Keep it tidy tilly!!!

One of my sewing resolutions this year is to keep my sewing stuff tidy and organised. Previously, I had teetering piles of fabric on open shelves that never looked tidy... and I could never find what I wanted. Then I'd spend ages picking up, refolding and restacking the piles of fabric! Annoying and so time-wasting when all I needed was a tiny scrap of yellow for an appliqué flower centre..

I already had several plastic storage boxes from my card making days, so I utilised those for patterns, buttons, threads, etc., then I  bought several larger see-through plastic boxes from Ikea for my fabrics. It took me an absolute age to sort everything out but it was so worth it! I also cleared off the bookcase at the side of my desk and moved all my sewing stash on to it. All my fabrics are sorted by colour, with the exception of my collection of Nancy Halvorsen fabrics - they have a box of their own :)

It's absolute bliss to be able to just reach up, grab a box and know that what I need is in there.
The only thing is... I have to keep it tidy and put things away as I finish with them!!!

While I've got the camera in my hand,  I've taken a photo of what's on my desk today... my sewing machine! It's a Brother Inovis 350SE, I bought the extension table and also several extra feet for patchwork and quilting. I've had this machine for just over a year and I absolutely love it!

I must finish that pillow......

Starting to stitch....

When I was a young girl (many years ago) we girls were taught embroidery at school. We used iron-on transfers, all stitches had to be perfect and precise so I spent more time unpicking than anything else! We made things like tea tray cloths and pretty embroidered hankies to give Granny for Christmas. Nothing very exciting and I didn't continue to embroider once I'd left school.

Now, through my wanderings on the internet, I've found that it doesn't seem to be called embroidery these days... it's stitchery. Wow, are there some clever designers out there! A whole new world of lovely things I want to make for my home. I mean, who uses hand embroidered hankies these days anyway?

So I dusted off my rusty skills, practiced a few stitches on a scrap of fabric, bought a pattern or two and had a go. This was my first stitchery project - Quilt Shoppe Pillow by Lynette Anderson... although mine didn't end up as a pillow, I made it into a wall hanging for my craft room.  The pattern came with an iron-on transfer so I was familiar with that part, then came the stitching and the appliqué... I loved it and a new addiction was born! I learned a few new things along the way too, like the benefits of using a stabiliser under the fabric... I wouldn't stitch without it now! I also learned that it does NOT have to be perfect. The things I stitch are for me and my family, I love making them and a little bit of love goes into every stitch. Far more important to me than perfection :)

Once I'd finished the wall hanging I couldn't wait to start stitching something else. I chose the Sewing Angel Tool Store by Anni Downs of Hatched and Patched. Apart from the fact that it would be very useful for keeping all my sewing bits together whether I was upstairs or downstairs, I love the combination of stitchery, appliqué and sewing. Enough there to keep me interested for sure. I  made it a little bigger than the pattern and adjusted the inside to suit my needs.

The tool store closed. All neat and tidy, so easy to carry round the house.

With the front cover open. Even though my scalloped edge went a bit wonky, I loved working the panel for the flap.

And here it is fully opened, everything I need for a stitching session is in there. Pattern and threads, needles and pins, scissors, stitch unpicker, fabric glue and marker. I use it every day!


I really love this stitchery lark :)

and some sewing....

In 2010 my first great grandchild was born... imagine how OLD that made me feel!!!

We knew it was to be a boy and decided to get a Moses basket for him. Well.. we soon found that if we wanted something really nice, it would be really expensive. So instead we bought an inexpensive Moses basket and I made new covers for it. The original ones were a nasty, scratchy cotton and that wouldn't do at all for a precious new baby! I stripped off the basket hood, linings and coverlet and unpicked them to use as patterns for the new fabric. I'd chosen a lovely soft, cream cotton with satin spots, accented with beige and coffee trims.

Here it is finished... the 'baby' all snuggled up inside is a small hot water bottle with a little lamb cover :)

I also made embroidered cotton sheets and fleece blankets to match and knitted several blankets to keep him cosy.

and here's the baby sheep all tucked up inside!