WOYWW...

 Here we are at another Wednesday link up with Sarah over at Sarah's Craft Shed where we all share a picture of what's on our desk this week and share a little of what has been going on in our worlds this week....I love seeing what everyone is busy with.

I have had another fairly busy week with customers [a nice steady flow] and have done some tricky sewing altering a Grandmother's dress and jacket for her Granddaughter's wedding....I love a challenge but the dress certainly didn't make life easy for me....but I was well chuffed with the results :-)

I was also asked if I could provide something to help raise funds for our local children's hospice.  It was a request from a young 16 year old who  has already raised over £36,000 in memory of her friend who died aged just 7 years so of course I was more than happy to help.  I have a strip quilt she can have and decided I would also make a rag doll for her to use as a name the doll [they are always lovely to help raise funds].

Here she is having had her hair sewn on....I love making the curly hair because I use a tool my dad made for me and it always brings back very happy memories.

Here she is in her new dress with matching pants, her new felt shoes and with the face sewn on.....I wonder what her name will be?

I have 100 names printed out on a sheet of paper so that names can be written on for £1/£2 a go so its an easy way to make money. :-)

That's all from me for this week so please leave me a little message if you've called in and I will do my best to pay you a return visit ASAP.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW...

 Which idiot said she was quiet with work last week?  Well, things got rather busier for me so I will quickly run through what I've been up to in pics...

I made  another dolly for a Name the dolly fun raiser....I like to make each one different.

I made the length of quilting you saw last week into 3 cushions....another fund raiser.

I then had 4 Memory bears to make in memory of a much loved Grandma.

I've had several enquiries about my bears lately....if you want to know more please head over to my Sewing by Annie Facebook page to find out details by clicking on this link.

I also had a request for 5 Memory bears in memory of a Wife, Mum, and much loved Grandma for several family members and when they saw them.....

 I was then asked to make another one....they each have their own red chicken scarf made from the lady's favourite scarf [she was a farmers wife].

Saturday, while the men were at footy, Jo joined me and we had a lovely link up with Jan on Facebook....it was lovely to catch up Jan.

We then went through the donated fabrics and partenered up enough to make 10 glasses cases which I made on Monday.

I also made 7 more key rings to replace the ones that sold at Vron Gate show and these will all go to Minsterley show so hopefull they will raise lots of money.

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

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW....

Hi Folks.  Here we are at 4th Birthday celebrations plus one week  :-)

It's a quick post from me today cos I'm busy busy busy  :-)  I have my two maps to show you where I have sent 35 celebration ATCs to...

My UK friends

Plus so many friends all round the world too.  :-)

I have already had some really gorgeous ATCs from those who asked to swap with me and I have collaged them to share all the wonderful effort that has been put into making them.  I have been really busy with extra shifts with my gorgeous little munchkins so have been unable to email you each personally to say thank you so please accept an apology and my thanks now.  I love each and every one of them and plan to make another display with them when they have all arrived.  Please click on the collages to see them in more detail.

 1. Jo

2. Kerry

3. Annette

4. Jackie

5. Neet

6. Lynn

7. Jan

8. Kate

9. Robyn

10. Sue

11. Janet

12. Sam [Hettie]

13. Sandra De

14. Lisa

15. Jill

16. Julie Ann

17. Julia

18. Roudi

19. Jo [zart]

20. Caro

The other thing I have to share with you today is the latest LillyBo quilt I've made.  It was one of those times when all the word around me was filled with sad news and I am a great believer in keeping busy at times like that and doing something very positive.  I quickly sorted out some matching fabrics and the quilt just appeared...as if by magic.....guess I was rather lost in my thoughts.  Isn't it beautiful?  I just love how it's turned out and am certain a poorly little girl will just love it....esp the little doll that I've made to go in the pocket of the bag.....What do you think?

Of course it is made of lots of snippets of my fabric stash so I am entering it for Di's Crafty snippets playground challenge for this week....I haven't been to play there for a while so I do hope the playmates are kind to me.

 

Thanks for dropping by today.  I have a lot of catching up with sewing to do today but if you leave me a little hello I will pop by when I get a minute to see what you've been up to this week.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW....

Hello to all my Wednesday visitors.  As always it's been another hectic week over here at Sewing by Annie's.

Jo and I were joined by another new crafty friend on Monday afternoon and the three of us enjoyed creative fun, giggles and most of all friendship.  They say most folk can count good friends on the fingers of one hand...well I know I am truly blessed cos I just don't have enough fingers for all mine.  :-)

Yesterday was my day with the munchkins so it was another day of fun and giggles for me.  They are both growing up so quickly and I am loving every minute of watching them develop....for those who like to see them you will enjoy my Friday pics this week....they are up to mischief and were caught in the act!

So for those calling by to see what I've been creating this week here are a few pics....

My table started off like this this week with lots and lots of chosen wool rovings on it and the start of a week of hand dumfing....yes teddies this week.  I buy my rovings from Sara and am now waiting for my next order.  My biggest job was to decide which colours to get next cos she has such a lovely selection.  Do pop over to browse if you're looking to buy rovings.

By the end of my week I had completed a large order of requested felted bears....Aren't they just gorgeous?  Each one takes on it's own little character and I've had such fun making them all.

I was also challenged to dumf a cock and this is the little character I came up with....What do you think?

I was also commissioned to make a special dolly for one of my friend's little Granddaughter.  She had to have curly blond hair and a dress designed to match the little girl's.  I can now share this pic of her with you cos she has arrived safely through the post and I'm thrilled to say she loves her as much as I did.

The other thing I thought I'd share with you today is a shoe box I was given by one of my newest customers.  She said she had been clearing out and could I use any of the contents.  It was like Christmas come early for me.....there are buttons, bias tapes, velcro, safety pins, elbow patches, iron on hemming tape, etc etc  As you can imagine it will all get used here in due course so this was a real gift to me.

Well folks, that's all from me for now.  Don't forget to pop by on Friday to see what children get up to when your back is turned!

If you leave me a comment I will do my best to call by at yours to see what you've been up to this week.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW....

Another week has passed and spring is on it's way [she says hopefully]   :-)

The churchyard opposite our house is full of snowdrops so I snapped a pic for you.  They look so pretty amongst the old grave stones.

Phillip the pheasant likes to come to feed on a daily basis....mostly to annoy our dogs I think cos here he is right outside our kitchen patio door feeding and watching the 3 dogs sitting the other side of the glass  :-)  He is such a stunning bird and is so beautifully marked.

I thought this week I would show you a busy desk.  This was Monday's desk.....and this week the mess was made by just the two of us cos our friend T was unable to join us.  We seem to fill our table with all sorts.....

• fabrics
• glue
• scissors [at least two pairs], snips [at least two pairs], pins and needles
• dolly patterns...yes more dollies in the making.
• threads, trims, beads and buttons in the box in the middle of the table....this is Jo's travelling project box.
• sewing machine [Jo's only cos mine are all behind me as I stand to snap the pic]
• 2 coffee cups [compulsory of course and somewhere there will be two chocolate biscuit wrappers!]
• the canvas pic Jo is working on
• through the doorway in top right hand corner is the ironing board today [Jo put it here so I couldn't see her using bond a web on it  :-) ....and we all know what bond a web on the ironing board is like!]

My family is still growing.  I have had so many people call in and want to buy them that I thought I'd best make enough to fill a shelf in the blog shop.  I have now cut out a further 3 so will be uploading them all in the blog shop as soon as they are all finished.  They are adapted from an 'Oh sew Dollin' pattern and are suitable for children over three to play with [some have small parts such as ribbons and buttons].  Each and every one have instant appeal as all my little visitors have proved and I know at least two of these have found homes already  :-).....and the best bit is I love making them  :-) :-)

Here is my desk today.  These are the next three little dolls in the making...three more little girl dollies and lots of finishing off still to do.  Each doll is different so if you have a little person in your life I'm certain there will be one to suit.

That's it from me today.  Please leave me a little hello comment before dashing off to Julia's blog to join in the WOYWW fun.  Hope you all have an exciting week [I have lots planned for this week and will share more after the events [yes there is more than one on the cards for this week]....aren't I a tease?].

Hugs to you all,

Annie x

WOYWW.....and an update

Firstly I would like to thank all who sent me links to the on line sites they use for material.  I have visited each and every one and guess what?.....not one of them sell material that's yellow with thin blue stripes OR blue with little yellow stars.  I have emailed all the sites too and the nearest I can get is yellow with black stripes and blue with white stars.  I've bought some blue with white stars and have tried colouring in the stars with a yellow pen..

It works but is time consuming....thankfully these dollies are only small so I will only need small amounts of fabric for their clothes.

Here is the one Mr Tumble lookie likey doll that I've made so far and I have to say I rather like him.  I am still trying to make some dolls to keep here for the Grandbabies to play with but my little dolls are proving so popular with little people that the one you saw on my desk last week has now found a new home with our Funday Monday friend T's little Granddaughter who paid us a visit on Monday this week .....She was such a sweetie and I'm such a softie.....she left holding her dolly's hand and dangling her by her side  :-)

So this is what is on my desk today...

I'm making a new doll with stripey tights, a pretty pink dress and think she will have yellow hair in pigtails.  I rather like the effect of using stripey material for the legs but think the next one [or maybe even this one] will have shorter pants on so you can see her legs [I've pulled them up for you here to show off her tights]......can you tell how much fun I'm having?

I have finished all the Wedding stationery for now and just have the order of services, table place settings and favour boxes to make now.  We have done M's Wedding dress fitting and I just have to shorten it a little and I have the first of the Bridesmaids coming for a fitting on Sunday....it's all so exciting.

I hope you have a peep at the post below to see what my much older sister has been up to this week  :-)  Leave me a little 'hello' comment before you pop over to Julia's blog to join in the WOYWW fun.

Have a great week.  Stay warm and creative.

Hugs,

Annie x

A quick update

Just thought you would like to see that I have now finished the little dolly with stripey legs that I snapped for my blog this morning and today I have added another little dolly to my collection.....there is no stopping me now and I'm taking orders if anyone is interested.  :-)

And then there was one....

Do you remember this pic?

Well they were still sitting there yesterday morning but then we had little visitors [and a few big ones too]...

Little Lulu just loves her Uncle Mark especially at story time.

Phoebe is a jigsaw whizz kid and just loves doing a big floor puzzle to impress her Aunty Gina.

Here's the latest pic of 'little' Steve with Amy.  I'm sure she must have developed extra muscles since she had him.  Amy is back to a size 8 now and must feel pretty clever at 'making' that little man and feeding him til now on just breast milk!  He is such a good baby too.

The little dolls were a huge success.  Even though Nanny Annie had intended keeping them here for all our Grandbabies to play with they were so well loved that two had to go home with two little girls  :-)

They are just the perfect size to be dangled by the hand and cuddled  :-)  There were tears at the thought of leaving them here [what a huge compliment] so Nanny will make some more now :-)......I know, I'm just a big softie but that's what Grandbabies are for....spoiling  :-)

My family is growing...

I try to find a picture every Friday to put smiles on faces ready for the weekend.  I'm not sure this one will do it for you but it makes me smile  :-)

You will have seen that I have been making dollies and that I had bought material to make covers for our two new 'V' cushions for the Grandbabies to use.  Here is how my table is looking this morning....

The covers are made and you can see the 3 dollies I have now made have made themselves at home here  :-)

My latest Doll is a little boy one as you can see and I think he's rather cute.  I'm planning to possibly make a few dollies to go in our blog shop so if you are interested in buying one I would be happy to make you one to order.

I do hope my pic has made you smile and that you all have a super weekend.  Stay warm and well.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW.....

These weeks are flying by and here we are at another fun Wednesday link up with over 100 crafters who expose their messy desks creative spaces to all who call by.  I love Wednesdays.

This week has seen a house move for our daughter A, her hubby and their lovely family....long may they be happy in their new home [It's a rather gorgeous house they have moved to  :-) ].  We had a lovely time Sunday helping them set up with a telly wall bracket, window blinds, plumbing in and setting up of washing machine and and tumble dryer......it's what Dads do  :-) [Whilst I helped make lunch and played with my gorgeous grandchildren  :-) ].

Monday morning was totally wasted spent measuring curtain fabric for one of my customers to finally decide that we couldn't do what was wanted with the material she had brought.....big repeat of pattern, 2 pieces of same fabric but both different so patterns didn't match, insufficient fabric to match patterns to make double width curtains out of......yes, a nightmare!!  An hour plus wasted and still nothing!!  Guess customer won't want to pay for our wasted time.  Now you can see why we don't like making curtains.

We did make up for it though and had another fun afternoon with our friend T.  Thanks for the scrummy cake Jo.  Both Jo and T created little characters with socks and I started to make another little rag doll.

Here you can see the chaos on my table this morning.

• 1 finished doll
• 1 new doll in the making.....blue/yellow fabric this time.
• 2 packs of Pro Markers used for doll face details [never used for card making though  :-) ]
• 2 new pieces material [1 blue and 1 pink with teddies on] to cover 2 new 'V' cushions to be used for grandbabies.
• 2 pair of pink snippers [I'm never satisfied with just one :-) ...in fact I have them by every machine I use normally! ] , scissors, piece of tailors chalk.
• ball of wool used for doll hair.

I put curly hair on my little finished dolly but my girls didn't like it [comments about short curly hair were chuckled about!].....so I took it off.

Here she is with her new hair style and I have to agree with my girls that she looks much nicer now.......what do you think?

This week I've also made pockets for more little African dresses.  I've now sewn them on and nearly made the next 7 dresses .

Here you can see that I'm hoping to sew the last of the bias strips in place today on 4 of the latest little dresses.

Well that's about all I've got to share with you today.  I hope you've all had a creative week....I shall do my best to call by to see what you've all been up to but if I fail hopelessly then please forgive me cos life here does get rather hectic at times......hmmmm actually quiet moments are rather rare  :-)

Please leave me a little 'hello' comment before popping over to visit our wonderful organiser, Julia.

Hugs for you all,

Annie x

Let me show you my pants....

I had lots asking to see what I make with the beautiful embroidery anglaise material so thought you might like to see my pants....Well, not technically mine, but the ones I've made  :-)

"And who did I make these pretty pants for?"  I hear you ask  :-)  Well, it has to be for a very special doll doesn't it?

Here she is  :-)
I have made her for a very special little girl for her 1st birthday on Sunday.  It's my gorgeous little granddaughter L's special day and we have bought her her first pram so of course she has to have one of Nanny Annie's special dollies to push round in it.

Woyww and Ernest!

Its been another eventful week for me [one worth catching up on previous blogs for if you are in need of a giggle]. I have been hosting a young cockerel on his gap year for the last week...its been a week of work, play and at times [failed] guidance. Ernest will be off tomorrow heading north to his next host, Jen, at http://themadhouse-themadhouse.blogspot.com/and will be staying a week in Saltburn by the Sea, N Yorkshire.....I really hope she knows what she's letting herself in for and has all alcohol well locked away before his arrival. It's been a very busy week for him here so he may just be glad of a good rest :-)

Today I have a show and tell I'm sure lots of you will love as much as I do. I was asked by another blogger to make a character doll and last week I showed you the fabrics I had found with him in mind. I have been working on him all week in between other sewing jobs and have now finished him.....and I'm really thrilled with how he has turned out. [My little 19 month old Granddaughter recognised him immediately so he must be pretty convincing]. I just need to parcel him up now and he will be on his way to his new home.






Fun day Monday Ernest joined in the fun and with a little help he made his own look-a-likey and he insists I show you him proudly holding him [it hasn't left him far since he made him so I think he is pretty chuffed with it].





Of course Fun day Monday has to be followed with a head down catch up Tuesday....Ernest has been a good help with this too.....

He climbed into my felt box and helped me find the black felt for the doll's shoes.

He helped by ironing it and then....


...helped by pinning on the pattern.







He tried holding the shoes under the sewing machine but his feet wouldn't reach the foot pedal at the same time so had to leave me to the machine sewing.







For those of you who remember the blanket I crocheted I thought you might like to see that you little person it was made for loves it and Nanny Annie hasn't lost her nack of snuggling a baby to sleep :-)





I really hope I've made you smile today. For more fun and laughter please pop over to Julia's blog and join in the WOYWW fun.

WOYWW.....

It's been another really busy week for me. My eye is now fully recovered although I am still using my gel tears all day every day and my ointment every night. I really need to be sure my eye will heal properly so I'm taking no chances. I have had a steady flow of customers all week with many more challenging jobs and my customer numbers have now reached 978 and still rising. Boy will there be celebrations when I reach the 1000.

Fun Day Monday was spent designing a fancy dress outfit for me for this Saturday. It's a Abba/60s party but I though the skin tight cat suit wasn't quite me so I've gone more for a hippie outfit. I just might brave it and put you a photo on here when I'm wearing it all....or I might not :-) Twiglet has said that if I don't then she would! Watch this space :-)

This morning I have a pair of curtains to shorten and another pair to reduce considerably in size so not the best of starts for me but then I have a really lovely challenge of a job. I have been commissioned to make a special character doll for a blogging friend.


I shall be working from photos of the character and have already found some really fab materials that I'm sure will be perfect. I have made many dolls over the years, each one adapted from a favourite basic pattern and this one will be no exception. Watch this space as they say. :-)







I thought I would also add a picture to show you the first blanket I've finished. I love all the bright colours and have edged it with a random yarn to pick out some of these colours. It's just to be used as a lap blanket for one of my little Granddaughters whilst in their car seat or push chair so I've not made it too big.


I hope you will now pop over to Julia's blog and join in the Wednesday fun. I'm sure all that joined in last week for the celebrations will have enjoyed it as much as me.