roll up, roll up – tinyinc give away

I was so inspired by the recent cute as a button give away, that I won that I have decided to do one myself.

At first, I thought it would be difficult to chose what to feature as the give away items.  Then as I was looking through stuff that I had and one particular colour kept popping out – Tourquoise!

So here they are:-

this travel sewing jar

pin cushion sewing jar

sewing jar with handy bag folded up

this needle case

linear needlecase

this cushion

cable knit cushion

all parcelled together in this bright reusable ‘handy’ bag

handy reusable bag

I will choose who wins by the fairest means possible and put the names into a hat. The draw will take place on the 27.04.13.

All you have to do is:-

1) post a comment on my blog (subscribe to follow and like if you want but not part of the competition!)

2) make sure you press the follow up comments button as I will announce the winner in comments section of this blog post.

Once you know you are the winner, you will need to contact me (email address tinyinc@orangehome.co.uk) with your full name and address and I will post them off to you

Unfortunately I can only post to UK addresses.

Good luck!!!

at last………..

lots of lovely threads

I am sitting typing this post in my new workroom and I am sooooooo excited about it.

It is the perfect easter present to myself and tinyinc.

organised and accessible

I have ALWAYS had to set up my sewing on the dining table but now I finally have a dedicated space that doesn’t need tidying away of moving around and I am absolutely over the moon with it.

The dining table is now free and our living areas are living areas again.

Our spare bedroom, however, is now set up for me to sew and work in AND JC has a space to work in too that is all his own, opposite mine and all thanks to his DIY efforts this easter weekend.

long lost gheko pin cushion filled with sand for sharpening pins

It is a tranquil little room with a lovely silence and peace about it. The patio doors are south facing so it is flooded with sunlight when the weather is right and it also gives you access out into our garden.

I can’t wait for the first time I can work in here with the doors thrown open listening to the sound of birdsong.

We have achieved the best of both worlds with the changes to this room: we have a dedicated workroom space that keeps our flat clear of the mess of laptops and sewing but we have the facility to wheel in the sofa bed and turn it back into a bedroom when necessary.

my sewing space

We did it on quite a tight a budget although we have overspent slightly (thank goodness for the nightmare that is Ikea, however and £60 desks!!).  That said, the results are perfect for us and I am ecstatic. Wish we’d had the funds to do it a long, long time ago!!!

I now have all my sewing and making ‘things’ in one place. No more trailing from one end of the flat to the other for a piece of fabric or a certain colour of thread.  Everything has a place and everything is in it’s place.

I have unearthed some things that I forgot I had because I’ve never had the chance to use them so it was a bit like an easter egg hunt opening the boxes and organising where everything went.

my work space

My threads are all in the top drawer of the desk now and laid out so they are easy to see instead of being in a handful of different boxes, my fabrics are all neatly stashed in one cup’d (except for a few storage boxes under my desk that I need to sort through!) and I have shelves on which to display my little collection of vintage sewing stuff.

There are still a few finishing touches to make but I couldn’t be happier.

my wonderful work room

doggy neckerchiefs

max in a peach floral number

I have blogged about these doggy neckerchiefs before. I’ve made them for friends who have asked for them and I have given some as gifts, but people don’t seem to buy them.  During my days at Harringay Market, it occurred to me that the reason could be that it isn’t easy to work out what these little doggerchiefs actually are!

Hamlet modelling Agnes’s Doggerchief

Although Max goes down a treat with doggy shoppers at the market; he behaves like everyone loves him and he is always pleased to see anyone who makes eye contact with him, it’s not very fair to expect him or Hamlet to sit around modelling in the freezing conditions that we have had there JUST so that people understand what these doggerchiefs are.

doggy outline

So the solution is to have a stand in; A cardboard cut out of sorts (made of MDF to be precise).

It couldn’t have been easier:- a quick outline of a JRT (Max wriggled a bit but we managed to get him flattened out………only joking!!!! ) enlarged to about the right size, an off cut of MDF from the shed and a jig saw.

cardboard cut out

JC did the cutting for me and it is now done.

Although, I haven’t been making much lately and my pile of unfinished projects is really not getting any smaller making the cut out for the purpose of modelling the neckerchief, made me pick these out of the basket & I got them finished.

I must do some in more masculine fabrics as these all seem to be a bit more appropriate for girls but when you are working with vintage, it is hard to be sure what you will come across.

lady labrador’s neck warmer

Anyway, Agnes now has the cute daisy green, Bosley will get his blue and gingham one next time we see him and there is a labrador along with her chihuahua buddy who also have them in hertfordshire

I love this fabric!!

I love them and would put Max in a new one every day if JC didn’t think he looked ridiculous!!

the tiniest doggerchief in the world!!

lovely customers

patchwork panel on bag

One of the delights of blogging, folksying, fairs and doing the harringey market are the lovely people that you come across.

The lovelies heavily outweigh any of the sillies that you encounter I am very pleased to say.

This weekend, I was asked through my blog to supply a lady with 3 of my cable knit cushions in red and I also had to make a loo roll bag for someone who had approached me at the Harringay Market with the request some weeks ago.

bag of bag

I agreed a price for the cable cushions (discounted and with postage and packing included) and parcelled them all up ready to go off to Wales. Just whenI was expecting payment, I got an email to say ‘no thanks, I’ve got 3 from Tesco for £14 each.

I haven’t got a reply to the ‘no thanks’ because it has rendered me somewhat speechless.

bag front

I was disappointed on so many levels but just as the disappointment was in danger of ruining my weekend and drying up my crafty juices, the very lovely Sophie got in touch to ask how I was getting on with the bag she wanted for hanging spare loo rolls on the back of the loo door.

As it happened, this weekend was the very weekend, I would be making it for her.

patchwork panel on bag front

I suffer terribly from confidence  (or severe lack of it) when I am making and especially when I am making something for someone that they have not seen (it is very different to having made something you like and did sort of to suit yourself, someone seeing it and just buying it outright). I had taken a brief from Sophie and then we communicated by text to get the details sorted out so I thought I was on the right track.

hanging on the back of the bathroom door

I finished it on Sunday morning and sent her photos of the completed bag hoping that I had interpreted her requirements correctly.

I am always pleased and very relieved when the response is positive. She liked it and it was just what she wanted but better.

Phew!!!

patchwork

Crisis of confidence over so I arranged to meet Sophie at Harringay Market when we would both be going to get our yummy street food lunch and shop for the coming week’s meat and veg.

patch

We had a quick chat when we met and then I got a lovely text complimenting me on the quality of the work and saying how pleased she was with it.

patches

It is so easy to forget the sillies when you have dealings with lovely appreciative people like Sophie.  I have said many times before, that the customers and the ‘craich’ are the best bits about crafting in the public arena and I am pleased to say that the cushions are now unpackaged and back in my little stock cupboard ready for someone who really does want hand knitted cushions instead of some cheap and nasty ‘thing’ from Tesco.

a give away

ripple crochet scarf

I was very lucky to be the winner of Laura of the very lovely ‘cute as a button‘ give away in January.

The parcel arrived with a pretty spotty tape decoration to the wrapping, it was almost a shame to unwrap it. When I did, though, I found lots of lovely things nestled in shredded brown paper.  There seemed to be so many more jewels in the box than I recalled from the give away. I enjoyed a few iced gems with a cup of coffee before I pored over everything in the box.

a box of goodies

Decorative pegs now, a fabric coursage, beads, buttons, a badge, egg cosy, little bells and a tasty jar of iced gems!

pretty decorated egg cosy

All so delightful and it felt soooo very much like christmas all over again.

pretty corsage

It seemed that as I lifted each item out of the box, another equally lovely thing was revealed,

buttons and badges

The ripple crochet scarf goes perfectly with my green jacket and I wore it that very day.

ripple scarf

The pictures speak for themselves and everything is beautifully made and joyful to receive.

I was so delighted with it and loved enjoying someone else’s makes so much that I am inspired to do the same thing myself and I will do a give away too.

So before too many more blogs and as soon as I have had time to decide what would be appropriate as a give away, I will be posting a give away blog.

LOVE is in the air

heart of buttons

I really am being rubbish at the moment but work is very full on and there seem to be sooooo many demands on my time

but

I did get another of the unfinished projects finished.

Alas, I have probably missed valentine’s day shoppers as it is a tad late.

Still, very much along the same lines as my last post about the valentine cushion, this one has the word ‘love’ on it but the ‘O’ is a heart and it is covered in buttons.

love heart cushion

It’s quite cute and a completely different shape to all the other cushions I have made in the past.

It’s nice and neat and I have been thinking about doing some doggy cushions and think this one lends itself to a dog image. however, since I still have a load of things to finish and a commission to squeeze in, I will have to hold onto that idea and do something about it another time.

Valentine Cushion

love cushion

I have finished one of my many ‘unfinished’ projects and here it is.

I adored the ‘love’ cushions that I made for friends & colleagues wedding gifts and while I was designing them, I had looked at different colours and combinations before settling on the cream ones.

Anyway, whilst trying to find the right combination for the presents, I had prepared one cushion in cream with red letters. It wasn’t subtle enough for a wedding gift but I did think it might make a nice valentine gift for someone.

red needle cord letters

The letters are in red needle cord and although it is quite simple, I really like the effect. I love red.

I am definitely going to make more of these and I have some more ideas for a similar cushion with button/beads and other decoration added to the letters or I might try the letters in patchwork or multi colours.

I still have lots of unfinished things and I must get on with those first.

So, for now though, this one is finished and in perfect time for Valentine’s Day!

a knitting (or crochet) bag

front pocket

I have long been a fan of the pillow case for keeping sewing, knitting and crocheting clean. I also use them as general bags for sewing etc especially if I have to take them anywhere.

They serve a purpose but the are not perfect. Often too big for the content and not easy to carry.

needle and pattern pockets

So it got me thinking, why buy something and why ‘make do’ when I can make exactly what I want?

front of bag

So here is a my new crochet bag for when I am working at my occasional stall at Harringay Market. It is made in the fabric to match the basket cover I made and am using to carry my cash tin, pins, pegs, bunjies, note book etc etc to the market.

back pockets

It will be getting some use when we are there again on the 3rd of February.

pockets

But to be honest, my crochet bag was a bit of a dry run in order to perfect the detail and design. It had been inspired by my lovely friend V. V creates wonderful jewellery, amazing food stuff and dips her toe very successfully into sewing, knitting and all things crafty.  When V and I did the last stall together at Harringay Market, we got 5 mins to sit and make. At the time V’s was knitting an absolutely lovely grey silky knit for a friend’s baby which was being transported in her large basket along with a bunch of other stuff. I knwo she takes great care with delicate things but it got me thinking.

basket with new cover

So with her birthday in January (like my very own) and knowing that she would

a) knit something again now the baby is here and the gift completed

inside pockets for needles, patterns and scissors

b) loves hand made things

my crochet wool ready for the off

and

c) since I was happy with what was needed for her knitting bag now I had tried it out for my own crocheting.

loaded

I made a knitting bag for the lovely wooly wonders that she quietly produces.

The principle is the same for each. Pockets on the inside sized specifically for scissors, pattern and needles. Pockets on the outside for spare wool, clips and anything else that might be needed and handles.

pockets

What I realised from my first attempt that I will use for my crochet is that a silky fabric lining would make it so much easier to get things in and out of the bag. V has a very pretty matching silky lining and pockets that I think makes it look quite sweet.

It has been received well and I very much look forward to seeing the next gorgeous make that V will go onto.

The Village Haberdashery

spring trees

I found the fabulous Village Haberdashery when I bought some fabrics from them at the Alexandra Palace Knitting and Stitching Show in October.

Since then I have signed up to be an Official Member of their Advisory Board which means I am ocassionally invited to give feedback on fabrics they might want to stock and it is quite good fun.

meadows

I have done a couple of their surveys and Annie got in touch at the weekend to present me with a £10 voucher for their shop as a thanks for taking part in the survey but also to say Happy Birthday.

coral friends

I didn’t hesitate to do some shopping and here is what I chose.

birds and bees

I messed up on the check out and missed putting in the code to use my £10 voucher but having contacted Annie, it was all sorted out for me.

The fabrics have arrived and I’m not disappointed.

lovely

They have joined my small pile of new fabrics that will be transformed into something wonderful as soon as I have worked my way through the pile of ‘to do’s’ still sitting waiting in my ‘to do’ basket.

Thanks to the Village Haberdashery for the birthday gift.

The featherweight Singer 221K

isn’t she lovely?

This is a little out of sequence after posting about new year resolutions but I had to tell you about one of my christmas presents……….

I got a new sewing machine to add to my little ‘collection’.

My very lovely husband, JC was at a car boot sale in late September and rang me to say that he had found this lovely small black singer sewing machine and was I interested?

the singer badge

It was only the singer 221k featherweight that they were offering but by the time he had sent me photos to be sure it was a good decision to buy it, the lady had taken it away to research it a little as she suspected the interest meant it was more valuable than she originally thought.

the motor and belt

JC had enough sense to leave the lady his number and took a call from her some weeks later to say she would sell it if he was still interested.  Off he went to meet said lady in the empty car park of where the car boot sale usually takes place armed with strict instructions to keep his phone on him in case he was bundled into her car boot and whisked away never to be seen again!

There was no need to be concerned. He eventually he returned and I could not have been more delighted to see him and he had the machine!

with the sewing flap down and ready for use

When you start searching for details on these little machines, you find that they have lots of fans and lots of pages and you tube videos dedicated to them.

top tension

Mine doesn’t seem to have the 221k badge on it but everything else is right and I loved finding out why there is a clip on the box lid and how it should be stored. The serial number starts with EH so I now know that it was made in 1951 and is definitely the 221k and not the 221.

foot pedal clipped into lid

The cable on the machine has been replaced with a new white one instead of the thread covered black original but it works and it is generally a thing of great beauty.

The original oil tin, instruction manual, sewing feet, attachments, carry case and key come complete with it and after a little clean up and a little machine oil, it works perfectly. It has signs of use from it’s previous life but that is to be expected and the scratches take nothing from it’s appeal.

The case is no bigger than a record case for LPs (showing my age now!). It is tiny and incredibly light so it is easy to see how successful it would have been as a travel machine. It would certainly be a lot easier to transport than any of my other machines.

all neatly stashed in the carry box

Sewing with it is a dream; it is quiet and smooth and because it is so compact, it feels neat and tidy working at it. I’m quite taken and can’t wait to really get into using it.

spool loader

I now have 4 old sewing machines (this one, the singer 320k, the singer 401 and a frisster and rossman cub 7. The Cub 7 was my first and only sewing machine until recent years) the singer 320k and now this wonderful little singer 221k are my absolute favourites. I am delighted with this brilliant and gorgeous christmas gift!

the decorative end plate

I can’t tell you how impressed I am too that JC even noticed it when he found at the car boot sale it let alone managed to get his grubby little mits on it for me for christmas.

Yey, Merry Christmas me and thank you JC!