wordless wednesday

inspiring colours

a soggy christmas and a happy new year

turquoise, taupe, blue, green, pink

Today we took my newly finished messenger bag for a test run at the seaside:

Just think, we could have been fighting the crowds, doing Christmas shopping... instead we were filling ourselves with beautiful colours:

and watching flocks of starlings and geese doing their aerial ballet, whilst drinking mugs of tea in the beach cafe.

a lovely way to begin Christmas.

One of the best bits of this bag are the natty inside pockets! Here it is inside out. The smallest 'hip pocket' is just right for a phone, and the zipped one on the left is made from the fly. Very satisfying working out how to re-use everything.

the festive shop

The creative community that is Handy and Divine had a great week at our Christmas pop up shop last week. The Upholstery Shop in Midhurst kindly let us into their shop, and even provided a beautiful Santa's sleigh for the window.

... its looks as though Santa left his hat behind! 

There were lots of lovely things to choose from:

bags, decorations, wallets, lavender bags,

and lots of things for stocking fillers, and all locally hand made.

I just love these mice, and they are sold in aid of the charity Mind.

and how could anyone resist the sock monkeys?

we will be popping up again at Easter!

booty

I think I could easily get addicted to indoor car boot sales. What a civilised idea- no standing around in a cold muddy field for a start, and it seems to be really difficult to buy anything for more than 50p!

I went to one last Saturday with a like-minded friend and bought a tiny 'present from Bognor' mug (50p)

..which is the brother to the splendid 'present from Southend' teacup I already have:

I think this one is really old- I can imagine a skilful Victorian Hoopla thrower winning it at a fair..

Also a delicate transparent teacup decorated with a lovely camp Chinese man (£1)

Probably even older- the lady on the stall said 1820's (and who am I to argue?)

a vintage pyrex casserole- my special weakness (50p)

and two little willow pattern cups and saucers (50p the lot) and a 1950's tablecloth ('Oh if you like it, Love, you can have it for nothing')!

Mr P, however is unimpressed. He thinks my friend and I should set up our own stall at the next sale and 'get rid of some of the junk we already have'! Actually we might do just that......?

Nearly ready for the Christmas shop!

popping up again

Good news- the Handy and Divine pop-up shop will open again in time for Christmas Shopping! Which means I need to hurry up and make things in time for Monday 3rd December. This time the shop will be hosted by the Upholstery Shop in Midhurst High Street.

http://handyanddivine.co.uk/wordpress/

I love these leafy pins, which I bought for a specific project, but I think I'll have to keep them for myself....

....anyone for tea?

Upcycled teacup pincushions!

busy busy busy

Well, life in the Molebags household has just moved up a notch to Very Busy Indeed because Mr P is now working from home, which means he is sharing my creative space (a posh name for the spare room!)

So while he is working on the computer and my big white cat Molly is trying to sit on the desk between the keyboard and the screen, I am trying to make things in the corner!

I have a lot of little cups which are going to become pincushions, and hopefully they will be ready for the next Handy and Divine pop-up shop in the first week of December. We are having trouble finding somebody in Midhurst who will let us have a shop for a week, so fingers crossed that it happens in time for the Christmas shoppers.

I am also making myself a bag from this tutorial:

http://www.noodle-head.com/2010/01/tutorial-messenger-bag-from-cargo-pants.html

...using a HUGE pair of shorts which I bought in a charity shop for just £1. I like the idea of the recycled pockets!

Miss Mouse's quilt is coming along too- sometimes I don't know which project to spend time on next....

Miss Mouse

Miss Mouse says 'watch this space for the next quilt....'

Isn't she gorgeous- I fell for her at the last Handy and Divine pop-up shop, and a kind friend bought her for me.

The fabric behind her is for a quilt I hope to have ready for the next shop, although I might have to start staying up later than my usual bedtime of about 9pm to get it done!

old and new

Life has rather caught up with me lately, so blogging has been neglected. I have been rushing to finish my friend's quilt, so I can get on with making things for the next Handy and Divine shop, which should open on 3rd December.

As anybody who has been following this quilt's progress is probably sick of the sight of the front, here is a picture of the back!

I had enough fabric left to make a 'pillowcase' to keep it in, which can double up as a cushion cover

and, as every quilt needs its own poem and this one is going to a hippo fan, I have added a poem called Hippos on Holiday by the wonderful poet Billy Collins.

Hippos on holiday

is not really the title of a movie

but if it was I would be sure to see it

I love their short legs and big heads,

the whole hippo look.

Hundreds of them would frolic

in the mud of a wide, slow-moving river,

and I would eat my popcorn

in the dark of a neighborhood theater.

When they opened their enormous mouths

lined with big stubby teeth

I would drink my enormous coke.

I would be both in my seat

and in the water playing with the hippos,

which is the way it is

with a truly great movie.

Only a mean-spirited reviewer

would ask on holiday from what?

Billy Collins

The cheeky pink and green hippos are from my friend's husband's underpants (unworn, I am assured!) I used one for the tiny label on the quilt back.

I have a pile of other projects waiting to be finished. I'd really like to get this quilt done before the weather gets any colder:

Its made from a mixture of new fabrics and vintage tablecloths and other embroidered linens. I love the holes, and the laundry marks, which tell a tale of past lives, and the soft feel of the well-washed fabric. It is backed with an old sheet with tiny rosebuds on it. How I love a good charity shop find!

Its a bit of a monster (kingsize bed size) and it has been patiently awaiting its final quilting for far too long.....

hand sewing, and inspiration

Mr Christmas has been to sweep the chimneys, and its time to light the logburner again. Lovely to sit in the kitchen armchair to do some hand quilting.

Then just the binding to do, and this one will be finished..

We spent a beautiful sunny day on Saturday at the Weald and Downland open air museum, http://www.wealddown.co.uk/ watching a new old house being put up, and admiring the tamworth piglets

...and how's this for inspiration? A beautiful quilt on a bed in one of the historic buildings, made by local quiltmakers.

It's utilitarian and completely lovely.

...what Mr P does

Meanwhile, in the shed...

Mr P takes bits of wood...

and chops them up...

to put on his pole lathe..

and turn into bowls

Its a miracle of medieval technology!

He went on a pole lathe turning one day course at the Weald and Downland open air museum near Chichester, and was so inspired that he came straight home and took a fortnight to make his very own lathe. 

There's nothing more satisfying than making something with your hands, a quilt or a beautiful bowl.

what I do when I'm not sewing- The Beast!

The Beast lives in my fridge- its a sourdough starter for bread and its been there for a couple of years. As long as I remember to feed it some more flour and water now and then its perfectly happy....

so when we want some bread I take out a spoonful and feed it up for a couple of days in a nice warm place until its bubbling, then its ready to use for making the best bread in the world!

Sometimes I add extra tasty things- the loaf on the left has green olives and oregano in it. Almost the best part is the delicious smell, and the sound of the crust crackling as it cools...

I use an adaptation of a recipe from this brilliant book by Tom Jaine. You can see from the state of it how much use it gets..

.. and what does Mr P do?