Miniature sewing room

I started on some new minis! Inspired by an article in a magazine I saw a few months back, I've decided to make a little sewing room scene, trying to use what  I already have in my workroom. So here are the first few items ...

I covered a piece of foam board with scrap book paper for the floor.

 I took a cheap wardrobe, painted it all white, made some shelves and lined all the inside with scrapbook paper.

I lined the drawers with the same paper.

I made a table from some scraps of wood

The rolls of fabric are glued and rolled around pieces of dowelling and the bolts of fabric and lace are glued around pieces of mountboard.

Holidays and finished pieces

I've been away for quite a few weeks I know but I've been away - that's my excuse and I'm sticking with it. First my brother came to stay for two weeks and, as he has a car and I don't, we made the most of the good weather. We went to Brodsworth Hall ...

The building is owned by English Heritage and has been preserved in what can best be described as a state of faded grandeur... very faded. The grounds are both extensive and beautiful with lots of ancient trees and some beautiful statues.

We also went to Lotherton Hall, which has been restored by the National Trust to its original beautiful condition. Again, there are amazing gardens, including a very extensive collection of birds as well as a deer park.

I had a week at home and then I travelled up to Scotland - along the Galloway coast, which is an area I've visited only briefly in the past. I stayed in a hotel on the clifftop - 90 steps up from the village of Portpatrick itself and, although the weather wasn't great, I still enjoyed the scenery, and I love being in Scotland whatever the weather.

In and amongst I've managed to do a little stitching.

First is this little sewing kit, made for the September sewing challenge on Liz's blog.

I'm also going to enter this into our Embroiderer's Guild competition in December, for which we were invited to make something useful. I think that this qualifies.

Of course, there is also more lace ...

A little sampler of Venetian Gros Point edgings, which is just the right size to use as a drinks mat.

and these blue flower seed heads, which are destined to hang on my bedroom wall.

And on the miniature front, a very little something which we made at our last group meeting ... a bunka rug.

You just draw out your design on a piece of cotton fabric, unravel your bunka cord, apply glue to your design, one small area at a time, and stick down the bunka thread. Simple!

Now I'll be missing next week as well as I'm off to spend a week in Wales at Pat Gibson's studio stitching more lace. See you all in October!

A bargello workshop

A group of twenty of us ladies from the Embroiderers Guild and  beyond met up yesterday to learn how to make a bargello needle case. I've done canvas work before but never any bargello. These wonderful zig-zag designs are such fun to do and, once you've got the first row in, quite easy to follow. I was enjoying it so much that I just continued on after dinner yesterday evening and should get it completed later today.

I also did more to my crazy patchwork block earlier this week and I think that this is almost finished now. I've posted a photo in SharonB's group album to get feedback from her on what else I might need to add but, having started out being very unsure about the whole crazy quilting process, I have to say that I quite like this block now. Maybe I just need to add a little something into that plain cream patch in the centre? Then I just need to decide what I'm going to use it for.

Our Monday Lacers' group have been working on a group project - a dresden plate sampler of gros point stitches and techniques for decorating the cordonnettes (the edges of the finished piece). There are six of us altogether and three of us have completed our plates. It's lovely  to see how different they all are. This is mine.

And finally, I did a tiny bit more work on the hardanger pages of my sampler book.

Not a bad week's stitching!

The doorway to Rose Cottage is complete

Time to catch up on some minis again I think. The plan now is to make scenes which will use up my stocks of minis, rather than buying any more. It's strange how much you accumulate over time isn't it?
My little cottage doorway is complete. This has been such fun to do - and so very quick. It only measures about four inches from back to front so takes up very little space too. How I wish my own front door looked like this!!

Here is the inside. Can you see the little siamese cat peeking out from under the table?

And another cat sitting on the doorstep. He's actually watching a bird which I've placed on the top of the door since taking this photograph. I decided to name it Rose Cottage.

The rest of my mini-time this week has been spent clearing up my workroom again. I don't know about you but I seem to accumulate so much stuff around me when I'm working on something, despite my very best intentions. And then I get until I can hardly move on my workbench and really need to spend a couple of days putting everything back where it belongs.

When I got up this morning I found that it had rained during the night - that's really no surprise this summer to be honest, but I had to rush outside to take photos of the raindrops on the leaves in my garden.

A whole pool of water had collected at the base of these leaves on one of my teasel plants.

There was just the start of some blue sky amongst the grey clouds.

Isn't this flower amazing? It's just in the process of unfurling into this ...

And finally here's some pink - just because I love pink.

Saturday stitching round-up

First of all, I have to share the fact that I actually won first and second prize last week in our local Flower, vegetable and handicrafts show! My Stitched Therapy book won 1st and my 17th century lace motif won 2nd prize in the hand embroidery section. I am so thrilled!

This week I've been concentrating on my crazy patchwork blocks and feel that finally I'm making progress with these.

I'm beginning to like the purple and green block more now I've got some silk ribbon embroidery on there. Lots more to go on here yet though.

I started beading the pink block. This one is my favourite of the two, I have to say. Well it is pink!

I finished off the first half of the hardanger page in my sampler book - my first ever piece of hardanger embroidery. It's really quite scary cutting those threads.

Then, just for fun, I made a little box to hold my embroidered postcards - very quickly stitched on the machine.

Mini inspiration

I've been struggling to motivate myself to make more minis for a few weeks - ever since the retreat was moved out of my workroom and into its final resting place in my lounge. This weekend was our local Flower, Vegetable and Handicrafts show (I won two prizes but I'll tell you more about that another day) and our Dolls House and Miniatures Club always puts on a display. Those of you who've been following me for a while will perhaps remember this from last year. Anyway ... seeing all our wonderful models has refreshed my enthusiasm so this week I have something new to show you.

First of all, though, here are a few pictures from the show ...

 Each year we work on a group project, and this year it was this table-top sale. Each member of the group made a table from a kit given to us at the club and then we decorated it with whatever goods we chose. You can see my patchwork table right at the front there.

A few years ago each member made a shop, which we make up into a street scene for the show. Each shop is different - a pet shop, a dress shop, a toy shop, a charity shop, take-away, barber's shop, shoe shop, craft shop, hat shop, taxi firm, cafe, wool shop. Together they look really impressive don't they?

And last year we made an allotment. This is just a small selection, there are twelve in all. I love this man sitting with his flask of tea and his gardening magazine - and the fox in the plot next door eyeing up the chickens.

So - freshly inspired, I decided to make myself a doorway.

 It's just made from pieces of foam core and balsa wood. I glued some bricks in place on the outside and coated the whole wall in lightweight filler. I've made a two part door so that the top half can be open and an open window to fit into the window frame and I'll probably put either a kitchen sink or a table and chair beneath the window on the inside - undecided yet. I'll make that decision when the filler is dry.

Saturday stitching round-up

There doesn't feel to be much to show this week - don't know why, though I guess it's been a pretty busy week and, as the weather seems to have taken a temporary and long awaited turn for the better I thought I'd better get out into the garden and try to tame some of the weeds at least. My Monday Bunch did come round to stitch so I've finally finished my Point de Gaze flower.

I know I've said it before but I'm going to say it again - I just love the purple!! I'm very happy with this one. I'm planning to stitch it onto a cushion I think as it's quite large.

I did some work on my sampler book. This is the Hardanger page, still not completed.

Because I've been trying to get to grips with the crazy patchwork for the online class I'm doing. This is really not coming together at all. I added a purple lace butterfly to see if that would help me to like it more but it hasn't done the trick. I do have another block in pinks and creams which I pieced and I'm thinking at the moment that I'll turn my attentions to that one and come back to this one at a later date (maybe) ... or maybe I'll just remove the butterfly and throw the rest in the bin.

Now I'm heading off to our local Flower and Vegetable Show as I have two pieces in the handicrafts section and there's also a display by our Miniatures Club. I'll try to get some decent photographs to show you. I'm hoping that it might spark some inspiration in me to get me back into making minis as I've not touched them for two or three weeks. I need a new project - or to revisit and revamp an old one I think.