to cosy up in the living room and watch OITNB before Jake has to go home.  I am going to continue knitting my Princess Margaret scarf as we watch.  Perfection.

Thanks for reading.  Have a happy Sunday! 

Love

Nicki 

x

Out and About: Cowslip Christmas Fair

Hello hello!  

Man, it's been a few weeks since I wrote that self-indulgent, whinge-fest, hasn't it.  You will, I hope, be pleased to hear that I bounced back very quickly and settled right back into my cosy, happy, little bubble.  The photo above is me, obviously, on a recent dark morning, looking as tired as I felt and delighting in this stars/stripes combo.  I tried to do one of those selfies that Vanessa (Coco Rose) et al do... You know, just a snapshot of my torso with my arm showing my cup in front of my top.  Well, I would like tips on how to do those pictures without the lady bumps stealing the show.  It feels as though I can't quite get the camera far enough away from my body.  Tips anyone?  So anyway, I just took a plain old photo of my boat race!

♥♥♥♥♥

Life has been ace these last few weeks.  My new job seems to have finally bedded in and I'm out and about, keeping very busy and learning lots about parts of the organisation that were out of my remit previously.  In the last few weeks I've been to St Albans (my office base but it's 50 miles away), Manchester and Edinburgh for work and I'm driving to Leeds tomorrow for a whole day of risk training. 

Last weekend, I was at Cowslip for the Christmas Fair with some lovely friends and my lovely mum and sister.  It was well worth the long, late night drive to North Cornwall and every bit as gorgeous and inspiring as I'd hoped.  Cowslip is a working farm in an idyllic location with a delightful fabric shop and lush workrooms for the sewing classes they hold.  There is also a cafe on site with the most delicious menu - I think they hold cooking classes there too.

A view across the farmland and misty valley from outside the fabric shop at Cowslip.

Anyway, the Christmas Fair was held in a few of the barns and outhouses at the farm.  All decorated wonderfully with fairy lights, wooden reindeer, Christmas trees and hundreds of gorgeous quilts.  So inspiring and such a delight to wander round.  

There were quilts draped over every available surface.  Even the twiggy reindeer weren't safe!

I put a few solid hours into building my fabric stash and rewarded my hard labour with plenty of mulled apple cider, coffee and cake.  Tough, but you just gotta put the work in!  

This little wooden box of fabric makes me very happy indeed.  Stripes, spots and checks.

I have come home with the yarn for two new knitting projects and yarn from Suzie Johnson (The Wool Sanctuary).  I also scooped up lots of redwork patterns as Mandy Shaw had a fantastic stall there.  

I got started on some little redwork patterns straight away.

Mandy's stall was, of course, lush.  The Christmas quilts and toys that she had on display were amazing and a huge Christmas tree that almost reached the ceiling was chock-full of red and white decorations and bunting.  And we all know how much I love red and white.  Just gorgeous. 

Mandy Shaw's stall:  too many lovely things to look at

This weekend is the last time before Christmas that I'll have time to properly relax and do nothing so although I got up early, I sat around in my PJs til lunchtime, knitting and watching Gilmore Girls.  Then, at half past two (!) I had an hour-long bubble bath using every last drop of hot water in the house and started a new Penny Vincenzi novel.  It was bliss!  Afterwards, I put on make-up and some clean PJs and have been pottering around.  Some chocolate tiffin has been made, the kitchen has been cleaned and my craft room is as tidy and fragrant as can be.  It has been such a perfect day.  

Have a great week everyone. 

Much love and thanks for reading.

Nicki

x

PS Thanks for all of your comments, I read and appreciated all of them.  I do understand that sometimes we all overshare and, of course, that's what I was doing by moaning about my personal issues here in my little corner of the interweb.  Heck, we all need to offload somewhere.  

I wanted to make the point (to a person in my real life who I know secretly reads my blog) that when you write something on the internet it can be seen by anyone and is live for many years.  So at least make sure it is true! 

Cake Decorating: Rapunzel Birthday Cake

Yay, it's the weekend!  I was up early this morning, despite a late night.  We have J, my stepson, here this weekend and we went up to the village pub for dinner, then came home to watch endless episodes of 'Extreme Couponing'.  (I hardly watch any TV at all but when J's with us we seem to watch all kinds of rubbish.  I kind of like it!)

So I've been fiddling around with my DSLR and came across a few photos of the Rapunzel birthday cake that I made for my niece this year.  

Izzie's birthday is in January and she was four this year.  The photos were really hastily taken because the party was planned for a Saturday afternoon and on the Friday evening before, when I had to make the delivery, we had some of the worst snow that winter.  I had spent a couple of days making and decorating the cake and was really worried that I wouldn't be able to deliver it.  Before legging it out of the door that Friday afternoon I grabbed my camera and took a couple of quick shots. 

Rapunzel birthday cake

Izzie, like a lot of little girls her age, is now obsessed with Disney princesses.  Rapunzel is her very favourite (she has a little Rapunzel outfit that she likes to wear, with a very creepy long blonde wig) so it was inevitable that I'd be asked to make a Rapunzel cake.  As with all of my little cake projects, I start by googling images for inspiration and then I come up with my own rough design.

Cake design scribbled on greaseproof paper! 

After I've baked the actual cakes, the first things I make are the sugar paste flowers and any other small decorations that I know I will need lots (and lots) of. 

Handmade sugar paste roses and flowers from little stamp sets

I was taught how to make proper wired sugar roses at night school, using special cutters for the calyx, then cutting, frilling and wrapping each individual petal.  I've since discovered a super-fast, super-easy way of making them that is fine for projects where the flowers don't need to look too realistic.  

Rapunzel's tower made of cake 

For this cake, I made an 8" vanilla sponge sandwiched with buttercream and raspberry jam.  I made the tower-shaped cake in a baked bean tin (lined with greaseproof paper).  To make the roof, I made a big cone of sugar paste and then cut individual tiles which I then laid out with my best brick-laying skills.  I squished them around to make them looks as rickety as possible.  The tower had a plastic dowel through it to keep the structure secure.  Obviously, the Rapunzel and Flynn figurines are plastic - I didn't make them!

The cake is on 12" cake drum which I decorated with pale grey sugar paste to look like cobblestones.  With a few odd flowers dotted around, and some green vines squeezed through my special little gun (a garlic press works well too) I was finished.  I loved making this cake, especially knowing that little Izzie would love it.  The children at the party were enthralled by the cake and lots of sticky little hands reached out for the figurines.  My sis even told me that a couple of dads asked afterwards who made the cake - they said it was the best they'd ever tasted!  Yay - score!

Have a great weekend.  My parents are bringing said little niece over to see me this afternoon.  I'm looking forward to colouring-in with felt tips and having lots of cuddles.

Nicki 

x

Cross-Stitch, Crochet and Tea Shops

Blimey I've been busy since I last wrote!  It wasn't until I uploaded the photos from my phone that I realised just how much I've done in the last few weeks. 

I've been very busy stitching and hooking.  Last week I completed the floral wall hanging that I have been working on through the summer and I am delighted with it. 

Pattern from Cross Stitcher Home Style book

Progress via Instagram

I will frame it and hang it on the wall in my living room with my collection of vintage floral paintings - I think it will look good there.  I just need to find exactly the right frame, which so far is eluding me.  I am going to have to recycle an old one and keep my eyes peeled in the charity shops.  

I've started working on another piece of cross stitch - this one is from a Made in France embroidery book.   (A gorgeous series of books; I have three and love them all.)

A Scandi-style heart made of snowflakes, I chose this pattern because it is simple, delicate and pretty.  I have only worked on it a few nights now and it is nearing completion.  Its destiny is to be stuffed and dangle prettily somewhere in my home.  I plan to make a few and fill them with lavender to keep my yarn stash fresh and moth-free.

In between working on my rose cross-stitch I made this little wall-hanging for a lovely new friend.  

Erin is one of life's rays of sunshine and I'm so glad I met her.  She is always making beautiful things for people (and has made a couple of surprise gifts for me) so I wanted to make something in return to say thank you.  I was pleased with how it turned out and I'm going to make a few mis-matched ones for myself to decorate the landing when I get around to it.

Work on the cream and pink popcorn flower blanket is still underway.  

I have decided to intersperse the flower squares with plain cream grannies.  The flowers take quite a while to work up and use a lot of yarn.  Plain grannies can be knocked up in minutes and without any thought so the blanket is growing much more quickly than originally anticipated.  

As much as I'm loving the flowers, I think I also need something wintery to work on now that the days are getting cooler.  I've got a huge stash of gorgeous Rowan wool and some beautiful Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino so I'm going to start another blanket soon.  Nothing wrong with having a couple of projects on the go as long as they get finished, I reckon.

I am pleased to say that I haven't been a complete crafting hermit.  I've been out and about lots too.  I've visited London on a weekly basis - to meet friends, have dinner, drink tea/cocktails/champagne, eat cake, poke around haberdasheries, browse a craft fair, shop at Liberty and raid Anthropologie.  Exhausting but lush! 

Loch Fyne

Bill's

Camellia

We live just an hour's train journey from the centre of London.  Buying a railcard and booking tickets in advance means we can travel there very cheaply so we have vowed to make the most of it and really explore our capital.   I've always travelled regularly into London and could probably tell you in my sleep where all of my favourite shops are, and quite a few fancy restaurants too.  But now [I'm older] I'm more interested in tea shops, haberdasheries, markets, architecture and city parks so I've bought a few books to help me make the most of every single trip into town.  If you have any recommendations I'd love to hear. 

Love and stuff.

Nicki 

x

PS - Yay! I've reached the 300 follower mark! So chuffed and thank you for clicking the follow button, particularly during such a writing drought.  I will be hosting a giveaway soon to thank you for supporting me.  Please say hi if you're new, I'd love to hear from you. 

PPS - I do try to respond to everyone directly but sometimes it's difficult if you're a 'no reply' blogger.  So, I'm going to respond to all comments here, on my blog, now.  So if you ask a question, pop back in a day or two and I'll have replied.  Well, that's the plan and I'll do my very best.  :) x

Joining the Women's Institute

I finally made it to my local WI meeting on Tuesday evening, much to the amusement of my friends and family.   Pah! What do they know - I am so glad I went!  

I'd been meaning to join for ages. We don't have a group in my village so I had the choice of neighbouring villages or the main one in town and I wanted to choose exactly the right one for me.  I didn't fancy the meeting in town.  The group has recently formed and so is a 'new breed' of WI - I wanted to join a traditional group that had been running for decades so I plumped for the village next door.

I went along with a couple of women who are already members - the WI put me in touch with them so that they could be my 'buddies' for the meeting and they gave me a lift.  Isn't that nice?!  I was a bit apprehensive because I didn't know what to expect but I needn't have worried.  There were about 30 women there - all ages but mostly between 40 and 60 I would say.  I was one of the youngest there and, conversely, there were one or two really elderly ladies but age didn't matter - it was super friendly, everyone came over to chat and say hello and we all had things in common.  It made such a nice change from a usual weekday evening.

It was a more formal meeting that I'd expected.  We took our seats and the President gave an opening speech before running through the minutes and a few notices.  Then we had a presentation from a speaker.  They have a different guest speaker each month and this time it was a vet.  He was quite young and good looking and the way that the women responded to him reminded me of a Gilderoy Lockhart book-signing session in Harry Potter! Ha!   There was lots of eyelash fluttering, overly-loud giggling and innuendo.  It was so entertaining; they were such a cheeky, fun-loving bunch.  

The ladies I went with were running the refreshments this time so I helped them out and it was nice to have a reason to chat to people. I'm quite shy in group situations and am right out of my comfort zone mingling and networking.  If you fancy going to your local WI and feel a bit shy I'd recommend offering to help on the tea stall when you're there.  You feel less of a spare part.

So we meet once a month and next month we're going for a little country walk followed by supper at the gorgeous pub in the village.  Partners are invited this time so I went straight home and told Andrew I'd signed him up for a walk with the WI next month.  He took it in good spirits, bless him!  

I had so many reasons for joining the WI, not least because I wanted to get to know my neighbours and become more involved with the local community.  There are loads of activities and charity events that the WI is involved with and I am so excited to be a part of it - I feel like I am doing something worthwhile with my spare time.

As a result of chatting to the women at the WI I've now also found a local yoga class to join (I'm going with a couple of women on Monday night), met someone to teach me how to make a patchwork quilt and been introduced to a school's volunteer group that I have wanted to contact for ages.  I've also found a crafty companion who wants to start a knit (or crochet) and natter group with me at the pub.  Yay! 

Nicki 

x

Paper crafting for the inept

A little while ago, here, I blogged about some pretty envelopes I was making.  I made a few more this evening.

Then I remembered that I hadn't told you what I use them for.  Want a clue?

Yep, they are pocket money pouches.  For me.  I am 35 years old and weekly pocket money has revolutionised my life.  No kidding. 

I was chatting to the husband a little while ago about how great it was to be paid a weekly wage, back in the day.  Monthly pay days really don't work for me.  I can't make money last; it burns a hole in my pocket and I spend the last half of every month bumming cash off him indoors.  Understandably, he finds this frustrating.  It isn't great for me either because I have to justify why I need £20 for a face wash. ('What's wrong with soap?' says he. Meh.)

So now Andrew has full control of my money.  (I asked him to; he isn't a control freak.)  Each payday, all of my money is transferred to him.  Then, every Friday, I have a set amount of money transferred to one of those pre-paid Mastercards and £30 of cash.  I love it!  I made the pretty envelopes just to be silly (it makes me feel young having pocket money!) but now I keep the actual envelope of cash tucked into my purse and the very sight of it reminds me that I've got to make my money last.  And I do!  Last week, I had £280 in my pocket money account.  That might not sound very much at all, but I was so chuffed with myself.  The fact that it has dwindled significantly now is irrelevant but I have two very nice Chanel nail polishes, a neon pink top and some Mac goodies to show for that little splurge! 

The envelopes are really easy to make. I bought these two templates on eBay - you just draw round them, snip, fold and stick.  

They are wooden and have a lovely vintage utilitarian feel to them.  The smaller one makes my pocket money pouches.  I don't know if there are any more left on eBay but there are definitely some available on Etsy if you fancy one.  There are lots of occasions when I need decorative little envelopes.  I quite often give cash or gift cards to family for birthdays and Christmas and the little ones are the perfect size.  You can use any kind of paper; my stepson loves Manga artwork and Marvel magazines which I think would make pretty cool cash envelopes for boys. 

When I bought the envelope templates, a few packets of stickers and rolls of washi tape seemed to slip into the basket.  I used some of the washi tape recently to make cupcake flags.

I was just messing around really, as you do, but I think these will be lovely for our Jubilee celebration tea in June.  (The cocktail sticks were from the local deli - they are called Posh Pricks.  Ha!) 

So it's pocket money day tomorrow and I'm planning a trip to Birmingham on Saturday for some light exercise...  I'd like to stock up on Muji make-up bags and I've sold a few things on eBay so I'm going to buy myself a pair of Raybans.  I am even going to treat the husband to lunch at Wagamama (he usually pays).  I am seriously craving Edamame and Chicken Kare Lomen.  

Thanks for continuing to visit me here where the chat has become a little random :-)  I've found loads of new lovely blogs recently (hello Claire!) and I thought I'd post the links next time so that I can share some of my new reading material.

Have a great weekend, lovelies. 

Kisses and stuff.

Nicki 

x

Spring makeovers and a spot of crochet

Spring is on its way and so everything around here is getting a bit of a makeover.  I've started going to the gym, had my hair done and have booked in for a mani/pedi ready for my forthcoming holiday.   I'm gathering stuff to sell on eBay so that I can treat myself [guilt-free] to a load of pastel-coloured clothes.  I will pick out a new perfume and every inch of my body will be scrubbed, buffed and moisturised so that I'm ready to bare my lily-whites when the sun comes.

Let's not talk about the fact that I've been to the gym eight times over the last fortnight and have still not lost any weight.  I come home with a bright red face, dripping hair (I'm not kidding) and halfway through the class I feel as though I'm going to throw up.  The fact that I haven't lost any weight is like a great big poke in the eye.

I've been to zumba and body combat classes.  They are killers!  Although I have picked up a little tip for reducing aches the next day:  have a glass of milk after you exercise.  Don't know if it's coincidental [probably] but it has totally worked for me. 

Notice anything else around here that's had a bit of a makeover?

Yep, I decided to pimp up my blog so I approached Sarah of essbeevee.  I really like Sarah's blog - she's witty, stylish and verrry cool.  I love her illustrations and did not hesitate to commission her to prettify my blog when I saw that she takes this kind of work on.

What do you think?  Obviously the little illustrated icons in my sidebar will link to proper pages with actual words and photos when I get a chance to update them but so far I am thrilled.  Skippy-happy!  

I ought to just acknowledge Sarah for doing all the technical stuff for me too.  She made sense of the html codes [etc] for me and was very patient with my blonde moments.  

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Did someone mention blonde moments?

I've been crocheting egg cosies this week.  I thought I'd followed the pattern to the letter but it finished up just a tiny bit too small.  Ha!  I'm proud of the pom pom though - aren't they fun to make!  You can expect to see more pom poms around here, oh yes you can.

I've had a go at crocheting flowers too.  They were a little bit more successful than my attempts at egg cosies, probably due to the plentiful advice from CupcakeJoJo.  Thanks lovely!  *blows kiss*

Aw.  It's a pretty little thing that's now attached to a crocheted tin cover.

I've started a new book - A Room Swept White by Sophie Hannah - so I'm off to read that shortly.  Before I sign off I thought I'd share a photo of the adorable little Easter pegs I've bought recently.  They will be perfect for my Easter tree. 

Husband:  "What Easter tree?"

Me:  *rolls eyes and saunters off importantly*

I collected loads of twigs from the fields when we were walking the dog over the winter.   They are drying nicely in the barn and then I'm going to spray them with matte white paint.  Stuck in a steel pot weighed down with pebbles they will form our Easter tree.  We haven't had one before but I think they're kind of cute and I like an excuse to decorate.

See those little envelopes in the picture?   I made them at the weekend.  Here's a close-up:

I bought a tiny little wooden template and the paper was free with a craft magazine at Christmas.  They are such a lovely little size and are perfect for the purpose I have in mind.  Which I will tell you about next time.

Oooh, what a cliffhanger.  :-)

Hope you're all having a great week.  Nearly the weekend!

Nicki 

x

PS Thanks so much for all of the cheery comments that you've been leaving.  I love reading them (although I received my first spam comment the other day which I promptly deleted!) and  I do like to respond to everyone.  Thing is, I work full-time and the evenings seem to fly by.  Some of you are no-reply bloggers - if you pop your email address on your profile page it will let your blog friends respond via your comments.  This is much quicker for me, certainly, and means that I can catch up from my phone when I'm waiting in the post office queue (or whatever).  Hope I'm not being bossy... 

Instructions on how to do this are here kindly provide by the Scrap Shoppe.  Cuckoo shared them a while ago.