Sooty love

A couple of weekends ago Littlest Jammer had a party to go to. We bought a present but I wanted to add a homemade gift. I know her parents love vintage stuff and she's a huge Sooty fan so...

a rummage in my stash and a Sooty lavender pillow was born.

This got me thinking..

 Thinking I've also got that Sooty fabric in blue.

Then look what happened!

 

 

a similar one with Noddy on...

 

 A little while later a collection appeared all backed in matching vintage wool

 

 

reminding me of Battenburg cake!

 

If you're interested there are just a few sitting quietly on the shelves of my etsy shop. There's quite a lot of wastage of very precious fabric making these so the rest will be cushions to make the most of it!

 

On the non virtual shelves of Custard Hall this month... 

 Squeezing potential presents into every space 

 

Right up to the roof!

We've got Christmas Cracker Night tonight, so a year since the shop opened! It's been great but sadly probably my last month there. When I look through the lists I've sold loads over the year but financially it's a killer. Whilst I completely understand rents in the town centre are high it's so disheartening to give it all the hard earned pennies back in rent.

So next year you'll still find me at The De Danann Antique and Vintage Centre DT1 1NF where I'm in my 14th year - gulp!!



For the love of tourists

July has flown by with very little time for making. Having not had time to even pop in Custard Hall for a couple of weeks I was delighted to find a whole list of sales waiting for me. The girls in the shop suggested I make something with a local theme for tourists to take home. I was a bit stumped and then after a bit of searching Ebay for old postcards of Dorset an idea came...

 

I bashed out these four prototypes one evening and only remembered to photograph them on the doorstep literally on the way out the next morning.

Instant sales meant I got cracking on another batch this week.

They are all backed in vintage fabrics

  and filled with 100% lavender

Edged with my favourite cute mini bobbles

 and embellished with a button or bow

and a handstamped tag!

So bring on the tourists, I'm off to the beach with my girls and a friend!

x

Time flying

Crikey is it really nearly 3 whole weeks since I posted?

A lot has happened in that time. Real life took over and I ended up working my day job (you know the one that pays) most days. Not that I minded. My boss was very poorly and I learnt a lot, did things I'd not done before, generally pushed myself that little bit harder and had fun most of the time.

 

I got to go on a trip to the Eden Project.

Not just to admire the lavender and wildflowers

but that was the first part of the day and they loved it!

A long day 13 hours with 65 children but what fun! I'd definitely go back with my own two but perhaps on a slightly cooler day. 45 degrees in the biome was a bit much for a paley like me.

I tried not to think about the Talent for Textiles fair back home and all the gorgeous things I might be missing... thank you all for making me green eyed with your piccies!

 

However I've missed making stuff. The sewing machine had a little break but needed to be brought back to life on Monday for teacher gifts...

Now I'm another year older my kind sister sent me this gorgeous fabric for my birthday. It's carefully folded up in my latest stash stack whilst I ponder what to make next...

In the meantime to make room for some new stock and to celebrate a fantastic month selling 6 beds I'm having a little sale in my Etsy Shop. 20% off for the rest of July so hurry on down while stock lasts and all that...

It includes the last beach bags and patchy t-shirts... just enter the code JULY13 at the checkout.

Now I'm hoping for a bit more of that sun we had before term finished.

 

This was where the little jammers wanted to go when school finished on Tuesday. A sunny afternoon at home a few miles inland, however the sea mist put a bit of a grey tinge on things!



Swapping again

After enjoying LaaLaa's Advent Swap so much I thought to myself I could get into this sending gifts to strangers lark. Luckily for me Ada at Vintage Sheet Addict was organising a swap between makers. The second bit of luckiness was heading my way in the form of Penelope from L is for Love. Penelope was my partner and offered to crochet me a pair of fingerless gloves in my favourite colour. Hmmm wonder what that might be...

In return I'd offered to make Penelope a cushion and she immediately spied this one in my Etsy shop. I must admit I was a tad relieved when she replied with her choice so quickly. I'd have felt rather embarassed had she not liked anything I had on offer!

As the cushion was a bit of a doddle having already been made I also made Penelope this lavender heart to match.

Last week I was very ridiculously over the top excited to hear the gloves were ready.

Time to package up the goodies and they each headed East and Westward along the coast to their new owners.

This evening I came home to a lovely surprise. A carefully wrapped bluey green kind of surprise with a mermaid badge.

 I opened the little extra first, one of my favourite brooches from Acorn & Will.

 Then on to the biggy... I am thrilled to bits. My gloves are such a stunning colour and made from lovely cotton feeling yarn.

 I wanted to wear them all evening but did have to take them off to cook. I thought frying onions was probably not the way to treat them!

Now I can't wait to put them on in the morning. I'm on a training course and today there was no heating which will be the perfect excuse to wear them all day tomorrow. I've even got the perfect dress to accessorize them...

Penelope, I couldn't have asked for anything nicer. I love them, thank you so much .

xxx

Hearts for Vintage Lovers

 Any spare moments in the last couple of weeks have been spent stitching hearts.

I've been using off cuts to get stocked up for Valentine's Day.

All are stuffed entirely with lavender so nice and solid with no padding!

 I ordered some lovely mini bobble trim that finishes them off nicely.

All are finished with a button and ribbon

 and hand stamped tag 

I delivered a dozen to Custard Hall last week and they've been selling well.

 Funnily enough I thought the pinks would be the most popular with Valentine's but I was pleasantly surprised. No...

 First to sell was my favourite - the painterly squares in bluey greens (about 7 o'clock on the picture above)

 So I've tried to top up with some less pink fabrics!

Friends to stay tonight and I'm hoping they wont mind if I do a little bit of handstitching whilst we talk and drink. I've got a pile of pompom trim just waiting to be tacked...

Have a lovely weekend.

x