Tuesday 30 April 2013

... and in the Blue Fleece ...

Mr C and I had a little fun this weekend (no, not that sort of fun - what minds you have!).
We were invited to audition for BBC's "Bargain Hunt"!  There's no guarantee that we will be on tv but they hold teams on standby or for later use, so it may happen.  
Anyhoo ... on Saturday we fired up the Fiesta and drove off to The Olde Barn Hotel near Grantham where the auditions were taking place.
There were around eight couples as well as us, all lovely people and up for the challenge.  Sadly no Tim or experts but we had a little video first with Tim giving us a few tips and pointers then we were sent off in our couples to look at a selection of photos of antiques.  We had to put them in order of value without looking at the prices on the back and chat about our reasons for the choices.  Luckily they didn't have to be accurate, the researchers just needed to know if you could talk, interact and make decisions.  You then had to pick out the three which you would take to auction.
 Mr C's shiny little head got in the way of this photo.  You can see the picture selections on the tables.  We were smugly pleased with ourselves that we chose the three most valuable items in our selection!
The famous fleeces!
Next the researchers unveiled a "bonus buy" which we had to discuss, ask questions and decide whether to accept or not.  These were just ordinary items which the researchers waffled about as though they were valuable.  Ours was a Caithness glass bottle - I quite liked it, Mr C didn't.  Par for the course, as usual!
Mr C looking confused and wondering why I had applied in the first place!
 Finally we all got a chance to wear the fleeces (we had blue) and be filmed while pretending to be interviewed by "Tim" (ie a researcher).  Those fleeces are reeeeaaallly thick, very useful when contestants are tramping around a freezing, rain-soaked showground!  Here are two of the teams having their interviews...
Such fun! - as Miranda's mother would say.

Just thought I'd add a photo of my latest makes.  One is a reversible little cotton jacket I made for Miss Peach Pudding...
... the other is a blue wool jacket in the same pattern, with a reworked man's shirt lining for The Girl Genius.
Love to you all xxx

  

Monday 15 April 2013

Sunshine and Sewing - Super!

The spare bedroom vanished again!  This time under all the stuff I put together and labelled for my stall at the St Andrew's Hospice Vintage Fair yesterday.  Isn't it a job and a half doing all the packing, unpacking, labelling, setting up and such?  Forget the marathon, just do a fair if you want exercise!
This was my stall.  
I was in a corner but not out of general footfall so it was quite pleasant.  No-one had a huge sales day, perhaps due to the lovely sunshine and a couple of other fairs (wedding and record) in town. It was worth the day, however, and lovely to chat to the other stall holders.
Apart from this, what have I done? ...
I attended a Rowan workshop on fairisle and intarsia, which was fun and provided a couple of enlightening moments after all the years of tangling up yarns and knitting untidy reverses.  I am now inspired to make another cushion for my workroom in my duck egg/teal and raspberry colours:
Carrying it all on a tray was one of the enlightened moments, so that when the door bell goes or there's a burning smell from the oven you can leap up and not get totally lost...

Have you been inspired by BBC's Great British Sewing Bee?  And of course, the lovely Patrick?  How I covet that workroom and all its contents (plus the lovely Patrick)!
I've made a couple more clothing items and also created a new Fashionista Sister, twice the size of the previous girls, with a "wooden dutch doll" twist.  I'm thinking of doing another with striped fabric to give a Victorian swimsuit look.
 
Happy crafting, lovelies, and have a great week xxx

Sunday 7 April 2013

The Joy of Stash

An Easter Bunny called at my house last week.
Actually it was a lovely friend of mine, visiting family in the area.  She couldn't stop but filled my porch with.... STASH!!!


How kind (and exciting) is that?
So far I have made...
A waistcoat from a felted woolly jumper and some hand-felting by my friend...
A teacosy which looks oddly like a sheep...
...and a dress to wear at my stall at a vintage fair next week.  The fabric itself is vintage - it belonged to my friend's Great Aunt Ella.

I've also made a scarf and am contemplating my next attack on the stash.  I can't wait to make things with the lovely picture-based fabrics.

The sun is out and I'm going back to my workroom to enjoy the sunshine through the window and...make things!  Hope you have a great making week too. xxx