Sewing Table

I do not have a designated sewing area in my home and I am always envious of anybody who has a room for their hobbies (I can only dream!). At the moment, if I want to sew I have to do it on the dining table, which as anyone else who does that knows, is not very practical.

I had been thinking of getting a folding sewing table for a while. The SewEzi table was one I had seen online, but not in person. But with all the uncertainty over my husband's job I put it to the back of my mind.

It now has a rival, from Horn. The Horn Hideaway, model #33. It also does a cut out for your machine to slot into, so you get a larger sewing area, great for quilting (same as the SewEzi). It is a similar price (currently £159). It comes in either oak or white.

From the dimensions, the Horn slightly longer by about 17cm.

If you have experience of either the SewEzi or the Horn table please let me, and the other blog readers know of your experience with it. My birthday is coming up, so this could be a great present for me!

Bake

I haven't been baking but buying a lovely leather/ fabric tote bag from Bake on Etsy.

Photo courtesy of Bake.

Bake is Becca from West Yorkshire, with some gorgeous bags. The fabric is Anna Maria Horner, which I absolutely love.

The leather should make the bag last longer, and stay cleaner than my other totes. It's a brilliant touch.

BTW This is yet another recommendation from Treefall, embarrassing but true! I look like a stalker!

Prints

I have been buying art (mainly prints) for my children's shared bedroom. Partly for decoration, but hopefully to inspire. I hope it just seeps in everyday.





These two prints are by Laura Amiss. She is from Holland, but sells via etsy, both prints and originals. I really liked the pictures, I hope my children do as well.

On a related note, I am pleased to say that my eldest will be attending an after school art club, which I hope he really enjoys. I am looking forward to seeing his creations.

summer

I've been a bit remiss recounting what we did over our short (10 days) summer break. We snatched a week and a half away in Yorkshire, before returning to work.

We took my father with us on a trip to the York Maze, which is a brilliant day out. The theme of this year's maze was the Battle of Britain. The maze was in the shape of a Spitfire plane. The maze took 1.5 hours or so to do. We ate our lunch in the picnic area in the middle of the maze, which was nice, apart from the wasps! Then the boys spent the rest of the time there playing on their play equipment and feeding the farm animals! They had a great time.

After the maze, we went to my dad's allotment. He always saves some vegetables or fruit for my children to dig up and pick when they visit. They do enjoy doing that, especially as we live in a flat, with not much growing room. Certainly no opportunities to get a spade into the ground for some decent digging.




Steve took the triptych, which I love. I think it sums it up.

the last biscuit

The other day I felt like something sweet. Not a large portion of cake or pudding, just a small bite to satisfy my appetite.


I made some biscuits, from Rachel Allen's Bake book (which I have mentioned before). It was a pretty simple mixture, to which I added lemon zest (using a new zester bought at Peter Jones aka John Lewis the other week).


On a different note, it's so nice to buy kitchen tools that work!


Anyway, they were a hit. Too much of a hit, as I was left today with the last biscuit.

You will be pleased to know that I enjoyed half of it with a cup of tea. My son enjoyed the rest of it with some milk!

doorstep loveliness

I have just discovered that the very reason why I started this blog, is amazingly how most people stumble across it.


My doorstep tutorial, which I wrote up nearly 3 years ago, has been really popular with crafters. I still receive messages and emails from people who have made it.




The latest person who has made some doorstops is Mooncalfmakes. She has done a great job to boot! Check out her site.

I just thought I'd say a big thank you to everyone who has visited, and passed on the link of my doorstop tutorial, as it certainly has reached a wider audience than I would have anticipated.

Like I said, I was inspired to write a blog, after searching for an online tutorial myself. I did not find one, but read enough blogs that gave me the confidence to give it a go anyway. I missed my "3 year" anniversary but long live the generosity of all bloggers who share their time and patterns/ recipes/ ideas. It has enriched my world, as I'm sure it does yours.

fabulous quarters

I picked these up the other day. I plan on doing 2 bespoke quilts for my sons. I have one in mind for my elder one (a Denis Schmidt pattern from her book) and I'm not sure of a design yet for my younger son. I want something that will last! So no Thomas the Tank Engine fabrics etc!

I saw these fabrics, and I liked the fact that they weren't all pink and flowery. They would definitely fit in with a boy's quilt. It is a Robert Kaufman, called Metro Retro! I believe. EDIT: No it's Groovy Bars in Spring by Caleb Gray for Robert Kaufman!

I do like this yellow fabric, it's Robert Kaufman, again.

And I love this geometric on the dark brown. This may well go towards my elder son's quilt! I got them all from Quilty Pleasures, my local independent shop. Liz the lady who runs it is great. She told me they are relaunching their website, with an online shop at the end of this month. So do take a look!

saturday things

Everyone in my house is ill (some horrible tummy bug) which has kept me very busy this week, with the Dettol spray and disinfectant.

I decided to bring some cheer to myself, by purchasing a few necessary but top quality supplies this morning.



First was a trip to my local deli, where they had just received their delivery of bread from Real Pattisserie . I picked up a delicious Farmhouse Cob (the kind of addictive loaf you can eat in a day) and some gorgeous chocolate macaroons.


Yes they were as good as they look! Sorry picture not in focus, clearly couldn't keep my hands steady in anticipation! I'm pleased to say that they tasted great with a cup of tea.




Then to Miss Mole's for some flowers. Aren't they amazing?



I have forgotten their name, but they are from the proteas family. I think it's a Leucospermum from a bit of googling.


I also picked a bumper crop of tomatoes from our 3 plants. I have to say I wasn't that happy with the yellow ones, they were not as good as the other 2 varieties in taste or texture.



I hope you have a great weekend too, full of fun and fantastic things.

gaudy gourdes

I just had to show you these:

My friend T, grew them. They are inedible, and purely for decoration. But aren't they good fun! They'll be used in my autumnal bowl, which the children fill with conkers and acorns and leaves etc!

Luckily summer is stretching on, so I'll keep enjoying that while it lasts.

photography blog

We have started a new blog, purely for our photography business. If you want to see what we do behind the scenes, please take a look here.

Photo from a recent wedding

library

We have a lot of books in the house, but it's also good to go to the library and get a fresh batch!


One of the more interesting books that the boys choose at our latest visit is this one, a children's book about Charles Darwin by Peter Sis. It is so beautifully illustrated and written, it makes me want to have it and not just borrow it. And according to Amazon it won a prestigious prize for it's illustrations, I'm not surprised!