A very rainy day

Hello Folks how are you all on this very rainy Friday evening.  This week has been very busy as always - I am sure that you have all been equally as busy.  I had to go out this afternoon from work to the North Wales coast on some business and on the way home I stopped off at the lovely Rhos-on-Sea.  If you remember I had visited there last Saturday and there was a lovely shop which I wanted to visit.  It was closed then but I really wanted to get back to it as soon as I could.  I was so glad that I did.  Do come in and make yourself at home and I'll pop the kettle on.

 

When I had visited Rhos-on-Sea last week I found a wonderfully old fashioned looking shop which was beautifully presented outside and inside.  It was closed then but there was lots of quality items in the windows and quite a few people were having a look in.  I was determined to come back to explore and went back today.  I would have taken some photographs outside but, unfortunately, the rain was torrential and it was impossible to get a good view.  I was going to take some on Saturday but there were quite a few people around so it was difficult.  Next time I visit I will take some pictures for you as it is so lovely and I'm sure you lovely People would love to see it.

 

 

This glamorous lady was just inside the shop and as you can see from the picture there are lots of lovely vintage things to look at.  When I stepped into the shop it really reminded me of Berties which I think I mentioned in another post.  This was the most gorgeous vintage dress shop I have ever been in - sadly Berties has now closed down but he is still operating online.  Anyway, I digress, back to this lovely place.  This shop is called Naturally and the address is 28 Colwyn Avenue, Rhos-on-Sea, LL28 4RB and it is packed with beautiful vintage clothes, handbags, cashmere sweaters, cashmere scarves, china, glass, in fact everything you could think of.   Even a rather lovely old cash register.

 

The shop has three beautiful rooms and out of one of these came a very glamorous owner who is from Russia.  Her name is Tanya and she is just such a lovely lady.  She explained that she had a great love of vintage and always wanted to rescue beautiful things.  She worked hard really collecting a wide range of goods which would appeal to many people, including me.  I had spied three rather lovely figures which I thought would look nice in our house.  I also loved the picture below and the vintage typewriter, I would love one of these but have nowhere to put it!  Have you spied anything you would like?

 

 

Below is a picture of the middle room - I apologise for the quality of the photographs, I am not happy with them and am seriously thinking about a new camera, I know I had some great advice from some of my lovely readers so am going to have a look at some.

 

There was so much to look at and these pictures don't do the shop justice.  However, what really made the shop special was Tanya as it was so obvious that she had a great love of vintage and really appreciated everything she had collected.

 

 

This was the third room and had lots of vintage clothes, handbags and linen and I was very tempted with a few pieces.  Tanya had some fantastic French table linen which was all in fabulous condition.

 

 

Aren't these gorgeous!

 

 

Tanya also had lots of beautiful jewellery and nick-nacks - I could have bought so much today Folks and am regretting not buying some of the linen, but, I will be returning again.

 

 

If you are ever over in North Wales and want to visit a wonderful vintage shop which is so well loved and cared for then do visit Tanya, I know that you will be given such a warm welcome and you will love browsing as I did today.  She has said that you can contact her on 01492 541726 if you wish to find out the times her shop is open, I know she will be delighted to see you.

 

Over the last few nights I have been trying to make room in my tiny sewing place and have found even more projects which are unfinished.  Remember I said that I would try and finish things this year lovely Folks.  I found this little bag which I had knitted from a Debbie Abraham's kit - I had bought this absolutely ages ago from Rowan Mills in Holmfirth.  As you can see it is lined in a Kaffe Fassett fabric and I had attached some handles. 

 

 

For some bizarre reason, only known to me, I had left off a few buttons and found them inside the bag waiting to be sewn on - how crazy is that!  I have no idea why I had left it unfinished considering how little needed to be done.  I feel ashamed of myself telling you all this.  The front has some really cute beads on - I am sure you know by now how much I adore beads.

 

 

This is the back part of the bag with some jolly stripes

 

 

Below is the bag all finished and ready to go, I am quite proud of it now and think it is quite nice.  I hope you all like it too.

 

 

To put me to even more shame Folks here is the label which I had sewn in..............look at the date on it.

 

 

 

Well, at least that is another unfinished project out of the way.  I have to move on now to finish the birthday cushion which has to be posted by Monday in order to reach her in good time.  I will post more photographs as I sew this.  My printmaking course starts on Tuesday evening and I am so excited but have not got a clue what I am letting myself in for.  Sewing classes also start on Wednesday evening so it looks as if it is going to be a full week ahead but it is exciting.

 

Well my lovely Readers, I will finish now as I want to prepare the fabrics for the cushion.  I also meant to say that I bought the paints today for my Sophie Tilley dolly and am excited that my husband is going to paint it for me - I know I should do it really but I am just hopeless and would hate to make a mess of it.

 

I do hope you all have a wonderful evening and day tomorrow - hope the weather is kinder to you than here.  I could hardly see to drive when I was coming home tonight but it seems to have eased off slightly now.  I had gotten used to the sunny days - hope they haven't gone forever now!  Speak soon, much love to you all as always, Dorothy :-)xxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

The Postman called

Hello Everyone I do hope you have had a lovely day or night, depending on where you are in our world.  It has been a very hot day here but I have been in work since early this morning so not had the chance to really enjoy it.  I was home a little earlier but needed to sort out emails from some of my new learners.  However I had a nice little delivery from the postman today which I am going to show you now.  Do come in and make yourself at home - coffee, tea, cake?  It is so lovely to see you again.  This is just a quick post tonight unfortunately as I have so much work to do I won't have much time to do anything else and I am determined to get into bed before 1am!  I am taking notice of your comments so a big thank you for those, it means a lot to me.

 

I have wanted a Sophie Tilley doll for ages and last time I tried to get one they had all been sold out.  However, going back on to her website I found she had a new stock in so mega excitement as it arrived today.  It came in a cute little box with some lovely fabric printed ready to cut out for her dress and hairband - what fun!

 

 

 

Everything was there that I needed to make up my little cutie - already thinking of a name for her.  I did mention before that art is definitely not my best talent so my lovely husband is going to have a go at it for me as he is very, very talented.

 

Sophie is also opening her workshop in September so it will be incredible to go and meet her personally and see her other work.  Hopefully she will allow some photography so that I can share it all with you all lovely Folks.

 

 

It comes with very clear instructions - all in colour which is wonderful.

 

 

It even came with a template to practise painting the sweet little face she has.  Sophie assured me that this would help and I am sure it will.  My husband already has had a look and says it should be quite easy - so paint hunting tomorrow is one of his jobs.

 

 

I just love the little dress which is so nicely printed on some gorgeous fabric - very silky and glam.  Would love a dress in this pattern myself - what about you lovely Folks?

 

 

Now, what about the birthday cushion.  I have had a think about it today and also read your lovely comments, thanks so much for these as they are really appreciated.  Following your advice I have decided to go with the main colour in orange and the inner part brown.

 

 

Thinking about the design I had bought a pattern on Ebay and decided that I could use this to make it a special cushion.  I am not going to use the letters to make up the name (like I did with Lauren's cushion) as you suggested.  The design I am going to use is one of Jacqui Clive's designs which are very simple but I hope will be stunningly effective (I hope!).

 

 

The pack included a template for a largish heart so I can do this in the brown to be overlaid on the orange.  Within the heart I can put some little fancies which hopefully be make the cushion very unique and special to the birthday girl.

 

 

 

Below is a photograph of what it could look like when finished but I am not going to use the patchwork effect but just use the brown with some of the orange on it.  I haven't decided fully yet on the design but need to be quick as it has to be completed over the weekend if possible.

 

 

Well lovely Folks that is it for tonight, sorry it is so short. I have had a lot to do today and tomorrow is going to be absolutely mega busy.  I hope your have found something of interest in my post and will hopefully leave a comment if you wish, I do adore hearing from you all.  Have  a great day tomorrow wherever you are, have lots of smiles and love from your dear ones.  Hopefully I will speak to you all very soon.  Lots of love as always, Dorothy :-)xxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nearly there now

Well hi Everyone do come in and make yourselves at  home.  I was home late tonight from work so have only just got on to the computer.  I have been itching to get home to try and finish the birthday bag and make a start on the cushion.  I am sure you have had this happen to you - I made plans to get away at a reasonable time but one thing led to another, then after I got home there were a few phone calls, then some emails and more emails, make tea, tidy the things away, more emails.............When does it stop? 

Anyway I am here now and it is so lovely to see you all - what a treat it is for me.  I must admit that I stayed up late last night to sew the lining into the bag - it wouldn't work with the sewing machine so it was hand sewing all the way around.  Since I have worked on the machine I have found it easier whereas in the past I would have always hand stitched as much as I could.  When I look at my handiwork it doesn't look that professional so I am never as pleased with it and would always rather machine it.  But needs must. 

 

 

I must say that I used a different type of wadding this time and was not as pleased with the end result as I was with Lauren's bag.  This one was much more fluffy and tends to get tangled in the machine, I kept worrying that the needle would break but it didn't.  I certainly wouldn't use this type of wadding again in the future for things like this. 

 



 

I have used more buttons on this one as I thought they would make a change from my usual beads.  There are some beads on it but not as much as Lauren's as I was very conscious that I was going to run out of time before the birthday party next week.

 

This is the front with the little elastic tags on.  I am going to attach some orange buttons as that is her favourite colour. 
 

Below is the little bead to signify her special birthday date - I hope she likes it.

 

 

Here it is finished below.  Looking at it now I feel disappointed as I think there are too many buttons on it but I had to move on as time is short.  What do you think lovely Folks?  I always seem to leave myself short of time - not deliberately as there is a lot to do as we all know but time seems to slip through my hands like water.  Any advice about time management gratefully received.

 

 

I bought a Cath Kidston birthday card which contains a little hankie which I thought was sweet.  I always hope handkerchiefs will make a comeback but I guess they won't as they are quite unhygienic I suppose and we don't all the time to boil and iron them nowadays.  But, who knows..............I know that the lovely Hannapat loves them as I do - am saving you some Hannapat for when we meet up.  

 

 

Here is the hankie - lovely!

 

 

 

You may remember this little pouch below which I made ages ago.  I thought it would make a handy insert for the bag so that she can put any little bits and pieces such as hankies, comb and so on.

 

 

I have put in a little soap and some nice body cream - always useful, especially for me at my age.

 

 

 

As you can see below, the pouch just fits in nicely into the bag.  Oh I do hope she likes it, one can never tell with such things.

 

 

Now lovely Folks I need your kind advice here.  I am dithering over the cushion - shall I make the main piece in the orange which I know she will love and have in the inner piece brown?  Any applique can be then done in the brown and would be quite effective and eye-catching I think.  Or, shall I do it the other way around - I need to make a decision by tomorrow so I can start it.  I am wondering about putting her nick name in big letters, not sure how it will look.  I had thought of cutting out some of the orange patterns and stitching them on to the brown - oh dear, another decision to make and I am stuck.  Help!  

 

I also thought about making a small brooch out of this orange zip and putting it on the cushion somewhere, there isn't much room left on the bag for a brooch now so it would have to be on the cushion.  What do you think?  I am sure you are getting as confused as I am.

 

 

Well lovely Folks I will leave you soon.  I am so so tired today, have had a really weary day and not my best at all so apologies for the lacklustre post.  I get so fired up about life and want to run 100 miles an hour with everything but then get shot down in flames when I overtire myself as I have today.  I was going to cut out the cushion tonight but am going to stop instead and wait for tomorrow.  I am hoping you will send me some lovely ideas as you always do.   

 

One little message to a lovely friend who I love dearly - J has had some upsetting news and she has been on my mind all day - do send her lots of positive wishes dear Friends as she badly needs them now.  She is the most wonderful sewer and crafter and undersells herself all the time.  I am so far away from her it is so hard to do anything really concrete except send her lots of love and good wishes.  I am sending her a big virtual hug and hope you will do too. 

 

I will hopefully speak to you all tomorrow dear Friends, do leave a comment as I love hearing from you, it makes it all worthwhile.  Be safe, be happy and laugh.  Lots of love to you as always, Dorothy :-)xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It is hard going!

Hello Everyone, I am back yet again.  I just wanted to let you know my progress so far - very slow I am afraid.  I don't know why it is that some projects just whizz along nicely whilst others (like this one) see to fight you at every step of the way.

 

As you know I made the last bag with the tea towel in my sewing class and did have a lot of help from the lovely Rachel.  I messed things up with the present bag by not measuring accurately which meant that I had to take it home unfinished and needing to have the magnetic fastenings put on it. I am that confident with these clasps so Rachel did the last lot for me.  However, after your lovely comments and support I made the decision tonight to put little elastic tags on with two buttons instead. 

 

 

It has been slow work tonight as I have a lot of my day work to prepare for tomorrow so had to do this first as well as all the other household chores which we all have to do.  I got the machine out and fiddled around with the top of the bag and have managed to insert the elastic and sew the bag flap onto the main body of the bag.  I did sew a piece of ribbon to cover the extra stitching and although I am not very happy with it, I am afraid it will have to stay put.

 

 

I would be grateful for all your comments but please don't ask me to take it all out will you or shall I burst into tears!

 

That is as far as I have got tonight, not much to show I am afraid so it is a quick post you will be glad to hear.  However, I did want to share a magazine called Homemaker I bought yesterday with you all.  You may have already got it but if you haven't there were quite a few interesting things in it. 

 

 

The magazine very much heralds the coming of the autumn season with some lovely pictures. I do love this beautiful wreath which would look stunning on a front door or inside the hall.  I am sure it would be quite easy to do if you took your time and used the photograph as a template.

 

I loved these cute little brooches and am looking forward to making one or two.  The ribbon comes from a firm called Crafty Ribbons and costs £2 per metre.  I think they look really cute, what about you?
 

 

 

 

 I think this mood board is super and wish I had one which looked like this - so colourful and inspiring.  I do have one in my tiny sewing room but is so small and I tend not to use it much which is a shame.

 

 

I had to include this photograph of the recipe for macaroons as I have a funny tale to tell you.  When my gorgeous little granddaughters recently came to stay, we had, as you know, a girls' day out in Chester.  One of our first ports of call was for a cake and a coffee (coffee for me, cake for them).  There are lots of nice little tea shops in Chester and a new one had just opened on the Rows.  The window was really colourful and inviting with a big display of very colourful macaroons.  They were excited and wanted some so in we went.

 

 

 I wasn't completely sure they would enjoy them but they insisted - what would Grandma know about anything!  The macaroons were very small, very colourful and very very expensive.  They spent a long time deciding which colour they were going to eat.  One picked the red one and other the green one - into their mouths they went - two minutes later a huge cry which everyone in the café heard - 'Grandma these are horrible!'.  The assistant rushed over to see what had happened and I had to reassure her that they just weren't to their taste.  I could see some of the diners smiling and laughing among themselves.  Needless to say we quickly had our drinks and left.  But, before we did we had to nip to the toilet and they were both in raptures - they had a pink toilet seat, their squeals could be heard all over the place.  We definitely didn't go back in the afternoon Folks.

 

Homemaker is already showing ideas for gifts for Christmas and I spotted these useful tins from Emma Bridgewater.  I have already pinpointed these as a gift for my lovely daughter-in-law who is the best cake maker I know - could knock Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood into a cocked hat.  She especially loves cake tins and Emma Bridgewater so these should do the trick.

 

 

Have already checked EB website but they are not on yet so if you like them just keep an eye out for them coming in soon.  They cost £30 which I presume is for the three - hope so!

 

There are three designers I have fallen in love with (well with their work, not them personally you understand).  I had not heard of Claire Maraldo before but her work is so cute and special.

 

 

Do have a look at her website - www.madeinpixieland.co.uk - there is not a lot on it at present but she is one to look out for.

The second lady, Jennifer Collier runs a gallery in Stafford which is about an hour and a half from me.  I had made arrangements last January to attend one of her courses but had to cancel as my husband was poorly.

 

 

I am definitely going to one this year though - the little bird box is one of the workshops I would love to do.  Jennifer works with all types of materials including paper, textiles and stitching and is so creative and talented. Can't wait to go to one of her Saturday classes soon. 

 

Finally, I think I have mentioned this lady before.  Her name is Sophie Tilley and she had a workshop not far from where my husband was born in North Wales.  Her work was featured in Mollie Makes and I have been waiting for ages for some of her kits to come up for sale.

 

 

 

She makes these wonderful dolls which I just adore.  I tried to buy one some months ago but they sold out overnight so I am thinking seriously of getting one of the kits before they sell out.  The only thing I am worried about is the painting of the face which just makes the doll.  I am hopeless, just hopeless at art and know I would make a complete mess of it.  However, my husband is a lovely artist so I have asked him if he would do the painting and of course he said yes, what a love.  Will keep you posted about this Folks.

 

Well Everyone, time is moving on swiftly.  I have a very early start at work tomorrow as I have tons to do so I need to be thinking about bed a little earlier tonight - although this probably won't happen.  I want to do a bit more work on the bag tomorrow and try and nearly finish it so I can crack on with the birthday cushion.

 

I do hope you all have a truly wonderful day tomorrow and the sun shines on you and your families.  Be safe, be happy and smile.  I hope you can leave a comment as I do love to hear from you, it makes such a difference.  Speak soon, much love to you as always, Dorothy:-)xxxxxxxxxx 

Thank you for all your help

Hello Folks how are you doing?  I hope you are having a good time and are all happy and well.  Do come in and have a comfy seat and a drink - cakes or biscuits, or both?

I just wanted to say a big thank you for the suggestions about my problem with the birthday bag.  I have been mulling this over all day and have come up with two possible outcomes - Velcro or little buttons and a hook. I am not confident enough to put any buttonholes in the bag as I would be terrified that they wouldn't turn out right.  I am not sure which one I will go with yet but hopefully it will turn out ok whether it is Velcro or buttons.  Thanks to you all for giving me advice, it is always welcome.

 

We had a day out yesterday to make the most of the sunny weather and visited the seaside town of Llandudno which was in full swing with a motorcycle rally.  It was a gorgeous afternoon and so lovely to see everyone out enjoying themselves, hard to think it is the day before the start of autumn.

There were lots of people involved in fund raising for the lifeboat which is such a splendid organisation and saves so many lives.  My Dad was very involved in the sea and ships/boats all his life and this charity was so dear to his heart and is to mine as well.

 

 

Please don't ask me anything about vehicles as I am a complete dodo when it comes to anything mechanised.  I thought all the motorcycles looked very pretty in the sunshine - I am sure my husband wouldn't be pleased at me using the word 'pretty' to describe a motorbike!

The photograph below looks like it has been taken abroad somewhere, it was a great day.

More lovely bikes.

On the way home coming out of Llandudno we went past this interesting looking shop so of course I had to stop to call in.

The shop was tucked away in a quiet part of the outskirts of the town but was wonderfully presented.  It really caught my eye as it was so inviting.  It is called Molly and Mabel and the website is just under construction at the moment.  Claire, the lovely owner was so enthusiastic as everything in the shop is made by local craftspeople and upstairs they have some lovely vintage clothes for sale.  I shall certainly be visiting again soon now that I have found it. The shop had the most wonderful chandelier pictured below, apologies as it is not a very clear photograph.  It is French from the 1920s and was for sale but at £1,400. it was a little beyond my purse but gorgeous to look at.

Below are more photographs of the vintage clothes from the shop, all very nice.

 

 

Well lovely Friends this is a very short post as I need to get on with my sewing/crochet.  I shall hopefully be back very shortly with some new photographs of the finished bag and fingers crossed it will have turned out better than I hoped!

 

Speak to you very soon, have a wonderful afternoon and be happy.  Thanks so much for calling by, you are such a tonic to me.  Lots of love as always Dorothy :-)xxxxxxxxxxxx