I ♥ hearts...

This past Valentine's Day, I felt inspired by all the blogs out there making paper heart decorations and so, I decided to snip some out myself and string them across the headboard in our bedroom... As I strung the little hearts over our marital bed, I smiled to myself, thinking it was like dressing the bed up for the bride and groom on their wedding night... not that anyone did that for us, but I imagine that this could happen...

Anyhoo, I was quite taken by the sight of those little hearts dangling above us as our heads hit the pillow... hearts mean 'love'... and, with this physical reminder staring us in the face, I figured that if they were always there, then we could never go to bed angry with each other... this little cue would tell us, 'hey you're in love'...

So, this past weekend, I dragged out the sewing machine and created a more permanent string of hearts. As I'm still a novice at this sewing game, I spent an inordinate amount of time cutting out the 'perfect' heart ... and that was supposed to be the easy part... well, in hind sight, I guess it was, because then came the sewing...

Now, sewing the perfect heart has proved a little elusive to me, but I'm always preaching to my girls 'practice makes perfect'... and, I have to admit, towards the end of this little exercise, I was getting a little more proficient in the old heart sewing...
There was one lesson learnt... the opening for turning should be left at the bottom... well, in my case anyway, as my dodgy hand-sewing led to some bumpy hearts... But, who ever said the road to love was smooth??

Hope you're all having a great start to the week. Toodle pip!
Lx

Shared at A Beach Cottage - Good Life Wednesday, nip over for inspiration and a lovely yarn from Sarah.

A welcoming draught excluder...

So... it's pretty darn cold here, with yet more snow forecast this week... I feel I've been starting a lot of blogs with that opening line... I guess all of this snow is still a bit of a novelty for me...
Anyhoo, our little old house is standing up to the elements (so far... I hope I don't jinx it), but this harsh weather does bring a few problems with it... like the half-inch gap at the bottom of the kitchen door... normally not an issue, but the cool breeze that circles around my ankles while I drink my morning cuppa is becoming a bit of a pain... even my ankle booty slippers aren't helping. So, in an attempt to address the micro-climate I have going on in the kitchen, I decided to make a draught excluder... or draft dodger as the hubby calls them...

Sorry about the cat flap, but this is real life...

Got to say, I thought I had bitten off more than I could chew, as sewing the letters on was a tad tricky (beyond my novice capabilities), but I stuck with it, and I like the results. My mother-in-law said it looked homely... I think that's a good thing... right?

Anyways, I'm chuffed to pieces (very pleased) with the fact that I tackled piping and succeeded... I had no pattern to work from and even put weighty bits in it so it stays put!  But, the point of this post today was to let you know that if I can try my hand at this sewing malarkey, then anyone can. I know my end product isn't amazing, but it's a start... if you're on the fence and want to start sewing, but don't think you can... give it a go and, before long, you'll be churning out all manner of creations! Now, I'm going whip up another one for the living room... Oohh, I wonder if it would work for the windows, too... Perhaps I'll just wrap the whole house in fluff!

More snow tonight and tomorrow... this is New Jersey, right. and not Canada??

Have a great week, all, and thanks for visiting today. You bring warmth and sunshine to me on these cold, cold days!
Lx

I've linked up with Sarah at A beach cottage - Good life Wednesday ... head on over and you'll find more inspiration than you can shake a stick at!

Tea cozy love...

I love tea... I think I've mentioned it before. First thing in the morning, I plod down to the kitchen bleary-eyed, and pop the kettle on. It's a red stove-top one... I toyed with getting an electric kettle, but there's something about the urgent whistle of a stove-top that I find quite soothing... like it's shouting, 'Tea! Tea! Quick!' (which is exactly the sentiment I'm feeling when I get that cup of tea).
I start the day by having two cups of tea (to 'wet my whistle,' as my grandad used to say)... I would have more, but by the last sip of my second cup, the girls are awake, and my attention turns to Cheerios, milk, and settling disputes over princess dolls.

Anyhoo, in an ideal world, I would make a pot... When I was little, we had a big brown teapot (a 'Brown Betty'); whoever was first up in the morning would make the pot, and then we would all saunter downstairs at various intervals and take a cup from it. Our big brown Bess was kept warm by a tea cozy... and this is where my problem lay... You see, I'm currently the only tea drinker in the house (this is practically unheard of in Blighty), and so, when I make a pot, it gets cold... and, unlike some, I like my tea piping hot!

Anyways, to circumnavigate this problem, I decided to drag out the sewing machine and set about making a tea cozy. I used this website here to help me... I didn't follow it to the letter (mainly because I have no idea what I am doing), but it gave me the framework... and I would have never worked out how to line the thing without this helpful site. There's a couple of things I'd do differently if I were making it again.. like invest in a compass, so I'd have a more rounded tea cozy, and create a little loop in the top, so I can hang it somewhere... but, as they say, 'practice makes perfect'... so, I think I'll be making another for my English gal pal T... after all, you can't have a teapot without a tea cozy.

Have a happy start to the week all!
Lx

This post is linked to A Beach Cottage- Good Life Wednesday, pop over for inspiration!

A big thank you & a Santa sack...

It was a cold, cold night on Saturday... the Christmas tree lights were twinkling... the hubby and my eldest were cuddling on the couch under the heavy red throw (she, waiting to see if she could see Santa... he, tired from a day of Christmas shopping) while I sat in my faithful red armchair sewing a zillion buttons into the shape of the letter 'E'... you know, it takes a lot of buttons to make the letter 'E'... and, with only the soft light of the lamp, flickering blue hue of the telly, and a glass of wine in me, it sure was hard work... My eyesight is definitely not what it was, and so, by the last button, I couldn't see the needle to thread (not to mention the fact that my poor fingers had had more prickles than a hedgehog handler), so I called it a night and started the next day...

I pulled out my trusty old sewing machine and ran through the pointers my mum had bestowed on me... I even managed to change the shuttle (I gave myself a big pat on the back for that)...
Anyhoo, I had an idea as to how I wanted these to look... the hubby said that, as always, I had lofty aspirations, but I decided to go with the, 'if we don't try, we'll never know what we can achieve' attitude, and  set about making the first of the two Santa sacks... there were a few hiccups along the way, but I treat these as part of the learning process, and, maybe one day, I'll look back at these imperfections and smile at my inexperience at sewing and how it` was outweighed by my willingness to please my little girls...

... and this led me to think of you guys... yes, you ... thinking how I don't think I'd be creating for my little girls if it weren't for the fact that you so very kindly read my blog... forcing me to be creative, to try new things and push the boundaries.... Thank you so much for giving me the umph to do this. Without your kind words, I don't know if I would have tried this sewing malarkey... so, by the very act of reading this blog, you have touched my life and helped me create something that may very well be passed on to future generations (that's if my sewing holds up)...

Right now, though, I have to start sewing that letter 'M'... my poor, poor eyes...

Take care all!
Lx

Christmas bunting....and a mummy's heart..

Hi there... I'm still here, just in case you were thinking I'd been dragged off into the woods by a bear...This past Sunday, we returned from the cabin having had a wonderfully relaxing Thanksgiving... being taken away from the home certainly forces you to relax; or, in my case, brush up on the old sewing skills... under my mum's tutelage, I managed to rustle up a little Christmas bunting...

Baring in mind that less than 3 weeks ago, I had not been near a sewing machine since Home Economics class (circa 1988)... I am pretty chuffed (pleased) with the results! There's no stopping me now!... I having an ongoing list in my head of things I want to make...

My next mission is to make some fabric heart decorations.... I did attempt one at the cabin, but not sewing in a straight line is proving a little tricky for this novice...

Anyhoo, my eldest daughter loved my heart attempt, and went to bed cuddling 'Mummy's heart'... I now just have to make one for my other little one... after all, they both share it...

Hoping you are all having a beautiful week! 

Lx