Kindle cover

Thought I should try out my brand new, super duper lightweight sewing machine and seeing that I haven't made anything (apart from a pair of curtains) on my old machine for at least 20 years I was itching to get going.

Not for me the 'try out all the stitches and make a rough prototype first' school, so straight in and use some of that pretty fabric I bought a couple of months ago when I first started thinking about a new machine.

So here is is, my first 'proper' piece of sewing in I don't know how long - a cover/pouch/bag for my Kindle.

Got the pattern of the internet (where else) after trying, and failing, to get my head round drafting one of my own.  Just a simple two pieces of fabric lined with batting and bound edges.  Don't look to closely at the mitred corners, not mastered those yet and they aren't as neat as I would like but hey ho, it's a Kindle cover not the Bayeux tapestry.  So that's the first make done and dusted, what next, cushion cover, owl doorstop or some free embroidery (dying to have a go at that).  Onwards and upwards.  The only worrying thing is all the extra stuff I'll have to find storage room for.

Rain just starting here as I type and the forecast is not good for the weekend so my beautiful rose bush will probably get battered, again, and when that happens it bows down to the floor so here are a couple of photos of it in all it's present glory.

It must be 8ft tall so more like a tree than a bush...

....and a close up, complete with greenfly (I never, ever spray).

Have a good weekend everyone, despite the weather.

WOYWW 158

These Wednesdays don't half come speeding round, doesn't seem 5 minutes ago that we were all signing up to ATC swaps but it is 2 weeks ago.  Thank goodness for Julia's long-term commitment to running the global phenomenon that is Whats On Your Workspace Wednesday. Pop over to the Stamping Ground if you want to know more.
Enough rabbiting on, you want to see my desk.

The photo was taken yesterday, when the sun shone, again, in the north-west of England and I was working on two pages for my deco book so the desk is covered  in metal, tools, stamps, and other 'essentials'.
If you want a closer look at the pages then I posted yesterday - see here.

I know Julia likes us to keep posts short and there are lots of desks to get round but I just had to share the ATCs that have been falling on my doormat this past fortnight, so here they are.

Mark, RosA, Toni, RedAnne, Jo, Helen.

Jill, Tuire, Princess Judy, Annie, Donna, Julia.

Hettie, Janet (FairyThoughts), May and Lynn. A fabulous collection - thanks to everyone for your swaps.

Finally, I bought a new sewing machine yesterday and am getting rid of my 40 year old one.  It isn't fit to pass on to anyone else but I do have a collection of feet that have different connections to my new machine. Not sure if anyone out there can use them but if you can then let me know and you are more than welcome to have them.  Here's a little picture.

Vintage deco book pages

On Sunday I showed the bare pages for my deco book, sprayed and background stamped ready to go. There are 6 people in our group swap, sending two pages per month and the swap will end next month when the last pages are sent out - for this year's swap at least.  Thought I had better get my skates on and finish my own pages for my book and boy does my table look a mess but I like the result.
The rest of the pages and the cover I made are mostly feminine and lace so I decided to go for a complete change and a bit steampunk.

I added more stamps to the backgrounds, bits of tissue and a metal butterfly that I distressed with Alcohol Inks - it started off silver.  The balloon image is stamped on copper coloured metal, embossed with 10-Seconds Studio tools and the puffed up bits filled with texture paste, so it doesn't collapse on the page.

Second page is similar, tissue numbers, a pen nib pasted with multi-medium, key charm and main image on metal.

This is one swap that I always enjoy, all the pages I have received have been different and all beautiful and the end result - a permanent reminder of what a talented group of people I belong to on Katy's Corner Yahoo group.

Have just realised that the theme of the pages links with the current challenge on Artful Times - men - so I'm entering these pages.  First time entry for me on a relatively new challenge site - more to come I hope.

At last....

.. some crafting done, not only that but no rain, and the icing on the cake - the sun came out and shone all day here in the north-west.
So after a bit of washing, walking the dog and tidying in the garden (you have to make the most of it) I settled down for a play.

First I made a card - rare event for me these days but I wanted to play with my Pan Pastels.
Not sure these are for me, as they are so messy - or is that just me - but I settled down with them, making backgrounds.  Then decided to play with stamps and my Versamark pad and this is the result.

I coloured a background piece with yellow  and orange pastels and stamped in Versamark with a sale bargain stamp (think it is Laura Ashley) before pouncing the red pastel onto the image.  So far so good.  The dress form was stamped onto similar yellow.orange card then masked so that I could stamp the flower through and pounce again.  Words stamped on vellum, roses coloured with pastels and a few buttons thrown on finish it.

Still not sure about the medium, would rather get out my sprays and inks - so that is what I did next.  I'm in a deco book swap on KatysCorner Yahoo group and as I only have one set of pages to make I thought I had better make my own set.  My theme is 'vintage' and I have some beautiful pages from the ladies in my group.  I was going to use a sewing theme but decided to go more industrial.  Sprays came out and although not finished you can see the first layers on the pages here : -

First picture shows the sprayed card.

Then I got out the sequin waste, metallic ink pads and some Inka Gold waxes in blue and gold.

Now all I have to do is decide where I'm going next with these - it's all part of the fun.
Watch this space.

Rain rain, go away..

...and it has, just.  Sorrel's complaining, well more like a big sulk, because she hasn't been able to get out for her usual two walks a day and the 48 hour rain we have had has just stopped so we went for a run down the old railway line.  I was more of a speed walker than a runner but she made up for my lack of speed.

Still no crafting but at least the eye's tons better so I may just get in there for the rest of the afternoon.
Meanwhile here are a few photos I took of my garden before the deluge started.

My 5 foot high poppies, before the rain and wind flattened them and blew all their petals off, good news is there are more buds to open.

A quiet corner and at least the rain makes everything in the garden shoot up - even the weeds.

Another tall plant that gets battered every year, my  6ft tall shrub rose, put in when we first moved here 25 years ago and going strong. Would love to tell you what it is called but I lost the label - doh!

My geranium border - posh aren't I?  Not really, the pink stuff seeds all over the place.  The blue came from my mother's and I remember it from when I was a little girl.

My garden is full of plants that remind me of my family, the peonies and lily-of-the-valley of my Grandparents, blue geraniums of my mother, the pink geraniums and my kerria japonica of my late elder brother and the whole garden of my father who helped me plan and plant it and taught me how to double-dig the new plot - happy memories.

Better go now before I start blubbing.

Back soon with some crafty stuff - I hope.

WOYWW 157

Julia asks the question 'What's on your Workspace Wednesday, I reply 'Not a lot this week'.

Just a few Pan Pastels from my playing before the weekend, some ATCs I have received as part of the celebration of the 3rd anniversary of WOYWW and the pyramid box I made at the weekend class lead by Neet.

The ATCs are from AnneR, May, Doone, Toni, Jo (Twiglet) and Annie (Wipso), all different and all beautiful.

We went down to Bristol, in the pouring rain, on Sunday to stay with my StepD and family and we had our own flag-waving celebration tea for the Jubilee.

 Kitty (20 months) entered in to the waving with enthusiasm, almost as enthusiastically as she ate her pork pie.

We only stayed one night and were well and truly wiped out yesterday.  Not only that but the dog was sick twice and I ended up with an eye infection so no crafting for me for a day or so - hard to craft when you can only see out of one eye. Last week I managed to visit almost all the desks, and left comments on about half of them, not sure I can manage that this week, especially with my painful eye but I will try to get round some tomorrow.

Fingers crossed my eye problem clears up quickly and I can get down to some  serious playing and show you more next Wednesday.

WOYWW 156 - Happy anniversary

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY JULIA AND ALL YOU FELLOW WOYWWers!*!*!*!

What's on your workspace?  Easy to answer this week - ATCs of course in celebration of the 3rd anniversary of What's On Your Workspace Wednesday, the weekly global blog hop that, just like Topsy, grew and grew.

So, a pile of ATCs, of course, stamps and envelopes.  I made quite a few so am hoping I can get a few people to swap with me as well as doing the 'next on the list' swap.  I already have three people who have said they will swap but I have lots ready to go to good homes - or even wickedly naughty homes.

If you want to swap then you can email via my Profile page and I will get back to you with my address.

Also on the desk, new Pan Pastels, yes, I gave in and bought a few - as if I needed any more colouring mediums, but then what's money for if not for spending, and Neet put me on to a very good deal.  Only three showing there, the rest are hidden behind all the Distress Inks.  Not had time to have a proper play but I did make a couple of backgrounds for ATCs and then had a play yesterday with the three colours you see and an eraser - to make the lines on the cards bottom left.  They blend beautifully and are super-rich colours so I'm pleased with the results.

Short(ish) post this week in the true spirit of WOYWW so a big thanks to Julia for hosting this great blog hop and I raise my glass to say 'here's to many more years' (well I would raise a glass if the sun was over the yardarm - whatever that means - so I'll just raise my porridge bowl instead.)