I want to blog more!

But life gets in the way! This doesn’t mean I am not crafting or reading your lovely comments and emails. I feel bad. I have not replied to some of your comments and questions straight away even though I feel privileged that you are stopping by and taking time to read all this. But I will try and post more now that everything has calmed down a bit.

So first thing, we have moved home. A nice big house where everyone can have their own room! Yes, I now have a sewing room!!! whoo hoo!!! It is a summer house, it is in the garden, it has not yet been fully restored but it is all mine! I have a lot of space, electricity, heating, WI-FI. It’s amazing and cannot wait to start redecorating it. Photos of the inside to follow soon (hopefully as I depend on my husband’s good will for that one).

Because moving was stressful and time consuming, it was difficult to find time to create anything at all. But you know me, I cannot stay too long away from a sewing machine!

My friend bought me for my Thirtieth a great book called “Gerties new book for better sewing” and managed to make two garments so far.

Having done a bit of patchwork and quilting I wanted to investigate the dressmaking side of sewing. I am really enjoying it and find the challenge interesting even if I still find it scary to cut the fabric around the pattern!

zipped skirt

summer retro blouse

Going to Brighton to The Sewing Center, I found this amazing and unusual grey and yellow fabric and bought enough to make a cushion for my new living room and a matching lamp shade. The result is striking (even if I do say so myself!) and is going really well with the colour scheme.

We spent the summer (a full month) in San Francisco where my husband was working.We stayed in Livermore, a sweet little town on the outskirt of San Francisco. People were nice, the food was amazing, the weather was heaven, the clothes really cheap, the apartment were we stayed was idyllic. Let’s just say none of us wanted to come back.  When visiting the town center I was hoping to find a quilting/fabric shop and.. TA DA!!! I found the most exquisite little shop called “In between stitches”.

got so excited in there!

The ladies were very welcoming, helpful and chatty. The range of fabrics was astonishing, I had never seen anything like it! I was in HEAVEN!! I spent an hour the first time (yes I came back several times after that!) I was very sad to leave Livermore for that shop only!

trying to keep calm....

OMG I cannot contain myself!!

I bought a little bit of fabric but really wanted to buy it all. It is sooo cheap compare to the UK. The only thing stopping me was luggage space ( I bought so much clothes too, it was hard to close the suitcases!). I bought grey and yellow fabrics to make a quilt for my second living room:

I have drawn a plan of the quilt I would like to make:

I will post a tutorial for that one soon (but cannot promise too soon!)

I bought more fabrics on sales to make skirts and some more fat quarter but not sure what I’ll be doing with then yet!

I absolutely flashed on that one:

I have no idea what to do with it but just knew I had to get it!

I have a lot of projects I have planned to sew, I just need to get myself organised with work and family time. I have just finished redecorating my husband’s office and would like to make him a little framed cross stitch:

We are fans of the IT Crowds and my hubby’s a geek so thought it might look good on his office wall!

I also would like to finish all my cross stitch projects (3 on the go). I like some of Helen Tran’s designs, they look dainty and pretty.

The list is pretty endless really: finish some quilts that need to be sandwiched and quilted, make more skirts and blouse as I have bought the fabrics, sew with my son as he loves it and finish his table mat… just so many ideas and little time!

But what I really would like to do is blog more often. I love to do it, I love to sit down to write down my past projects and future ones and I love to see so many of you taking time to read my babbling!

Happy sewing everyone!