How good it feels to bottom it!

As I use my sewing room almost every day I expect it to be a bit dusty. I use loads of fleece and knitted fabrics and cutting them out alone seems to cover every surface with a fine layer of fibres. I hadn't realised however until the other day when in the words of my mother I bottomed it just how mucky it really was! (This was apparently a well known phrase about 50 years ago in Yorkshire, but not used so much now! Although why it was a favourite of my mother a Kentish girl, I have no idea.)
Oh the shame! There was enough fluff to almost fill a cushion., so once I started there was no going back.
It did have its plus points finding as I did one or two things I had 'lost'.... Rolls of ribbon, small scissors and several reels of thread to name a few.
And now its neat and shiny again, for a few days at least and it really feels good.

I've rearranged and thinned out some of my vintage toys and sewing ephemera.

 

Hung some new bunting (remember the five sided hexagons I crocheted!) They look lovely now linked together and not such a stupid mistake anymore.

Organised my ribbons and trims and bought a couple more really useful boxes to tidy up my fabric overflow.

However I seem to be, rather worryingly, getting a bit obsessed with deep cleaning at the moment.  I'm glad (in more ways than one) that I am well past child bearing age as this sudden urge to tidy my nest might have other connotations. Last week it was the cooker this week the sewing room, whatever next?
I can see I may need to take up yet another hobby before I actually begin to plan Housework!!

Right off now to embroider a baby blanket before I start cutting out and making a mess again.

Hope you have a good week

TTFN

Jenny xx

Just bits and bobs.....

September...almost over, I can hardly believe it!
It seems no time since we were basking in sunshine and spending endless days in the summerhouse and now its almost time to put it to bed and start thinking of cosy nights inside. Sigh!!.....

Well I haven't been completely idle over the past weeks, but I must say I have definitely slowed down....Lots of bits and bobs really..

I finally finished my grandson's jumper.......and it still fits!

and started one for his brother (I hope to finish this one a little quicker)

 

I've repainted another fireside chair. We only had one in the dining room where DH likes to watch his sport on the bigger TV, but the grandsons love being in this room so we thought we would take out the child's chair we had here before and give them both a 'grown up' one now. Cant make up my mind though whether to leave the green covers which I made previously or make some more in a toning red or taupe fabric!

I've had to remake the red checked chair cushion too as the springs underneath had worn the  bottom away .

I've been playing with my embroidery machine too! I love all these cushions with deer heads and while looking for some machine embroideries to my taste, I found an article about 'picture stitch' and remembered that this was a function of my machine. So I found a photograph of a deer, and a hare which I also love and set about converting them to embroideries and this is the result for the deer.....

I love it! I know it isn't perfect and no doubt if I were a bit more savvy with photoshop I could make the original image much sharper which would then make the embroidery have better definition, but I think for a first attempt it's not bad. So it looks like I'll be making a few cushion covers in the next few weeks. They'll be lovely to add to the knitted deer cushion I hope to make from the pattern lovely Lucy from Lemonade Kitty wrote out for me earlier in the year.

So together with the pile of dressmaking I have lined up I guess it's just as well the weather's changing and the nights drawing in as I could be locked in my sewing room for some time.

 That is when I'm not glued to Pinterest or playing with this awesome App.....

 A corner of my bedroom and Winnibriggs House in glorious watercolour!.......What do you think. I think its awesome in fact I think I will print off the house picture and frame it........

Well enough of my ramblings, I hope you all have a good  and productive week...

TTFN

Jenny xx

TWINWOOD 2014......Just fabulous again!

Well we certainly picked our day this year. On a somewhat unpredictable weekend we spent Sunday at the fabulous Twinwood Festival and had a glorious day. Though not quite as hot as last year it was perfect for walking about and out of the wind was quite warm.
This year we planned ahead a bit and took fold up chairs.

We found our spot up on the bank so that we could observe the main stage, arena and dance floors and then took ourselves off to visit all the lovely stalls, do some people watching and enjoy the atmosphere.
And that's just it, something we noticed on our first visit last year, everyone is so friendly and there is such a joyous vibe over the whole festival!

It really doesn't matter how you dress whether you come to observe or really go the whole hog. It's a festival that is just so welcoming. Families,couples, groups all having a whale of a time to excellent and varied music from the 30s to the 50s.

Outfit details.....Navy hat, Miss Sally Victor (Ebay), navy floral dress, Simplicity 1587. 

Brown hat, Tootsie and Tiger Ltd Truro, Yellow spot dressButterick B5281

We had some lovely comments about our dress, were asked to pose for some photographs by a gentleman who had just become the new owner of a vintage motorcycle company, and had lots of conversations with other festival goers about where we got our costumes and just generally about the era. It was like being on an outing with loads of friends!

 Gorgeous frocks for sale

Fabulous vintage cars

Young and old getting into the swing of it.

There were some amazing acts and bands from rock n roll to swing, check out the Twinwood brochure for more info here and so many actually dancing it was a real pleasure to watch, in fact there were times when I wish I was 16 again.

So well done Twinwood yet again. We will be back!

Hope you enjoy the rest of the week, the weather is supposed to improve again, so hopefully the children will get a bit more outdoor fun before its back to school.

TTFN

Jenny xx

Autumn/Winter Wardrobe 2014

I don't think I would describe myself as a fashionista, but I do confess to loving clothes. I say that with some reservation though as I really have struggled over the past couple of years to find anything on the High Street that isn't intended for 13 year olds or my grandmother!
I don't consider myself old, but I don't want to dress like a teenager or look as though I have grabbed the first thing that fits me each morning.
I suppose I do go for a more classic touch, but I like a bit of fun with my clothes too.
The one thing I do take note of though is the current colour palette.
And guess what, how rare is this. I actually have a wardrobe full of Autumn/Winter clothes in this seasons main colours.

Crimson/cranberry

I do tend to lean towards the greyer palette here, but skirt, coat and  I have trousers too will all get an outing teamed with a couple of new tops.

Teal

One of my favourite colours. Again coat and trousers, but also a classic dress and cardigan. Just a scarf and top will soon make them seem new to me and save my purse.

Orange

Not always an easy colour to wear, but I have seen this teamed with grey, and it really looks quite fresh especially if you keep it away from your face.

Cobalt Blue

Not too sure about this and certainly not in my wardrobe! Truth to tell though I haven't tried it, so perhaps when I next go shopping I might try something on. I'm more likely to try trousers or skirt, but I won't dismiss it completely

Purple

I do have one dress and I like to mix jewel colours together so perhaps with a hint of the fuchsia it might get an outing .

Peachy nudes

I have worn these a lot over the summer and so I am quite pleased they will still be 'in vogue'. Especially since with our unpredictable weather I invested in a lovely jumper which will certainly be useful in the Autumn.

Caramel

Again I feel personally not an easy colour to carry off, but mixed with other neutrals such as camel and cream, seen in quite a few fashion shows it can look quite stunning and ageless.

There are other colours too, caution yellow, whatever that is! And lime if you want to be really daring, so pretty much something for everyone and every taste .

Do you follow any kind if trend? Or is it only that you won't be able to find any other colours in the shops.
I will definitely be recycling my wardrobe, too much there to consider buying anything else. I will sate my shopping need trying to find fabric to make the tops to wear with what I already have, 'cos to be honest I am rather fed up with thin tee shirt tops from well known companies with a £55 price tag which have been made in China!

Off now to research blouse/ top patterns, as if I didn't have enough of those too!
Still a girl has to have some shopping pleasure!

TTFN

Jenny xx

Nature... Captivating and free....!

Apart from the car park charges that is!
Although in fairness the charges at the Whisby Nature Park are only £2 for the day so we certainly shouldn't complain.
We have passed the signs to this many times on our way to Hemswell Antiques Centre and the Lincoln showground, but had never stopped to investigate. Well last Sunday we finally decided to check it out.

What a beautiful place.

In spring and summer, flocks of tits and finches are joined by warblers. The lakes attract feeding sand martins and swallows, and terns nest on the islands. Chiffchaffs, reed and sedge warblers can be heard. Whisby Nature Park has also become famous for nightingales.

There are about 6 miles of all ability walks and a number of stunning lakes. There are bird hides, an adventure playground for children and an education centre. Once gravel pits the park is now managed by Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust.
It was so good to just amble along spotting wild flowers and birds, dragon flies and damsel flies.

The hides give amazing views across the lakes and we spotted cranes, egrets and lapwings. The day was glorious, hot and sunny, but there was plenty of shade and when we had done there was the Boardwalk cafe to enjoy a refreshing drink on a verandah overlooking one of the lakes. The cafe also serves locally sourced delicious food.
It really was well worth a visit and would be fabulous for a family day out.
I think we may well return in the Autumn and Winter to see it in different seasons.

I'm off now to do the worse part of preparing for our pop up shop next Saturday...packing and labelling.

Wish me luck.

Hope you have lovely week

TTFN

Jenny xx

A change of heart....

Well summer holidays are upon us, mums , dads and grandparents too are crazily planning activities and outings to keep the young ones entertained. As one blogger I have just read quite rightly stated, it would be very difficult to limit the amount of time  the children  sit at computers and play on other gadgets if we don't do the same so I am using my evenings to catch up on blogging and sewing etc so that I can enjoy this glorious weather with them out and about.
It's funny how limiting your time seems to inspire you to greater activity, at least it does me, and I have done more sewing and crafting in the past week than I have for ages.
 Do you remember my attempt at the Collette Sorbetto top. I wasn't very impressed at first. The amount of alterations I had to make to the pattern somehow spoiled the feel of the finished top. However not one to give up and believing that it did have some redeeming features like the bias bound neck and absence of any fastenings, I decided to have another go. Since I stopped making my slippers to sell, I have boxes of lightweight cottons which would have been used for linings, going to waste. Some of these are very pretty and crying out to be made into something wearable. In the end I chose this chocolate spot fabric as I had quite a bit, so it wouldn't matter too much if I messed up. Luckily I was easily able I recreate the pattern in my own proper size, and even had enough fabric to make a simple skirt. For the skirt I used a New Look pattern 6051 which has a super collarless zip up jacket and trousers too.

 Though it must be a bit ancient, as I cant seem to trace this version at all on the internet! Must make sure I hang onto this one.

I love the contrast fabric  used as bias binding and continued the theme by making the waist binding and ties for the skirt from the same fabric.
Not bad out of 1.5 metres of main fabric and .5 metre of contrast for the binding. So all in all I think the top pattern will get well used after all, and of course it was free!

I've also made a few more pieces of recycled collage jewellery. This is a new venture for me and I'm still finding my feet and though it will never replace sewing, it is something I would like to continue with and develop. I' m also pretty proud of the necklace stands I've made out of cardboard and fabric scraps . I found the tutorial at 'Cut out and Keep' but cant seem to find it now. There is another one here though and it makes photographing and displaying them so much easier.

Next I repainted a Lloyd loom style chair in duck egg blue and recovered the seat in a pretty patchwork of duck egg blue and bright pink. I'm quite pleased with the result especially the colour combination.Shame the squares didn't quite line up, but it is supposed to be rustic looking !

My final project this week is a cushion cover made from 1950s curtain fabric finished off with a cute mini Pom Pom braid which will be up for sale in our pop up shop.

So a busy week crafting and sewing as well as looking after our gorgeous grandsons!
Sometimes a girl can have altogether too much fun!

Hope yours is half as good

TTFN

Jenny xx

COMING SOON A Date for your Diary....

WHOOPEE!!!!      A POP UP SHOP......

We have at last organised it. OLIVE and EDNA's VINTAGE EMPORIUM is having a pop up shop at

Liberty Rose Tea Room
22-23 Market Place
Grantham
Lincs
NG31 6LP

DATE  9 August 2014

TIME 10am to 4pm

Make a note in your diary if you are in the Lincs, Notts, Leicester area as we would love to see you.
The building is one of the most beautiful old shops here in Grantham and includes the really pretty tea rooms where you can pause for beverages and delectable cakes ( including chocolate and beetroot which I highly recommend) and also browse around one or two other permanent vintage and vintage style shops on the first floor.
We will be right at the top offering everything from chairs to ladders, suitcases and crockery, kitsch ornaments and vintage jewellery. There will also be a few OOAK collage necklaces made from preloved, rescued brooches, earrings etc.

 

 
We would love it if you would give us a shout on either Facebook or Twitter too, the more successful we are on the day, the more likely we are to be back again.
Hope to see you there

TTFN

Jenny and Heidi

Xxxx