by Helen on April 7, 2013
I was surprised – and delighted – to receive a phone call earlier this week from a very lovely lady called Janke. Janke lives in the Netherlands (her English is brilliant) and she was trying to track down a pattern that I’d contributed a long while ago to the now defunct Sew Hip Magazine. It turned out that she was searching for my Elephants in Love applique – part of a series of ”in love” designs I created 2 or 3 years ago. One of the most popular was my Owls in Love …..
But I digress …. After Janke’s call I had a bit of a rummage around my pattern files (I am afraid I am not a very organised sort of person) and realised that I hadn’t shared the elephants in love pattern before. Although it’s quite simple, I think it’s very pretty – so I dusted it down and re-formatted it into a pdf file rather than the working notes I sent off to the magazine. And here it is …
I’ve added the pattern to my Free Newsletter Readers’ pattern library page – so if you’d like it – and/or any of the other patterns I share with newsletter readers, then please just CLICK HERE to subscribe. Subscribing is free – and I promise that I will NEVER EVER share your email address with anyone else!
Ben at about 15 months – what a cute youngster!
And finally – please keep your fingers crossed for Ben’s poor sore paw. Sadly his recovery was very short-lived and he’s limping heavily again. So tomorrow he’s off to the vet’s for X-rays. Hopefully we’ll discover the problem and then begin to treat it effectively so he’ll soon start to feel better.
by Helen on March 10, 2013
This Sunday here in the UK (I know it’s different in the US) is Mothering Sunday – and I have been completely spoiled all day. Sadly Rosie and her boyfriend Dan have gone home to Bristol now, but Rosie made sure I enjoyed all my favourite things – and took some photos for me to show you too ….
We went to the garden centre and saw some beautiful spring flowers- so cheerful and bright on a cold, wet and very grey day here in south Devon
We had lunch too – and a much improved Ben enjoyed all the attention he received from passers-by (Daisy was asleep under the table)
There was lots of mother and daughter togetherness and love …..
I am so lucky to have such a kind and caring daughter.
Later on Rosie took some more photos for me … some little softies for next month’s magazine (I’ll show you a bit later this week) and also my new Pin Cushion Mice. I first uploaded this free pattern more than two years ago, and I’d been feeling for a while that it was time to revise and update both instructions and photos.
So I have! And if you’d like the free Pin Cushion Mouse pattern, just CLICK HERE to download the pdf file.
Finally ….. remember Daisy’s competition in my last post? The answers are Ben A, D, E and Daisy B, C, F – well done Monika!
by Helen on March 3, 2013
This week is Crufts week, when arguably the world’s most famous dog show prepares to open its doors for the 110th time here in the UK. I found out when reading the paper this morning that there really was a Mr Cruft – Charles Alfred – who was born in 1852. He worked as a travelling dog biscuit salesman before he had the idea of staging a dog show to promote his wares.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries Crufts exhibitors received special treatment when travelling by the London & North Western Railway. Charles Cruft had helped to design their special dog carriages (each with its own water trough) and the railway regularly had representatives at the shop to help both exhibitors and dogs with their journeys. I’m sure Ben and Daisy would approve of these travelling arrangements. Although neither has ever been on a train, Ben does enjoy riding on the double decker bus between here and Dartmouth with his special doggy day rider ticket! In honour of this special “doggy” week, I’m re-releasing my “Best in Show” applique pattern:
It’s a really easy project – great for beginners, or a quick make for the more experienced. If you’d like it, then please CLICK HERE to download your free pdf file. Meanwhile – here’s another Crufts fact gleaned from my newspaper this morning…
In 1974 Crufts featured in a murder trial! A jury at the Old Bailey heard that a man who had started an affair with a woman he met at Crufts was then stabbed to death by his wife, with the knife he had used to cut up their dog’s food.
by Helen on February 3, 2013
I am still tidying and sorting. I cannot believe quite how messy my sewing area had become. Rosie and Townie said that I should have shown before and after photographs since nobody would believe one person could make quite so much mess! It is lovely though finding all sorts of treasures I’d forgotten about – and amongst the untidy pile of printed patterns (I always print at least one copy of all my patterns to make sure it comes out OK), I’ve discovered one or two freebies from a while ago which aren’t currently available on my site.
Amongst them is this design – it’s a really easy machine applique project and is ideal for beginners – because it’s all straight lines you don’t even need an embroidery foot. I’ve always liked it for being so cheerful and childlike and so I’ve dusted it off, revised the instructions slightly and now uploaded it again …. If you’d like it, then please CLICK HERE to download the free pattern as a pdf file. Now, back to the sorting and tidying … not such a bad way to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon!
