I have had a call to say that the 'Yummy Mummy' course due to be on Friday 17th September has had to be cancelled because a few people have dropped out.  What a shame, especially as I had made the lovely samples already!.

BUT onwards and upwards, I figured that since I had the day booked out in my diary anyway I may as well offer it up as a private tuition day.  If you are interested in a days sewing tuition then do get in touch.  Whether it's the soft furnishings that interest you or the baby change mat and nappy pouch you can come along and use my workroom to learn a new skill.  You may have a project that is half finished and you would like to get back on track, if so I'm sure I can help you.

This is a one-off day, and will be considered on first come first served basis, so fill in the contact form and I'll be in touch.

Prices will be from £30 depending on the tuition required.

How exciting, I can actually sell furniture. 

I have found a really beautiful range of french style painted furniture.  It's times like this that I sometimes feel robbed that I live in an uninspiring 1970's semi!  I do love my house, but it's hard work making it pretty when there are no inherent features.  How amazing would this lovely dressing table look in a country house in France with billowing organza curtains hung at the french doors that open onto a lovely balcony....... (sigh!)

BUT - You can have pretty things in your home despite the bricks and mortar they're made from.  I love my dressing table.  I like to arrange my perfume bottles, jewellry  and trinkets and the display I find really very pleasing.  Not so pleasing at the end of the day is the pile of debris from my husabnds pockets that also adorn the dressing table, change receipts, keys, tissues... Not really the look I was going for!

Have a look through my new range of furniture and have a think about how pretty they could look with your perfume bottles on! :-)

 

I'm up to my old tricks and making baby stuff.  (no, not for that reason!) I used to make lots of baby things out of fabric I bought from reprodepot .  They have some really amazing vintage look fabrics that I just fell in love with.  I had an ebay shop and even though I sold quite a lot, it was never going to make any money.  I considered approaching shops but quickly realised that I didn't have the stomach for churning out tons of the same things over and over.

I love the thrill of the chase, new fabrics, new projects, new designs, new clients etc.  I actually have a very small attention span and crave new things to do.  All the time I am working on a project I am looking forward to starting the next job.

Anyway, I have been teaching at The Eternal Maker in Chichester and the classes have been in soft furnishings which is my day job.  However the one coming up is the 'Yummy Mummy' course and this entails making a pouch for 3 nappies and a pack of travel wipes.  Also making a travel change mat/burp cloth.  The store needed a sample to help those interested in the course to see what they would be making.  So today I made them a set out of Heather Ross - Rabbits and Racecars fabric which is sadly discontinued now.

I am really pleased with them and really enjoyed making something little again.  It's just as well I had a little practise too as I did have to use my unpicker a few times!

I am really looking forward to seeing everyone get creative with the amazing fabric selection available.

Just in, new bed quilts in lovely shades of cream, grey, blue and red.  These lovely quilts will help to dress your bed beautifully. 

With quilted cushions available in matching designs, and bespoke lampshades and window treatments that will enhance your decor, why not treat yourself to a new look bedroom!  You know you want to....   kimhayman@msn.com

Saturday saw the launch of the 'Cushions & Cupcakes' side of Applemoon.  It was a great success, there was certainly lots of cake consumed (by me!!) and lots of grown up tea in lovely china cups with saucers too!

I had a lovely day surrounded by wonderful friends, family and lovely loyal clients.  The stock flew out the door and I was left with little stock to keep for myself.

There is space in the diary for a 'cushions and cupcakes' party at your house if you'd like one!

My heart is filled with pride and love for my beautiful sister Abigail, who did an AMAZING job in producing the Applemoon Interiors Catalogue  She is truly gifted.  Not only that but she did all this in the same week as her 6 month old baby boy Felix was admitted to hospital with Pneumonia.  I know she was wrung out by the time she arrived on saturday morning but those of you who visited us would never know the stresses she had undergone that week.  She's a true sweetheart and I hope she'll have a relaxing time in Spain this week.  I Love you. x x

Also not forgetting the culinary skills of both Amanda and Belinda, and the labelling helpers - Louise and Claire, who were also so generous of their time in supporting me.  I love you too. x x

Roll on 'All Woman Show' in September

I was asked to make a loose cover to slot over the top of an upholstered stool.  The stool had a frill around it which was definitely going to have to be chopped off.  I did this and then made a piped cover to sit on top of the footstool, BUT the existing piping was disturbing the lines of the new cover.  So this also had to be chopped off.

This now rendered the cover a bit silly as who was ever going to expose the butchered upholstery underneath? oops!  I then had no choice but to make good the upholstery and attach the new cover in a more permanent way...

So out came the staple gun and the curved needle and I embarked upon my first proper grown up little bit of upholstery.  The loose cover when sitting on top of the old cover would never have stayed in place properly anyway.

See below for the finished result.  I was quite pleased with the outcome and would definitely be less nervous the next time a little upholstery comes my way.

I hope you like it.  (Luckily the client did!)

This week brought the first delivery of my products for my cushions and cupcakes party.  I was very excited to unpack 4 big boxes of lovely products for you all. 

I will however need much much more if I'm going to launch this new side of my business properly.  So I am praying for a cash injection of some kind to come my way.  Stranger things have happened!.

So take a look at my preview photos in my cushions and cupcakes page and it may just whet your appetite!

I have also asked to exhibit at the All Woman Show which is coming to Fontwell in September.  It makes the beginning of September very busy as my baby sister will be getting married just 3 days before this event, but you've gotta make hay while the sun shines I reckon.  I'd love you to come and see me there.

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