All the fun of the Fair . . .

I am sooo not a morning person, so when Mrs Sew Me Something herself mentioned she'd be swinging by in the van to pick me up before sunrise on Thursday morning,  I did my best to negotiate.  But the prospect of the possibility of rush-hour traffic on the M25, and an allocated set-up time dictated that we really did need to be up and on the road early.

And so it was that Reg {the trusty big white van packed to the gunwhales}, Jules & I set off heading south for The Handmade Fair at Hampton Court Palace in London.

Jules drove (very ably, I might add), whilst I nattered, knitted, and poured the coffee. 

 Traffic hold-ups ensued and it took us a while, but eventually we arrived safe & sound, and spent the rest of the day setting up the Sew Me Something stand.  

There was a lovely buzz around in anticipation of the Fair opening the next day.  Everywhere you looked was a flurry of folk unpacking boxes, wheeling trolleys, hanging bunting and generally just making the huge marquee look amazing.

Friday morning dawned beautifully sunny, and despite several bursts of rain throughout the day, we enjoyed all the fun of the Fair.  

Best of all I got to meet so many lovely peeps -  bloggy & IG friends, old & new, and a whole bunch of happy crafters from far and wide - who popped by the stand to say hello.

Just an all round fabulous event, in a beautiful setting . . . .

We were so busy that I didn't even have a chance to wander around and see everything, but by all accounts everyone seemed to have a good time.  

It was a bit of a tiring train trip home, but at least I didn't have to get up early again this morning  : - )

Happy weekend all,  

it's a sunny one here so we're making the most of it . . .

'til next time,

xoxo

 

Meet Cordelia . . .

Hello, and happy Friday to you . . .

It seems to me like the year is speeding by and I'm constantly playing catch-up as one busy week rolls into the next.   But I'm trying to steadily work my way through my WIP list and being very good about not starting anything new . . . at least until the current list is reduced to an acceptable (for me) level.

So first up for "show & tell" this week:  meet Cordelia.   

Actually, its proper name is The Cordelia Dress and it's the latest lovely pattern from Sew Me Something - however, despite having now made three,  none of them are in fact a dress  ; - )

guard dog . . .

  I do so love dresses, but have a fair abundance of them in my wardrobe already and what I really need for the upcoming Summer, is tops so I made these three at tunic length.  The pattern is quite versatile so really you can adjust the length to suit you . . . from tunic to maxi and everything in between - the choice is yours.

I made the two sleeveless tops a little while ago (regular readers may remember a few sneak peeks) , but just finished the other one this week.  The pattern includes three different sleeve options (the other being a longer sleeved version - perfect for the cooler seasons), all of which are very simple to do. 

 I love the clever twist at the front, and I must just point out that they look lovelier on person than on the hanger, but I'm home alone and decidedly rubbish at selfies, so hang they must.

lazy dog . . .

It's a long weekend here, so I'm hoping to get some more projects ticked off my List  - what are your weekend plans ?  Anything exciting ?

'til next time,

be happy

xoxo

ps.  And a big welcome to my new followers too - thanks for popping by, it's lovely to see you. 

sewing & mezzes . . .

Question: 

What trumps a crafternoon with lovely friends, copious cuppas and yummy cake ?

Answer: 

 An evening spent sewing with those same lovely friends, a tipple or two (it improves the sewing apparently . . . so I'm told) and a delicious array of mezzes.

So, we annexed the lovely Sew Me Something studio (thanks Jules), 

ordered nibbles from El Greco - the oh-so-fab Greek eatery next door,  

and had a merry time sewing & nattering away to our hearts' content.

Quite a lovely way to spend an evening, don't you think ?

'til next time,

xoxo

The Great Spring Bloggy Meet-up . . .

After a week of lovely warm sunny days, last Saturday dawned, rainy and just a tad chilly but the clouds soon cleared and the sun put it's hat on.  Yay . . .

And from near & far, a confusion of bloggers gathered in beautiful Stratford upon Avon. 

 

around & about in Shakespeare's town

  

a spot of shopping at Sew Me Something

lunch & laughter at The Four Teas

We chatted (a lot) and we laughed (a lot), 

we shared stories, 

we ate, 

we drank, 

we shopped, 

we wandered,

 we nattered some more, and we laughed some more.

Oh what a fabulous day we had . . .

Thank you   Mel Makes,   Mellie Moo (on Instagram),  The Patchwork Robin,  Plain Jane,  Three Stories High,  Lazy Daisy Jones,  Perfect Sarah (on Instagram),  Love Made My Home,  and Sunshine Reflections
- it was such a blessing to spend the day in your delightful company.
Let's do it again.
 Soon. 








: - )


 'til next time,

xoxo

ps.  do pop over and read all the other accounts of our lovely day too, they're guaranteed to make you smile.

Simple Summer Sewing . . .

Thank you lovely peeps,  for your kind get-well wishes and sweet comments, as always, and I really do hope to catch up with all your bloggy news soon too.

  I'm back at full strength again and had a most creative & productive weekend which started on Friday with a happy sewing day spent in the company of my delightful friend Sarah.

Lots of nattering, yummy food, and some sewing - just a perfect way to spend a day.

We both made the same simple summery Retro Shift dress from Christine Haynes' book

 "chic & simple Sewing" which comes complete with full-sized paper patterns - a good thing indeed as I'm really not a big fan of printing and piecing PDF patterns.  The instructions were not overly clear at times, but between us we worked it out.  And there are a few other lovely projects in the book that I like the look of too. We picked up our copies at The Works for £8.95 so it was really good value, considering it contains 20 project patterns.

. . . lunch was ooh-sew-delicious too . . .

Despite some sunshiney days, it's still a tad chilly here so it may be a little while before I get to wear my new dress -  but I'm ever hopeful that we'll have a hot summer and I'll get to wear it lots.

The fabric is from Sew Me Something (of course . . .) and it's from the pretty Petal & Plume range by AGF.  I couldn't resist it - it's just sew ME  : - )

And then I made a top too -  it's a pressie for my lovely sis, so I can't show you that quite yet.

Oh, and I finished my crocheted cushion too  ( I did say, it was a productive weekend . . .) so stay tuned and as soon as I've taken some pics, I promise to show & tell.

'til next time,

xoxo

Oh, and ps.  Is anyone else planning a visit to Hobbycrafts & Sewing for Pleasure at the NEC in Birmingham this week ? 

I've been . . .

. . . A little under the weather :  

knocked sideways for a couple of weeks by the lurgy that seems to be going around at the moment, so really wasn't feeling up to much.  As a result, I most annoyingly indeed,  missed out on the little sojourn in London at the Knitting & Stitching Show. 

 Isn't that just so infuriating when plans you've made go awry all because of a horrible little germ-bug?

And look who popped in at the Sew Me Something stand to say hello to Jules & Claire,

  none other than some of our favourite contestants from this year's The Great British Sewing Bee.

Can't wait for the final this Thursday evening - so who would you like to win ?

. . . Doing a spot of knitting :

Loving being a part of the current Tangled Yarn KAL, knitting the Orza by Maison de Rililie.  It's such a lovely, friendly and encouraging bunch of knitty peeps that I'm knitting along with, but oh-my-word this pattern requires lots of concentration.  Something I couldn't muster much of whilst feeling poorly, but I'm hopeful of catching up a bit soon.  The pattern is just sooo clever, and an amazing design so I can't wait to see the end result.

. . . Hooking a bit of crochet :

Almost finished the Pick 'n Mix cushion cover - just the rest of the border and a pretty edging to do still.  

. . . And enjoying some Saturday sewing:

I started to feel a little brighter at the weekend (thank you lovely meds)  and  couldn't wait to get stuck into trying out the latest almost-hot-off-the-press Sew Me Something pattern that Jules has designed.

I can't show you the end result or tell you much about it yet, except to say that I  L.O.V.E  it , it's called Cordelia, and it will be launching sometime this Spring.  Woohoo... watch this space . . .

It's such a clever little pattern and I think it may just become
 my pattern du saison for S/S '15

 (sorry Kate)

 ;-)

Hope all's well in your little corner of the world, I'll try and catch up with you soon.

'til next time,

xoxo

The long & the short of it . . .

As you may or may not know, I'm an avid fan of The Kate Dress by Sew Me Something.  I've made this same pattern in a variety of fabrics, and worn them year round - and so it was a no-brainer that I chose Kate for last year's OWOP* Challenge too.  (Have a wee peek here if you missed that post. )

But as I'm now waiting ever so impatiently for Jules to put the finishing touches to a new SMS  pattern  (coming this Spring  -  yay,  can't wait  . . . I got to try on the sample and I LOVE it), 

I thought I'd make another Kate . . . or two. . .

The long . . .

 The longer version falls just above my knees and will be lovely with leggings or tights in winter, or suntanned pins in summer, but I thought it would be fun to make a much shorter version as a pretty white top for summer too.   And I'd been looking for an excuse to use this pretty lace-edged bias binding . . .

. . . and the short.

It's a bizarre weather day here - one moment the sun's out and the next, it's bucketing rain so please forgive the poor lighting in the pics.

Oh, and on a slight tangent:  is anyone else going to the Spring Knitting & Stitching Show at Olympia in London next week ?

'til next time,

xoxo

*One Week, One Pattern - hosted by Handmade Jane.

The first "Ta-dah" of the year . . .

A mere two days into the new year,  how many of us have resolved to tackle the seemingly growing pile of crafty WIPs that lurks around,  just waiting to be finished ?  Could I have a show of hands please ?  (she asks, whilst simultaneously raising both arms in confession)

Right.  So.   Regular readers here will know that I LOVE a good list.  

And so, I have done what every self-respecting list-maker would do in these circumstances.

Yes, you've guessed it - I've made a List.  

But I digress . . .  

So, moving on and as promised, here's my first "ta-dah" of 2015:

 

 my newest make . . .

one side . . .

The pattern is The Viola Reversible Skirt from Sew Me Something, and the lovely fabrics are from  the Indelible collection designed by Katarina Roccella for Art Gallery Fabrics.

. . . and the other side

The pattern is geared towards beginners and it's so well laid out & instructed (ok, so I may be a teensy wee bit biased, but I do so love the Sew Me Something patterns),  and I already had my pattern size cut out from a previous make, so it didn't take me long at all.  I started making it on Wednesday and finished it up yesterday. 

So, that's that ticked off  : - )

Next on The List, is to finish up a little yarny project that I've been enjoying in this week 'twixt Christmas and New Year. 

 I joined in with the lovely Rachel at Tangled Yarn  (just btw, they have a fab sale on at the mo)  for the Vector Knit-Along, and am so loving this pattern and the yummy Sulka Legato yarn too.

 Only one more block to knit which hopefully I'll get done this evening. 

 

Coming it at No. 3 on The List is to finish the binding on my scrappy trip quilt.  Hmmm . . .  a planned sewing day with a crafty friend tomorrow may just see that one ticked off soon too.  Watch this space  ; - )

Happy weekend all,

'til next time,

xoxo

 

And the winner is . . .

In keeping with the time-honoured tradition here at GMHQ, I asked my resident random number generator aka the Hubby,  to pick a number between 1 and 25, and his response was:

  lucky number 4.

So (drumroll please) congratulations to . . .

Suzy from Rustic Vintage Country

 who is the lucky winner of one of the lovely new Sew Me Something patterns.

(Suzy, I've sent you an email, so let me know your choice of pattern and details so I can pop it in the post to you.)

Thanks again to everyone who entered and do pop over and say hello to Suzy too.

* * *

We're heading up north to bonnie Scotland for a few days to attend a family wedding, so have a lovely weekend all, and catch up again soon.

'til next time,

xoxo

An Ally Pally Adventure . . . (and a giveaway)

 Firstly, thank you for your kind get well wishes - I'm happily feeling way better than I did last week, with just the pesky sniffles lingering on.  

 And then, a hearty welcome to my new followers, I hope you enjoy joining in on my crafty adventures here. Do leave me a little comment if you like so I can say hello properly  :-)

So, what seems like ages ago now (in reality it was just earlier this month, but with lots of other stuff inbetween),  I spent a couple of days at the beautiful Alexandra Palace in London at The Knitting & Stitching Show,  with the rest of the lovely Sew Me Something gals.

the beautiful Rose Window at Ally Pally

Ably assisted by The Bearded One, Jules' kind &  helpful other half, we loaded up the van and departing Stratford upon Avon, headed south to the capital.

it WILL all fit . . .

 

see . . . I told you so  ; - )

Next on the agenda was to turn this:

 

 . . . into this :

Then over the course of the show, we took turns on the stand meeting lots of lovely fellow crafty peeps and showcasing the new Sew Me Something patterns,  

at all times watched over by our mascot, William The Bard himself . . .

Regular readers here will know that I'm a big fan of Jules' designs and at last count I have already made six of The Kate Dress in various forms and two Viola reversible skirts, so I couldn't wait to try my hand at the new patterns too.   So far I've made two of the lovely cowl neck Peaseblossom t-shirts - and I think the Rosalind Pyjamas would be just perfect for those wintery PJ days at home, don't you?  

Anyway,  so the good news is that lovely Jules, the designer extrordinaire  has kindly let me have one of these fab new patterns to give away to one of you lovelies.  Yay : - )

The lucky winner will get to choose between the stylish Portia Trousers, the comfy Peaseblossom T-shirt or the pretty Rosalind Pyjamas - please do pop over here to read all about them from Jules herself, and see some more lovely pics.  

 

So, if you'd like your name to go in the hat, all you have to do is be a follower here (either via GFC or Bloglovin' or email) and leave me a little comment below, ensuring that I have a way to contact you if you win.  (This is especially important for all the "no-reply" bloggers out there.)

The giveaway will close at midnight (GMT) next Wednesday,  5th November 2014 ,and I'll draw and announce the lucky winner asap thereafter.  Good luck . . .

'til next time,

be happy

xoxo

Oh, and ps.  Sew Me Something will be at the Knitting & Stitching Harrogate show on 20-23 November too, so if you're going along too, do pop by.


***** 06/11/14: edited to add :  This giveaway is now closed. *****

Another wee break . . .

Back from London, just long enough to unpack & re-pack my suitcase as it's holiday

 time here again . . . 

yes, the Big Birthday celebrations continue  : - )

This time we're off on a cruise with my lovely family - can't wait . . .

So see you all in a week or so, and I'll look forward to catching up again.

'til next time,

xoxo

ps.  Had a fab time at The Knitting & Stitching Show at the beautiful Ally Pally - and I promise to tell you all about that when I get back too.

Karen, Jules & moi

My OWOP days . . .

~  One week, one pattern ~

This was a fun sewing challenge hosted by Handmade Jane,
a whole week of wearing one of my favourite patterns.

Now regular readers will not be at all surprised that my current favourite pattern is . . . 
yes, you guessed it . . . The Kate Dress from Sew Me Something. 

So seeing as I have over time already made four Kates, it seemed only natural that I picked this pattern for the OWOP challenge - and of course, it gave me an excuse to make another one too. 
 Five seems like a nice number, don't you think ?

So, without further ado, here's my OWOP week that was . . .

Saturday:

Tunic length, with pockets and plain short sleeves.

Teamed with leggings and my oh-so-comfy Sketchers. I took a sewing workshop in the morning, and taught a "Learn to Crochet" workshop to a delightful bunch of peeps in the afternoon (more about that soon) and it was a beautiful warm sunny day, so the cardi was discarded early on. 

Sunday:

Dress length with pockets, cap sleeves and a placket.

Another lovely sunny day, so out came the legs and the FitFlops,  we had a barbecue and enjoyed this lovely late summer weather we've been having.  

This was my first ever Kate - as you can see in the pic on the left, I got the neckline a bit squiffy so I unpicked and redid it, and it sits way better now. 

Monday:

Dress length, with straight short sleeves,  lace-edged pockets and a frill.

Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to work I go . . .  in my favourite Kate teamed with my favourite cropped cardi.  My favourite pups don't get to come to work with me, but the Jerry-dog seemed to want to be in the pic.

Tuesday:

Tunic length, 3/4 sleeves, pockets and a lace zip at the back.

 Had a Pilates class in the morning where, quite frankly, wearing a dress would be entirely inappropriate, so I only changed into my Kate after class when it was time to head off to Book Club.  In case you're wondering,  the basket contains some yummy choc-chip shortbread, and my books of course ; - )

Oh, and I feel the need to add that whilst those are the exact same navy leggings I wore on Saturday, they were indeed laundered in between ; - )

Wednesday:

Tunic length, cap sleeves, no pockets with a lace-edged hem.

Teamed with jeggings and a scarf, Wednesday's Kate took me to my French class in the morning and a hair appointment in the afternoon.  

Thursday:

See Saturday above . . .

I spent the day home alone on Thursday - so it had to be a selfie in the mirror -  but I had a fun time making place cards & table settings for my upcoming big birthday party.   Wearing Saturday's Kate again, this time with jeggings and a scarf.  'Twas another warm & sunny day, but a wee bit cool indoors, hence the scarf.

Oh, and when I was all done with the party planning, I did some sewing,  and finished . . . yes again, you guessed it  . . . another Kate. 
(am I really that predictable ?)
Which brings us nicely to Day 7 . . . 

Friday:

Tunic length, cap sleeves, lace-edged hemline.

Ta-dah . . . my newest Kate - teamed with grey jeggings and a coral pink cardi which picks up the exact same colour in the fabric, and accessorized with my other favourite pup (see Monday above), the Ben-dog, who thinks that if you are in the garden, you must be wanting to play. The perfect ensemble for a morning spent running errands and arranging flowers, and an impromptu afternoon tea with a lovely friend.

So there you have it - my week of wearing The Kate Dress.
It's a lovely pattern that is quick and easy to make, and equally simple to wear in a variety of lengths and styles so I had fun changing it up this week.
All the Kates are made up in various gorgeous collections from Art Gallery Fabrics (I do sooo love all  their pretty fabrics),  except for the green floral one which is a Riley Blake cotton.

And my challenge for the new week ahead ?  I really want to finish Kate Dress no. 6  - a navy needlecord version I started last winter that's been sitting in the WIP pile since then.
Yes, it seems six is actually a nice number too  . . .

 
Thanks again to Handmade Jane for organizing and hosting this fun challenge, and of course thanks to Jules at Sew Me Something for designing the Kate in the first place !

'til next time,
xoxo

It's a tie . . .

So,  just a few days before our lovely friends arrived to stay from far & wide and I had a wee bloggy break,  I took a fun workshop at Sew Me Something - to learn to make a tie . . .

Fabric all cut out & ready to sew . . .

some pinning, some sewing, lots of laughs . . .

and some nifty hand-sewing & intense concentration.

 Ta - dah . . .

four fabulous ties

and the Hubby wore it to work this morning, so I think he likes it  ; - )

Oh, and there was cake . . . which was yummy . . . of course . . .

Did I mention it was fun ?  Can't wait to make another . . . and another . . .

(I'm thinking Christmas pressies already)

'til next time,

xoxo