Wallingford

Had a lovely time wandering around Wallingford today..

Cutting Day..

The results of a day's hard work... 

The aftermath of my cutting session...

Am so excited..can't wait to start working on them...

A Homespun Christmas

I was looking at the calendar this morning. Wow! 25th September. Three months from today is Christmas Day, less than one hundred days away..

While I know that there are dozens of Bah! Humbug!-ers out there, I unashamedly admit that I LOVE Christmas. There is something really very magical about the whole thing...the twinkling lights, the get-up in shops and streets, the cooking, the planning of Christmas presents to make and buy... Okay, I don't enjoy the actual Christmas shopping as such...especially those times I'm rushing through shops trying to find the right gift for one of my children's teachers, one I swear I didn't know existed until we are one day away from end of term....

I got into the habit of making presents for close friends and family partly because of the hassle of shopping for the right item... I say partly because, when you make gifts for Christmas, you need to plan ahead, very much ahead... It would certainly be a disaster, if come Christmas Eve, I had to discover that the handmade tea-cosy I was planning to send to my Aunt couldn't be finished because I'd run out of fabric..

Well, this year no one can say I haven't been planning ahead... At the moment, I'm up to the armpits in fabric and patterns and designs.. 

For the past week I have been working on these homespun little beauties... They are intended as Christmas tree decorations, but they can be attached to presents to make the packaging a little more fancy.. 

And there's really nothing too complicated to them, some very basic shapes, a few details, contrasting coloured fabric  and thread (you could use tonal colours if that floats your boat; I just happen to prefer contrast..the golden rule of creativity is that there are no rules, and that is beautiful, since you can express yourself as you feel best).

I have always wanted a Christmas tree covered with homespun decorations....but back home, we have tree decorations bought from shops, lovingly hoarded over the years....and no one wanted to part with the old baubles either. This Christmas, our first in the UK, we will be buying a new Christmas tree. And I am running up my own personal challenge to have only homespun decorations on it...

Some of my work from this week... Although red and white will feature a lot in my work, seeing that they are the colours of the Maltese flag, my tree will probably be multicoloured affair that can best be described as eclectic.

This is something I am still halfway through, but I couldn't resist showing it off.. I love the crossword feel to it.. And I am especially proud of my cross-stitch, something I have only picked up seriously in the past few months...

So, what do you think??? Please drop me a line and let me know... Your input is important..

Christmas is coming.....

Christmas is a mere three months away  and it is slowly but surely taking over the covers of magazines in my local W.H.Smith...incidentally, has anyone ever wondered what the W.H stand for? I'm sitting here at McDonald's, sipping a pleasantly warm hot chocolate. It is not cold, more a kind of grey, misty and muggy morning...the kind that gives you a soaked back, sweaty palms, clammy feet, clammy everything...
So a hot chocolate is a kind of wishful thinking, maybe.....

On to the ever encroaching Christmas spirit.. these were taken last week..they went up on the 4th of September, the day the children first started school.

The decs have since gone down..I don't know why... But they will be up and running again, for what is meant to be the last time... Due to renovation of the town centre, the town centre and its shops won't be around next Christmas..  Roll on 30th November when the lights are going to be lit up in an extravaganza.. feeling excited!!

Graphic Felt Coasters

These are something I found in one of monthly subscriptions.  I'll be honest, they're a bit of a job, especially the cutting.. The designs are quite intricate and therefore there's quite a bit of sewing to be done as well... But the end result is stunning!

These are the four I've made for my own home.. Seeing that they were for us, I used remnants of felt, and went for a mixture of colours...I love bright clashing colours.
And with Christmas season approaching, I'm thinking to whip up a few Christmassy ones in Christmassy colours.... Red & green, blue and white, for a cool, chillaxed feel, red and cream for a Scandi Christmas

Now I know..you're thinking..coasters in felt..seriously??? You know, coasters sit under glasses and they do tend to get spills on them.. They will get stained...
You're right, of course... That is what would generally happen. But i be found a neat little way of preventing this from happening... Spraying my work with the spray used for waterproofing suede shoes.. A small trick that can protect your coasters from minor spillages, as the water tends to bead up hen fabrics have been treated in this manner.
One last things... Please make sure your suede waterproof sprat is neutral, ie. colourless... I cannot imagine that black or brown spattered coasters would be very popular...not unless you're Bert in Mary Poppins, anyway.
Also, while this treatment does offer a certain amount of waterproofing, it will not protect against massive spillages, so don't throw caution to the wind when using these coasters.

A little experiment

A day out in the beautiful town of Windsor.... Apart from the truly magnificent and sprawling castle which truly dominates the town, we had great fun feeding the swans at the riverside... Next time I go, I'm scheduling a boat trip on the river....

While in Windsor, I chanced upon a bargain bookstore...
 Now, you must know something about me...I have a very, very big thing for books.. My idea of heaven involves books..on a grand scale. When I have a few hours to spare, I love nothing better than browsing my way slowly round a bookstore, savouring the feel of books in my hand, reading the blurbs and trying to decide which books I can actually leave without...

This place was amazing.. I honestly cannot remember the name at the moment, but I was like wow!! Four kiddie books for only five quid!!!  Truly wow!!
While I was oooh-ing and aaah-ing over the amazing bargains, and trying to prevent my younger from escaping....an art he seems to have really mastered lately....my ever-patient other half found me a book called "Crafty Creatures" by Jane Bull.

The minute I got home, I sat down with a cup of tea and this book... Thank you hubby.. I love it..
This is something it inspired me to try.. I copied the ladybird pattern from one in the book, then turned the finished piece into a brooch. I covered a large-ish button with the aida fabric, then drew it tight at the back of the button.. Once I'd secured it, I added a small safety pin to the back...

I think it is pretty cool... Next thing, I'll be making earrings or a pendant...so, watch this space. 

Some Windsor snaps... And today for dessert I'm making Eton mess...I've been inspired!

:((

shocked and saddened by the barbaric execution of yet another innocent guy by ISIS.. This guy was merely 44yrs old, an aid-worker and he has a four yr-old kid. And above all, he is British..
:(((..

My First Christmas tree decoration ...

....for this year, that is.

One thing I am really into at the moment is cross-stitch..you know, that kind of almost-obsessive enthusiasm of a newly-discovered hobby... 

That is exactly what i'm doing right now.

I designed the layout for this one free-hand, but there are plenty of patterns available on the internet.

Basically, the finished cross-stitch forms the front of the little cushion which will hang from my Christmas tree.. it won't be my last Christmas tree decoration, that's for sure..!

a Maltese gal in the UK

I fancy myself as a bit of a photographer..and living in a new country gives me no end of opportunities to practice. . Obsessively making stuff also gives me plenty of practice....

Since we arrived here, I've been fascinated by this bird.. the common magpie....it is a member of the Corvidae family (the black crow) but looks way more appealing.. I love the flash of teal on its wings. It adds punchiness to the black and white. Incidentally, the Latin name for it is Pica pica which is alliterative I guess. ..because this fellow sounds very much like this.
I finally managed to get close enough to one to take a decent picture. ..they are quite tame, but they do tend to startle �

Besides crafting I also love cooking and baking..and today I thought I'd give a nod to Britain, seeing that this is our home now. My cottage pie...phase 1 and phase 2.  Phase 3 would be the empty dish .�

�

One of the best things about our new house is the lavender bushes growing in my front garden.. I love lavender.. Apart from its soothing, calming properties, it smells divine to me, and it is such a visual treat too!! Nothing quite beats the beauty of the purple flower heads against the dark ashy-green leaves of a lavender plant... 

Having the chance not only to grow it, but to have well-established shrubs is really lucky, and it is something I'm so grateful for. 

Recently one of the magazines I subscribe to had a gift with it... nothing new there. The gift was a piece of cloth with simple images of houses, hearts and circles printed on for cutting out and using in any way one wanted..  

I chose to make these... Simple color-themed hangings filled with fresh lavender cuttings...

You might want to hang them in a doorway, where air currents can stimulate the scent... But they really can be used anywhere..hanging from a lamp, or from the branches of a ceiling light, in closets, in cars....

These were specifically made in mobile-fashion as they are meant to hang in doorways, but they can be easily adjusted to any length, or even size, depending on where you want to use them...

If you would like to create something similar yourself, why not cut out a few basic shapes from plain or patterned cotton.. Felt is not ideal to use here, since the denser fabric would minimise the scent of the lavender.. It is a very simple item to make and looks pretty and smells good too.  Both my hangings were completed in an afternoon.
You could make one with basic shapes (square, circle, triangle, rectangle) for a child's room...
Or one with hearts for a loved one on Valentine's day (or any other day).

Why not give it a go and show us what you've made.

Something About Me ..and about this Blog...

These kind of introductory posts always tend to be a wee bit awkward.. I mean, when you are posting about something that you've made or even about  this fab new idea that you've seen, it's easy... you're all fired up, and full of enthusiasm about whatever it is.. 

When you come to talking about yourself it is slightly more difficult? Is it okay if I say that I have always loved making stuff ? Is it TMI if I talk about my family ? Will I be bragging if I post some of my customers' comments on here?? You know.... or well, maybe you don't.  ;)

I am based in the UK, but originally I am from Malta ...we have moved here because of my husband's work..We've been here for about six weeks and we are now beginning to settle down a little more, get a feel of the place. The kiddies started school last week and things seem to be falling into place there too. For the past month or so, I've been busy setting up the house and making adjustments.. In between hanging up curtains, and planting up my fledgling kitchen garden (my first ever garden...go figure!) I have also found the time to start doing some sewing (yippee!!) .. my world is coming together!

I have been interested in making things ever since I was little, something which has carried over into adulthood.. I have distinct and fond memories of making model houses out of cardboard boxes, using matchboxes for furniture. I still remember the heady buzz it gave me to set out the "furniture" just so... it is a familiar feeling, only now, I'm not so much into making matchbox furniture...

Funny thing is that I never imagined sewing would be such a passion, or even the extent of that passion..or maybe, I should say obsession. I'm sure my husband would agree with the obsession bit.

And now, I hope to share this obsession with you. See you next time, folks.

Marija xxx

a BIG welcome to my blog.... Oh SEW Lovely!

This blog is here mainly to share ideas, patterns and other craft related stuff...  I don't know about you, but I like to keep any craft ideas that come my way, even if I am busy working on something else. Actually.. I often have a lot of different projects going on at the same time...

Anyway, this is just a very short first post to get the blog going.. as I have to run off in a minute to collect the sprogs from school.

This blog is set to grow.. As it takes shape, I intend to be posting photos, tutorials and links to other pages.. but of course, a blog without followers is really not much of a blog, is it?

So, I invite you all to comment, post links etc. I promise to reply to every comment.

Bye for now. See you soon. 

Marija xxx