my challenges...

should I choose to accept them.

 Produce a quilt using batiks.

Before you roll your eyes,

my Mum bought these back from Canada

I am not a fabric snob.

It's not what you've got

it's what you do with it.

er-hem moving on..

*still a Molly Flanders quilt!

 Get back into painting.

I'm thinking my garden, my quilts, my home.

How cute are these tubes!

Grow lots of brightly coloured zinnias on my allotment.

Start a new epp quilt using only two fabrics. check

Make recipes from my cookbooks.

Ride my bike at least once a week.

Spend more time doing these things and less time blogging!!

ps

Do you like my design wall!!!

*the butterfly hairclip is from my childhood,

and a favourite thing.
** plate from Anthropologie

balance

As an alternative to a new year resolution

I've chosen a word to live by instead.

My word for 2013 is balance.

It's a fairly self explanatory word,

so I'll let you do the thinking.

Over the years I've blogged about lifestyle, gardening, crochet and quilting.

Last year after changing my name to selfsewn

I concentrated on breaking into the quilting world,

with a few flickr groups and some good tutes

I found I soon gathered like minded folk.
Connect was my word for 2012,
and thanks to blogging
the world has become a smaller friendlier place to be.
My blog is my diary so it's only natural that it evolves..
as do my tastes in blogs.
I therefore look forward to sharing my 2013 well balanced blog with you.
Clare xxxxx

whats your style?

As you know I am not a magpie I am a squirrel.

The subtle difference between the two

 is the ability to control the gatherings

and to find unusual items that make an interesting home.

The squirrelling has in the past included magazines

Every now and again they strike a chord with me

and the homestyle I've been secretly living is broadcast to the nation.

Obviously I like to share,

but sometimes I want to shhhush the magazines

and my their wonderful ideas.
I'm an arts and crafts kind of girl,
(you'd never guess right?)
Charleston House and the Bloomsbury set, Barbara Hepworth and Grey Gardens
are all a big inspiration to me.

 The latter being a recent find.
Grey Gardens is a film based on a real documentary
depicting the tragic, but uplifting life of a mother and daughter.
The main character is the decaying once glamorous house.
If you can, I urge you to find a copy of the original documentary,
then you'll understand where I'm coming from..
it's a faded beauty kind of thing.

 Starting this year with a new room,

some of my oldest finds are finally finding their place in this house.

This little glass dish was one of my first finds in a charity shop,

it's one of my favourite things 

I've had it over twenty years and probably cost pennies.

These two platters have similar stories.

I particularly love the smaller one.

They are both pretty shabby*,

but that's the look I like.

*(never to be confused with shabby chic)

When you are scavenger collector like me,

you cannot beat the rush  of finding an unusual object.

 Anyone remember this purchase from Shepton Mallet fair?

I finally got round to covering it with a piece of vintage fabric.

Many would paint this piece,

but I actually like brown furniture.

Remember when I said I had stuff squirrelled away in the loft?

Well, meet the bar stools found in a junk shop nearly twenty years ago.

Sometimes hoarding can be a good thing.

They are in original condition rust included!

I quite like them how they are..

I started hanging some of my old plates,

that's another post!

Have a lovely weekend whether you are a magpie or a squirrel.

I believe snow is forecast,

I'm an old fashioned girl so let it snow!

wordless wednesday

the rag trade

 I have been itching to make a rag rug forever!!

The Dresden block was great for small scraps 

but rag rugging is great for those huge 'unloved' pieces of bedding etc.

in fact I think you can use anything and it will look good.

 This is not a tutorial, but I will help out with a few tips along the way.

I searched online and found a number of tutorials,

I didn't follow one strictly speaking.

 This is a braided rag rug project,

not to be confused with crochet.

My materials are mainly from old bedding with some fabric purchase mistakes.

I cut my strips roughly 1.5 inches by 2 metres.

Start with 3 strips sewn or tied together at one end,

pin them down to something and begin to braid or plait 

making sure the right side (if there is one) is folded outwards.

The style of braiding is the same as plaiting your hair,

but when you plait you need to pull your fabric all the way through,

otherwise the other ends will plait themselves.

(the reason why you shouldn't make your pieces to long).

The next bit I sort of made up as I went along.

I did find some strong thread,

which is advisable, though I'm almost out of it now.

I started coiling and stitching.

To change colours I used a method from one tute,

but after some lumpy joins I

resorted to machining instead.

I am braiding, stitching and then adding fabric,

this way I can work out roughly how my rug will look as I go.

Before you all tell me how clever I am 

I will point out that at this stage the rug looks more like a Mexican hat,

as the middle keeps popping out...

I think it's something to do with my braids being to tight?

I imagine practise makes perfect.....

I'm already wishing away the green bullseye!!

edit

I have found that to achieve a flat rug
you must stitch it on a flat surface like a table or the floor!

We've been chatting on facebook if you'd like to join in?

the first piece

Scrap quilting has become quite the most popular 

'New Year' thing.

Out with the old and in with the new?

 There's no prettier block for using up your scraps than the Dresden.

This one is from Material Obsession.

Yes I am the last person on earth to actually own a copy!

The lovely ladies are also bloggers and can be found 

here and here

I must admit that I haven't used scraps,

this was a test piece really.

I think it's good idea to try out patterns and colours 

before you take the plunge.

I'm not sure about this colourway for 2013?

I'm thinking of something more sophisticated...

 Whilst we're on the subject

just look what the very sophisticated Mary sent me for Christmas!

The loveliest notepad!!!!!!!

 The cutest purse for my pennies.

And this totally lush tea towel.

Mary you know me so well

thank you x

So that's applique ticked off my to do list!

I'm off to try out some rag rugging,

another terrific way of using up your 

big scraps!!

not another 2012 round up post!

 Now that I have conquered the collage here
 I give you my 2012 patchwork makes!

Anyone else wondering just how I got my bad shoulder.....hmmm

I'm shocked by my output!

I wonder what 2013s collage will look like?

My predictions are applique, ragrugs, ragquilts and a little painting.

I love a clean slate...though something new is already on the horizon!

Yay...remembering now what sewing with fabric is like LOL!!

Wishing you all a very Crafty New Year xxxx