Shows, reveals and prizes

This is an epic moment my spring time throw is finished.

436 squares made and crocheted together and a gazillion ends weaved in. It's been a torrid love affair we have had our ups and downs but we got there in the end.

It all started with a new book back in Febuary 'Cute and Easy Crochet' by Nicki Trench found in my local WHS. So many projects drew me in with their candy colours and bobble trims I just had to have it. Jam jars cover, crocheted teddy bears and the blanket in soft candy colours. I needed it in my life.

6 months later and it's mine all mine and I love love love it.

It's amazing that I have made it I learnt to crochet last year and have only attempted cushions so far. I can't believe I did it. I made it from rowan hanknit cotton so it is a substantial blanket and I lost count how many balls of cotton I used, I made alot of orders as I kept running out. It weighs an absolute ton I guess about 30 balls it weighs half a stone. Just don't tell my husband how many they cost he is quite good at maths he will find me out.

I was spurred on to finish when I met Nicki Trench at the country living show in London and actually saw the blanket I was making. I discussed the yarn and colour choices with her. I added some new colours on her advice, used up some oddments of yarn I had and I threw in a ball of Amy butler for good measure because they didn't have the orange colour in the handknit cotton range.

Well here it is in all it's glory.

I entered it into the local village flower show on Saturday. At 5pm I emerged from the handicrafts marquee clutching my 'Best exhibit in Crochet' trophy. I was amazed but I didn't give a gushing speech. I thought it a little over the top considering it was just me and one other lady that entered the catergory. Oh wel......l it was exciting anyway I never win anything. 

I have my japanese flower scarf to show you next I can't handle the excitment today so I'll show you that next time, also a 1st prize winner at the show.


Have a great week,
Sarah

Today I am loving

I love my new boot sale find, a vintage tea tray full of beautiful roses.

Perfect for tea in the garden.

More roses in my garden they smell gorgeous and are so pretty.

When I was a kid i always wanted a playhouse in the garden with an upstairs??!! Well its a bit late but my wish has come true. My sister's friend gave us this playhouse as she was given it but it wouldn't fit in her garden. It needed a new roof and a paint so here it is fully restored.

Isn't it amazing?? I love it.

We planted the window boxes with pansies and sweet peas its so cute and our kids are so lucky. Actually i think I love it more than the kids do. I want to fill it with vintage toys so a few more trips to the boot sale are required.

I had a moment of weakness last week and bought the water carrier I loved in the Sarah Raven catalogue. It wasn't as bad as full price, well thats what I keep telling myself. I wanted to buy the green one but within about an hour of receiving the sale email they had sold out. I was trying to buy it on my phone at work but I had to keep stopping, blooming customers then they had sold out. I want it for when we go away in the caravan, I can see myself merrily skipping to the water tap bringing it back to our caravan adorned with bunting and placing it on my cath kidston inspired table. I do live in a bit of a dream world most of the time.

Its my friends birthday on Sunday so I made her a little toadstool house cake. My sister helped and we were in fits of hysterical laughter as she annouced it would need underpinning as the top began to slide off.

Have a fun filled weekend, unfortuatley I have to work boo hoo.

Sarah

Driving me potty

We have been potty training for a few weeks now, we have good days and bad days and I think it is going to take quite a long time. I think people say boys do take longer.

As a reward for his potty training we have been moving little OB into his big boy room this week. I was more excited than him. Before he was born I felt like I couldn't get excited before he arrived as I suffers from a few problems so I never got to do the nursery decorating in case I jinxed it. So I have really indulged in everything I ever wanted for him. Though firstly we had to do boring stuff like replastering and painting and lots of dust and mess. And clearing up a room that was used to dump stuff we didn't know where to put. The whole of the upstairs has been a real mess and it is great to get everything neat and tidy for 5 mins at least.

We bought his new bed and furniture from ikea which looks really good. It has a tent over the top which makes it looks like a den, we could hardy remove him from the Ikea's display. When he was little I bought his bedding from Babou and it turned out to be lovely quality. I love having well ironed sheets so I bought from there again new curtains, quilt and sheets. The overall look is very fresh, soft and cosy. Hopefully he will be able to use them for years and years.

I also invested in stickers to make a mural for one blank wall and I am really impressed with the overall result. Helicopters, diggers, dumpers and sky scrapers all the things he loves.

We have my nan visiting this week which is lovely she is 86 buts still seems alot younger to me she has a positive outlook on life which continually inspires me and she has so many interesting nostalgic stories to tell. I could listen for hours about where she used to live in London with her parents and sister and aunt's family living next door. The parties they had and fun even in the dark days of the war. She tells me about the clothes they used to make sewing and crochet which is were I get my interest from. So far we have gone shopping, had lunch in a country pub, visited Ikea for the umpteenth time and been to the boot sale. So a great week so far and the weather hasn't been too bad either.

More progress on my springtime throw its almost finished I just need to crochet 436 squares together wish me luck.

What happened here? Are those little feet I can see in the corner?

Have a great weekend may it be filled with pretty things and sunshine.
Sarah

I did it!!

Well its DONE, I 've finishedImy worn and washed quilt and i love it, I love that I made it all by myself but mostly I love it because I did the binding and I cracked it with the help of angry chicken she has a very neat little video tutorial. If you struggle to get your head around binding as I did then I advise you to watch her video. Thank you Amy Karol of angry chicken.

So here it is my properly finished patchwork blanket......

Beautiful purple flower binding handmade by Blondes Backyard on folksy made from a vintage sheet. Just lucky it matched perfectly and with my new found knowledge was a breeze to attach.

A lovely mixture of colours and textures the worn and washed fabrics are so soft.

The binding did take quite a while as I hand sewed one side and machined the other.

As you can see it has furry approval too.

''How dare you disturb me taking pictures for your silly blog I am trying to sleep!''

Have a lovely craft filled week,
Sarah

Chugging on

Oh dear... my ideal of blogging once a week isn't working very well.

Here's what we have been up to recently we have had a mini break away in Sussex. I bought my OH a diesel train driving experience on the Kent and East Sussex line. He got to ride in the cab and help the driver, halfway there Little OB got to ride in the cab with his Daddy and toot the horn on the train which he really enjoyed. He reeeaaaalllyy loves trains, well anything with wheels that moves he is not too fussy diggers, dumpers, rollers, race cars you get the idea. So it was a train based holiday really we also went on the Romney, Hythe and Dimchurch miniture railway both were a bit hit with both my boys. Along the journey we got to visit Christopher Lloyd's garden at Great Dixter and Derek Jarman's garden in Dungeness.

Great Dixter

 Derek Jarman's Garden at Dungeness

 I don't know If I have said before but I used to be a garden design before my wally of a boss ran his company into the ground. So wherever I am I love to visit great gardens. This is my favourite time of year for plants. Foxglove being my absolute favourites.

I also got to do a bit of my Springtime blanket I did my first public crocheting. Luckily no one stopped and stared or I may have had to stop, another fifty squares done, I think I have about eighty to do to finish I'll keep chugging on.

Little OB loved running about at Great Dixter, I love this photo, carefree and innocent just as childhood should be.

I have a Ta Dah moment coming up my quilt is finished hoooray.

Have a great week,

Love Sarah

xxxx

Worn and Washed

Lots of pictures today, I can't wait to show you how I got on at the Worn and Washed sewing day. It was great fun I really enjoyed myself, I think everyone that went got something out of the day and everyone went home with a quilt top. Some got to the basting stage but it was just great to have a day doing something different and to just sew...

Kim had some beautiful quilts on display. I have always wanted a patchwork quilt and never knew I could make one myself. I don't like fussy quilts although I admire their craftsmanship. I like simple things, just plain squares which is why Kim's quilts really appeal to me, that and their eco credentials. 

Really I don't know anything about quilt making I only just started sewing when my Son was born two years ago as I had more time at home. I had only done curtains before that, so I am self taught. I have a few books and of course the internet is a wealth of knowledge and ideas. So anyway I digress...

This was the quilt display exhibition. I took Little OB's cot blanket to show Kim.
She really liked it and asked if she could display it which I was really chuffed about as it was only my second quilt. Its not fussy or particularly clever I think its the fabric that does the talking, soft and worn, muted colours from years of washing and well chosen patterns that Kim put together in the little pack I bought. I choose it because one of the fabrics is a red flannel with small white stars on it. Little OB loves the stars.

Some more beautiful muted coloured quilts, hand quilted.

Just look at the detail on the binding, perfect little stitches.

 I quite like the brighter colours too, this one is from the 'old swedish' fabric pack.

This is her new fabric collection 'Out of the Toy Box' inspired by old and new toys. I bought a small pack of this to try.

  I like this one with a detailed centre and a wide band of floral framing it. I might try this out.

Well here is our sewing space, we all bought our own machines, and tools. We all picked a bundles of her fabric and set about making the quilt top. I wanted to do something a bit different to everyone else as usual a little rebel sitting in the back row. So I sorted all of my bundles in the same sized strips and cut them into 5'' squares we were supposed to sew them as they were- all different length strips. Anyway I sewed the squares together and with the offcuts sewed the irregular strips together and at the end sliced them in half lengthways to make a staggered border. I was told off for breaking the rules but forgiven as I had done a couple before. I was really pleased at the end because squares really appeal to me. I didn't do too badly matching them up I thought I would use buttons if I had to, to disguise where they are not quite squared up together.

This is not the finished picture but this is on the home straight.

The colours have changed abit in the light I took the photograph, they appeal here in blue tones but actually its more purple and lavender coloured in real life.

Heres my big tahdah- still lots to do I have to get some wadding, bast it, back it and the dreaded binding....

TTTTTAAAAAADDDDDDDAAAAAHHHHH

What do you think?

I think I my fabric choice was inspired by our walk in the bluebell wood at the caravan site where we stayed overnight. I wouldn't normally choose liliacs and purples when I saw the fabric pack I thought I would try something different.

And I am pleased with the result so far.

Happy Easter again,

Sarah

There is not mush room around here

We found this little guy growing in our front garden the other day. Isn't he cute, he told me his name is 'Fergus' its strange though as he sometimes moves about the garden. I found him in the muscari yesterday and strangely enough he was in my wool basket last week.

He said he liked a change of scenery sometimes.

Autually I made that up he is from a japanese amigurumi book, I have become abit addicted lately and my sister arrived this afternoon with two more books for me.

Toooo cute. I can't resist them googly eggs.

We have a busy weekend ahead, we are off in our caravan for a few days to the other side of Milton Keynes. I going on a one day sewing course hosted by Kim from 'Worn and Washed fabrics'. We are going to sew a whole quilt top in one day ready for basting at the end of the day, using her jelly rolls of recycled vintage fabrics. I don't really know alot about quilt making but I have become quite addicted to Kim's jelly rolls as they are so interesting, you never know what patterns you will get and I always unwrap them putting them in order of how much I like  love them.

This is the first ever quilt I made last year its big enough for a double bed and I quilted it on my machine every 1.5'' in diagonals, it was a labour of love thats for sure. But I absolutely love it, I love its randomness,

different sized rectangles, different textures and colours. I am often found on the settee snuggling underneath.

I am loving the recent weather so are the plants I have never seen so many flowers on my cherry trees before, the are full to bursting. I just hope I might be quicker than the birds this year so I eat them.

They has also been lots of toddler play time in the garden with new toys. We have bought a combines ball pit and paddling pool, its proving a great success. He has spent most of the day playing in it today. When his cousin came to visit today he was playing indoors, I said 'Why don't you show J# your new toy' and he ran out the back door ready to show her quicker than you can say 'easter bunny'. I have never seen him run so fast.

Talking of the easter bunny we all decorated the easter tree tonight. Taaadaahhh.

There will be a bit of mummy adjusting to get it just right or that easter bunny might be offended and not visit.

Happy Easter to all of you see you after easter.

Sarah