Sunning myself

Hello there/ Ola!

Yes I've been to sunny Spain! Majorca infact and yes, I did have a lovely time and really didn't want to come back at all but back I am. I'm finding it hard getting back into routine, especially of crafting but I've managed to get some done today, albeit a small amount. 
Whilst I was away, I got started on a kit I had bought by Corinne Lapierre - a very cute owl cushion.

This is the photo I put on Facebook
as I felt so content just sat there
sewing the decorative pieces in the sun

Crafting in the sun is really something I should do more of. That means sewing as trying to do paper crafting outside would involve far too much carrying around and paper flying all over the place in the slightest breeze.

I did the sewing in Majorca on our balcony and had a gorgeous view of people by the pool and then out to the lake. A very happy, relaxed, warm feeling to the whole experience.

I had bought the kit in the knowledge that it was going on this holiday with me and luckily a few weeks earlier, I had re-found a portable sewing kit. This had everything in it from scissors to buttons and the pincushion, so very handy indeed for this purpose.

I finished him off today and because he was mainly created in the sun, I took him outside for his photo and very happy he was too :-)

I'm sure I'm going to make more of these owl cushions, as I'll give them as birthday presents for my daughter's friends. It's incredibly easy to make and now I have the template, I can make him in any colours I like. The kit gives you everything you need to make him, even a needle. I added some more stuffing into mine though to give him a more rounded feel. The only change I feel I'd like to make in the future, would be to make the stuffing as a separate cushion inside and make a resealable opening, so that the cushion could be washed more easily. We'll see.

Cute little turned over ears

Even though this owl is a kit, everytime you make one, I'm sure they could have their own little identity, dependent on the fabrics used and exact placement of the pattern pieces. Another alteration I felt I could make, would be to add buttons into the centre of those 6 circles along his base or even replace them with large buttons. I have buttons on the brain at the minute as I bought a lovely pack when I went to Range a couple of weeks ago :-)

Take care out there and try some blanket stitch; it's great therapy :-)

Not good

Hello there

Anyone got some happy vibes to send my way? If so, please share by commenting here.

That can be the good aspect about things like Facebook, as people who are feeling happy, share that on there and when I read it, it can help have a positive impact on me. Today it was Linda from The Crafty Network, who posted about having quite a few new likers of her page over night. The other was my friend Catherine who posted about feeling very upbeat because it's the weekend. Both these things have helped step up my mood a bit. 

I'm feeling rather fed up of British weather at the minute, as having the necessity to wear a hat in May as the wind and rain are bad, is not conducive to me feeling the joy of spring. I know people overseas will think that I'm just another whinging pom but I'm trying not to be by surrounding myself with positive people and events but it's a struggle sometimes. 'Him indoors' is also away on a cruise to Norway at the moment, so I've got added responsibilities at home now too and and and and...... ok, I'll stop with the whinging now.

Believe it or not, I didn't come on here to start sharing my woes, I had actually intended to just share some photos of a project I've just finished. It's a re-purposed draft excluder. Previously it was a draft excluder that I bought for our first Christmas in this house. It had Christmas applique on it and didn't have a way of washing the cover. I have to admit that it therefore was only vacuumed in two years. I had to cut the old cover off and then make a cover for the stuffing from an old sheet (old sheets should never be thrown away, as they can be so so useful). I used some gorgeous fabric I've had for quite some time and was previously used to make a cushion cover for my daughter's room. 

Incase you're wondering; this isn't me just being odd
by putting a draft excluder on an internal door -
the door goes into the garage, so it does
get quite a draft under there.

Since the cover was so easy, I decided to put some decorative stitching to sew the top seam over ( I so wish I had a machine with much more than 5 fancy stitches on- mine doesn't even do blanket stitch- uh oh, I'm whinging again! :-) ). To cover where the press-studs were attached I cut some felt hearts out and hand blanket stitched round them - so MEGA cute!

The stitching is rubbish (especially the first stitch) but
I loved doing it. I used to do proper embroidery at school
and this brings it all back to me; even basic blanket stitch.

 I'm really loving Mandy Shaw at the minute from Dandelion Designs and I bought her book 'Stitch at home' which has some fabbo projects in, which I'm keen to get started on but I have other projects on the go, which need to be finished first.

Take care out there

P.S Those of you who own dogs might realise that there's only one thing they think draft excluders are useful for..........

Nero has done that since he was a tiny puppy but he
forgets he's a big heffalump now, whose bum barely
fits on it :-)

I hadn't got the excluder down for longer than two minutes before he decided to take a pew :-)