One of those words.

You know those words that never look right once they are written down, you know you have spelled it right, but it just looks so Wrong, you check and you check again just to make sure it is that way! Well I Think for me i have to put Jemima on my list. You have no idea how many times i looked this word up, i swear it still doesn't look like it is spelled right. Or is that just me?

It's been a weird week, one of those weeks when your just so busy but you don't really get anything done. I kind of feel like i was all over the place, and I just couldn't get my head around any thing.
I was glad how ever that i got my head around this cushion finally and sent it off to my sister.
I am very much in the middle of getting lots of projects finished. I have at least 8 different projects on the go. But i just keep starting new things. I decided to sort it all out over the weekend and put every thing into nice neat piles all sorted and ready for a quick 1-2 hours on the machine to get them finished up. So this week i am setting a dead line of getting at least 2-3 projects finished. Which will be
1) The other camper van cushion i started.
2) Some girly bunting i started.
3)And a tote bag.

That's the plan any way ;) but my Dad is due any minute for a weeks Holiday by the Sea and i'm not sure if i will be able to get  any sewing on the machine in.

I hope you all get to enjoy the sunshine and have a wonderful week where ever you are in the world.

Love and sunshine Donna x

Maisy a Mistake?

When i first decided to change my name from Aunty Dotty to Maisy lee Designs, i had an idea that this bag would be my first listing. But i never got around too finishing it until yesterday. I had already went ahead and Personalised the bag and embroidered Maisy on the inside pocket. I now realise this may of been a mistake, first of all i don't even know a Maisy, secondly it limits my market some what, do you know a Maisy, or would you buy it any way since Maisy is my brand name ;) ? So i may have to unpick the pocket, and leave it plain like the inside of the other bag pictured below. One bag will go on Folksy and one will go on Etsy.

                                            

 This is my Red, White and Blue bunting, which is made up using some lovely  tea cup and tea pot fabric and some rose fabrics, all typically British of course and perfect for the upcoming Jubilee.
I love the polka dot binding but it is a little More expensive than i normally would pay for binding it was £1.20 a metre while the plain red one i usually use is between 40-60 p a metre, but i do Love how it looks, and i will treat myself to some more of it when i make some sales, because it is just so pretty. 

 I hope your getting to the enjoy the glorious sun shine we're having at the moment in th U.k. Maybe have A slice of cake and a cuppa, or maybe a Martini and lemonade out side to celebrate, you never know if the sun will stay or go :)

Love and tea cups
Donna x x

This and that Thursday.

Today i thought i would share a photo of one of my craft drawers. At the moment it is full of pre cut triangles and lovely new bias binding to be used for bunting. There is Sid the snail pin cushion, and lots of lovely fabrics to be used to make some childrens bags, and some for my nieces quilt.

This was the give away prize packaged and wrapped up and ready to go. Which i sent off yesterday to the lovely winner http://freespiritdesigns1.blogspot.co.uk/ .

The lovely fairy cake stamp printed on the tissue paper was from "skull and crossbuns over on Folksy, i just love her stamps.
I am going to wrap all my pin cushions like this, excluding the heart peg.
 Plus i am also recycling my birthday cards and have found a lovely way to add them to the packaging, but i forgot to take a photo of that before i sent it off.

This is my new pin cushion, i love this. My nick name was Hippy for a very long time, due to me wearing long flowery skirts, and my love of Dr Martin boots in my 20's, and the name followed me for years.

My little niece arrived 2 days ago, she weighed 8lbs 7 oz, and she is totally beautiful, perfect and such a cutie pie. I will have to ask her mummy if i can post a picture of her on my next blog.

I Hope your all having a wonderful week where ever you are in the world.

Love and peace

Donna x

Sunday share.

So this evening i did the drawer for the winner of my give away. I took all the names out of the cup cake of love, pictured here among all this mess, In the middle window you can see the cup cake in the centre keeping the names safe. (I am trying to get on top of the desk mess again, but i am loosing the battle of the fabric clutter. ooops)

                                       

All the names were brought out of the cup cake, and put in to this drawer string bag. I shook all the names around in the bag for about 3 Min's, then i put my hand in and pulled out a name with out looking. (There was one name missing when i took this photo, so i also added the name Sarah Hughes to the bag)

This was the name that i pulled out, Free spirit, was the winner, and as i put her name on top of the quilt i am now making for my New niece Sienna, who will be one week late tomorrow, i thought how fitting of a winner, and how perfect does that little name fit in with my quilt. So i decided to name the quilt Free spirit too. :)

 This is the beginning of Sienna's quilt, which by the way i know should of probably now of finished by now. Since my sister has been pregnant for nine months, so why on earth do i start the quilt when the baby is nearly a week late i will never know. But i have been stuck on what to do, and how to begin making it. Then it all came to me tonight, so i put most of it together and took a photo. I'm glad i waited until now to start making it because it isn't the quilt i was going to make for her at the beginning of my sisters pregnancy, and i love the direction the quilt will be going.
Oh those are my knees in the bottom corners, covered in my favourite Jims jams.

                                     
I'm excited to see how, it will turn out, but i am even more excited to see my new little Niece, hopefully she will be here this week, so we can all get to see how she looks.

Thank you for all your lovely comments on the give away post, and for following the ole blog too.
I will have a another give away in 2 months, so please keep an eye out and join in again.

Hope you all had a super weekend!

Love and Peace
Donna x x x

Just some bits and bobs.

I am just going to have a waffle on today about sewing and fabric :) well it's 2 of the things i do best, waffling and sewing.
                                      
                                   
                           

I love Tanya Wheelan fabrics. I would have to say she is one of my favourite fabric designers, besides Micheal Miller. Her fabrics really are so pretty, and colourful.
This bunting features 2 of her fabrics, I think they are from the Delilah range. The other fabric i found in a charity shop, i have no idea who makes it, but it went perfectly with the Tanya wheelan fabrics i already had. I love how summery the combinations of, red, pink and the pale green on the fabric looks.

 

 I also love this balloon print fabric, (which was from the Sale section on "Fabric rehab") up to now i have only made 1 of these bags. But i want to make another 3 before i list them. Most of the things i make are one of a kind, and i never usually make another one unless some body sees some thing they like and then ask for one the same or similar. But i think this fabric would be great as party bags so i am going to make some more and list them as multi buy on Folksy or Etsy, which i have never done before. 

This is going to be a cushion front, my sister asked me to make her a cushion for her boss as a leaving present. I only charged her for the materials, but she gave me enough money to be able to make 2 or 3 with the materials i bought, so one will be hers, and i will try and sell the others, and then hopefully make some money for my time.

                                            This is what it will look like when completed.

 This was the one i made for my sister, which she keeps in her car so every one can see it lol. Got to love my Sister she really is my best promoter.

I'm hoping to get the cushions finished by the weekend. I am having a lots of new ideas at the moment and can't wait to get sewing them.

Hope you all have a lovely week!
Love and choc chips
Donna x

Snail Free.

Have you heard about the fantastic Snail trail by cupcakes for clara, which is being blogged and Tweeted about by lots of crafters and mums.
If you go to  http://cupcakesforclara.typepad.com/   you will find out all the information on how to get lots of lovely free snail goodies to down load, for rainy day projects for the kids, and the six week hols will soon be upon us and it would be good to get a head start on those rainy day projects to keep them occupied.
I have always loved Laura Clemson's work, i use to follow her blog years ago, but when the old P.c broke, i lost a list of all my favourite blogs and sadly hers too. So  I was so excited recently when i found her again on Twitter. https://twitter.com/#!/cupcakes4clara

All you have to do is find a little guy like this some where on my blog, and click to receive your free Laura Clemson goodies.  

This is my little snaily contribution, i have no idea why i made a snail pin cushion, but i do have a obsession with pin cushions, i was going to embroider "Snail away" but in the end decided to go with "snail free".
 So here is Sid the green Snail, sailing upon the sea.

 I kind of rushed Sid a little, since I'm in the middle of making 2 cushions for my sister, and I'm not sure if he looks very snail like at all. But i do think he is kind of cute snailing up on the water. ;)

  I think the best thing about the snail trail is all the other crafters i found, as well as the Snaily goodies of course. There is one freebie i found that i think i will embroider for my Nieces bedroom, it was the first colouring in page, i think it would look lovely embroidered. (well thats if i ever get around to it, because i have a baby quilt to start next week even though my sisters baby is due TOMORROW argh!!) 

I kind of feel like Sid at this moment in time. I recently Started work after 14 years of ill health, at Laura Ashley, and if you use to follow my old blog you know how much i love that shop. So to me this little pin cushion is very apt.
 I feel like i am leaving my old shell behind me, and i am now sailing out for new adventures myself,  just like Sid.

Totally not snail related, but Oh deary me Today i turn 38,where did the past 8 years go? It only seems like a few years ago i turned 30, scary how time flies, hopefully it will go a little slower over the next 2 years so i can enjoy my 30's for as long as possible. ;)

Edited to add this lovely Sanil Trail fabric i found on Fabric rehab. How cute!
http://fabricrehab.co.uk/fabrics/snail-trail/
Love and little shells
Donna x