Angel picture...fabric and paper collage..

This is a paper and fabric collage I did some while ago....I found it in a pile of cuttings from magazines.  I have scrap books going back over 20 years...I still refer to them for inspiration...

A few old photos of me.....

Some of these photos are very old ...they have been taken out of an album and been stored in a box for some time. A lot have marks on them..sorry about that...I just thought you might be interested in who I am......

This is me with my dad....he has always been an extremely handsome man...In all the photos of me when I was little I am frowning....I had that teddy all my life ...until...my youngest son Charlie decided to un stuff him.Charlie was about four at the time...I found the stuffing in the loo...and so it was time to part with my life long friend...sob!

I went to Kemsing primary school....

 

Fabric birds .....fairy lights in a twiggy tree.....

Before Christmas I bought this pretty twiggy tree complete with fairy lights....Sometimes I love my decorations so much that I keep them up all year....So it was with this tree.

 I have a dark little house and in the evening the stair light is permanently on as Charlie is forever up and down the stairs.....I adore the twinkle of fairy lights and placed the tree on a little chest of draws on the landing....It looked pretty, but a bit bare ....so....I made these little birds in various sizes from some of my favourite fabric scraps to hang in the tree.

 I wanted real feathers for the tails but no where locally sells them...impatient as I am I used wool. I cut the wool over twice the length I needed and knotted it in the middle, inserted it in the tail end and sewed up the hole with tiny stitches catching the wool in so that it could not pull out.....I used flower sequins for the eyes, sewing a weeny black bead in through the hole...the wings are just felt sewn on with a contrasting button. I threaded fishing line through to hang them from as this is fairly invisible....

This is the result....I tried to take a photo in the dark but it did not show up the details...so...sorry you can not see how pretty they really look....I put them on as soon as it starts to get dark and they light the stairs in a much nicer way than a ceiling light...

I love to crochet....granny squares...

My Nana taught me how to crochet when I was very young...by the age of ten I was proficient enough to teach my Auntie....My first completed project was a granny square poncho.....then a hippie bag ...then more bags which my dad took to work and sold to the girls in his office....This is how I began. I did not get much money for the bags, but enough to buy more wool and keep up production....They were made properly and I lined them...I sewed the lining on my Nans beautiful singer sewing machine and hand stitched the lining in....I also sold suede hippie belts and wrist bands....

The small blanket above was a gift for a friends baby...

I made this hat recently for myself...

This is work in progress....when it was finished I sold it on eBay ....

I made this bag after Christmas but still have not got around to lining it...I made the strap long and wide to wear across the body....I made this to go with my deep purple coat ...

The idea is to be hands free for shopping trips to Brighton.....One of my favourite pass times....down the lanes...wonderful shops...pubs and street cafes...

Work in progress !...I wish I had photos of all the things I have made...

Handmade cat and owl cushions....

Everything is a bit slow going at the moment...it is that time of year when businesses are quiet.....it is cold and miserable outside....and we are all looking forward to spring .

Personally I can't stand being cold, as soon as the sun shines I my brain seems to wake up and I feel motivated again.

I am trying to find a suitable on line shop...I only want a little one that is easy to manage...that I can link to my blog. I have been selling on eBay for five years but I find it far to expensive to run....listing....selling ....and paypal fees can at quiet times come to more than I am actually selling. Setting everything up is taking far longer than I thought it would...I am feeling frustrated by the whole thing.

I have designed a couple of cushions that have been going around in my head for a while...I made the patterns and tried them out to make sure they worked....I made the cat cushion from my fleece jacket that was feeling a bit tight after all that Christmas food...I put a zip in the back and made an inner cushion pad....I am very pleased with it, now I just need to find the right fabrics so that I can make some to sell...

 

Owls are very 70s and there are some nice cushion designs for sale on ebay and in shops...I was tempted to but one from eBay but I did not like the face so I have designed my own...The fabric I used is from my own stash...unused original 70s fabric that I thought was ideal as the design was reminiscent of feathers...I machine embroidered the eyes over two delicate flowers that I printed and appliqued them on. He  has a zip in the back and I lined him, placing a layer of wadding between the layers to give the whole thing more body and a better feel. The wings also have wadding inserted..I made an inner pad and feel very pleased with the outcome...He has a home on and old chair by the front door....

The way I work is probably a bit back to front ! I spend a lot of time looking for beautiful, quality fabrics for my work....but I like to buy remnants and ends of rolls so that I can keep my prices down...I don't design something and then but the fabric to make it from....I have the fabric and then think...what can I make from this...

Sometimes I have to wait before I can make up my patterns...for the right material and I like to make each thing unique in some way...I never make identical items.

A little peep into my home....

Sweet peas are my favourite flowers. I love the colours and they smell wonderful. I grew so many last year that I had vases full of them all around the house. This photo was taken in my sun room, the flowers stand on an old dresser base that I shall never part with....

This is the view from my kitchen window....snow!...I like to look at it but that is about all, I hate to be cold.  I love Spring through to Autumn........I am one of those people that can not bare to be uncomfortable in layers of clothes...stuck indoors with the heating on. I need to be out in the air...windows and doors wide open...I need the sun. In the summer you will find me either working in my sun room or in the garden....I live in bare feet...flip flops...cut off patched up jeans and cool pretty cotton tops.

This is my hall way, I collect all sorts of mirrors....they reflect the light back into my fairly dark house.  The large mirror says....mirror mirror on the wall.... I painted the stair wall white to keep it as light as possible and also because I am not restricted to using certain colours to coordinate it...I can put what I want where ever I want it...i am gradually re decorating in neutrals and white to allow me to use patchwork and bold retro fabrics ...I  love patterns and like to combine them...My taste is a mixture of shabby chic...retro 70s...gypsy...boho..hippie...

This is my sun room...There is no heating in this room so at the moment it is freezing...As soon as it is warm enough I put a large old pine table out there, and use this room to sew, paint and print my fabrics....It is not a very big room so I can only print on a small scale. I hang my printed fabrics on the washing line to dry along with material...yarn.....embroidery threads..and clothes that I dye and  tie-dye....I used to wonder what my neighbours thought...they are used to me now !

This is a very large wall and I tried hanging paintings and mirrors, but everything looked wrong and lost in the space....so I painted this....

My handmade gifts are loved....

I was sent these photos from one of my customers who is now one of my friends.....This is her beautiful daughter with a black cat that was given just before Christmas....Apparently she takes it everywhere....

The cat has been named Miss Perfect , and has visited Father Christmas and The Snow Queen.....

Just after Christmas Alison bought another cat...a pink one,

and for some reason her pet cat has taken a liking to it....

Along with the pink cat she also asked for a kitten in a bag that her cat carries around in its mouth , I would love to see a photo of that.......

When given this mermaid apparently Allison's daughter said....."I don't like it....I LOVE IT !"

Below is her other pet cat with some of the dolls.....

Our beautiful black cat...Bloopy...

This is our cat Bloopy....well he is Charlie's cat really, but I look after him and Charlie gets the cuddles.......

Charlie asked me to crochet this blanket as a gift for Bloopy last Christmas......However....his preferred sleeping seems to be anywhere that I want to sit.....the second I get up he jumps on and refuses to move, digging his claws in the seat..............

This is the original cat toy that I made as a gift for Charlie about seven years ago....His name is ...Bloopy cat !!!....Charlie asked me to make him a kitten....the kitten is called Bloopy kitten !!

Children are so funny when it comes to choosing names.........We love these toys and will keep them for any little ones that visit....

Such a sweet little kitten....

Knitting on four needles....

I am not a great lover of watching the telly...I don't mind a good film, and I have watched Eastenders since it began....apart from that I consider it a wast of my time,I would rather be doing something.

However...on a cold winter night my son Charlie and I sometimes snuggle under a blanket and I will let him choose what we watch as long as I can do some knitting or crochet.

I knitted this beret on four needles...a labour of love as it ended up a bit big and I made myself undo half of it and re knit it so that it would fit....I have a large head so I couldn't understand why it was large on me....either the pattern was wrong or my work was too loose....

Now, this jumper I am very pleased with !....I got the pattern from a google search...It was knitted on a circular needle and I made the fair isle pattern up as I went along.  I followed the pattern for the shaping....I am very pleased as it is a perfect fit and I enjoyed every stitch....um...decisions...what shall I knit next?

Handmade dolls..Goldilocks and the three bears..

 I thought it might be  fun to make some dolls from stories and nursery rhymes.....I am very pleased with how these turned out....However I shall not use the same fabric for the bears again....I used needle cord which gave the look I wanted, but it was so hard to turn them after sewing as the fabric is too stiff.....I shall repeat on these but in a different material...

I was in a mood for doing fiddly things when I made these, not at all normal for me...the clothes can be taken off..I added a little pocket and patch to Daddy bears trousers...I have been asked to reserve these for a customer, but I shall be making more soon....

Handmade fabric rag dolls.....

A lot of my customers say that my dolls have a retro look about them.....I suppose they do !....I drew some sketches...and decided to make a doll that looked a bit like how children draw people....I just love children's drawings...they have a way of simplifying everything..I have sold many of these, each is different. They are about 31 cm tall.....some have felt eyes sewn on with tiny stitches, but I am gradually going over to printing the faces...this adds to the retro look.  My main love is screen printing fabrics and I hope at some time to print the whole doll...I just need a bit more room in my tiny house to fit in a bigger table and use my larger screens. I print in the sun room in the summer...there is no heating out there, so some things I want to do will have to wait...

Handmade patchwork fabric lovebirds ...

These are Shabby Angel love birds....I made them in patchwork just because I love it and I thought it would make them colourful...They are 25 cm tall. Each has button eyes...a felt beak sewn on with tiny stitches and a pocket hand sewn on with a little stuffed heart . The wings have a layer of wadding in to give them some body....the feet are felt. These were quite time consuming but I enjoyed every minute...I sold three as soon as I made them....All my things are as well made as I can make them. All the things sewn on are done with very strong thread and as secure as possible...

Handmade gift...I love you...fabric cat dolls...

I was asked to make some pink I love you cats....the ones I made before Christmas were in colours suitable for boys or girls.....I sold out of them. So I have made these as I was asked and sold one to the lady who requested them....Little girls just love pink !  When I was little I wanted every thing purple...and I must admit it is still my favourite colour in any shade.

These cats are about 24 cm tall..they always seem to vary for some reason....the faces are printed and I did the words in various ways in order to make the all individual....

Garden art....things I have made for my garden..

I thought you might like to see some photos of my garden....Last year I did a lot of work out there to transform a muddy mess, and make it my own....My garden gets flooded, it is clay soil and it is hard to grow anything...or was.....I raised borders and dug up the grass, laying a patchwork of slabs, wood and pebbles.....A friend decked the top area and the very bottom is half done as the summer went and we ran out of time.

This was how it looked half way through the summer....

I wanted some garden art ,I have loads of ideas but only made a few things as most of my time was spent working, planting tending my veg. and watering....I bought galvanised wire and dug out my beads, buttons and old broken jewelry......these are the tings I made with very little cost...I used only a third of the wire which only cost £3.50.....