I didn't even need my coat!

I keep thinking it's Wednesday, but no, it's only Tuesday, and it's also astonishingly mild too. I was out in the garden without a coat on! Makes a change from shivering in layers of thermals and woolies during the recent freezing cold weather. A bit of blue sky and warmish weather really does lift the spirits. I've noticed the days are getting ever-so-slightly longer too. There's the not-too-distant promise of light evenings and spring flowers. Speaking of flowers, the perfume from these blue hyacinths is gorgeous. Nicer than any scented candle.

In other 'news', I've been making progress with this scrappy patchwork. It's had its binding attached, and is waiting to be quilted.

I know using my sewing machine for those quilt lines would be speedier, but I like the softer look hand stitching gives.

The binding's as scrappy as the patchwork squares. I've jumbled up colours and patterns, so there's everything from plain material to Christmas fabric to florals and African wax prints.

Below is a reminder of the backing I chose, complete with appliqued birds.

Apart from this, I also finished off a little coin purse, adding a button and a piece of cord with a tassel for the fastening.

I think the black cord was from upcycled clothing, but can't for the life of me remember what that was.

I've also stitched away at this embroidery. But I'll explain more another time as there's a lovely account on Instagram that's behind this, and I want to tell you about that.

That's all the nonsense I have to say for now, so thanks for stopping by. Hope you enjoy your day.

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Sari scraps, PVA, a couple of books and a necklace

I'm typing this as snow's falling, and has been steadily all day. It's not settling to any great extent, though I bet by tomorrow morning the paths will be slippery with ice. Which always makes me paranoid about falling over and at the very least looking undignified, but at worst breaking a bone or twisting an ankle. Oh well, it's ideal weather to stay inside and craft, isn't it? I finally got around to listing packs of sari scraps on Etsy this morning. I only made up six bundles as I've no clue whether they'll sell or if I've set a reasonable enough price point. Time will tell. This is a link to the listing, if you're interested. This vaguely pink fabric isn't from one of my Etsy packs. It's from a bit of experimenting I was doing yesterday. I'd seen a post on Instagram showing how a DIY version of batik could be done without using hot wax. The Instagrammer used PVA instead, and I wanted to try this out....

HOW TO MAKE: these decorative birds

I suggested yesterday that I'd run through how to make a fabric bird wall or window hanging (can't think of a snappier title for it than that!) so here goes. I'll start with the first decorative hanging I made. It's something you could make in any colour combination you want, and would look good hanging at a window with translucent beads that'd catch the light I used five birds for this, but you could make it longer if you prefer. (Incidentally, if you're wondering about what's hanging off the bottom on this, it's a metal Christmas decoration, shaped like a lantern. For some reason I thought it looked appropriate to leave it there, looped over the end.) WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO GATHER TOGETHER: Assorted scraps of fabric for the front of the birds - aim for a mix of colours and textures. Silk looks good, as does anything with embroidery or intricate patterns. You might aim for a hippy-ish boho look, or maybe you're ...

HOW TO MAKE: a petal gift bag

These petal gift bags are ridiculously quick to make and really pretty. I can't claim the idea's orginally mine - see Instragram for the source - but here's how I made them. The first bag was the one at the top of this photo, so choosing fabric was trial and error. I went for two prints, though the second bag - with the peppermint green material - shows you're better off choosing a plain and a patterned. Anyway, here goes with my first attempt, I picked green floral for my background and pink flowers for the petals. These cotton squares are 7 inches. Put the squares right sides together, sew all around 'em but leaving a gap of an inch or so unstitched. (I used a sewing machine, but hand-sew if you'd rather.) Trim a notch off each corner, turn rights sides out, poke out the corners and sew the gap closed. You might want to give it a press with the iron too. With the fabric you've picked for the petals fa...

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