MJT Alpaca Giveaway!

Well, the first hints of

Autumn 

were in the air today as we woke up to a beautiful misty morning.

My favourite season is just around the corner
and I have been searching through my yarn stash
in preparation for lots of knitting in the months ahead.

There are always surprises at these times when I find yarns
that have long since been forgotten about!

 I found this beautiful  RYC Baby Alpaca Yarn pictured above

safely wrapped and tucked away at the back of my cabinet

and thought it would make a lovely autumnal giveaway.

This is one of my all time favourite yarns

and it would be suitable to make any of the MJT characters

(I think there may be a lovely teddy bear in there somewhere!)

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All you have to do....

....is leave a comment in the box below saying that

you would 'like to be entered into the draw'

(as always followers' names are entered twice as my way of saying 'thank you'

so please add 'follower' after your comment if that is the case)
The winning name will be drawn out of a hat and

announced on

Sunday 12th September

at 2pm

by the Tearoom clock

Adding to the autumnal theme...

as I was taking my photographs this morning,
a lovely parcel of yarns arrived in the post.

Such beautiful colours and textures. Even lovelier than I expected!

I have designed a Fair Isle cushion for our daughter

as she will be leaving us soon and heading for university.

I want to make her something special to take with her.

It should keep me busy for the next couple of weeks at least!

Accompanying my lovely yarn, 
was one of my favourite magazines
Country Homes and Interiors

which is full of inspirational autumnal ideas.

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Yes, there is definitely something in the air!

Altogether a lovely morning

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Good luck in the draw to all who take part!

It's all about the buttons......

I love to use 

Cover Buttons

in my sewing projects.

They are so pretty and mixing different patterns together is great fun!

If you are ever struggling to find the perfect decorative button for your project,

then a cover button will usually solve the problem.

They are very easy to make either by hand or by using a simple

 Button Maker 

which will give them a really professional finish.

They are also a great way to make use of small fabric remnants.

They come in many sizes and there are plastic or metal versions.

(I find the metal version is better when using heavier weight fabrics)

I use cover buttons on cushions, vintage hearts, clothing and knitting projects.

 Sometimes, I use the same fabric and other times a coordinating design,

creating something a little more unique or quirky!

I also like to add pretty vintage buttons to my

Lavender Hearts 

I have a very old and pretty cake tin of my grandma's which is full of lovely antique buttons,

 some decorative and others quite plain, which were collected

by all the ladies of both our families over many years.

They have been saved from a wide range of tems including
old tea dresses and military uniforms.

As many of the buttons are only odd ones and not in sets,
it is a lovely way to make use of such pretty decorations in my heart projects .
Many of the lavender scented hearts which hang in my wardrobe
have been made from button and fabric 'hand-me-downs'
which I think just makes them extra special:

a little bit of the past that remains with me and although cherished
and safely tucked away, they are still serving a purpose.

Nursery Character Buttons (clockwise)
Mrs. Ribby
Jemima Puddle-DucK
Peter Rabbit
Mrs. Rabbit

When making nursery items I think the pictorial buttons such as the

Beatrix Potter 

designs above make really pretty additions to my projects.

These pretty nursery hearts were handmade using

Cath Kidston 'New Star'

and

Laura Ashley 'Gingham Check'

fabrics

with the addition of decorative Beatrix Potter buttons

and vintage satin ribbon

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Do you have any particular favourites:

antique, covered, handmade, wooden or pictorial?

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On another subject, I hope you like the bunting I have put up around
The Tearoom
... I think it makes the place so bright and cheery!

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...and finally,

there will be another fun

 MJT Giveaway

coming soon 

so please call back for more news!

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Have fun and...

Haberdashery....

I woke up this morning to a very dull, humid day....

which was so disappointing.....

Vintage cotton threads in pretty colours

.......it seemed very unlikely that I was going to be able to spend the day

taking photographs for my vintage heart pattern as planned...

Some items in my old wooden sewing box are very vintage indeed!

~~~~~~~~

...but  thankfully there was a lucky burst of sunshine in the afternoon

and so after dashing for my camera

I did manage to take several photographs for my

Lavender Hearts Sewing Pattern

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 ' Very Happy!'

~~~~~~

..and wishing you a lovely weekend..

Bluebell...

Bluebell is a free spirit!

Bluebell Rabbit....

The Bluebell Knitting Pattern
is available on  
ETSY 

You can view Bluebell's Flickr photographs by clicking
here 

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Have you ever taken a

Bluebell Walk

through a magical

Bluebell Wood ?

P.S. Thank you so much to

Fridah

for letting me know that

Mary Jane's TEAROOM

 is part of the

Top 100 UK ETSY Sellers list on

Craft Count

Wonderful!

Wishing you a relaxing weekend!


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Birthday Sunday......

Sunday was a lovely family day....

Ashley's 19th birthday!

Wishing you a lovely creative week!

Cupcake Happiness!

One of my favourite places!

I have been spending a lot of time here lately.
In fact, I am becoming quite addicted to my kitchen these days.
It is just so wonderful to be in here again!

Cupcakes never fail to lift the spirits!

These pretty cupcakes were baked using a recipe from the lovely

Hummingbird Bakery Cook Book

and once made they were duly spread around

family and friends bringing lots of smiles along the way.

It is amazing how much pleasure

a few homemade cakes can bring!

As some of you know, when you tried to contact me at the time,
I was very unwell in May and messages were dutifully relayed to me
via my faithful other half,
who did a wonderful job keeping our ship afloat 
at such a very stressful time 

(and I think he has also gained a new appreciation
of the craft of knitting along the way!)

~~~~~~~~~

During the last few weeks while recovering, 
I have had lots of enquiries about new pattern releases.

Although I am thankfully on the way to feeling fully well again
and have a little prototype sitting very shyly on my desk,
I have decided I will begin working on my knitting patterns again
after enjoying the Summer break with my family
(also our house will once more become a haven of tranquillity!)

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On another note,
I am regularly asked if I have a sewing pattern for my
Vintage Lavender Hearts
 and I will be working on this over the coming weeks
and updating you on my progress!

Wishing you a lovely weekend

wherever you may be