This week's smiles....week 389

 Hello all.  You managed very well without me over the last couple of weeks.  I've tried to read your posts but did't manage to leave comments...sorry.

We had a wonderful week away in a lovely bungalow Norfolk [just rather too far to tow the caravan all that way].  The sun shone every day and if anything it was too hot.  We enjoyed exploring the area, had a trip on paddle boat on the Broads and enjoyed many walks with Milly.  We ate out every day, made easy because so many places over there are dog friendly and Milly enjoyed being fussed by everyone we met.  Here's a few photos...

We had Sam and Lexi for the day on Wednesday and they asked to do a bit of sewing.....did I need asking twice?

They set to and chose the fabric they wanted to make a little frog out of and pinned on their patterns.  They cut them out and followed instruction well, using three of my sewing machines to make their frogs....a really special time was had by all and they were so proud of themselves with their finished frogs.

They lead such busy lives now so it was so lovely to be able to have quality time with them both and make special memories.

Wednesday evening our son, Mark, messaged to see if we would like a visitor....and of course we said yes please.

It made us all giggle when he turned up wearing the exact same tshirt as his dad and when he put his glasses on to use his laptop I just had to take a photo :-)

Of course it wouldn't be Friday without a few funnies, and this week I seem to have found lots so hope you have a good giggle at some of these.

I hope you have all had a good week.  I am looking forward to visiting you all this week [and leaving comments!!].

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW....

 What a week it's been here at Sewing by Annie's.....not a spare minute was had :-) but I'm still smiling because I completed the very last bag full of factory trousers....all 40 pairs of them!!!  On top of that I have filled and emptied my 'to do rail' full of customer's sewing....I have no photos of any of that but I do have a few happy photos to share with you....

I finished the pair of patchwork cushions made for charity ...I showed you the fronts last week.

I sent a quilt, a rag doll and other items for a coffee morning to raise money for Breast cancer and in total they raised £1300...it was good to feel I helped.

The latest Harry Johnson trust sale raised £85 with the things Jo and I made....every little helps.

Saturday was another fun day with Phoebe and Lulu.  They asked if we could all make little frogs like the ones I made for Harry Johnson....of course they wanted to make ones to match their bedrooms....frogs do come in all colours you know :-)

We had a really fun afternoon and were joined by their Mummy and Great Aunty Jo for a while....lots of happy memories were made.

Lastly I am sharing my beautiful flowers one of my customers bought me....they were just too pretty not to share they with you.....I hope they make you smile too.

Yesterday was a Theo and Louie fun day and today is another Louie day....so I'm guessing there will be no sewing done.   I will do my best to pop over to yours once I've finished having fun :-)

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW...

 Hi all, it's been another busy week here at Sewing by Annie's and I have lots to share with you.

I've spent more time sewing for The Harry Johnson trust and have made two sets of coasters this time....I may make more if I get the chance.

I made this little bear using a young man's nurses tunic to celebrate him qualifying and ending his training.

I was thrilled to be asked to make these two lovely bears for Lisca. She was pleased with the last two I made her and I really love it when I get repeat orders.

I enjoyed an afternoon with Phoebe and Lulu on Saturday.  They really love being creative and this time they delved into my felt stash and made themselves little 3D felt cacti....such a lot of fun was had by all.

I hope you have enjoyed your visit.  If you leave me a little message to let me know you've called in I will do my best to pay you a return visit.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW...

 What a different week I've had since last Wednesday....did I foolishly mention how quiet I'd been?

I made a set of heart key rings.....and have already sold several key rings.

A set of pretty little pin cushions.  I was really enjoying creative sewing but then.....

I've had another bin bag filled with factory trousers needing new zips and thanks to my assistants we have now removed all the old zips, put them back in the bin bag and stashed them away in the spare room to allow space for...

My first Memory bears of 2023....they were made for a 32 year old man in memory of his young wife who died far too soon...the red check was the dress she wore when he proposed to her so holds very special memories for him and I hope they will bring him lots of comfort.....I get to know so many lovely people in my job.

I have also .....

• had a wedding dress fitting and made a start at the complicated work I have to do to make it perfect for her.
• 3 pair of jeans to shorten
• a concealed zip to restitch in a lined skirt
• a lined skirt to shorten and
• a skirt to take in for Phoebe

Saturday afternoon saw me enjoying an afternoon of sewing with Phoebe and Lulu.....they love to learn new techniques and can confidently use any of my sewing machines now.  They really loved using the machine embroidery stitches to edge their key rings and were both really proud of their finished items....as was I :-)

So, as you can see it's been a busy busy busy week for me....and it's not stopped yet as I still have all the zips to put in the factory trousers, the major work to do on ther wedding dress and have a steady flow of customers booked in for the rest of my week.....so I may be a tad busy today 😂😂😂😂

I'm sure there will be times when I need a coffee break so will do my best to visit a few blogs then but please be patient with me.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW.....

 It's only a quick post from me today because there's nothing on my desk at all.....I've been taken down by a winter bug and haven't been in my sewing room once.....it fact I had to close earlier than planned because I felt so rough.  I'm really hoping to recover before I start back to work!!!

I can share this photo with you....

We had Phoebe, Lulu and Stephen here before Christmas and we enjoyed a couple of hours of crafty time. I had put everything ready for them to make little fabric trees the same I helped the twins to make and here they are proudly holding the trees they made.

I hope your have all enjoyed the festive break and the next time we meet to share our desks it will be 2023.

WOYWW....

 

To those that haven't recieved Christmas cards from me that normally do I'd like to say Happy Christmas to you all....the post seems to have lost a few....annoying but there's little I can do about it.

I have a few things to share with you...

I've made another School Memory bear...and the best bit is this was the secondary school I went to....the uniform was bottle green back then [including bottle green fleecy knickers!!]. 7 years in those gives you a clue why I dont like green :-)

I've also made two Memory Dogs in memory of a much loved 8 year old black labrador [hence the black ribbons around their necks].  The ears and tails are made out of parts of the dog's favourite toys....quite unique but just how my customer wanted them and we are hoping they bring comfort to the lady's autistic son.

My best friend who I have known for over 60 years [we started school together], has just had her first tiny Grandson....tiny because he was born at 32 weeks weighing just 2lb 4 ozs. I rooted out the prem baby knitting patterns I used when the twins were born and knitted a tiny cardigan.

I then made him a patchwork quilt....I love how it turned out and hope they will too....the little man is doing well so far and hopefully he will continue to do so.

I had a very special crafty time with the twins on Saturday.  We made these lovely Christmas trees....they were very proud of their finished results.

I have more cut out ready for Phoebe, Lulu and Stephen to make later in the week...I love having creative time with my  grandchildren....and it pays off because Phoebe and Lulu made their Christmas cards this year.

I hope you have enjoyed your visit this week and you all have a wonderful Christmas.  I will do my best to visit all who call in here when I get a minute.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW...

Hello all and a happy Wednesday to you all.  We had our latest Covid booster on Saturday morning...the new Moderna one and my arm was so sore that Saturday night I struggled to sleep and Sunday night and Monday I ran high temperatures because of it.  I have previously had Pfizer with no side effects.  Let's hope it does it's job eh?

Since we were here last Wednesday I've made....

3 lovely Memory bears and two little memory hearts in memory of a much loved Grandma.

These were for a customer I've known for many years and I would say has become a friend now so it made making them even more special.

I love my job because I must be one of the only sewing ladies in Shrewsbury that gets hugs and kisses from her customers...and I've made so many friends because of my job.

This is my desk today.  I've managed to find a few more Advent Calendar fabric panels so Monday I did the pressing, folding and sewing of all the pockets so now I just have to do the wadding, backing etc to get them finished.....they have been so popular and even if they don't sell I can save them until next year.

The other desk I'm sharing with you today is this one.  You may remember a few weeks back I had an afternoon with Phoebe and Lulu teaching them how to make bunting and this is what they got up to at the weekend.

Their Mummy bought them some halloween fat quarters and some tape and they set to to make their own bunting.

Oh how it makes my heart sing to see them 'flying' alone...and choosing to do it too.....I'm such a proud Nanny Annie.

That's it from me for this week.  I will do my best to pop over to as many desks as I can in between my sewing jobs.  I hope you all have a great week.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW...

 It's been one of those weeks for me.  

At the end of last week this lot arrived...

Yes it's yet more factory trousers needing more zips and thanks to my wonderful hubby we managed to remove all the zips on Friday while I also got on top of lots of other sewing jobs.

There was yet more of them stacked on the other side of my sewing room....it was a huge bin bag full!!

By the end of Friday all the factory sewing was tucked away back in the bin bag ready to sew on Monday morning and three of my sewing machines were all set up ready for a fun class on Saturday.

On my cutting table I had ironed all my Christmas fabrics and put them ready too....can you guess who was coming and what we were going to make?

Yes it was Lulu and...

....Phoebe.  They are both able to use any of my machines now and are really keen to learn....bliss.

We chatted and giggled all afternoon.  By the end of the afternoon they had each made 11 bunting flags and we had put them all together.....

....and made a lovely long line of Christmas bunting for them to take home to their Mummy who is desperate to start decorating their house.

They are such lovely girls and even gave me a lovely smile each to show off their train tracks that they both have at the mo.

That was the up side of my week.  Sadly this is the downside.  On Friday night I started off with toothache and by Sunday I was in agony...paracetamol and Nurofen wouldnt touch it... so I had to go to an emergency dentist who thought I had an abscess and gave me antibiotics with instructions to see my own dentist on Monday. By Monday morning my face was swollen and when I went to see my dentist on Monday afternoon he confirmed the offending tooth and drilled it out and filled in then lanced the abscess for me...not an experience I ever want to repeat....boy was it painful!!  I now have 2 different courses of antibiotics and have to go back to my dentist on Thursday to see what will happen next....please keep everything crossed for me.

On top of all that of course I have a business to run and lots planned in readiness for the crop on Saturday....wish me luck folks.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW...

 Here we are at our weekly catch up with our creative friends from all round the world....have I mentioned that it's my favourite day of the week?

I'm not sure my feet have touched the ground since we were here last week and last week ended on a high...

I was asked to make a Memory elephant in memory of a life long school friend.  The clothes that came for me to make it from lended themselves to a really special elephant.  The lady it was in memory of loved her costume jewellery and the centre of one of her neclaces fit across the front to perfection.....I think this has to be up there with my favourites.

I've even managed to find a little time to make the 9 squares for my next Fidgety quilt....just got to find time to make them up into a quilt now :-)

Phoebe and Lulu have spent some time sewing this week.

Lulu made herself a Minion pincushion.

Phoebe made herself a new hair scrunchie.

I get such a thrill knowing they choose to spend time using their sewing machine and creating.

That's all from me for today.  I will do my best to pop over to all I can.  I hope you're all well and finding time to be happy creating something special.

Hugs,

Annie x

this week's smiles....week 485

 What an amazing week it's been here at Sewing by Annie's.  I have been head down sewing since we got back from our weekend away and have had more sewing in a week than I had in the whole month previous to that.....I love to be kept busy but, the last time I looked, there is still only 24 hours in a day and even I have have my limits.

Our little Milly has had her hair cut since we got back and she has enjoyed imitating a lizard soaking up the sun this week....it doesn't last long though because it's very hot again here and she soon finds somewhere cool to lie.

Amy sent me this photo of the girls this week.  They were shopping for fabrics in Hobbycraft and the thought of them choosing their own fabrics for their next sewing project just makes my heart sing.

Theo is away for a few days on a campsite with his little brother, mummy and his other Grandparents this week and he's learnt to ride his bike while he's been there...of course he had to send us a vidoe of it in action [we love sharing all their achievements].

Daphne puppy has learnt a new trick too this week....she can dig!!  I hope she quickly unlearns that for them but she does look rather cute lying with soil on her nose.

Our garden is so hot and dry at the mo...we are saving every drop of water we can to give our plants a drink but many of the flowers have suffered.

The sweetpeas keep coming and I am loving all the colours of them this year....only in the garden though as they are too strong in scent for me to have them in the house.

Of course it wouldn't be Friday smiles without a few funnies.  I hope at least some of them make you chuckle.

Please share your own smiles by linking up to them at the bottom of the page.  Everyone is welcome and it's so lovely to see new faces joining in the fun.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles.....week 475

 Happy Friday all. I really hope you're all enjoying the Jubilee weekend. I have a few smiles to share with you today...

I am really loving watching the independant love of sewing developing with Phoebe and Lulu.  They have both found a favourite T-shirt, that they had grown out of, and made themselves cushions to go in their bedrooms....I wonder who they take after?

This is the first of our strawberries starting to ripen...and this always makes me smile.

Our garden just keeps on giving...I love the gorgeous colours in every corner at the mo...and just know you will enjoy sharing them with us.

I have lots of funnies to share with you today...hope they make you smile.

I hope you all have a wonderful week filled with smiles and you will link up to yours below.

Hugs,

Annie x