Sunglasses Case

At the Duck Pond Market this past weekend, I was asked to make a sunglasses case.  I have to admit that this has been on my To Do list for ages but I just haven't got around to it - so it was a good excuse to give it a go.

I used the guide by the fabulous Lisa Lam at U-handbag but this meant making my own pattern - eeek!  This is always risky for me.

Some cutting and a little bit of sewing later, we get to the exciting part:

Will it work when when all turned out...

Er...no actually. 

 It was a bit wide and looked a bit odd.  So off for a cup of tea and rethink and chop a couple of cm's off the width and start again with success..

It even fits my super big Jackie O' glasses.

Daytrip to Whitstable

In a bid to out run the rain last weekend, we went for a daytrip down to Whitstable.  A quick stroll along the sea front, a very tasty lunch at The Pearson's Arms and a mooch around all the lovely little shops including the wonderful Mainwearing's Seaside Brocante, a vintage and antique fair held a couple of times a month (featured in July's Homes & Antiques).

We picked up some bargins - all those buttons for £1 (ONE POUND!!!) and a fab lemon squeezer.  You might think this a bit random but Mr L and I are having an obsession with whisky sours - so we snapped it up.  Our purchases also included some delicious cupcakes form What's Up Cupcake but these didn't make it long enough for a photo...mmm... 


We've been to Whitstable before when Little Miss L was tiny and I'm smitten despite our last trip ending in a terrible stomach bug and a return journey on the back of a recovery van due to some lost car keys.  If you still like a place after that, it must be love.

I am kicking myself though as I didn't take any pics so to make up for it, I thought I would share my new toy - Mr L very generously gave me an ipad after I gave him a presentation on how it would increase my productivity and I could be working smarter, it would be really good for business, blah, blah, blah.   So here's what I've been doing...

he he he.

Oh, I can hear him coming back, look busy

A Little Makeover

Little Miss L's nursery has moved house and all the kids have been given a new little bag for all their spare clothes...only thing is, it's quite dull and they all look the same!

So, as Little Miss can't read just yet, I thought I'd better add something to help her recognise her bag and stop other people taking her stuff home (does anyone else have this problem??? It's sooo annoying especially when you take the time to write her name in everything.  Grrrr..)

I thought this would be a good chance to have a go at freehand machine embroidery but after my second flower going a bit haywire, I gave up.  This technique really puzzles me...I did the first flower- stitches all fine, a bit wobbly but thought by the last one, I'd have it down.  Move onto my second flower, same fabric, thread, etc. and it just goes crazy.  I can't work it out!  I've decided I must be a bit of a neat freak (...although the state of my home doesn't really support this) or it's something to do with the feeling of being a bit out of control - I've decided it's not for me.

I stitched the last flower and the butterfly using a normal small straight stitch and pivoting my felt every now and then.  It took a bit longer, but I much preferred the end result.  The darker flower is the freehand one - not sure you can see a huge difference but I felt much calmer doing it! 

I then just stitched them straight onto the jute bag with embroidery thread - not particularly neatly either but that's what happens when you're side tracked by Don Draper and Mad Men re-runs!

Oops, just noticed I've sewn the butterfly wings on back to front and it looks a bit like a moth.  Oh well, at least it will stop her stuff going home in the wrong bag.