Big Bunny

As usual there has been some sewing going on here.....and today i would like to show you a new BiG bunny....meet ruby! Lots of lovely readers have been in touch since my last book was published in 2010 to say how they have enjoyed making things from it, and many of you have made the bunny...i have seen lots of sweet and colourful versions.... everyone makes their own slightly differently which is fun to see.......

 .....i recently had another look at the book and the bunny and decided to enlarge the pattern page by 150% on a photocopier......i adhered the pattern to thin card using spray mount, and then cut out the rather large shapes......and then i began sewing ruby........i love making toys and am collecting old books filled with patterns and information for crafting them which are proving very useful.......

 ....just to show how much bigger ruby is, here she is with her little brother from the book below.....

.... besides sewing and other crafting, i have been painting something white.....it doesn't feel right for me if too much time goes by without me painting something white.....and this time it was an old ikea cupboard  which was rejuvenated with a pot of farrow and ball (shade: pointing) and is now in my studio, being filled up with bright crafty bits and bobs.......

 ....the studio hyacinths have finally opened  their pretty blooms and are filling the air with a wonderful fragrance......

....i hope you have a happy week filled with the things you enjoy....thank you for popping in to see me here, i do enjoy your visits and your sweet comments make my day.......sending you sunny wishes...back soon xxxx

Jingle Bells Bunny

Hello! I thought you might like to see this little festive creature today, and to have a glimpse of her being created. I actually began making this bunny a while ago. The pattern is a scaled down version of the Bunny Cuddles one in my book Simple Sewn Gifts which I showed you in an earlier post.

I wanted to make this one a girl bunny and as it got nearer to Christmas I decided a festive theme would be good....which meant a red dress, for sure...and maybe some jingle bells, and perhaps a little holly too?

               First she had to have pink spotty ear linings....and then she had to have pink starry pantaloons.

               And on her dress a corsage made from a green yo yo with a jingle bell in the centre.

She has bells on her cuffs and bells on her toes (is this reminding you of a nursery rhyme?) and I finally knitted her a little white woolly hat with a red and white spotty felt ball on the top, because it's so cold at the moment. I get very fond of the little toys I make and like to have them around the studio or on the mantlepiece, or on the dresser amongst the dishes. It's surprising how sweet they can look popping up here and there....This bunny may be given away though, to a special little girl when she's a little older and less likely to chew on the jingle bells!

It's really freezing here - not too pleasant temperature-wise. I hope you are keeping warm and cosy, or for those of you who live in warmer climes I hope you are just pleasantly warm! I send you lots of festive cheer, glowing candle light, warmed mince pies, mulled wine, sweets and treats - whatever your festive heart desires in fact! Hope all your lists are being ticked off and you can relax and enjoy the countdown...Back soon. xx

Strawberry Hearts Quilt

  I've been meaning to show you my Strawberry Hearts Quilt for quite a while.

 I finished it earlier this year, before I began my blog. It did actually make a brief appearance on my Strawberry Season post in June, but here it is now in a bit more of its summery detail. I made this quilt just for me, with some fabrics left over from projects from my last book, Simple Sewn Gifts, and some of my favourite CK florals including the strawberries on blue design that I love. I interspersed the flowery patches with plain crisp white to allow the hearts to stand out and then I quilted round them with red cotton. I also added some little fabric loops to the patches here and there. I used a tape measure print for these, and sewed extra little pieces on here and there to echo the loops. I used Bondaweb for all the applique shapes and embroidered round them with blanket stitch before sewing the squares together. This quilt was fun to make!

I had quite a few squares of flower fabric left over from my quilt so I sewed them all together and made a little cushion. I'm working on another patchwork quilt again this week, this time a magazine commission so it's top secret for now! Hope you all have a lovely week, and wishing you lots of sunny autumn days. x

Simple Sewn Gifts

Simple Sewn Gifts, my new book, has just been published and this is an exciting time for me. I love books, always have, and still find it amazing that I actually write them too - such a big wish come true! The bunny picture above was one I snapped when working on this book. The doll's bed was from Ikea and I gave it several coats of white paint and then added a little red painted folk heart.

The book has 25 gift projects that are fast and easy to sew, so that you can then spend time being creative, playing with embellishments and personalising your gifts. I've included cross stitch, embroidery, applique, patchwork, paper crafts, buttons and all kinds of yummy little decorative extras which I love to embellish with.

The book has step illustrations for each project which I drew as I created the designs. I loved doing these, it was great to sharpen a pencil and get drawing again, then dig out my lovely rotring pen and mix up some washy watercolour - I sometimes forget how much I love working on illustrations as well as sewing.

The tote bag shown here uses simple patchwork and I made buttons from linen with a cross stitch motif to echo the strip of cross stitch on the bag. The buttons are so easy to do, and you could use the idea in lots of ways by varying the motif and colours.

I had to include some seaside images , of course! There are some beach huts in this book, and there is some seaside bunting as you can see...

Thank you for looking at these glimpses of my new book, I hope you've enjoyed it! If you'd like to buy it, it's in all good bookshops now, on Amazon, or you can click on the book on my sidebar and get it direct from rucrafts.

Now I'm going to make a cup of tea, and start sewing something else! Have a happy weekend!

First Copy

There's probably nothing more exciting for an author than seeing their book in print for the first time. The other day that most exciting of padded-envelopes-with-publishers-name-on arrived in the post. Although I'd worked on the pages for months, going over the proofs by myself and with my lovely editor Lin, and although I knew exactly what was in this book - it was still thrilling to contemplate actually seeing it printed and bound as a proper book. I wasn't disappointed when I opened the packet - David & Charles Publishers had done a wonderful job of making my book look lovely. The team behind the D&C crafts books is full of talented people who contribute a range of amazing skills and I'm grateful to be working with them. For now I can just quietly enjoy looking through the book and remembering making the projects in it - the doll's quilt, the toy rabbit, the bunting...stitching, patchworking, sewing, drawing the step instructions and the templates and making the charts....I enjoyed it all. I'll write more about what's in Simple Sewn Gifts when it is published at the end of August.