Slow Sunday, shopping and signs of spring

Look what's popped up in the wall we re-planted late last summer...

I'm ashamed to say I don't know what they are - guess I should have kept the labels from the bulbs.  Not to worry - I'm sure I will get a phone call from my own personal gardening oracle (my Mum) as soon as she sees this!  

I know that in reality we've only been in winter for a month, but somehow the appearance of something new in the garden makes you feel that the worst is over and spring is most definitely on the way.

It'll probably snow next week now I've said that!

Last week was my last 'full' week of teaching till after half-term so on Wednesday (which is the day I never work) I zipped up the M3 to Kew to get some supplies for a commission I have been asked to do.  This is where I went...

Source

Oooh I love this shop!  For anyone who loves fabric and sewing (not just patchwork and quilting), this is a veritable den of iniquity - there are so many paths down which temptation can lead you within!  It is light, bright and jammy-packed with oodles of gorgeous fabrics, reels and reels of threads, inspirational books and patterns and other sewing paraphernalia.  

First I looked for some fabric for the job I've been asked to do...

Gathered Over Time by Windham Fabrics

 Then a random fat quarter that I couldn't resist...

Then a pattern I had seen on the Tikki website and would love to make...

Next some pretty 30s style fabric for the main parts of the apron...

And some polka dots for the contrast...

I then completely failed in resisting the charms of these 'Clothes Plasters'...

By Jennie Maizels, they are destined for a bag I have in my mind, though not yet on my cutting mat.  If you like them, just pop over to the Jennie Maizels website.  Unbeknown to me, I have had some of her books for many years...

This one looks like a fab souvenir for any foreign visitors who fall in love with London this year...

Back to Clothes Plasters though, how sweet are these?

There's fabric too...

London Check

Heart Check

And this one, which brings me round to the last bit of my title...

Birdsong

My slow Sunday started with some sewing (which is bird related, and will be appear here soon) and ended with 'Birdsong' on the Beeb and much dabbing of cheeks.  

Actually, cheek dabbing was the theme of the day, as between the two I also went to see 'The Iron Lady' with some friends (Mr U-t-B being away) and was in turn moved, surprised and amazed.  Moved by the portrayal of old age, loneliness and dementia (whatever the truth of Margaret Thatcher's life now), surprised that I enjoyed the film and amazed at the prosthetics that must have been involved in creating the old-lady-neck on Meryl as the octogenarian Lady Thatcher!

And more cheek dabbing (of the happy, moved sort) was done during 'Call the Midwife', which has surprised me by managing to fill the hole that was left in Sunday evening by the demise of 'Lark Rise to Candleford'.  

There were some laughs too, though I do feel guilty that I guffawed out loud at what happened shortly after this shot...

Miranda Hart was great in it - the mark of a good actress when the watcher can forget the character they are used to seeing someone as and believe in a completely different one.


Hope your Sunday was a good one!

Boxing clever (and not so clever...)

If you read this post you will know how I discovered the joys that can be had with a good bottle of fabric glue and some pretty fabric.  Over the past couple of days I have been busy again with glue, paintbrush and sharp craft knife, transforming a few more items.

Most of them were things that would otherwise have gone into the recycling bin - good sturdy cardboard boxes, the sort of thing that I tend to hang on to, knowing they'll come in useful one day.

First was this one, which I covered in a vintage fabric.  The lid was quite tight so it has ribbon attached inside to allow you to lever the lid off.

Next was this box, which had contained a set of notelets, writing paper and envelopes.  I used a piece of 'Edenham' by Liberty for the lid, back and base, but left the sides uncovered for contrast.  As the box had pictures and writing on, the dark fabric was a safe choice to cover it up.

I added some navy ribbon as a trim, and a deep red bow that I'd cut off another box!  I'm thinking I may put a pad of good old Basildon Bond and envelopes inside, before taking it to one of this weeekend's markets.

Next came another box with a lift up lid.  This one was already covered in fabric and lightly padded but it wasn't to my taste.  I chose a pretty print with posies and polka dots, which I bought from Tikki London some time ago.  It's a Sevenberry fabric.  I trimmed it with ribbon in a complementary colour.

But this was where I learnt my first lesson.  From afar, it looks okay, but get a little closer...

...and it looks a little shabby.  Get closer still...

...and you can see the texture of the fabric underneath.  So I won't be recovering any more padded, textured fabric boxes!  I'll be keeping this one as it's not up to standard.

The next box was similar to the previous one in shape and size, but not covered in fabric.  I chose a Mabel Lucie Attwell print, which I bought at the same time as the above (takes me a while to cut into things!)

The cardboard on this one was a bit flimsy, so I added a bit of wadding to the lid to give it a bit more substance.  This was where I learnt my second lesson.  Again, it looked okay from afar, but if you could see closer up (which you can't as my photography is so rubbish!) then you would see globs of glue that were held by the wadding showing through, and the lid has curled up slightly.

Another one to keep.

With only a 50/50 success rate with cardboard boxes, I have come to the conclusion that only very sturdy cardboard boxes are worth trying to cover.

Luckily I had some non-cardboard boxes.

There was a little jewellery box.  I decided to leave the bottom half as it was, a a reminder of its retro credentials, and covered the lid with a bit of feedsack (from Sal's Snippets).

The inside had some white satin-y type material lining the lid, but this was badly marked so needed replacing.  I used an old white hanky for this!  The flock bottom was still in perfect condition, so I left this alone.

Next was the tin my Granny's button used to be in.  It had looked like it had a Monet print on it, but on investigation, this turned out to be an old greetings card sellotaped on!  As this was a tin, I wasn't sure if the glue would work.  But it did, so the tin has now been Stanley-fied!

Last, but not least, another Ikea transformation.  

It used to be a plain wooden box, with a mirror inside.  Useful, but nothing special.

With a bit of Lecien fabric (also from Tikki)...

...it looks so much prettier!

The more successful of these will be coming to The Maltings this weekend!  It is the regular monthly market on Saturday, then the special 'Vintage' event on Sunday, so it will be a hectic few days!

We had a visit from the Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy Outreach team yesterday.  Mr U-t-B now has a TENS machine (a chance for me to pay him back for the time he sent me into orbit when I was in labour and had managed to disconnect mine - he reconnected it, whilst it was still turned up to the highest level!) crutches, lots of useful advice and the promise to return tomorrow and turn our upstairs bathroom into something we hadn't expected for a good few years yet (shower seat/raised loo seat with frame...)  The physio is also going to speak to the surgeon's secretary, so we hope to be able to move forward soon...

PS As I was checking this, the phone rang - it was the physio (fabulous woman!) who had already (at 9.10 am) contacted the surgeon's secretary and got an appointment for Tuesday. 

Parcels!

It put a smile on my face to see a red 'We tried to deliver your parcel...' slip on the hall floor when I arrived home yesterday from a busy day teaching French.  Well, a smile and then a small harrumph of annoyance because I would have to wait till today to collect said parcels (yes, not just one, but two!)

 So I was up early this morning to go into town and fetch the goodies home.

 The bigger of the two contained...

 

Four mini hot water bottles, which I'd been trying to source since December last year (not that I'd tried that hard!)  More of those in another post.

The second was from the great Tikki Fabric and Patchwork shop in Kew.  I have been there before, but being a bit pushed for time this week, and trying to save a bit of diesel, I decided to use their mail order service. And it was fantastic - ordered Wednesday, arrived Thursday.  You can't say fairer than that!

So here is what lay within...

The top layer is some stitchable vinyl.  I like to try out different things.  Not yet sure what I'll do with this but will do some thinking over the weekend. 

Then some...

I have been wanting some of this for a while to make myself some new oven gloves.

Then the real fun...

Sevenberry Liberty inspired floral quilt fabric, pale blue

 

 

Sevenberry quilt fabric, small floral in pale blue 

Lecien Roses quilt fabric, pale blue form Mrs March antique collection 

 

Retro Europe map/cruise fabric

 

 

Rosalie Quinlan Grandmother's Flower Garden fabric by Lecien pale green

Philip Jacobs patchwork quilt fabric Delphinium pink

 

Westminster quilt fabric by Fabric Freedom, cream circles

 

Yellow kids retro fabric

Isn't Christmas Jolly quilt fabric by Mary Engelbreit for Moda, Toss Green

If you like these fabrics, do take a look at the website or if you're in the Kew area, see if they are open!

With all that loveliness come into the house, it's just a shame that I'm going to be away on a school reconnaissance mission all weekend!

Not much in the way of craftiness went on yesterday.  With it being the first day since before the summer holidays that I had been into school teaching, I was reminded how sapped of creative get-up-and-go I am after 6 lessons of very vocal teaching. So I blobbed out in front of the television and enjoyed first the delights of Mr Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (love the Stew Club idea!) and then Mr Gareth Malone's Extraordinary School for Boys.  Hooray for Gareth - was so pleased his efforts were not in vain on the measurable-difference front!  Just went on his website to get that link and found that his wife has just given birth to their baby, a little girl...How lovely!

So off to do a bit of creating...I'm going to be frustrated all weekend as I drive through rural France on behalf of my school, and will be longing to get back home!