BIRTHDAY GIFTS AND PEACE AND QUIET....

SShhhh, Can you here that ? Silence, well quiet at least.  Doesn't happen very often around here,  not during waking hours anyway.  Chris and Finn have gone to Ikea to get wardrobes, the two little ones are watching a video (yes, we still have videoes, drawers full of them that we have been given over the years as people have moved on to DVD's), and Freya has gone to the cinema for a friends party.

I made this for the birthday girl, a little flat bottomed denim bag with an apple appliqued on the front from this great 'apple' fabric, the inside is lined with red gingham.  A made the matching purse/pencil case/make-up (at 10 !) case, with a central zipper so its easy to fit 'bits' into it....

I hope you like it Emily, and Happy 10th Birthday from all of us xxx

Well,well well.....

Everyone (excluding Finn) has been ill with a sickness bug for the last week, so I have not been able to get a lot done.
However, one thing that we did manage to get done over the weekend was my sewing room.

Here it is ready to move into; we will ignore the unpainted bits down the stairs for now thats a job for next time....

It may be a little short on headroom, but I am really pleased with it and it was very exciting to 'fill' it with all my stuff, although I had not realised just how much 'stuff' I had...

This is my new drawer unit that a friend rescued from the school she works at, it was destined for the skip !!

It fits loads in and everything now has a place.

My sewing table is tidy and free of clutter, a vast improvement on my workspace in the corner of the kitchen, I am sure that you will agree....

I have a lovely view over the rooftops...

And if you look very closely I can just see the top of one of the windmill sails over on The Green. (Left of the T.V. ariels). If you looked even more closely (probably using binoculars), you might just catch a glimpse of a tiny patch of sea!

 

When Freya was off school yesterday she disappeared up into her room for quite some time, later when I went up to my sewing room I found this on my table...

FINISHED PROJECTS..

I've had a busy week and not posted as much as I would have liked this week, so much for trying to prioritise my time !

I have managed to finish my Sashiko embroidery and make it into a cushion... 

Very pleased with the finished article, particularly the simplicity of the design which was most enjoyable to complete and something that I will defintely do again.

Another project that I have recently finished is this bottle top art made from Champagne bottle tops (supplied by my Father- in -Law).  A great little project which has lots of different permutations....

I hope to get moved into my new sewing room this week - photos and update to follow...

TRYING TO DO EVERYTHING...

I often look at other crafters blogs (women in particular) and wonder where they find the time to do all they do?  Maybe their houses are really dusty and their children only have bread and jam for tea, or maybe they don't waste hours away looking at 'stuff' on the computer.

Perhaps they have just prioritised the things that they enjoy, to make sure that they do them really well. Has doing something we gain pleasure from and enjoy slipped to the bottom of our 'To do list(s)' ? Do you ever get the feeling that you have 'done' lots of things, but not 'done any of them particularly well ?  I do.

New research from Stanford University in America confirms that people who try to do too many things at once end up doing all of them badly. The researchers found that people who concentrate on getting one or two things right are the ones who succeed and move on speedily to the next thing.

So, does this mean that multi tasking is not only very tiring, but also a waste of time ?

I am therefore going to stop trying to do it all,;

* I will finish one task before going onto the next
* I will put myself first in a good way, not a selfish one
* Focus on the task in hand, not the one ahead
* Sometimes make myself unavailable

I will become that woman with time to do the things she enjoys, just after I have bathed the children, made the tea, painted in the loft, checked homework, read bedtime stories and cleaned up in the kitchen, Ha ha,
No, I really will.........

SASHIKO EMBROIDERY - mini tutorial

Yesterday I started my Sashiko embroidery, and have really enjoyed trying something new.  I found it very therapuetic and relaxing to be sewing slowly by hand and concentrating on something rather than quickly on my machine. The design I chose is called 'square shippo' and is made up from diamond shapes. It is printed onto Indigo fabric and I chose to use traditional white thread, but there is a wide range of coloured thread.

eurojapanlinks.com

It actually looks quite daunting when you first look at the pattern, but as you break it down into different lines, you will find that it is not.

When you embroider you work across the work usually horizontally and then the vertical lines, finally the outside edges, as my lines run diagonally I worked all the lines going one way and will then work the lines (or more of a zig zag) going across the other way when those are complete.

When you start off you need to measure a piece of thread the length of the row you are going to sew (allow a little surplus to tie a knot at the end).  Thread through your needle ( there are sashiko needles available, but any embroidery needle would do) and put a knot in end of thread. Push needle up from the back of the panel into the right hand side of the first dash (stitch) marked in the row and pull the thread all the way through.

You then insert the needle up and down through the fabric so that you have multiple stiches on the needle (maybe start with  three or four, you can do more as you become more comfortable), and then pull the thread through.  You will need to pull the fabric taut when you have done each needle full of stitches so as not to pucker the fabric.

'Loading' the needle before pulling the thread through.......

You can get a special Sashiko thimble that helps to push the needle through the fabric, but I managed without, so its not really neccessary.

When you have worked you first line across the panel and knoted the thread off, measure another piece of thread and start at the side where your last row finished so you are working back across the panel in the oppersite direction, this also prevents the fabric puckering.

Warning - the front panel (marked with stitches and back plain panel are all in one piece, make sure you keep the plain back panel away from the piece you are stitching or you may do as I did and stitch it to the front panel and then have to unpick the whole row of stitches ! You could actually cut the back panel off depending on what you are going to make the panel into, I intend to make a cushion so I can fold it across ans stitch around...

I have now worked all the zig zag lines in this direction and just need to repeat in the same way in the other direction and lastly stitch around the outside....You will have to wait to see the finished article...

I hope that this mini tutorial is of use to someone, I tried to make it simple, because it really is..and a lovely new technique to try for less than a tenner, can't beat that !

CRAFT BOOKS - REVIEWED

I was lucky enough to recieve some great craft books for Christmas........

SEAMS TO ME - ANNA MARIA HORNER: I enjoyed reading this book and it has some great back to basics information, the photographs are very colourful and has some lovely projects. Anna Maria Horner also writes a great blog at annamariahorner.blogspot.com

Fantastic patchwork ball from SEAMS TO ME....

I have been looking at various Japanese craft books for a while, and put this one on my wishlist.  ZAKKA SEWING BY THERESE LASKEY AND CHIKA MORI. In Japanese Zakka means 'household goods', refering specifically to hand-sewn items for domestic use - tableware, kitchenware, containers of various kinds, even simple clothing. This is the first authentic Zakka book for English-speaking crafters.

The projects have easy to follow instructions as well as intresting insights into Japanese culture and zakka tradition.

This is a project to make sashiko placemats.  Sashiko - is a traditional Japanese embroidary stitch, something else I have been (st)itching to have a go at, Sashiko kits can be bought surprisingly reasonably priced from http://www.eurojapanlinks.com/ . They sell a pack with two panels, one panel with the geometric design marked on (markings remove with washing)  and the other plain, so you could make it into a cushion, placemat or bag etc.  I will post when I have had a go..

PATCHWORK STYLE BY SUZUKO KOSEKI. Another book created in the distinctive Japanese craft style - and published in English for the first time.  A truly inspiring book with beautiful photographs and stunning projects.

Gorgeous quilts......

I have made many sock monkeys over the last few months which always prove popular and never cease to make me laugh with their funny faces and over long limbs..

SOCK AND GLOVE BY MIYAKO KANAMORI. Another Japanese craft book published for the first time in English.  The step-by-step instructions are aimed at a complete beginner, having made similar things before I would be aware of a quicker way to produce the same results. Lovely pictures and a new take on an old favourite...

Cat..

Great Zebra....

Right, I'm off to sit with the children (sent home from school at lunchtime because of the snow - virtually unheard of here in Lytham !) to watch a DVD and get started on the sashiko....

Happy New Year 2010

Happy New Year ! It was a very quiet one in the Tierney household, I can't remember the last time I stayed awake to see in the New Year !

2009 has had its ups and a considerable number of downs, but I am quite excited about 2010, excited about new crafting ideas and excited about getting the house straight and being able to enjoy and use our new spaces.. 2010 will also be the year Chris will finish his degree and Hebe will start school, so lots to look forward to..

Thank you to everyone who follows my blog or just pops by for a quick read every now and again, and a big thank you to all the people who have supported Me and Ma in 2009, may that continue into 2010 !