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

swapsies...

Hello and Happy Monday!! The sun has been shining here but both my boys are ill - again! - so we are sofa bound today.  Still, it's good to see the sunlight and glimpse green shoots in the garden.  How are you? I hope you had a nice weekend.  

Everything here has been very busy recently; the kitchen is still a work in progress so home is even more messy and chaotic than usual.  I have been such a haphazard blogger this year; I have decided my blogging mojo is a small furry animal who likes to sleep a lot in winter.  I think it hides under the sofa with the dust and odd socks and only comes out when the sun shines. 

Something I should have shared a while ago is the lovely swap I took part in, organised by Lisa of the gorgeous blog BoboBun.  My swap partner was Joanne of ReVamped Vintage, she's not been blogging long and her blog is lovely.  The swap's theme was 4 Happy Things (to celebrate 4 years of BoboBun) and Lisa suggested sending gifts with the themes of Childhood, Handmade, Vintage, and Favourite Colours.  

Here are the treasures that Joanne sent me...
 

this lovely mug was filled...

...with retro sweeties!

An inspired choice to evoke a 70s childhood!

surely the loveliest hot water bottle cover ever made!

had to show you a close-up of the flowers, they are just so lovely.

AND a very gorgeous handmade pin cushion!

a lovely vintage vase with a very interesting shape...

and a stunning selection  of vintage wallpaper squares in beautiful colours!

Understandably I feel very lucky to have been paired up with Joanne, I hope that she liked what I sent her too...pop on over to her blog post about the swap to see what she got! 

Here's hoping that my mojo has come out of hibernation now...I do love blogging and I get so much from reading your comments and checking in with all your lovely blogs.  Thanks for reading and commenting even when I go a bit quiet, it means so much to me.  I have lots of other things to show you and tell you about so I'll be back soon!

Rachel xx