Sew-Ichigo Patterns for Sale!

At last, Sew-Ichigo's first pattern collection 'Kitchen Classics' is now on sale.

You can find out all the details here and purchase here.  Our pattern testers were a great help and they are sharing their blocks on Flickr and blogs-Amy's post is here, Leila's post is here and Ayumi's is here- and there are more to come and a few giveaways too.   Penny and I can't thank them enough for taking the time to try our blocks out and check through the pattern details.  So enjoy!  And this is just the first pattern set, Penny and I chatted today and we know what is coming next and then next after that!  

Time for Tea

I have had this book for a little while.  I bought it from a Japanese site, second hand but in perfect condition, it can be a bit hard to get hold of

I was really taken with these tea coasters and cozy

and inspired to make a mini mug rug for myself.  Only 6.5" x 4" , it is the perfect size to sit on the arm of the sofa for my large cup of Earl grey and a little snack- giant chocolate buttons are a fav.  I used shot cottons for the background and cup, the letters are linen.  It makes me smile :)

I could not resist joining in this quilt-a-long after seeing the blocks pop up on Flickr.  Quilt a longs are just online groups of people all working towards the same goal- in this case, slowly working my way through 111 traditional block.  I like variety and I needed a quilt block education.  

It is a beautiful book even without a quilt a long, detailed pages, original farmer's wife lettters and A CD with all the templates on.  It is a bit like art, you can only go abstract once you have covered the basics.  Lots of interesting quilters are taking part so it should be interesting.   I am more of an urban chick than a farmer's wife but that doesn't deter me.   I won't get my first blocks done till the weekend.  I am having my kitchen partly replaced- the sink area changes tomorrow, the rest will be happen over the summer.

I can't wait!  You all know how I feel about kitchen things and a slice of retro kitchen action is coming to my little house.  I don't like the upheaval and I can't get to my work space but it should be over quickly!

Battered, worn out, in need of a make over?

Not me, although that is debatable on some mornings, but this little G-Plan table which has seen better days.

Dry across the top, many cups of tea and coffee have left their mark.

As for the sides, dry, flaking veneer made it look a bit tatty.  So I got to work with PVA and a little brush to secure the veneer edges.  I filled the unevenness with wood filler applied by the best tool, my fingers.

 Sanded  it a little, primed and painted with some egg shell that I used for my sewing storage shelves.

And now it is all shiny, gleaming and sexy looking!  Buffed, waxed and polished. Morells oak coloured wax  to colour and Effax leather balm to moisturise and shine.   

Effax is the most amazing product for wood and leather.  It is a mix of bee's wax, lanolin and avocado oil.  It leaves a lovely smell as well as the glowing finish.  I don't normally take on furniture projects as lots of sanding really hurts my hands, but a little mini makeover is OK and I am really pleased with the results.  It whispers rather than shouts retro so Damian is happy too- he is not the biggest fan of the Mid Century modern aesthetic, but I can make some of it work for him and get to indulge myself.

The paint colour reminds me of my ongoing love affair with teal and turquoise.  We are replacing our kitchen after 13 years of the old kitchen which is starting to show its age.  Nor surprisingly I am going for a retro feel- matt cream units, integrated aluminum strip handles and genuine Formica worktops.   I am planning the refit in two stages and trying to conserve existing tiles and layout to keep costs down.  But, the Formica is worth the splurge.  Feast your eyes on these beauties!

Now as much as I love the middle two woth their squiggles and scratchy lines, (and I love them a lot) the far right colour will work better.  It has a dimple dot surface, a bit like Minky dot plush fabric but concave rather than raised, and just look at the colour.

Turquoise makes me happy.