WOYWW...

Here we are at our Wednesday catch up with our blogging friends around the world.... it's my favourite day of the week.

I'm pleased to report that my Mojo has returned from his holiday ...he's well rested but isn't feeling much like work as yet.  I certainly didn't waste my time while he was on holiday.  I used it wisely and...

• Got the records up to date of my sales on my Memory bears....I've now made 190 in total so far.....and more in the making :-)
• I got my business records up to date....I'd not done them since last April so they had been badly neglected....I have now had 303 customers to my door since we moved house and many of those have been many times so business is good  :-)
• I wrote several posts for my Sewing by Annie Facebook page and now have 873 Followers on there....if anyone is wanting memory bears making don't forget to check out the January special offer that's pinned at the top of the page   :-)
• Theo has outgrown the travel cot he sleeps in here during the day so we have set him up with a little day bed but couldn't get fitted sheets for it so we bought a single flat sheet and I made a fitted one out of it....as you do :-)

So, what pics have I got to share with you this week?

 

 

I've been at it again...Phoebe and Lulu save up their Brownie badges for me and I've just stitched another 21 on between them....I'm such a proud Nanny at their achievements.

On my desk today is my next order for 3 Memory bears cut out ready to sew....so that's what I will be busy with today.

That's all from me for today.  Please leave me a little hello message to let me know you've called in and I will do my best to pay you a return visit ASAP.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW....

Well here we are at another Wednesday catch up with our creative blogging friends around the world and I'm late again posting!.....I will be put to stand in the naughty corner to have a think if I keep doing this. :-)  In truth there is just rather a lot going on here at Sewing by Annie's so I'm pretty sure the boss will let me off.

So in my desk today is...

Hmmmm now this isn't one of my favourite jobs and it's one I have been putting off since April when my Tax form arrived so this week I have bit the bullet and have now got all my books up to date and can now send off my Tax return....wahooooo.  I was terribly behind with it all and it really didn't help when I lost half of what I'd typed onto my spread sheet when I did a copy and paste!!!  Yep I must admit I said a rude word.

Just so you don't think this is all I've been doing this week here's a pic of my sewing rail....I've done everything from waterproof jackets to posh frocks.  No two days are the same and now I've caught up with my book keeping I can now say that I've had my 100th customer at the new bungalow [some have already come back many times too].

Well girls I do hope to that by next week I will have something more creative to share with you but until then I will wish you all a fun week and say thanks for calling by.  If you leave me a little message to let me know you've called by I will call over at yours ASAP.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW.......

Happy Wednesday to you all.  I've been a busy bee since we had our last snooping day.  We spent the weekend finishing off the new front garden by planting lots of plants I took from cuttings from our old house.  They are fairly small plants as yet but they will grow, cost us nothing and how lovely to have brought some of our family home to our new little bungalow.  

This didn't leave a lot of time for crafting/sewing over the weekend and as Mondays I take and fetch the twinnie munchkins from pre-school and then have them all day on Tuesdays and Wednesdays it will be Thursday before I get much done but I do have a progression to show you on what I'm busy with on my work desk.  

Do you remember the cord, wooden beads and chop sticks from last week?.....

Well, some of the beads have been paired up and strung together on some of the cord.

Some more of the beads have been linked using more cord and attached to crosses made from the chop sticks.

Do you know what it is going to be yet?

One set has progressed rather further and looking  more like I'm getting there....I bet these will give you a better idea what I'm making.....if you haven't guessed already then by next week things will hopefully be more recognisable but I will keep you waiting til then.

The other good news I'm sharing today is that another of my customers from our old house has now found me with sewing and I have yet another coming tomorrow too.....it's coming slowly but business will pick up in the New Year when I hope to get an advert in a local church magazine that reaches 3500 houses!! :-)

So that's it from me for this week.  Please leave me a comment with your Linky number and I will pop over to pay you a return visit as soon as I'm able.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW...

I could say in answer to what's on my work desk for this week...pretty much the same as last week.....but with a few changes.  :-)

I have a to do rail full of shirts to take in for my 1285th customer!  The numbers keep climbing and I have a feeling if we ever get to this new bungalow they may well climb further as it is opposite a school  so lots of potential new customers :-) ....but I've still no more news to share on the house moving date.

The same pile of knitted squares as last but, wow, look how it's grown...it's now twice Mitzy monkey's height!

There is definitely girl colours and boy colours too so they may well be made into two blankets  :-)

The same little knitted hoodie but I have now completed a back, two cable knit fronts and am now knitting both sleeves....yes I like to knit them both together  :-)

So there you go...a very similar desk but progress has been made.  I had the twins Monday, Tuesday and they are here again to play today so I will try to catch up on you if and when they have naps later.  Have a great week.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW....

I noticed the boss has posted early this week while enjoying her holiday in Spain so if it's ok for her I thought I'd join in the fun early too  :-)

As most of you will know I had 3 twinnie munchkins days last week so that just left me Thursday and Friday to play catch up with all my sewing jobs.  Life here is never boring :-)  I now have 1263 customers on my books and I still get one or two new ones each week so I'm kept pretty busy  :-)

It was a party day on Sunday to celebrate our youngest grandson Stephen's second birthday so on Saturday [yes, I know I leave everything to the last minute! ....something about a cobbler's wife going barefoot comes to mind :-) ] I looked in my wardrobe for something to wear.  Now girls when you've lost 2 1/2 stone in weight you can imagine just how much better I am feeling but when you check out last winter's clothing you can also imagine that my clothes just don't fit any more!!  Some I can take in of course but I thought I'd share a pic of one I tried on to give you a giggle today....

I bought this top for last Christmas and yes it was a loose fitting top but not quite that loose!!! In fact both my hubby and I can now get in it [he's lost over a stone too].

So? What does a girl do when her clothes no longer fit?

Answer.....Of course she spends all Saturday afternoon making herself a new top that does fit.  :-)

Do you recognise the material Jo [zart]?  It was the piece I bought in Abakhan on the day we came to see you.....and I love the results.  :-)

And the family we saw on Sunday at the party were family that we hadn't seen since I started to lose weight so I had lots of really lovely positive comments while I was wearing it.  :-)

Makes you feel great doesn't it?

I have also made my first two 12 1/2" x 12 1/2" patchwork squares to raise money for the Children in Need appeal.....if any of you can make patchwork squares and are willing to help us raise some money than please check out the details on this earlier post.

I am very happy to collect the squares here and will pass them on to my friend Jacquie to be made up into children's quilts to be auctioned to raise further funds so please contact me for details if you need them....wipso@toucansurf.com

The last pic I'm sharing today is one of my little munchkins examining some of Nanny Annie's buttons.  I think the love of buttons is in their genes cos they spent ages carefully looking at each one....I have such happy memories of doing just the same with my Mum's buttons as a child.

:-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) 

Thank you for calling by today.  I hope you have enjoyed your visit....I think I visited everyone who visited me last week but I couldn't leave comments on them all for some reason so sorry for that.  I will do my best to do better this week but alas these computers and blogger sometimes have a mind of their own.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW

Hello all.  We have had a strange thing up in the sky here for a day or two...it's big, yellow and very bright....if anyone has any idea what it is please send answers on a postcard  :-) :-)

Doesn't it make you feel better when it's warmer and not raining?  I'm sorry to say it wasn't like this on Saturday morning while we had our sale....It was very cold and very damp so we put chairs in the front of our garage so folk could enjoy their coffee in there  :-)  It was lovely to see a lot of old friends but alas many were missing due to becoming too old and frail and suffering ill health. Old age rarely comes alone I'm sorry to say.

I've had another busy week with lots of customers and for those wondering I am now up to 1170...I actually had 6 more new customers last week!  The business is really booming even though I put my prices up a little from the beginning of April this year...the first increase in 3 years!  I like to check with other businesses in the area before putting up my prices and for 5 jobs that I do regularly that I had been charging £55 for they were charging £103 in Shrewsbury.....I guess that's why I have lots of customers eh?

So? What is on my desk this week?

The simple answer is....... lots......... but not a lot I can share with you just yet  :-)

.....But I will say my little box of ATCs is filling....Jo and I had a creative Funday Monday making a few more for the 3rd Birthday celebrations next week.  I would love to, not only send one to my pay it forward WOYWWer, but am happy to, do a swap with any of the wonderful friends I have made during the last three years so please email me with your details if you fancy swapping with me. 

 I've finished two of the little dolls for the twins....and they love them  :-)

I'm still only able to knit for short spells before my hands ache but I've managed to finish Lexi's latest cardigan.   :-)
I do love Crofter baby wool.

That's all I can share with you today so please leave me a little 'hello' message before you pop over to Julia's to join in the WOYWW fun and I will do my best to pay you a return visit. Don't forget to email me with your address if you fancy swapping ATCs next week for our birthday celebrations [in addition to the pass it forward one of course].  I feel so very blessed to have made so many wonderful friends in the last 3 years so it would be really fab if some of you would like to swap with me.

WOYWW....

Good morning to one and all.

Another week and another Wednesday and lots more creative spaces exposed for the world to snoop round so do pop over to Julia's when you've left me a little comment and join in the fun.

Last week was manic here and thankfully this week is a little more organised but it does include.....wait for it.....curtains for me [and you all know what I think of curtains don't you!]......my arms ache and Jo and I have had to work as a team [be it a very good one] to do these cos they are double width with a large repeat of pattern to match so 2 pair of arms have been needed at times.

I managed to clear the sewing mountain last week with a 'head down and keep sewing' few days but as one lot gets cleared the next lot arrives and every week I have many new customers finding their way to my door.....I'm now up to 1151 customers!  You really wouldn't think I would have so many customers living in such a rural village but I guess not many people can sew these days.....I even get asked to sew buttons on!

So here are a couple of snaps of my room for you this week...

Said curtains overflowing my ironing board.

I thought some of you might like to see where I work.  Here you can see my overlocker on the right, my industrial machine in the middle and my computerised machine on the left.  I love sitting here to sew because this is a south facing window so it gets all the sunshine through the day and I can see all the comings and goings when I'm not head down sewing.

This is a swing to the left picture of my work station in the arch of the old fireplace.  As you can see it does become a bit of a dumping ground at the back and underneath but this is my blind hemmer on the top [that's the machine that puts that magic stitch in hems that little boys sit pulling a loose thread in school assembly and undo their hems!....happy memories eh?].  Under wraps on the floor is my dumfing machine [note to self...need to find some free time to have a play!].

This is what you get when you let your 'much older' sister loose on your cutting out scissors  :-)

She was only cutting the curtains for me at the end of the day! 

....I can't imagine why they make scissors with a plastic hinge screw but they are going back to where I bought them from.

These are two gorgeous little cover ups for the twins that Jo made for me on Funday Monday so, of course, she is forgiven for breaking my scissors  :-)

Aren't they pretty?

Well folks, that's it from me for today.  I shall be head down making curtains today....groannnnnnnn

I really do hope you all have something fun and creative to fill your day and hopefully the curtains will be soon done and I can move on to more fun things too.  :-)

Thanks for dropping in on me and leaving me such lovely comments.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW....

Wahooo. It's been another productive week for me.  

My customers keep coming and, as always I've had lots of new folk coming to my door for sewing bringing my customer count up to 1131 this week.  So many new 'friends'..... if only I had a good memory for names!  My 'to do' rail has filled and emptied several times since I spoke to you last week but I won't bore you with those pics  :-)

My crafting table has also filled and emptied a few times too so that's what I'm gonna share with you today in my 'show and tell'.

I had a very special visitor who called after having had an accident....I think he fell off his sleigh on one of his practise runs.  As you can see he had bumped his head so had called in at Sewing by Annie's to be fitted with a protective hat [think someone told him I used to be a nurse].

 

I measured him up and set to and knitted him a nice warm hat ready for Christmas eve. 

I then did more snipping, turning, stuffing and stitching up of the second collection of little stuffies for the second ABC bag that Jo[zarty] bought for one of the new babies here.....Yes much coffee was drank too  :-)  As I like to say 'Patience is a virtue, possess it if you can, often found in women but never in a man'...and thankfully it's one I have plenty of.

My next job was to make the two ABC bags with all their pockets to hold all the little stuffies.  So  I filled my table and ironing board with all the ingredients to make them.  There was interfacing, stuffing, 4 zips and wadding and with a lot of deciphering of the instructions [I wouldn't suggest you attempt making one of these without lots of sewing experience] I got to work.  It took me a whole weekend of crafting time but I have to say I am truly thrilled with the results.

Here is the front and back of the one completed bag and.....

.....here you can see that when the 2 zips each side are opened out fully it will hang up to show all the little pockets holding the stuffies.

I'm sure you will agree with me that it was well worth all the hard work and that I have some of the luckiest little Grandies in the world....they are gonna get lots of fun out of these [and so with the grown ups too  :-) ].....and yes I have now completed both bags  :-)

Thanks so much Jo.

 Now folks it's time to leave me a little 'hello comment' and then I will let you pop over to Julia our 'Queen of snoop's blog' to join in the wonderful WOYWW fun.

Thanks for calling in.  Have a great week.

Hugs,

Annie x

Friday's effort.....

I had a good day of sorting out and finishing off all my customer's sewing first thing yesterday morning....I even got all my books up to date and, wow!  I now have 1107 customers on my books.  They keep on coming and when they go away they tell their friends to come too  :-)  Business is booming as they say and I'm loving every minute of it.

I even had time to make a few more little dresses for the little African girls.  

Here are numbers 57, 58 and 59.....

Number 57 is made from the pretty sheet Di sent us.  Hasn't it made up into a pretty little dress?  I've added a little pocket trimmed up with an appliqued flower.

Number 58 is made using some of the pretty material one of my customers gave me.  Ive added a little pocket trimmed up with a pretty little flower and button.

Number 59 is made using some of the pretty sheet Penny sent me from France.  I've added a little pocket with appliqued flowers on the front.

As you can see we have such pretty fabrics to work with and I really think both Twiglet and I could now make these little dresses in our sleep  :-)

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

WOYWW...

Happy Wednesday everyone.  

Firstly today I have to say Happy Anniversary to Twiglet and her hubby.  They have been married 37 years today. Hoping you both have a really special day.

As ever, following our Funday Monday comes a need to catch up on Tuesday at sewing by Annie's and this week has been no different.  My rail was full before Twiglet arrived this week and not a lot of work was done during the rest of the day.  We had a visit from M and spent the day chatting, giggling and enjoying our day together. [ just what the Dr ordered  :-)  ]

This was my 'to do' rail yesterday morning [2 of my customers brought 10 items between them!] but thankfully I cleared most of that yesterday.  I am now up to 1070 customers so, as you can imagine, business is booming.

 This is the latest little knittie I have now finished.  I think the little smiley face buttons just make this little cardi [click on pic to enlarge if you want a closer look]....

 .....and I am now knitting with the gorgeous wool Jo from Jozarty brought me back from Germany.  I love how the colours are appearing as I knit.  This one started off with casting on 193 stitches and will take a while to complete  but I am really enjoying using this wool so thank you Jo.  :-)

Well, thats about it from me today.  I will do my best to get round as many of you as possible but if I fail to get to you then thank you for visiting me and for your lovely comments.  Hoping you have a really great week.

I hope you will all pop over to Julia's now and join in the WOYWW fun.

All in a day :-)

As you saw yesterday I planned to tackle making my next order for a Mr Tumble doll.  

As they say..."all the best made plans...."

This is as far as he has got.  The basic doll is made but as yet he has no face, hair or shoes.  I managed to sew stripes on his trouser fabric, make up his trousers and make his top and bow tie.  But thats it!

What kept me? I hear you say.  Well, it was this lot coming through my door!  I had a steady flow of customers [one of which sat herself down for a 3/4 hour chat....not a problem though cos she needed my time more than I did].  I had yet another 2 more new customers amongst all that arrived and between them they managed to fill my 'to do' rail!  I now have 1058 customers!  Of course while I'm doing fittings I'm not sewing and Mr Tumble will now have to wait a day or two to be completed cos I have deadlines to keep with a lot of this other sewing.

We finished off the day with a visit to the cinema to see The King's speech.  If you haven't been yet then make it a must.  It's a brilliant film and well worth seeing.

WOYWW...

Well my blogging friends another week has passed and Wednesday has come around again.  It's been one of my normally busy weeks with my sewing business [ I now have 1050 customers!] but if you check out the previous post you will see I have also managed to find time to dumf my new poppy picture.  Neither Twiglet or I have felt very creative over the last couple of months but I feel we have how rekindled our love for our embellishing machines having sat one each side the table playing on our machines for our Funday Monday this week.

Of course a day of creative fun on Monday means I have to have a catch up Tuesday and of course while I am trying to clear my 'to do' rail the work keeps flooding in.  This is what my rail looks like this morning so it looks like I have more catching up to do today too.  The puffer jacket is loosing it's feathers having been used as a sharpening tool for a cat's claws!  I have to do my best to sew up the offending holes to reclaim the  jacket [over £100 worth and new so I think the cat should be made to pay  :-)  ]. I have another of these puffer jackets coming in later today too and that one needs a new zip so I'm  imaging yet more flying feathers!

I have nothing really exciting and creative to show you today but having now recaught the dumfing bug again there will be more to show you soon.  Thank you for dropping in to see me and leaving such lovely comments.

If you haven't already checked out the sale bargains in our blog shop then it's worth popping over to check them out.  The sale will only be running until the end of the month so don't forget to grab a bargain or two  while the sale is on  :-)

Now folks it's time to check out the rest of the wonderful crafting spaces that you will find linked together over at our wonderful leader, Julia's blog.  I look forward to checking out as many as time allows to see what you have all been up to this week.

WOYWW....

Hello my blogging friends.  I have been away for a few days well earned rest and to celebrate my Birthday but am back today.  We had a lovely few days in a cottage near Skipton with some very special Dutch friends.  We met them on a campsite in France in 2000 and vowed to meet up at least once every year.  Good friends should be treasured and although we have only a short time with them each year it's like we have never been apart and share lots of fun and laughter together....just what the Dr ordered  :-)

So for whats on my work desk this morning ....

.....I only have one item on my 'to do' rail so far.  It's a skiing jacket that needs a new open-ended zip.  It has lots of top stitching to unpick before I can replace the zip so it will take me a while.  I have now got 1034 customers so doubt my rail will stay so empty for long  :-)

.....I have just got my Christmas materials out for some inspiration as to what I am going to do for my Christmas cards this year.  I have such a lot of lovely materials but so far I'm not feeling very inspired....any ideas girls?

That's all from me today girls so if you want to pop over to Julia's blog you can have a snoop at lots of other crafter's desks and catch up with what they have been up to this week.

WOYWW....

Another week has passed and here we are again exposing our crafting spaces to the world. Thanks to Julia a weekly snoop at other desks/spaces has become an essential part of my week. What a fab group of bloggers I visit every week too. The crafts are varied and even though I'm not much of a paper crafter I really do appreciate the wonderful cards you girls make and am in awe of the amazing equipment some of you have and use regularly to such great effect. I get excited each week when I see a sewing machine out or fabrics in use and even more excited at the huge number of you that regularly visit my blog and leave me such lovely comments. It really makes my week and for that I would like to thank you all.




This week I can show you the gorgeous wedding dress I steamed last week. This one was a fairly simple/classic design but looked really lovely on it's wearer :-)








On my to do rail is a jacket that needs a new zip....nothing new there I hear you say....but this one was left for me to do by my latest new customer [number 1012!!] who has come from the United Arab Emirates!! Wahoooooo I'm conquering the world slowly girls :-) You can fly in from anywhere now just to bring me your sewing :-)









Right girls I'm keeping it short this week. Please pop over to Julia's blog and link your blog on Mr Linky to join in the WOYWW fun. Be warned though cos it's really addictive.

Just as a little extra....I was asked for the recipe I use for beetroot chutney. If you like beetroot it's well worth a go cos the result is really yummy.

Ingredients:

• 3 Ibs beetroot
• 1 large onion
  
• 1 large cooking apple
• 12ozs sugar
• Level tspn salt
• 1 pint pickling vinegar

The amounts of vegetables aren't crucial really and I often add more onion, apples or even courgettes to the mixture.

Method:

1. Cook beetroot, peel and dice into small pieces
2. Peel and dice onions
3. Peel and dice apple
4. Put into large pan and add sugar, salt and vinegar.
5. Bring to the boil and simmer until ingredients are soft.
6. Fill jars and label.

Tasty on meat sandwiches or added to salads.

WOYWW....

These Wednesdays seem to come round quicker each week....or is it I am just sooooooooooo busy at the mo?
It's been another manic week with yet more wedding dresses to alter. I am steaming a Wedding dress today so it will be windows and doors open to allow a breeze through and stop me melting.

I aim to have at least 20 minutes of creative crafting every day even on my busiest days but at the mo my mojo has well and truly gone walk abouts so I have been knitting or crocheting because I can do that on automatic.

Here is a little baby blanket I am working on this week. It's using really lovely rainbow coloured wool and I have used a pattern Suz taught me when she called in for coffee last Friday. Suz is a blogging friend that I have left comments for over many months but only this last week we have realised we only live about 10 miles apart!....isn't blogging wonderful? She is a really talented lady who creates some amazing crocheted items and has been very willing to share her ideas......do pop over to her blog to check it out cos it's well worth a visit.

So? what's on my desk today?.....nothing! I have cleared my little 'to do' rail of all other sewing jobs and just have a Wedding dress to steam this morning and another wedding dress to finish the alterations on [but that will take me the rest of the day!] .
So......

.....here's what was on my desk last night. The football season has started again so it's fun time for Twiglet and I. You can just see Twiglet's hands in the bottom left hand corner busy creating and yes girls, those are two glasses in the middle of the table cos we are still celebrating [ my customer numbers are already up to 1005!! ].
I sat dumfing a new feltie and...



....here is a sneak at what I'm making. Can you guess what it is yet? She isn't quite finished yet but already has a ballet dress and tiara this morning :-) Watch this space as they say.




Now girls pop over to Julia's blog to find out more about WOYWW and please join in the fun. I believe we hit an all time record last week of folk joining in the fun. But be warned....it is addictive :-)

A Date to remember.....

20th July 2010 at 15.30 hours

I know there are lots of my wonderful blogging friends who are waiting for my news.

I have just had my 1000th customer!