WOYWW

Well, that week just flew by didn't it?

We seem to spend so much time planning and preparing for it and then it's gone before you know it 

We had a lovely Christmas day with the family and enjoyed a delicious lunch cooked by them both. We are blessed to have happy times together and really, that's all that matters.

Before the season passes I am sharing this...

I saw this Christmas duvet set and couldn't resist it.  I thought it was nice enough to use at any time really. It looks bright and cheery but have to say the quality of the fabric is poor, making it quite stiff and harsh- consequently I felt as if I had been exfoliated during the night! ( Now then LLJ!)

The fabric wreaths that I made as gifts went down well....

I used a small wreath frame and they seemed perfect to use as a table centre or to brighten up a small wall somewhere.

So, here's to another year of crafty activity.

Our next WOYWW show and tell will be in 2024!

Best wishes to you all.

x x Jo 

WOYWW

Well here we are, our last WOYWW show and tell before Christmas.

We have had a busy time.

My friend wanted an office chair re-covering for her daughter. So I whipped off the old black fabric and replaced it with fresh pink cotton fabric to match her bedroom. I just needed a bit of help from my hubby to fix it back together. 

Then, I had Ben for the day. 

He helped to decorate my tree and then decorated his own Christmas cake that I baked for him. He went for a random technique for both but I love them.😀 He loves fruit cake so I am sure he will enjoy it.

Here is a glimpse of my tree...

Spot the masked gingerbread man that Annie made during COVID and a sparkly snowflake from LLJ.

We have lovely times together and he is becoming quite a personality.

I think I have done most of my Christmas shopping and we are looking forward to the day with our family and a quiet, peaceful time.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and that for you too, it is a happy and peaceful time.

All the best

x x Jo 

WOYWW

 Good morning all! 

Well, it's been another busy week 

I have been gift making but can't share them in case my friends are peeping.

So I have been sorting my Christmas bits and bobs and came across a box with some of my old cards, sent by my lovely friends and family who always make their own beautiful cards.

They are just too nice not to save. What do you do with your special cards? As you can see, I framed the tiny cross stitch that Jan made for one of my cards. It sits on my sewing room windowsill.

I love squeezing in a bit of crafting time in between all the build up to Christmas activities .

I managed to make a few little gift tags to pop on my gifts. It's just strips of my left over fabrics spritzed up with a bit of gold machine embroidery.

I have now cleaned up all the snippy, thready mess in my sewing room. 

It looks quite respectable but won't last the day! I shall be back snipping and sticking in every spare moment. It's good for the mind.😀

Well that's it for this week 

I hope you are all enjoying your pre Christmas fun.

x x x Jo 

WOYWW

 Another week, another Wednesday.

The weeks are flying by and Christmas will soon be upon us.

Last week we had our play day with Jan.

Of course, we chatted lots, so, by the end of the day, not much crafting had been done 

Here is my little tray with the bits I had made...

But, I was in the mood to finish my project and over the next few days, I did just that....wait for it.....

Tada! 

We were inspired by the work of Gina Ferrari, a lovely textile artist. I have followed her blog and on FB for years. If you fancy learning how to make one of these, she has an online course .

Last Friday, I helped Max set up her latest craft stall at our new, local Primary school. It was a lovely evening and she made enough to make it well worth the effort.

So that me for this week.

In my spare moments I have been reading Lynne's (Lynnecraft) book - A Sense For Silver. It's a a really good read and would make a good stocking filler, I think. Thanks Lynne, I am looking forward to your next one. 

x x Jo 

WOYWW

 Well what a fabulous day we had yesterday! 

Wipso and our buddy LLJan came to play.

Jan was having a little break in Shrewsbury so we organized a crafty play day here at mine.

Here is the little gnome that she brought with her. I love him.

And look at the three of us with the beautiful twinkling snowflake decorations that Jan brought with her 

We had a morning of chatting and sharing of Annie's fabric supplie, which Jan will love using for her charity sewing.

Following lunch, we used the machines to create Christmas flowers with fabric and free machining. Too much chatting meant we didn't make a huge amount but Jan mastered the art and can now complete her project when she gets home. Both Annie and Jan took photos so I am sure they will turn up on their blogs.

Needless to say, not much on my desk this week.

Thanks for all your kind comments. My cough is slowly, slowly improving - thank goodness.

Have a good week all.

x x Jo 

WOYWW

 Good morning all.

This is what I will be working on later today....

Obviously, not on my workdesk but in the kitchen.

I am making 3 Christmas cakes as usual - one for my little sis and one for Max along side my own.

I put the fruit to soak in brandy yesterday so it should be ready just to add to the other ingredients and pop in the oven.

If you are visiting my desk later, you may well smell the delicious aroma of baking Christmas cakes wafting through the air 😋

I am afraid my work desk has remained empty apart from admin for Tilly. I have made 24 McFelty workshop packs ready for December. I made them nice and early as we will be having a little visitor at some point next week so, hopefully, there will be some happy photo post to share with you next Wednesday.

So, very short and sweet this week.

I am still coughing - its a nasty bug - I don't feel poorly but it stops me sleeping well, so I am inclined to be a bit grumpy - so I am told!!

Have a good week

xx Jo

WOYWW

 Good morning everyone.

I thought firstly I would share my Remembrance Day poppy twiddle mitt.

This week I have pottered in my sewing room and made a  few Christmas cards.

Then, I had a text from Annie to ask which machine embroidery stitch I used to edge my cards. (We both have the same machine)

I replied with the row and the pattern number but she was still struggling as the numbers had faded on her chart. 

In the past I made myself a set of little fabric books with each pattern numbered so I can see how well they work.

As Annie didn't have this handy resource, I took a photo of my little chart and sent it to her. Now it's printed and stuck onto her machine so at least she can quickly access her pattern! Sisterly love.🥰

Just a quick post this week. I am still only working on half power as I still have a silly cough and it saps my energy. It is a bit better, so fingers crossed it goes soon.

Have a good week.

xx Jo

WOYWW

 Welcome to Wonderful WOYWW!

I have caught up with all my admin and have a few minutes to myself.

So, it's Autumn and evenings are cool enough to enjoy a bit of twiddler knitting.

These were the colours in my bag when I picked up my chunky needles again.....

I am going to make it a bit sparkly and stitch on one of my little knitted fairies 😀

Last week was hectic. I helped Tilly Tea Dance to set up her exhibition at the Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre in Craven Arms  Luckily it will be there until after Christmas, including their Frost Fair. Hopefully her artwork will be sold and make all her hard work worthwhile.

Then, I fell foul of the cough and cold bug. I tested negative for COVID so it is just my usual winter cough but I have barking away and had lots of sleepless nights. I told Annie my desk would just have a bottle of cough medicine and a pack of panty liners today!

So that's it from me.

The sun is shining and I should be out with my school friends enjoying a walk and lunch but I didn't feel like barking my way through lunch or passing the bug on to them.

I hope you are all well and able to get out and about.

Have a good week.

x x Jo 

WOYWW

 Oops! I don't know where time goes.

It's Wednesday morning and I am a day behind in getting my WOYWW post together.

I have been really busy getting Tilly Tea Dance artwork priced labelled etc for her exhibition at the Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre in Craven Arms. She has her work there for two months, including their Frost Fair.

It's always a busy time. Here are just a couple of her little needle felted pictures..

And here is my work for later..

I need to satin stitch around the. bookmarks  and package them.

She also has several workshops, so I have been making up packs of tiny fluff rainbows.🌈

And then, this morning Max is coming round so I can help her make a Roman soldier helmet for Ben to wear, with his costume, for Roman Day this week. It is the end of their school topic on Romans so I guess it will involve a few typical activities. ?!! All good fun!

So that's me for this week.

I hope I can visit a few desks later 

Have a good week.

x x Jo 

WOYWW

 We had a few lovely days visiting friends and the Yorkshire Dales and Moors last week. Luckily we had perfect weather, if a bit chilly by the end of the stay.

I took my friends a hang about bin for each of them...

They are not all crafters but all loved the little bin and had a variety of uses for them including...

as a bedside holder for inhaler etc, 

armchair holder for chocs and remote, 

and a knitter will love having it nearby for needles, yarn and snips etc. 

Of course some will even use them as a bin for rubbish and sweetie papers!

Before I went away I had to make sure I was up to date with workshop packs for Tilly Tea Dance ...

A friend dropped by with a bagful of wool for my twiddlers...

And finally just a few holiday snaps....

Rievaulx Abbey

On the left, the little art gallery in the Old School at Muker where Max has some of her sheep themed  artwork on sale. The lovely owner said it sells really well up there in the Dales.

A couple of shady customers by the pond in the sunshine!

Have a good week all.

x x Jo 

WOYWW

 Good morning all 

These weeks are flying by. I can't believe it's my birthday week again.

This week I fancied making a few cards. Don't get excited you clever folk who do amazing things with card and paper. This is how mine started...

I love a bit of random patchwork. Maxine gave me a little box with scraps of pretty fabric . I used Bondaweb to create a sheet of patchwork by fixing the pieces to a piece of cotton fabric. Then I used a machine stitch to over stitch the edges before cutting them up into small squares.

These are some of the cards I made.

My other crafty activity began when Annie asked if I fancied making some of my Christmas mice for the Harry Johnson charity sale. 

Well I had a 'mouse box" in my sewing room so I cut out and dozen little frocks and felt pieces for the heads. Here are the headless ones ...  

Tada! Here they are finished

All our family have some of these which hang on their Christmas trees each year 

Well that's me for this week 

I will be back here in two weeks. 

Have a great week 

x x Jo 

WOYWW

Last week was Ben's birthday and as usual I made him a cake. My cakes are always a bit random - linked to the topic of interest of his year and I always say, not perfect, but good enough is good enough.

So here is his Sonic cake.....

We enjoyed a birthday brunch and then, he kindly told me where he would like to enjoy a birthday tea for my birthday next week! It sounded like a good plan so I had better get booking it up.😀

This week I have mostly been making up workshop packs for Tilly's next three workshops - 40 packs plus spares.

I have also made a few more bins as they are selling well for the charity. 

And then, I knitted a few more red friendship hearts. 

My last little project was a cover for a baby's high chair. Quick and easy using the original Ikea cover as a pattern.

So that's me for this week 

I shall look forward to seeing what all my WOYWW friends have been up to. I can now log onto Julia's blog Stamping Ground again so it's much easier to get around and visit you all. 

Have a good week and get well soon Annie! x x 

x x Jo 

WOYWW

 Apologies for the blurred photos last week. If you were one of the first  few to visit you will hardly have been able to see any detail, so, I did a quick revamp. I had just copied and pasted the first edition from the photo file using my phone, which I had never done before. It obviously doesn't work so I went back to my PC and did it properly.

Hopefully, this week will be an improvement.

This week I have been mostly making Hang about bins  Some for the charity and some for Annie's grandchildren. I spent Saturday afternoon with the girls and they said they would like one for their rooms. Of course,

I also made one for their younger brother too.

Just a bit of fun.

Evenings are now cool enough for knitting so I made a few more Friendship hearts for the hospital. 

Then, these little, spooky characters popped up on Lovecrafts knitting site .

I thought Ben would think they were fun.

I have two more to do which I might share next week.

We are enjoying the Autumn cooler weather and have harvested almost the last of our garden veg.

I picked a couple of massive cucumbers today. Yum!

Have a great week all.

x x Jo 

WOYWW

 Good morning to all .... WOYWW buddies and anyone else who likes to see what I am up to.

Firstly this week I made 2 little tissue box covers using creamy spotty fabric and lace from my stash.

Then using some of the Halloween fabric from Annie's donated stash, I made these little Halloween trick or treat bags. I think they will sell well at the charity fund raisers in the next few weeks. 

I am glad the weather has cooled down a little this week. It was nice while it lasted and we enjoyed getting out and about when it wasn't too hot. 

So it's short and sweet this week.

Have a good week.

x x Jo 

WOYWW

 

Good morning all.

What lovely weather we have this week. Too nice to be indoors but almost too hot to be outside for too long - our crazy climate.

I have had a busy sewing week, before the weather changed.

As you see above, I made three more little hang about bins. They are all made from small remnants from the fabric donated to Annie. So any monies raised from them will go to the Harry Johnson fund.

The items below are made from the same supply.

This little automatic machine embroidered motif on calico was just crying out to be a pocket on a sewing machine dustcover so, hey presto! That's what I made.

It fits over my machine beautifully so hopefully someone else will love it too.

And of course, I am never happy just making one.

I used up another small piece for this one...

And used left over scraps for two more bins to match. 

I think they would make the perfect gift for anyone setting up their sewing room.

Yesterday I spent my time finishing and mounting 5 brooches, 10 bookmarks and 5 little sheep pictures for Tilly. It is a big help to her and means she can quickly get her work into her stockists or her online Tilly Tea Dance shop. 

She has been working on new designs which I hope she will let me share with you next week.

That's me for this week.

Enjoy the sunshine!

xx Jo

WOYWW

 Firstly, an apology for confusing you last week. I am afraid I did not make the tassels. Life is too short 😀 They cost £7 for 100 so who would bother to make them. The colours were far nicer than anything I could have used too.

So this week I have been using some of Annie's donated fabric to make a few items to sell for the Harry Johnson fund.

I made a little bag. It is the second one I have made from that fabric.

They have pockets inside and the handles are long enough to put it over your shoulder 

Then I made a couple of tissue box covers.

And a little draw string bag.

Finally my friend gave me some fabric to recover these cushions. 

The dark one is a lovely African print and the stripey one is a nice fresh Laura Ashley fabric.

I have also spent a lot of my time helping Tilly Tea Dance with mounting and framing her artwork. I think I finished nearly 100 little pictures for her.

Not a bad week's work then!

Today I am on Nanny duties so that will be fun.

Have a good week.

x x Jo