It's A Tartan Day

I have a wonderful Aunt who very kindly sent me a batch of Harris Tweed tartan from her home in Scotland, alongside some other lovely woollen fabrics, a fantastic gift to receive for a fabric addict like myself.



Today I decided to try how they would look if I crafted them into a brooch, and chose one of the warm brown tartans, which was the perfect background for a lovely little orange vintage button, one of my favourites.



I've padded the brooch too to give it some depth, and edged it with a contrasting orange. It will be in my Etsy shop as from today, hot off the sewing machine.



Lots more tartan, lots more ideas........

Buttons and Hounds

I love buttons.
This is a fact.
I have boxes of buttons, bags of buttons, some new, some old, some faded, some gifted, some treasured.
So while thinking of a new picture for daughter's bedroom, it wasn't long before the buttons came to mind, and a joint project began.
One box of buttons, one tube of glue, one ikea white picture frame and the finished result -



Both myself and daughter have sorted buttons together for a few years now, and making this picture together, and hanging it in her newly decorated room, felt good. It now takes pride of place, hanging above the little black fireplace (and the restoration of that is another story...)



Making a picture for a child's room also led me to think about other ways to create wall decor that steps away from the twee and the predictable, and maybe how my hounds (or at least their images!) can find their way into bedrooms in a soothing sleep encouraging way. Over the past week I have been working on my latest wall art, the Greyhound at Night, now added to my etsy shop.



Which I think would be perfect for any age bedroom, surely the comfort of a hound guarding over you at night would help send you into happy dreamland. Made from a wonderful starry fabric, with the instructions to "shh..." embroidered next to a sleeping moon.

The Ears Of A Cat

"Dear Parent
Please send your child to school dressed as the super-hero of their choice....."

Oh yes one of those frantic moments of putting together a costume with very short notice.

Cat-woman was the heroine of choice, costume sorted (black clothes, no problem), cat ears to be made:

Cat Ears Steps:
I took a plain headband, measured out some black material,a rectangular piece, and wrapped it along the headband.
I hand-stitched it together along the inside.
Now for the ears - I cut out a square piece of black fabric, ironed on some interfacing to strengthen it, then cut out 4 ear shapes.
I stitched 2 ear shapes together, interfacing on the inside for both pieces - I used an edging stitch on the sewing machine.
The bottom edge of the ears was trimmed to match the shape of the headband, and I then hand-stitched the ears onto the headband.

And cat ears were made.

Summer Crops

A day of showers and sun, inbetween the latest downpour I was able to crop the last of the of fruit - and more of the prolific mange tout.



Plans had been to make more sowings - beans, lettuce, courgettes - after reading about the advantages of second sowings - more veg into the autumn (weather permitting).
However rain clouds and my aversion to gardening in the rain - oh I so need a greenhouse - have led me to a sofa and crochet day.

So hook at ready, wool stash at my feet, a bag, a bangle or a brooch? Decisions decisions.....

Tumbleweed.......and hounds

I apologise for my blog neglect over the past year or so. Sometimes life brings on changes, disruptions, and for a while my focus had to be directed elsewhere.



The new additions to my home - greyhound and lurcher boys - have not only added fun and frivolity (and a plethora of soft squeaky toys) but have started to creep into my craft - little greyhound profiles in brooches, wall art, and a few other ideas which will soon be heading their way into my etsy and folksy shops.



The support we received from our local Greyhound rescues, Greyhound Gap and GRWE when we adopted our hounds was fantastic, and to add my support to their ongoing endeavours I will now be donating 10% of my profits to Greyhound rescue.

Normal blogging services now resumed!