This week's smiles....week 377

Phew, it's hot here today [typing this Thursday], it was 30° here yesterday and it's even hotter today so I've got the fans blowing in my sewing room and blinds down to keep me cool.  What's not really helping is the length of my lockdown hair...I've trimmed the fringe but the back is longer than I've had it for years but still not long enough to put it up so I'm all hot and bothered around my neck!

I was looking on Pinterest and it looks as though I'm not the only one...

They really made me chuckle and I don't feel half so bad now.

The other shares I've got today are of the garden as it is still looking gorgeous with new blossoms in every corner....

The roses are looking gorgeous and smelling wonderful too and the lavenders are looking better this year than ever ..... notice there's three different colours and the smell is amazing every time you brush by it.

Our wild flower part of the garden is bursting into bloom too with poppies of every colour at the mo and the bees, butterflies and insects are having a wonderful time visiting every bloom.....I love it.

I hope you have enjoyed my shares this week.  I don't have photos of the grandchildren to share but we did enjoy socially distanced visits from them all for father's day last weekend so you can imagine the smiles here.

Please leave me a little message so I know you've called by and then link to your own smiles below please....we really need all the smiles we can get in these difficult times.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW....

Hello and a happy Wednesday to you all.  I've changed to the new blogger and this is my first go with it so we will see how it goes....wish me luck :-)

The demand on the face masks has eased this week but I've been busy making Memory bears and still have more to come this week yet.

Here's the 5 memory bears that came last week....

They each had to be different and I was given clear instructions as to which items of clothing were to go on each bear but......

• Every item of fabric had to be backed with interfacing because they were all stretchy
• Some items were light weight, some much thicker and some were even fluffy so they all needed careful balancing out to make each bear and
• The one in the front was to have a little gilet made out of Grandma's gilet

As you know I love a challenge and these 5 were certainly that but at times like that I do feel I get a little devine help because the gilet went together perfectly [no pattern!] and the finished results were really loved by my customer so that made all the extra work well worth it.

Since then I've made this lovely pair out of a much loved Grandad's shirts...no interfacing needed with these and they went together with ease.

I thought I'd share this lovely comment left on my Facebook Post about my face masks by the Bank manager of Barclays Bank...it sure made me smile :-)

Since I started making face masks on 17th April I have saved all the empty cotton reels I've used to make the [very nearly 1000]  facemasks.

On top of that I've bought and used well over £300 worth of fabrics and several huge reels of elastic.  It's been really lovely using all the gorgeous fabrics and quite challenging to keep up with the demand.

I have a feeling there will still be a demand especially if the government reduce the social distance to just 1 metre so watch this space.

I appear to have got to the end of this week's WOYWW with no real problems with writing my blog on the new set up apart from the fact I can now only download one photo at a time and no spell check now?...which is a bit of a pain....anyone else have the same?

That's all from me for this week.  Hope you're all keeping well and happy.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles...week 376

Here we are at another round up of the smiles from the last week.  I have had many, as always, but as it's been raining rather more this week I've not been out to do the usual round up of photos out in the garden for you so here's what I've got I can share with you this week....

After seeing the dog yoga pics from last week Milly thought she would pose for you while she was doing hers :-)

She often lies like this...I guess it cools her tummy on a hot day.

We had a visit from Mark, Gina and Theo at the weekend....I'm so glad our garden is big enough to enjoy a visit but also maintain the social distancing...it was so lovely to see them again and I remembered to take a photo this time. :-)

As the saying goes...'Behind every dark cloud the sun is shining' and of course that means only one thing.....  We had just had an amazing thunderstorm and were rewarded with this stunning rainbow.

We invested in a wormery this week and these are our new army of workers.  They take a couple of weeks to settle them in and the first couple of nights we had to put the wormery in a large black bag to catch any escape artists [and there were several] but thankfully they seem to have settled in well now so here's hoping we will benefit from the compost they make in the future.

They say a housewife's job is never done don't they?  I was a great believer in getting all three of our children to help with household jobs when they were little and it looks like Amy is following in my footsteps.

They have three toilets in their house so she's provided them each with a pair of rubber gloves and they all look to be doing a great job don't you think?

They are gorgeous children and I'm sure they will all make wonderful housewives/husbands in years to come. :-)

I hope you have enjoyed my smiles this week and will leave me a little message so I know you've called by beofre linking up to your smiles below.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW...

Hello all.  Hope you've all had a great week.  I've been kept busy this week with my mask making.  I aim to make a new batch every day to keep up with demand....It's certainly keeping me out of mischief.

The materials I was waiting for last week to go with the ones Jo made me buy ;-) arrived ...

They're rather pretty don't you think?...and if you look closely on my desk photo you will see some of them have already been put to good use....

Yes more masks have been made...this was my desk yesterday because today I should be making a batch of 5 Memory bears that arrived last night.....they like to keep me on my toes.

These are two Memory bears that I made on Monday for a little boy that's moving from being fostered to his forever home....I do love making my Memory bears for the special little people I get to learn about....he's such a cutie with the most gorgeous dimples :-)

That's all from me for today.  I will do my best to pop over to say hello in between making my Memory bears.

Stay well and happy folks.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles....week 375

Hello all.  It's been much colder here this week so there's been no sunbathing in the garden but we did have a socially distanced picnic lunch with Gina and Theo in the garden on Wednesday this week...and oh wow how lovely to be able to spend time with them.  Little Theo is benefitting from having his own private teacher at home [his mummy] and is already learning to read...and he's not 4 yet!  We missed our cuddles but until we are told it's safe to do so we are making the best of what is allowed.....and in case you are wondering no I didn't take any photos cos I was soaking up the moment and forgot lol

My photos this week are....

Our raised veg garden is really wonderful now... everything is growing and looking really healthy.  The first strawberries have ripened [but I bet you can guess who had the first bowl full on Wednesday when he visited :-) ].

The garden flowers are making us smile on a daily basis....there is something new blooming almost every day now so It's easy to find some to share with you all.....hope they make you smile too.

Here's a few funnies to make you chuckle.

And finally here's one for you dog lovers out there.  Our little Milly never fails to make us smile.  We gave her a home trim at the begining of lockdown but of course her coat has grown since so she was pleased to hear she can go for a proper trim on Saturday....even sooner than I can but Doddy did suggest I ask if she might trim mine too :-)

I hope you've found lots to keep you smiling and will link up to yours below.  Have a good week.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW....

Hello all.  Did I speak too soon last week?  As soon as I think the demand for face masks is easing off the Government anounces that it is now compulsory to wear them on all public transport and my orders increase again.  Thankfully so far this week I haven't had to slot in bear making too but I did have a pair of jeans dropped off for me to shorten by 5 cm....I can't see me be able [or happy] to do fittings anytime soon so for now it's just alterations that don't need me to pin them up first. 

So today I'm sharing a few pics taken from my last week...

Here's the first completed order of 15 masks for Barclays Bank in Chelsea, London.  I've not heard about more being needed from the bank yet but we will see....I'm happy with an order of this size now and then.

For those that don't see my masks on my Sewing by Annie Facebook page this is how I display them for folk to choose which they want....I did a quick count up and there was 42 different adult masks to choose from and.....

....30 different children's masks to choose from.

I so enjoy using all the different fabrics.  Each mask is backed with a different cotton fabric so they are all reversable and I love using different combinations of fabrics for each one.

Yesterday morning I delved into what few fabrics I had left and found a few small pieces of different fabrics I'd not used before to extend the choice of childrens masks a little further.....I like to give my customers as much choice as I can.

This a 'Jo made me do it' sort of pic.  

One of our small knitting/sewing shops is sadly closing down thanks to Covid and they are selling off all their stock.  The shop is just down the road from Jo's and she was calling in to give some support to the shop owner.  She said they were selling off 6 fat quarters for just £10 so of course I couldnt refuse....could I?  It's really lovely fabric so I may need a little time to stroke it before taking my scissors to it.

If I'm honest I have also ordered more fabrics from Cabin Crafts too [well worth a look if you're a sewer]...a girl can't make masks without fabrics can she?

That's all from me for this week.  I'm thrilled to say I'm being kept busy with sewing [many thanks to my blogging friends that have ordered face masks from me...you know who you are].  It's making this difficult time so much easier to get through.

Hugs,

annie x

This week's smiles ....week 374

Another week has passed and although the lockdown restrictions have lessoned in hasn't made a huge difference for us as yet [nor do I expect it to].  I've still had a steady flow of requests for face masks so that is keeping me ticking over but on top of that I also had an order for face masks from Barclays Bank in Chelsea, London....and there may be more of the same to follow for other branches of the bank....it put a huge grin on my face.....Fancy that!  Little old me!!!

Now for my round up of the pics I can share with you....

It seemed a while since I shared a photo of the girls...they lead busy lives...so I asked Amy to snap me a couple.  They really seem to be growing up so quickly now....real young ladies now.

Lexi has been enjoying musical drama/dance classes and of course has to be dressed appropriately for each session.. clockwise from top left is Matilda, Dog trainer, Mouse from Nutcracker and Jasmine.

She has gained so much confidence through her drama group and is always singing and dancing now....beautiful.

Gina sent me this pic of Theo this week.  She said he'd wanted to play out in the paddling pool while she was getting tea so she filled the sink and popped him in there instead...she said he'd looked like her as if she's gone mad but he had actually had a real fun time there for nearly an hour.

I just said that all children should be bathed at least once in the kitchen sink...I have such happy memories of mine doing exactly the same at some point in their lives.

My darling hubby has been baking again...2 coconut cakes this week....and they taste every bit as much as they look.

Amy's three have been creating rainbows with fabrics.  Aren't they lovely?

Here's my round up of this weeks new blooms in the garden...it never fails to keep giving and makes me smile every day.

The vegetables are doing really well too....we have enjoyed 3 means of new potatoes, our first courgette and the first two beetroot as well as salad leaves and radishes....and all really yummy.

Finally I just wanted to share a few of the giggles I've had this week [I'm sorry if any offend you].  hey really made me chuckle so hope they make you laugh too.

Please leave me a little comment before linking up to share your smiles at the bottom.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW.....

Hello all.  It's been a lovely week here.  The sun has been shining all week and I've made and sold a steady amount of face masks [nice to not be under pressure to make so many now] and have also made another Memory bear for the lady I made three for last week...I really love it when they come back for more because they loved the other ones so much.

So it's a pretty quick post from me for today...

Here's the latest Memory bear....and that brings the number of Memory bears up to 340 now :-)

My desk today is in full mask making mode but it's not all work no play for me.....

....Look what I've just been treated to.....and yes it's a real treat for a diabetic I know but I really enjoyed it.

A little spoiling does us all good now and then so I hope you're all being kind to yourselves now and then and life is being kind to you.

I'm thrilled to say Elizabeth's Alan is home now from hospital and is making slow steady progress each day and I'm glad to hear Helen is healing well from her faint/fall.  I'm sure being part of this wonderful gang helps us all get through the dificult time we are all going through so keep up with spreading the love and supporting each other until this madness ends.

Hugs,

Annie x