Run down of the last 7 months

Well who went and changed the blogger dashboard? And when? I don't blog for 7 months and they go and change it. Bloomin' cheek! Actually it looks quite funky and user friendly (I hope).

7 months since I last blogged. 7!!!! What have I done during these months? I'm not entirely sure apart from Birthdays, Christmas, toasted the arrival of 14 new baby teeth with Calpol, and generally cleaned a lot of snotty noses. It has been one grim cold after another round here.

Here is a very quick run down of the last 7 months.

I turned 37.  Gulp.

Rose had her 4th Birthday. 4! How can that be possible?

Christmas was chaotic and kept to a minimum.  We agreed not to go too mad with presents and food and focussed on the children having a good day. Which really released me from all the stresses that Christmas can bring.

We celebrated Belle and Bobby's first Birthday. We made it! Incredibly hard work but so completely worth it.  Well just look at them. We are blessed with out 3 beauties.

Creativity has been sporadic and slow.

I did decorated these plain red blankets with appliqué hearts.

I made a rag wreath garland for Easter.

The general consensus from the family was it was 'messy' and 'would it be hanging around after Easter?'. I knew what they meant but I had been intrigued enough to want to make one and they always seemed like such a great way to use up left over fabric.

The most exciting creation was a new appliquéd embroidered canvas' pictures for a customer who contacted me via the Button Patch website.

It was a real joy to do. I was delighted how the text with a script font turned out.

So there you have it a quick run through of the last 7 months.  So blogger will your new funky set-up tempt me to come back and blog sooner than 7 months? I do hope so.

Sew Serendipity - Kay Whitt Book Review

My copy of Sew Serendipity by Kay Whitt dropped through my door from Amazon yesterday. It looks even better than I had hoped. 

The photos are inspiring. Sassy, funky, wearable and exciting. Love this skirt. Perhaps it will be the first one I attempt. I'm thinking polka dots and buttons without the applique swirl.

The book is ring bound so it should make it really easy to put it next to the sewing maching and follow the instructions. 

The instructions are nicely illustrated and appear very clear and straightforward. It will be interesting to see if they are as easy to follow.

The patterns that are located at the back of the book look really scary! But then I haven't made any clothes from a pattern before so I am hoping they aren't as difficult as they look.  I'll let you know.

If you would like a copy you can buy it from Amazon by clicking here

Tunic Top - Button Replacement

When I visited The Makery in Bath a few weeks ago I picked up a selection of buttons

They were only 35p each. Hearts, kittens, flower and butterflies were printed on them.  As soon as I saw them I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them. 

A smock top, which I had bought when on holiday in Portugal 2 years ago, had some fabric buttons on it which had started to wear thin.  These buttons were exactly the right colour, design and size to replace the fabric button.

Original fabric buttons next to new buttons



Within just one evening I had managed to replace each fabric button with my new finds and it is so therapeutic to dip into sewing again with a quick project and one which made me feel very self righteous when finished.

Projects like these are just what I need at the moment. Sewing which is useful but doesn't require a lot of time or thought.

In other news, last night was the first night that both of our 5 month old twins slept through the night. It was bliss.

The Makery, Bath

Photo: courtesy of The Makery

My day off from my little brood was all that I hoped for. Great company, good food and a very inspiring visit to The Makery Emporium.  Ahhh just what I needed.

'A haven of creative delights. Rare handpicked fabrics. Vintage haberdashery. Beautiful buttons. Pretty ribbons & trimmings' is what the flyer for The Makery Emporium promised and it didn't disappoint.  It is a beautiful, happy and enticing shop. 

Located in the heart of Bath but tucked down the pretty, bunting festooned Northumberland Place.


Photo: Courtesy of The Makery

A treasure trove of delights.

Photo: Courtesy of The Makery

Many of the fabrics, ribbons, buttons and trimmings I had never seen before which was so refreshing and exciting. As was meeting the owner Kate.  She was very welcoming and helpful. Her enthusiasm for her shop and workshops shone through and it was a real pleasure to listen to her talk with such obvious passion for all things creative. 

Photo: Courtesy of The Makery

She started with The Makery in Walcot Street where they hold a variety of creative workshops. Workshops range from sewing, upholstery or bookbinding. They even hold children's parties or hen parties. I was particularly interested in a workshop which covered the sewing of zips and button holes. Two skills I have failed to master properly.  In addition to the workshops they also hold a Friday cafe. Where for £5 you can go along in the morning with your own project, eat cake, drink tea and use their sewing machines! Sounds like a wonderful way to spend any morning.

Bath really has been lacking in shops like The Makery and I do hope this and the workshops are a great success.

So I returned to my lovelies refreshed and relaxed. Now they are happily tucked up in bed and I am enjoying blogging, drinking wine and flicking two new magazines. Mollie Makes is a magazine we bought at The Makery. I haven't encountered it before so I am very much looking forward to having a good read of this. Ahhh bliss.



Escape to Bath

I am in much need of some time away from my dear children. It's been almost 5 months since the twins arrived and I have been away from them a total of 25 hours. Of those hours 15 of them were without any children. This is not healthy for me and for them.  So I am off to Bath tomorrow. 

Now what I love doing to help me relax is to get creative or be amongst creative things. So me and a good friends who also loves all things pretty and creative are off to The Makery for a good old mooch around.  

I hear they have an emporium. An emporium, I can hardly breath with anticipation, of gorgeous fabric, buttons and ribbons. Then it will be off to my other fabric heaven Country Threads followed by a little lunch and home again to see all my lovelies. 

Country Threads

Inside Country Threads

Hopefully refreshed and ready for action once more.  Spare a thought for my dear husband who will be looking after all 3, on his own, for the first time.

I will let you know what I find.

Moving The Family Over To Another Blog



Not very grubby faces.

So I have ummmeeddd and ahhhheeed but finally I have decided to take the plunge and set-up another blog. It's a sister blog about my family. I feel that the Button Patch blog should be more concentrated upon sewing/creative/business and the sister blog can be filled with my ramblings about the family. A way of me to record the very special years of raising a family.
The new blog, Grubby Little Faces, is up and running but it will take sometime before I am entirely happy with the layout.  If you would like to follow me I would be absolutely delighted.  Obviously my family wont be completely absent from this blog. There will no doubt be some cross over. 

I have also set up a new twitter account for this blog @GrubbyFaces should you like to follow me there too.

Wish me luck. I don't know where I think I will get the time or the brain capacity to switch between the two but I have to give it a go as it has been niggling me for a while.

Hey what about you? Do you blog in several guises? Do you wear different twitter hats? I would love to know.

Skulking Around Blogland

I've been enjoying the garden. Although the last few days haven't been quite a gorgeous as when I took these photographs.

This is one of my favourite corners of my garden.

So posting on my blog has proven to be a bit tricky over the last 3 months since the twins were born but I have been getting my blog fix by skulking around other blogs and there are some very clever, funny, and creative folk out there.

Thought I might try to ease myself back into blogging by mentioning some of my favourite places to skulk.

1. Post Gets Cozy one of the first blogs I ever visited & one I can't go a week without logging onto. Her photographs are gorgeous and her writing warm and inviting. She almost put me off starting a blog as her blog is exactly what I would like mine to be and I know it never will. 
2. Jane Brocket - loves bright colours, knitting and domesticity. Her posts are crammed with bright, vibrant photography. Her writing is both inspiring and intelligent.
3. Cherry Menlove - a fellow mother of boy and girl twins but someone I came across a good 6 years ago when I had just discovered the world of blogging.  Gorgeous photography is paired with a stylish and upbeat take on life.
4. Vintage Vicki this lady blogs about her love of cooking, sewing & family life. A very pleasant blog to visit after a tough day.
5. Pipany and the Poltisko Farm through seeing her beautiful notebooks featured in a Not On The Highsteet catalogue is how I found her blog. The beautiful Cornwall coast is the backdrop to her busy life with family, pet and sewing her favourite topics to blog about.

So there are my 5 great blogs to skulk around when I need to escape from my world into another.