Tree Fall

Still and yet

From this...

To this...

But it still looks like this...

Although I do have my new cabinet and I love it an obscene amount. There's just still so much to do. It's starting to look a lot better though.
Very excited.

Edited to add -

It made me laugh to read Ali's comment about it being crafter's blue - I call it that too. Jim and I were laughing last night about the fact that if you have a craft blog then you have to paint your studio this colour! In my defence though, it's actually a darker teal colour than it looks in the picture. But I'm not too proud to say that it's been heavily influenced by Alicia ,the wonderful Cassie  and of course Jenny .
It is indeed 'crafter's blue'!

What On Earth?

Today I was possessed by some sick kind of craziness. Instead of spending a busy but rewarding day working happily away in my studio, safe in the knowledge that Bella quite literally skipped happily in to nursery this morning. Instead of that, I did this...

And just in case you're wondering why I'm showing you my junk room, I'm not. I'm showing you the horrific remains of what was once my studio.
Admittedly it wasn't a very inspiring studio. Or a very tidy studio. Or even a very practical studio. In fact it was an increasingly depressing studio, with dust everywhere and mounds of beautiful fabrics that I couldn't see properly or even reach. But that said, it was still a studio that at least could be used. If nothing else, there was a sewing machine and a sewing table.
No more, my friends, no more.
The table has been dismantled and (oh horror) the sewing machine is sitting in a corner on the floor.

I'm not quite sure why I was gripped in such a way this morning, but I was of course tricked in to believing that it would only take a couple of hours and then I could get on with the very pressing work in hand. Hah.
Needless to say, having finally stopped for the evening, I am left with a much, much worse studio than when I started!
Ah, tomorrow though is another day. And tomorrow at least half the room shall be painted and there may even be some new furniture! And I'm very excited about the new furniture. It shall include a very tall glass doored cabinet for all my beautiful, beautiful cotton prints. As well as a new, larger sewing table and more bookshelves and a new chair and possibly some new lighting!
I'm just not sure at this point that it will ever be finished. But if it is, I'm sure that I'm going to absolutely love it.

And in the mean time, I am going to finish watching Miss Potter (oh so loving it!) and try and finish an order that is slipping in to the slowest order ever (sorry Tracy, it's almost done I promise!).

Tomorrow I paint!

Bingo!

We have a House. A house Tote that is.
This has been brewing for a while and whilst there are a few things I may change next time around, it's pretty much what I wanted.
I absolutely love the House quilt block. In fact I own a number of quilt books, including a wonderful Japanese one, that are dedicated just to this quilt block alone.
It was obvious therefore that I should combine both my love of Houses and my love of Liberty, in order to create the Liberty House!

I've used two Liberty Lawns for the body and the roof of the house and then I've embroidered a number 1 on the front door - I'm hoping to do a few more of these, each with there own corresponding number, although not necessarily using just Liberty.

I've also embroidered a vase of flowers sitting in the window.

I actually finally mastered French Knots whilst embroidering the flowers - which are supposed to be Lupins. I love lupins. Love them.
And the vase is modelled after  Cornishware  pottery, with  its blue and white stripes.

Inside, I've lined the Tote with a Kaufman print in a lovely 30's style red and blue. And then made a single long pocket piece from a contrasting vintage green floral print.  The pocket is then lined in green apple print, and sectioned in to five seperate pockets.

Like my other Totes, this one is big enough to carry books or magazines, or just the general junk that I seem to carry around on a daily basis! And the straps are long enough to be worn over the shoulder.

As I said, it's pretty much how I envisaged it. The only thing about it is that sometimes (often) when I make a new piece I look at it and think that it's really obvious that it's handmade. And not in a good way. And I'm a little uneasy that this may look a bit too 'handmade'. But apart from that (!), I'm quite pleased with it.
Although it's pretty hard not to have something look good when it's made using Liberty prints, so I can't take the credit for that!

Forgot to say, the Tote's here

Edited to add that there is also a new Liberty  Bunny in the  Shop too.

Patience is a virtue

Apples are good.

So are kitty kisses.

(although he doesn't seem to think so).

The sun is back but I am still bereft of decent photo's.
If you are still here, I thank you!
I'll do better tomorrow. I promise.

But where are the pictures?

Alrighty, I have started this post 6 times so far and have still failed in my attempt to come up with a satisfactory opening sentence, so I guess we're all stuck with this one. Bad punctuation and all.
We're still living in the land of no sun at the moment, so you're also going to have to put up with yet another photo of my kitchen table as the only artwork. In my defence though, this exact picture hasn't been seen before.

I'm still trying to adjust to the intruder that insists on being around all day long at the moment, (believe me, I'll bitch about anything. For the last two years I've done nothing but complain about Jim going to work. It's a sad fact, but the man simply can not win.)
Balancing work and family time really is proving to be a little more difficult than I ever imagined it would be. Instead of just being able to skip upstairs to my studio any time I please, knowing that Bella is happily playing with Jim, I feel even more guilty than ever.
Which is not helped by my increasingly manipulative child constantly checking that "Mommy no work today" and that it will indeed be another full day of "Mommeeee, Daddeeee, Meeeee. Yes?"
And of course there's all the things that we can suddenly do together. And the fact that we've got limited time until Jim goes back to work, so I should take advantage of it now.
And then there's the fact that I'm discovering that even though I know Jim is in fact an equal Carer of Bella, I still feel really guilty when I ask him to look after her so that I can work.
And then there's the fact that instead of not needing to worry so much about the menial tasks such as preparing dinner, because Jim's around and can also do it. I am in fact spending even more time cooking, because Jim's around so I can actually get in the kitchen with slightly less interruptions than usual and that means I can take my time and cook us all some real food.
And then there's the fact .... Ack, you get the picture.
So balance is a problem. A problem that seems to be resulting in me staying up every night until 2am to work, because that way I don't need to feel guilty.
Of course I'm not really complaining. After the way this year started I am more than happy to be counting my blessings right now. And I know how very, very lucky I am to have Jim at home for 6 weeks. I just know though that just at that point where we are all finally in a routine and we have achieved some kind of balance the selfish sod is going to go back to work. And mess it all up again. Humphh.

I did manage a full day of work yesterday though. Which led me to take the day off today, in an attempt to achieve balance.
And a very nice day it was too. We took Bella to the Railway Museum in the ever beautiful York. Which led to only minimal 2 year oldness from Bella and minimal " Pleeeassseee stop doing that Bella" from us.
A success then.

And very quickly, before you go, I have a couple more links for you (hope you don't mind).
First of all, if you don't know about Tif, then you're missing out. Her work is beautiful and her Blog is lovely.  In fact I'm loathe to actually tell you about her, because then you'll all buy the stuff that I want from her!
And secondly, the lovely Little Willow website featured me today, which was very kind of them indeed! If I'm not careful I'm going to get a big head (shush Mom).

Lets all pray for sunshine tomorrow so that we can get back to some actual photo's of some actual craft work, huh?

Well Hello there!

Time just seems to be slipping through my fingers at a rate of knots at the moment. I can not believe it's Monday again already. Slow down I tell you, slow down!
This weekend was a blur with a birthday celebration for my mom which included a family get together that was a lot of fun. I do love to see how much Bella adores her 4 year old cousin, although I'm not sure how much longer he'll want a little girl following him around! And we all got to have a wander around the always lovely Chatsworth House .
Then sunday was a blur of car boot sales, Ikea and work.
The car boot sale was just a small one and a bit of a let down, but I did manage to pick up a couple of pieces of Pyrex that are a very pleasing colour. As well as a serving dish that made my heart beat a little faster as soon as I saw it (I kid you not).

And to those of you that were visiting here as far back as Christmas (which was months and months ago surely), it will come as no surprise that I was extremely happy when I saw these.

And I got the lot for just £2.50!
Nice.

All the travelling and partying took it out of us. But Bella in particular has been feeling a little more tired than normal. Of course that could be because she's still not napping in the day. Which, just in case you were wondering, does not mean she will never nap again. Ok?? She's just been out of her routine for the last 3 weeks. Yes, I said 3 weeks. But it doesn't mean anything. Ya hear?

The weather here has been back to normal for April, which means that there are little, or to be precise, no decent photo's of my latest work to share with you. But I do have a few things in the pipeline that I'm hoping are going to turn out ok. More on those later in the week though.

And just to ensure that this post  definitely wins the Least Cohesive Blog Post Award, I have a couple of sites that I want to share with you.

The first one is Janet's Blog which she has only just started, but already shows just how talented she is. I absolutely love her tea cozy, and may just have to give that a go myself!

Next I would like to thank Kim of Todays Creative Blog , who was kind enough to feature me a few days back. Her kind words were very much appreciated.

I was also featured on the very cool Indie Babies at the beginning of the month. Go check them out!

I have also been nominated for two Thinking Blogger Awards. For which I am incredibly touched and very grateful indeed! Thank you both so much.

And I think that's just about it for today.

Oh no it isn't, I meant to also thank everyone for their fantastic advice about NYC and say that please do keep it coming!

Right, that really is it for today. I'm hoping to share some actual crafting with you over the next few days, but seriously, Jim is messing with my routine!

Love the Greys

I'm very excited to say that I think Jim and I may make a trip to New York after all! He's decided to accept a job that means he won't start back at work for another month, so it seems silly not to spend a few days away together. It's the first time in nine years that we have the time or the money so whilst it kind of makes me balk to think of spending so much money on just a few days away, I also think it would be a waste not to take advantage.
So we need lots of advice on where to go. Jim's been twice before, many years ago, but I've never been. So it's all pretty new to us. I, of course want to go Purl  but other than that I'm not sure. We also don't know where to stay on a reasonably tight budget. So any suggestions would be appreciated. We're planning on going in a couple of weeks hopefully.
Of course that all depends heavily on whether or not I can overcome my completely and utterly justifiable (don't try and tell me otherwise) intense fear of flying!

I finished an order of Pear cushions for the very lovely Karen at Blueberry Park yesterday and just had to make an extra gray Pear cushion to keep for myself (and then had to make an extra to put in the shop - because I never know when to stop!).
As much as I love yellow at the moment, I have to say that grey is actually my real favourite colour these days. It is the perfect colour. It looks wonderful with red and with yellow. But also with almost any shade of blue. I love the fact that it is so muted and yet has such depth. Placed beside a cold blue it looks completely different than when it's place beside a mossy green.
I love it so. And of course I love it so when used with linen.

I think this may be my favourite combination so far. I like it even more than the red Pears.

And just to continue with my love, I used grey bias on the back this time. I don't know why, but I really have a thing for grey bias binding and grey ricrac! Possibly I need to get out more!

The Pear cushion is in the  Shop.

(just a quick aside to say Hello! to my favourite Grey's of all time!)

Liberty Oh Sweet Liberty

I have to admit that there are a couple of blogs that I read and enjoy at the same time as getting a bit blahh about how much they congratulate themselves for their own work (and I'm pretty sure they don't read me, so if you're wondering if I mean you, then the chances are, no I don't).
Us Brits can be a bit funny about complementing yourself. It just doesn't always sit so well with us. However, that said, I fully understand how one can be in awe of something you've made yourself. I often look at something I've made and think Wow! I made that and I have no idea how! I am honestly constantly amazed that someone who has no training whatsoever in sewing etc, can make the stuff that I make. And whilst just writing that statement makes me cringe a little, I am going to continue along the self congratulatory theme and tell you just how happy I am with my latest Tote.

This is a Tote that makes me very happy indeed. The combination of Liberty fabrics and linen make me smile.
Seriously. I love this Tote.
Liberty Lawns are in a world of their own. They are oh so  expensive ($35 a yard) but oh so worth it.  Working with them is a delight and highly recommended. And whilst they appear flimsy and just a little blousy, they are in fact perfect for quilts, clothes and just about anything else.  It's no coincidence that this
gorgeous display has used entirely Liberty prints.

The colours of these fabrics are vibrant at the best of times, but set against the beautiful plainess of linen they seem to actually glow.

Now obviously I couldn't leave it at just a tote. As soon as I started with this combination I knew that  a bunny was in order. So here she is, Liberty Bunny...

And I'm not even going to pretend that I don't want a dress like hers, because I do! If only I could afford one.

The great thing about these designs is that I can get away with only using a tiny bit of my much ferreted away collection of Liberty. This is actually one part of my stash that I can happily not cut in to. At least until I find a perfect match for it, as with the linen.
And don't quote me on this, but I think that a Random Liberty Cushion may be next in line.

Of course I'm still working on the Pears  and the normal linen bunnies.
This one is called Juliet. She may not be as flambouyant as the Liberty Bunny, but she's not exactly a wall flower!

They're all in the SHOP  now.

What??

I prefer to think of it not so much as an addiction, but more of a harmless hobby....

Yes, this did all arrive today....
It's ok though because I control the fabric, it doesn't control me..... much.

Amaretto and Tangents

Some days I sit down at the kitchen table to write a post and know exactly what I'm going to say. And other days I have no clue at all, just some fairly random photo's that I want to share with you.
Today I have the photo's but very few cohesive thoughts. You know when you just want to sit in the kitchen with a friend and ramble on over a cup of tea - or in my case at the moment, a cup of coffee with a shot of Amaretto in it.  Well that's how I'm feeling. I need you all here (it might be a bit of a squeeze, but we'd cope) around the kitchen table, rambling on with me. I'm picturing a fair amount of chaos, but that can only be good. And hey, the Amaretto bottle is still pretty full!

Anyway, the random thoughts bouncing around today are the fact that Bella is in the process of potty training herself! Something suddenly clicked for her yesterday and she has done every wee in a potty since. We are very, very impressed. And she is very excited about being such a big girl. Being a Big Girl is very much on her mind at the moment. She's wanting to dress like me and talk like me (poor girl) and keeps double checking with us that she is in fact a Big Girl. Which is very sweet but, Ack she's only 26 months. Could she not leave the growing up stuff of another 10 years or so?

The other thing that I'm thinking about a lot is my studio. I have finally decided that it is indeed going to stay as my studio instead of becoming the Big Girls room. The main reason is actually based on a comment that someone left on the original post (sorry I know I should go back and find it), about the fact that Bella would just want to be wherever I am. And of course, if I turn the small room in to my room then we'd both be squeezed in there, whereas she can have her own corner of the big room (one day). So I've made the decision and now I want to get on with sorting it all out.
Which is where you can all help, if you don't mind. I was thinking maybe you could all let me know the most important part of the space that you craft in - even if it's just a corner of a room. I don't have the where with all to do a Heather  but I do want it to be both practical and beautiful. So any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Next we have the fact that Jim and Bella took themselves off on a day trip today so that I could work which meant that I spent much of the time thinking about what's in the shop and what needs to be in the shop and what I can improve on or freshen up. So I'm left now with a long list of things that I want to work on, including a revival of the Princess and the Pea Sets that I had in the shop last year. They're updated though - with a new tote and a slightly different looking Princess.
I'm also working on some new, updated Topsy Turvy Dolls , with a slightly altered pattern.
On top of that, I'm looking at some lap quilts in the same style as my Random Cushions.
There are a few other bits and pieces on the horizon too - but they may have to wait until my lazy bum husband goes back to work and Bella and I can get back in to some sort of routine!

And finally, my more eagle eyed readers may have spotted that the photo's used to illustrate this post bare no actual relation to a single word I've written. Sorry about that but these were the photo's I took today and goodness only knows how else I can crow bar them in.
They are in order of appearance...

• Bella's beautiful new tea set that I bought yesterday. Isn't it fantastic?
• Bella choice of attire for a quick trip to the shops. Do you see how much of a Big Girl she is??
• Mine and Jim's new shoes.
• What I saw when I looked down at breakfast this morning.

And they lead to these very quick thoughts...

• I'm going to have to go and buy a second set the same, so that she can play with these without giving me a heart attack.
• Apparently all those years as a Punk affected my genes, which in turn affected Bella's style genes! (which is fine by me).
• When did we become wearers of such primary footwear?
• And when did this Punk become so influenced by florals???

So you see, if you'd all just popped in for coffee, you could have stopped me going off on so many tangents! Sorry.