Sunday catch up

This week has flown by!
Work has been crazy-busy with record-breaking takings and the amount of customers we served, extremely exhausting, but great because the shop is doing so well!
I'm still working 6 day weeks but next week I'm planning on having two half days so I can get some craft time in! (Let alone grocery shopping and housework!)

As is normal for people having a busy time we had an added disaster when our washing machine died on Friday so the local launderette has become a new place for John and I to hang out!!


I have spent every spare second working my way through a nice big order which includes these 3 felt alphabets :: I also have had a few felt shop orders and had the bright idea (late at night when I should have been sleeping) that I needed to make swatch cards!!



A few minutes with Publisher on the computer got me started and after a whole load of double-sided-tape sticking I have some felt colour swatch cards!
I'm going to put one in with the current orders and every future order and also have a place in the felt shop where they can be ordered!

Hopefully next week everything will happen a little slower so I can feel like I am keeping up with it all!

goodies from down under !

Look what plopped through my letter box today!

Unfortunately it's raining and horrible here so the picture is dull so I've included these from here, much sunnier photos :-)

This is destined to become a wall planner for my niece for when she starts school...with the days of the week squares as big pockets to hold all the things she will need to remember everyday.

It's all sold out now but take a peek at Kristen's shop because a new colour way is on it's way!

and while you are at it check out Cheeky Beaks, such a fantastic blog!

I can't wait to start making it, I've a few other things to finish first but once they're done it's all systems go!!

Buying Felt :: update

I have made a little felt shop! If you are a felt fan then take a peek! Gorgeous felt in gorgeous colours, all in one place... well, go and look, what are you waiting for?

where to buy felt

It seems that my fellow bloggers can not find good quality wool mix felt for a nice-on-the-purse price. But don't worry because today I went to my local needlework/fabric shop and struck up a little deal!
If you would like to buy some felt (of the wool-mix variety) contact me and I will send you some details. I would like to be able to supply you with good quality felt for a good price...just let me know if you are interested...this is a slightly different venture for me so I'm not quite sure if it's for me, but i'd like to help you all if i can!!

what I'm up to

Admiring my new stack of felt which is waiting to be chopped and stitched

Making a start on an order for Christmas decorations

Trying to add Christmas goodies to my website

monster love

woo hoo! look what I got ::

I had to take a photo of this packaging...SOOOO pink! and look insidemy very own monda loves monster :-) monda-loves won one of the freebies this month and felt guilty because she had won before so she decided to send me this as a thank you! and I love it!! I have named him Billy, because he isn't a scary monster!

I left him at home whilst I was at work and look at the scene I came home to...

a gambling den!!!

Cecil looks very fetching in the packaging ribbon, but he seems to have become confused with the rules of the game. He thought he had to get the card to match himself!!! silly panda!!aaahhh Billy, you are one cute and clever monster, welcome to the madhouse!!

shopkeeping sunday

I hope everyone is having a good weekend?

I've spent today catching up on household chores and filling up the shops, I kinda forgot that three shops means three lots of updates!

On Thursday I signed into my online bank account to update a standing order only to discover some cheeky bu**er has spent all my money!! It's a few days ago now so I am calm and everything has been sorted out BUT can you believe the cheek of it!! The bank say it's been spent buying upgrades for an online game and apparently it's easy to do because the goods are virtual and don't need to be posted. So be warned, check your accounts and be careful who has your card number. Also be warned it takes 35 minutes to get through to the bank to cancel your card and report fraud! And it takes about 40 minutes to get through when you want to make a complaint about the time it takes to get through on the phone!! How is that customer service??? But the good news is that the bank will refund my money, it will take '7-10 working days' but I will get all my hard earned pennies back. Blinking good job too ;-)

But the best bit was when I logged on and saw my balance was zero my first thought was 'oops I did buy lots of fabric didn't I?' hahahahahahahah

I'm off to sew and will be back tomorrow xxx

Hi, I'm Sarah and I am a garage widow

John has a new garage. It's a 20 minute drive away and it has room for *gasp* twenty or so cars in it. Please understand that this is for his hobby, he too has a hobby he loves plus a normal old day job! He is very clever with old cars and takes horrid dirty smelly knackered cars and turns them into shiny beasts!! He's so clever :-)

The good side of being a garage widow is that I have around three hours after work before he comes home and that means I can sew and blog to my hearts content!!

So far this week I have completed this little pile

I'm not a super fast sewer, really i'm a good half a jobber! All these things were half done and i've just finished them off!!

Here's the next lot of half jobs waiting to be done

and the next lot...(vital sewing equipment that packet of ginger nuts!)

So you see I really am good at leaving a job half done!!!

This doesn't include making a mess. This I do well!

This is a (messy) corner of our living room which has accidentally become a temporary sewing area!!

So whilst we have light evenings you can expect me around a whole lot more. and you know what? That's the way I like it :-)

Remember this photo from the other day?

Well I'm still enjoying this summertime Christmas theme and have made a few more designs

More happy trees

A happy Christmas Elf

Christmas Cat (The next one will have a different nose)

A happy bauble

and a fabric cupcake.

I've still got a few ideas to work on and then I can get cracking and put them in the shop.

...and the winners are...

Everyone who left a comment had their name written on a piece of paper and they were folded up small and put in the pot. John was called to action and had to shake them about and draw 6 winners...and they are...

In case you can't read that the names, in the order they were drawn are ::
Lavender Bag winners :: Katyejones + Mondaloves
Linen Pieces :: Raggedroses + Caroline
Buttons :: Christy + Ali

I hope you all LOVE your freebies
Please email me your address as soon as possible :: my email address is over there on the right hand side, just scroll down till you find it!

I had a nice surprise yesterday, we went to a friends for a little drink and a chat and when I came home I discovered I have a free
Pro Account on Flickr, it transpires this sometimes happens when your ISP is a Yahoo partner, which mine is, so I have a pro account for free! The result of finding this out? I spent AGES yesterday uploading tons of photos and putting them all in order, and the result of that? A photo of one of my freebie kits was
posted here!

See you tomorrow xxx

July freebie's

This month's freebie has been running since Thursday and now it's time for me to show you what's up for grabs this month...

These are lavender bags I made as samples for someone. This design is very different to the ones he is going to stock, but I would still feel kinda weird about selling them because the products I have designed for him are exclusive to him. So they make perfect unique freebies!

Next is 2 bundles of left over linen pieces. I am a hoarder and I keep everything that's left over from past projects but my fabric shelves are full to bursting point now so these duplicates can find themselves a new home (and hopefully be stitched into a new project!)

Last of the prizes is two packs of buttons. The packaging is from the brads I ordered during the week and I have recycled it! Inside each is 3 dozen buttons in ever-popular pink colours. I use these buttons all the time and they are fab!

So now you know what is up for grabs this is the last chance to leave a comment and add your name to the drawing!

Winners will be announced TOMORROW (yep that's Monday 9th July) because I have been invited out for the evening and it's such a lovely summer evening how could I resist?

See you tomorrow, I hope are enjoying what is left of the weekend!

Beautiful Fabrics

Here are the close up pictures of the newest additions to my stash.


I ordered them from a fab fabric shop called Z and S fabrics. They were super nice when I panicked about the 'missing' parcel and they were so quick to cut and dispatch my order. Not to mention the FANTASTIC choice of fabric to buy.



I'm off to have some dinner and then I'm going to organise the freebie prizes!
Winners and pictures of their prizes will be announced tomorrow...bye for now.

I am one happy bunny!!

Remember this post about fabric?

Well have a look see what I got today....

The second installment arrived...it got held up in Customs and I needed to pay some fees to get the lady at the Post Office to hand it over to me. I'm SO relieved!

I'm supposed to be getting ready for my friend's birthday party tonight so no time to take good pictures BUT here is a sneaky peek...

I'll be back tomorrow after work with good pictures and a link to the shop, loads of you asked and I'll share tomorrow.

Don't forget it's freebie time round here, just leave a comment to enter!

super surprise lucky dip gala!

Lots to show today. I got home from work and this little lot was waiting for me

hehehehe how many parcels!!!

(still no sign of the fated fabric parcel though)

and look at the gorgeous things I have

200 black brads

Then I opened a parcel from another Sarah. I won a freebie on her
blog but look what the postman did to the card!! Tut-tut!!

I won this beautiful crocheted dish cloth

AND look at the extra present I got....yummy fabric, thanks Sarah!

I saved the parcel from my friend
Nia till last, and she has made me a fab brooch!!

Unfortunately Cecil seems to have got his hands on my presents!!

I pinned him down to take a close up but he wriggled a lot!

Thanks Nia, I love it :-)

Now for freebie news :: All you lovely regular readers out there will know that freebie day is on Thursday because that is my day off the day job BUT at the moment I'm working 6 day weeks and don't have a day off until Sunday SO freebie day this time round is a super surprise lucky dip gala ! HA! what a title!

(random photo of a Christmas Tree I made yesterday)

Leave me a comment today, Friday or Saturday and on Sunday I will draw a few names and those people will win a surprise!!

How exciting!!