A handcrafted, perfectly matched Clutch Bag

A handcrafted, perfectly matched Clutch Bag

I can't tell you how thrilled I am with this.   It is exactly how I imagined it would be - pretty, useful and completely unique.   It has all the feel of a vintage piece...a handcrafted perfectly matched accessory. 

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New Embroidery Patterns - Bloomsbury Squares

New Embroidery Patterns - Bloomsbury Squares

A whole new batch of pdf embroidery patterns are now up in my Etsy shop.   Take a little wander back in time with my Bloomsbury Squares designs as they chart the dramatic changes in fashion during the 20th century.   

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Starry, Starry Skies....a hand sewn poncho

Starry, Starry Skies....a hand sewn poncho

I scattered and layered my stars in little constellations on the fabric, a bit strategically placed for effect, but quite relaxed.  I mixed and matched grey and white and used several different sizes of templates.  As I started to hand appliqué them on, I had so much fun, making each one different.  Using a variety of stitches, beads and sequins, I soon had a stellar array before me.

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Swedish Embroidery

Swedish Embroidery

We were lucky enough to live in Stockholm for 3 years from 2011.  It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been and Sweden generally is a country of absolutely sweeping landscapes, peppered with sparkling waters and rocky islands.    My husband bought me this cushion kit 3 years ago as a birthday present, just before we left to return to England.   As is often the case with hand sewing projects like this, I have picked it up and put it down a hundred times and it has been lurking in our sitting room in a basket for quite some time.  I am not really sure why it has taken me so long, but I guess that is a familiar story to most of you who sew.

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Vintage Linen Revival Quilt - Block 5

Vintage Linen Revival Quilt - Block 5

I am rather charmed by this one.   I love the soft colours, which is unusual for me as I am one for bright colour pops.  Perhaps it is just that I am taken back to another time, when needlework was crafted with precision and used and loved and worn.  I love that.

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Vintage Linen Revival Quilt - Block 4

Vintage Linen Revival Quilt - Block 4

April brings another chance to get back to my 'Vintage Linen Revival Quilt Project'. It is rapidly becoming one of those deliciously theraputic projects.... no rules....no pattern....no specified fabrics.....just a box of old vintage linens that are falling apart and desperately in need of a new and exciting life.Block 4 has turned out way different to how I imagined when I started out.

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Vintage Linen Revival Quilt 2017 - Block 2

Vintage Linen Revival Quilt 2017 - Block 2

Having had a large box of old linens stashed in my cupboard for a long time, I am finally recycling and repairing and cutting and embroidering and attempting to make a new quilt old of old and very beautifully worked pieces of needlework. After being rather pleased with my first block, this next block is a different challenge. I have no plan for any of this, so I literally just pulled a piece out of box randomly and then thought about what to do. This time, it is a very lovely, very fine cushion cover that has a large tear in the middle of it. I have absolutely no idea where this came from or who might have made it originally, but I think it must have been an enormous amount of work.

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Vintage Linen Revival Quilt 2017 - Block 1

Vintage Linen Revival Quilt 2017 - Block 1

'JANUARY IS FULL OF POSSIBILITIES' - at least that is what is says on the opening page of my 'Simple Things' mag this month and I like that idea. I am so excited to begin this project and as I have absolutely no plan at all, it will be winding and colourful journey.

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2017 VINTAGE LINEN REVIVAL PROJECT

2017 VINTAGE LINEN REVIVAL PROJECT

SOOOooooo with the new year upon us, I decided that it might be fun to do a month on month project to make a 'revival quilt' out of all these wonderful textiles. It will be a total adventure in needlework and I am already imagining that I will have to find innovative ways to rescue some of these textiles and enhance others. I have a feeling that I when I actually start to look really closely at this handiwork, I will be absolutely in awe of the needlewomen who made these things. They are from a lost time really and I don't want them to be lost anymore.

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