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.
Read MoreI 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.
Read MoreI fully plan to make some more of the projects in this book. I am a little bit taken by the author's quest for simplicity, not just in making things but in life. I was impressed that towards the end of the book, she talks about how she doesn't really buy clothes anymore for either herself or her daughter, she makes them.
Read MoreSo.. the tuffet. Well, this is a project that has been on the back burner, or rather on the top of my cupboard for quite some time. It all started when I was visiting my dear friend Sylvi in Houston last year. She was making tuffets and teaching tuffet making and I went along with her to one of her classes. Of course, I came home with the pattern.
Read MoreApril 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.
Read MoreYorkshire folk are renowned for their plain speaking, no nonsense way of doing things. I am not so good at this! Probably because I like writing and creating and all sorts of chattery nonsense really. But....being a 'recycling' kinda gal who believes 100% in using up and making everything pretty ... AND in order to not feel too bad about the amount of fabric in my sewing room...I decided today, to dig deep and have a go.
Read MoreJust interrupting the usual sewing chit chat, to say that there are some pretty new things in the shop this week to tempt you into Spring thoughts.
First up, 'On the Garden Fence' Kits are now available. They come in Ruby's very own lovely little boxes and there is everything you need in there except, the cushion pad, of course. Even the wool for the tassels is in there!. The pattern is for a standard 16" cushion pad and is fun to do, with some fabric weaving and some simple embroidery.
Read MoreSo on this dark and chilly winter's evening, when I was thinking about what to make, red stars were in my mind and very soon on the sewing table.
Read MoreI thought it might be a rather nice idea to follow in Carl Faberge's footsteps and each Easter, create an egg quilt block design that perhaps one day might turn into an epic quilt. Meanwhile, the patterns can be used for smaller, quicker projects that hail the arrival of Spring.......I am not sure it is quite up to Carl Faberge's standards, but it is fun and cheerful and will herald the arrival of Spring in just the same way as his eggs once did, long ago and far away.
Read MoreWhen I was a little girl, my father's work sometimes took him to London. He would travel by train from Yorkshire and on the way home he often brought a small gift for me. He told me that there was a magic barrel situated in Kings Cross Station and he would put in his hand in to see if there was something for me, if I had been good enough.
Read MoreJust a quick note to say that I have a few pretty little embroidery kits now in my Etsy shop. These are fun and modern and the kits contain everything you need to make the designs.
Read MoreI am always in awe of the fine travelling accessories the ladies of Miss Austen's time had and remember especially going to visit Josephine Bonaparte's house in Rueil Malmaision, in the suburbs of Paris and seeing the most wonderful collection of absolutely beautiful accessories with little embroidered bags and embossed leather carrying cases. Somehow, chucking everything in a zip up holdall doesn't quite have the same feel....?
Read MoreMaking Embroidery Modern
