WOYWW...

 Hello all.  Hope you've had a good week.  I've been keeping busy here...I find it's that best way when I'm struggling to get through difficult times.

I made another kneeler  from the wadding from a Hello Fresh box...this time it's for my son, Mark.  I hate to see these things thrown out and it makes a fab kneeler.

I made a pretty length of bunting for a friend who is expecting a new Granddaughter any time soon...she chose the fabrics.

I've made lots more Christmas tree decorations and they are being fast chosen by my Grandchildren...I will probably make more to replace them and will then give them to the charity I support.

That's all from me for this week.  I will do my best to pay you a return visit if you leave me a little message.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW....

 Hello all.  Wednesday is the day we join in the fun of checking out all the creative desks of our friends around the world...and all are welcome to join in.  Just pop over to Sarah's blog at Sarah's Craft Shed to check out details and join in the fun.

I've had another busy week here at Sewing by Annie's.  Sally from Harry Johnson's Trust called in on Saturday to collect all the things I'd made for their up and coming craft sales so my desks were emptied...and she really loved all the things I'd made....so I have been working on making more in between my customer's sewing....I never like to sit idle.

I appliqued and machine embroidered covers for 10 shopping list sized books...I love the crazy frogs best.

I made 6 lengths of bunting...10 flags and approximately 2 metre length each.

I've made another school Memory Bear....I love purple and I think the lilac ribbon and buttons are lovely on this one.

I also learnt an important lesson....do not drop your sharp pointy ended scissors off your work surface onto your toe!!!  It really hurt and bled lots.....I will be more careful in the future.

That's me for this week.  I hope you will leave me a little message so I know you've called by and I will pop over to yours as soon as I can.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW....

 I'm keeping very busy here at Sewing by Annie's and that keeps me smiling.

Several asked to see the finished bunting....here it is all folded flat to stop it creasing....all 130 flags :-)

I saw this lovely frog on Pinterest...it's a Makerist pattern designed by Angela Jardine and I just had to buy the pattern.

It was a bit tricky in parts to make up even though it was marked as suitable for beginers [and I don't think I'm one of those :-) ] but I really love the finished result and he's going to be a draw prize for the Harry Johnson Trust.

The charity has it's usual stand at two local, up and coming, shows so I'm making a few items to go on their stand.

These are little note books that I've added covers on the front of....they are hand embellished and then a few beads and embroidery has been added....I'm hoping they sell well.

That's all from me this week.  I hope to share more with you next week.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW....

 What a week that was!!!  I not only cleared all the sewing I shared with you last week but I cleared all that was waiting on my to do rail and had another prom dress to shorten [this time there was 6 layers and one of them was 14 metres long!!] and I had to take it up on a shoulders [and they were heavily beaded so a tricky job!!].   I have also had a bridesmaid's dress that I had to shorten and take in and a pair of trousers that I had to shorten....life here is never boring :-)

 

I also made this little school Memory bear....this is the second one I've made for the end of this school year.  I do expect more orders before the end of term and they will probably arrive at once lol.

In between my sewing jobs I am making lots of bunting flags for the 10th year celebrations for the Harry Johnson Trust.  It's 10years since little Harry died and there will be several celebrations including one in a very large marquee that they want bunting for.....lots of it.  I have already cut out and made over 100 flags so will see how much bunting that makes. :-)

Thanks for calling by.  If you leave me a little message so I know you've called in I will do my best to pop over to yours to see what you've been up to.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW...

 Hi all. I hope you've all had a great week...I have thankfully :-)  I've had a few customers this week but have still managed some quality time sewing for charity.

I've managed to get buy some more cotton tape and finished off making the bunting I was making and it's all bagged up ready to sell [and I've even sold a couple of lengths ].

I then cut out and made 8 reversible bags each having a pocket on the inside and another on the outside.

Next I made 9 little popper purses...each are wadded with bondable fleece and I will probably make a few more in different colourways at some point because I really enjoyed making these.

I have also cut out a batch of glasses cases so they may be my next job....can you tell I'm having fun?

I will be round to visit as many desks as I can to see what you've all been up to this week....hope you're all well and happy.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW....

 Hello all.  I've had a busy week but, until yesterday,  I had virtually no customers so I have been using my time to make bunting.

I now have a table full of jobs waiting for me...

• 2 pair of school trousers needing shortening
• a Burbery cost needing the pocket flaps stitching back down
• a referees badge to sew on his black shirt
• A panel to stitch in the front of a dress and the sleeves need shortening and
• snap poppers to sew onto the front of another dress to raise it at the front

As you can see I will be head down clearing my jobs this morning but I will then be making a start on other makes for the charity I'm sewing for.  I have made patterns in brown paper ready to make a reversable bag, little poppered purses, glasses cases and a couple of ideas I've got for key rings....can you tell I'm having fun being creative?

On my desk at the mo is this little lot...

I think I've made about 24 lengths of bunting...they are each about 2 metres long with 10 flags on each and I've used different combinations of the fabrics for them [there are 2 different fabrics on each]....then I ran out of tape to make them with so have ordered more.

I'm selling each length for £10 to raise funds for The Harry Johnson Trust.

I've photographed several of the combinations and have got permission to put them on my Facebook page....which I will do soon.

As you can see I've been using my time well...thankfully I'm feeling rather better now.

I will pop over to see what you've been up to in between my sewing jobs.  I hope you've all had a good week.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW...

 Happy New Year to you all....I can now say that 2023 is starting rather better than 2022 ended thankfully.  I think that we have both had flu....it has really taken the wind out of our sails but slowly but surely we are both coming out the other side....I have even been in my sewing room!!!

Before Christmas I was given this bag full of cotton fabrics.....I'm always willing to take excess fabrics off people's hands and can always find a use for it.

Since Christmas I have been given a huge box filled with mostly Laura Ashley curtain fabrics .....metres of each one!!

It was Sally, the mum of little Harry Johnson, the little boy who died of cancer at just 7 years old, that gave it to me.  I have told her that I will use it to fill a craft table for her to raise funds for other children with cancer....there is rather a lot of gorgeous fabrics to use.

Sally suggested that bunting sells well so I have already made a start cutting out and sewing bunting flags and have also been searching Pinterest for other iteas of what to make with it all.

The craft table is at a local show in the summer so I have plenty of time to make it all.....its so lovely to be able to dip into a box filled with gorgeous fabrics.

I am starting back to work today and already have several customers wanting to come so filling in a craft table will fill the time I have left.  I will visit as many as I can in between my sewing jobs.

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...

 Hello all.   I'm sorry I didn't make it to join in the fun last week....it was an eventful week as many of you will know from reading my Friday post.  I'm pleased to say things have settled down again now but we are expecting more ups and downs over the next few weeks so I may have to go AWOL again.....as long as our little grandson arrives safe and well we will do all we can to help out.

It's strange but when I have family demands I never have customers and last week was one of those weeks so, when I was able, I spent my time sewing for pleasure...

The cot quilt is now finished.  I tried to do do the panels with applique but soon realised that to make it washable it would all have to be securely sewn in place and it didn't look right so I found some fabric panels to replace them...and am rather pleased with the results.

There were spare panels and fabrics so I have also made a matching cushion for the chair in the baby's nursery and matching bunting too.

I then made 12 little 'favour bags' for the up and coming baby shower party [just hope she makes it til then!].  They are rather cute and will decorate the table well.

I hope you have all had a great week.  If you leave me a little message I will do my best to pay you a return visit asap.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles....week459

 Hello all and a happy Friday to you all.  I'm here to catch up with the smiles from the last week and I'm lucky to say there's been plenty to smile about.

On Wednesday I had Gina here [hense the photo of me!].  She sat crocheting and I sat making bunting in bright colours for Theo's bedroom.

Here's the proof that I finished making it and just how pleased he was when he came home from school to see it....it makes everything worth while doesn't it?

Here's Gina sat in my sewing room crocheting her ripple blanket.  I'm so proud of her progress with her crocheting and just look at that gorgeous baby bump in her lap....I actually felt him kick this week  :-)

I thought you would like to meet our next grandson....it's a 4D scan of him now at 30 weeks. He's about 2lb 14oz now. Modern technology is amazing isn't it?  We have also seen videos of him moving and really feel like we are getting to know him before he arrives.....he's sooooo like his big brother.

The next generation are progressing well on their sewing machines....these are 19 hair scrunchies that Lexi has made for their school performance of Joseph.

And this is a project that Phoebe is working on at school....it's a design of a crisp packet and she has used free machine stitching on the front.

I'm so proud to see my grandchildren sewing.

Finally here's a funny I saw on Facebook....it could have been written about Milly.  Every new toy she gets she shakes it till she 'kills' it and I don't think she has one with a 'living' squeaker in it now lol.

I hope you have enjoyed sharing my smiles and will share yours by linking up at the bottome of the page.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW....

 It's been one of those weeks to really try your patience for me this week....

• I printed off the sentiments chosen by the customer [this is important later] for the fronts of the 9 Memory cushion covers...I have to iron bond-a-web onto the back of fabric and cut it out A4 size for it to go through the printer.
• I cut out the off white hearts and the larger hearts and bond-a-webbed the backs.
• I made up the toppers for the fronts of each of the 9 cushions using machine embroidery.
• I cut out the cushion covers....each one was to have the sleeves accross the front as a hug.

Here are the 9 toppers all made up

I made up the 9 cushion covers and sent their photo to my customer for approval.

I also made her a Memory bear out of the same fabric as the large hearts on the cushion toppers....isn't he gorgeous?

Several days later [and before collection] she messaged me to say her Sister-in-law had noticed a mistake on the sentiment!!   Did you notice it?  None of us had and neither had my customer but of course it had to be right so I had to correct it.

• I had to unpick the machine embroidered stitch all round them, a stitch at a time on all 9, reprint it and replace it.  Of course it's not so easy to do when the cushion covers are all made up and there were times when the air got a little blue but I did it.  I don't always get everything right but lesson learnt now!!

I now have jobs lining up on my desk for today...

• The cot quilt is now all planned and the material to make is is all ready to cut out.
• I have 4 Memory bears to make and each one is to have a personalised label around his neck.
• I have 21 rainbow flags cut out ready to make new bunting for Theo's bedroom.

So that's all from me for this week....please leave me a little message and I will do my best to pop over to yours to see what you've been up to this week.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW....

Hello all.  The weather is still hot hot hot here and the pressure of work is still intense here at Sewing by Annie's.  Everyone seems to be leaving their sewing to the last minute and I'm getting myself know as the lady who will save the day.

On my desk this week are just a few of the jobs I've done since Monday morning and what I have to do [so far] this week....

 

This little Memory bear has initials monogrammed on the pocket on his front to remember a much loved husband and is now winging his way to his new home in Leicestershire....he's just one of my many bears being ordered from another part of the country and each one make me smile to think that I'm conquering another place.

From 6 different shirts I've made these 4 different little bears and then I made the bunting to match....cute or what?

I also had a fitting for this gorgeous prom dress on Monday morning and plan to shorten it at some point today....this customer's own seamstress let her down at the last minute so she brought the dress to me to do before Thursday!!

Monday afternoon I had a wedding dress fitting.  The bride had previously been to me with another dress which I shortened for her but since then she says she has put weight on and wasn't happy with it so had bought another one so I now have to shorten this one last minute before her wedding.....another job for later today!!

Isn't the lacy detail on the bodice just gorgeous?

I also have..

• Jeans to shorten
• work trousers to repair
• 2 pair of shorts to take in
• 2 tops to shorten the sleeves on

....and that's just until the next customer comes through my door!!!

So that's all from me for today.  The fans on and the sewing machine and I will be getting a good work out today.  I will catch up on as many desks as I can in my coffee breaks but if I fail to get round you all please forgive me.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW....

Another week has passed and lots has been going on on my desk this week so here's a quick catch up...

The pretty fabrics you saw on my desk last week were stroked and pondered over and eventually I cut them out into 36 x 6" squares having removed the spotty one as suggested by Catriona last week....she was right that it didn't go with the others.  Here I am mid joining the pieces together.....Coffee cup handy of course.

Here it is wadded, backed, quilted and edges bound...I like to do a row of a pretty machine embroidery to hold the binding in place to finish it off.....I'm sure this will put a smile on the face of the birthday girl I've made it for.

I then moved on to making some bunting to go in a new shop near Doncaster....pretty fabric isn't it?

This is actually my desk this morning....I'm making two bears for a Foster mum so that the bears can be given to the two little ones she has at the mo when they move on to their new adoptive parents....isn't it a lovely idea and I'm sure the bears will hold very happy memories for them.....I do get asked to make some really special bears don't I?

There you go.  Just a quick round up but I hope you've enjoyed your visit.  Please leave me a little message and I will do my best to pop over to yours when I get a spare minute.....I don't always get many of those so if I don't call by then please forgive me....I do my best.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW....

Firstly I want to say just how thrilled I was to hear Julia's op went well and she was discharged from hospital over the weekend....but that means home to rest!! Of course we want you back to normal life Julia [what ever that is] as soon as possible but I'm sure it will take time of rest to allow your body to heal and recover so listen to your body and don't be tempted to do too much too soon.  We will all be rooting for you my friend and sending you lots of healing hugs.

Now onto my desk......

As promised last week....here is a quick snap of the bunting I was making.  It has now arrived with Joshua and his mummy says he loves it....I'm just hoping the bit of Annie's magic I sewed into it will help with the awful treatment he has to have.

Another finished project to share...a little cardigan for my expected grandson when he arrives.

And finally.....last but by no means least.  Here are the gorgeous ATCs I've received for the 7th year anniversary swap.  Aren't they all just gorgeous?  I'm still ooing and awwwing over them but will make a book/folder to put them all in together when the last ones arrive.  Thank you so much to each and every one of you who wanted to swap.....I really to treasure your friendship.

Hugs,

Annie x