Make me I'm yours sewing - book review & giveaway

A few weeks ago, the lovely guys at David & Charles asked me to review some craft books for them. 2 of my favorite things are sewing and reading so I jumped at the chance. Over the next couple of months I'll be doing a series of book reviews, which I'll then giveaway to some lucky people.

Make me I'm yours sewing is a compact book featuring a number of designers projects. It's split into 3 sections, Beautiful Bags, Gorgeous Gifts and Perfect Pillows. In each section, there are some simple projects, some of which can be sewn by hand and it covers a wide variety of sewing techniques, such as applique, beading and simple quilt effects.

One of the things that I really like about this book is that there are a few projects which you can make out of old clothes. I recycle as many materials as I can and I loved the idea that you could make a bag out of an old jumper or a book cover from an old blanket.

Above is the bag made out of an old jumper. Other bags in this section include handbags, shopping bags and a silk evening bag.

You can make a variety of items from the Gorgeous Gifts section, such as a gadget cosy (below), a sewing roll or lavender filled birds.

I've been meaning to make a lavender filled bird for ages, so this project was perfect for me. I altered the design slightly, by adding a heart shaped wing and personalising it so it was more 'milly and pip'

I was pretty pleased with the result.

The last section is Perfect Pillows. I particularily like the childrens cushions, which have patchwork boarders on them. It would be a perfect way to use recycled fabrics and baby clothes that you can't bear to part with.

If you would like to make any of the projects above. I have one copy of Make me I'm yours sewing, worth £9.99 to give away. Please just leave a comment on this post and I'll pick a winner at random after midnight on Sunday 11th September. Good luck!

www.rucraft.co.uk

The Riot Raffle - Part 2

Things have developed quite a bit further over the past week regarding Riot Raffle, so I thought I would write a quick post about it. There are now around 100 UK designer/makers and independant retailers that have donated items to be raffled off for the Retail Trust, which is fantastic news. 

There is a huge array of fabulous prizes to be won and tickets only cost £1. Tickets are available to buy via the Riot Raffle website. New prizes are being added daily and the full range will also be available to see on the Riot Raffle facebook page, where picture's are being added into a photo album.

In the meantime, you can see a small selection of goodies which are up for grabs below, including our 'Mother's Tea is Best' tea cosy.

Good luck everybody.

The Riot Raffle

I had a different post planned for today, but in light of the events that happened last week around the country, I thought I would write about a raffle that a twitter friend is organising instead.

The recent riots have been appalling and senseless and many innocent peoples lives have been turned upside down. Zoe from Zoe and Drew has come up with an idea to raise money to help those who have suffered. She is organising a raffle made up of donations from designer/makers all over the UK. So far, there are 75 donations, which is fantastic news.

The money raised will go to the Retail Trust a charity which supports those working in the retail industry and 100% of the funds will go to the independant shopkeepers who lost their livelihoods in the riots.

I'll be donating one of my products to the raffle and tickets will be available to buy very soon. A website is currently under construction and for those people on twitter, you can follow @RiotRaffle to hear the news as it develops.

I just wanted to say a big thank you to Zoe for organising the raffle and I hope it is going to be a great success.

A day out to the Cotswolds

One of my most favorite places in the UK is the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire. And on the spur of the moment we decided to drive there yesterday to have lunch at Daylesford Organic Farm. I'm really lucky as it's not too far away and it's such a lovely place to visit (and the food there is great).

The farm shop is really lovely. All the food is Organic and as locally sourced as possible. You can buy a whole range of produce, from vegetables, to meat, to tea and coffee. It has an amazing cooled cheese room and a wine selection if you fancy a tipple. There is also an interiors shop in this building, selling beautiful crockery, kitchenwares and soft furnishings.

Outside there are lots of converted outbuildings with a courtyard in the centre. Here you'll find a garden shop and a clothes shop, which also sells bath and body creams, the smell in here is amazing. At the end is a spa, where they also do yoga and meditation courses.

The cafe is relaxed, friendly and very chic. The most amazing hearts, which are made out of lavender are suspended from the exposed beams and the food is exceptional. As it was such as nice day, lots of people were sitting outside and there was also an outdoor kitchen making freshly baked pizzas.

It really is a lovely place to visit, with such lovely things to see and it's beautifully designed. The outside spaces in particular I find are very inspirational. I would love this willow and pebble seat!

It really is one of my most favorite places to visit in the whole of the UK.