lizzyrobinson8

1950’s Sewing Patterns – A brief history

There is a trend today for making your own clothes, with programmes such as “The Great British Sewing Bee” encouraging would be sewers to throw caution to the wind and have a go! However this isn’t an entirely new phenomenon as sewing patterns have been in existence since the 1860’s. In wartime Britain, women couldContinue reading “1950’s Sewing Patterns – A brief history”

1950’s dresses – A brief history

I think sometimes that I was born in the wrong era. I feel much happier in a dress with a fitted waist and a full skirt. Not necessarily over the top with a petticoat underneath (I do the school run!) but something that makes me feel feminine at least. Jeans are comfortable and practical butContinue reading “1950’s dresses – A brief history”

Knitted Clangers!

As a child of the 1970’s loved the Clangers, my favourite character was the Soup Dragon. It sounded such a brilliant name for a dragon to have. To my surprise my young son loved the Clangers too (we bought him all our childhood DVD’s) so imagine the excitement when CBeebies decided to bring the seriesContinue reading “Knitted Clangers!”

Sewing for curvy people? Not always successful!

I started dress making when my son went to school and I was at a loose end. I had always been creative, making curtains, cushions etc. but I decided I wanted to have a go at making my own clothes. I enrolled on a sewing class and have never looked back. Not everything has beenContinue reading “Sewing for curvy people? Not always successful!”

Sew Brum -Saturday 31 October 2015

I had an interesting email from my local fabric store, Guthrie & Ghani in Moseley (you may remember, Lauren Guthrie was a finalist in the Sewing Bee in 2013) about Sew Brum, coming up in October. http://www.guthrie-ghani.co.uk/events Sew Brum is organised by the sewing blogger Englishgirlathome http://englishgirlathome.com/sewbrum/ and promises to be a lovely day ofContinue reading “Sew Brum -Saturday 31 October 2015”

Hanging floral hearts – tutorial

I decided to have a go at making these lovely hanging heart decorations after having some left-over fabric from the Cath Kidston designed “Rosalie” range from Ikea. The first couple of efforts weren’t that successful as I couldn’t quite figure out after stuffing the heart, how to sew it up neatly so it looks seamless. However,Continue reading “Hanging floral hearts – tutorial”

Buttons!

I love buttons! The prettier the better, I actually love the display of pretty buttons on a button card too. I started collecting buttons when I was a child and built up quite a collection! Nothing vintage or historic, just a few here and there, however the fascination with buttons has never left me. Apparently,Continue reading “Buttons!”

Vintage Teacups – a short history

I am obsessed by collecting vintage teacups. My house has shelves and a lovely old welsh dresser stacked full of them. I simply can’t resist! Any opportunity to visit a vintage/antiques shop/fair and I’m there, searching for teacups. Its a popular hobby as I’m told to believe. It also helps that it’s a generally cheapContinue reading “Vintage Teacups – a short history”

Crinoline Lady China

I think that I am obsessed by crinoline lady crockery. My weekends seem to consist of visiting vintage or antique shops or even better, if a vintage fair is on that weekend. I think it all started with my mum collecting Crinoline Lady china, generally produced by Sadlerware. Everytime anyone wentContinue reading “Crinoline Lady China”

Pink, retro and typewriters!

I saw this in a shop in Derbyshire and fell in love with the baby blue colour. It’s an old Imperial 200 typewriter, all in full working order as far as I can see, although I haven’t tried it out yet. This lovely thing currently takes pride of place upon my mum’s old welsh dresser,Continue reading “Pink, retro and typewriters!”