Sunday 2 September 2012

Heart Lavender Pillows With Wool (Apples And Sailing Boats) For Handmade Monday



Happy Autumn everyone! Yes, the season has officially changed and much as i love Summer, i'm quite excited by the new crispness in the air, turning leaves and ripening berries. There is something wonderfully cosy about Autumn, the temperature might go down a bit but the colours are warm and its nice to snuggle into woolly scarves and big slouchy socks again :) have i sold it to you yet?!

Thank you everyone who left kind and thoughtful comments about my Autumn Apples cushion last week, and also my 'Harvest' banner :) It seems a lot of you are Autumn fans too which is good news as the new season has inspired what i have to show you this week too!


Three Red Apples




I have combined three of my absolute favourite materials (lavender, wool and linen) to make these little Autumn apple lavender pillows (you can see all three pictured at the top being cuddled by my teddy bear :)).

Linen


I've used the pale cream linen I often choose for my sewing projects (because of its gorgeous texture and subtle natural colour) to make the hearts, and the appliqued apples are cut from some pretty striped and checked linens from my collection. There is something so appealing and tactile about linen, despite its tendency to crease i just love working with it. What's your favourite fabric to work with by the way...?

Lavender


Lavender is so soothing and comforting and yet invigorating at the same time, no wonder its so popular! I bought a big bag of Somerset lavender last Christmas and that's what i'm still using - running low now though so will have to stock up before this Christmas i think!

Wool


I looooooooove wool. We have a wool duvet, wool filled mattress and wool pillows in our house - it really does give you a great night's sleep! (you can find out more about this and the other benefits of wool on the Campaign For Wool website). Like many people i find the smell of wool really comforting and i thought it would be the perfect thing to combine with Lavender for these little pillows.






I have kept the design really simple and they are not large or over stuffed. As well as being ideal for popping into a draw to keep clothes smelling fresh, I think they would be perfect for putting under your pillow to aid sleep or even to slip into a bag or pocket if you have something stressful like a job interview - a few (subtle) deep breaths of their calming aroma before hand could be just the thing! :)


Sailing Boat Lavender Pillow




I have lots of ideas for different designs... here is a cute little sailing boat - expect to see more next week when i've had a chance to make them!

I haven't listed any of these lavender pillows on my website, Etsy shop etc yet but expect to see them there in the next few days. Individually they will be £4.50 and a set of three will be £12.


CRAFTfest And Other News


As you may remember me mentioning a few weeks back, i have a stall at CRAFTfest (online craft fair organised by crafters network Creative Connections). It is running all this week (from the 1st to the 8th of September) and there are lots of lovely stalls to look around! There is going to be another CRAFTfest in November so this is also an ideal time to pop over and suss out what its all about if you are interested in getting involved.

So far i have definitely had a lot more views to my Etsy shop (you give a link in your 'stall' to a shop where people can buy your products online) and as part of the promotion i have been introduced to some interesting social networking sites such as Stumbleupon which i hadn't got around to investigating yet... i will let you know more about how it has all gone next week!

I have also been keeping busy with some festive bits and bobs this week (as no doubt you have!) as well as working on a fun commission which i hope to tell you more about soon. Now though, I will leave you with a link to a lovely post that Sarah of A Cat Like Curiosity wrote last Sunday about my blog after reading my last HM post - thank you Sarah! And a link to Handmade Harbour, home of lots of fabulous crafty blogs!

Thank you for visiting x

63 comments:

  1. Isn't it funny the way we get drawn to certain type of fabric mine is natural linen. Love the hearts and with the apples reminds me of Autumn

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    1. thank you!

      yes, i think there is something particularly appealing about natural fibres :)

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  2. I love the simplicity of your designs. The plain background and then a splash of colour are gorgeous.

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  3. Lovely fresh clean designs, the apple is my favourite!

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  4. Very nice. I think the cream linen is lovely!

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  5. Do like your lavender hearts.
    I'm with you on the linen and wool - I do like using natural fabrics :)

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    1. thank you!

      i agree, you can't beat natural fibres :)

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  6. Lovely designs that bring out the details in the appples' fabric. Next step would be to make an apple shaped pillow with an apple applique, (trying saying those last three words several times fast :-D ).

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  7. The hearts are just lovely (I like the way you've used the red check on the apples). I'm with you on linen, lavender and wool - but I'm not ready to be sold on Autumn yet...I'm still waiting for summer.

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    1. thank you very much Wendy :)

      i had a feeling that the arrival of Autumn wouldn't be going down too well with some! i can completely understand why especially after the Summer we've had... x

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  8. I love linen, and your little sailing boat is very cute.
    StumbleUpon can be really great for views- a girl on Etsy stumbled my Wise Thoughts journal, and it got 75 views in a day as a result! It's also just quite a fun site to use to find new interesting things.

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    1. thank you!

      wow, that's a lot of views! i haven't completely got to grips with Stumble yet but i am sufficiently intrigued by it now to spend some time on it... there are just so many networking sites now its hard to fit them all in (i won't bother naming them but you know what i mean)... i guess that the best thing is to spend the time you have available for such things on the ones you enjoy :) i just can't get to grips with twitter but i like pinterest and FB - and now Stumble i guess! x

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  9. The hearts look great. I am sure they will be extremely popular on your Etsy site.

    Karen @quintonwench

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  10. Beautiful :)
    I'm so glad for the cooling (although it's still mid 30's here) of the weather! The drop in humidity has given me a new lease of life!
    I have been working on some little heart and some of them are uncannily similar to yours! Mine are fr a local craft show here in Cyprus.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. great minds think alike! :)

      wow, Cyprus is hot! it certainly does slow you down when it is so warm (not that we've had much chance to find that out in the UK this year!)

      good luck with your craft show x

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  11. My personal fav is denim. I am currently in the process of trying to finish cushion covers made from black denim.

    I adore the apple design. They would make lively tree decs too!

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    1. i like denim too, your black denim cushion covers sound great and practical too as denim is so hard wearing :)

      thanks for the Xmas decs idea :) i hadn't though of these in that light but is see what you mean now! x

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  12. I love the apple design! I like the way you have managed to incorporate the little heart into each design :)

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    1. thank you!

      it took me a couple of goes with some of them to get the heart bit of the fabric on the apple :) i'm glad you like the result! x

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  13. They are so pretty, I love them. I have just treated myself to a new sewing machine and can't wait to get stuck in to some applique.
    Am curious to see how you get on with CraftFEST so can't wait to hear from you.
    Have a lovely week. xxx

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    1. thank you! :)

      how exciting to get a new sewing machine! a well deserved treat :) i can't wait to see what you make with it! x

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  14. Love the sailing boat it's super sweet! Okay you have sold Autumn to me but if Summer were to make an appearance I wouldn't be angry :-)

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    1. thank you!

      ha! i wouldn't say no to the re-appearance (or should that be appearance) of Summer either :) x

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  15. Well I can see that I need to come to you for tips on how to get lots of comments to your blog!
    In the meantime, have you seem the Monday task yet? I've put a link to you blog on mine here http://foundinkeswick.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/the-craftfest-i-love-your-blog-blog.html
    Lu
    PS. One of my sketchbooks had over 1300 views via Stumbleupon

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    1. Hi Lu :) thanks for stopping by!

      i will pop over to your blog and check out the links :)

      1300 is a LOT!!!! :)

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  16. Lovely hearts, I adore putting lavender in stuffed items. Your choice of fabrics are lovely and they go so well together.

    Jan x

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  17. I love the hearts, the Apple one is my fav.
    The fabrics you have chosen to use, are all perfect.

    Donna x

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    1. thank you Donna! good to see you back in blog world :) i will pop over to your later x

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  18. Love your hearts - very rustic. Good luck with craftfest.

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    1. thank you Helen :)

      i will let you know how it goes!

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  19. Sharing some Free Luuve for the MOnday CraftFEST Challenge!

    http://scentcosmetics.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/the-craftfest-i-love-your-blog-blog.html

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  20. Sharing the Craftfest love
    http://theoldbutton.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/loving-blogs-craftfest-i-love-your-blog.html

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  21. Brilliant little hearts. Love them. I like linen as well so crisp and fresh looking. Sounds like your super busy, hope you make lots of sales.

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    1. thank you very much! :)

      yes i am quite busy, although the 'to do' list is still loooooooooooong! x

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  22. Such lovely projects, Joanna x

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  23. I'm sharing the Craftfest Monday Blog Love and I've given you a little mention here http://lottieoflondon.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/the-craftfest-i-love-your-blog-blog.html

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  24. I'd be interested to know how the Craftfest experience goes for you. And Stumbleupon is something I need to make time for...I think I need a schedule!

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    1. I know what you mean, i don't know how people fit so much in!

      i will let you know how CRAFTfest goes and will also write something more about Stumbleupon once i've got to grips with it! :)

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  25. Sharing the Lurve
    I Have mentioned you on my blog here...Happy CRAFTfest week.
    http://thecrystalcavern1.blogspot.ie/2012/09/the-craftfest-i-love-your-blog-blog.html

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  26. Lovely little sachets, am getting more and more drawn to working with pure wool yarns as they seem more comforting too :-)

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    1. thanks Bev :)

      i know what you mean, there is something really comforting about wool :) x

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  27. Hiya, I have featured you in my Share the Lurve Blog http://craftycolacreations.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/sharing-craftfest-blog-lurve.html

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  28. The apples look lovely. Perfect fabric for autumn.
    I'm glad to hear the craftfest is working well for you.
    I'll be popping over to have a look round. Thanks for
    sharing.
    Ali x

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  29. I really like the contrast of the colours against the white, the fabrics look gorgeous. I've never thought of the idea of wool in duvets and pillows, I'll have to check out your link.

    Melanie x.

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    1. thank you Melanie, i'm a big fab of colour on white too :)

      i can't recommend wool bedding highly enough! x

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  30. Hiya, lovely blog. I'm sharing the love - I've mentioned you on my blog here: http://beadedbazaar.weebly.com/1/post/2012/09/sharing-the-love.html

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  31. I love them, they are gorgeous :) i think autumn is my favourite season x

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    1. thanks Helen :) Autumn is special isn't it :) x

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  32. Ah such gorgeous makes. I love the smell of lavender, it is relaxing.

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    1. thank you Harriet! i agree, it is a lovely aroma :)

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Your lovely comments are much appreciated x