Gin!

If you love gin, or any good spirit, and live in the Glasgow area, you MUST get along to The Good Spirits Company.

Bought some of this. YUM.

Have had a gin tasting night there with a pal, and we have had a fantastic night!
Amazed I can type, really :D
Lovely, lovely, gin ..... mmmmmmmm.....

Finish-it Friday and a First for me

Very alliterative :)

I made a cushion today! Well, finished one really. I'd made most of the top up before with some tweeds that my folks had sent me, and needed to finish it off. My cousin is looking for autumn-coloured cushions to go with her living room, and I thought this one would fit the bill perfectly.

And I got to do something new on my sewing machine today - Buttonholes!
I know, I know, I should have practiced them before, but somehow never got around to it. Today was the day :) I had a couple of practice runs and launched myself onto the main back. And it worked! Yay me!

Have some photos:

 The finished size is 20" square. The front is pieced with 1/2 " seams because the wool tweed frays like mad, and it is quite bulky. The green is less in your face in real life :)

 I made the back from two pieces of corduroy fabric I found on ebay. Love it! Love the seams too, look at that baby. Nothing showing, nothing squint! Excellent to cut too, you just go along the lines :)

Because the wool was a bit frayish and a looser weave than I'm used to, I hand-quilted the seam again, sewing parallel to the machine-sewed lines, just to catch it at the back and make a feature. I also cut the corners where the seams meet, to reduce bulk on the inside. To finish the front, I ironed on interfacing to the back and cut it to the shape of the top. All three layers (front, interfacing and corduroy back) were sewn together on my wee Brother (which sounds funny when you read it out loud!) XL5700.

Luckily I found three matching buttons in my stash. You can see that the middle buttonhole is slightly lower, but for a first attempt I am pretty chuffed. Have a close up :)

 I used hemming web in the fold to give it a bit more stability and because I'd never tried it before. It held pretty well, but it might have been ok anyway. It's a sturdy fabric and nice to use. How clever are sewing machines to make a buttonhole in one go!

I filled it with two IKEA pillow forms, cos one looked a bit weedy.
And voila! If I can tell you anything else, please ask!
Linking to Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom x

I'm a REALLY lucky lucky girl!

Have received a beautiful, gorgeous and stunningly well-finished pants bag from Jen at Glinda Quilts. Check out this link for pics, I have had no chance today to get the camera out, and even if I did, pics could not do it justice.

UPDATED TO ADD: Some lovely photos. The inside of the bag is as beautifully finished as the outside. Am looking it over and being massively impressed at the neatness and perfect finishing. The detail! Love. MUCH too nice to put pants in. Thinking my (small) cashmere yarn collection or a Faberge egg or someone's first born child ....

The blue ombre fabric is soooo gorgeous!

Adore the facets on the jewel! So clever!

Look at the attention to detail - 2 folds here, for ribbon going both ways, and it STILL looks neat and perfect. Look at those teeny finishing stitches!

Inside out. The inside is as neatly finished as the outside. Am stunned. Love the wee pocket.

The finishing is exquisite, the sewing and quilting amazing, and I am beyond delighted.
Thank you Jen! So much!
Am very,very lucky :D

Hallo, hallo, anyone there?

Or should that be directed at me? I've taken the wee one up to see my folks for a week, so there was much playing with cousins and pals, and much not cooking and Scrabble playing for me YAY!

Lovely to be home though, despite the long drive back. Very lovely to see my hubby and cat, in that order :)

Sewing wise, have done flip all since my last post; knitting wise, have made a sock and started the second one. Slow, slow, but the little I have done has been very therapeutic.

Alas, back to reality tomorrow. The house needs to be cleaned, the bags to be unpacked, beds to be stripped, messages to be bought, child to be dropped at and collected from school (insert small 'yay' here if desired) etc etc etc.

Still, Spring! Tulips! Evening light! Lambs hopping about! Sunshine with warmth in it!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwww!

Small things continued...

Have finished a few more cards for my craft show tomorrow -

Hope they get a good reception :)  Made some more today but camera playing up, typical. Very satisfying though!
Linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts for a Friday Finish!

Craft Fair goodness!

I'll be selling some of my stuff, including the wee cards, at this craft fair in Ayr Town Hall tomorrow - Sat 6th April, between 12 and 3. Look for Fankle Quilting & Knitting!

I'll have my cards, some cushions, quilts, placemats, crochet brooches, a few other textile pieces and much colour and rainbow loveliness :D

Hope to see you there!

Appearances can be deceptive

For example, it looks like a gorgeous spring day - sun beaming down from the blue sky, birds singing - until you step outside and the chill wind goes right through you and freezes your kidneys.

For example, it looks like I am sitting at the laptop, surfing the web, playing Words With Friends and listening to Radio4 Extra - whereas I am actually pondering the commission I have to do and email off in the next couple of days.

Honest.