Sleigh Bells

Another cross-stitch finish and just in time for the festive season! This is from Country Rustic Primitives - Jenny has loads of lovely primitive patterns available on Etsy, really worth a look if you've not come across her before

I've made mine up a bit differently by adding red homespun fabric top and bottom and a run of tiny rusty bells across the bottom

Mind you I have to admit to swearing at it more than once while I was stitching it!! The pattern suggests stitching on Osnaburg and as I had some I thought I may as well use it ....... what I didn't know was that stitching on Osnaburg is like using 32-count linen - bear in mind, the smallest I use is 28-count, so I found it pretty tough on the old eyes and practically impossible under electric light. Still, I got there in the end, added a bit of coffee staining, and voila .......... and I love it!

I bought this pattern too at the same time, but didn't get around to making it .......

maybe in time for next Christmas!!!!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

Pineberry Lane Pinkeep No. 2

Well, it took me longer than anticipated – I knew it would- but here’s Wool Pinkeep No. 2 from Pineberry Lane and it was a darn sight easier to stitch than the first one on the dark linen!

here’s Pinkeep No. 1 and Pinkeep No. 2 together

 

And speaking of woolly things, look at what I bought from Ebay recently from Old Scotties – beautiful dyed wool, so lovely and soft – it’s gorgeous. The colours in the picture are fairly true to life. Of course, I have no idea what I’m going to use it for. It’ll just be added to the stash for now (as you do!!). Seeing how lovely it is, I'm inclined now to bid on some other colours ....... well it is practically Christmas isn’t it and I ought to buy myself a treat (or three) – nobody else is going to buy it for me anyway. Sounds as though I’ve just justified it to myself doesn’t it LOL

Oh well, back to Christmas present wrapping I suppose ...... it seems never ending!!

Pumpkin Pie

Isn’t it fabulous when you get home from a hard day at work to find an unexpected package waiting for you!!  That’s what was waiting for me today:0) ....... a surprise pressie from my sweet friend Wendy – a bit of woolly love in the form of a Pumpkin Pie Pincushion.

 

Isn’t it lovely? Thank you very much my friend – I love it. Wendy, as we know, is the King (sorry, Queen) of pumpkin making, but such a clever idea to put one in a tin to make it into a Pumpkin Pie. Wendy was being thoughtful in more ways than one too, because she did tease me a bit at the beginning of her letter by telling me she had thought about sending me some Pumpkin Pie (yummy, yes please!), but then decided it would be a bit messy in the post and unkind to my hips too; anyway I prefer the woolly version Wendy, so much better for me (although I’m sure the foodie Pumpkin Pie is scrummy). I love the rusty pin and bell on the top too - a great prim touch.

....... now I’m off to find some pins for my new pin cushion!

I Love Dolls

Isn’t she just Soooo ME? ‘I Love Dolls’ – one of those little Blossom Bucket resin ‘dust collectors’!!
I ‘won’ it recently on ebay (now there’s a Wendyism if ever I heard one LOL) .... sorry Wendy! How could I leave her there floating around the internet – I couldn’t could I? She had a long trip mind – All the way from America – she’s worth it though and now I have to find a special place for her, so she can watch over me while I make rag dolls ...... yeh, sad, I know!!!!

Another little ebay ‘win’ a couple of weeks ago was some Primitive Gatherings fabric.
I’d been with a friend to just a small quilt exhibition held in a local church, which was lovely and very inspiring, but of course there were also a few traders – only 4 stalls in the church hall, but I still managed to spend a few pennies. When I spotted the Primitive Gatherings ‘Seasonal Little Gatherings’ charm pack, I made a ‘beeline’ for it – there was only one, so I wasn’t going to let anyone else get their hands on it and bought it on the spot! Then of course when I got it home, I decided I really needed a bit more of the fabric to make the charm pack useful, so hence the two half metres ‘ebay’ wins ....... isn’t it scrummy? Can’t quite decide what to do with it now of course!! I’m thinking of perhaps a small stitchery for the middle, then make it up with the squares with a border – oh choices, choices ...... what I actually need is the time to do anything at all with it though ........

April Showers!

Now I’ve probably only had this Blackbird Design ‘April Showers’ pattern for these stockings about 3 years! and I finally got around to stitching them recently when I went to Spain (in September) on holiday. I know it’s the wrong time of year for April showers, but, hey ho!! I decided some stitching was a ‘must’ for my holiday and managed to complete two and a half of the stockings while I was there – I amazed myself, but it does just go to show how little time you get for sewing in the normal course of crazy, mad work days, housework, shopping etc. Having done two and a half in one week, it then took me a further 3 - 4 weeks to finish the other ‘half’ after I came home ...... and then another 2 weeks or so to finish them with the fabric backing and the beads. I’m very pleased with them though

 

This is them individually, and if you look closely you can see that I’ve added a little charm to each one. A heart charm on this one - my favourite with the blue umbrella

I love the little ladybird on this one

and I think the charm on this one is meant to be a little buzzy bee or something .... not too sure really, but cute all the same (can a bee be cute! hmmm – maybe not)

so that's my latest finish; and now back to wooly pinkeep number 2 (see previous post for wooly pinkeep number 1) – I’ve made a start on it, but haven’t got very far and I don’t think I’ll be doing much of it this weekend either, as I’ve decided I MUST MUST dedicate the weekend to finishing off decorating the bathroom, which I’ve only been doing for about 3 months!!! I am not in the least bit inspired to do it – but it HAS to be done, so .......... !!

Pineberry Lane Pinkeep No. 1

Just a quick post to show off the first of the two Pineberry Lane pinkeeps I'm stitching

it's the first time I've stitched on this dark linen ......... and I have to say, probably the last, as it was incredibly difficult to work on, even in natural daylight - anyone else experienced any problems working light thread on dark linen - the darker thread was easier though. It'll be much easier to stitch on the lighter linen and thankfully that's what the second (larger one) is done on ...... phew!!

Not sure what's with the lippy on the larger of the two black sheep, but that's what the pattern asked for - two red stitches for the mouth!! LOL

I was pleased at the weekend to find a dark grey trim to finish it off, because it looks very similar to the one in the pattern - a pig to sew in though!!

Now to start on pinkeep number 2!!

Copy Cat!

...... that's me!! But as I said to Christine at Preferably Prim, copying (they say) is the greatest form of flattery - that was when I saw her lovely woolly pinkeeps from Pineberry Lane and decided I just had to have them. I asked Christine whether she minded me copying and she very kindly said it was fine; so within minutes, I'd ordered the pattern from Pineberry Lane and downloaded it

 



I've even made a bit of a start on the smaller one - fortunately, although I don't have the exact linen, I have something very close in colour so, waste not, want not!!and here's my 'bit of a start'

cross-stitch is so difficult though under electric light, so I couldn't do any more this evening:0(

Anyway, that's only my first confession of copying!!! because recently, my lovely friend Wendy showed us a beautiful orange velvet pumpkin she'd made, which immediately reminded me that I too have some burnt orange colour velvet - so again, I spoke nicely to Wendy and asked whether she would mind me copying, and again being lovely, she said she didn't mind - she knows anyway I'll never be the pumpkin queen she is - very prolific she is! Soooooo; here's my lovely, touchy, feely orange velvet pumpkin ......... honestly, you just want to keep on stroking it, it feels so luscious and just look at the lustre!

I must admit, it's turned out nice - I used some green wool for the leaves, a cinnamon stick for the stalk and then added a few orange berries for a finishing touch

.... and it now has pride of place amongst Wendy's pumpkins (the ones she made for me a few years ago) and my other autumn bits & bobs

 

Is it worthy Wendy?!!

 

 



A thank you card

Just a quick blog post to show you what the postman bought today:

........... this very beautiful handmade card from the very talented Gail over at Lacey Lassy. Gail was the first to buy one of my 6 Tilda rag dolls last week and she was so pleased (even though said doll is still on route!) that she sent me a 'thank you' card. These photographs simply do not do it justice, though I tried my best with the camera (sorry Gail!)! The little lady on the front is really cute ......

...... and here's a close up of the flower arrangement on the front:

the glass bead leaves, paper flowers, lace and charms are so pretty. I tell you, there's so much detail in this card, that there's some weight to it!!

The inside is also very pretty - I love the 'Secret Garden' background paper; it's really sweet:

Thanks again Gail - I really love it

Autumn & Pumpkins

Having been to Spain recently and found myself melting somewhat in the heat, I'm even more in the mood for Autumn this year. I'm not trying to say it was 40 degrees or anything, but I am a wimp and found walking around doing the touristy stuff in Barcelona in 28 - 30 degrees too much!! I just love the autumnal glow of reds, gold, rust etc. a true beauty of nature ........ heck, I'm getting a bit poetic here I think ha ha! Anyway, I was so much in the mood for autumn (and being very relieved to have finished 6 ... yes 6 rag dolls) that I simply had to stitch something new. So out came some of the wool I have (don't have much these days) and lovely chocolate brown stripe fabric, I drew a few pumpkin shapes and, hey presto, here's a little pumpkin cushion to add to my diddy autumn display:

here's a close up

...... and here's one showing it amongst my other autumn bits and bobs - most of which are my fabric pumpkins made for me by my luverley friend Wendy a few years ago ..... she's brill (and very prolific) at making pumpkins, let me tell you!!

do you like the 3 tiny pumpkins in the top left-hand corner? They are buttons from 'Just Another Button Company' - I've had them for years and have been itching to use them ever since I bought them ...... so now I have. Hope you like my little cushion!

And now I must get off to bed as I am working in the morning (Saturday overtime can you believe!) .... but needs must, and if I want to buy more woolly, yummy fabric, I need money!!

Happy Autumn everyone

INSPIRED BY TILDA!

A BIG THANK YOU TO ILANA - THE REMAINING 5 DOLLS ARE NOW ALL SOLD!!

She is back by popular demand – well, by a couple of admirers at least!! But only for this short limited time.

I did say a couple of years ago I wasn’t going to make any more of these dolls (and I meant it at the time!) and that’s because they simply take so long to make. Like so many others, I work full time. However, recently I received two requests from a couple of very kind ladies. My gut reaction at the time was “NO more”, but then I gave it a bit of thought and decided I would, just on this occasion, make a couple of dolls – then I thought, well hey, why not make several. The first time I made the dolls was in 2009, and then I made another couple in 2011; I also refused quite a few other requests at the time, however, this DEFINITELY is it – I won’t be making anymore after these. Once they’re gone, they’re gone!! I imagine the two ladies who recently enquired about them have by now given up on me as I said it may take a few weeks or so ........ well, it’s been more like a few months!!

So, here we have not just two, but six ‘Tilda’ inspired rag dolls for sale. The cost is £50.00 (UK Sterling) per doll, plus postage as follows:-

• UK standard - £5.50
• UK tracked - £6.50
• Europe standard - £7.00
• Europe tracked - £12.00
• Rest of the world (USA, Canada, Brazil etc) - £10.00
• Rest of the world (USA, Canada, Brazil etc) tracked - £15.50
• Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand standard - £11.00
• Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand tracked - £16.50

 Payment by PAYPAL only please

The price of the dolls reflects the time each one takes (which is forever!!!), plus the cost of the materials – believe me, I don’t make much on them. And unfortunately, postage, particularly abroad, is rather pricey and we’ve had some big postal price increases lately in the UK.

 

So here goes:-

 

No. 1 – Country Girl

She is wearing a red blouse over which is a scalloped edge pinafore dress made from a lovely country floral stripe fabric, with pretty red shell buttons on the straps: her lace trimmed bloomers are made from the same fabric. The ribbon in her brown hair and her shoes are both a burgundy colour and she has white laced trimmed socks. She carries her own little teddy bear. She is approximately 47 cms (18½ inches) in length, top to toe!

No. 2 – Pretty in Pink

SOLD - thank you Gail

She is wearing a sweet pink dress, which is made up of a polka dot top with a floral fabric for the skirt. Her lace trimmed bloomers are made from the same floral fabric, and she too has a burgundy colour ribbon in her brown hair and burgundy shoes - she has white lace trimmed socks. She must be on her way out somewhere special as she also has her little pearl necklace on. She too carries her own little teddy bear. She is approximately 47 cms (18½ inches) in length, top to toe!

 

 

 

No. 3 – Sleepy Time

This little lady is ready for her bed and so is dressed in a peach floral pair of pyjamas, trimmed with contrasting lace, ribbon and buttons. She has a peachy, orange colour ribbon in her hair and sweet little green shoes over her white socks. In order to make sure she is snugly warm in bed, she has remembered her hot water bottle and to make sure she gets up on time in the morning, has her very own orange alarm clock. She is approximately 47 cms (18½ inches) in length, top to toe!

 

 

 

 

No. 4 – Garden Girl

This pretty little lady has been picking roses from her garden, which she is carrying. She is wearing her pretty pink rosy, ribbon trimmed dungarees over a burgundy colour blouse, which has a nice big bow. Her hair is burgundy colour too, tied with a lovely lime green ribbon. Her shoes are burgundy in colour and she has white lace trimmed socks. She is approximately 47 cms (18½ inches) in length, top to toe!

 

No. 5 – English Lavender

This sweet girl is all in lilac. Her dress has a cream top with a lovely lilac floral skirt, which has a pretty lace trimmed scallop edge: the top is decorated with 3 purple shell buttons and purple spotty ribbon around the waist. Her bloomers are also in the same lilac floral fabric and are lace trimmed. She has lilac colour shoes and white lace trimmed socks on. Her light brown hair has a lovely fleck of lilac running through it and is topped with a cream ribbon. She carries her own lavender fairy bag. She is approximately 47 cms (18½ inches) in length, top to toe

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

And last but not least 

No. 6 – Lady in Red

This young lady is a little bit posh and is all dressed up for an evening out. She has on a beautiful red with black heart spot dress, trimmed with black lace and a big bow at the front at her waist. Underneath the dress, her lace trimmed bloomers match her dress, but most special of all is the red netting underskirt, which makes her dress stand right out. Her black shoes have a red shiny button on the top and she has a red bead bracelet around her wrist. Her hair is black, which shows off her lovely red ribbon and she has been given a little bunch of red roses – somebody must think she’s rather special, which of course she is. She is approximately 47 cms (18½ inches) in length, top to toe!

Each doll has a 'Handmade at Bilberry Grove' label sewn into the leg and also a pretty tag made by me, using some lovely country style papers, with a pearl button on each one.

 

Please email me if you’re interested to discuss 

Thanks for stopping by