I meant to post about this ages ago, but what with my computer being banjaxed I am only getting around to it now.

I have a severe lack of vases in my house and on Valentines Day I recieved a single red rose from Sir (part of the Marks & Spensers Valentines Meal Deal - it was soooo good!) and didn't know what on earth to put it in. I wanted to have it on the table while we had dinner so I needed something then and there. Cue the only thing I could think of: a wine bottle. Only the label was still on it and it looked a bit ugly. So after a bit of searching around I spotted one of my red fingerless gloves (that pull up to your elbows) and wondered what it might look like on the bottle...and here is the end result:


xxx

One of my all time FAVOURITE animals has to be the ring-tailed lemur. I just love them. They have so much character.

Sir and I took a trip to the Belfast zoo recently and I took a few snaps:


xxx

I loved the brooch which I had made for my friends birthday i knew I had to make one for myself. This time I used a heavy duty fabrc from Ikea, so its a lot more rigid. Its nice to try out the brooch with different fabrics and I do like it in the heavy stuff, but I think flimsier fabric suits it better. For this pic I've attached it to one of my hats, but I've been wearing it mostly on my clothes and I'm loving it...I think I will be making many more of these!!!

One of my goals for this year was to visit at least 4 new places within Northern Ireland. I believe there is a lot for me to discover about this country and I'm looking forward to exploring!

So I can tick off one out of 4 as Sir and I had a wee trip to the very sweet seaside town of Strangford, which is found one side of the narrow inlet to Strangford Lough. It's a very quaint little town with nice old cottages and interesting shops. It also has a ferry crossing point over to Portaferry, although we didnt go on it.

Here are some photos of the area:

My friends birthday was coming up and I was trying to think of what to get her. She is quite a 'crafty' person herself and loves making her own cards in particular, so I thought she might appreciate a 'home-made' pressie!

So I set about making a tote bag (since this was my latest achievement - see previous post!). This time I decided to follow a tutorial and found a brilliant one on Skip To My Lou, which is actually reversible - bonus! Again I had to use what material I had to hand, this time it was very sturdy fabric from Ikea (white with black 'bunting').
I was a bit stumped as to what to make the lining with as nothing I had really went with the Ikea fabric. After a bit of searching around I found a flowery scarf which I had bought from Primark, but not yet used, and thought I might as well use that!!!


I was a bit nervous about making the straps, as it requires you to fold the fabric over 4 times, and I was worried my needle might break. So I adapted it slightly and only folded it three times. However, I think I should have stuck to the 4! Saying that, it worked out fine anyway. I really liked the method for finishing off the opening of the bag, and actually using this as the place to turn the bag the right way round. It ended up looking very professional (well...in my opinion anyway!).

As an added bonus I decided to make a pretty fabric flower brooch out of some of the remaining lining fabric. I found a very good tutorial for it at Wise Craft. The button is just one I had in the house. I recon the brooch turned out very well and I know my friend really loved it.


xxx


P.S. Since I used Skip to My Lou's tutorial, I thought it would only be appropriate to join in in her 'Made by You Mondays'! Click the link above to check out loads of other things people have been making! :)

*Holding my breath as I write this...the computer might crash!*

Well as I mentioned in a previous post, life has been ticking along, even if my computer hasn't, and I have a bunch of things I've been wanting to blog about but haven't been able to.

So here is the first one...

I had had an idea for a tote bag with a pocket on the front that would allow it to be tucked into itself so it could be stored in my handbag when not in use. I know this is not a 'new' idea, but it's not something I've seen around so I thought I had to give it a go anyway. So one night I got to work and whipped something up. As well as anything else, this is also the first time I have made a tote, so it was a good learning experience for me. Here is the end result:

I decided to treat myself to a few new sewing patterns since I just got a promotion in work (yeay me!!)! Since I made my goal for the pattern challenge (see previous post) to make three summer outfits I knew I needed some more patterns to work from so after finding the Sewing World website, and discovering they are having a bit of a sale (although this could be a permenant sale?) I have opted for the following: