Making a freestyle needlepoint seat cover inspired by the Natural History Museum

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Making a freestyle needlepoint seat cover inspired by the Natural History Museum

…I thought about my little seat cover - it too tells a story. A story of a very grand victorian museum that houses thousands of tiny tales of voyages of exploration and discovery. It made me think that needlepoint can be an enduring way to tell your own story in this modern world. As my canvas has filled in, the weight and durability of the whole piece is highlighted. This seat cover will long outlive me - it has become, almost without consciousness, a heritage piece and a family heirloom and this fills my heart with joy.It’s been a long and relaxed project and in conclusion I can say it is up cycling at the very least and it is a legacy piece of the best kind….personal, interesting and brings a smile to your face in a flash. How lovely is that….

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Making the Tower Crossbody Bag

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Making the Tower Crossbody Bag

Hi there and a little unexpected post that has slipped in between the upheaval in things here. We had expected our house move to go through any day and I was almost packing boxes and then the chain broke at the other end and everything is suddenly on hold again. It is unsettling and disappointing and infuriating and for a few days I was so fed up, I couldn’t settle to anything. But there is nothing like a little bag making and embroidery to calm things down and in sorting out my stash in the sewing room I had come across the last bit of a beautiful piece of raspberry coloured wool fabric that I had brought back from Stockholm.

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City Threads : Paris

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City Threads : Paris

“Whatever one is doing in Paris, it is necessary to do it in style. There is also no doubt that Paris holds within it’s City limits, everything you can imagine to help you find your own style and embrace the love of fru…fru and all that jazz. It is always the place to be.”

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Making the Scout Shawl

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Making the Scout Shawl

Hello and welcome to the first post of 2024. As I mentioned at the end of last year, we are in the middle of a big house move so things are a little in flux here, however, I have had a project on the go through all the stress of selling a house and it has been invaluable in helping to cope not just with this, but also the dark winter days that seem so short and damp and plagued with endless grey skies. The ‘Scout Shawl’ is a masterclass in practicing fairisle knitting.

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Making a Maple Leaf Quilt

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Making a Maple Leaf Quilt

For the first post of the year, this seems strangely out of order, but that is probably because I am late finishing it. On the other hand, it is really not out of order at all, because this quilt is a very special one and a memento of our beautiful old Sunday School House, here in Yorkshire. We are moving!

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Making a Christmas felted floral centrepiece

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Making a Christmas felted floral centrepiece

A Scandinavian Christmas is always my go to idea of how to decorate our home. We lived for 3 years in Stockholm and the sight of tiny candles glimmering through frosted windows, will always stay with me. Everything was beautifully decorated there without any of the garish, cheap and nasty plastic junk that pops up in the shops here. Silver candles and golden stars with natural wreaths and handmade decorations in felt, paper and wood, were what I took away from our time in Scandinavia and this year, I went all out to solve a problem with this candelabra.

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The Oak Leaves Embroidery

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The Oak Leaves Embroidery

This lovely project came together over many months and from many sources and it is one of my most favourite pieces EVER! It is quite a story from tiny beginnings to a framing restoration challenge, but it is now an heirloom and, I hope the start of taking my embroidery to a higher level.

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Visiting the exhibition 'Crown to Couture'

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Visiting the exhibition 'Crown to Couture'

Having just returned from a visit to London, I wanted so much to share with you a wonderful day spent at Kensington Palace to see the current exhibition ‘Crown to Couture’. The exhibition is billed as the ‘fashion show of centuries’ and it is.

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Making a capsule holiday wardrobe

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Making a capsule holiday wardrobe

… Anyhow, I set out to plan a capsule wardrobe for hot weather. Given that I am not really a pro dressmaker and everything is done with lowish expectations, I am so absolutely thrilled with my makes. Here’s how it went.

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Making the Yarn Minder Bag by SewSweetness

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Making the Yarn Minder Bag by SewSweetness

And then there were three…. It’s bag fest time. Last weekend was my annual foray into bag making and I get so much pleasure out of plotting and planning what it will be, researching the options and gathering the supplies. This year it is the Yarn Minder Bag by Sara Lawson of Sew Sweetness.

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