Get Crafty: Getting my mojo back!

It has taken years for me to get my sewing mojo back. I would often walk past my old friend Bertha the Brother and sigh with a pang of lost love and guilt. My happiest time was about four years ago sitting in our box room in Chapel Allerton, Leeds, with my little radio blaring out some form of Pop music. In between mad crafting sessions, preparing for a craft fair or adding stock to my Folksy shop, I would sit in our little front 'yarden' (aka a glorified concrete patch) sipping on a nice cup of tea, sketching ideas. It was utter bliss. 

Over the years I lost the time to explore my sewing skills. Like baking, sewing is very much affected by my mood. I am at my best when I don't feel overwhelmed with life, be it work, house moves, having a newborn. Now I find myself with more breathing space and it's being filled with the desire and confidence to get back to crafting. I am ready to unleash my inner sewing Super Woman!! It started off slowly with a little bit of bunting for Lena's room, the clouds and stars, Amie's hoop and Renley's quilt.

I then managed to make a little dress for Lena, thankfully with a little help from my tailor friend who sent me a wonderful body pattern for an A-line dress. I felt hugely clever adding a collar to it. Well, I am not a dress maker. Although I enjoyed the time spent doing it, it made me realise that my favourite type of crafting is sewing little keepsakes.

So, after several months of sketching, trying, re-sketching, re-sewing I have come up with what I truly believe is a lovely little decorative keepsake. Perfect as a gift for a newborn, christening, birthday or as I'm currently working on a family of four!

All of the hoops are hand stitched and the wording is hand stamped with my much loved vintage letterpress set.

I'm getting excited about my next visit to Liberty of London to stock up on some more Tana Lawn Mauvey. I think this is the best fabric to use on the outer hoop. It's what I used on Lena the Lion's, so I'm about to bulk up my stash with the same print in blue, greens and purples. YUM!!!

Please follow my page on Facebook to learn more about the product and ordering process! I hope you like them!!! 

What are your latest crafting triumphs? x