WOYWW...

 I'm late joining in the fun today but I'm sure you will all forgive me cos I'm not feeling at my best.  I wasn't going to join in at all but that much older sister of mine said you'd miss me so I'm here just doing my best.  Most of you will know that I have been struggling with my diabetes lately and for the last month I have been giving myself weekly injections...I have tolerated these but this Monday I had to double up the dose!!  The side effects, as with most treatments, are worse than the benefits and Monday night I was kept awake most of the night.  The effects of these injections last a week so even thought I am now not to continue with them I have to suffer for this week....It's left me very weak/shaky.

Enough about all that.  I just need to say I will be reading your blogs from my comfy chair using my iPad and am unable to comment from there....but I promise I will read them.

On my desk/lap today is...

I'm sat quietly making Wilhelmina Wood Mouse....a friend for Luna Lapin of course.

  

Michelle and Co. bought me the book for my birthday back in October and I've really enjoyed reading the story that runs through it but hadn't made a start with any of the other characters.

For Christmas Gina, Mark and Theo bought me all the felt I need to make all of the other characters in the book...you can just imagine the smile on my face when I opened the parcel.

So there you go.  That's what I will be sat quietly doing today.  Thankfully I wont be working until Wednesday 6th January [although I do have a Memory bear on order from a lady in Northern Ireland] so I'm really hoping to feel much better by then.  I really hope you all had a wonderful if but different Christmas and 2021 is kinder to us all.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW...

 Here we are at the last Wednesday before Christmas....how did that happen?  I would like to say a huge thank you to you all for your love and friendship over this last year....my Wednesdays really have helped to get me through it all.  Let's hope 2021 sees an end to this awful virus that has taken so many of our loved ones from us and we can all get back to living a 'new' normal life.

On my desk today are bears, bears and yet more bears....

The lady I made the one little bear our of the jacket last week brought me 4 more items of clothing to make 4 more bears out of....the lovely thing was these were another jacket, 2 shirts and a jumper so they made 4 very different bears....all lovely :-)

A young man came with 2 shirts wanting a bear made out of them but when he arrived he decided he would like 3 making :-)

Finally and by no means least I made this special bear for one very special little girl who is leaving her foster home and going to her forever home at the beginning of the new year.  She is like a little ray of sunshine so this little bear is just perfect for her.  I really love it when I'm taken into the heart of my customers and they share such special things with me and it was the perfect way to finish work before Christmas....and for those asking that now brings my number up to 403 Memory Bears :-)

Now that just leaves me to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Hugs,

Annie x 

This week's smiles....week 401

This is the last Friday smiles post before Christmas and I doubt I will be posting again now until after the big day so I would like to wish you all a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and lets hope 2021 comes with a little less madness.

It's been another busy week here at Sewing by Annie's with lots of Memory bears being made.  It's also been another lovely week filled with smiles too.

 

There's been a socially distanced visit to see Father Christmas for Phoebe, Lulu and Steven.

Christmas activities for the twins included icing their Christmas cake and making a gingerbread house.

It's been a week of achievements for the grandchildren too.

Lulu and Steven got school awards and Phoebe had a really glowing school report from her new school....proud Nanny moments.

Sam had a gold award for his guitar playing and Lexi had her rosette/certificate for her dance exam and the top picture is of her at her dance award evening on zoom where she won the only trophy for her age group...Star dancer award!  Amazing or what?

I'm such a proud Nanny. It's so lovely that they get rewarded for putting in the effort and enjoying what they do.

That's all I have to share for this week.  Please share your smiles by linking them up below.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW...

 Hello all.  There's not many of these gatherings left before Christmas now and I've been being kept on my toes with making Memory bears and tackling other challenges.....wait til you see what that was!!!

The two Memory bears and elephant I told you I was making to go with the other's I had previously made have been received by my customer through the post and she put them all together and sent me the photo at the bottom of the pic....don't they look lovely all together?

Since then I've made 5 Memory bears for a customer down in Cornwall in memory of her husband....and may be having orders for more from there at some point for other family members.

I have also made one for a local customer out of her much loved Dad's jacket....and will be getting more orders from other family members soon too.

This was my biggest challenge of the week and I know it's one that will make you chuckle.  It's not every day you are asked to reshoe a 4 foot unicorn!!  I knew I was expecting the unicorn to arrive but I had no idea at all just how big it would be and my face must have been a picture when I opened the door to my customer!!

In the top pic you can see his worn out pink shoes and my customer had brought 2 cushion covers to replace this fabric with.  The original fabric was stretchy and the new wasn't so that was the first problem to start with.  I had to make a pattern without removing the old shoes and the new ones had to be stitched on by hand because, as you can imagine a 4 foot unicorn doesn't fit under the sewing machine!!

But, you know me, I love a challenge and the unicorn is being picked up with his new shoes later today and will be going home to one very happy little 6 year old girl.  :-)

I bet not one of you can say they have made new shoes for a unicorn before but if you have one that needs reshoeing then you know I have a pattern made for it  :-)

I hope you have all had a good week and will leave me a little message so I know you've called by.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles...week 400

 Wow!! 400 happy posts.  How blessed are we to have had enough smiles to celebrate 400 weeks?  Keep up the good work folks and a huge thank you to all those that join in each week.

My smiles this week have been many...I've had a busy week with sewing this week and that always makes me smile.....I'm in the middle of making 5 Memory bears for a lady from Cornwall....now that really is something to smile about isn't it?

Gina has set Theo's play room up as Santa's Workshop and, as you can see, he's having lots of fun dressed up as one of the elves helping Santa.  :-)

The twins have had their annual visit from Bob, their elf on the shelf and he, his wife Betty and their friends have been up to mischief as usual....here's a few pics of what they have been up to this year so far....

So much fun is being had by all :-)

And what have we been up to?  This our latest Wasgij jigsaw.  It was called 'The Full Monty' and we had to make the picture of what the lady on the front of the box could see!!  We have certainly had a giggle making this one even though it did feel a little strange when we realised the finished jigsaw had bare bums on the picture. :-)

I hope it's made you smile too.

Please share your smiles for the week by linking them below and keep up the good job of making the world a happier place.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW...

 Oh  what a lovely day we had linking up with everyone on zoom on Saturday.  It was to lovely to see so many joining in the fun.  Many thanks must go to Julia for making it possible.

I have now finished the little Covid safe gingerbread men I was making and half of them have already gone to their new homes.  For those that didn't see them on Saturday here's the ones I still have here....

I'm sure they will put a smile on faces as they are hung on their trees this year.

The only other thing I have here to share with your today is my rail full of sewing that I did on Monday...

• I made 4 Christmas face masks
• Shortened 3 nurses dresses
• Put a new 28" open ended zip in a man's coat
• Shortened 3 pair of trousers

Not a bad start to my week eh?  I love it when I'm busy.  I have 5 shirts coming in the post from Cornwall that should arrive today for me to make 5 Memory bears out of so that should fill the rest of my week hopefully.

I hope you're all happy and well and will leave me a little message to let me know you've called by.  I will do my best to pay you a visit in between my sewing jobs.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles....week 399

 Another week has passed and we are creeping closer to Christmas.  I wrote all my Christmas cards [and they are now posted] but I found I still needed more so have made another 6 this week and am now working on the tree decorations that I make for each of our 6 grandchildren [plus a few extra special little people] so I have been enjoying crafty time in between making more Memory bears and even another Memory elephant....we might have been in lockdown and are now in tier 2 [so very little different] but us creative folk can always find something to do and I'm sure it has helped during this mad time....and I can always find something to smile about :-)

Wednesday night saw my darling hubby and our son going to watch Shrewsbury town play football....they allowed 2000 supporters in to watch the game and they were lucky enough to get tickets.

They have really missed their football so this put huge smiles on their faces...even if they were hidden by their face masks.

Ever since the twins were born and could fit right inside their Christmas stockings Shell has sent me a photo of them.....boy how they have grown! I'm not sure how many more years they will fit their feet in but I'm sure they will try. :-)

There has been early signs that Christmas is on it's way here too.  The Christmas boxes are down out of the attic and, as you can see the tree is now being put together in the living room....we usually have Amy with her little elves to decorate the tree but I have a feeling we may have to do it ourselves this year...b******* Covid!!

Lets hope the news of vaccines on their way will mean life may return to nearer normality some time soon eh?

That's all from me for today.  I hope you will all share your smiles by linking up below.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW...

 Happy 600th WOYWW to one and all.  It's really something to celebrate isn't it?  Julia has a lot to answer for and we have so much to thank her for.  It's brought so many like minded folk together and so many friendships have been formed because of it all......Well done Julia....we love you lots.

I am hoping to be able to link up on zoom for our virtual crop on Saturday so in readiness I have made my badge as requested by the Queen of Crop....

I guess you will all know who I am now :-)

I've had a busy week making special memories for my customers...

5 Memory bears and one Memory Elephant.  All have gone off to their new homes now so will be either bringing comfort to some or being wrapped up ready for Christmas.

I have also made a Christmas bear to go as a Christmas gift to the lucky winner over on my Sewing by Annie Facebook page...so if you would like to be in with a chance to win him click on the link and pop over to get your name in the draw.

What's on my desk today is...

The 3 shirts on the right are to make 2 more bears and another elephant for the customer that had the other 3 bears and elephant last week...she loved them so much that she's ordered more for other family members.

On the left of those is two more packs of blank cards because although I had made 60 I still needed more!!....oh happy days :-)

Well folks...I hope you all celebrate today and I am hoping to see you at the crop on Saturday....I will be the one wearing the badge above :-)

Stay well and happy and many many thanks for all that leave me such lovely comments each week....I really value your friendship.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles....week 398

Hello all and a very happy Friday Smiles to each and every one of you.  Every week is different here for me.  Last week I had no customers at all and this week they have been bringing / sending me lots of sewing jobs....everything from shortening trousers and coat sleeves to making many Memory bears and even an elephant.  At least last week's lull meant I could get my head down and get all my Christmas cards made so I used my time well.

I have a couple of photo smiles to share with you...

Here is our little Theo enjoying forest school....He's growing up so fast now.

Shell has been home recovering from Covid [sadly it's taking much longer than she hoped!] and while she's been at home she's sent me a few photos....from the top

• Jet wearing her Christmas jumper
• The Christmas tree in their sitting room that they have put inside a playpen so it will survive Jet!
• The windowsill in the playroom has now got their nativity scene out for Christmas and one of the children has put their Lego campervan alongside it....we have had a chuckle about it....these campervans get everywhere don't they?

That's my lot for this week.  I hope you are all keeping safe and well and have lots to smile about....please share below.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW.....

 What a difference a week makes eh?  Last week I had no customers at all so I worked hard with making my Christmas cards and now think I've made enough for this year....

I've made 60 cards in 7 different designs.  Some are appliqued, some are machine embroidered, some are hand embroidered and some are made using 1" squares of different Christmas fabrics.  I've made them in batches and really enjoyed being creative.

Monday started a whole new week.  I have..

• Shortened 4 pair of trousers
• Shortened the sleeves on a gent's coat
• Cut out the Memory bear [left] ready to make it this morning and..
• Hopefully the clothes to make 3 more Memory bears and a Memory elephant will be arriving in the post today.....so that should keep me busy for the rest of this week.

That's all I have to share with you today so if you leave me a little hello message so I know you've called in I will do my best to pop over to yours later [I did my best last week and think I popped in to see most of you].

I hope you're all keeping busy and staying safe and happy.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles....week 397

 The weeks are flying by and we are fast nearing week 400 of my happy posts...what a lot of smiles we have shared.  Many thanks to those who come back each week to join in the fun.  Life in this world we are living really can't get enough smiles so please keep up the good work.

These are my smiles for this week...

Lexi and Sam have been writing their letters to Father Christmas...I just love the concentration on their faces.

Amy has been snapping a few special photos of her three this week and she always shares them with me....aren't they just gorgeous?....I love the way Betsy puppy has just fitted in the family so well.

This photo made me chuckle.  The twins have built themselves a fort in the bay window with blankets.  We have always loved making dens on wet, indoor play days and it's lovely to see the fun is carried on to the next generation.....I wonder what they got up to in there?

While working at the kitchen table Shell's dog Jet wanted to get in on the fun...but what has she found on the computer?  She looked surprised so I'm hoping it's not a porn site  :-) :-)

I hope you have enjoyed my smiles for this week.

Stay safe and well and keep smiling.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW...

 Happy Wednesday all. Here we are, yet again, at the best day of the week when we all link up with creative desks all around the world.  I've had very little sewing from customers this week so I've been making the best of the break and been making a start with my Christmas cards.  My desks and tables are all full to over flowing with crafty goodies so I'm just quickly going to show you what I've been busy with...

The sewing machine has been well used and there has been lots of 'push back' been going on to have room to sew....even the box of metallic threads is out today.

It wasn't a good start as I sewed 2 of the toppers together and had to unpick the machine embroidery stitch!!

The results of the sewing is piled up on my cutting station....there's 20 in the one pile and 6 little Bethlehem scenes in the other pile.

I have even had the glass paints out and done a couple on laminated sheets....but half the glass paints have been thrown out and the rest were put away in disgust because either I couldn't open the tops or the paint was drying up so won't be doing any more like these.

So that's all from me for today....I have many more cards to make yet so I hope my Christmas mojo comes soon so I can get them done. Any ideas are welcome on a postcard :-)

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles....week 396

The weeks are flying by aren't they?  It will be Christmas before we know it so I really must get my act into gear and make some Christmas cards some time soon.....need to find my Christmas mojo first though.  I have enjoyed making outfits for a little visitor I had this week though...you can see the results in my Wednesday post if you want a chuckle....I'm completely mad but I love creating to make my Grandchildren smile.

I've a few more pics to share with you of the things that have made me smiles this week too...

Sam now has lessons on his electric guitar and his new drums.....I think he really looks the part.

I'm just glad I don't live next door. :-)

The twins helped their mum and dad make their Christmas cake this week...it turned out well but was rather thirsty when cooked because I believe it's already drank a good amount from a bottle of brandy already :-)

Our latest little family member, Betsy, has settled in well and she follows her big sister everywhere. :-)

And finally I thought I would share a collage of the photos I took out in our garden yesterday.  There is still lots of gorgeous colours out there making us smile.

I hope you are all staying safe and well and coping with what ever stage of lockdown you're in right now.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW...

 Hello all I have a little bit of Nanny Annie madness on my desk to share with you this week.  Every year the twins have a visit from Bob their Elf on the shelf during December so this year he has visited Nanny early so he [and all his friends] can be fitted out with different outfits. ....

Bob arrived on Monday and helped me make 6 little face masks so he and his friends will be safe from the virus.

Do bear in mind I have no patterns for any of his outfits and they really just come out of my wild imagination.

He came with several requests.  The first of which was a gingerbread man outfit.

He then asked for a snowman outfit so out came the white felt. A hat, a bit of ribbon and a couple of buttons and hey presto!

Next was a kilt for him and a couple more for two of his friends.  He rather liked this one.

He then asked me to make a grass skirt for his wife Betty as a surprise for her.  She could really do with a top made out of a couple of shells but I haven't found any as yet.....update...I've found some and now just need to work out how to make a top with them lol.

Finally he asked for a doughnut outfit so of course out came the seeding beads....yes I'm mad but I know it will put a smile on the twins faces.

The other thing I was asked to make was a tiny dog's bed because apparently Bob is bringing his new puppy with him this year too :-)

I hope you have enjoyed your visit and I've left you smiling.  We need smiles more than ever at the moment so why not find a few smiles and join in on Friday when I find smiles to share with you all.

Hugs,

Annie x