Friday 2 August 2013

Oh dear - not such a success today!

 
 
Hello Everyone how are you all. I do hope everyone of you is happy and well.  It has been a glorious sunny day here in my part of the world so I hope you are all enjoying some good weather, wherever you are.  Do come in and make yourself at home - would you like a cuppa?  One day when technology has moved on you will probably be able to answer me!
 
Last weekend I was in Manchester and completely forgot to show you some of my purchases.  My lovely granddaughter who is in university has a birthday this month and I wanted to get her a new pen case as one of her little gifts. 

I found what looked like a new shop selling loads of little fripperies such as tiny erasers of all designs which were just so cute and pens, books and pencil cases as well as small bags.  I don't know about you Folks but I do love little notebooks and pencils/pens. The shop was called Blott but I couldn't tell you where it was now as I don't know Manchester that well and tend to go to Birmingham or Liverpool for big shopping and London of course when I can!  They also have stores around Great Britain and their website is www.blottshop.com.

They had pens which had lovely smells attached to them - this one is called pizza but it does smell rather nice!





There were literally hundreds of these little erasers of all shapes and colours.  They were £1 each and the children in the shop were going wild choosing them all - I was good and kept to three although I wanted to buy loads more. The cute little box is for storing the erasers - I got one for myself for beads, it is a such a pretty little thing.




And a cute little book to go with them......




Finally, here is the pencil case - they also sold smallish bags which unzipped - they were amazing. Ages ago, in one of the craft magazines, I saw that someone had made brooches out of zips which I thought was really clever and cute.  I have always wanted to have a go at making one.    The team in the shop weren't that keen on me taking photographs so I couldn't get a picture of one of the bags for you.  I bought this little pencil case which cost £5 but would be pennies to make using up old zips.  Anyone else seen anything about up-cycling zips?  I would love to hear from you all.  Anyway I am going to have a go at making one when I find enough old zips.  As you know I struggle with zips so maybe this will be a form of therapy for me...........
 
 
Last night I couldn't sleep as it was so hot and one of those nights I could have stayed up all night.  I had found some fabric in the back of the cupboard which I thought would suit the crinoline lady cushion cover.  I am getting quicker and quicker with this Folks, thanks Lillyblossom (|www.etsy.com/uk/shop/LillyBlossom) - Many apologies Everyone but the link is still not working for some reason - is anyone else having problems?  It is such a nuisance.
 
 
I thought the fabric worked quite well and I just had enough to make it go around as it was a bigger cushion than the last one.  I do hope you all like it.
 
 
 Last night I also got it into my head to make one of the lovely Helen Philipp's (www.helenphilipps.blogspot.com bunnies which I adore as you know.  I had found this magazine buried under all the bits and pieces on my sewing room floor which had one of her patterns in!  Goodness knows what else is under there..... 
 
 

 
 This is the cuddly bunny in question - I decided to make a little girl as the bits of fabric I had left over for the outfit were all pink.
 
 
 
 Above is a photograph of the lovely Helen Philipps - she is such a talented lady and so helpful, I am a big fan of hers.
 
 
 
If you remember I wanted to use one of the tea towels I had bought from Marks and Spencer on Wednesday.  I particularly liked this design and am sure that I have seen small teddies made in a similar design somewhere.

I traced off all the pieces straight on to the tea towel and machined around them all, not cutting anything at this stage.
 
 
 
 

These are the ears with the pink fabric which I am going to use for her dress.
 

I cut her out and started stitching her together and then came to make her dress which is pretty basic I have to say.  I wanted a full skirt so had another go at the gathering foot for my machine.  I think Jo from Three Stories High (joeeveryday19.blogspot.com) had commented that these were pretty expensive.  Apologies if it wasn't you Jo.  I bought it from Amazon from a company called 60 degrees (sorry can't find the degrees button on my computer!).  As you can see from the price it was very reasonable at £3.60p.
 
 
 
It did come with very clear instructions which even I could use and the foot can also be used for smocking.  Apologies to all of you very talented people who are good with the machine, as you can tell I am still very much a learner.  The foot will also attach another piece of fabric to the gathering - very clever in deed.
 
 
 
 
 
 Here we go - the finished piece which I thought was pretty good overall and a lot quicker than when I usually do it by hand.
 
 
 
 
 Now for the not so clever part of the day.  I didn't like the pattern on the tea towel at all when I had finished it - it didn't turn out the same as I had it in my mind.  I also made a lot of mistakes - for example I filled up the arms and legs too much and should have left gaps at the tops so that they could easily be sewn on using a machine.  The ears didn't really match Helen's photographs so I was disappointed with these.  Also, I do find the faces so hard - my husband says thank goodness I am not a cosmetic surgeon as good knows what my patients would look like after facial work.  I know that my embroidery skills are not up to scratch yet and didn't want to make a complete mess of the bunny's face so I used a fine pen instead. 

Helen you are a genius - I look at your lovely books all the time and do so love the bunnies you make but you can rest easy that I am not going to take over the retail world of bunnies and soft toys at this rate.
 
 
I was pleased with her little outfit and hat and like to think she is on her way to a grand wedding somewhere.  Haven't got a name for her, bless her little heart. 

I have been thinking that I would like to have a giveaway to one of my lovely readers - please don't worry the prize isn't the little nameless bunny!  Perhaps you could offer some names and I could put these in a hat and pull out the winner.  I need to get a prize together so will write more about this later on in the week. 


Well lovely Folks I will leave you with our little friend up here - have a wonderful evening or day depending on which part of the world you are in.  Keep safe and happy, I love having you all visit, you make my day and I will speak to you all very soon once again.

Just one last comment Folks, have a look at the lovely Lauren's blog on www.guthrie-ghani.co.uk which shows my two bags - just a little disappointed that my name wasn't on them but they are the two side by side - red and blue seaside fabric.  Never thought one of my creations would ever be shown on a website gallery so thank you Lauren, cheered me up no end.  Also big thanks to LillyBlossom for the wonderful pattern for the seaside bag and Vicki from Rowan for the great workshop where I made my red bag.  Team effort I would say!

Thank you for stopping by and see you very soon.  Lots of love, a big hug, Dorothy :-)xxxxxxxxxxx
 

22 comments:

  1. I think she looks lovely. I like the corsage on her jacket! My suggestion for a name is Flora. She looks like a Floppy Flora to me! I hope you enjoy your weekend, Lesley x

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    1. Hi Lesley this is a lovely name, thank you. I hope you don't mind but I have nominated you for the Liebster Award Nomination. Have a read of my latest post for more details.
      Thank you for your wonderful support Lesley you are a star.
      Dorothy
      :-)xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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  2. Aww, she's cute! She looks like a Beatrice to me...no idea why but the name popped into my head when I looked at her! Good for you being on Laura's blog, wow! :)

    Love, Tina xx

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    1. Hi Tina how lovely to hear from you - I have been looking for your blog and think I have the wrong one! Do you have a blog Tina as I would love to visit you, thank you so much for taking the time to call over to see me, I really love to hear from you all.
      Have a wonderful Sunday,
      lots of love
      Dorothy
      :-)xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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  3. I think she is really lovely! I think Daisy would suit her nicely. Her outfit is very sweet and I love the trim on her dress. Have a great weekend!

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  4. Hi Dorothy, thanks so much for the lovely comments you've been leaving on my blog. I'm so pleased to hear that you've been inspired to take up sewing again - it's so sad that so many people were put off sewing by a scary teacher, but I'm so glad you're back into it! Love those erasers by the way - too cute!

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  5. I love your bunny. To me she looks perfect and cuddly, she will make some little (or big) girl very happy. Don't be too hard on yourself Dorothy, you make lovely things and as the Amish say "only God makes things perfect". You will find always on Amish quilts, a few stitches that are not quite right because of this.
    You are a very talented lady.

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  6. Oh Dorothy you just keep on amazing me with your work and where to start?! Thanks for the link on the eraser shop I know my kids will love this. Unclipping zips can be a tricky business. I usually buy the long uncut zips and cut and fit them but you will need the end bit to make it work, if you want the zip bit offcourse (not sure this makes sense ?!). Wow you bag, it looks amazing and dare I say the best on that page, what a pity your name isn't next to it. You should be very very proud!! Now for little miss flopsy, she is too cute for words and the name I'm choosing is little ms flopsy or flopsy for short. Thanks for all the info on the gathering foot most certainly easier than doing it all by hand and it looks pretty good! Loving your cushions I don't know where you get the time. I hope you don't mind but I will be nominating you for a Liebster award today. Hope the publish my post later today. Wishing you a very happy weekend lovely Dorothy xoxo

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    1. Hi Hannapat thank you for your wonderful comments. You are one of the people who have inspired me and kept me going. What is a Liebster award? I hope we can meet up, maybe at the next fair, let's know when your website is up and running. Have a wonderful weekend
      Lots of love
      Dorothy
      :-)xxxxxx

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    2. Gosh the feeling us mutual. Liebster award, well it's all new to me but you will get a feel for it when you read my post. I googled it. It's to support small blogs with less than 200 followers. I think your blog is wonderful hence the nomination. Xxx

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  7. Hi Dorothy
    I found my way here from Tilly and the Buttons.
    It was lovely to read your blog. So far I have only read this one, and I got a cup of coffee to do so ;0) I shall continue on later in the day during a crafting break.
    I have only re-started crafting in the last 5 years and am being pulled every which way as I want to re learn everything. To think that back in the 70's I used to fair-isle beautifully.
    Thank you for your inspiration and lovely photos.

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  8. Sorry, I am back again!!! Not stalking you, honest.
    I remembered seeing the Zip broach some where and here it is http://www.burdastyle.com/blog/zipper-accessories. There is a video to watch.

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    1. Cally thank you so much for visiting, it is so lovely to hear from you. I found your blog Cally and I was overwhelmed by all that you wrote. You are such an inspiring lady and so brave Cally. I noticed that you hadn't written for a while but I do hope you will return when you are ready as you are so talented. Is that you in the photograph of the lady with the new baby? You look a lovely lady and I hope you will get back to me soon. Look after yourself Cally
      Lots of love
      Dorothy
      :-)xxxxxxxxxxxxx

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    2. Hi Dorothy
      How kind of you to take the time to write to me.
      Yes, that is a photo of me with my first, and as of today, my only Grandchild (MaeRose) She was born less than 3 months before Martin passed away so he never met her.
      I have not looked at my Blog since then.
      I am still crafting away, learning lots of new things and re-visiting old crafts.
      I think I should start afresh with a new Blog but will have to find out how to do that. I am a bit of a Wally with technology. Give me Crafting any time ;0)
      Would love to keep in touch, do you know if there is any way I can send you my e-mail address that will not be visible to every body.
      Love the pic of the zip bag, how fab is that. After seeing a video of the Zip Purse I think that will make great little gifts on the Christmas table for my guests. To think that I used to have a huge bag of zips that were discarded when I had a clear out. along with my Grandmothers biscuit tin full of buttons~~~~how could I have been so stupid?
      Thanks for listening
      Hugs
      Cally x

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  9. Goes to show how similar we are, I've made that same bunny for a friends new born daughter!!! I love how you can use fabrics in such different ways, I don't have that kind of imagination so well done you!!! Xxx

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    1. Hi Coddyette thank you so much for dropping by it was so kind of you. I have been looking for your blog as I would love to visit you there. Let's know where you are and I hope to speak very soon.
      Lots of love
      Dorothy
      :-)xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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  10. I wondered how that gathering foot would turn out - pretty good it seems. I think your makes are coming along a treat you are learning so much. I love the rabbit. I find ears a bit tricky too. Congratulations on your gallery photo, I checked it out and it looks really good, you must be so proud of yourself. Keep crafting! Oh yeah on zippy brooches try this from my blog. http://joeveryday19.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/zip-brooch.html

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    1. Hi Jo glad that you like the gathering foot it is certainly worth the money. I hope you don't mind but I have nominated you for the Liebster Award Nomination - have a look on the latest post to see it. Thanks for all your lovely support Jo, you are a star.
      Dorothy
      :-)xxxxxxxxxxxx

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  11. I'm going to have to go through all my sewing machine feet now, to see if I have a gathering foot - I have picked up so many over the years and have no idea what some of them do; thanks for the inspiration. I too have made the same/similar bunny, but just using one fabric for bunny; and there she sits, doing nothing! :-( I need to finish her clothes and get her given to a friends granddaughter. Mine is called Florry (Florence on Sundays!) I think your Bunny looks like a Lizzie?
    Jude.x

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  12. Aw, well she is just gorgeous! You have done a fabulous job.
    Alas, my sewing skills are verrrrrry limited, so I applaud anyone who can make anything as lovely as this!
    I think a good name might be Annabelle!
    Sarah x

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  13. Stop being so hard on yourself, lovely Dorothy. I've been looking back through your blog at the great things you've made. Take heart, this crafting business is a learning curve, we're all always learning, and even our mistakes teach us something! You now have me hankering after a gathering foot...
    Hope the postie brought you something pretty today...
    Hen xxx

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