I fell off the edge of the earth...

...and landed in a big pile of fabric!  No I haven't really disappeared off the map, though blogging-wise I might as well have.  It's been too long!

Things have gone a bit crazy over on my facebook page, where I recently announced a plan to sell some packs of fabric squares for patchwork & quilting, and I was inundated with enquiries and orders.  I've spent the last week using every spare minute to cut fabric, I had thought I'd cut enough to have a few spare packs for future orders (for instance, in case any of you lovely lot wanted one) but people just kept asking for them, and if everyone who asked for one confirms their order (most already have) then I'm all sold out!  

I will cut more in future and I think next time I will announce it first here, I feel bad that my lovely bloggy friends have missed out...sorry, it wasn't intentional!  

Here are  a few pics of the fabric mountain I've been climbing for the last few days...

 

 

So, I've finally finished, though I wish I'd cut a few extra - I think I could have sold them twice over!  I'm sure I'll do it again soon, but my cutting arm is tired out so not for a while.  And some of the fabrics that I've included are now running out, so will be going into my personal stash, which means I'll have to buy more fabric for next time - what a hardship!

I hope you're well, and that you have a lovely weekend.  I'll try not to leave it so long next time! 

Rachel xx

making progress...

Hello lovelies, how are you today?  I am getting better, hurrah!  Still getting tired after not doing much at all really, so lots of sitting down after tiny jobs like loading the dishwasher, but yesterday I actually left the house for the first time in 4 days, and didn't fall over, which felt like a major achievement!  Thank you all so much for the lovely comments, it's so comforting to get such lovely messages from you all.  I'm glad you all love my cat cushion as much as me, I will be coming back to him another day, as he has a twin who I'd like you to meet...

I am just popping in today with a tiny detail of our new kitchen, which although not finished is actually working beautifully!  We only have the tiling to do, but I don't want to show you the whole room until that's done as it still looks very unfinished without it.  But the other day Frank reinstalled one of my favourite things, a long shelf which runs right across the wall above the doorway...it's a tiny room so we have to make the most of any little corner that we can utilise for storage!  After my lovely man had put the shelf back up, I had fun doing this...

Aaaah, so colourful!!  Being able to display so many of my favourite tins in one place has brightened my week no end.  Hurrah! 

Hope you're having a lovely sunshine-blessed week,

Rachel xx

my week has been...

...up and down!  Started with me feeling tired after my night out dancing, and ended with me feeling very ill with a horrible virus.  Here are a few pics from it...

Another brilliant Puffin Annual...

With inspiring crafty activity pages...

and youngest boy's personal take on the face-making theme...

which was carried through to lunchtime!

some of my best friends this weekend...

and some more...I love my pillows so much, but especially the cat!

breakfast in bed...for the kids, I haven't been well enough to eat...

accompanied by some more comforting cats!  old classics are the best when we're ill aren't they?

So there you have it, another week has passed, I don't seem to be getting any better at this blogging lark, but I think I've accepted that I will just say something here when I feel like I have something to say, I can't force it.  I am cross with myself for not being better about replying to comments, but I have been trying to pop over and say hello on your blogs...if I haven't made it to yours this week, please blame the evil germs! 

I am going to have a stall at the Bristol Vintage & Flea Market on next Sunday, 28th April - I'll be selling some fabric, but also the results of an attempt at general decluttering.  I'm sharing the stall with the lovely Naomi who sold buttons with me at my last fabric market, so it should be fun.  I'll take some photos of our stall (before it all hopefully gets bought!) and I'll let you know how it goes.

Hope you have a lovely week.

Rachel xx

my weekend...

...has been a lot of fun!  One of my favourite things to do when at home, whether sewing, cleaning or hanging out with my kids, is to listen to music.  And I love the radio as it means I don't have to constantly make decisions about what to listen to next, and I get to hear new music or old classics I'd forgotten about.  

I think the radio programme I listen to most of all is the Craig Charles Funk and Soul Show on BBC Radio 6 Music - I love upbeat music that gives me energy and makes me want to dance.  But although I dance around the house while I do the housework, and have regular dining room discos with my kids, it has been years since I went out and really danced.

Well last night that changed....the Craig Charles Funk and Soul Club, an occasional live DJ set by the man himself along with lots of other excellent DJs, came to Bristol.  And I went out, with my dancing shoes on (flats, of course!) and my nails painted, and I danced my ass off.  It was brilliant to realise that after 2 kids, and years of domestication, my wild child is still alive and kicking inside me.  And when he played my all time favourite funk tune, I nearly exploded...

I will be doing it again sometime soon!

I hope you had a great weekend too. 

Rachel xx

holiday fun...

Hello lovelies, here I am again, late to the party as always, but I hope better late than never!  How has your Easter break been?  Here are some pics of mine...

Egg (and bunny) hunting...

Our Easter breakfast table at my Godmother's beautiful house in the country...

Homemade mini churros and chocolate sauce for breakfast = happy kids!

craft activity inspired by Jane's fabulous lolly people...

kept the boys entertained for hours!

a springtime visitor to a friend's garden!

I hope you've had a great time, whatever you've been up to.  We've also been busy with lots of house stuff; the continuing kitchen saga and an ongoing, perpetual attempt to declutter.  My facebook page has been keeping me busy, with some fabric flying out the door as soon as it arrives...I will take some more photos this week and update you on the latest additions to my stash! 

Today I have gained my 195th follower - welcome Debs and thanks for finding me!  I think I'll have to have a little giveaway when I hit 200, to say thanks to all of you lovely people who take the time to read and comment - it makes my day that so many of you enjoy what I do here, when I find the time to do it!

Schools go back here tomorrow so today we are watching a movie with the boys, and going to a friends later to let the kids go feral while we eat & drink to celebrate, finally, the arrival of spring.


Enjoy the rest of your Sunday,

Rachel x

sew much fun...

Hello, how are you today? I hope you had a nice weekend, whatever the weather was like where you are!  It's just been cold and grey here, but on Sunday I had a day out and saw first hand just how much snow had been dumped on some other areas of the UK - for this time of year it really is insane.  It looked very pretty from the train, but there were moments when I wondered if I was going to get to my destination at all...but where was I going? And who with?  Well, that's the exciting bit.

A few weeks ago, back when my blogging mojo was still hiding under the sofa, I won another giveaway.  Since starting my blog I've won lots of lovely things from lots of lovely people, but this one was a bit different - rather than a pretty something or other, the prize was free tickets for 2 people to the Sewing for Pleasure Show at Birmingham NEC.  I won this rather fantastic prize over at Sew Scrumptious, so thank you very much to the lovely Louise for that!  

Of course I was delighted, but I was left with the dilemma of who that 2nd person should be...of my good friends who like sewing, one is heavily pregnant and not really up for traipsing round a sewing show on her swollen ankles, and one is currently breastfeeding.  Much as I love my friend's gorgeous baby Florence, I didn't think the addition of a 6 month old who has just started crawling would make for a relaxing day out! 

And then it hit me...the person that I probably chat to most about sewing, crafting, fabric etc is actually someone I've never met.  Sharon, AKA Modflowers, was my first ever online friend, on flickr before either of us had even thought of starting a blog.   And bless her, despite having a busy weekend planned with a trip to the Selvedge Spring Fair in London on the Saturday, she was keen to help me make the most of those free tickets.

So despite the snow, we both made it ... and what a feast for the eyes it was!


There was fabric...

and felt....

and quilts...

 

oh, and a bit more fabric!

 

We even had a chance to play on some seriously expensive quilting kit...

If you've seen Modflowers's blog post today, you may well recognise that skirt!  

To be honest the show was so big it was almost overwhelming, and we both ended up being quite restrained with our purchases.  My favourite stalls were The Eternal Maker, and Dots and Stripes...they both had some really gorgeous fabric that I haven't seen anywhere else.  Ironically, after all that colour, the only fabric I bought was some linen which was a lovely shade of...grey!  But as I'm sure you can imagine, I have plans for it which involve it being combined with lovely Heals fabrics in a rainbow of hues. 

The best thing about the day was spending a few hours with Sharon, who was as lovely in person as she comes across on her blog.  We laughed at the same things, and 'oohed' and 'aahed' over the same fabrics.  We got on like old friends, which I suppose we are in a way.   I was very glad that I'd asked her to join me for the day.  I hope she was too!

Here's hoping that by my next post, spring will have finally sprung.  In the meantime, I hope you have a good week. 

Rachel x

if we can't have sunshine...

...then we need colour!  Oh my goodness another week has passed...and what a cold and miserable one it has been!  I know we are all obsessed with the non-appearance of spring, it is really getting silly now...

Here is a lovely colourful thing that has cheered me up this week...

... gorgeous wallpapers from Ada's fantastic Etsy shop!

Last Sunday I held another Vintage Fabric Market at Paper Village, my local craft shop.  Unlike last time when it was just little old me and a table full of fabric, this time I was joined by another local Mum who has an enormous collection of beautiful vintage buttons!  As you can imagine it was a lot of fun...

a small selection of Naomi's gorgeous buttons...

and a few more!

 
Preparing for the day was fun too, as I really needed to buy a bit of new stock!  Here are a few of the lovely new (to me) fabrics I took with me...

a stunning geometric design by Peter Hall, who designed some of my favourite Heals fabrics...

a vibrant vintage Jonelle floral pattern...

a huge scale print on lovely thick cotton...excuse the rubbish photo, it was a very grey day!

and a lovely floral barkcloth which proved very popular.

I really enjoy selling in person, it's fun to meet people who love fabric as much as I do, and to see the big smiles on their faces as they walk away with an armful of gorgeousness.  I'm sorry to all of you who have been waiting patiently for ages for me to set up my Etsy shop; my youngest is starting pre-school after Easter so hopefully I will be able to make the time then...if the sun comes out so I can take some decent product shots!  In the meantime, I am selling a few bits through my facebook page, and you are more than welcome to message me for details if you see anything you like here or there.

I must thank you all for your lovely comments on my last post, sorry I haven't been replying...I have managed to pop over to a few of your blogs this week, if I haven't left a comment on yours I hope you know it's nothing personal.  I'm hoping to get back into a good routine of blog reading soon...I miss you guys when I don't get a chance to catch up with what you're up to!

Hope the stupid arctic weather isn't ruining your weekend, I'm supposed to be doing something exciting tomorrow but I'm not sure if the snow is going to scupper my plans...I'll let you know what happens either way...in the meantime, stay warm!

Rachel xx