Got the bag bug

I can't resist a bargain, and I love beautiful material, so as i think I've mentioned before, the off-cuts bin in John Lewis is a source of much of my stash-under-the-bed. I found this last week:

I'm going to make a bag from this material. I never use a pattern, I tend to look at an existing bag and work out how I can make something similar. I've made a few mistakes, but each one has been better than the last, more or less. And some tips from the lovely Lisa at U-Handblog.

So this one is going to be these dimensions:

And here is my sketch

I bought my notions, a decorative button, a magnetic closure and a zip for the internal pocket

Lots of interfacing (VITAL for that professional stand up by itself look.)

I just need to find a few hours to sit and sew it together. I can't wait :)

I also found these tea towels and thought it would make a good groceries bag. Two for the front and back, one for straps and decoration. Should whizz up in 20 minutes I reckon..

And in other news, I found a use for the fabric boxes I mentioned here but didn't photograph.

I've been sorting out packets of seeds, it is that time of year again. These are the ones to plant in the next few weeks.

And here they are in the little box I made

And the pockets hold the labels and pencil perfectly.

And here is the link to the lovely, talented michelle who has kindly posted pictures of the boxes I made for her, and an explanation of how they were made.

Finish it up friday

I've finished a few things these last few weeks, I've been dying to show you -hope it isn't cheating! Linking up to AmandaJean at Crazy Mom Quilts.

First here's the bag I made for my friend, it is a crafting tote for her embroidery course.

Then there is the cushion I have mentioned, at least twice.

The crochet scarf I blogged about yesterday

And.... Oh, that's it, sorry. Just more wip's to show, but that is for another day. Working on a double bed size patchwork quilt and nearly finished the bed sized ripple blanket so they are worth waiting for I reckon.

Purple but not sprouting

At the allotment today I was hoping for broccoli; it was planted last spring and looks lovely and healthy, it has been just about to sprout for weeks and weeks, lots of buds but no shoots. I wonder if it will ever shoot or if I did something wrong. Too much water, too little water, too close together, too cold, too hot... Who knows? It is my third year of trying to grow broccoli and it is my last if this doesn't work.

But boy what it lacked in sprouts, it made up for in colour.

There is something about colour that can just catch me unawares sometimes. Like a certain piece of music it can just make your heart sing, and your soul soar. And when I got home, still buoyed up by the glorious richness of the purple leaves, I realised that I chose that particular purple quite a lot in fact.

What I was wearing for a start...

My new cushion fabric

My ripple blanket (Nearly finished, I've started the border, can you see?)

Definitely purple..

My favourite house plant

I remember reading on someone's blog about how they chose their colours, then ended up with the same ones every time. Soul colours she called them. Well, I guess I found mine.

Been busy

I've been offline, finding it hard to get back into blogging. The longer you leave it the more difficult it gets. (that is such a truism, you can apply it to so many things... tidying, decorating, exercise....)
Anyway I've not been idle. In the craft arena I've crocheted a scarf

Remember the first attempt? Here

Well I frogged that and bought a couple of balls of new blue wool. OH is delighted with it, and I must say I am quite pleased. It was SO quick to make. Two strands of yarn crocheted together, a simple half treble (us half double) and only a few long rows. All done in one evening. What's not to like?

And I made a bag, started a quilt - well actually I've done quite a lot of a quilt :) - and made some fabric boxes for a friend and neighbour. Oh, and I made a cushion out of the remnant I found here. Plenty of stuff to post about. No excuses.

January brings the snow

A Song of the Weather

January brings the snow,
Makes your feet and fingers glow.

February's ice and sleet
Freeze the toes right off your feet.

Welcome March with wintry wind
Would thou wert not so unkind!

April brings the sweet spring showers,
On and on for hours and hours.

Farmers fear unkindly May
Frost by night and hail by day.

June just rains and never stops
Thirty days and spoils the crops.

In July the sun is hot.
Is it shining? No, it's not.

August, cold and dank and wet,
Brings more rain than any yet.

Bleak September's mist and mud
Is enough to chill the blood.

Then October adds a gale,
Wind and slush and rain and hail.

Dark November brings the fog
Should not do it to a dog.

Freezing wet December, then
Bloody January again!

January brings the snow ... The great comedians Flanders and Swann version of the children's nursery rhyme.

Not much snow here yet, so here is a picture from last year.

Linking to Francesca's Corner View on fuoriborgo

Hyacinths and haberdashery

Well, today was very successful in many ways. After picking up an off-cut of a gorgeous furnishing fabric from John Lewis, I went to our local fabric shop to search for supplies to turn it into a large cushion. The perfect fabric for backing and piping- in the off-cuts bin for £2!, bargain. Here they are, I can't wait to see it made up. It comforts me to read other's comments on their fabric buying habits and to know I am not the only one who cannot resist these impulse buys. Chocolate leaves me cold, but fabric? Or a new pattern or book. No self control at all!

In other news, I have another project to share at some point, but not yet. Here's just a hint:

And the hyacinths? Beautiful, just such a gorgeous scent to fill the senses when I am anywhere downstairs. Unfortunately I can't share the scent....

Marmalade #2 and a little embroidery

I think if I didn't like marmalade I would still make it. It is so beautiful with the light behind it and the strips of peel suspended in the glowing jelly. But I do like it, so I get the best of both worlds. A feast for the eyes and the palate.

So I made my second batch of the year today, now I have enough for our own consumption as well as enough to give away.

In other news I tried my hand at a little machine embroidery. I have wanted to make an embroidered picture for as long as I can remember, and inspired by many talented blogger, made a little sketch, transferred it to cloth, and just 'had a go' today. Well, for a first try, it's ok.