Dress a Girl at Felixstowe Sewing School

On Saturday 22nd March 2 things happened. Felixstowe Sewing School celebrated it's 1st year and in honour of this a SEWATHON took place making dresses for the charity Dress a Girl Around the World who provide dresses to girls in poverty all over the world. I took part and also donated some fabric and binding. It's a great cause and was also such an amazingly fun day. The main sewing room was buzzing with chatter and laughter while the ladies pinned, sewed, ironed and overlocked.

Amanda Bowden who runs Felixstowe Sewing School organised a fantastic event which everyone seemed to enjoy. Here she is running through each stage of the dress making.

There was a huge selection of the most delicious cakes with tea and coffee served in vintage china for all the hard working dress makers which was provided by Delicious Nutritious. 

Everyone who took part was given a handmade brooch.

Happy Birthday Felixstowe Sewing School!

Sewing began at 9am and ended at 9pm with 101 dresses made! So many people took the time to offer their help during that time and lots donated pretty fabrics and binding.

Thank you to Tim Bowden for the photos.

Love Lemon x

Sunshine and Sewing

What a difference a bit of sun and warmth makes. We have spent some lovely days out in the sunshine by the sea. I am looking forward to our second summer living here. My mum is also moving nearby which will be lovely.

I have been busy finishing this baby blanket for a friends baby girl who was born a few weeks ago.

I am also 5 weeks into a dressmaking course which I love! Of course the delicious cake provided can be distracting! Felixstowe Sewing School has a variety of sewing courses so I am keen to sign up for another soon.

I decided to make another dress with the same pattern at home with some fabric I have had in my stash for some time.

So now I have lots of sewing to be getting on with I am hoping to finish a dress in time for my birthday in April.

What sewing projects are you doing at the moment?

Love Lemon x

Lemon Loves #1

I am planning to make Lemon Loves a regular post, a post about a few of the things I love at the moment.
1. Blue statement necklace, this also comes in yellow £12.50 from Topshop
2. Amazing white and grey brogues with a little bit of silver sparkle from Clarks £54.99
3. I have been thinking a backpack would be good for days out with the boys and for when I'm riding my bike. I like the girly hearts by Converse from ASOS £30
4. Such a cute top with a peter pan collar and a tiny telephone print from Boden, reduced to £39.20 too!
5. Fab camera cushions from Violet and Percy £35 each
6. I adore this Limited edition London print by Ingela Ingela P Arrhenius from Violet and Percy £15
7. French designed porcelain storage pots from £14-£22 lots more items and designs available in this very pretty collection, available to buy from Tea and Kate
8. Bright yellow bird cage, a great spring/summer addition from Zara Home £29.99
9. I spotted this jacquard palm tree aline skirt in Topshop when I was in London, a really lovely spring/summer coral colour £34

What have you got your eye on at the moment?

Love Lemon x

PS. It's my birthday in April, just saying....

Stamptastic

Honestly who doesn't love stamps. Stamptastic asked me to review their personalised stamps, great idea and furthermore these stamps can print on almost all surfaces. I decided to get one for each of the boys and also a more bespoke Love Lemon stamp in a typewriter font.

My boys are 1 and 3 so my journey of labelling clothes, books, bags, shoes, hats and so on is just beginning. The fact that these stamps will last and can even print onto fabric means that this already feels like an easier task! Win!

The list of things to label seems endless, here is what I have started with...

I am very impressed with my Love Lemon stamp, it looks great, the typewriter font really stands out and I can use it for personalised notes and cards and for handmade labels for my makes. I am currently making baby blankets for little ones all due very soon so these stamps will make a great finishing touch.

Love Lemon x

Love Lemon Craft Corner

With our changing family I have tried to hang onto a little space for me to have my sewing machine and craft bits and pieces. Since moving I haven't spent any time sorting my corner until now. It's a nice space in the spare room looking out through the balcony doors on the top floor of the house. This year I want to try and do more sewing and learn some new skills. I start a dressmaking course in a few weeks and I am hoping to learn lots and hopefully make more items of clothing in the future.

I covered the table top with a plastic coated fabric and stapled it around the edges underneath, it makes a great surface for fabric cutting, pinning and measuring.

I have a wicker basket for my yarn and crochet projects and I found these fab 1950's suitcases that were in such great condition. I cleaned them thoroughly and now keep all my fabric in them. I have been looking for a storage cupboard to fit the space for a while and then found these cases and decided they would be perfect storage.

I use the fireplace mantle to store bits and pieces keeping the table clear and I also have a vintage sewing box for more bits and pieces. I must admit I did have a massive clear out.

Do you have your own craft space?

Please share your craft space posts below, I would love to check them out.

Love Lemon x

Zara Home SS14

I'm sat at my kitchen table listening to the howling winds and rain, trying to remember that the sun does shine and it can be warm in this country. I struggle in these colder months. So what better way to take our minds off the looming grey skies than to check out some Spring Summer collections for 2014. Think wicker, leaf prints, bright coloured glass, shells, bamboo, wooden shutters, palm trees, embroidery, pineapples, stripes and florals, parrots and baskets and you come close to summing up the gorgeous collection by Zara Home. It's an amazing combination of textures and bright colours.

ZARA Spring/Summer 2014

ZARA Spring/Summer 2014

ZARA Spring/Summer 2014

ZARA Spring/Summer 2014

ZARA Spring/Summer 2014

ZARA Spring/Summer 2014

ZARA Spring/Summer 2014

ZARA Spring/Summer 2014

Feeling brighter? It certainly worked for me.
Have you seen your favourite collections for Spring/Summer?

Love Lemon x

Fever London

I started shopping at Fever many years ago when I was working near their Eastcastle street store in Soho. I loved their flattering dresses and commitment to vintage style. It was the shop I would visit for a special dress for a wedding or even just something to glam up my wardrobe. When I did a shoot for Style at Home magazine there was no contest, I dug out one of my favourite Fever dresses in a jewel blue colour. I knew it would give me the confidence I needed on the day to go in front of the camera!!

I know clothes and fashion aren't something I write about on here but I am hoping to change all that this year. I was delighted to be invited to the Fever blogging event to preview their new collection. Stunning is the best way to describe it. I fell in love with so many pieces. Not to mention the fun afternoon I spent sipping pink fizz and meeting other bloggers while we admired and tried on a few of our favourite items from the Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter collections for 2014.

Love Lemon x