Gifts given and received

Well the machine has been humming here with two lovely nieces having a birthday three days apart there were twice the gifts to make.

All my sewing at the moment feels more pleasurable as I now have this little beauty in my possession.

Have you ever seen anything as lovely for sticking pins in!

Thanks to the talented Adds at The Humming Cat for this beautiful pin-cushion I won on her blog.

It's made using Denyse Schmidt fabric and one of my toddlers is particularly impressed with the 'butt' on top! (Button of course!). I'm just impressed with it fullstop.

If only I had more attractive pins!! Thanks Adds.

For Miss 7 I made this set using an Ottobre pattern I had never tried before from issue 4/2007, pattern 20.


My husband said I need to continue to challenge myself and not just do all the easy stuff I already know how to do, and what do you know, he was right!

It does feel more rewarding to try something new and different - particularly if it works.


This skirt has a yoke front and back and proper little pockets (which I lined with a heart-patterned material) and is all top-stitched, giving it quite a professional-looking finish.

(Please excuse the night-time photography and flash - it had to be wrapped ready for giving!)

Of course I cheated with the top and used an existing one to which I simply stitched a decorative flower.

I must confess I didn't make the little crocheted flower - I found a little bundle of them at a market years ago and have been saving them for just the right project, which turned out to be this one.

The other big project I have been working on it slowly coming to an end - with only ten weeks now til our baby is due. There's lots to be done before then so stay tuned.