The Book Nerd Quilt

The Book Nerd Quilt

This ‘book nerd quilt’ is such a great pattern to let your own individual style shine - travel around the world, bury yourself in the classics, whip up the romance or make a book cover that might inspire you to write a book of your own someday.

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Hand embroidering shop bought clothes

Hand embroidering shop bought clothes

Adding a touch of hand embroidery to items of clothing that you have bought from a shop, can be a great and reasonably quick way to have a totally unique and bespoke garment. I think it is something people don’t often think to do and yet it is incredibly effective.

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Winter solstice embroidered project bag

Winter solstice embroidered project bag

If you are a maker, you probably have multiple projects going on and having bags like this are wonderful to keep everything together. It is pretty thing to take out and about with you if you are travelling or holidaying and want to take a little handwork with you. It is also a lovely gift for someone, either as a kit or made and customised for them.

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An embroidered Wildflower Garden Project Bag

An embroidered Wildflower Garden Project Bag

I may have mentioned to you before how much I liked the bi annual magazine 'Making' and this week I got the new spring issue.   As usual, it is to swoon over....indefinitely.  Packed full of beautiful, contemporary makes, both knitting and sewing, it is just gorgeous.

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The Abbey Embroidery Pattern

The Abbey Embroidery Pattern

So I have a new embroidery pattern to introduce today and I am really delighted with this one.  It began because we took a long weekend in Whitby.  Have you ever been there?  You should....it really is an absolutely lovely place.

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Two more Hashtag Embroidery Designs

Two more Hashtag Embroidery Designs

Not only would this make a very special gift, but you can make it entirely your own with more or less embroidery and you can use the machine or do hand work to complete the pattern.   There is a free tutorial on tutorials page if you would like some help with making one.

Now that they are all finished, I think they look so lovely all together.  What a great idea for a playroom or a family room - something for everyone I hope.

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Two new embroidery patterns

Two new embroidery patterns

Meanwhile, I have two new patterns up in the Etsy shop.  They are part of a series of 4 'hashtag' patterns and I hope you will like them.   I love this modern way of organising things in the digital world and hashtags seem to be so much part of life now that I decided to use them for a collection of patterns which reflect different emotions.  #Remember and #Explore are the first two patterns.

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The song of winter

The song of winter

I love this time of year....the colours....the chilling air, the early morning sparkle of frost, pulling out favourite sweaters and making soup, but most of all I love the promise of Christmas.    I think winter is the season that I love the most, although I don't believe this was always the case.

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Vintage Linen Revival Quilt and a change of direction

Vintage Linen Revival Quilt and a change of direction

It seemed all incredibly random to me this afternoon and I put them up on my design wall and pondered over it for sometime.  It was always an experiment for sure..... and cutting up vintage linens that are mostly rather tatty seems such a worthwhile project, but in order to upcycle - it has to be cohesive and the end result has to be useful.

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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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