Easter Bunny

 As Easter was drawing near and I was currently without a project, I embarked upon this little bunny. The pattern was taken from Sarah Moore's lovely book (http://www.sarahmoorevintage.com/) and was actually surprisingly easy and quick to make!! I used a lovely, but sadly moth-ridden, vintage wool blanket, to cut out my bunny template, stitched it together quite carefully, turned it inside out. And ended up with a rabbit that has one ear longer than the other, body-builder's shoulders and one leg longer than the other. Oops!! Nevertheless I filled it with stuffing and lavender and sewed up the seams. A few stitches across the arms and neck to give him shape, and he still, sadly, had body-builder's shoulders. 

So, I commissioned my mother to knit some mittens and a scarf (despite being able to sew, I still have not managed to knit), added a cute little bunny face, and voila! He looks like a rabbit!!! The scarf and mittens are much needed, as despite being March he is still too cold to  go out sans clothes!

Oh yes, and he's got a cute tail.

...Miss Jones...

Hanging On

I have always loved the way clothes look on coathangers. Not your average plastic Primark hanger but an expensive, wooden, Boutique hanger. The clunk as you push hangers from one side of the rail to the other searching for that perfect piece of clothing that will complete you!

So having found some old wooden hangers at a car boot sale I set about making them my own. Painting them in Farrow and Ball's 'Smoked Trout' I then set about carefully tracing on my chosen words. This needed a lot of patience and had to be done when I was at my most calm!! A final lick of polish to seal the paint and they're done!

...Miss Jones...

All Strung Up

 

 

 

Having recently acquired/borrowed from Mum, a copy of ‘Granny Chic’, and noticing a rather blank patch of wall in my room, I decided to create a ‘quirky & jolly string’. I have decided on a slightly more modern update than the one featured in the book. I’ve composed mine from a mixture of book pages, wrapping paper, mirrored beads, feathers, beads and fabric flowers.

 

It was slightly more complicated than I originally thought it would be… Knotting tiny bits of thread is just a little fiddly and becomes tangles far too easily! But with two nails hammered into my walls, my ‘quirky & jolly string’ looks quite pleasant and fills a gap quite adequately!

 

 

 

...Miss Jones...

Free As A Bird

I made a bird! And it actually worked!!

 

When I first set out to make it, I wasn’t really expecting it to work out very well…

 

 

 

I stole the idea from Cath Kidston’s Make book, and despite not following the instructions (!) I’m actually rather proud of it! I chose two bits of lovely floral fabric and a wonderful piece of velvet ribbon to give it a fabulous vintage feel. Although it’s not very Christmassy I can see it fitting perfectly onto my Christmas tree.

 

 

 

 

 

...Miss Jones...

Having My Cake And Making It Too

 

 

 

So after a ridiculous amount of time spent procrastinating, I have finally finished something! I honestly can’t believe it’s taken me so long – but you know what it’s like; you start something, abandon it, start something else, abandon that, go back to the first thing, get bored and do other ‘important’ things instead!

This was inspired by (well, I’m sure you can tell) cake! Because who doesn’t love a huge slice of cake, a dainty cupcake or a delicious biscuit? The cupcake was definitely missing that elusive ‘something’ that brings everything together, so I decided to experiment with some beads. And I now love the finished project; just a sprinkling of beads has livened up the whole thing!

 

The frame definitely had to be painted in one of my favourite colours – Cranberry from Laura Ashley – I just love how bold it is! A carefully chosen piece of faded sheet music to cover the ugly board behind completed my project.

 

...Miss Jones...

Alice's Temporary Wonderland

Being a slightly mad bunch of friends, we decided that an Alice in Wonderland themed birthday party for our friend Alice was a definite must. It was also decided that this was to be a surprise, but that didn’t work out quite so well…

Planning this fabulous event was definitely a lot of fun. I had given myself permission to drift off into the land of make believe and dream of whimsical, and often impossible, ideas! I set aside a notebook and began planning menus, decorations, outfits – everything that goes hand in hand with a party. I soon had a rough idea of how the day was to commence, and just a week before I set about creating the decorations.

First there were paper chains. Hand cut from the pages of an old Alice in Wonderland book they were glued together and stored carefully away. Then there were placemats. Full pages from the same Alice in Wonderland book featuring lovely colour illustrations (these also later hung from the backs of chairs). Then there was card bunting. A length of string, a pack of cards, scissors and a hole punch was all that was needed to create this. Then I set about to make some tiny ‘eat me’ cards designed to be stuck into the delightful delicacies.  And then it was the long process of cutting out hearts, diamonds, spades and clubs – all also to be stuck into cakes.

And then the day of the party arrived, and it was into the kitchen for me. Slaving away, with a little bit of help, I created mini quiche, sandwiches, cupcakes, mini cupcakes, jam tarts, a birthday tart and scones – all before 5 o clock! Luckily the guests were late so there was ample time to get changed into a fabulous dress, heels and hat, and carefully transfer everything outside! No accidents occurred and the table looked wonderful! Cocktails were served to everyone upon arrival. Poured from teapots into quaint, mismatched teacups and garnished with a slice of lemon and umbrella, they were picture perfect!

 

...Miss Jones...

A Little Slice of London

I apologise for the shockingly long break from blogging; I have started and abandoned many sewing projects before finally settling down to finish this one!

Instead of the delightfully rustic embroidery fabric I usually use, I decided to choose a slightly more stark white, so that the black thread stands out more against the distressed turquoise frame. I was slightly worried that the scale of London Bridge and The London Eye would not be right - which it probably isn't - but I love it anyway! Definately not perfect by any means but delightfully handmade and quintessentially British!

Perhaps I will next undertake a New York or Paris skyline - wish me luck!

...Miss Jones...