WOYWW 130

(To be sung in a broad Wiltshire, farming accent...)
OHHHH, I'VE GOT A BRAND NEW COMBINE HARVESTER
AND I'LL GIVE YOU THE KEY!
Ah, The Wurzels, a much under-rated group of musicians :)
But I was fibbing, I haven't got a new combine harvester at all, what I do have, I'm soooooo excited....is....
My early early Christmas present off DH!
Look, Jozarty, a Janome!!  It's not an all singing, all dancing computerised jobbie, just a very solid model that's got all the bells and whistles that I need. It's like driving a Rolls Royce instead of a jalopy.  I'm so made up by it. DH says he'll put a ribbon around it for Christmas Day :D
(My old Toyota did me proud for a couple of years - it's now being serviced and is then going to the teenage daughter of a friend, for her to start her sewing future!)
I couldn't wait before using my new, gorgeous machine (d'ya think I'm happy with it?? Lol) as I've had quite a few orders for Christmas prezzies.
Here's my desk - the tartan has been used to make different things from Kindle ebook covers to Santa Stockings to Corsages.  I've also been cutting out what seems like millions of circles from black felt on which to attach brooch backs for the corsages.
I've beaten the 'can't use buttons' syndrome and they're going on everything now....
Wahoo! Two wooden ones on this doorstop which was an order from last weekend's craft fair in Marlborough.  This doggy fabric is still incredibly popular.
An old school colleague placed an order for bread baskets for her 5 sisters and a couple of friends! So I've made a few of these. They're quite simple to make really, the fun comes in choosing pretty fabric combinations.  I don't know which is my favourite, the green one possibly.

Laura (of Airing Cupboard Stamping fame) ordered a tablecloth with the stipulation that it had to be festive and funky..
She chose the fabric remotely!! I kid you not... When Julia and I were last in Winchester, she took photos of various fabrics on her iphone and sent them to Laura, who picked out her preferred choice. Technology can be soo helpful sometimes  - usually I have black dog moments with gadgets, but this was great.  The green border picks out the tone in the main fabric, I hope she'll like it.
And finally, on a Christmas present shopping trip to Salisbury last week, I came across a new shop full of shabby chic stuff which was very reasonably priced. They had these sweet little blue/cream canvas bags with rope handles. Sweet. I bought two in which to put toiletries for presents but can't bear to give them away! Here's one on my desk holding my scissors and the weird 45 degree angled ruler that Mr Dunnit made for making bias binding! 

It's handy, I love the colours and it cost the princely sum of £2.98!! You couldn't make it for that!  Only problem is I've got to go back and buy another couple....what a onerous task.... ;)

Finally, finally - here's two little Christmas presents for you to have a go at winning - bunting and a padded heart.

If you'd like to be in with a chance of winning one of these, then please add the phrase 'What a Festive Fabric Frolic' to your comment! I'll announce the winners next week.

Hope you all have a great fun with your crafting, whatever form it takes xxxx











WOYWW 129

STEP INTO CHRISTMAS,
LET'S JOIN TOGETHER,
WE CAN WATCH THE SNOW FALL FOREVER AND EVER...
EAT, DRINK AND BE MERRY
COME ALONG WITH ME,
STEP INTO CHRISTMAS,
THE ADMISSION'S FREE!
Except it wasn't at the Christmas fair I did on Sunday! The Private girls' school that was running the fair sure knew how to charge..for the table hire, rail space, electric point, admission... I did quite well there but didn't enjoy it and won't be there next year!! Thank goodness Julia came for the last hour to help me pack up and keep my sanity - cheers matey, owe you for that :)
Anyhow, this is what my table looked like..
I was probably the only stall with everything handmade, most of the others had bought-in stuff - very nice stuff admittedly, but it was the wrong venue for me. I tend to do well in country shows. Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained etc!
Right... here's what my desk looked like on Monday eve. A customer at Shopkeeper Gal's place wanted another desk tidy as a prezzy and said it had to be pinks and greens. So this is my selection, just making a final choice.  I might even *takes deep breath* use another button...shock horror!!
The pinks were all part of a fat quarter bundle from Fabricland in Salisbury, one of my favourite shops.
Isn't it funny how some fabrics can look really boring on the roll? I bought some new doggy fabric recently because there's a lot of dog owners needing Christmas presents, aren't there?? I only bought 2 metres because I wasn't sure about it. But which were the first two items I sold at the fair? Yup, you guessed.  When it was made up into something, with a nice spotty lining, the fabric looked so much better - weird!!
Last time I was down in Winchester, I bought this gorgeous Christmas fabric to make table runners. I already had the green snowflake print which I used for the borders. I managed to make three - I won't be upset if I get left with one!!
And finally, I HATE having my photo taken. But my naughty DH snapped one of me setting up part of my stall...
Now that's not too bad. partly cos my face is mostly obscured!!  Maybe that's what I should do in the future :D

Have a great crafting week!
                                     





WOYWW 128

DON'T BLAME IT ON SUNSHINE..
DON'T BLAME IT ON MOONLIGHT...
DON'T BLAME IT ON GOOD TIMES...
BLAME IT ON ... NOT HAVING ENOUGH HOURS IN THE DAY!!!!!
A slightly shorter blog this week, gentle readers...and apologies in advance for not visiting as many desks as normal.  
The reason?  A week long Christmas craft market and another fair at the weekend.  It's my own fault and I'm not complaining - much - it's just a busy busy time.
This is what my desk looked like last night...
Pandemonium!  Julia cut me loads of tags from her paper/card scraps so I've been pricing up the stuff for the fairs.  The tin contains pinky-red twine that is used to tie the tags on. I should have taken out shares in the fabric manufacturers that make red gingham, I've used that much in the previous few weeks!
Last weekend saw me cooking for Julia and Ally's card marathon (which is how I got the name Lunch Lady Jan in the first place!). They kindly let me set up a small stall of my crafts and this is a selection of the desk tidies..
Anyone up for ping pong netball?? Lol...
Even though I don't make cards or scrapbook, I really enjoy the marathon days. Everyone has such a lovely time crafting and eating - the selection of cakes this time included sticky gingerbread, extra marshmallowy rocky road, crunchy topped lemon drizzle cake and cappuccino cake.  Thank goodness for my Kitchenaid food mixer - he worked overtime the day before!!


Talking of gorgeous cakes...


As promised, here's Part 2 of Jane's dolls house addiction!  To repeat myself, HOW do these tiny little things get made? Extraordinary attention to detail..


One lucky family enjoying their Sunday lunch - those Yorkshire puddings look delicious, yum :P 

One last cake inspiration. At my niece's wedding a couple of weeks ago, the wedding cake was quite alternative!  She and her husband dislike rich fruit cake so instead, they had a cake of cheese!! Not a cheesecake but..well, see for yourselves...
It's a work of art! Like a Dutch Master's still life. Slices were served after the dessert course and the wedding favours were small jars of chutney with the bride and groom's names on. Different and fun!!

It was good to meet up with Debs for lunch last week - there's something about a WOYWWer that you recognise them immediately AND have lots to talk about. It was fun :D

Enjoy your crafting week - I'm off to cut more fabric.  See ya :)


WOYWW 127

THIS CAT'S ON A HOT TIN ROOF.....


I like to think of a pertinent musical title every week (though the last blog was a movie quote..) and this one, though slightly obscure, sums up how I'm feeling at the moment.  There seems to be so much to do and not enough time in which to do it.  I know this is a common theme for many of us, but where do the hours go.....??
(The song title is from Brian Setzer's album. You can Youtube him if you're interested. He does a mad cross between rockabilly and big band stuff. I play it very loudly in the car! :D)


Anyhow...my desk...
I found the funky union jack material in my fav shop in Marlborough, it's a heavy duty cotton drill and so far has been turned into bags, aprons, and a peg bag. The luscious black cherry fabric is destined to be more desk tidies - they seem to be quite popular at the moment.  The smaller black and white polka dot is going to be the lining and straps in contrast to the cherries.
Julia and Mr Dunnit popped over for coffee and she kindly consented to be Kate Moss to my David Bailey....lol. Work that camera, babe...


This is the box into which I chuck my larger scraps of fabrics and spare fat quarters - it's quite pretty when you look at it, isn't it?  Come and have a rummage.... :)
And here's one I made earlier, a desk tidy which is going to be a Christmas present for someone..
I've been a big brave girl and used some more of my buttons...ooh, that was hard.  Note to self: get over it...!!


After last week's lovely comments about my village, I thought I'd share another gorgeous property with you.  It's my friend Jane's place, up North.  She's worked really hard on it over the past few years and it's turned out to become a very desirable residence.



Do you remember the TV programme 'Through the Keyhole'??  The famous catchphrase was 'Now, who lives in a place like this?'  Some very lucky dolls, that's who!!  Not only has Jane bought some exquisite little pieces over the years, she has real knack for 'dressing' the house with them. Looking at these close ups that DH took, you really see the detail.
It's a 1930's style residence which Jane and her husband Ken built themselves - I really like the marine blue woodwork and would like a balcony like that on my house!
 This conservatory is attached to the property next door.  Jane's mother worked the rug and cushions in tiny needlepoint - amazingly gorgeous..  I want a conservatory now...!!
 And last, but not least, my favourite part of the kitchen.  I didn't see most of these details until we looked at this shot.  Look at the little block of green carbolic soap, amazing.  
Whoever makes this stuff must have the patience of Job and extremely tiny fingers.  Great big louts like me with fat fingers wouldn't stand a chance. I'd be dropping things all the time!
I've got more pics of the rather fancy cake shop next door to these lovely places - but that's for another day.


Have a great crafting week!

































WOYWW 126

I'VE GOT A STAPLE GUN AND I'M NOT AFRAID TO USE IT.........

This is what was on my workdesk last week when I realised that I had too much stuff to fit onto a 6 x 2 ' table at the fair.  'Have we got anything suitable with which to make a display stand?' I enquired of my DH.  After a bit of rummaging in the garage, he found some MDF which did the trick. I found some wadding, black material and the all important staple gun. All we had to buy were some hinges.  



Velour on the front...


Plain black fabric on the back..


Lots of satisfying staple gunning....








Et Voila!!  
One display board, which'll come in handy for all occasions. The black is a good background for showing off the fabrics and we didn't have to spend money to achieve it - RESULT!!
Here's a couple of different things that I've been playing around with. I found the dalmatian fur fabric in the stash from last year and thought I'd make hearts from them - they all went at Saturday's fair!  The Bubbles material is back, this time as a desk tidy bin that Shopkeeper Gal commissioned for a birthday prezzy (I'm sure it's safe to show it now!).  And I've been making some table centres with place mats for the upcoming fairs. 
               
Julia has encouraged (i.e. nagged!) me to tell you that all my stuff is for sale. If you're interested in anything, please feel free to email me via the link at the top and I'll send you info/prices.  I will be setting up a blog shop soonish but in the meantime, email will have to do :)

DH and G3 bought me this beautiful Autumn bouquet for no reason at all, which is why I love it! The pale green/ white 'roses' are actually ornamental cabbages!! They're bizarre but quite funky and add a certain off-the-wall feeling to the flowers :)
Last Friday morning, I'd had enough of sewing and the weather was glorious so I dragged my menfolk out for a walk cos it was just too lovely to stay indoors. We went for a good long stretch around our village...

These were taken in our garden, my tree is looking very handsome, don't you think??





The village graveyard was looking suitably misty and mysterious in time for Halloween...

Our village church was mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086, though the present building was changed a lot by the Victorians.  I've played piano a lot in this building for school services over the years!!


These cottages are opposite the church - very pretty!

Then we walked down to the canal which runs about half a mile away - it really was gorgeous walking along the towpath, so still and peaceful.  We had a good chat, threw sticks in the water and generally larked about :D


I love this photo, might get a bigger version and frame it for our living room.


So, all in all, a fab way to spend a sunny morning - enough time had been spent at the sewing machine.  Wonderful Wiltshire, I love living here!!

Have a great crafting week :)

WOYWW 769

 WE'LL MEET AGAIN.... I'm going to take a break from blogging for a while - please don't worry, all is ok! - think I just need a...