Jan May

A vision in Teal - front view Towards the end of February I saw a competition advertised on Twitter by Hillarys Blinds .  I can't remember the exact wording, but it was along the lines of "would you like to receive some material and enter our competition?" Of course I would! After sending an e-mail, I was delighted to hear I'd been chosen to take part.  I was able to pick from 3 fabrics.  I opted for the peacock print as I adore teal.  About a week later I received a packet from Hillarys containing a metre of my chosen material.  I wish I could get the colours to come out properly.  I don't think any of the photos I've taken do the fabric justice.  The background is a light cream, with the branches and blossom in subtle shades of brown and pale yellows.  Sitting on the branches across the fabric are a selection of beautiful peacocks.  In shades of teal, they are quite wonderful. A Vision in Teal - back view My ...

by Jo Hill textiles My goodness!  I can't believe how long it is since I wrote a blog post.  Where did the year go? Hopefully, I am back!  I've had months of trying to sort out my arthritis, and get pain management in place that works.  Plus my sewing room has had a big sort out.  So.... I haven't made anything for a long, long time.  I have however, been Pinning tremendously - and have tons of ideas brewing. What will 2014 bring I wonder?  What will the next craze be?  Owls are so passé..... I'm thinking the next big thing will be hares.  Probably due to the John Lewis advert, but I'm noticing a marked increase in the number of Hare items Pinned.  So, as a way of getting back into the blogosphere - let's have a little look at some of my favourites. I love this first picture by Jo Hill.  I think it is charming.  Do pop along and look at her website, as there are a whole host of wonderful makes - all for sale. ...

Spring may not have sprung in quite the way we would expect - but I do seem to have shrugged myself out of my sewing hibernation.  Goodness me - since coming back from holiday I have been in a stupor.  Haven't been able to apply myself at all.  However, my neighbour telling me her foster-child has a birthday soon has got my creative cap on.  With a blue and red bedroom to match in with, I've rummaged through my fabric stash and run up this little pillow. With the exception of the 14" Ikea pillow inside, the outer is up-cycled.  The red fabrics were cut from pretty dresses I have found at car boot sales for next to nothing (I set my buying limit at £2 - but will only spend this if the dress contains a lot of fabric - more usually 50p or £1), and the denim and check background were once my husband's shirts. You can find such great detailing on girl's dresses.  I loved the beautiful embroidered hem to this dress.  It's been perfect to make the b...

I've got there in the end!  One puffy pillow already for the bed.   The puffs were easy to do - and a good trial run for my next project of a bed runner to match.  I actually think the pillow would look better if it was all puffs, but hey - ho - you make and learn. Here's what I did...... Fabrics collected together.  The finished pillow is 14 inches square.  Allowing 1/4 inch seams - I cut the centre embroidery at 7.5 inches. Then 12 different squares of 5 inches each (top) 12 squares of 4 inches (back) cut from old white shirt.    There's no need to tack.  Though pins are a must. Begin by folding each top square in half (wrong sides together) and run over with an iron at the edges.     Match up the corners with a backing square.    Pinch fold in centre, and fold down flat against the backing square.  Pin in place, and continue around, bending each fold the same way.     All squares pinned, placed, and ready to se...

Sometimes I amaze myself!   For my sheer inability to finish things.  I started these gloves two years ago. Dragged them out last year - got sidetracked - threw them back in WIP vat. Yesterday's blog featuring crochet glove patterns got me thinking about them.   Dragged them out again. Finished in 5 minutes!   Good grief - I am a numpty.   Originally the sleeves after picking up the pieces after a fight between a washing machine and a cashmere jumper.  Guess who won? The resultant densely felted loveliness was not about to be wasted.  The body of the sweater became a peg bag - which is now much used and in need of replacement.  A shame as I love it - and must remember another time to line with stiff fabric to retain the shape.  And the sleeves were destined to become fingerless mitts.  So simple to do - I simply cut off just below the shoulder seam, and the resulting diagonal made a lovely shaped cuff when turn...

I adore vintage photography and artwork - and grab images to keep whenever I see something I like. Thinking along the lines of "I can do something with that one day" - the collection continues to grow. Why do I love vintage so much? I delight in the charm of the old photography - the faded out delight that is sepia - and the naive pretty colours on old images that were hand coloured before printing. I love the harking back to another era - the clothes, the hair, the apparent gentleness. Most of all - I love the fact that any image over 75 years old is deemed to be royalty free - and is therefore free to use for any project, without the fear of being nabbed for copyright infringement. Vintage images can be found anywhere! I can spend ages rooting through old postcards in antique and bric a brac shops. They are so cheap to buy, and I think they are simply darling. Some are just perfect to pop inside a frame for instant artwork - and others cry out to be scanned in...

Some of you may have already seen the beginnings of my latest project.  Woohoo - I've finished the stitching!  Next step is to make it the centre of a pillow for the bed - I've picked out the fabrics, but yet to decide what I'm doing with them.  So then...... my little bird...... How has he turned out?... The inspiration  - Matthew Williamson bedding     Initial sketch - the Sharpies crept blinking into the light gasping for breath, so long is it since they've been allowed freedom.    Simple outline drawn lightly onto fabric using a very hard (4H) sharp pencil. Not much added at this point, as don't want to risk the pencil lines smudging the fabric.    Threads and fabric palette chosen : The fabrics aren't a range, they're all picked at random from my stash. The thread used throughout are colours in Perle 12 - love stitching with this thread, so much easier than fiddling about with 2 strands of emb...