Before the before, before & after

So I have been a very bad Bee member & am 3 months behind in my blocks but I kinda have a decent excuse I think.
The year started off calm & went to hectic in 0.3 seconds. 
New to me coffee truck delivered on 7 January. 
Unplanned trip to Oz took a 4 week chunk. 
Came home to sewing room looking like a storage facility. 
Started work the day after I arrived home. Been working 7 days a week ever since.
That pretty much sums it up. Here it is in pictures.

BEFORE THE BEFORE

BEFORE

See, there is a sewing machine in here, it's just impossible to get to it let alone use it!!

& AFTER

My cutting table

 Just ignore the pile of paperwork boxes, they still need to find a home. And I am not even going to go there about the stockpile of wadding behind those boxes. Yes I may need an intervention :)

 My ironing board & comfy chair. Almost obscured by the stuff for the eventual car boot. Not my exercise ball but those boxes.

All the pretties, back where they belong :)

 I am so lucky to have this space in which to create. Now I just have to carve out some time so I can justify this beautiful room. I started yesterday morning with one hour as soon as I woke. Seems to be this is the best time to exercise & create for me as it does not allow me to forget or get distracted by some other household task like cleaning or washing & gets the good stuff done. Like this blogging time.

I am so seriously loving what I do & especially with whom it is done.

Lush x

Yes! We have a seam sewn!!!

Like always, it has been a very busy couple of weeks in my life & there has been no sewing done. In fact I had not even had time to plug Eartha in!! 
I am so grateful for this room but I must admit that I am feeling overwhelmed when I think of how to arrange the furniture & have been a bit frozen. This is totally ridiculous when you consider that the furniture will not be here until February. 
Why does my anxiety wrack me like this?? Clearly I like to get it in early.

I decided that I had to get a grip & so off I went to the garret & got on with it!! One seam does not seem like much but when I am in this frozen mood, it is sometimes just the push I need.

The colour is appalling in these shots as I took them at night.

Let's see how long it takes me to get to the all important second seam. LOL

Trying to do what I love

Lush x

Ta Da!!! The Famous Singer.

I have been having so much fun with my new baby. She sews such a beautiful seam and after my pain with Gretchen it is lovely to be able to achieve some sewing around here.

That is a 60 mm Olfa cutter across the bed.

Here is her pretty side face

Hey Lee, this is the lovely bag you made me, shows how tiny she is.

This is her being dwarfed by a 1000 metre spool on the spindle.

I am so resisting the urge to call her Dusty, Petula, Patti or Doris LOL. Mind you she will let me know her name in her own time I guess. Ohh she just mentioned that her name is Eartha!!! 1950's Singer, petite, ebony, glamorous & smooooooooooth!!!

Edited to add: this reminds me of when I went to see Ms Kitt in concert & was invited to the VIP drinks area after the show. I was sitting chatting with friends and looked up to see the crowd parting & Ms Kitt came straight towards us & asked me where I bought my earrings!! We ended up sitting together having a lovely chat about jewellery, clothing & shoes. She is gorgeous!! So petite & the longest false eyelashes I have ever seen!! It's a wonder she could open her eyes.

Yep, Eartha it is.

Speaking of Singers from the past, check out what was parked in our street the other day. I have never seen one of these & didn't even know they existed.

Love the modest bat wing back.

This is a Singer Vogue apparently made in the 1960's. This one needs a bit of renovation but just beautiful.
Loving what I do

Lush x

She's Here!!!!

She's here!! She's here!! She's here!! She's here!! She's here!! She's here!! She's here!! She's here!! She's here!! She's here!! She's here!! She's here!! She's here!! She's here!! She's here!! She's here!!

She is BEAUTIFUL!!!

I will be belly up to the sewing table for a while.  Pictures soon.

Loving her!!

Lush x

Jones-ing

Desperate times call for desperate measures yes??
At the Fat Quarter Retreat I rescued the leftover ugly's from ending up in the bin & promised I would use them in a quilt or 2 for the charity, the Linus Project.
Well I am trying!! I have one top planned, all cut out, marked up etc, hell I have even managed to get a couple of sides sewn on!! Work has stopped however as can be seen by the next photo, Gretchen has decided she does not want to play!!

See if you recognise your ugly contribution.

If this fills you with fear, you should see the back!!

 So on the weekend I was crawling up the walls for wanting to make something. This is where it lead me.

I can't even remember where I purchased this kit, I liked it because of the chickens but have no idea where it will end up or if it even needs to.

The great news in this saga is that I have made contact with a reportedly great techie who will give Gretchen the once over & even better than that, I won an auction for a new to me Singer Featherweight!! Huzzah!!! She is beautiful, black with gold decals & a lovely engraved side plate. Pictures when she arrives - hopefully soon. She is my belated birthday present from The Prince.

For those who have asked, here is a shot of the front garden. It is doing ok considering it does not get as much sunshine as the back garden & we have had several meals worth of kale and sweet peas so far. We are both hanging out for the rhubarb. I never had much success with this in Oz but it really is in it's element here in the UK.

So delicate (shame about the fly in this shot LOL)

Oh well I am off to pace the room waiting for the courier & maybe do some more cutting out & marking up.

Loving what I do

Lush x