This week's smiles...week 530

 We are here again at Friday's round up of the things that have made us smile.  I'm sure that sharing smiles makes the world a better place so feel free to share your smiles by linking up at the bottom of the page.  I have had lots to smile about so will share a few pics with you...

Last Friday was Louie's first day at nursery school and the pics on the right are the things his daddy was given as he dropped him off...what a lovely thing to do eh?...if you click on the pic you should be able to enlarge it so you can read the poem.

I should say Louie had a lovely day.

We have had two lovely days looking after the boys again this week although both have nasty coughs.

I love these photos.  Louie loves to copy Theo and is growing up so quickly.

I'm sure you will wonder what this photo is of and why it makes me smile...This is the LAST bin sack full of factory trousers that I will be replacing the zips in [and that def made me smile] .  After a day of looking after Louie on Wednesday my darling hubby helped me take all 40 old zips out ready to put the new ones in....we finished just in time to go to bed :-)

Of course I had to find some funnies to share with you...I hope something here makes you smile.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles.....week 519

 Firstly I must say sorry that I didn't manage to get around the blogs last week.....we were away on an adventure down in south Devon in our caravan and the internet at the campsite was poor.  We had a wonderful few days but I was very missed so have come home to a lot of work.

Here are a few snaps we took while away.  We visited Dartmouth, Plymouth, Salcombe to name but a few.  The sun shone all weekend and our batteries were well charged.

We saw some amazing sunsets from sitting out near the caravan and I managed to snap these pics of the sun getting lower in the sky.

As we arrived home and before we put the caravan back on the drive I took a few pics of the bees enjoying the lavender on the front garden.

I snapped these pics of the huge piles of factory trousers that my darling hubby and I had taken all the old zips out of one evening....I took these pics not really because they make me smile but because I wont be doing many more batches of these because.......

.....this arrived this week...it is now official ....I will be able to get my pension on 23rd October 2023.....and that definately made me smile.

I don't plan to stop sewing but I will be stopping doing the factory trousers....and my sore aching hands from doing this latest batch reminds me why.

Our back garden continues to make us smile.....everywhere you look there is something to make you smile.

Of course I have to end with a few funnies....I hope you leave here smiling and will link up at the bottom to share your own smiles of the week.

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...

Happy Wednesday to you all.  It's been another busy week here st Sewing by Annie's but I'm pleased to say I have had the work cos it's had to pay for my new glasses [ over £330!!!].  

 I had another huge bin bag full of factory trousers needing repairs and new zips....all done now thankfully.  I ended up with blisters!!!

I've made more Memory bears...these ones are in memory of a much loved Mum and are for a returning customer...always my favourite to make.

These Memory bears were made in memory of a special man who had been in the Welsh Guards from his blazer and ties...smart bears or what?

The lady who said she was coming Friday wanting 7 Memory bears making didn't turn up and hasn't replied to my messages...very annoying and I would say rude!!

When Theo was born I made a first Christmas star to hang on their tree and, when I found the material I had made it from this week, I just had to make one for little Louie :-)

My other desk this week is the one in front of me while the football has been on...I'm knitting a pair of mittens and a matching pair of knitted Ugg boots for Louie :-)

Knitting and me don't really go together any more because of the arthritis in my hands but I can manage short burts of knitting and these wont take me long.

I hope you have enjoyed your visit this week.  If you leave me a little message so I know  you've called by I will do my best to pay you a return visit.  Have a great week all.

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...

 Hello all.  I started off last Wednesday with the best of intentions to visit you all but it all went downhill from there lol.  I knew it was going to be a busy week but I had no idea just how busy it was going to be.  I started off with....

...a room filled with factory trousers.  There was 32 pairs needing new zips and one pair needing a patch and darn.

For those wondering why I get so many pairs on a regular basis...they are for workers in a food factory and they have to go through an industrial wash with bleach to clean them so I guess that's why they don't last so long.

My assistant helped with taking the zips out....he's a gem and we make a great team.

All the trousers now have their new zips....thankfully!

If that was all I had to do I would have managed my blog vistiting but since last Wednesday I have...

1.   Made this Memory bear

...He's made in Memory of a much loved Grandad using his pyjamas and pillow case and caused many tears for his family members.

2. Sewed 5 buttons on for one of my customers who's sight is failing them.

3. Made these 2 Memery bears with their personalised labels.

Made in Memory of a Mum/Grandma using her fluffy dressing gown and they are such cosy little bears.

4.Shortened 4 pair of gents trousers.

5. Shortened 2 nurses dresses.

6. Put snap fasteners on a blouse.

7 Made this Memory bear...

This one is for the customer I made three others for a few weeks back.  The others were loved so much that another family member wanted one.....just the sort of order I love.

As you can see it's been a crazily busy week and to be honest I think I've done more work in the last 4 days than I've had over the last 4 weeks....that will teach me for taking a long weekend off wont it?

I have a feeling this week will be no quieter because I already have...

• 2 lady's tops to shorten
• 2 dresses to shorten
• 3 pair of trousers to shorten
• a dress to take in and
• another dress to repair.

On top of that I am expecting another Memory bear and some gents trousers to shorten.

I will do my best to visit all the blogs I can in my free time....hehehe as if I get any.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW...

Hi all I'm just back from a long weekend away making memories with many members of my family ...the weather was very mixed and we certainly had our share of rain but it didn't stop us enjoying special times together.....more of that on Friday.

You're here to see my desk today so here goes....

This is what is waiting for me on my desk this morning....another huge bin bag full of factory trousers to replace the zips in....I shall be calling in my hubby to help me remove a few zips and, all being well, they will soon be done.

I also have these special items of clothing to make a Memory bear in memory of a much loved Grandad and I have a dressing gown coming later today to make 2 Memory bears for another customer.

The other thing sitting on my desk this week is a few more squares to make my next Fidgety Quilt....in my favourite colours.

Of course these will wait until I've done all my customer's sewing before I sew for fun.

So that's it from me for this week.  If you leave me a little message I will do my best to pop over to yours ASAP...but work must come first.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW....

 Oh what a week I've had since I was here last Wednesday.  We had to run Gina to hospital to be monitored again last Friday but thankfully all was well and she was allowed home again.  Sadly our son Mark has now tested positive for Covid and now has to test negative before he can go with Gina to hospital for the birth of their baby....please keep everything crossed for them as I really don't want him to miss all the excitement. [I may be called upon to be Gina's birthing partener if Mark is still testing positive.]

Last Wednesday I was expecting a bag full of factory trousers needing new zips and by Friday afternoon they looked like this...

All finished...

• New zips fitted to 24 pair of trousers
• 2 pair of trousers repaired and 
• a white coat seam repaired

I do have a wonderful hubby who helps by removing some of the old zips and Gina sat and removed one for me on Friday morning too....we make a great team.

I also had orders from two customers for my Memory characters come in so, as I had so much work to do I spent the weekend cuttings out...

• 1 Monkey
• 1 Cat
• 1 Dog and 
• 4 Bears [quite a menagerie!!]

Most of them needed reinforcing with interfacing too so that meant cutting them each out twice of course!

I spent all day Monday making up the 7 Memory characters to the point that they just needed faces, ribbons and 4 of them were to have personalised labels made.

I know it's my day off on a Tuesday but as today I have 3 bridesmaid fittings booked in I spent yesterday finishing off the monkey, cat, dog and 2 bears for my one customer and....

...two Memory bears for another customer.

Both customers were repeat orders and that always makes my heart sing. 

On top of all that sewing I have also replaced a zip in a pair of jeans and tapered the legs on another pair of jeans.....as I always say it all comes at once. :-)

I will be busy today with the 3 bridesmaid fittings and all 3 dresses will need 3 layers shortening so my busy week continues. If you leave me a little message I will do my best to pop over to yours to see what you've been up to this week.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW...

 Wahoooo It's been another busy week here for me at Sewing by Annie's and I'm loving it.

I managed to find a few details on the T shirts you saw on my desk last week to put on the front of the 3 Memory bears I was to make and I'm rather pleased with the finished bears [and so is my customer].

I've had another bag full of factory trousers to put new zips in....my darling hubby helped by taking some of the old zips out for me and I've managed to get the new ones put in.....I made friends with the old industrial machine we bought for the job and it certainly took a lot of the pressure off my other machines.

On my desk today is some plotting and planning going on while I wait for fabrics for 9 Memory cushion covers to arrive, hopefully later today.  I'm making a quilt for the expected new baby's cot.  Requests are grey, blue and woodland animals and I'm hoping to applique some animals like the ones in the pics....watch this space as they say.

There is more fabrics on the way so got to wait til that arrives to do the designing really.

That's all from me for today....I will do my best to call round to see what you're up to this week. 

Hugs,

Annie x