Sew Hot Mitmot

Drawer makeover, storage heaven and some recycled linen

2010-02-22T20:13:00.000Z

I have had a lovely weekend, filled with forum friends, PVA, new wardrobes and getting my craft room back after packing it away in August.

First off the PVA was an essential ingredient in my makeover of this little set of drawers i picked up for £2 at the last barn sale i went to. They were really practical for keeping some of my vintage threads.

And I liked the quilted plastic that they are covered with, but after a week or two I decided I could not live with the Fleur DE Ly's any longer.

So still in my Pj's on Sat morning I got the glue out and some lovely CK paper napkins, and this is the result.

I covered the back panel first and I am so glad I did as the motif still showed through the napkins, so out came the white paint and a quick undercoat did the trick.

Hubbie made me smile when he asked if I realised I had used different colored napkins - he thinks it would have looked better if I had not used 4 different ones - what do you think?

whilst i was getting stuck up with PVA my stepson was busy making me built in wardrobes in my craft room. the doors still need to be added but I was allowed to fill up the shelves!

With our extension I gained about 2 feet in length on this room and the sloping ceiling was removed - I also gained a new window to gaze out of. It is so nice to have my sewing area back.

So today I started playing with some vintage linen, and made some drawstring bags

All lined with vintage fabric. I made a lavender bag out of some lawn to fit into one of them as well

Did you notice the background fabric in the last picture?? - I bought this yesterday at a vintage clothes fair in London. I think it is German, or French and I got over 4 meters of it, and it is defiantly my favorite fabric at the moment.

I had the chance to meet up with 2 very special people I met via the SCC this weekend and I am proud to be able to call them friends, they both inspire me in different ways and hold a special place in my heart. Thank you ladies for all the fun, laughter and food :-)

TTFN

Mitmot xx

Sunshine award

2010-02-10T15:40:00.000Z

I have received a lovely award this week from Deborah at http://prettygoods.blogspot.com/ - thank you so much, I think we all need some sunshine in the UK at the moment as we have had so much bad weather recently.

I am not very good at choosing blogs to pass these on to as I love all of the blogs I follow (over 100 at the last count!!) - so please feel free to grab this award if you would like it.

2 Finished Quilts :-)

2010-02-03T01:25:00.002Z

Tonight I have completed 2 of my recent quilt projects - Hurray!

First is the hexy quilt, it took forever to hand sew it together, but I love the finished quilt. Some of you may remember that when I started it it was as a sofa protector for the dog to use. However I don't want to risk her using it now!

So I needed another quilt to use as a sofa cover - so I am pleased to present my first finished strip project :-)

I added a 3 inch red border and used some edge binding I bought via Ebay from America - it is not cut on the bias and was actually easier to hand sew on, and I think it gives a neater finish. It is backed with some CK needle cord.

Here it is on the sofa

And here it is with its new owner - I think she approves, as she is now curled up asleep on it!

Now I need to make another one for the other sofa, and hubbie has decided he wants one to snuggle up with....

With a little help from my friends......

2010-01-30T08:26:00.001Z

Over the last couple of weeks I have become addicted to stripping like many others in blogland at the moment. It started when I joined in with the No Strings Attached Challenge hosted by Loft Creations. I have almost finished my first quilt but got distracted when a special person who is getting married this year fell in love with it. I decided to start one for her as the perfect wedding pressie. I worked out I would need over 160 squares and after raiding my own large stash I wanted a bit more variety so put out a call for help on the SSC - Did anyone fancy doing a 'strip swap'??

All of the lovely ladies below came up trumps to help me and little strip parcels were exchanged.

I added a few red strips along the way, but here are the special squares with the swapped strips

these 4 below are from Boysmum3, but somehow they lost the label when I took the photos!

I have labeled the squares on the back at the moment and need to think of a way to ensure the recipient knows who they are from

I had lots of extra strips so mixed them up with my own for the other blocks

I love the way that all the fabric is different but somehow it all works together.

So a big thank you to everyone on the SSC for sending the strips, I hope you have as much fun with your little swap parcels as I did with mine!

If anyone in blogland wants to join in with the strip swap just leave me a comment below.

Tea cup candles

2010-01-23T10:39:00.000Z

I have been buying lots of pretty tea cups and saucers from charity shops for some time now in preparation of my darling step daughter getting married. She has booked the date in September this year, so now I need to think about how to turn some of the pretty cups into candles.

Have any of you lovely bloggers done this before? - would love any hints or tips please. Suggestions on buying the supplies online would also be great. I have been told that Soy wax is the best to use as it does not get so hot, the last thing i want is a pretty cup cracking and leaking wax over the table!

Work In Progress

2010-01-11T10:33:00.005Z

After working over most of Christmas I just managed to get 6 days off in a row. Unfortunately the snow meant that some of the planned activities could not take place, but that meant I did lots of sewing. My Mum has been staying with us since we had 18 inches of snow and lost power several times, so she has been knitting and I have been having patchwork fun!.

The hexey quilt top is almost finished - I ended up having to use cushioned plasters on my fingers as all that hand sewing made them really sore (wish I could use a thimble!)

Its a real mix of vintage finds, Cath samples, and stash fabric including some Laura Ashley fabric from when I was patchwork crazy in the 80's

Each patch has a memory attached to it, some from swap parcels, bits friends have given to me and even a couple of bits from old dresses when I was a child.

Just a few more bits to add at the edge and then it will get its backing, wadding and binding

I must be mad as this is going on the sofa for the DOG to sit on!!

Work in the extension has stopped whilst we are waiting for a bit of the bathroom to be delivered - its been over 3 months now since we ordered it - Bathstore.com do not get any votes from me for customer service.

However I have been using the new bedroom as a sewing room extension and laying out curtains I am making. I had collected lots of lovely vintage floral fabric and old curtains but they were all too small for the new windows, so with a bit of Cath and some cream linen thrown in they have become patchwork curtains

Still a work in progress but you get the idea - this is just one half of a pair and each patch is 18 inches square

The landing connecting the extension is almost finished, just need to stain and wax the floorboards to match the rest.

And the on suite to the new master bedroom is usable but has no door on it!

Need to find a nice pair of mirrors to go over the vanity unit - wish I could find another one like this old French one I picked up years ago............

So if that was not enough works in progress i started another quilt yesterday. I have signed up to a lovely challenge called 'no strings attached' - if you want to join in click on the link on the right of my blog - it is open until the 15th Jan. a couple of ladies from the SCC have joined me on this so it will be fun to compare progress.

What fun I have had sorting through all my fabric and it is so lovely to use the scraps that have have never thrown out.

Colour wise I really have used a bit of everything, but to provide some unity I have included red on every patch

The blocks still need to be squared off, but I LOVE the way it is looking. It grows so fast compared to the hand sewn hexeys - I made 30 7 inch squares yesterday. They will get trimmed to 6 1/2 inches and once sewn will be 6 inch patches.

its a great mix of vintage and new again

Hope the snow is not causing you too many issues, it is starting to thaw here, although this brings its own problems as we have a split pipe on the family farm that is now gushing water, but at least the milk should be collected from the farm today, as my brother has had to throw it down the drain as we have not had it collected for 4 days. So sad that he works so hard on the farm and then has to throw away one of the main incomes - he is not even allowed to give it away!.

TTFN

Happy New Year

2010-01-02T10:13:00.004Z

Hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and the New Year brings you everything you dream of.

I wanted to share these images with you before Christmas but time ran away from me. They are from my mothers scrapbook created almost 80 years ago - enjoy xx

Let me know your favourite image xx

Bargain Hunt - Monday

2009-12-06T06:53:00.003Z

If you have access to BBC1 tomorrow at 12.15 and you want a giggle at my expense you may 'know' one of the contestants!

Getting crafty again

2009-11-23T20:23:00.005Z

Hello Lovely blog followers, I hope you have stuck with me whilst I have been busy working?

I finally managed to get back into my workroom over the weekend, its still a work in progress with floorboards still to be screwed down and a new storage unit to be built, but I thought you would like to have a look through the new window

I have had a few projects that I wanted to get underway and fancied one that used lots of fabric scraps (am I the only person who NEVER throws scraps away no matter how tiny!?) it was great to get delve into fabric that i had to pack away months ago

i used a real mix, a little bit of Cath, some spotty that came from Australia, some of my vintage Laura Ashley, and lots of vintage bits

Stitched them all together and created some fabric stars for the Christmas tree

I also raided the button tin and made a few wire hearts.

The inspiration for the stars came from here

I got a bit carried away with the pictures!

Another plan that I had come up with some time ago finally got started. I can not resit collecting old fabric and when I visited CTC a while ago i picked up this small table cloth.

It was passed its best with a few holes and a couple of stains that I could not get out, but I felt the lovely printed flowers deserved a second chance.

So I raided the ric rac box, got the scissors out and after a wizz on the machine I came up with these lavender and wheat drawer fresheners

Some are backed with French vintage ticking and the others with some upcycled gingham

They are extra special as they are filled with lavender I grew in the garden and wheat my brother grew on the farm. I love to give old fabric a new life - I like to think I "add value by design" - or I may just be a really good horder!

As for the building work, it is still not finished - we are 3 weeks over the original completion date and will be lucky if it gets finished before Christmas - Henry belongs to the builders but he is like one of the family now as he lives in the hall and I talk to him every day :-)

TTFN

Mitty xx

Sofa dilemma and patchwrok crazy

2009-10-03T12:25:00.007+01:00

We have 3 sofas from Ikea and some time ago I bought some new flowery covers, well last weekend they actually got onto the sofas and I adore them. They make the room feel light and fresh but they also gave me a dilemma...............

Our darling dog likes to sit next to us in the evening and she has not learnt to wipe her feet properly so I need to ensure we do not get muddy paw prints on the fab covers. I tried a red blanket.......
I also tried my crochet blanket folded nicely, but neither looked right...........

What I really needed was a patchwork throw that would tone in with the covers. As my sewing machine is packed away it would have to be hand sewn.....

Thank goodness I could still get to most of my fabric stash!

So here is the start of it - I used to love patchwork like this when I was a teenager and it has brought back happy memories of my sewing time with my grandmother.

I have made 300 patches, most of them different...

A mix of old and new, with some CK thrown in for good measure (thanks to a lovely shop assistant in London CK who let me have enough samples to make 35 patches!)

Can you find the Laura Ashley fabric from the 80's - this is left over from my original patchwork adventures!

I have also included fabric I bought in Australia and some special pieces sent by lovely friends on the SSC

Now talking of special friends I had emailed a friend from the SSC who runs a textile recycling centre to ask her if she had any scraps of vintage material she would sell to me. Heather left me gobsmacked when this arrived in the post today.

It needs finishing, but how fantastic is this.........

I have been lusting after some vintage patchworks on Ebay and now I have my very own.

I adore this roses patch

and this is so Cath Kidston dont you think?

The person who has made this had a wonderful eye for detail with her colour combinations, but this patch really made me smile - can you spot the odd one out?

How cure are these little fishes.......

The white patches really make the colours sing.

Do you think this was a lovely party dress in a former life?

And perhaps a special child had a outfit in this lovely print.......

The workmanship is stunning and the stitching is almost invisible.

So will this be another quilt for the dog - not on your Nelly this will take pride of place in my new master bedroom once the building is finished :-)

Can you tell I am in love with it!

Thank you Heather I will treasure it forever

MMxx

Made by me!

2009-10-03T05:54:00.003+01:00

Sorry I have been AWOL again, but work is taking up so much time and I have had to pack up all of my sewing stuff whilst the building work is going on. Only another 6 weeks and it should all be finished!

I found some pictures of things i made a few months ago to share with you

I have started a new sewing projest that is hand sewn due to the fact my machine is hidden away, so i will share that with you another time

TTFN

MM xx

Introducing Roger and other Australian delights!

2009-09-06T02:56:00.006+01:00

Well I am back in the UK now and suffering with the dreaded jet lag - hence a blog post at 3am!

I managed to take a few hours off from my work schedule and got to do some exploring in Oz. I had a hire car for a day so went in search of Kangaroos. After a bit of investigation the helpful lady at the local tourist info place suggested a trip out to Pebbly Beach. So I packed my picnic and set off.

After a great drive along the coast and down a very long dirt path I found myself this fantastic beach. Can you believe I was the only person on it!

After my picnic I went for a wander in search of the Roos, looks like they were on a family outing to the beach as well.

Now at this point I came across a man who reliably informed me that this kangaroo was called Roger. He was obviously used to tourists and came really close to me - I even got to stroke him (the Kangaroo not the Ozzie guy!) I had a chat with Roger and he was very interested in relocating to the UK and we made plans for him to meet me at the airport, and I had a nice new home arranged for him, but alas I think he got cold feet as he stood me up!

This is Mrs Roger and I think she was the reason he decided against the UK - can you see the babies feet sticking out of her pouch?
Another relative, again with a full pouch

It was amazing to get so close to them, but I would hate to upset them as they can do lots of damage, with those powerful feet and huge tail.

I also got some time out in Sydney so here are the Bridge and Opera house - the 2 most famous sites, taken from the ferry to Manley.

Off to try and get some more sleep now!

MM xx

AWOL - Australia is calling

2009-08-24T23:38:00.004+01:00

Sorry I have been absent with out leave but it has been a busy month with lots of building work going on at the house

I have also had the chance to start riding again with the lovely Mr Bart

We have now got 4 chickens - Mable, Florrie, Dotty and Sybil
and I have only managed a little bit of crafting as my sewing room has had to be packed up to make way for the building work
Work has also taken me to Australia so I am typing this from a hotel in Sydney :-) - I have a few hours off later today so am going to try and find some fabric shops or OP shops :-)

TTFN

MM xx

Australian polka dot swap

2009-07-15T22:35:00.004+01:00

When the postman arrived with this package today I nearly ripped his hand off, mind you I had to fight the dog as well as he always gives her a biscuit and she rushes around like a mad thing!

I could see the customs declaration so guessed it was my swap from Shabby Raggy Roses
Oh just look at all of these lovelies...............

A fantastic quilted drawstring bag, in such pretty fabrics combining spots and flowers

A sweet dotty handbag shaped notebook

Some wonderful polka dot fabric, and roses and spots, what a fab combination, and i have a real love of green at the moment

A very clever doorstop - i just adore the fabric this is made from, and a sweet bookmark

I filled the doorstop with corn that my brother grew on the farm last year and here it is in action!

Jenelle, thank you so much I just adore it all

MM xx

Stripes and Spots swap

2009-07-13T22:55:00.007+01:00

I received a fantastic swap from Kbarty recently - It was from the Shabby Chic Cafe and the theme was stripes and spots.

Now Kbarty is new to this swapping lark and I know she was nervous about her first swap, but she had absolutely nothing to worry about! - look at this lovely box all tied up with spotty ribbon. I was so happy to open it and find so many lovely crocheted goodies - I have tried to learn to crochet this year and have not managed to get past a chain, and both the dog and the husband are fed up with me swearing and launching wool and hook across the room in frustration!!

As well as all the crochet lovelies I got some scrummy Sarah Smith cloths, and the box itself was a mass of lovely stripes

look how clever this crochet heart is - spots one side

and stripes on the other :-)

This lovely spotty mug has already found a new home with some of my other blue china - it was full of stripey humbugs that lasted all of 10 minutes!

and the bunting was the PERFECT colour match to my china, and has pride of place on the dresser.

Look how well the post holder matches the cooker.....

I am delighted with all of my swap goodies, thank you so much Kbarty, you are very talented.

I sent of my parcel to Little Gem and she has blogged about it here Here are the handmade goddies I sent.

A felt wrist cuff - I am thinking of making a few of these for Folky/Esty, what do you think?

I recieved a lovely blog award from Shabby Raggy Roses, we are partners for the polka dot swap and it has been fun to do a swap to send to Australia.

Now I have recently tagged lots of you, so if you would like this award please consider it yours.

TTFN

MM xx

Ric Rac love...........

2009-07-12T11:56:00.004+01:00

Had a great haul of trimmings at the bootsale today.

Vintage Ric Rac, new Ric Rak, jumbo Ric Rak, narrow Ric Rac, and some ribbon, binding and thread thrown in for good luck!........

Reds, whites and yellows

Pinks........

Greens.......

Blues...........

and I paid £20 for the lot :-)

TTFN

MM xx

completed cushion!

2009-06-30T18:53:00.006+01:00

Yesterday I finished this applique cushion. The idea came from here

I have combined hand and machine embroidery, and I love the result.

looks great on the bed

Not sure if it looks right on this sofa, but I love the sofa, I got it a couple of month's ago from a antique fair, not a real bargain but i haggled lots for it, and got it delivered!

The covering is all hand stitched - it must have taken months

It will take pride of place in our new bedroom, but for now it is sitting at the end of our bed.

I am off to London tomorrow to visit my dentist and then I am meeting some special people for lunch :-)

TTFN

MM xx

Lucky Lady!

2009-06-27T09:41:00.005+01:00

When a parcel arrives with the address label looking like this, you just know it will contain lovely stuff!

It was my giveaway win from the talented Little Gem (who has just got her degree results - 2:1 - fantastic!)Look at all of these packages, all wrapped in CK paper (OH did think I was a bit weired when i very gently removed the tape, so i could save the wrapping)

LG designed and painted these cards and they are for sale in her blog shop. It is perfect timing as it is OH birthday on Monday so I can give him the card and then frame it!

I have been spoilt as LG has added the sweet little painted pot to all of the other giveaway goodies.

The brooch has already found a new home on my CK messenger bag that I love. I think of it as my happy bag as I only use it at weekends. It has some good company on the bag!

Thank you so much LG, I adore everything you have made and sent with love and care. XX

Did you notice the background fabric for the pictures? I popped in to the CK outlet in Bicester on my way home from a meeting on Tuesday and they had these packs of 4 napkins reduced from £15 to £5. The fabric is finer than the fabric she sells now, so I think they must be a very old design.

I had another surprise package arrive yesterday from Mary Poppins and it was bursting at the seams with fantastic fabric. Thank you for your kindness and for thinking of me. xx

Blogging never ceases to amaze me and I have met a whole bunch of fantastic people through it.
So to all my blogging friends, old and new thank you for being there - please enjoy a homegrown strawberry dipped in chocolate!

MM xx

Awards

2009-06-24T22:34:00.003+01:00

The lovely Little Gem from Little Gems world has given me 2 awards this week. Gem also has a blog shop, so if you are looking for lots of pretties go check it out Roses and Gingham

What Lovely awards to have, and I get to pass them on to 6 other blogs, but as I tagged 6 other blogs in my last post I am going to give the awards all to one special person.

This HAS to be Angel, who has complained that I did not tag her in my last post!!
go visit her at Shabby Angel but be prepared to laugh a lot!

Love you lots Angel MWAH xxxx

Happy tag

2009-06-19T10:28:00.008+01:00

Morning all

I have been tagged by http://refunctionjunktion.blogspot.com/ all the way from Michigan USA.

What does that mean?

It means that I have to list 6 random, insignificant things that make me happy. Here goes (in no particular order)

1 - Having vases of flowers all over the house that I have picked from the garden - really enjoying the sweet williams and sweet peas at the moment - much better than any air freshener!

2 - The dog greeting me when I arrive home - she is always so excited even if I have only popped out for some milk!

3 - My ever growing fabric and button stash - I can spend hours stroking the fabric and playing with the buttons, sorting into colour groups!

4 - My recent collection of china flower posies - now I only started collecting these this year but as you can see I have been lucky getting some bargains in the Charity shops and at the boot sales - I just need a shelf to keep them all safe on now!
5 - Being creative - I have lots of WIP at the moment but never seem to have enough time......

6 - After my darling Stepdaughter announced her engagement we are having lots of fun planning the wedding!

Thanks for the tag Refunction Junktion-- that also made me happy. Be sure to click on her name and check out her blog - she creates some amazing pieces out of junk.
Now, TAG, YOU'RE IT....

Mary Poppins

Little Gem

Lace Hearts

Tillyboo @ 23beechhill

Bloomin' Myrtle

Dolly Dollop

( It is soooooo hard to just pick 6 people, so if you want to play along please consider yourself tagged!)

So, list on your blog 6 things that make you happy, and then tag 6 other blogs and let them know.

TTFN

MM xx

Fantastic Fabric

2009-06-18T13:02:00.003+01:00

I had to go to Liverpool this week to attend a conference and took the opportunity to visit a couple of fabric shops. I got a bit carried away and ended up buying masses of fabric as the price was so good, but I have no idea what i am going to make with it!

Some of the designs i just got a metre of, and others I have 12 metres of!

So what would you make with all this fabric????????????

TTFN

MM xx

Barnett Lawson

2009-06-10T11:00:00.000+01:00

I had to go to London last week to have a dentist check up on my recent oral surgery and decided I needed a treat, so I planned a first time visit to Barnett Lawson a trimmings shop that is tucked away in a basement just off Oxford street.

What a gem of a shop (Gok uses it!) the sales ladies were really friendly and although they cater for a lot of wholesale customers they were interested in what I was going to do with my treasures, and you can buy small quantities of some items.

They let me take lots of pictures to share with you all, so I hope you enjoy!.

If You get a chance to visit i definitely recommend it

TTFN

MM xx

Snapdragons Ladybird adventures

2009-06-03T10:53:00.005+01:00

The lovely Jane at Snapdragons Garden is in the process of creating a new cataloge for her scrummy creations, and sent out a plea to fellow bloggers. Now I think this was such a good idea as Jane has sent out 250 of her fantastic badges and the only thing you have to do in return is take a few pictures and return them to Jane - and they may even get to feature in her new catalogue!

Hope you enjoyed the Ladybird adventures

TTFN

MM xx

Summer has arrived

2009-05-22T11:07:00.004+01:00

I was lucky to grow up on a farm and for me summer never really began until the fields were cut for hay or silage. Every year as soon as May arrived talk around the breakfast table with my Father and Brother would be about the weather forecast. You need to have a week of dry weather to make good hay so timing was important.

Now I have returned to the country and live in the next farmhouse to were I was born and my brother has taken over the farm when my father passed away.

Last week my brother came to visit me and we sat around my kitchen table and looked online at the weather forecast, and yesterday he started with the mower.

I adore the fact that I can see him working from my kitchen window. We had a picnic lunch together sat in the middle of the field and watched the red kites swooping for food and fighting with the crows.

Red kites have only returned to this area in the last few years, my Father adored them and once took my mother on a 100 mile round trip just to show her some. Sadly he never lived to see them fly over his own land, but i know he would have been delighted.

It was a simple thing but touched me deeply, and now I can declare that summer has begun.

MMxx

Pay it forward - the results

2009-05-20T18:28:00.004+01:00

I have been so norty in not posting about pay it forward until now.

I can give you lots of excuses, like; I started a new job; I have been travelling over 1000 miles a week in new job; I have spent lots of time trying to sort out the veg garden and control the weeds; we have had visitors most weekends; I could go on but in honesty - I forgot.

So I am really sorry BM3/Dolly Dollop I loved the things you made for me, and the purse even came on our London adventure with my camera in it - but I forgot to thank you then *insert embarrassed smiley*

How could I not love the little London bus with CK on it :-)

If you want to see what i sent out to my 3 play it out ladies i made variations on the items below. It was the first time I had made the button hearts and I tried a variety of different wire but none of it was strong enough to hold the heart shape so I had to thread some stronger wire in afterwards to strengthen it.

It was fun to send out something crafty to people and to receive something in return - if you have not had a go yet I would defiantly recommend it

TTFN

MM xx

Inspired by London - with more pictures added

2009-05-18T22:15:00.004+01:00

One of the fantastic things about the SSC meet in London was spending the day with a group of people who like simular things and who are creative. We all shared ideas and gained inspiration from what we saw and each other.

In tribute to the day and my new friends I have created this 'dressed' mannequin.

She is covered with special ribbon and lace. some came from my recent trips to France, other bits from swaps on SSC, some was my Mums and Grandmothers. I have even used ribbon saved from special gifts - some fancy french macaroons when my Godson got married and from my CK duvet cover.

It was fun to do and I love the fact that each bit has a special memory - including some I bought on Saturday!

The ribbon is only pinned on so if I want to use some of it in the future I can replace it with something else.

The idea came from here

and some of the trimmings and bias binding came from here

TTFN

MM xx

diddn't we have a lovely day, the day we went to London

2009-05-17T16:36:00.005+01:00

Well I had a lovely day yesterday when a group of us who met via the Shabby Chic Cafe decided to be really brave and meet up in person.

Whilst the first few minutes several of us showed some nerves they were all forgotten quickly over coffee and hot chocolate.

We managed to talk, walk and shop from 10am to 7pm

Here are some highlights from the day.

French Fancies

2009-05-05T22:08:00.005+01:00

Lots of bargains at the 2 brocantes we visited at the weekend to share with you - please leave me a comment and let me know your fav ones.

Labour Day - Fete du Muguet

2009-04-29T12:39:00.004+01:00

We are off the France for the weekend to stay with friends and celebrate the 1st May

The origins of Labour day strangely enough, started in the USA. On 1 May 1886 American Labor Unions organized a strike in favor of limiting working hours to an eight-hour day. In 1889 it was decided to make May 1st a special day for demonstrations. In 1941 the Vichy government, declared May 1st the feast of labor and national concord. It was to be a day on which workers could stay home and must still be paid.

Americans, just to be awkward, now celebrate Labour Day in September; and the British, who like all their holidays to be Mondays, keep May day on the first Monday in May.

May 1 is also La Fête du Muguet, and the tradition is to give the ones you love a little bouquet of lily-of-the-valley, for good luck and to celebrate the arrival of spring. Originally the idea was to take the kids into the forest and let them pick your own muguet together. Of course, in the city you will more likely buy it from the florist's, or better yet, from one of the countless stands that sprout up overnight on every street corner and every road in France, most of them doing this as a fundraiser for one cause or another. We will go to the forest and pick our own.

In many towns and villages the whole place is turned into a giant flea market - a bit like a UK car boot but with more wine! and for several years we have run a stall with our friends.

I hope I can find some nice French bargains :-)

Hope you all enjoy the holiday weekend.

MM xx

bootsale bargins

2009-04-26T10:57:00.003+01:00

What a lovely sunny morning to spend a hour or two wandering around a boot sale and pick up some bargains along the way

This random collection of stuff was £1 and has lots of zips (It is years since i put a zip in anything and this may make me face my fear!) also has some nice vintage fabric flowers some sewing cotton and a mini flower press, complete with flowers!

The red glass was £2 and I already have some the same, so I now have enough to use them when we have people for dinner. The 2 cut glass pits cast 20p and I will put them in the sewing room with buttons or beads in.

This collection filled a large tin and includes lots of vintage buttons, ric rac, bias binding, ribbon, pins, needles and poppers. The little old man charged me £2 for the lot and included the Royal Doulton swan with flowers tucked on the left of the picture. I think he was just delighted that someone was going to use some of his late wife's sewing bits, he was very sweet and we chatted for ages.

I was very excited about the next bargain as I have wanted some wooden shelves to paint cream and put in the bathroom to house my ever growing collection of glass candlesticks. I have bookmarked lots of them on ebay but they always sell for more than I want to pay. - these cost me the grand sum of £1 - I was a very happy lady I can tell you!

I always keep one eye open for any Cath Kidston stuff but have never been lucky until now :-) (I am 90% sure this is CK fabric but you may know better)

These curtains have been hand made and are fully lined, but have never been used - we are planning an extension so I may end up with a room to put them in or if not I will cut them up and use the fabric for something else

What a successful morning, and now I am off to sort out my seedlings - hope you have some of this lovely sunshine were you are.

MM xx

I won a giveaway

2009-04-25T22:31:00.001+01:00

A few weeks ago I was really lucky and won a giveaway ot Primrose Corner the fabric is lovely. This was the first giveaway I had entered so I was delighted to win! - please take a look on the lovley blog and shop - I have since ordered some more fabric and they really do offer a lovely service and some fantastic goodies.

I have been thinking about what to use it for for some time, and stroking it often (am I the only person who does this hoping it will speak to me and tell me what it wants to become?).

As I was starting my new job I thought that a new handbag was needed, and I altered a pattern I had used before so that I could fit it on one of the fat quarters.

I am really pleased with the result and much happier with the closure on this modified bag.

I used one of the smaller bits of fabric for a internal pocket, the spotty fabric was from my stash, and was a barn sale bargin for only a few pennies. It is interlined with curtain wadding that I was given and is adorned with some of my Grandmothers buttons, so the total cost of the bag was less than £1

I took it with me on my first day in the office along with some lovely gifts from the Shabby Chic ladies and it all made me smile to myself lots!

Best wishes

MM xx

paying it forward

2009-04-13T21:59:00.007+01:00

Continuing the giving from Mel at Shabby Chick, and Dolly Dollop .....I'm paying it forward :)

The first three people to leave a comment will receive a hand made gift from me! ( please make sure I have a way of contacting you)

The only thing you have to do is participate and carry on the gift giving to three more people...as soon as you have left a comment do a "pay it forward post" on your blog and continue the giving.

I think this is a lovely idea and hope you do to.

MM xx

Happy Easter

2009-04-11T16:12:00.005+01:00

Hope you are all enjoying the Easter break.

I wanted to share my lovely swap goodies for Jayne at Cupcake Fantasy we both took part in the swap organised by Faerie Nuff and I was completely spoilt. Jayne knitted two lovely cream egg holders, one is a chick and the other a egg in a egg cup, they are so clever and it makes me wish I could do clever things with wool.

I also got stickers, buttons and nests full of eggs, but my favourite two things are this fab little hand sewn chick on a stick and the wonderful eggy card

Look at the detail in this - no 2 eggs are the same.

Here it all is added to my Easter display in the hall. - Thank you Jayne

I am starting a new job on Tuesday so i will have less time for sewing and crafting, but more money to buy lovely hand made things!

MM xx

weekly roundup

2009-04-04T21:14:00.004+01:00

I have done absolutly nothing today, felt unwell but nothing specific.

I did however want to share some lovely old cards with you. I have recently been given my mums old scrapbook, some of the christmas images got scanned and used for cards at Christmas. so here are a few of the easter ones

I managed to get my Easter swaps in the post yesterday, so now i can start thinking about my own decorations.

Off to the monthly barn sale tomorrow and the car boot season kicks off tomorrow as well.

MM xx

More sewing project completed

2009-03-28T20:24:00.005Z

lots of pictures and no words today!

All that sewing and i also made and iced a birthday cake :-)

Enjoy the weekend and don't forget to spring forward with the clocks toninht

ps - hope you are all sitting in the dark for the next hour!

completed sewing projects

2009-03-21T23:05:00.003Z

The garden has kept me busy this week, but i have managed to complete a few sewing projects

I made these needle cases for a tutorial on the Shabby Chic Cafe

and these bits are for a Charity fair in the summer

another tutorial produced this cushion cover

Hope you all enjoy the sunshine while it lasts - more gardening for me this coming week, one day i may have removed all of the weeds :-)

MM xx

Patchwork cyber quilt

2009-03-12T08:33:00.003Z

Today on the Shabby Chic Forum several of us are going to make patchwork quilts. I made one a few years ago and am going to try and help Mary Poppins and Lacey who are both very talented make theirs. When they realise how easy it is Iwill be busted!

Last night I ran around and cut out some fabric squares, I had some left over from making my big quilt but as this was a quick project and I wanted to take some 'how to' pictures they were a bit big, so each original 4 inch square has been cut into 4.

I will post some pictures soon on our progress!

MM xx

30 hats and some completed projects

2009-03-07T08:41:00.006Z

I have completed the 2 project I started last week. The linen basket was a pain to paint as the paint gets stuck between the weave, no matter how hard I scrubbed it in! - now I realise why so many people on the Internet recommend spray painting!.

The other project for the week was this little sewing box and I am really please with the result.

The knob is glass and was what attracted me to it in the first place.

I may have had one too many glasses of wine when I took this picture!

This is the next project and I have decided not to paint it, but just recover it. I was forced to order some fabric from CK to go with the soft green :-). So far I have removed the cover and managed to save the plaited braid and have washed the box and it is covered with bicarb to remover the nasty niffs!

I made 30 baby hats yesterday all from 8 old spaghetti strap tops. A local lady travels to India ever year with colleagues from the Royal Berks Hospital. This group of talented surgeons have been improving the lives of children in India for a number of years and my Mum knits hats for them to take out. Now as I can not knit I came up with this idea they are simple to sew and much quicker than knitting, they are also easier to transport out there.

A simple knot on the top finishes them off, but I leave them un knotted as they take up less room.

TTFN

MM xx

Stolen day of Spring

2009-03-02T20:08:00.002Z

Today I really feel like I have stolen the first day of Spring, the weather forecast for the rest of the week is down to -5 and perhaps some snow, but today was lovely.

I picked these flowers and wish you could smell the violets, they remind me of my Grandmother.

I did my first real gardening of the year and cleared this bed of weeds and herbaceous dead stuff- only took a before picture though!
But look what i found in full bloom

Its a winter flowering iris and when we did work on the house I rescued a clump that lived in a bucket for months before i finally replanted them in lots of different spots and they have flourished this year.

A real wild primrose from seeds I gathered from my parents woods

The sun got me motivated to go outside a sand one of my latest projects - it has now had its first coat of cream paint and is drying by the Aga

The linen basket got scrubbed and washed and then covered in bicarb to remove any nasty pongs - the painting will start in the next few days.

I hope you all managed to see some sun today

MM xx

Red glass rules!

2009-02-28T20:58:00.002Z

Since I have previously admitted my love of candlesticks in the bathroom I thought now would be a good time to confess my love of old red glass.

The mantelpiece in the living room is full of it.........

Can you believe that the lovely wooden fireplace was taken out of a friends neighbours house and they were going to burn it before we offered it a new home.

The dog loves to curl up in her CK bed and be as close to the fire as possible.

The downstairs toilet also gets it fair share of mostly red glass. the patterned pieces are Victorian pickle jars, and as we are not overlooked i choose not to have curtains, but have glass shelves with them on - it looks lovely when we actually get some sunshine through the window.

The yellow candlesticks came from the charity shop last week and cost £2 for the pair, a real bargain :-)

MM xx

Are 20 candlesticks too many for one bathroom?

2009-02-27T21:15:00.005Z

One of my favourite rooms in the house is the bathroom. When we renovated the house we combined the toilet and bathroom and 'stole' some of the landing to make it large enough for the roll top bath I had always wanted and a seperate walk in shower.

My clever stepson was tasked with making the wood paneling and the little shelf above was always designed to hold tea lights.

Recently my Mum gave me 4 old candlesticks and I have since added to the collection from Charity shops.- - but are 20 candlesticks too many, or should i keep adding to the collection?

Tidy workroom!

2009-02-26T10:52:00.006Z

I have recently claimed the small bedroom as my workroom and have been able to get boxes of 'stuff' out of the loft and unpacked. Once unpacked the room looked a mess so a trip to Ikea was required to get some more storage ideas. The chest of drawers is full of fabric and crafty bits.

I picked up the old kitchen cupboard at the weekend and it is perfect to keep my fabric and buttons in!
The wooden chests came from Mum's family and are full of fabric, and the cream boxes hold felt and completed items.

all of the red boxes have fabric in them, i i have even got them in colour order! The old tins contain buttons, again i have them in colour order.

old glass containers hold beads and felt scraps

the cake stand came from the local charity shop and holds all the tiny fabric scraps i can not bear to part with.

wire heart with cards and notes

And I still have room for the daybed, and it will still pull out to become a double bed if needed. It has huge drawers - perfect for hiding more fabric and felted jumpers......

I did manage to make these napkin rings yesterday, they are going to be part of a wedding present OH thinks they will need a note with them to explain what they are!

More ways to hide fabric and ribbons........

And finally the view from the window, how lucky am I :-)

MM xx

Scottie dogs and Grandma's patterns

2009-02-16T08:31:00.002Z

I found a lovely book at the CS last week called Good Design in Soft Toys, it was published in the 60's and includes some nice patterns but also has a section on designing your own toys. Here is my first toy, a Scottie dog made from felted jumpers. I have to say it took ages to work out the pattern but I am delighted with the result.

Later in the day she had some puppies :-) I have made them into little brooches and they will be up for sale in my shop soon.

I proudly showed my latest creations to Mum and she talked about how she used to make soft toys with her mother to sell to raise money for local causes. Then she opened a drawer and out came the hand drawn patterns and instructions!. My Mum never ceases to amaze me, she is in her 80's now and my Nan was born in 1892, but she has kept these patterns safe for all these years AND knew exactly what drawer they were in!

Now all I have to do is decide what toy to make first and what fabric to use - I think these deserve something special so I may dip into the fabric mum saved from making dresses when I was little.

Thanks Mum for being a hoarder!

Mxx

Fabby Swap - its mine all mine!

2009-02-14T10:20:00.005Z

Today the most ENORMOUS box arrived from the lovely cooltrikerchic her blog is here the swap was from the shabby chic cafe forum group. Cath Kidston was the theme and every item in the box is very CK

It was full of purple tissue with a handmade card nestled amongst it. Look at how lovely the handmade heart cushion is and the blue bear is so sweet and CTC has added a little flower on him.

More lovelies with scented pillows and a sweet little round tablecloth - the bear refused to move and wanted his picture taken again!

Here is another pic of the tablecloth and a fab tea towel.

The blue of the tea towel is just perfect in the kitchen as i have just painted a little shelf unit in the same colour, and it has what looks like a hand crocheted border - how clever is CTC!.

And there is more............ this is my favourite of all the bits, a wall hanger with lots of pockets in it, so useful and look how well it goes in my bedroom!

Smelly heart has already found its home on the newly painted shelf unit along with the one Little Gem made for me :-)

And the teddy has found his perfect spot in the sun - he needs a name so suggestions are welcome
I am such a lucky one to receive so many lovely things, and i know CTC was nervous about sending this out, bliddy silly if you ask me coz its all yummy, thanks you so much I would not change a thing.

M xx

Lunch at Le Manoir

2009-02-13T17:26:00.004Z

I was very lucky to be treated to lunch yesterday at Le Manoir Aux Quat'Saisons. I was a late birthday treat for me and a early birthday treat for a friend.

It it a spectacular resturant owned by Raymond Blanc and has 2 Michieln stars.

Whilst it was a treat and i did not see the final bill it has to be the most evpensive lunch i have ever eaten my main course was £42 but was the best venison i have ever eaten.

The staff were very attentive and the buildings and gardens are just super.

I felt very special and if any of you ever have the chance to go then jump at it. OH and i have decieded we will not eat out for 6 months and then go back for his birthday.

I forgot my camera but picked up a couple of postcards for you all to enjoy

The Raymond rose

Wordless Wednesday - almost!

2009-02-11T22:16:00.008Z

A chance to show of some of my pretties

Recent birthday pressies

Fabric wrapped chair with patchwork cushion

The AGA when we first bought the house

Same view of kitchen when it was a work in progress and the AGA had gone to be renovated

with the AGA back in place and the kitchen enlarged, but without all of my pretty bits in place

I love the kitchen and the AGA and we spend most of our time in this room.

I am off out tomorrow for a late birthday treat of lunch at a 2 michelin star restaurant - report will follow!

Thanks for all of your comments on previous posts.

M xx

Trash to treasure

2009-02-08T17:55:00.004Z

From this

To this

All it took was a bit of sanding and 3 coats of paint to cover the dark brown!

It is now on my bedroom wall and i can lay in bed and admire all my pretties. The big jug in the middle came from the charity shop for £3 last week along with the little flower posie

The other china was Auntie Veras so belongs to the house. The purfume bottle top right was a Christmas pressie from DH and the other 2 are from a dear friend who worked for Bristol Blue Glass - everything is still hand blown and amazing to see them in action - they use gold to make the glass go red :-)

The sweet little frame was a gift at a friends wedding, she had made them for all of the ladies, it is extra special as we made the trip to South Africa to be at her wedding

Such a lovely proverb

Enjoy

Mx

Look what the postman delivered

2009-02-07T21:10:00.004Z

Like most of us I love getting parcels, so was excited this morning to open one that was wrapped in lace and looked very Cath like. I thought it was my swap from the shabby chic forum so rushed for my camera before opening it any further

What a surprise I got when I opened the card and a cheque fell out, now as you regular swappies will appreciate it is not normal practice to send hard cash out with swaps! It took my little brain a few moments to compute that this was not my swap.

What it was in fact was a pressie from the lovely Lace Threads, now this was a total surprise as all I did was sell her a duvet cover, hence the cheque. She made me a fantastic fabric bucket, and I have had them on my 'to do' list for ages (OH did prance around the kitchen with it on his head saying the hat was to small for him!) and a cute bookmark that is already in use.

I had a smile on my face all day thinking of her kindness, well most of the day as I was quite frustrated for parts of it as I spent ages taking creative pictures of the bits i want to sell and then loading the stuff onto Folksy and etsy and setting up the shops. - (any feedback on the items, prices etc would be appreciated.)

So thank you Lace for making my day

M x

first problem....

2009-02-06T20:03:00.000Z

Ok - first problem, the pictures are not showing on my last post and I don't know how to make them appear......... need to feed OH and then i will come back and investigate, and tips welcome!

2009-02-06T19:34:00.000Z

Day one of Blogging for real, ummm not happy with the layout/ style of the blog at the moment but not sure how to change it, need to have a poke about the web to get some inspiration and how to's.

Today the Sew Hot Mitmot logo was born

When i was little Elephant was far to big a word for me to pronounce so for some reason i decided to call them mitmots, this has stuck and they are now forever know as mitmots.

I have been lucky to visit mitmots in India and South Africa. I had an amazing time staying at a mitmot orphanage in SA for a couple of days were the rooms are above the sleeping area for the elephants, it was amazing.

I also spent the day on a bareback elephant safari, it was such a special time being so close to these amazing creatures, words can not convey this fantastic life experience.

I am trying to get some crafty bits made so i can 'open' my online shops on etsy and folksy - I also need to spend time working out how to make the shops look nice, work out pricing and postage. Making stuff is just easier than working out computer stuff!

M x

Hello World!

2009-02-03T21:50:00.000Z

I have pondered starting a blog for ages, but never quite got round to doing it. It raised so many questions:
My spelling and grammar is not too hot and i am much better at talking rather than writing
Will I have anything to say?
Will anyone other than me ever read it?
How can I make it look pretty like so many of the blogs I follow?
Will I get round to updating it?

In the end spurred on by friends on the Shabby Chic forum I have created this first post, we will wait and see if any of the questions above get answered!

Mary