Strawberry Earrings

I was asked to design and create a tiny pair of strawberries for earrings and this is what I came up with.

I'm really proud of them and my customer was delighted!
The berries were OK to make once I had got the shape worked out, but the leaves at the top were really fiddly.

My first sale of beads!!!

And I'm so happy about it!

I really enjoy making these little beads but it's a nightmare photographing them so that they look as good on the screen as they do in real life. But I guess I got it right as these pink ones are going to New York :-)

I get a really good feeling from selling my own creations - it is still a buzz selling books, but is a bit more special when I have made the item from scratch, all by myself!

Innovative Machine Quilting - Featured Book

Innovative Machine Quilting
by Hettie Risinger

Publisher Sterling
Year 1982
ISBN 0806953985
Format Hardback
Size 26 by 18cm with 160 pages

Instruction and advice on creating a traditionally designed quilt in just two weeks or less by using modern sewing machine methods. Risinger starts with the most basic quilt constructions and builds on this experience to teach more complicated designs and techniques. Includes old favourites such as the Log Cabin and Cathedral Window, plus original patterns by the author. Illustrated with b/w diagrams and patterns, and mostly b/w photographs.

Available to purchase from Javaslublu Books

Crocheted Beads

These beads are hand-crocheted from a cream coloured cotton.
They each measure 1.5 cm (5/8 inch) long by 0.7cm (5/16 inch) across.
The beads have been lightly stiffened but still retain some of their flexibility. They are hollow so are very light and would be ideal to use in making earrings.

Available to purchase from javaslublu on Etsy

Pansy Flower Motif - pattern

This pansy flower is one of my favourite motifs. It is easy to make and works reliably with all kinds of thread from fine cotton to chunky wool.

This photo shows the motif used for earrings, but I have also made bracelets, and used the flowers for applique.

Ch4, sl st to form ring
Round One: Ch2, 10 dc in ring, join with sl st in 1st dc
Round Two: (Ch5, miss 1dc, sc in next dc) repeat around, join, (5 loops)
Round Three: Sl st in loop, * ch3, 8 tr in loop, ch3, sl st in loop, sl st in next loop, repeat from * around
Finish off.

Audubon Birds in Cross Stitch - Featured Book

I am a bookseller by trade and I thought that I could also use my blog to 'feature' some of the more unusual craft books that we have in stock.
This first one is a beautifully presented book for advanced embroiderers.

Audubon Birds In Cross Stitch by Ginnie Thompson

Publisher Dover
Year 1993
ISBN 0486276031
Format Hardback
Size 28 by 21cm with 64 pages

Presenting twenty of the painter John James Audubon's best-known portraits of birds in elegant cross stitch designs. Each bird is in a full-body pose in a setting which features elements of its natural habitat. The book contains full charts and colour keys, together with colour photographs of the finished design

Available to purchase from Javaslublu Books

Together Forever - new ACEO finished

I completed this little picture on the 19th May.

'Together Forever' measures 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches and is an image of an elderly couple who have spent their lives together.

I originally envisaged the piece as a young couple but as I embroidered the details of the woman's skirt and boots, it appeared to me to be more of a traditional European folk costume, and I thought it would be more suitable for the couple to be older people.

The main part of the picture is made by filet crochet in pink coloured cotton, and the details of the clothing, faces and hair are embroidered in silks, in tiny stitches over each crochet stitch.
The border is also embroidery silks, and the picture is backed with dark coloured denim.

The picture is available to purchase from
javaslublu on Etsy

My New Blog

My first post on my shiny new Blog!

Hi, I am Steph Burton from Sussex in the UK.

I enjoy creating art, jewellery and bags/purses from threads and fabrics, especially by crocheting which I learned from my Grandmother.

I am planning to use this blog to show off my latest creations and share some of the patterns I used to create them.

You can see the items I have created in my Etsy shop at http://javaslublu.etsy.com