About time I blogged ...

There’s some useful work being done in my house on this soggy windy Monday. A bed probably destined for the tip is being stripped of staples and ancient brown fabric so that some structural work can be done too. It’s not the only bed like this in my house, Matty has the one I picked up way before she was born and gave to my eldest. Amazing what storage fits inside a gutted divan. 

Another Good-Book in need of a facelift!

This one had a spine but missed a back cover, so i have 2 new covers and then covered in some chef's trousers!

All finished and perhaps quite hard wearing too! Saved from further wear and restored to the owner ...

Torn Kimono!

Help, cried my friend, I have Trodden on my tail! And, as you see here, her Kimono became torn!

I took a piece of red cotton, and placed it behind the tear, and pinned it ...

Then of course i machined over the torn edges, that's better!

Now the Tie can be sewn back in place, and covers up the horizontal part of the repair, too ...

Flooring ...

Broken and uneven, the entrance to my living room floor was getting pretty crunchy underfoot! So I bought a tub of Evostick, and set about repairs, all by myself this time!



having removed all the broken ones, and hoovered away all the loose dust and dirt ...



...I am faced with a somewhat boring and delicate Jig-saw puzzle!

Merino Wool Sleeping Bag by Disana ...Holey!

This really lovely sleeping bag had a small hole so last evening I set about making a patch for it...



After backing a pretty piece of cotton with bondaweb, I pressed it onto the bag using the tip of my iron, then chose some cheerful thread to add some fun wonky stitches! i am all for patches that are proud of what they do!



Mary thinks this sleeping bag looks very smart now, and it feels lovely and soft not at all scratchy like some woollen things that mummy has felted!



Night night, Mary-baby!

Horsey, horsey ...

About a year ago we adopted this old horse from a nearby freecycler ... His mane and tail were knotted and dread-locked, and random attempts to brush them, or stick the mane back onto his head all failed! In this picture the tail looks quite well brushed, but then it would rub as it was rocked and all mess up again!



So I made a lovely new tactile, non-snagging tail, from some rather nice packaging rope. It swings beautifully when our horse gallops!



carefully removing tacks, glue and nylon hair revealed a rather elegant neck, and the rainbow hat, which is too itchy for Mary, keep him warm too!


I need to find him some kind eyes next, he has been painted here, and rather resembles a goat!

pick-pocket!

The problem - a pocket which shows too clearly where my cards are, and is also developing a hole! (i don't tend to be a handbag sort of person, really)



The solution - a nice new pocket made from pieces of vintage curtain fabric, and padded with a fleece lining to cushion my plastic money for a while!

Swing-seat Repair...

One morning at a friend's house, I sat and tore up a duvet and three pillow-cases, scored in a free-cycle win! Then set about making a new seat for this children's garden toy, a favourite of some good friends of ours!



When it is done, children quickly jump on - our little friend here is Boots, and he sat on the seat all afternoon, when we had gone home!



His sister Eleanor is looking forward to eating ice lollies and swinging again!

My garden ...

Looks like a building site again ...



These two tiny girls hefted all that stuff about!



i bought some 10mm bungee cord off eBay and fixed the ten year old trampoline - hooray! More bouncing!



one day we went out for about an hour and a half, and came back to find these poor birds in the garden, lying quite close together. Any ideas what happened? All three children looked at them, and after them for the afternoon, before their burials!

my sewing machine is in the hospital ... sewing machine man is waiting for new parts ...

so i will just have to knuckle down and sew all these body parts together ...
these will become jointed raggyrats and some colourful rabbits ...

i miss my sewing machine - once i even borrowed one while mine was inthe shop !

Restoration ...

silky, an old bear in need of a good clean up, and some strategic repairs, who belongs to my friend sandra...

who once met with a terrible accident and got a burned foot.

whos stuffing was made of polystyrene balls or bits mixed with foam chips. it was very dirty and there seemed to be lots of it missing. silky was saggy.

i emptied silky partly through the leg hole and partly through the neck seam which had under gone several reapirs, some with black thread, and some with loops of invisible thread and trapping lots of the black dirt from inside silky bear. i turned the bear inside out and hoovered all the seams by hand, soft brush attachment, and on low suck - easy does it! and then i washed the bear in a cold solution of shampoo and a dot of ecover washing up liquid.

apart from this roundish hole where silky was burned, the fabric is in very good condition, lovely to work with and very sound. it is only silky's fur that has matted and worn away in places.

here is the patch i made to repair the leg. matty and daisy are impressed, it is also a scrap of silky, woven backed fabric that i once made a ginger cat out of.

now silky sits taller, and has a plump snout again, and less double chins and spare tyres! i do hope sandra is happy with my work on this dear old friend ...