Yuletide Trees

Soon be Christmas. This year my theme for my cards is Trees. Simple and fun to make using vintage & modern, fabrics and trims. Designer papers from last years stash are used as the base for each card.

I used my trusty New Home 826 My Style that I have had for 25+ years. Sparkly thread from a number of manufacturers, Gutterman Sulky was the easiest to use, less breaks than the others. The shiny or sparkly ribbon is the Christmas one with thin wire on the edge. I hope you get some good ideas from these.

It has been really busy here, lots of socialising, some great craft and vintage fairs and lots of making too.

Have a Very Happy Christmas and many blessings for a good New Year.

xxx Joan and Molly.

Little Jumping Joan Vintage & Silk Needle Cases

Loved that silk so much I've been working on these this week.

All free motion machine embroidery, no cheating and drawing the writing first. LJJ is sketched first. The hand embroidery is vintage from a table cloth. The buttons are shirt collar studs.

Inside I have used some fine cotton night dress fabric, similar blue flowered, but wincyette  and a 1940's table cloth.

 No1 Threadneedle Street - 5 x 5 inches

 Pins & Needles  - 5 x 5 inches

 My Sewing Kit -4 x 5 inches

 Pins and Needles - 4 x 5 inches

 Pins and Needles - 4 x 5 inches

And then some internal and construction pictures.

 Oh bother blogger has turned these round as well!

Now more pictures that blogger won't let me post the correct way round, so annoying!

These can be personalized, Mum's Sewing Kit, Joans Sewing Kit, etc. Fabrics will be different as I only have small amounts of the vintage and samples of the silk. Method, style and quality will be the same. Prices on request.

Visit to a Silk Weavers and on my Workbench Today

Stephen Walters is a silk weaving company, quite near to me, in Sudbury, Suffolk, and I've never been before. So today I set out and raided their Factory Shop.

I went a bit quackers. These are colour samples and off cuts.

Some are for ties, some high couture fashion and some upholstery and curtain fabric weights.

Flowers, diamonds, plains and even silk camouflage.

These bags of patchwork fabrics weigh about 2kg.

Some pieces were small, some were a 1 metre or more.

Yet more super patterns. So many I have only shown you 10% 

They also sell the fabric by the metre. My Fab Cycle ladies are going to be buying some of the bags, bet they get a bit feisty over who has what!

On the workbench are Pointy Kitty and kitten, an order.  Cut out and waiting on yet more silk.

This Diva is an order for a customer, she's also on some silks. Partly stuffed, she's being finished tomorrow.

Wednesday was a bit of a dud day as Molly had a reoccurring tummy problem, so a vet visit. She was pretty crook all day, but is better now the medicine has started to work. I'm such a worry guts when she is ill.

Little Jumping Joan attends her First Craft Fair

First a shout out to all my lovely Bloggers who leave comments. I am totally overwhelmed by the comments I've had about LJJ and Sidekick Molly. Thank you all so much!!!

We have done our first craft fair in Colchester, Essex. I just took my LJJ items and some book cover collages.

This is my stall. I kept it very simple and uncluttered. 

The lovely Laura and friend from 13 Stitches. Laura makes bears and her friend knits bears and other toys.

Sonia from Vintiquity setting up her scented candle tea sets, milk jugs and sugar bowls, cake stands and kitchenware.

Vinyl as you have never seen it before, clock, bowls and so on. This lady sells at the Pop-up shop, in Chelmsford.

So I had such a busy day, no time to take any more pictures. LJJ was voted a hit by the customers and several stallholders complimented me on my work too. Plus I sold two pictures, several unframed works, brooches and cards. Also got booked for two more craft fairs. So feeling very pleased with myself.

The fair was very well organised, super flyers posted to all the surrounding houses, food was plentiful and really reasonable. Signage was also good, the hall is only 18 months old and car parking was plentiful. a bonus the lighting was great as well. I've booked for the next one.

Now I'm hoping to get in early on Handmade Monday, make yourselves a cuppa and have a peek at all the talented makers.