Merry Solstice

I have been very neglectful of my BLOG. no updates since my move, I'm just a bad girl and I'm sure Santa will not be pleased. Life has changed soo much and I'm very happy that we moved. My only sadness has been November, one year since I lost my father, it was much harder than I expected it to be, but after a little bit of hibernation, I'm back into the world. So Happy seasons greeting and here's some pretty pictures. AND I promise to do better next year. . I can be found here making quick updates https://www.facebook.com/crazyjane07 or sometimes here: https://twitter.com/CRAZYJANE66 and on here FAR TOO MUCH !! http://pinterest.com/crazyjane66/

Moving on

It's a bit quiet on the blog at the moment,as I'm packing up and moving house!!! We've lived here, in the Dorset countryside for nearly 6 yrs and although it can be lovely, we miss the sea, and the bustle of people . It can be very lonely surrounded by sheep and goats all day when you work alone and from home. We are staying in Dorset, but moving west to the Bridport area. very excited, very sick of packing, but full of ideas and inspiration for my work.Time to move on :) Have a peek and you'll see why I'm soo excited: http://www.bridportandwestbay.co.uk/

New coat

As it's a typical British summer, ie: raining !! I've made myself a new coat.

Father's Day

My father passed away last year, so this father's day is a hard one, followed by his Birthday. At the beginning of the year I started making a quilt with his shirts and ties, he was always smartly dressed. and now........I finished it. This one is for my mum, but I'm sure she won't mind you having a peek. It is all hand sewn and I really enjoyed making it, now to start on one for myself

Dad's Quilt

Although I sew all day, I like to have something portable to do in the evening whilst relaxing in front of the box. And this year I decided to make a hand sewn Hexagon quilt. I find hand sewing very relaxing. The last couple of years have been very stressfull, with November 2011 being the worst. Me and my family , experienced the death of my father. It's been a very hard couple of months dealing with the grief, and one of the dreadful tasks that has to de dealt with is what to do with a loved ones clothes when they no longer need them. My father was a well dressed man, I can only ever remember him in jeans when he cut the grass, and his normal attire always include a shirt and mostly a tie. He had a large quantity of suits and more shoes than my mother and me put together!!! So what to do with his clothes? It's too soon to get rid of them, but I don't want my mother to have to deal with this alone. My solution is of course to recycle and sew, and that's what I'm going to do. This is the begining of a hexegon quilt made from his shirts and ties. It's one of the hardest projects I've ever done. It's taken me months to be able to get them out of the bag, and whilst cutting them up I felt an immense sense of guilt. ( I can hear his voice telling me " that's a good shirt!! " he hated to throw anything out). But I want to keep something of him and this way it's useful as well as making me smile. So hopefully in a few months I'll have a memory quilt that reminds me of him and when it's a little chilly I can wrap him around me and feel the comfort of the memory of his hugs. And, as there are plenty of shirts and ties! there is enough for a couple of quilts , one for me and one for my mum. She is having to learn how to live with out him after 50 years of him being around. hopefully she'll find some comfort too!

Miss Clara

I so want to live in this house. love the colours. The Divine Miss Clara

Shoe Love

Busy again...

From this....

To this....

http://misstallulahblue.blogspot.co.uk/

what I've been up to.....

I've been busy.
http://misstallulahblue.blogspot.co.uk/

Gabby Young

how to work and not go mad!!!

This is one of the most inspiring articles I've ever read. I'm trying to work out how to be more productive and not suffer from that rebellious teenager in terms of the 'to do' list. and this hits the nail on the head. but can I really put it into practice.... I' willing to give it a go.... bless you Sarah J Bray xxx

Source: sarahjbray.com via Michelle on Pinterest

THE JOY OF TAILORING

Negative Space. from Crafts Council on Vimeo.

My Obsession.....

Although my daytime job is sewing frocks, I still like to do something "crafty" in the evenings whilst unwinding and watching the T.V. In the last couple of years this has been teaching myself to crochet,( the house is now full of crochet blankets!) and knitting ( socks being the preferred item) so this year I wanted to do something else, so it's sewing !!!! But this is different. I do now do quite a bit of hand sewing in my work.I used to hate it, but with age and therefore experience and hopefully a bit of wisdom, I've grown to love it. You can get such a good finish and it's very satisfactory. But this is just pure unadulterated hand sewing for pleasure. so I'm making a patchwork quilt. I've made them by machine before, but never a traditional hand sewn hexagon one. And it is a perfect to use up all those lovely scraps that I just can't seem to throw out, and those devine Kaffe Fassett pieces that I couldn't resist buying without a clue what I was going to use them for.... problem solved !!! Guess this sound's like I'm obsessed with sewing........ you could be right!!!! This also seems to act to shift that horrible feeling OF PROCRASTINATION. When I get stuck with my work and just can't seem to drag myself into the workroom, I tempt myself in with a bit of fun sewing for myself, and then once I'm in there I might as well get on with it. well it works for me :)

looking back

looking back