WOYWW.....

Hello all. What a wonderful week of celebrations it was last week.  I did my best to visit everyone but I think there were a few I missed as time just ran out.  It's very special to me being part of this wonderful group so I really hope we will be sharing and caring for many years to come.

I have had many ATCs through my letterbox but Jo and I haven't been able to swap most of them as yet so I will do a show and tell once she has seen them but for now I would like to say a big thank you to all who have swapped with us.

It will be a quick show and tell from me for today as my arthritis has moved from my hip to my right thumb so typing isn't easy and I am having to put drops in my left eye today for a dry eye problem I've got so my vision isn't good either....in fact if I was a horse I think they would consider shooting me hehehe....yes I'm still smiling.

On my desk today is....

My latest idea to sell at a couple of up and coming craft fairs.  I have lots of fur fabric and toy safety eyes in my stash from making puppets many years ago so wanted something to use some of it up.  I am making some little 'Pocket Monsters'.  Each one is different to the next and I'm having fun making them.  

I've nearly sold all my baby activity cubes so will probably make a few more of those too if I get time but there is the promise of lots of work arriving this week so I may not manage to.  I have to fit my crafting for fun in and around my sewing for customers so like to keep a few ideas in the pipeline for times in between.

It's rather short and sweet for today but if you leave me a little comment I will do my best to pay you a return visit ASAP.  Hope you all have a great week.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles....week 222

Well it's been another week of smiles here at Sewing by Annie's so I have lots to share.

Firstly I must say a big thank you to all who joined in the fun last week by sharing their smiles...we need all the smiles we can get with all the madness and sadness in the news lately so let's all do our bit to make the world a happier place to live.

I would also like to thank all those wonderful WOYWW bloggers that left me such lovely comments this week for our 8th year celebrations on Wednesday....I really is good to be part of such a lovely group. 

Now onto my smiles for today....

My little baby activity cubes have been flying off the shelves...I made one for Theo and as that proved popular I made two more which sold as soon as I put then in my Facebook shop so I made 4 more to keep up with demand.  

😀😀😀😀

Orders for my Memory bears keep coming in and this is the latest one that will hold the memories of one of our local schools that is closing down at the end of the term.

😀😀😀😀

Little Theo has learnt to crawl this week, has cut his first tooth this week and as you can see is quite the little water baby now.

😀😀😀😀

He also has found a love of ice lollies....his mummy makes these for him from little yogurts.....as you can see he's really enjoying it.  I bet it's nice and cold on his sore gums.

😀😀😀😀

The twins are learning to garden....here they are preparing the soil and planting a few seeds.  Their Great Grandad [my Dad] would be so proud of them cos he loved his gardening.

😀😀😀😀

And for those that like to see the latest flowers in our garden....aren't they just gorgeous?

😀😀😀😀 

There you go.  I said I had lots to smile about this week.  Please leave me a little comment so I know you've called by and then if you can please link your own smiles below.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW...

My first thoughts today are with the affected people following the attack at Manchester arena....it all felt a little too close for comfort for us as our daughter had been there at a Take That concert Friday night.  I hope the families and friends of those affected gain the strength to get through the very difficult days ahead.

It has all been very sad to watch the developments but we must not let these people win so today we must celebrate our 8th year anniversary regardless.....8 years of friendship from all over the world really is something to celebrate....there are a lot of really lovely people out there.  Many many thanks to Julia who came up with this mad idea and who keeps us linked together every week.

Jo and I will be posting our celebration ATCs today together with our PIF ones so if you asked to swap with us then watch out for that postman.

On my desk today are a few projects I've been making this week....

This is the latest little Memory Bear I have made plus I've made two Memory Cushions but I am unable to share photos of those with you yet as they are for gifts and have special details on the fronts.

I had been looking through all my children's fabrics this week and decided to use some of the smaller pieces to make a little activity cube for Theo to play with and here's the result taken from several views.  I'm sure he will love playing with it and as this week he has started crawling it might keep him in one place for a little while as he plays with it.

I put pictures of Theo's activity cube in my Facebook shop and had a lot of interest in it so yesterday I set to and made a couple more but ommitted attaching buttons etc to these so they are safe to sell.  I'm rather pleased with how they have turned out.

I have a busy time ahead of me with lots more sewing work arriving today but promise I will do my best to get round as many as I can this week.  If I miss you out then it may be that I am unable to leave you a comment [google+ doesn't let me comment without joining].  Many thanks to everyone who calls in each week leaving such lovely comments.  Lets hope we are still linking up on a Wednesday for many years to come.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles...week 221

Hello all.  Here we are at our usual catch up of the week's smiles.  many thank to all who joined in the fun last week.

My week has been full of aches and pains with my hip but there is always lots to smile about here as you know so here's my share for this week....

I've been snapping more flowers that have bloomed this week for you....I am really enjoying the colours that are opening out in every corner of the garden and it would be selfish of me not to share them.

These are two little memory bears I've made this week from a much loved Grandad's pair of pyjamas.  Each time I take on these sort of jobs I am able to learn a little of very special people and these two are to help a couple of children grieve over someone who was very special in their lives.....I feel so honoured to be able to help at times like these.

That was all I was going to share but this morning I noticed our Rhododendron coming into bloom and......

....the creme de la creme is this beauty.  This Peony has only got one bloom this year but it has a tale to go with it....

The original plant was one from the garden my hubby grew up in and before his father died I took a cutting [that everyone said wouldn't grow].  It, of course grew, into a beautiful plant in the garden of our old house [I have green fingers].  When it came time to move we took cuttings off so we could give one each to my 3 sister- in - laws but we moved at the wrong time to plant ours in our garden so it was planted in our son Mark's garden.  Last year we divided his so now we have one and he does too.....The love is spreading 💓

I hope you have enjoyed my shares this week and you will leave me a little comment before linking up below to share your smiles.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW...

Hello all.  The 8th year celebrations are nearly upon us and I've been using some forced resting time to make my ATCs.  Forced rest?...I have either got a flare up of my arthritis in my left hip or it's sciatica :-(  I've had it before and know what needs to be done but I'm not someone who finds admitting defeat easy so I'm having to listen to my body and be sensible at the mo.....All I can say is is a really pain in the bum [literally!!].  It means I haven't been able to have little Theo this week so I'm missing out on lots of special fun time.

Jo [Twiglet] and I will be making our ATCs and posting them together to save a little on the postage so if anyone wants to post us both one in the same envelope please feel free.  So far I have made 12 but if I need more then I'm happy to make more.  This is the list that I will be sending to so far....but if your name is on my list please don't feel the need to send one back.....there is no obligation at all.

1. Julia....The boss
2. Jan..LLJ
3. Jo...The 'much older' sister
4. Elizabeth.....Silver scrapper
5. Shaz.....Silverwolf
6. Helen....Stamping by H
7. Lynn....One I made earlier
8. Kate....Kate's adventures
9. Anne...Copper Beech
10. Neet....Hickydorums
11. Lisa...Lisa's craft garden
12. Sandra de....Serendipity 
13. Ann.....Craftyani 
14. Angela...Felix the Crafty Cat 
15. Lynne....Lynnecrafts
16. My Pay it Forward recipient

.....so that leaves 3 up for grabs  I'm making more now if  anyone else wants to swap....and am happy to make more if needed.  Just email me with your details please to wipso2310@gmail.com  .....PLEASE NOTE I HAVE A NEW EMAIL ADDRESS.

So this is my desk for this week....

Boring or what?  I'm not giving too much away am I.? That's the back of 12 ATCs and the backs of this years cards with my poem inside....it wouldn't be the same with no poem from me would it?

So if you want me to add your name to my list just let me know and email me your details plus of course email me if your details have changed since last year.

The only other activity on my desk today is pom pom making....It's something I can do from my comfy chair while I'm resting.....I'm not certain what I am going to make with them as yet but it's been quite a therapeutic activity and has taken my mind off the dull ache in my hip.






So that's it from me for today....it's very short and sweet cos sitting at this computer is just too uncomfortable for too long.

Hope you all have a great week.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles....week 220

Another week has flown by and I'm here again sharing some of my smiles from my past week.  Many thanks to all who joined in last week.  It's so lovely to see what makes you smile each week so please keep sharing.

My smiles for today are...

I had a wonderful morning on Wednesday with little Theo.  He was as good as gold. We read books, played with the toys, sang together and he never fails to make me smile.  :-)
His mummy and daddy are doing a brilliant job bringing him up ....I'm so proud of them.

How things have changed since I had our three.  Back in the good old days we used to tuck the little ones down for a nap and listen out for when they woke but little Theo came with his monitor so I was able to watch him sleep while I say sewing. There's nothing quite as beautiful as a sleeping baby is there?   :-)

The weather has warmed up sufficiently for the twins to go to school in the summer uniform....what a pair of cuties.

I always say I like a challenge and my latest little memory bear certainly challenged me.  It's made from a knitted fluffy jumper so came with lots of possible problems...

• Cutting through rows of knitting it could ladder or unravel
• It was very stretchy so it needed stabilising before making

I decided to take on the challenge as it was for something special so I used a fabric interfacing to stabilise the fabric and used a special stitch to sew and overlock all the seams and hey presto!

I really love the finished bear....she's so cuddly. :-)

I hope you have enjoyed my smiles for this week and will leave me a little message before linking up your own smiles below....if you don't have smiles of your own to share just let me know you've called by.

WOYWW...

Here we are at another Wednesday catch up with desks from around the world....if you want to know more then pop over to Julia's blog at The Stamping Ground for details and why not join in the fun?

So? What is on my desk today?

What do you think of all this?  It's come out of a bag full of fabrics I was given by the very talented lady magician, Careen Fenton, that I've been sewing for this week.  I have sewn for her before when she was Miss Picklelily entertaining children but she will be focusing more on her adult magic show now and is moving houses to live in London.  She thought I might make use of it all....all suggestions gratefully received.....it's all bright sequined material so watch this space as they say.

This is the back of the stunning dress and bustle I've been working on for Careena....it's part of the outfit she will be wearing for her stage shows and she looks amazing in it.....and her magic is second to none. 

My life here is never boring is it?

The other thing I wanted to share with you is this collage of pics I took on Saturday at Amy's.  The menfolk were busy with gardening activities [Steve included] so I took over my pom pom makers, wool etc and us girls had a fun crafty session, as you can see.  When I left the windowsill was filled with wonderful creations [If you want a closer look you should be able to click on the pic to enlarge it].  I have no doubt this is something we will be doing again cos we all enjoyed playing.

I hope you have enjoyed my quick catch up today and you will leave me a little comment to say you've called in.  I will be a little late in paying you a return visit this week because I have a little visitor arriving early morning til after lunch while his mummy has to work.....here he is and as you can imagine we will be having a fun morning.....

When I find something good I like to share.

This is for all you fabric crafters out there.

You will have seen the PE bags and pencil cases I have been making and may have noticed that I do my best to make each one slightly different. 

Why?

• It's just nice to have a change so you don't get bored making lots of identical products
• It's really fun matching the different colour combinations of my fabrics
• It's a good selling point that when it comes to the end of a school day the PE bag can be picked out easily amongst all the others. 
•  Every child likes to feel special.

Because of this I don't like to buy large amounts of the same fabric....even 1/2 metres are too much. I hear you saying "why not buy fat quarters?" 

Answer....My PE bags need 70cm width pieces and fat quarters are too narrow.

So I put a call out in a Facebook group I am part of and almost every one said they do fat quarters or a minimum of 1/2 metre length....OR they would cut 1/4 metre lengths for an extra charge!

I was contacted by one really helpful fabric provider.....Cabin Crafts ......who was more than happy to cut me 1/4 metres of a really extensive selection of bright children prints in 100% cotton for a really good price so I selected 10 different prints.

Here they are.  It's all really good quality cotton fabric and it arrived really quickly so I have to say I'm thrilled with the service and will be ordering from them again.

You will all know just how much I like to stroke new fabrics for a while before I take my scissors to it but as I know when I've used this I can get more I've already used some of it...

Here's the first two girly PE bags I've made using some of it.  I like to use the feature fabrics across the bottoms of the bags so that, if requested, I can applique names across the top section.....just in case you were wondering. 😀

So, my friends, if you are looking for good quality fabrics at a sensible price I can highly recommend Cabin Crafts.  Here are the links to where you can find them.....

Cabin Crafts on Facebook 

or 

Their web page is Cabin Crafts

This week's smiles....week 219

Hello all.  Many thanks to to loyal few who join in the fun each week to help make the world a happier place by sharing their smiles.....I love sharing them all so please keep up the good work.

It's been a couple of days filled with challenges for me....we changed our Internet provider on Wednesday which meant we had no Internet for several hours in between users.  I use my Internet for my business so it caused several hours of frustration while waiting for all systems go with the new provider.  Then, when I came to upload my pics for today's post, there was a glitch in the system stopping me from doing it how I normally do but I wasn't going to be beat by technology and found another way round things.  After hours of 'beating the system' I have managed to make you a collage of our garden flowers to make you smile today.  As one lot of flowers dies over the next seems to be bursting into bloom....I just love this time of year don't you?

I hope you like the next riot of colour from our garden.  Please leave me a little message so I know you've called by and if at all possible then link to your own smiles below.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW.....

Hello all.  Another busy week here for me.

I've made a few more PE bags and pencil cases to replace the ones I've already sold plus I've managed to get tables on two up and coming school summer fayres so will be building up my stock ready.

I've appliqued names on a PE bag and a pencil case for two lucky little girls.

I've sewn 11 swimming badges onto Phoebe, Lulu and Steve's swimming bags....proud Nanny Annie moments.

Plus I've been playing with my new pom pom makers....I've wanted some of these for a while and have eventually treated myself to two sets so I can now make 4 different sized pom poms.  I have to say I'm really impressed with my new toys and if you've ever made pom poms with two pieces of card you need to try these.

There you go....nice and quick just the way Julia likes it.  I must apologise for not getting round everyone who visited me last week.  I had several customers needing sewing doing quickly so my week just disappeared.  I will aim to do better this week....but of course I never know what will come through my door needing my attention.

Hope you all have a great week.

Hugs,

Annie x