I'm just one daffodil trumpet away from finishing my yellow wallhanging, but that last bloom seems to be taking an inordinately long time to complete as I've just checked back and realised that I posted on Instagram that I was one bloom away over a week ago now. But either way, it will happen and I'm excited to see it finished. I reached an impasse with this project half way through when I lost interest for no apparent reason; I even took it away with me on two holidays and it didn't come out of my bag on either. After a few months had passed I forced myself to pick it up again and just a few stitches in I wondered why I'd ever dropped it, because I really enjoyed making the second half of it. It's funny how enthusiasm waxes and wanes (and then thankfully in this case, rewaxes!) like that.
Here are a few pieces mid-sew - they're all stitched together apart from the cream piece, top right, which is just resting there. I really love these curves.
I have a lovely new sponsor, Pelenna Patchworks, who sells freezer paper templates, which I'd never heard of before (see them here!), but which seem like a really good idea for keeping shapes in place while you're basting them (you just iron the freezer paper onto the fabric and then peel it away when you've finished, leaving no residue). They also sell the actual rolls of freezer paper so that you can make your own if you're using non-standard shapes like mine (although I didn't actually know about this when basting the curved pieces for this project).
Annie from The Village Haberdashery is expanding into beautiful new premises and is looking for investors, big and small (you can invest as little as £10 or as much as...well, one investor has put in £25,500!), to help her make it happen. She's produced a really lovely video to share her vision with others that you can see below. You can request a business plan to assess possible returns by clicking on the 'Business Plan' PDF at the left of this screen.
To give you some background, I've watched The Village Haberdashery grow since Annie first started sponsoring my blog in early 2012 and she's always come across as someone who works tirelessly, with enthusiasm and who is very much a part of the sewing community. I imagine that December is possibly the hardest month to crowd fund in and, because of what month it is, my own investment is necessarily small. It's also made on the basis of wanting to support a shop that I love, rather than any financial savvy. However, I'm fine with that basis for giving as I think with any investment you may lose your money, so in some ways it seems safer to invest with good will than high hopes for riches, although it's a happy thing if it does end up paying off (that attitude possibly explains why I haven't gone into banking). If you're interested, crowdfunding closes in just 11 days and I know Annie would love your support. You can find all the information you need here - they're currently 60% of the way to their target.
The Village Haberdashery - Seeking Investment Via Crowdcube from Big Hair Films on Vimeo.
I'm going to see a live (broadcast to screens around the country) National Theatre performance of Jane Eyre tonight, which I'm excited about as the novel was one of my A' level texts, which has left me with extra fondness for it, as it's a book that feels like an old friend, even though it's not actually my favourite classic. I'm sure many places probably still have tickets if you're interested.
I'm yet to start feeling Christmassy, which is most unlike me as that feeling normally strikes around the 1st October before the shops have started selling baubles and people can be heard saying, 'But it's not even November!' in outraged tones, but I saved this post today, which shares six classic Christmas films you might not have heard of and I'm looking forward to working my way through them if I can find them on Netflix and hopefully feeling more festive.
Florence x ADSENSE HERE
