News & Updates from Sue Way ~ Lily~Pickle Designs · Page 2
Last week, the weather was so lovely that I spent most of my time in the garden. I finished potting all the seedlings that my husband had grown in his greenhouse. We have dahlias, nasturtiums, Livingstone daisies, calendulas, lobelias, and cosmos. The cosmos are already starting to flower.
I have read about them and realised that I should have pinched out the main stem before they flowered to help them become bushier and produce new stems and buds.
However, I didnt want to ruin the lovely flowers, so I only pinched some of them. I will pinch the others as each flower fades. I am loving the colours, they look so dainty. I cant wait for the rest of them to bloom!
I decided to join a bag-making challenge on Facebook just for fun. The bag was made in stages, with the template released on the first day, along with a live video tutorial for the first part of the bag.
There was a new live video every day, and then we all shared our completed bags in the group. The pattern wasnt released for us to refer to, as we were all making it together. It was a simple project, but it felt strange not having a pattern to guide me.
The bag included reverse appliqué, which I had never tried before.Unfortunately, the fabric I chose wrinkled easily, and when I was cutting out the center of the heart shape, I accidentally cut through the main panel.
At that moment, I wanted to give up, but I decided to cut out a new outer panel and keep going.
Im quite happy with the final result, and it was fun to sew alongside both experienced and new bag makers.
Plus, there are prizes up for grabs!
A few weeks ago, our Golden Retriever, Billy, celebrated his 8th birthday. I can hardly believe that our playful little puppy is already 8 years old! Hes starting to get a bit lighter around his face now, which is why I affectionately call him my little sugar face.
His breeder used to call him a cheeky monkey for leading his siblings astray, and I still use that nickname because he definitely lives up to it.
As one of his birthday gifts, we bought him a Cheeky Monkey soft toy, and he absolutely loves it. Happy birthday, Billy-bubs!
Ive slowed down my sewing in the past few weeks because Ive been focusing on my garden. However, I did manage to make this cute purse for myself, which matches the sling bag I created earlier. It was definitely much easier to make than the sling bag.
The purse features a couple of card slots inside the main compartment, along with extra space for cash, lipstick, and other small items.
I can even fit my glasses in the front pocket. The sewing pattern I used is The Starlight Wallet by Spencer Ogg.
I am a fair-weather gardener; as soon as the sun comes out, Im outside weeding, pruning, and planting. I love flowers, but since our garden is mostly covered in shingle, I have to rely on plenty of plant pots for colour.
I wanted to create a flower bed, but the ground under the shingle is really hard and has been down for years, making it impossible for me to dig.My husband noticed some border edging, and we thought it would be perfect for a raised bed.
So we mapped it out and filled it with bags of compost and topsoil. After that, I researched which flowers to buy and had a great time in the garden centre selecting all my favourite perennials.
My husband is also growing some bedding plants from seed, which will be ready to add in the next few weeks.
While it doesnt look like much at the moment, I believe once those flowers grow and blossom, it will become the beautiful flower bed Ive been dreaming of.