Stash Additions from the Eclectic Maker

After months of various things popping up and distracting me from a trip out to buy fabric, the day arose when no distractions popped up and the trip became a reality....woohoo!

I'd had my eye on this gem of a store for ages with the intention of going down to discover what treasures awaited within. 

The excuse arose when my Aunt, who owns a beach hut at Shoreham, asked me to help her with a job.  Not only would I help her at the drop of a hat, but to then be within minutes of discovering the treasures behind the door here at the......

 
...it was a 'no-brainer'.

It is a lovely little shop with friendly, helpful and knowledgeable staff.

After a lot of fabric admiration, stroking, comparing and enjoyment...I settled on these adorable fabrics.........

You'll see this in a new project shortly...I'm even going to try for a sewing tutorial!  No idea what it is called but as Little Lady is starting on her reading journey and her bedroom is lime green, this was a must for her!

Next up was some yellow grey fabrics to compliment an on-line purchase...that triangular fabric on the far left.  It is going to be used to put a decorative edge onto some roman blinds in our kitchen, and what's left will become place-mats along with the rest of the fabric here..........

I have no green in my kitchen, look.....

But I loved the green leaves in the fabric second from top and decided to use plain green to back my place-mats.  I think it will add a little zing and give me the chance to introduces splashes of green without it being overwhelming or detracting from my lovely seed-head wallpaper.

Next was a purchase for Teenage Daughter............

It was supposed to be for a pencil case, but as she was nonplussed about the fabric, it actually got used in another project for Christmas which I won't be able to show you until after the big day.

Next was some plain beige linen which I wanted to use to make a Zakka inspired zippered pouch...more about that another time too!
 

And finally something that I have been um-ing and er-ing about buying for some time, and am I glad I did!  It's a bias tape maker and in my tutorial(using the alphabet fabric above) you will see that I used it!

 

It was a bit fiddly to start with, but now I have the hang of it...I LOVE IT!  I thought I might sew a string of my scraps together to make lovely scrappy 'ribbon' for tying up presents...what do you think? 

If any of this has grabbed your making mojo, why not click here to discover the Ecelctic Maker for yourself.

As the projects from this stash additions unfold, I'll keep you updated, but don't hold your breath...you know what I'm like!

Until the next time, take care,

Nora

xxxx

The start of my journey to make my own clothes!

I've been following the lovely blog of Handmade Jane for a few months and have loved catching up with her dressmaking story and her style which is something I have aspired to.

One of her posts really got me going on the dressmaking lust that I had contained for so long (out of sheer panic that there is simply no way I could achieve fabulous results like her!)

The post was about this lovely blouse she made.....

And the inspiration for it..............

(Betty Draper)

So I started to scour the earth for Simplicity 4238!

I very quickly found it in Etsy in a lovely little shop with a sweet story called Crazy Grandmas Attic.

The size was a 32 bust and I figured it could be a bit small for me, but decided to take a risk as, even without any sewing experience, I was sure I could somehow size this up to fit!

A short while later, this pretty little package arrived from America........

 With a lovely note and this sweet and thoughtful little extra in the packaging......

And there inside my delightful little package was an even more delightful packet, look........

Apart from the delicious sketches and the aged packaging and pattern...look at the price!

This precious pattern is currently languishing on my bookcase awaiting some soft cotton, maybe lawn, to fall into my shopping basket (hur-herm!), in the meantime I have started my dressmaking journey with trousers!

More about that another time....when I've got my head round it!

Until my next post...see ya!
Nora
xxxx

Santa Swap Sack has been posted!

Back here, I told you that I had joined the Santa Sack Swap 2014.

I have been busy making and trying to come up with presents for my swap partner that I hope reflect her likes but are also a bit different.

The time came to wrap and post.

I can't tell you what I made for her, as she hasn't yet had her parcel, I'll do that another time....but just to tease you and The Undomesticated Scientist at The Fabric Laboratory, here is a sneaky peek at her parcels.....

I shall return with posts about what we each got and also some tutorials for a couple of things that I hadn't attempted before but you might like to make in the future.

Until the next time,
Cheerio!
Nora
xxxx

Lunch

This was my lunch today......

If you like salmon and tomatoes this is a MUST for you!

And it's simple!

Lay your salmon on a baking sheet and top it with Tomato Chutney, we use The English Provender Co Sweet Tomato and Chilli Chutney, dEEEElicious!  Bung it under the grill for about 4mins at a low - medium heat (160 degrees for our grill) and voila!

Totally scrumptious, very quick, healthy....what more can I say other than give it a whirl!

For a main meal we stir fry cooked rice, spring onions, ginger and either flat leaf parsley or coriander and serve with a side sauce of  the juice and zest of a lime in a couple of tablespoons of something creamy or yoghurt-y like fromage frais, creme fraiche, greek yoghurt, sour cream....you know what you like....it adds a little zing!  The longest thing to cook is the rice, so if you need to speed things up why not use a pre-cooked rice like Uncle Bens Express?

Let me know if you try it!

Toodle-oooo,
Nora
xxxx

A little bit of recycling....

in the form of paper chains!

Little Lady came home from school yesterday in a make-y mood.....hmmmmmm...nothing planned so what can I lay my hands on?

Tucked into the wardrobe is an old wooden wine box where I squirrel Christmas-y things away when they come to hand.  There are bits of ribbon either freebies from Magazines or those annoying little ribbons that they sew into the shoulders of clothes, free papers, stamps and stickers from magazines, leftover scraps of good wrapping paper, kids magazines and sticker books and....wait for it....the trims from crackers!

Last year we made crackers but the year before we bought some trimmed with lovely beads and ribbons.  The crackers themselves were also very pretty, so we uncurled the tubes and squirreled them away.....Jen at My Make Do and Mend Year would be proud of me!

Here they are.....

 

So I trimmed them down like this along with some Christmas-y odds of paper and got this............

Add a glue stick and a 5 year old who just cannot contain her excitement about Christmas and the result is........

....recycled, dirt cheap paper-chains and a very contented and non-electronically amused 5 year old....happy days!

Have you got any recycling tips for Christmas?

Off for a spot of lunch, I shall be back soon with some more fun and makes, 'til then,

See ya!

Nora

xxxx

Holiday Part II - Dorset

SO as promised, here I am back with the next installment of the summer holiday, this time from Dorset.

For this week we stayed in this little cottage.......

 

If you get a chance, please follow the link and take a look at the internal photos, not overly stuffed with character, but lovely enough and light, very light.

Being so near to the coast, our first port of call ('xcuse the pun!) had to be Weymouth, but boy was it cold!

This was Little Lady's sand boat and I was requested to sit in.  When I did, she indignantly said "hold on to the steering wheel" !!  So I did and she photographed me.....hence a small me and lots of background!

 

Here she is....and not holding on to the steering wheel!!

 

Whilst in Weymouth, we had a constant eye on the weather reports and picked a reasonable day to visit the Sea Life Centre, it was great and we took loads of fantastic photos...but I won't bore you with them all!  

But I couldn't resist sharing the Rays & Sharks...................

 

A lovely 'not clown fish'!  Because it looked like Nemo...but not!

 

Some nodding and bobbing Seahorses..... not compliant with the photographer!

 

The most amazing and beautiful Jelly Fish...................

 

Stunning Anemones...........

 

A mixture aquarium with the most mesmerising rainbow of fish.................

 

And no Sea themed day out for a five year old would be complete without meeting your heroes from the TV programme Octonauts, Captain Barnacles......................

 

And Kwazii..............

One VERY happy Little Lady!

One of the other better days we did our tourist-y thing and visited the beautiful Durdle Door......

 

To the right of which is this lovely beach.......................

 

...have a better look at those cliffs..............

 

  ....beautiful aren't they.....and the stack sticking up like a huge thumbs up with a 'little' door to the left..........

To the left of Durdle Door is this lovely beach with a rocky outcrop................

 Further along is Lulworth Cove, by now the sun was shining..........

 

 so lovely and warm..........

so we decided to stay on the beach for a while...............

 

We made a castle with a moat and a heart of pebbles......................

We chose a very grey and stormy day to visit Bridport, mainly for the market and of course Yarn and The Girls Own Store, I made sure I told them that I was there due to the wonderful blog of Lucy at Attic24.

The lovely owner of Girls Own was perched on a stool knitting...what a fabulous job to have!

She took time to show me how to Rag Rug on the hessian sacks she sells......  So.....2 sacks sold to the Mad Woman who cannot resist trying a craft and has a bag of felted vintage felt at home!!!!

It was so wet in Bridport that we were unable to take any photos, but we drove the short distance to West Bay and snapped these moody shots for you.........

 

Our final day was spent back in Weymouth again, I was allowed a fleeting trip to a fabric shop that (let me say this quietly so that I don't offend!)......didn't look too inspiring from the outside...shhhh! 

It was called So 'n' Sews, but what an Aladdin's Cave it turned out to be!

As we had visited the Sea Life Centre, we got a free go on this............

It is a 53 metre high viewing lift, you sit in it and it goes up, does 2 revolutions and comes down.  I'm not a great one for heights, and sitting by the doors listening to the wind rush by was not calming, but the view was great!

We also took a stroll to the 'old' part of Weymouth and soaked up the atmosphere of quayside crabbing and old buildings............

Isn't it lovely............

The quayside houses were so happy looking, jiggling for space and attention.............

Needless to say that the day ended with another sandcastle and moat............

....the traditional donkey ride for Little Lady.............

....and a thawing hot chocolate for Teenage Daughter..........

It was a fun week despite the grim weather, but that seems like an age ago as we hurtle towards Christmas!

Just a reminder.....5 weeks today is Christmas Day!!!!!

Best stop chatting and get on with some making!

See you very soon,
Cheer-i-bye
Nora
xxxx

Holiday snaps

No not the sort that go in crackers but photos!

There are now less than 7 weeks until Christmas, but only just over 7 weeks ago I had only just returned from our summer holiday!

So as you snuggle up today on this chilly November day, I thought you might like to see a little corner of England, first up is Shropshire.

We rented a little cottage, this one to be exact, doesn't look too thrilling from the outside, but if you have the time follow the link and take a look at the photos....not sure they quite do the charm and quirkiness justice, but I think you'll get the idea!  What a peaceful haven.

We found we were the perfect sized family for it as we are all under 5 feet 8 inches tall!  Some of the walls are 2 feet thick! There were other lovely homes in the village and the county is known for its good food.


The village is the last place in England to celebrate Oak Apple Day, originally a public holiday celebrated in England on 29 May to commemorate the restoration of the English Monarchy in May 1660.  This village now celebrates it under a new name, Arbour Day and it is now celebrated on the last Sunday in May.  The Arbour Tree is decorated with flags and the villagers celebrate.  Our cottage is Arbour Cottage, named after the tree.

 

 

Such a pretty village........

 

...with little places to paddle.......

 ....and skim stones.......

 

We spent about an hour here skimming and paddling.

We also ventured farther afield, our first tourist-y visit was to Ludlow and it's beautiful town with buildings such as this one having parts which date back to the 16th century......

 Isn't it gorgeous?

Ludlow Castle, of course, is much older but equally has been developed over the centuries to replace shutters with windows and other 'mod cons'!

Tiddly Toes made a run for it when we arrived and I caught up with her (attached to another family!) right up here on the highest ramparts!

But look at the view.....

 

That round building (centre right) is the castle Chapel and the heart of all castle life.

Here's a shot through the more modern Elizabethan windows to the older part of the castle.....

 

And these are the rooms, now homes and the castle entrance and shop, built into the castle wall.....

 

We did a good bit of climbing and discovering, we touched very old doors, admired the views from the original windows and climbed spiral staircases like this one.....

 

The crack extended through the whole turret and you wonder how much longer it will hang in there!

Look at the spiral staircase from below looking up....isn't it beautiful?

 

This is the view from the kitchen window out to the castle garden (within the main castle wall), can you see a stoned edged square to the right of that sign?  That's a dungeon......

 

This amazing bit of stone-masonry  and architecture is the kitchen ceiling.......

 

A really stunning castle and a beautiful town.

Next up was a countryside visit as we took a day out to Acton Scott Working Farm (used for the TV series Victorian Farm).

You are greeted by this handsome chap.......

 There are alot of traditional crafts practised here such as hurdle-making, charcoal burning and brick casting..........
 

 

This is now a traditional tea room, but it used to be the local school.....

 

I couldn't get too many photographs as it was a bit of a wet day....spot the raindrop on the lens?

Another must visit venue is Stokesay Castle, look......

 

This is the more 'modern' entrance, but isn't it stunning?

You can't see from the photos, but the wooden pegs used to hold the frame together were never cut flush so you can see how this was erected......

 

And this is the modern (16th Century!) bedroom extension to the 12th Century castle ......

 

The village also has a gorgeous church.......

 

 

I couldn't take any photos inside but there are original paintings and decorations on the wall so you can take a guess how old those are!

So after a week of playing the tourist and relaxing in our beautiful cottage it was time to pack up and move south, through Wales to Dorset..........

Next time I'll introduce you to Dorset.

Until then, take care,

Love
Nora
xxxx