Pfaffing about

When I got back from the dentists this afternoon my neighbour popped round with my new toy, that had been delivered whilst I was out having my gums prodded with a sharp implement.

I would like to welcome you to Pfifi Pfaff my new embellishing machine. See she has a pretty butterfly - how cute :-)

Well before Mummy could get a look in the Minx had to have a go. The great thing is the needles are really well guarded so no harm can come to squidgy little fingers.

Minxy spent a very happy hour with my scraps bag, trying out which fabrics worked best and making some great little collages. Her first was an abstract:

Followed by a flower:

Here are just some of the pieces she whipped up:

She broke one of the needles and was really concerned. I told her not to worry as I got a full extra set of 5 with the machine plus another set from the show and didn't really expect to be breaking them much myself.

Once Minx was in bed it was my turn. As I've only just finished I haven't taken photos yet. Organzas and any shiny synthetic fabrics seemed to work really well, as do felt and wool tops.

(Unfortunately I went on to break another 9 needles - leaving me with one left in the machine plus the packet I picked up at the show - which in the space of two hours has disappeared without a trace. I found them earlier on and must have put them somewhere safe - fatal, as I now have no idea where they are. I hope breaking this number of needles is not normal as they cost £10 for a pack of 5!!!)

You can get some lovely textured pieces and can work into it with machine and hand embroidery. It's going to take a lot of practise and perseverence (and needles!). I can see the fabrics being used for bags and cushions but especially for abstract embroidery pieces.

Tomorrow I have to get started on a bit of decorating. This house had so many wallpaper borders when we moved in. Only the downstairs loo and our bedroom still have them but they are dreadful to remove. So it's out with the steamer tomorrow - which doesn't always work on borders :(

For now, I'm going to sit down with a simple bit of hand-embroidery to finish off something I should be able to show you tomorrow (if it looks any good!).