This week's smiles....week 252

Hello all....yes I'm here late again!

I have really had a wonderful week filled with smiles but my feet have barely touched the ground and every day has seemed like a weekend so I keep forgetting what day it is.....I call it old age :-)

Since last Friday I have....

• Enjoyed Saturday afternoon with my big sister and a school friend of hers while our men were at footy and then she cooked us tea so there was lots of chatting, laughter and generally putting the world to rights.
• Sunday we went to Shells and were joined by Mark, Gina and little Theo for a buffet lunch and exchanged parcels ready to be opened the following day.  We all played a game like Charades only using a blow up, life sized character called Dude....it was such a lot of fun and could be enjoyed by all.
• Monday...Christmas day....We joined Amy, Dave and family for Christmas dinner.  We enjoyed Turkey and all the trimmings cooked by Amy....so lovely to see the adults your children have grown into and Amy's three are spaced almost the same as our own three so it was just like history repeating itself.  They are adorable children and we really enjoyed our day.
• Tuesday was a more relaxed day and we managed to get some of our Christmas jigsaw done....this one is going to take it's time but we are having fun doing it.
• Wednesday I visited one of my very best friends who was celebrating her 60th birthday....she's more like a little sister to me so I feel very lucky to have her in my life.
• Thursday....yesterday....we drove to Altrincham for a big family party for an elderly Auntie's 100th birthday.  Alas she was unwell and unable to join us at the party but lots of photos were taken so she can share it all with us when she's feeling a little better and it was really lovely to catch up with about 70 family members, many of which had travelled many miles to get there and who we hadn't seen for many years.

So there you go.....that brings us around to today being Friday ....but it feels more like another Saturday or Sunday!!

I hope you have enjoyed sharing my smiles....I have just a couple of pics to share today.

Milly had a wonderful time Christmas morning....as you can see she really enjoyed opening her parcels and loved all the paper.  She would like to say thank you to Auntie Ellie and Uncle Alan for her pink squirrel toy....she loves it and enjoys shaking it like a rat and throwing it around the room  :-)

That's all from me for this week.  I just need to wish you all a very Happy New Year and to thank all who join in the Friday fun each week.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW...

Oh dear....I'm late, I'm late for a very important date.  It was a case of it was Christmas Day then Boxing Day......Oh no It's Wednesday!!!  I wonder how many other of you have been caught out this week by not knowing what day it was?

So as my desk hasn't been touched all week and my sewing room has only been used and a Christmas parcel wrapping station I am showing you the kitchen table where we have been playing this week....

It's the compulsory Christmas jigsaw.  It's a 1500 piece jigsaw that's too big to be done on the coffee table in the living room so, as you can see, there will be no eating done at the table until it's finished....and that may be a while! 

So there you go.  I'm not sure it's what you came here to see but I didn't want to miss out on the fun.  I hope your Christmas was magical and here's hoping 2018 brings you all everything you wish for yourselves.  Happy New Year to you all and lets hope we can all enjoy another wonderful year of fun and friendship.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles....week 251

Here we are at another round up of the week's smiles...and trust me when I say there have been lots to smile about this week. 

 

Saturday five of my little elves came with their mummies to decorate our tree...it's something they like to do each year....I just wish I could bottle the giggles between them all while they are doing it.

Sunday we went on the Llanfair light Railways Santa train with other family members...there was 13 of us in all and as you can see we had a wonderful time.

Some of us then went for homemade soup and puds at our niece Vicki's who lives in the grounds of Powis Castle....she is one of the gardeners there and after tea we all walked around the castle and grounds to see the sculptures and Christmas lights.  Vicki had made many willow sculptures to go around the grounds and here is a pic of some of them....

Aren't they amazing?....she's such a talented girl.

We have had some amazing skies over the last week so here's a couple to make you smile...

If all that hasn't got you smiling then this will.....The twins have done this every year since they were born and I can see them still taking a pic for years to come.....maybe only one leg in next year!!

Now I would just like to say a huge thank you to all who join in each week, a very Happy Christmas to you all and here's to many, many more shared smiles next year.

WOYWW....

Here we are on the last show and tell before the big day.  My desk is full of Christmas wrapping this week and I can't share that so I thought I'd show you the mince pies and little buns I've been making on the other 'desk' in my life and the row of little stockings I've finished knitting and strung up across our fire place.....a well used fireplace this week because our heating boiler broke down last Friday and although we have insurance that says they should come and fix it within 24 hours it took them until yesterday before we had hot radiators and hot water!!!  

Please help yourselves....I even made the chocolate gingerbread men myself :-)

And that just leaves me to wish each and every one of you a very Happy Christmas.  Thank you for calling in here each week and leaving me such lovely comments.....lets hope 2018 comes with many more wonderful weeks of sharing and caring.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles....week 250

Well here we are at another week's catch up of smiles and Christmas is fast approaching so it's a quick post from me.

The snow has thankfully nearly all gone now and that's my biggest smile because I don't venture out unless I have to in the snow.  I thought you might like to see the difference a couple of days has made....

The top pic was taken Wednesday and the bottom one taken this morning....as you can see even little Milly is pleased to see it going....it's not easy for a little dog to pee outside when the snow is so high even if it's good fun catching the snowflakes.

As you can see our 6 little grandchildren have enjoyed the snow much more than me....but even they are glad it's going now and they can return to school with all the exciting festive activities.

That's it from me for this week....short and sweet.  Many thanks to all who joined in last week.  Please leave me a little message so I know you've called in and link up to your own smiles below.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW....

On my desk today are just my Christmas cards ....I'm getting them ready to post so nothing very exciting there to share with you.  

Why have I no exciting sewing going on?  Well, just look here....

This is the view through the door in my sewing room!  In just 2 days we have had over 10" of snow which has shut local schools and businesses so you can see why I've had no customers this week so far.

But I will share the bears I've been making since I shared my desk last....

Three beautiful colourful bears made from silk cravats with their own silk bow ties....aren't they special.  I love the fact that no two of my bears are the same.

I love this little bear too.  I had to reduce the size of a tie to fit him, make him a pocket and a little hat too....Isn't he fab?

Saturday saw me and my gorgeous hubby trudging through the snow to get to the craft fair at Ford village hall that I had a table at.  There was supposed to be 17 stall holders but I was one of only 5 who made it.  Surprisingly though I sold enough to cover my table costs, gave out lots of fliers, met some really lovely people and had an order for another Memory bear....and my advert is going to be put in the village news letters so all in all it was well worth the effort to get there....and a big thank you to my darling hubby for all his help and support in the bad weather. 

And this was the Memory bear that resulted from the craft fair....it's a school bear for another of the local schools that I'd not made one for up to now so hopefully more orders will come in.

There you go from snowy Shropshire.  I hope you are all keeping warm and staying safe if you have snow too.  Please leave me a little message so I know you've called in and I will do my best to pay you a return visit when I can....I'm sorry to say I didn't do very well with visits last week due to my work load.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles.....week 249

It's a quick catch up of my week's smiles as life here is pretty manic for me but I do my best to not let my regulars down.....and to those regulars I thank you loads for keeping up with the smiles.  Our numbers have dropped off since I started but I still like to keep things going for those that like to join in.

My smiles for this week have been many....mostly because my hip is now much improved and I'm able to cope with the flood of customers bringing me sewing jobs this week......and as you all know, I like to be kept busy :-)

My two daughters sent me photos within half an hour of each other of the, now much used, advent calendars I made for the grandchildren as each one arrived.  They come out every year and are filled with treats and every year it makes me smile just knowing how much they are enjoyed.

Michelle has made the most gorgeous Nativity scene for the twins using little wooden peg dolls.  Isn't it lovely?  All those hours spent with her as a child really is paying off.  It's so lovely watching my children doing such a lovely job with their own children.

Amy and her friend enjoyed an evening making Christmas garlands....and what a lovely job she did too.  The creative genes appear to have been passed on to all my children.

We have put up our Christmas tree ready for our little Christmas elves to come and decorate it.  It's a tradition that we do every year ....and I'm not sure who looks forward to an evening of tree decorating at Nanny Annie's most.....I know I do.

As you can see Milly had to get in on the picture and she looks so cute but......

......here she is sitting in her naughty corner avoiding eye contact because if you look closely at the photo she had just chewed the trunk off her new elephant toy....that's it just in front of her on the floor!!  I will add that she has since chewed a leg off too and managed to chew a hole in the body of it and got all the stuffing out!!

And no I haven't been able to repair it so the new extra tough elephant toy was put in the bin....obviously it wasn't tough enough for our little terror.....but she still makes me smile.

That's all from me for this week.  Please leave me a little message so I know you've called in and add your own smiles to Mr Linky below.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW....

Firstly I want to thank you all for the get well wishes from last week....they worked a treat and I woke up Saturday morning feeling rather better thankfully....it's not prefect but the pain is much less and I can cope with it now......It's just a shame old age doesn't come on it's own isn't it?

It's just as well too because.....

• Monday morning started with making a sewing a frill on a dress for Phoebe to give it a little extra length for the character she's playing in her school play.
• I had 3 more badges to sew onto their Brownie hoodies
• Then I had a school memory bear to make but before I'd finished that one....
• I had a customer arrive with special items of clothing to make 4 more memory bears!!!
• I have been making a few more fir cone characters to take with me to the craft fair I have a table at on Saturday....Ford village hall from 11 o'clock onwards if you're passing please call in and say hello.
• Tuesday morning Jo came round for a coffee, catch up and a bit of crafty fun and even though it is my day off I had a customer drop of a sewing job for me to do....I never like to turn work away.
• This morning I have our daughter in law, Gina calling in for a fitting of her bridesmaids dress and little Theo with his suit plus I have the boiler man coming to service the boiler.....it's all go here.

So here's my room with all it's chaos and a quick snap of a few of the little fir cone Christmas tree elves....

I've snapped it from the other direction to show you the chaos at it's best....there's 4 Memory bears in the making, bags of customers sewing needing doing and lots of last minute making, planning and getting ready for the craft fair. 

On the other side there's yet more chaos. The little Christmas tree is to go as display on my craft fair table, the boxes are filled with items to sell and the little tin on the top of them has all the emergency things you might need when at a craft fair....scissors, blue tack, drawing pins etc.

Here's 4 of the 11 little fir cone elves I've made....I thought the boys might prefer these to the Christmas angels.

And that's all from me for today....as you can see I'm having a rather busy week but I will do my best to call in at yours to say hello in between the Sewing by Annie chaos.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles....week 248

It's a quick post from me this week as I'm struggling to spend time sitting at the lap top due to being in lots of pain with my arthritis / sciatica in my hip....I'm hoping it improves soon as I get frustrated not being able to do all I normally do.

First I must thank those who linked up last week....keep up the good work girls.

Now onto my smiles for this week....

When you're self employed you have to keep the customers happy and this week has been no exception.  These are the latest two little memory bears I've made...meet Scout bear and Rainbow bear [junior brownies].  Cute arent they?

Our daughter Amy and her hubby enjoyed last weekend in Cornwall with friends and their children and this photo really made me smile...isn't this what childhood should be all about?

If all that hasn't got you smiling then maybe our own little James Bond will do the trick.  Theo has been trying on his suit that he is to wear at a friends wedding before Christmas.  Doesn't he look a real little bobby dazzler?

That's my lot for this week.  Please leave me a little message and then link up to your own smiles below.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW...

It's a desk with a difference for me this week.  I've been getting messy so here's a look at what I've been doing....

Yes I've been doing some lino cutting and printing for a couple of designs of Christmas cards.

The designs were taken from ideas I found on the good old Pinterest.  I've not done and lino cutting or printing for years so it was lovely to have a play.

Here they are drying before being mounted onto cards.

I think I prefer the little houses to these but we will see what they are like when mounted up and finished.

But mostly this week I've been sat suffering a flare up of my arthritis in my left hip, dosed up with Paracetamol and Nurofen and sitting on a heated pad to ease the pain so I've been doing a bit of knitting.

I just grabbed a pair of needles, some wool and a fairly easy pattern to keep my mind off the aches.....I'm not saying it worked but I guess it helped.

So that's it from me for this week.  I will do my best to call in at yours to say hello but please forgive me if I don't do a lot of blog hopping this week.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles....week 247

Hello all.  I hope you've all had a lovely week filled with smiles and you will share them with us all by linking them at the bottom of the page.  Many thanks to those who join in each week....I really love to see what's making you all smile so please keep up the good work.  It's good for us to smile so consider it your therapy for the week  :-)

It's been a rather trying week here but as always I have smiles I can share....

My little twinnies have been trying on their angel outfits they will be wearing at the school end of term nativity.....cute little angels eh?

Milly has been getting to know a new toy we treated her too because her little brown dog favourite is alas perished and I'm struggling to get it to fit inside the replacement covers I make.....I'm sorry to say that even though this is meant to be a tough toy it may not be tough enough for our little Milly as I've already had to repair it twice!!

I thought this pic might raise a few chuckles....I'm making some Christmas fairies/angels for the fayre that's up and coming....here they are hanging as glues are drying waiting for their wings to be made and if you listen very quietly you can here them singing.....'I wish I could fly'.  For those that don't know the song I mean here's a link for you...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGnuMxFnc1k

I have a feeling you will be humming this for a while now.....I have been  :-)

And finally I thought I'd share a few pics of the autumn colours in our garden at the mo plus a few of the flowers that as yet haven't been nipped by the early morning frosts.....such gorgeous colours out there aren't there? Sorry if some of the pics are a little blurred but it was a blustery day and the flowers wouldn't sit still for me.

I hope you have enjoyed your visit today.  Please leave me a little message so I know you've called in and if you can then link up to your own smiles.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW.....

This is where the fun starts.  Last week there seemed to be so many of you making Christmas cards that I thought I'd best get started so after hours of searching on Pinterest for inspiration and finding nothing that stirred my creativity......

I filled my desk with Christmas fabrics.....but couldn't get inspired to make cards out of any of it so.....

I found a roll of gorgeous gold voile that a good friend [you know who you are....thank you] gave me a while back and using festive ribbons I made several 'masterboards'.

Now that's inspiring isn't it?

I chopped them up and......

Hey presto I've now made my first 40 Christmas cards!!

The Christmas fabrics were still 'calling' me so I searched Pinterest again and I found an idea to make some stars for my up and coming Christmas fayre.

Each one needs four 3"x12" pieces of fabric that you fold into four length ways to enclose the raw edges then with lots of clever folding origami style it makes a star with no sewing required.....just a lot of patience!!

I think they are Scandinavian in origin and I rather like them.  What do you think?

That's all from me for this morning.  I hope you like my start to Christmas crafting and will leave me a little message so I know you've called in then as soon as I'm able I will do my best to pay you a return visit.  Have a fun week folks.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles....week 246

Another week has passed and we are here at my round up of the smiles from this week.  Many thanks to those who join in each week....I love to see what's making you all smile,

My week's smiles have been many so here's a few pics to share with you all....

My two little brownies went to the Remembrance service at their local church on Sunday and were given the job of laying the poppy wreath for their Brownie group.....proud moments.

Little Theo loves his books as you can see....he's reading while his mummy changes his nappy  :-)

There's such a wonderful world out there to explore when you've just learnt to walk....here he is enjoying some family time with his mummy and daddy at Attingham Park at the weekend.

My happy post for the week was this stack of gorgeous cotton laces.....I've got to stop stroking them and find a special job for these now.

And this is the gift that just keeps on giving....we were given it for last Christmas and just look at it now.  It's simply stunning and I don't think I've even seen one with so many blooms before.

There you go.  Those are my smiles now please leave me a little comment then share your smiles with us by linking up below.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW.....

Another week has passed and still no Christmas card making here for me....I just may have to buy some this year!!!

I have a few pics and tales to share with you of course.....

Yes just look at these two pics....I have dusted and cleaned and cleared the decks ready for a crafty morning with that much older sister of mine and our friend Toni [and taken pics before we messed it up again!].

Jo brought her rug that she's making and some knitting and Toni brought her dumfing machine with her....something she hadn't done for a while but as we say 'it's like riding a bike' [not that I can do that!].  I'm sorry to say that we chatted, drank coffee, ate chocolate brownies [thanks Jo] and crafted but alas I missed to take any pics.....but I'm sharing my clean/tidy room with you.

These are the three latest Memory bears I've made...

This one is to remember a special dad called Bob who always carried a hankie in his pocket so of course Bob the bear had to have a pocket with a little hankie in it.

And these two are the ones I've made for the foster mum to put in the memory boxes of the latest two little ones she has in her care ready for when they move on to their forever homes when they are adopted.....there should be more foster carers like this one shouldn't there....she's special?

This is what's on my desk this morning.  I have cut up two tiny babygros ready to make two little hearts in memory of a little baby who was born 'sleeping'.  I do get asked to make some really special things don't I?.....I just hope I can do just what is needed to give the parents some comfort in the years to come.

There you go.  I always say no two days are the same here at Sewing by Annie's and this week has proved it.

I have a draw over at my Facebook page so that on Christmas day I will choose one lucky winner to win one of my Memory bears so please head over there and get liking, sharing and tagging all your friends because the more you help me to spread the word the more chances you get to win it.  Good luck folks.

Hugs,

Annie x