I was recently asked to make some lampshades for a little girls bedroom.  I happily agreed and took them home with me and only when I got home did I panic and remember that not only had I never made a lampshade but also that I had no clue how to go about such a thing.

So it is with great pride that I bring to you photos of the finished lampshades.  I did some research online and bought all the necessary gubbins needed and it was remarkably easy to do, if a little fiddly.  Of course I made one for our house first which looks ok (if you don't look too closely!) and when I got to making the ones for my clients daughters room I was really pleased with the result.  I haven't shown her yet, and I do hope that she will like them too.

The curtains in the bedroom are made from the same lilac and there is roman blinds in the stripy fabric, together with basket liners in both fabrics, and fluffy bed throw, wardrobe door curtains and matching cushions.  I am looking forward to putting it all together on Wednesday and taking pics of the whole finished room.

This job can be really great sometimes.

Oh yeah, and I also made a headboard cover for another room, another project that I had never done before. That's two more strings to my bow now!!

One of the benefits of my job is that I get lots of time to think.  There is quite a lot of thinking involved in what I do as well obviously, but when I'm done planning a job and I'm just moving fabric around and sewing it together my mind wanders.

This is when i hatch 'brilliant' plans.  Well that's what I think they are anyway.  Luckily I have time to inject a little realism into my plans before my long-suffering husband comes home and I bombard him with my new idea.

All this is leading up to announcing my plans to host a 'cushions and cupcakes' open day.  This will be an open house event where you lovely people get an opportunity to come and purchase a wonderful range of goodies from Biggie Best that I am now able to get my mits on.

Here are a few pics to whet your appetite.

The finer details are still to be smoothed out, but do watch this space.

It's bank Holiday Monday and I was working...! Boo Hiss!!  Well no actually, I have had a lovely day.  This was largely because the sun was shining and I was in the garden with the children and Poppy (our Spaniel), albeit I was in the cabin.

Mark was at home so he provided lunch, cups of tea, dog walk, and refereeing of the boys whilst I had a lovely day of sewing.  I finished off a roman blind, and made 6 cushions without the usual interuptions of applying germolene or fetching food or drinks for my children.

Here is what I have achieved today...including a little tidy up of the cabin which is so lovely to be in when the weather is good...

The day was topped off with a bracing walk along the beach and then burgers for tea... Lovely... x

I have recently had a run on swags and tails.  This is unusual in our area as they are not as popular as they used to be.  That said however they can look absolutely stunning when they are up.  I have added a new photograph of some swags and tails made for a lovely couple recently.  They were thrilled with the result and I must say that I'm rather proud of them too.

Then I was asked to make some for a friends hotel in Cornwall  This was a little trickier because they were to be posted and fitted by my friend.  I thought I'd take some pictures of how to put them together, and thought you might be interested to see the work in progress...

Course No. 2..... basic curtain making.  This course went really well too.  I had 7 ladies and one gentleman on this course and again they were of mixed experience.  I must say that I think I was a bit better at teaching this time as I knew what to expect.  Contrary to popular belief curtains are actually easier to make than piped cushions.  The day really flowed well.  Everyone took in the information they were given and produced some lovely curtain samples.

Most of the students on this course expressed an interest in joining the roman blind course at the end of April, but as this was fully booked the store had no choice but to book me again!! Yay!!  I have now been booked till the end of the year teaching various things.  I am thrilled because it's really nice to get out of my workroom and be around people from time to time.

I'd better look out, I can't afford to let all my clients know exactly how to make their own soft furnishings...