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I adore a quilt and felt that we needed one for camping and outdoors; one that was made from only scraps and fabric from the stash.

It needed to be really quick as I only had a week to complete it before we left for Germany. I decided on a scrappy quilt that would require minimal quilting.

All the backing squares were cut from brushed cotton – for softness and comfort. Wadding in between and the tops from heavier weight baby cord or similar fabrics. 9.5 inch squares with a quilted cross from corner to corner through all three layers and then all sewn together before finally snipping the seams to create a frilly/fluffy edging. The fluffiness will increase over time, washing and use.

I absolutely love it and it looks amazing in the tent. The added bonus is that I won’t have to be too concerned about it getting dragged around and well used – I hope!

Quilting success and a lovely warm holiday too.

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I am so excited to see that one of our hives has a lot of new bees that appear to be native black bees. This means that we have black bees somewhere near us that have bred with one of our queens. The reason this is such good news, is that they nearly died out in the UK and a few apiaries around the UK are working very hard to get them back because they are better suited to our weather, are good honey producers but eat far less honey than the now common Italian bees.

You can see a mix of bees as the queen is not a native black bee herself and she can also be inseminated by multiple drones (male bees) on her mating flight.

#heskethhouse #heskethemporium #heskethhouseapiary #backyardbeekeeping #backyardbees #sewityourself

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Handmade sewing community group is next week on Thursday so we’ve been doing some preparation of what we will be making and I LOVE this fabric. Maryam’s done a great job sewing it together as a demo piece. They will make a wearable item and learn how to make a fabric tube, darts, bias tape and lace insertion. Anyone near the Wigan area is welcome to join us at @theedgewigan and @postcodecoffeehouse on Thursday 1st August, 9.45-1pm. Every 1st Thursday and 3rd Saturday of the month. £5 for all materials and equipment. #🧵❤️ #heskethemporium #heskethemporiumhandmade #handmadeinpostcode #handmadeinthegreenhouse #sewinginwigan #socialsewinggroup #sewinggroupsinwigan #sewityourself

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When on Keto some snacks are better than most – in this case biltong made in a beef jerky way in the dehydrator. Never tried this before but I’m sure it will still taste amazing. I’ve always made biltong at home but using a wire hook and air dry method but the dehydrator was incredibly simple to get started. I will report back when it is done tomorrow 👍. #heskethemporium #heskethhouse #makeyourownjerky #makeyourownbiltong #ketosnacks #sewityourself

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The most glamorous thing in my life today is this glitzy pot scourer! 🤣 small but very useful. Thanks to the lady who donated this ball of polyester yarn to me, we now have 6 of them to rotate into the sink. #sewityourself #crochetpotscourer #redheartyarn @redheartyarns #makeyourownpotscourers #wp

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Not a very glamorous sewing job today, but one that is much needed. Dust covers instead of the hard plastic covers to go over the sewing machines. The rollcage that I keep the machines in for sewing club is so full that the covers take up too much space so this will just keep them neat, tidy and dust free instead. Another great recycling project because this used to be a pair of my daughters nurses trousers-therefore zero cost. #SewItYourself #HeskethEmporium#HeskethEmporiumhandmade #UpCycling #UpCyclingProject #RecyclingProject #RecyclingOldFabric #RecyclingOldClothes #WP

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3 of the 6 pairs of tailored trousers I have eventually finished altering for hubby. He has been amazingly diligent about his health and the yoga and strength training have meant a huge change in his waist, so all of his trousers needed to be taken in. It may have taken less time to make them from scratch as I not only had to take in the waist, but the seat and the legs too 🤪. I’m happy it is one job to tick of my endless list. #sewityourself #heskethemporium #heskethemporiumhandmade #trousersalterations #sewingforhubby #wp

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Meet Bethany – the latest Bernina in the sewing room. A Bernina Virtuosa 160 plus. For a change, she is for me and not the sewing group. I can’t be happier as she is in pristine condition with very little use from the clean pedal and body. The original receipt from 25th July 1999 is still with her along with all the literature from the store when it was purchased. Hard to believe she is 20 years old next month 😁❤️ by the way, can anybody tell me what those pale green things with the heart shapes are? #HeskethEmporium #HeskethEmporiumHandmade #SewItYourself #BerninaVirtuoso160 #BerninaSewingMachines @berninauk #wp

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I seriously wish I had learned the lessons about mortgages much earlier in my life. If you’ve ever wondered or needed to have a reason to be debt free and mortgage free this is a brilliant show to inspire you. Sarah Beeny’s How to live mortgage free – it’s currently on Netflix and possibly elsewhere. I’m not saying that everyone should convert a double-decker bus into a home, but there are real life stories in there of people with three bedroomed houses that have become debt free in 10 years. Just imagine the freedom of not paying a mortgage every month. What would you do with that money and not having to worry about job security or being bankrupt if you lost your job for any reason. Seriously this is such a good programme to watch. #HeskethHouseRestoration #HeskethHouse #HeskethHouseEmporium #He’sGettingBoring #RestoringA1700House #WP #SewItYourself #LivingDebtfree#HeskethHouseRestoration #HeskethHouse #HeskethHouseEmporium #heskethemporium #RestoringA1700House #WP #SewitYourself #LivingDebtfree #LivingMortgageFree #LivingMortgageFree #sarahbeeny @sarah.beeny

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My latest virus shawl in Rico creative super 6 wool. I was unsure about the colours, but it turned out lovely nonetheless. this is for a very special lady who always admires every Virus shawl I work on.