May 12th: My Sewing Room Playlist!

I don’t know about you but I find that when I’m in a sewing mood and groove, I gotta have some good music playing in the background! Whether it be soothe and sultry sounds of a bluesy jazz track or a raging hook from an alternative rock band! Whatever it is, music plays a huge roll in how I work. It inspires, it pumps me up, mellows me out, calms my nerves when something isn’t going right and just simply makes my happy space an even happier one!

So today, I wanted to share with you some of my favourite albums and artists that I love listening to when I’m sewing! To be be completely honest with you, my music mood changes daily! Hourly even! One minute I might be loving the futuristic tones of some fun electronic-pop then do a complete 180 and be craving some sweet ol’ crooning jazz!

The Current Faves!

CurrentFavAlbums

James Bay/Chaos and the Calm: I’ve had this album for a couple of months now and have never really taken the time to listen and subsequently fall in love with it! It’s a really lovely, laid back type sound with a few catchy songs that get stuck in my head way too easily! Favourite songs include: Craving, Hold Back the River, Let it Go and Move Together.

The Japanese House/Clean EP: I shared this EP with you in a post from last month where I proceeded to tell you just how down-to-earth and insanely relaxing I find their sound! I heard them by chance on a radio station I listen to at home and in the car called Triple J and made sure to remember their name so that I could listen to more of their music! Favourite songs include: Letter by the Water and Pools to Bathe In.

The All-Time Faves!

AllTimeFaveAlbums

Coldplay/A Rush of Blood to the Head: This is my favourite Coldplay album ever! My memories of it are popping the disc in into my DiscMan at night and listening to it as I fell asleep all the way back when I was in high school! It’s such a great album to chill out to and reminisce about all of the good times that high school brought! Favourite songs include: All of them! 😀

Crowded House/The Very Very Best of Crowded House: Crowded House are so awesomely quirky and fun that my spirits are lifted every time I press play on this album! They were the first band I ever saw in concert in 2007 and will always hold a special place in my heart because of it! Favourite songs include: Distant Sun, When You Come, Fingers of Love, Weather With You, Locked Out, Four Seasons in One Day and Recurring Dream.

John Mayer/Continuum: I’m a huge fan of John Mayer (just his music that is!). If you listen closely, the stuff he writes and makes is so insanely fabulous it makes me swoon every time! One of my all-time favourite songs is on this album… When Gravity comes on it just instantly relaxes me and reminds me all is well with the world. I’m not really too sure why this song has such an affect on me… I think it has to do with that bluesy guitar rift that opens the song that gets me every time! Favourite songs include: All of them! 😀

Passenger/All the Little Lights: Passenger is my ultimate singer/songwriter! The guy is just so incredibly passionate about what he does that it’s soul-wrenching! Watching him play live is a whole other experience too! Simply brilliant! This is just one of eight albums of his that I love listening to! Favourite songs include: Feather on the Clyde, All the Little Lights and Patient Love.

The Mainstream Faves!

MainstreamFaveAlbums

Ed Sheeran/X: I love this album as well as his ‘+’ one. It’s one of those albums that you can have on in the background and easily sing-along to in most parts (except for when he does that fast singing/rap type thing!). Favourite songs include: Bloodstream, Tenerife Sea, Thinking Out Loud, Afire Love, Shirtsleeves and I See Fire.

Taylor Swift/1989: Gee this girl sure is taking over the world! And no wonder why, this album is so much fun! It’s great for one of those long sewing sessions you crave every time Monday morning rolls around! Favourite songs include: All of them! 😀

The Jazz Faves!

JazzFaveAlbums

Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong/Ella & Louis: Ooo, I love a good bit of jazz blasting in the sewing room! And this is the album I always go for! These two are my favourite jazz musicians both separately as well as when they come together! The reason why I love to listen to jazz (and not just because it sounds beautiful and makes my heart sing with happiness!) is because it always reminds me of my Dad who also loves listening to jazz. It’s a daddy/daughter connection that I cherish deeply! Favourite songs include: All of them!! 😀

John Coltrane/Coltrane for Lovers: This is another one of those newbie albums I’ve been listening to recently and that has instantly made it onto my (almost ultimate) favourites list! It’s bluesy, soulful, lazy and relaxing. It’s a Sunday afternoon kind of album, where the light is slowly dimming and you have a cup of tea next to your sewing machine and a whole load of chain-stitching to do! Ahh, heaven! Favourite songs include: There’s just one at the moment that really sticks out and that is My Little Brown Book.

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I do have a fair few other albums and artists I love to listen to when I’m sewing but these are just the ones I tend to go to the most! I also have some favourite playlist I like to press play on when I can’t make up my mind on what I want to listen to! I usually put these playlists on shuffle and hope for the best!

Now I know that not everyone likes to listen to music when they sew. Podcasts, TV shows and movies are all popular choices for quilters to have on as white noise when sewing. What do you like to listen to or watch when you’re sewing? Do you stick to the same type of music every time or do you like a nice quiet environment where you can concentrate and not be distracted?! I would love to know!

See you tomorrow!

Happy Sewing, Friends!

xx

September 21st: Three Simple Things

It’s been a quiet ol’ Monday here in the sewing room. To be honest, I actually found myself struggling to find something to write about today as it’s just been all editing and no play!

But there are three simple things that have made this day a good one. Three simple things that have been my favourites from the day…

No.1

MickeyMouseWatch

I figured out how to make my beloved manky old Mickey Mouse watch to work again! After buying it on eBay years ago, I only recently had a new battery placed in it. The watch worked beautifully for a few weeks after and then I noticed it slowing down very, very gradually! Boo!! Then today, I saw something that made me think that perhaps it’s one of those watches that needs to be wound every now and then to keep it on time… So I put the watch back to the proper time and then gave the dial on the side a real good wind… And 8 hours later, the time is still absolutely perfect! Yay! So hopefully I’ve now figured out how to keep this watch working properly so that I can wear it again! Fingers crossed!

No.2

This beautiful new song by my favourite singer/songwriter, Passenger has completely made my day! It’s called Restless Wind and I’m pretty sure I’ve played it near one hundred times today! (Well, perhaps not that many times!) All of his songs always, so simply, make me feel more calm and grounded whenever I feel anxious or stressed while also having this ability to pick me up and make me feel happy! (Even the sad, heartbreaking songs!) I am always blown away at how melodic and soul-touching Mike’s lyrics and cords are each time I hear a new song from him! If you’ve never heard his stuff before, you can check out his music on his YouTube channel! (May I recommend this one: Hearts on Fire w/Ed Sheeran… Oh, the harmonies!!)

No. 3

BeBravebook

Last night I received this lovely book called ‘Be Brave. Be Bold.’ (from Kikki.K) from one of my dearest friends, Sam for my birthday. It’s full of wonderful quotes and words of inspiration and encouragement that I’ve absolutely loved reading over today. For such a little book, it packs a punch in getting you back into the right frame of mind to get shiz done and not give up! Love it!!

This is a favourite!
This is a favourite!

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Those are my three simple things that have made this day a good one. What are your three simple things that have made your day a good one? Let me know!

xx