Stamping Ground

WOYWW WEDNESDAY - 108

Those of a nervous disposition may want to look away now. WARNING: Julia is basking under a foreign sun and has asked me, her partner-in-crime, Lunch Lady Jan, to be guest blogger!! At this point, I'll completely understand if you shriek in horror; after all, you've logged on, expecting to read the genius that is Julia Dunnit, only to be presented with an interloper. Let me tell you, that's NOTHING to how scared I'm feeling. So, with fingers trembling and knees knocking, here are the ramblings of a Virgin Blogger.........

Until a year ago, I thought I couldn't sew. Bad experiences in homecraft in school included taking a year to make an A line skirt, taking the zip out 8 times...... But, I've always loved, loved, loved fabric. John Lewis' Haberdashery dept, mmmmmmmm. So, I saw a cheap sewing machine online, bought some DIY sewing books and plunged in. I've learned A LOT since then, and while I would never aspire to the heights of Wipso and Twiglet, have produced some ok items that have actually sold for some wonga. No-one was more amazed at this than yours truly. So here, for the first time, is my WOYWW.

This is all stuff I am making for some craft fairs that are coming up soon. I like Cath Kidston fabrics, but not the price, so I look out for lookalike prints. My favourite shop is Fabricland, a chain of stores in the South. I have to limit myself in there, cos there is some LUSH stuff :P

I try to match co-ordinating materials for the apron strings/pockets.

These are my doorstops - I made the pattern/measurements. They're also quite useful as stress relievers :)

This is my workdesk in our spare bedroom. It's great because I can leave everything out and shut the door on the mess! The blue drawers at the back are supposed to be Man Drawers for screws etc, but mine is filled with bobbins, thread, buttons, ribbon and the like. The thing that looks like a skew-whiff ruler is an item made for me by Mr Dunnit that enables me to make my own bias binding - oo, get her, missus! There's a tissue box cover in progress.

This here is Harvey the Rabbit, won in a raffle by my 15 year old son, who won't let me get rid of it!

And finally, this is part of my stash laid out on the bed. Now, I know this looks a bit OCD, but I find that it's the perfect set up for immediately seeing if a contrast colour is right or not. I'm the sort of person who lined up her pencil crayons by colour in the box....ok, that does sound sad....!! So you can see that I have a fetish for colour and can completely understand how you cardmakers, scrapbookers et al get attached to your stash. I made bunting out of that line of spotty materials on the right, which now festoons herself's hallway.

I hope that you've enjoyed this quick tour round my workdesk - Julia sure is a hard act to follow! We have been friends for nearly three years now, ever since Miss Dunnit and my son, the Big O, were mates at secondary school. She is a truly wonderful person, funny, warm and supportive; she can make me laugh until there is snot (see crochet 'elephant'). We snigger a lot - usually at the daftest of things. Our husbands are very patient.......

Thank you, Julia, for being a bonza mate xxxx