Search Results for: knitting and stitching

  • days out - Local Review - London

    Alice in Wonderland exhibition at the British Library

    I took the opportunity of a rare trip to London to pop into the British Library today to see the Alice in Wonderland exhibition today. Did you know that Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland were first published in 1865 so last year celebrated their 150th anniversary? I have to admit I haven’t seen or heard many things about the anniversary, although we did enjoy The Alice Look display at the Museum of Childhood last year. That was also the first time I had seen the Gallymoggers Reynard fabric from the Alice in Wonderland themed SS15 Collection by Liberty. I’m pleased to…

  • homestyle - quilt - sewing

    The Life Planner and looking forward to 2016

    I’ve been toying with the idea of using a Planner to get organised in 2016. I’m a bit of a list keeper and find writing lists and crossing things off really helpful. The only problem is where to keep them. Add to my lists the family calendar in the kitchen with the children’s activities and playdates, the calendar on my iPhone with my PTA and choir commitments and then scribbled ideas for blog posts and that is a lot of things to remember. The Life Planner I invested in the Life Planner from Lollipop which I first heard about when…

  • crafts - days out - handmade

    A day at the Knitting & Stitching Show

    Today I had a lovely day all to myself at the Knitting & Stitching Show at Ally Pally. I’ve been for the last couple of years but this year, for the first time, I booked myself on a couple of the Learning Curves workshops. Boy, did that make the day go super fast! First thing in the morning I found myself making a hand painted tile pot stand. I went for a simple design, it just needs baking in the oven to seal it. After a short break it was off to learn how to recycle materials to make a…

  • crafts - Dolls quilts - handmade - Patchwork & Quilting - sewing

    Grandmother’s Flower Garden doll quilt

    I’ve been really lucky to attend both the Spring Knitting & Stitching Show as well as the Spring Country Living Fair in the last week. There was so much lovely inspiration and a fair few fabric purchases too. Grandmother’s Flower Garden doll quilt Lately I’ve been spending my precious free time making hexagons the EPP way. I just love the whole process, from making paper templates, to choosing fabrics and basting my hexagons. Somehow I’ve ended up with 4 patchwork projects on the go, all in various stages of completion. My current favourite is my doll size version of a…

  • crafts - days out - Knitting and Stitching Show - Local Review - London - sewing

    Knitting & Stitching Show at Ally Pally

    I’m not really sure how old this knitting bag is but I couldn’t resist its wooden handle or vintage fabric. I’m not a big knitter but it’s perfect for holding my latest sewing project. It’s currently holding my purchases from my rather extravagant trip to the Knitting & Stitching Show at Ally Pally. It’s my favourite sewing event of the year and I had the joy of visiting last week without children (thanks hubby!). Anyway, I admit I was excessive but living in London I just find it impossible to go searching for lovely sewing supplies. Faced with 200 sellers…

  • book review - crafts - handmade - sewing

    Some crafty inspiration and pretty pictures

    I’ve recently bought three lovely new craft books and have ear-marked a couple of projects to get me through the autumn and winter. You may know I love English Paper Piecing and have been carrying around a little hexagon project for a while. One it’s finished I’m going to start on my own version of the Union Jack Quilt which is one of the projects in Tacha Breucher’s hexa go-go. I thought I might make a cot-sized version for Little Sis’ first birthday in November. Her brother received a dinosaur blanket for his first birthday so I would love to…

  • Christmas - handmade - sewing

    Handmade gifts

    I managed to make a couple of handmade gifts for Christmas presents this year. First of all I made this tree from some patchwork hexagons and framed it for my mum. It was completely inspired by this photo on flickr by the very talented Liesl. Then I attempted this doorstop from Clothkits which I picked up at the Knitting and Stitching show at Ally Pally last November. The fabric was slightly different from the instructions so it took me longer than it should have. Again, I made this for my mum although it was quite difficult to part with 🙂

  • days out

    A trip to The Knit & Stitch Show 2025

    Yesterday I made my annual trip to The Knit & Stitch Show in London. It was held at Ally Pally and as we used to live nearby, I am always happy to visit the area with it’s magnificent views over north London. A trip to The Knit & Stitch Show 2025 I booked my workshops in advance and had an early start to get there for 8.30 before the show opened. My first workshop was making re-useable fabric crackers with Janet Goddard. I’ve wanted to make these for ages and a workshop was a great way see if I would…

  • Crafts for adults

    What I made in October 2024

    Two weeks ago I visited the Knitting and Stitching Show at Ally Pally. I had a great day out exploring the exhibitions and attended three different workshops too. I’ve written about my trip here and shared some photos of some of the displays which were really inspiring. I chose three workshops: Foundation Paper Pieced Liberty Heart, hand quilting for beginners and Stitch, Patch and Play with Jessie Chorley. The foundation paper piecing was quite difficult as you add the layers back to front against the paper. I completed it at home and just about ended up with a heart. The hand quilting class…