Grab a cuppa, lets have a catch up!

Oh my lovely bloggy friends, Im so sorry, I feel like I've abandoned this blog and for no other reason than I've been so so busy lately.  Sad but true.  Setting up shop is keeping me busy, half term kept me very busy and my birthday celebrations carried on for a whole week!  (I was a very lucky girl!)

However, I have been thinking about you all and wanted to stop by and say hi, have a catch up and share a make I've made (read, attempted) recently.  Oh, and I've been awarded a few awards too!!!  So grab a cuppa (and four a biscuit) and lets have a catch up!

Of course this is what my coffee looks like every day

As I previously mentioned, I managed to make my birthday celebrations last a whole week!  Pretty good going, even for me.  This included my weekend away, shopping and lunch with my sister and a night out with some of my mummy friends from the school gate. However, I wanted to show you a fab present I got from my super talented friend Twinkle Star for my birthday.

Such fab presents.  Thanks so much Twinkle Star!

The most gorgeous jar filled with sewing supplies and a pin cushion lid (her fab tutorial can be found here), a cute little cupcake cross stitch and CHOCOLATE!!!  I'd love to say the chocolate's life was a long one but I dont think it lasted the hour after the photo was taken.  Oink oink.

On to the shop!  Work on my online shop is going well and, can you believe, there is only 9 days til the launch!??  Crazy where time has gone.  All the new fabrics and trimmings and buttons and stuff being delivered daily, has had me swooning!  I have a new favourite every day and have to keep reminding myself its not my private stash!  These are a couple that have come in recently....

Riley Blake - So Sophie - Purple Petals

Riley Blake - So Sophie - Cream

Some of you may recognise these fabrics, I think they're typical Riley Blake designs and I heart them lots!!  Im going to make a reversible tote bag from them (photos to follow but dont hold your breath, my sewing machine is sobbing, its had such little use lately).  We will have new Riley Blake fabrics coming in soon too - and I, for one cant wait!!!

I also love this fabric and can imagine a really lovely 1950's style skirt being made with it (not by me - bit beyond my talents at the moment!)

Vintage style teapots

So, onto my make.  Now, for those of you that read my blog reguarly, you may remember me saying that I really wanted to learn how to quilt this year.  Its something thats always baffled me, in a good way, as the results I think, are amazing!  Well, I must have mentioned in passing to my husband that this is something I wanted to do (dont think for a minute he reads my blog!!) and low and behold, he presents me with this for my birthday!!

He really is a keeper!  Turns out he does listen to what I say and went out and bought me these so I can learn how to do quilting.

Itching to have a go, as soon as the girls went to bed I had a go at my first patchwork quilt.  For those of you that do quilting, may I apologise in advance at my somewhat rustic attempt at a quilt.

Its not finished yet, I still need to close up where I turned it and "quilt" it.  Some of the squares arent lined up properly and the blocks are obviously very very basic (well, they're just squares) but I like it!  Its for Lillie's baba, her bestest friend at the minute :)

I havent read the part in the book about quiliting it yet, hence why it isnt finished.  Im a bit gun-ho about things sometimes and just go for it, mainly because Im impatient, but did this in a night (and it shows!).  However, I now have the bug and as soon as time permits, Im hoping to do a cot sized quilt for Lillies bed (Maddy has Moshi Monster duvet cover on her bed at the moment which isnt allowed to be removed!!)

Last but not least, I've also been awarded some awards!  I've said it before and I'll say it again, it never fails to amaze me that not only do people read my blog, but that they actually enjoy it enough to give it an award!!  So thank you to Carrad who's awarded me The Versatile Bloggers Award and Pamela and Lottie who have awarded me The Leibster Blog Award.  Their blogs are really lovely so pop over and say hi!  Im going to need to think about who to pass the award on to so will post about that next time.

I feel so much better for having a catch up!  I now need another cuppa!

Until next time x x