From rags to stitches.

Easter Holidays

2011-04-25T09:53:00.000-07:00

The Easter holidays have been great fun and action packed. We have been Designing..
Making...turning a box into garage with car wash and Mc donalds drive- through.
Making potions...which eventually turned into a bowl full of 'sea' according to Arthur.
Easter egg hunting... Lovely to have the whole family together for Easter breakfast, George went back to Falmouth in the afternoon.

Building..this is a sand boat. We spent 4 days going to the beach Ya!
Climbing..
Jumping..
Messing about in boats..
A vintage drive..
and picking flowers that have all suddenly come to life in the garden.
A fab couple of weeks. I did manage to do a little bit of making myself, and have designed some new beads... but that will be the next post.
Hope you all had good hols too x

Proud Mum

2011-04-16T03:58:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we went to Harry's Passing Out Parade along with Grandparents, and his friends went to support him. It was quite a big event. It was amazing when his troop marched passed and we were all trying to spot him, I took a zoom lens on my camera which made it easier for me :)
He looks so grown up and really has become a soldier. We are all so proud of him for getting through the first 23 weeks. He was also recognized with an award for Physical Training. He always likes to push himself and beat his personal best and that appears to have paid off.

He is really enjoying the life and so looking forward to starting his training with The Royal Signals in Blandford.

Happy days :)

2011-04-13T00:37:00.000-07:00

Blowing gently..
Bowing harder...
BLOWING REALLY HARD!!
How gorgeous is it to run free through the Dandelions in spring ?

Happy Days :)

Spring is here :)

2011-04-12T00:14:00.000-07:00

On Sunday I was at The Dairy House for the 2nd Vintage Textile Fair. There were lots of guest stalls outside full of gorgeous vintage textile related goodies and inside was packed full of beautiful antiques, clothing and furniture. There has been a major reshuffle inside and Sue from Vintage to Victorian has got even more drawers to rummage through full of buttons and vintage fabrics.

We were very lucky with the weather, I managed to sit in the sun most of the day (inbetween serving customers of course) Above is Justines stall from Pink Milk on Etsy , she uses a lot of Fabrics from The Dairy House in the making of her gorgeous cushions.
Yesterday Arthur and I went with a friend and her son to Brokers Wood near Westbury and had a fab day out. A picninc by the lake and a wander through the woods, where all the flowers are about to come out.

We have been so lucky with the beautiful sunny weather and I am lucky that I have been able to take advantage of it. We even had our first barbeque with a nice glass of Pimms. Perfect :)

Spring Fever

2011-04-08T07:23:00.000-07:00

This is what happened to the beads I was making, this is a picture of six of my new necklaces. There have been requests for one as above which I am working on at the moment. A collection of these necklaces went straight into Cream in Frome as they look fantastic on Avrils gorgeous knitwear.
I have also been experimenting making fabric beads.. and since making these have been on a bit of an adventure. Back in January I put my name down to attend The Best Of British Open at Liberty London, and a couple of weeks ago I got an e-mail with the details on it. I became very excited and decided to make some of the fabric beads with Vintage Liberty Fabrics and luckily Donna Flower was able to provide the most perfect fabrics. I didn't really sleep much over the 14 days leading upto the 2nd of April. My mind was buzzing, 'what if they did like my things how could I cope with the orders', (I do have an army of knitters and crocheters that would help) 'what if they didn't like them' etc etc. Mainly I was going for the experience and whatever happened I was going to have a great day.
I used the Liberty fabrics wrapped around curtain rings as well as making the beads and embellishing them. I also wrapped the fabrics around woooden beads and did a few embroidery stitches to give it a bit of texture.
The one above is quite a long one and one of my favorites, I really should have worn it on the day!
I got to Liberty fairly late, about 11 and there was none of the queuing I expected. I went straight in and up the stairs to a waiting area signed in and was offered coffee and tea, much more relaxing than I thought. I spent the next couple of hours nattering and people watching. There were some amazing designers there.
When I went in to do my pitch I was sooo nervous, your given 3 minutes. I started talking about my work and the first thing I took out of my bag was a necklace nearly 2 metres long which I had made to look like the one at the top, I was sort of going for the vogue look. I think I probably came across as absolute beginner and not at all the person I am with 24 years experience in retail ;) I then showed some of my other work. The people judging had really already decided that my work would not suit Liberty and felt it was a 'niche' market. Ah well I did my best, and was so glad I did it. It was something I had been dreaming about since my 20's and maybe one day I'l go back who knows. The only thing I think about getting in later was that the buyers had probably seen 300 people each before we all went in and it must have been such a tiring day. If you think you've got what it takes they are doing another one in August. I would say dress quirky and wear what you are selling if is jewellery or clothing.

I now have a really strong collection of work and 6 Galleries interested in stocking them, which is probably a bit easier to do and fits more with this years plan!

Dinosaur Birthday

2011-03-07T02:59:00.000-08:00

Arthur has had a fantastic Birthday weekend. Saturday he had a special Birthday day with his best friend. Tony took them to the Haynes Motor Museum to see the Alien Invasion. While I got ready for Arthur's Birthday party the next day, baking biscuits and a Dinosaur cake and doing a general tidy up. Ted and Arthur manged to test the biscuits and cake and have a preview birthday tea.

The cake started as above, I had an idea for a Volcano cake, but really wasn't sure how I would go about it. I looked at tins that would have been perfect but cost more than buying a cake! Tony had the brain wave of making lots of layers, I had already decided on doing marbled cake to give the affect of rock layers. So I made 2 victoria sponges but divided the mixture into 2 before putting in the tins, 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder and 2 tablespoons of boiling water (to mix powder into paste) were added to one, and vanilla esscence to the other then the cake mixture was blobbed into the tin, some of each mixture, then mixed gradually to make the marbled effect. The second cake I added red food colouring and strawberry cordial.

The icing was made using my special recipe of not quite set fudge mixed with icing sugar..sets like rock :) Arthur helped add the finishing touches.
I was quite pleased at how it came out, not all of my cake ideas work am better working with wool ;)
Arthur was very pleased with it.
The layers worked really well.
Arthur had 4 friends over to tea, and we had been preparing all day. There were masks to make..
Bones to discover, I was going to use the ready made plaster ones, but felt they may not be as good for 5 yr olds as discovering these bones and building them after.
Arthur did a little test. We also buried lots of fossils (George had a big collection) so it was great telling the boys all about how fossils are made and they were really from Dinosaur times.
I think they enjoyed it, my brushes were totally wrecked, my face when I saw them made the boys laugh ;)
Tony built a cave and we did a chalk dinosaur egg hunt, then the boys did some amazing cave painting, all this lasted about a minute!! was like a whirl wind going around the house.
Tony had been experimenting for 2 days (shouting 'come and see' each time) with Coke bottles,mints and bicarbonate of soda, in the search of the highest Volcano...he went through 10 bottles of tonic water 2 tubs of bicarb,20 packets of mints, and approx 20 coke bottles (luckily it was the 19p stuff).
In the end he found Minto's in Coke to be the best, but the mints had to be attached to a wire to keep them at the bottom of the bottle, otherwise they floated to the top and blocked the flow... so at one stage he was drilling holes into mints *slaps hand on face* we did point out someone had invented polo's but apparently they were not as good. It was good fun for the boys, counting the mints and seeing the reaction and doing the countdown.
Above is the mints going in..
Then Tony gets ready to run..
and we have blast off..
Reach for the sky!
and up passed the boys who are standing on the balcony shouting that's rubbish do it again ;)
The grand Finale was the Volcano exploding. It was a really fun couple of hours..
and I was so glad I'd tidied up before hand noooot! Luckily our kitchen is downstairs so we could leave the mess and enjoy a tea and later a wine upstairs :)

Colourful Beads

2011-03-02T12:36:00.000-08:00

I have been having more fun making beads. This time I have made them by crocheting a ball and stuffing it with merino tops, using all the different wools I have as a little test. Then putting them in the washing machine, they did start off in a pillow case but escaped *note to self tie up the pillow case* I put them on 95 0 and was really pleased with the results.

Then I got together all my embroidery threads and some very old pamphlets with samples of embroidery stitches in, and decided to have a go at embroidery. I am not the neatest of sewers so was not sure how they would come out, but I do like the results...no dainty stitches there, I like the naive look of the beads.
They are now in the studio ready for me to sew some beads on, and then turn into necklaces.
They will be mixed with the crochet and some felted beads with a lot of freeform crochet in between.

The scumbled workshop went well and I am running another one on the 19th of March. Everyone produced lovely freeform crochet work. The best being an 8 year old who just quietly worked away next to her mother and produced a beautiful scumbled heart. There is a link here to The Air Gallery on Facebook.

Next week I am going to experiment making fabric beads, I am soooo lucky that I can call this my job :)

OO shiney :)

2011-02-15T08:54:00.000-08:00

Arthur has been home sick with a cold for 2 days, so I've not been able to make it into the new studio to work.

I have managed to crochet these beads though :) Which have taken 2 days to make using freeform crochet. The colours are perfect for Summer. I have been dreaming of long hot days by the sea and walking through gardens full of colourful flowers as I crocheted away :)

Looking forward to a day in the Studio tommorow, turning all of the beads into necklaces.
I am also getting ready to run a Scumbled Crochet Class at The Air Gallery in Wells on Saturday, should be fun :)

Its been a making sort of weekend..

2011-02-13T09:38:00.000-08:00

I made these little flowers and beads yesterday, I'm working on a new collection of necklaces so making beads to go with my scumbled crochet ones. Arthur saw them this morning and asked how I made them so..
I showed him and he made a couple of beads (with me starting the felting process off) then we experimented making a sort of sausage shape and adding layers of colour.
When dry we cut them into beads, Arthurs are the blue ones and I did the pink.
This afternoon we did a bit of baking, I tried to make Chocolate Kisses but they came out completely wrong and a more like brandy snaps without the brandy ;) maybe I overcooked them or left out a really important ingredient like flour lol ??

Luckily the second batch of biscuits came out ok, and we had fun decorating them with a little bit of a Valentine feeling going on :)
We have nearly finished moving the shop and office, Tony is doing the finishing touches now, its been a long hard slog but Its so going to be worth it. Am looking forward to having a sitting down making week.
Hope you all have a fab valentine :)

Good News and Bad News.

2010-12-06T07:37:00.000-08:00

I have decided to close the shop in Wincanton from the end of January. This is good news for me but I know a lot of people will be disappointed. I have had a massive amount of support over the years in Gillingham and Wincanton and I am very grateful for that.

I am looking forward to concentrating on my designing, making and getting back to painting without the distraction of running a shop.

I will be doing a series of paintings from our house in Wincanton, where there is endless inspiration. The colours of the landscape change every minute, the dramatic skies in the storms and the misty autumn mornings, the amazing frost and snow we've had lately turning everything white, then pink in the sunset.
I would love to capture just some of that and paint the view through out the seasons, and just appreciate where I am. I will be aiming to have an exhibition called...'One View' sometime in the future.
When I am not painting I will be working on my scrumbled crochet brooches,necklaces and cushions which are now being taken by galleries and shops.

Of course there is Arthur to look after and I can't wait to be around more for him instead of him joining me in the shop. George and Harry leaving brought home how quickly time flies.

I am really lucky that I have the support of Tony and am able to make changes to work around Arthur being at Primary school.

I am sooo excited and really looking forward to the new year....

Meanwhile..

There is a huge SALE on in the shop, I need to clear everything including fixtures and fittings as there is not much space at home (mainly cause I have filled that up with crafty things already).
Vintage buttons are 50p a pack, there is bags of vintage cottons,zips, patterns, 2 old sewing machines, ribbons, and fabrics at silly prices.
Jewellery, and lots of gifts, as well as all the cards.
Worth a visit!!!

Its been soo long

2010-11-14T09:14:00.000-08:00

I have not visited blogland since August. Life has been hectic sorting George and Harry out to go off into the big wide world. George started at Falmouth Art College in September and seems to be really enjoying it, and loving Falmouth itself. Well who wouldn't like to do Art by the sea?? Jealous moi ;)

Harry left last week to join the Army, he's based at Winchester to do his 23 week training and back on the 17th of Dec for 2 weeks. Am missing him massively now. With George we have been able to skype, facebook and e-mail so as much contact as when he was here really ;) ...But Harry has no mobile and very limited use of facebook, so it has seemed a lot harder.

Arthur started school in Sept, but seems to have been around more than before the summer holidays! The first half term was half days till 12.30 and since starting full days he's managed a week and then got a sick bug.

I have been busy making collections to go in Galleries and sorting out brochure and price list with the aim of visiting galleries while Arthurs at school.

You can now find my work in Fisherton Mill Salisbury, The Air Gallery in Wells and The Black Swan Art Gallery in Frome. ya!!

There's lots of other things going on with change in the air again ;) I will be back with pics and keeping up to date now I have remembered my passwords lol.

Hope you are all well. xxx

How to Marble Paper

2010-08-22T08:04:00.000-07:00

Gather together a deep dish that paper will fit into laying flat, or cut paper to fit. Lots of different things for making the swirls, we had cocktail sticks,chop stick, whisk, crochet hook, pencil plastic fork and the best one the barbeque fork.
Fill the dish with water.

Then add some drops of colour (first shaking the jars of colour to make sure they are well mixed.)
make some swirls by dragging the cocktail stick gently along the surface of the water. (we found there was only a minute or so to do this before it started setting.)
Grab anything to hand to experiment with different swirls and patterns ;) Then you lay the paper gently on the surface and lift it up, all the oil paint will have stuck to it. we found thicker paper worked best. there is a little residue left which if you lay thin paper down on and lift it up as above, you will have clean water to start again.
Then all that remains is to clear up the colourful mess.
We were very pleased with how the paper turned out and started experimenting with other things. The Jam jars would make good night lights with a candle in, and I'll probably wrap some wool or ribbons around the top.

A fab week.

2010-08-03T12:45:00.000-07:00

I put all my buttons out in the shop last week, to make jewellery and button hearts and to demonstrate how to make them. Customers could also have a go and make a button heart for £5.00, which proved really popular.
I poured out my jar of Mother of Pearl buttons (for me and not to share ;) I made two necklaces that I really like, inspired by the sea. I am going to do a beach window and these will look perfect alongside a couple of my beach paintings and a window full of pebbles.
I also made some tiny mother of pearl hearts also for the window, I sold a couple on Sunday so will have to make some more :) I will be leaving the buttons out this week and adding a few big beads and some hemp to make crochet necklaces.
In Wincanton we are very lucky to have Jenny who runs Divine Wines, not only does she have excellent taste in wine but is also an amazing cook. Part of the Wine shop is a cafe and outside is beautiful..if you like to get that 'holiday moment' this is the place to visit.
On Friday night Jenny ran a Greek evening, a five course delicious meal, (I could hardly move afterwards!) everyone sat on the long tables and though we didn't know anyone to start with we soon relaxed and enjoyed the company around us. It was an amazing evening and we could walk home ya! The wall art was gorgeous and I'm sorry to say I have forgotton the artists name, the picture are weather proof, a brilliant idea for the winter.
On Sunday I did the monthly Artisan Market at Catherine hill in Frome, I did not have any help so didn't get much chance to go around the market, I managed to take a couple of pictures of the fab shops that can be found on Catherines Hill.
and this stall of Sunflowers from a farm in Codford (which I would like to get to before the seasons out), they sold out in a few hours.
I was in my usual place at the bottom of the hill, I couldn't believe how much stock I had made over the last month, which means being in the new shop is starting to work. My next job will be to find some galleries and shops to supply with my scumble collection and brooches.
I loved Laura Merritt's work, unfortunatly I could only afford a couple of her cards but would really like one of her embroidered fabric canvases for my kitchen.
Monday we went for a picnic to Stourhead.
With My Mum and Sister in Law, was great to get the cousins together.
A really relaxed picnic in an amazing spot, probably spoiled a few photographs lol

Think Mum was pleased to see us altogether, Arthur actually took this pic with my camera with the zoom lens attached.
I have also been enjoying flowers from my garden, it has been great to walk down the garden and come back armed with beautiful flowers to brighten up the house :)
Hope you all have a fab week x

Feel like we have been on fast forward..

2010-07-27T07:09:00.000-07:00

The older boys have turned into adults over night? They both looked very smart when they went to their proms. Me and Harry had a lovely trip to Bath to find him the suit above for his last Army interview, he is now through to selection on the 11 and 12th of August and if he gets through will probably start in September. Not long to go, quite scary, but very exciting for Harry. He is so enthusiastic and training hard.
Harry's band Vivid Unknown played at the prom.
George also went shopping to get some smart clothes, to go interviews in, he has been trying to get work through the holidays (not dressed as above a little bit more casual than that. )
We were given a huge trampoline, which has been amazing, it also helped to get the ground clear and gave everyone the motivation they needed :) our neighbours thought the boys were working really hard in the garden, then they saw the trampoline go up and realised why.
You can't see it at all unless your in one of the bedrooms, and the teenagers have actually gone out in the garden with friends which they were not doing before, makes it feel more like home.
We have had some carrots out of the garden, Arthur was soooo excited to pull them up and he ate the lot :)
We even managed to go camping to Charmouth with friends from Gillingham, and we were lucky enough to have a field to ourselves with the sun shining :) If your ever in Charmouth pop into Ida's cafe and shop, she has secondhand books and crafty bits as well as local crafts peoples work and has just started workshops.
I have been working really hard in the shop getting a few collections of brooches ready to go on Folksy and my website, as well as to supply other shops. The last 2 weeks I have spent needlefelting and sewing.

I have made some scumbled brooches to go along side the cushions and jewellery.

I had a lovely visit from Jo of Ilchester last week and she has mentioned my shop in her blog worth checking out her blog, she also runs a shop and loves vintage.

A Beautiful Week

2010-06-29T03:35:00.000-07:00

What a fantastic hot week its been.
I had a stall at the Anonymous travelling market on Saturday and it was sweltering from very early on. I stupidly did not take my marquee, thinking we would be inside. I like how the stall looks but I had to keep hiding behind my van in the shade. Unfortunatley the market was so Anonymous very few people showed up. I enjoyed sitting in the sun (and shade) crocheting and listening to the live music. Maria (who's bunting you can see in the pic) came along in the morning and went and got me some suncream to stop me burning for which I am very gratefull!

It has been amazing to have the doors open in the sitting room drinking the odd glass of wine and enjoying the full moon :)
The flowers are all coming out in the garden, Star flower one of my favorites to add to salads along with nasturtium flowers (we eat very pretty salads lol)
The sweet peas have come out at last and look gorgeous.

and I have been lucky enough to spend time reading the paper and drinking tea amongst the flowers half way down the garden, my own little hiding place.
Arthur had his first sleep over on Saturday and they thought it was great to watch Doctor Who together, I made them a midnight feast (which luckily they ate at 7.30 ) and they were asleep by 8 after quite a bit of chatting. On Sunday we went to The Wincanton Classic Car Show which we thought would be very small.
But it turned out to be a really good show of vehicles, the guys were in there element.
Arthur and Ted loved all the steam engines,
Tony loved the bikes, He has an old BSA which he is slowly restoring.
Sunday afternoon we all planned to watch the World Cup with England versus Germany, Arthur has been loving the football and insisted we put flags on the van.
George and Tony put up a new goal for Arthur (well thats what they said) Think they went for a rather big one!
George thought he'd test out the goal....I don't think Tony was quite ready it was hilarious, he got quite badly hit by the ball as you can see from his face, I haven't laughed so much in ages.
Then Tony decided he would get revenge..not sure George was ready for it either, but he did turn sideways I notice ;)
The boys had a little game then went in to watch the match, which ended 4-1 to Germany, with a goal that was disallowed because the Ref didn't see it, he was the only person in the world not to see it, not sure about the rules there! It was so funny reading all the comments on Twitter...quite a bit of swearing going on!
I have also been busy making this week, I sold out of the felted brooches so thought I would make some more, I am also working on scumbled bags, which I am lining with recycled jumpers, and cushions which will be backed with recycled jumpers. I love playing with colours and textures like this. Great fun.
Arthur picked me this lovely bunch of flowers from the garden. I feel so lucky this year that we have the luxury of picking our own flowers :) Veg is also looking good and I forgot to put the picture in!

Anonymous Travelling Market

2010-06-24T10:34:00.000-07:00

I will be exhibiting with

THE ANONYMOUS TRAVELLING MARKET

@ SHAFTESBURY CATTLE MARKET

Christy’s Lane, SP7 8PH

(on the A350 next to Tesco)

SATURDAY 26 June

10am-3pm

FREE PARKING

Local food, drink, arts, crafts & much more

(cash & cheques only)

LIVE MUSIC

Bell Street Jazz Band, Jim Driscoll

Maxwell’s Silver Hammers

www.theanonymoustravelling market.co.uk

Look forward to seeing you there :)

Summer is...

2010-06-22T12:53:00.000-07:00

Collecting Potatoes we've grown in the garden, Arthur was so excited we had to cook them immediately.
Jumping waves. we went down to Poole on Monday afternoon for a picnic lunch by the sea, a really special afternoon :)
Watching Balloons pass by on a summer evening..

Setting up a carboot stall in the sun, Arthur did his while I set mine up with a lot of shop stuff I no longer wanted, we both did really well. There was not much vintage bits around I only bought a few buttons..which meant I just brought home some money for a change!
I hope you've all been enjoying the gorgeous sunshine too :)

My blog has got very colourful which I like, but would like the background to be more transparent (I have pressed the transparent button but it does not seem to work) If any one knows how to do this or put solid colour behind the links please let me know. Thanks x

Frome Artisan Market

2010-06-07T01:22:00.000-07:00

It was a fab day at Frome Artisan Market, full of wonderful colour and lots of people dressed up for the occasion. I only had 5 minutes to pop up the hill while a friend watched my stall.

While sorting these pictures I realised I know the lady who was on the mirror stall, we had met a couple of weeks ago in my Gillingham shop, there was no time for me to stop and natter to anyone and it was quite packed by the time I got to the top.
This was my stall out on the entrance to the hill, which was great as I hadn't thought the plan through for being further up the hill on a slope, the two boxes I used to put all my bits on infront of the table have wheels great for getting to my pitch, not so great on a slope lol ;)
There was lots going on with Bands and punch and Judy happening on Cheap Street for a family day.
Tony and Arthur came over at 12, brought me lunch and went off to watch what was going on.

Arthur had great fun dancing to the steel band and really enjoyed Punch and Judy and the Puppet dancing.

This group decided to perform right infront of my stall

not sure what it was about, they had cucumbers instead of battons and ballons instead of bells..
and really terrible outfits,

Not a good look!! I took quite a few photo's as they were performing this one in particular I regret taking do look away if your squeamish . Very bad look.
They were called the Saturday Afternoon Theatre group in case you'd like to book them ha ha ha! :)

phew we made it!

2010-06-04T07:46:00.000-07:00

A little glimpse into the new Tamsyn G shop. Which at the start I was slightly worried we would get finished in time. Before it got to the state below I had to empty it out of all the prints and paintings that we stored in there when we moved house, these are now hidden in what will be my workroom in the house.. so another job for later. There will be a sign above the shop and the circles either side of the sign..will be painted to look like buttons :)
I had been planning and measuring for the past 4 weeks, and was amazed to find I was nearly right about where things wopuld go, luckily I have Tony . If I had got my measurements slightly out he would magically make the cupboards fit.

The cupboards above needed a fair bit of tweeking, like little wedges cut out and the bottom bit cut off as well as the middle shelf being cut in half, but made to look like its always been like that, so much so that when my friends came in they said 'wow Tamsyn your measurements were right those cupboards fit perfectly' which made me cry with laughter!
The above little corner makes me smile everytime I see it, I had been saving these little cupboards and printers tray for the new shop but had not really worked out how they would look, me and Kate said where they should go as Tony magically fixed them in place.
Perfect for all the vintage Haberdashery :)
The view out with the perfectly fitting shelves completely stacked up! That was the other strange thing, it looks like I have lots of new yummy stock but is virtually the same as before.
I love the layout of the shop, this is the backroom with all the yarns and making bits.
The jewellery cabinets did fit perfectly into there little space by the slope leading to the backroom.

We opened on Thursday and I am sure it will be a welcome addition to Wincanton, people will slowly find us..next week will be full of promotion and getting leaflets printed to spread the word.
We managed (just) to go for a picnic at Bullbarrow Hill which we can see from our house, it was very funny trying to work out the hills in the distance and look back towards Wincanton. I just sat still for half an hour resting my tired legs, but the guys had a great runaround.
and climbed a tree! including Tony. I tried not to tell them to be careful!

I hope you've all had a fab week, I hope to catch up with everyone's blog over the next few weeks and will have more time to do mine to. x

New Look, new start.

2010-05-24T22:47:00.000-07:00

I am getting very excited about the move to our new shop. On the 29th of May we are closing the Gillingham shop and moving it to 59 High Street Wincanton. It will have a new look and new direction. With the emphasis on Recycle, reuse and reinvent. I will be mixing vintage with Handmade (which I have been doing gradually in Gillingham over the last year or so), but there will not be the bought in products from India , I will be buying off British crafts people, locally and across the country.

Kate from Magpie (often seen at the Anonymous Travelling Market) is going to put her gorgeous work in the shop and also help out on a Friday. Kate makes beautiful things from vintage fabrics and reworks linen tablecloths etc into egg cosies and bags. She also has a 'magpies' eye for china and little vintage finds.

Maria from 'Just Sew' will be supplying the shop with bunting and appliqued pictures.

There will also be the lovely pottery from Karen Harrison, often seen exhibiting across the country.
Mixed in with fabrics, vintage and new, vintage making books (if I can manage to part with

them. ), ribbons,

Vintage buttons as well as ceramic and modern (as you know I am a buttonholic.) Vintage haberdashery,
Little vintage luckydip packs,
and I am going to rework these fantastic vintage knitting patterns, for the shop and the website.
Don't you just love them :)...or is it just me???
There will also be a large amount of my handmade bits, made from recycling jumpers and buttons. As well as my paintings and photography.

The website will get a lot more of my attention and I will gradually get all of the stock on there.
Just a few of my handmade brooches and necklaces.

So quite a packed shop really!!!

We are only going to open 3 days a week, Wed, Thurs, and Friday.

When sitting down with Tony to discuss the new venture we realised we had not had a weekend together for 6 years!, and also George and Harry will be leaving school from July , George will be going to Falmouth Art college in September and Harry may be joining the army ( he has to have a medical in June and then we'l know more.) So it will be amazing for me to be at home more and around for all the boys through the summer. (I may spend a bit of time making in the sunshine..but I will be around!)

From September when Arthur starts school I am looking forward to going back to supplying Galleries and having the excuse to visit different towns (some of which may be by the sea lol)

It all sounds great doesn't it, I am very lucky that I have Tony to support and encourage me, We all are actually! ( more than words can say) I am hoping that I can give the same back over the next few years as he embarks on putting all his ideas into action.

over the rainbow

2010-05-17T10:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was full of storms, torrential rain caught me and Arthur out when we walked into town to get a paper..sunny when we started a down pour when we came out. We huddled under cover and waited for it to slow down so we could walk back up the hill. I turned to Arthur and said "I bet your Daddy will come out looking for us", turned around and there was Tony, bless. :)
Then when it cleared (after an hour!) this amazing rainbow appeared the first we had seen from this house, and how amazing to see the whole rainbow over the landscape. I could not fit it all in the picture.
Today was beautiful and sunny and we decided to make the most of it and go for a picnic.
In this meadow next to the river.
Arthur loved it, and spent the time running around and worshipping dandelions ;)
With a special dance..

One happy boy :) then he had lots of races first with me then Tony. (I don't know why the writing is coming out blue and underlined! must have pressed the wrong button somewhere?)

When we got back we spent some time in the garden, this is my new flower border , sweetpeas,borage,marigolds,nasterciums (can't spell),poppys and lots of other seeds I can't remember.
There are some gorgeous blossoms and lots of old cottage plants appearing now.

and my nettle crop at the bottom of the garden, we have had nettle soup which was dellicous and I'm tempted to try the nettle beer that Norfolk Kitchen has had a go at before Tony takes the strimmer to them.
All in all a fab weekend :) X

Spring Greens

2010-05-03T09:45:00.000-07:00

We have had a lovely bank Holiday Monday, doing odd jobs around the house and the garden, me and the boys had nettle soup for lunch, made with nettles, potatoes,onion lovage, rosemary and oregana yum. Tony was not convinced that it would be delicious and stuck to bread and pate.
It was so nice to have lunch together, the boys are rarely around over the weekends now. We all went for a walk around our local woods after lunch.
They all have a bit of a competitive streak..as you can see from the top pic, I was taking a picture of Arthur and Harry, but the others wanted to see if they could jump higher Lol :)

Lots of chatting on the way (inbetween the jumping and climbing).
The colours of spring are fantastic, the vibrant greens of the new leaves against the blue sky..
The fields are full of dandelions and daisys, the wild garlic is all along the hedgerows and ready to flower.
The blue bells are just starting to come out. I will have to go back next week to see how the colours have changed.
How high can Arthur be lifted! and for how long? Harry ran up the hill carrying Arthur building up his muscles ready for the army.

Arthur is so going to miss his big brothers soooo much.
I am desperate to capture every moment of these last few months of us all being together.
More competitions in jumping, Arthur wanted to do it all by himself..and also refused to hold my hand on the walk.

More pictures of the beautiful spring flowers, happy colours :)

I have also been making a lot, inspired by Arthurs beading above where he used everything to hand regardless of shape or colour. I have made some allsorts bracelets, I loved the way the buttons were bunched together, I have not been able up to now to find a use for the shank buttons.
I have also made another scumble cushion, I am trying to get a collection together to get into Galleries. I have added buttons to this one.

I had a great day last Monday taking pictures of the new bracelets for my website, the bracelet above is made using recycled jewellery and wooden beads.
I hope you all had a good Bank holiday weekend. x

The Dairy House and The Artisan Market

2010-04-12T23:14:00.000-07:00

This is the Liz's (washerwoman) little corner..and behind me is all her gorgeous vintage clothes and lots more fabric I only managed to get this pic before she got lost under a sea of fabric, her space was packed all morning, was amazing how she kept going!

I have been out and about since my last blog. On Sunday I was lucky enough to be at the first Dairy House Vintage Costume and Textile Fair.
Just as everyone had finished setting up the crowds poured in! The picture above was taken just before 10 after that you could not see the stalls for the rest of the morning.
This is the lovely Donna Flower's stall she has the most amazing vintage fabrics from 19th century to 80's and beyond. I loved the childrens vintage fabrics made me go all nostalgic.
These pics are a little glimpse of what was there, apart from the stalls outside the Dairyhouse is packed with little collections from a variety of dealers..vintage heaven!
Above is Sue's corner as you go in the door there are drawers to search through full of buttons and fabrics along with haberdashery and lace..some of my friends have been known to go missing in there for hours! I loved the Mannequins that Sue has covered with vintage fabrics, excellent way of showing off her crocheted button necklaces and lace :)
More glimpses of little corners..
This was my little corner I took this pic at the end of the day, the display had been a bit destroyed ;) I had a great day sitting making button necklaces and actually sold one of the pearl button ones before I had finished it. People could sit down and learn how to make brooches and necklaces from buttons. I am very grateful to Sue for inviting me to be part of the Fair. I had a fab day and feel really inspired to carry on making and teaching :)
The Dairy House is also packed with some lovely furniture..think the above would look great on our patio..
Last Sunday we went to the Artisan Market in Catherine Hill Frome. I am hoping to do the next one and wanted to see how everyone balanced on the Hill and get an idea of how I would set my stand up. It is full of designers and makers a fab atmosphere and some delicous cakes..which kept Arthur happy :)
The shops on the Hill are all open as well, great if you also like making Millie Moon stocked with scrumptious fabrics and yummy coloured buttons. Make Do and Mend full of Vintage bits.
It felt a bit like Portabella Market, I am looking forward to being part of it :)
The shops are all independents so if you like a bit of individuality its well worth a visit :)

Reading through I notice I have missed a lovely pic of the Washer womans stall I will add it later as Arthur is demanding breakfast!

Happy Day :)

2010-04-04T11:44:00.000-07:00

Easter morning the Easter bunny visited the garden...really! was quite difficult though as Arthur was looking out all the time from 6.30. It was only when I woke George and Harry could we distract him. He went into Georges room to watch Dr who on the computor. We actually all watched it together last night, a nice family moment.
Eggs were hidden and sweets hung from the trees.
Arthur was out on the patio waiting for his big brothers...
Who were very useful when it came to reach for the sweets, that bunny must have jumped high lol :)
The most amazing thing I thought was the sun shining after a couple of weeks of grey and rain.
Tony discovered this cheeky gnome the other day while digging the veg patch.
'thanks for guarding the eggs'
At the bottom of the garden they made a big discovery..
Arthur was so excited that the bunny knew he liked cars and had put a mini with his egg.
The boys wanted a video of Arthur with all the eggs...they were not all for him, and amazingly none were eaten as they collected them. Tony actually slipped up on the way down the garden..he went flying, it was one of those slow motion moments when you realise there is nothing you can do to stop the fall. Luckily not to injured, camera went flying through the air and landed in a tree, hopefully it is ok.
Breakfast was boiled eggs which everyone decorated, apparently thats my egg with the purple hair, (which is the colour I have gone after not finding bright red in Gillingham hee hee)
The morning was topped off with hot chocolate in George and Harry's new mugs :)

It felt very special to have the family all together, we had a nice meal last night too when Arthur was in bed, great to talk to the teenagers as they are so often hiding in there rooms, and so soon will be starting there journey's into adult hood. George got into Falmouth rto do his Art Foundation with an unconditional place. Ya!!! and Harry is having his army fitness test next week. I treasure these moments they are so precious and it so nice to be able to record it in this way. The teenagers have gone to there Dads in Bath so its a peaceful couple of days to follow :)

I hope you had a fab day too!

Discovering the Garden

2010-03-18T09:00:00.001-07:00

Over the past couple of weeks while it has been dry, we have tried to get in the garden as much as possible, it is amazing now to go home after work and spend an hour digging and clearing. Discovering what lies beneath all the ivy.

I have cleared quite a bit from the terraces, but have not managed to get all the ivy off and the grass at the top seems to be stuck right in. We are starting to get a feel of what the garden was like though, well the structure anyway. I have been trying to find some pictures of a similar garden in the 20's or 30's but have not had much luck.
I was so pleased to find the bulbs all coming through when I cleared the ivy off the right hand bit of the steps, I'm thinking they may be tulips?

Me and Tony were trying to decide what to do with this section. We were thinking the borders need to be dug up and the shrubs cut right down, maybe planting cottage garden flowers and having a little walk through them.

As I started to dig I discovered some stones under a thin layer of grass so I started clearing more and more to find a lovely stone path just where we had walked.
My hands were hurting and arms aching when I got to this point, I did try carrying on the next day but didn't have the strength.
Whoops I left a mess;) Tony is clearing all the grass I dug up while I'm making another tea.

The first section is nearly finished..just got to grow all the plants to go in the border :) Arthur will be having a little shed?playhouse there.
The view from the balcony is getting better, but still a long way to go.

I finished the path last night and did take a picture but for got to bring the camera to work, so will add it later.

Can't wait for some seeds to grow, that will be the next project.

Spring is in the air!

2010-03-14T12:23:00.000-07:00

I awoke early this morning and was lucky enough to see this very misty sunny start to the day:)
Really I should have stayed in bed as it was Mothers day, but Georges alarm was going off at 6.30 which woke me up. Once everyone else woke up I was sent back to bed with a Croissant and a magazine:)
As it was such a lovely day i persuaded George to come for a walk with me and Athur, Tony and Harry went off to a rugby match in Wareham. Just outside Wincanton is Penselwood which is a short walk from a nature reserve. The Crocuses were out in full bloom a beautiful sight.
The walk down to the woods was full of snowdrops another gorgeous sight:)
I can't remember the last time I went for a walk with George he's usually off skateboarding. It will not be long before he's off to university..infact he's waiting to see if he got into Falmouth to do a foundation. He is quite stressed not knowing and it has been 2 loong weeks since the interview.
The boys got to the nature reserve before me, I was taking photo's of the flowers with cry's of 'Mummy look what we've found' cutting through the silence ;)
They went into a bird hide then ran off following the map Arthur had picked up at the gate.
We plan to have a picnic here next time.
we went past the lake and up into the woods.
A few more signs that spring is here at last!
Arthurr wanted to go 'into the dark' so George took him and played hide and seek and throwing sticks.
I sat down while they climbed what was an Ancient Hill Fort.
Arthur did amazingly well, if I had gone on my own we would not have gone so far, I gave him a few piggy backs and George gave him a few carry's.
Arthur loves watching George do stunts and is trying to work out how he can do it! Usually I am in the background saying don't show him that! But if I have my camera I am to busy taking photo's lol.
Arthur had a go
then got a little help from his big brother.
he soon got his strength back, I was not running at this stage..but realising how long it had been since I went for a long walk. The picture above will become a painting eventually, I love the feeling of freedom the boys have as they run off :)
Stopping to look at a ladybird.
and finally back to the van, with a promise of a hot chocolate and one of my special Mothersday chocolates when we get home.

We have just finished a takeaway curry that Tony got so that I didn't cook, so a perfect end to the day :)
A Happy Mothers Day to all you very special Mums :)

half term and a bit of crafting :)

2010-02-21T06:57:00.000-08:00

I can't believe half term is over already, the week went really fast. We managed to start on the garden. Clearing flower beds and Tony went around with the strimmer finding new paths and underneath all the overgrown grass and ivy there is a lovely garden just waiting for a bit of TLC. Me and Arthur bought masses of seeds and having been saving all the plastic containers that food is packaged in to use as seed trays. As soon as it warms up a bit we will cover the balcony in seeds which will hopefully grow so that we can fill up the flower beds :)
We visited the Tank museum with Harry and Arthur. Arthur refused to look at any tank until he had had a proper look at this one, which he thought was a police tank. He spotted it from the cafe which over looked this hanger of tanks.
Harry had a try on of the uniform, which brought a tear to mine and tony's eyes..cause he is applying to join the army at the moment. Quite scary but its what he'd like to do. Its going to be a huge adventure.
We managed to get to the beach to, very cold but so nice to breath in the sea air. We had a picnic in the van with the roof up, Harry and Arthur sat up the top and had great fun :)
I have been working hard since xmas and making lots of new things. I have discovered 'my thing' which is freeform crochet. The necklace above is a dorset button (made during one of the workshops in my shop) which I have crocheted around and then done a length of freeform crochet with beads for the necklace.
Then I started on this bag, you can make lots of little bits of crochet then crochet them together filling in the gaps as you go...
and then crochet over the top and down the sides and turn it around add another colour
and keep adding more until you get to a shape you like. I was aiming for a bag shape.
This is the result. I love the fact that you can use all sorts of yarns together, thin ones to make a warp that you can weave the thicker ones into and fluffy ones for texture...very handy having a shop full of yarn to experiment with :) I am very lucky ! I am going to have lots of fun designing with this method of crochet.

George went for his interview to Falmouth during half term, he's not really sure how it went. He worked so hard getting his portfolio together, fingers crossed he will get in. I am very confident he will, the worst thing is waiting 2 weeks to find out :(

Happy Christmas Holidays :)

2010-01-04T01:07:00.000-08:00

We had a lovely relaxed xmas, really just hibernated! Xmas Eve we had our main dinner as the older boys were off to see there dad and uncles and aunts on Xmas day.
Father Christmas always drops a present from his sleigh on Christmas eve ;) Arthur was very Happy with his transformer, he had put out some special sparkley food for the Reindeer earlier in the day, and made it into an x marks the spot, and amazingly thats where the presents were found. In the dark, Tony had to shine a torch on the garden from the balcony, which got Arthur very excited.
Xmas morning Tony was busy cooking a lovely big breakfast while the boys enjoyed hot choc and squirtey cream, mmm.
There have been some amazing sunrises over the xmas hols, beautiful colours..but very coooold!
When the frost cleared on xmas day it was amazingly warm in our garden, I managed to have a lovely couple of hours knitting and reading mags in the sun, it felt like a real holiday :)
Tony enjoyed the peace in the dining room, with sun streaming through the windows :)

We had Tony's family around for New years Eve and it made the house really start to feel like home :) I cooked a huge indian feast and gave the dining room a Bollywood feel Lol ;) I really enjoyed cooking for everyone and must get back to having people round for dinner in the New Year, it would be great to be sociable again.
New Years Eve went with a bang, we all watched fireworks going off across the Blackmore Vale it was lovely .
New Years Day I started as I mean to go on, I am aiming to do a 5 minute sketch or watercolour a day of the sky and landscape outside my window, and will aim to get back to painting and hold an exhibition before the end of the year, which will include photographs and large paintings.

Wishing you all a fantastic New year and Hoping that all your wishes for the next year come true X X

How does your garden grow..

2009-11-26T04:06:00.003-08:00

Above is the view of our garden from the top bedroom. These pics were taken 2 weeks ago when we had a break in the storms, we had been planning to start tackling the garden on the Sunday and were amazed to get a gorgeous sunny day to start. Take a walk with me to see the very exciting but daunting project. The garden has been neglected for many years so we aim to clear it and cut back the shrubs to see what there is to work with. I am sure it will be a fairly slow process one little bit at a time until next spring.
I have been clearing the patio area and the terraces below.
With the aim of planting herbs in pots and covering the different levels of terrace. I love to use fresh herbs in cooking and just go outside the kitchen door and grab what I need will be a dream come true :) I also have the book 'grow your own drugs'..medicinal ones! and would love to test out some of the recipes.
I think I may clear a bit more ivy first. It would cost a fortune to fill the garden using garden centres so I intend to do some swaps with friends for plants and cuttings, possibly some gardening in return for raiding there gardens ;)

Above is the view back up to the house from the first grassy patch.
This section we have already discovered little paths through and I would like it to be full of cottage flowers and roses, honeysuckle with a small bench. mmmm I can just smell the summer:)
Getting further down the garden now..
possibly a veg garden ?? not sure we have the time, but eventually i would love to grow all our veg.
Tony's potting shed..needs a little tlc and electric! with kettle and cups..it's a long walk back up for a cup of tea ;)
lots of hidden paths.
lots over grown..

This is the teenage bit, right at the bottom of the garden where next summer they will be able to have camp outs, though Harry is imagining a nice shed..free cycle I think :)
A small amount of clearing to do first!! It's going to be a great family project and we are hoping for a few more sunny sundays :)
Tony and harry playing with the new toys! They did clear quite a long way down and it already looks better.

Shop refit

2009-10-22T10:39:00.000-07:00

On Sunday and Monday (actually i started Saturday night!) we had a huge shop reshuffle, we moved all the yarn from the back room above into the front of the shop, I had made a plan the saturday before and even measured it up to make sure my plan would work. It was much easier for Tony to just come in and do the moving the furniture bit and go back out again. The first job was moving everything out of the corner below to make room for the wool shelves, quite a bit of shuffling went on! and the house filled with yarn when we moved the shelves in place.
It had to be ready for Tuesday Morning so we had to work quite fast...while packing the house inbetween.
I think the shop looks great now and it has really given it a revamp, there is still a bit of a way to go unpacking my bits into the back room which will be my office and workspace (the buttons have there very own display cabinet and shelves) actually I'd forgotton how much we actually moved...all of my stash and the shelving, I will put a photo of the finished room on my blog next week.
I really l;ike where the jewellery cabinets are it all seemed to go to plan!

I am hoping that the house move will go as smoothly, I have loaded the van with the first lot of boxes and Tony's new chair especially for relaxing with a cup of tea.

ooooooooo moving tommorow whoo hoo, I may not be able to walk much after the move my legs are aching already!

Moving House

2009-10-18T01:23:00.000-07:00

Well the move is well under way, and I am feeling amazingly calm. I have been slowly clearing since July, though there is still masses left to do I think it is achievable by Friday 23rd Oct.

We are having a major shop refit today, clearing the back room in the shop at the moment full of wool and clothes, andf putting it in the front of the shop..I have a good plan and think the shop will look fab when it is finished.

My major stash of fabrics, buttons,beads and vintage books are being moved into the back room which will become my workspace and a place Arthur can relax after Nursery. A whole little room will be fab, I will be able to see the fabrics rather than having them in boxes and customers will be able to go through the buttons and beads. I have had a corner of the dining room for the last year as my workspace which has gradually filled up and spread into the rest of the room.

I am so excited about the move, and everytime I start to feel exhausted or cross with the mess I just look at this pic, and calm right down.

This is just such an amazing house :) It is the black painted one.An Edwarian house over 4 floors, our room being right at the top. (will need tea stuff and a little fridge,or i will not be making tea and taking it back to bed!)
A very long garden which needs a bit of tlc, we're hoping to have a section each, I am imaging a little blue painted wooden studio surrounded by herbs and cottage flowers, Tony will have a potting shed, Arthur a little house, and the teenagers are having the bottom end and thinking about a skateboard ramp...not sure about that one. Obviously this will be over time ..
This is the sitting room, and down the next floor is the dining room, both with balcony's.
OOOoo I can't wait to sit here, will not care about opening boxes! I have ordered cakes from Dee incase any one drops in over the weekend. It will be amazing to have our own place and be sociable again and though having the shop attatched to the house was great while Arthur was a baby. Locking the door and going home will be priceless :) The new shop and Tony's office are only 200 yards from the new house.
Right I am off to sort the shop and move my stash, leaving loads of space to pile boxes.

Travelling Anonymous Market Bison Farm.

2009-09-23T11:34:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I took my little shop to the Bison Farm at West Knoyle in Wiltshire. I aimed to get there early so I could drive in and drop off my bits instead of walking it all in, got there just in time..5 minutes after Kate and I unloaded our cars everyone else arrived. That gave me an extra half hour to set up, I was not so stressed this time and everything seemed to fall into place. Putting the wool in the boxes worked really well.

Kate has been collecting lovely vintage bits and upcycling them as well as mixing with more modern fabrics and selling gorgeous bits of china, love the coffee and tea flowery pots.
The Lavender Russian dolls make a great use of the fabric I have in my shop, I imagined doing something like that when I originally saw the fabric so its really nice to see them made up, backed with vintage fabrics. I have asked kate if I can have some for my shop so hoping she hasn't sold out ;)
There was a great feel to the market, the sun was shining and everyones stalls looked fab! The bus above was a cafe inside and sold delicious coffee.
Dee has just started a cake business and sells to offices in and around Gillingham and Shaftesbury, her cakes are yummy :)
A que formed immediately hee hee :)... who let the goats out!
I loved Rose Hatchers felt, she has not been felting that long but has done some amazing work. I can see her work selling well in Galleries. I have got some of her cards in my shop which look fab and I really like to stock local artists work especially when people are just starting out.
and I really really want this coat!!! but would have to win the lottery or maybe sell one of my original paintings. Will have to have a go at wet felting it looks great fun.
some more lovely stalls :)

There was lots of fab food too, the most delicious salads and Olives.
and of course the bison..who luckily didn't get out..you would have seen me abandoning my stall if they did!
It was a great day in the sun, and Arthur went off with his best friend Ted to a little theme park..so I had a lovely break, could have done with lots more customers though!! think people went off to the beach instead :)

Tony went off to The Goodwood Revival and texted me what a fab time he was having and how it was vintage heaven..mmm he originally told me it was a car thing! I will be booking my tickets for next year i think!

Lots Going On

2009-09-17T05:51:00.000-07:00

I have not blogged for a couple of weeks, I seem to spend lots of time on twitter as it is more instant and you can also chat to other crafters while you work :)

I was embellishing these little hats last week. After teaching lots of teenagers how to do blanket stitch over the summer holidays while making mobile phone socks, I realised I could do it myself, I had not been able to do it neatly before, its still not perfect but I am pleased with the results. I have used found bits of fabric and embroidery to add onto the hats a great way of recycling little bits of fabric. I have cheated and not knitted the hats first, the credit for those goes to Bridgette my knitting angel :) using the Adriafil Mirage yarn. I have just realised i have not put those on my website..lots of updating to do next week :)

On Saturday I ran a Needlefelting workshop, always great fun. I cover the table with all the lovely Merino wools, a mixture of the embellishing yarns I have in the shop as well as beads, buttons and findings so everyone can take home finished items.

This is what every body made Tina aka Mollimoo has blogged about the workshop :)

One of the ladies went home wearing her cupcake and leek brooches she made during the class and was also armed with enough knowledge to go and teach needlefelting at a craft workshop in the school where she works.

I am getting ready to have a stand with The Travelling Anonymous Market at the Bison Centre East knoyle On Saturday.

Arthur helped me to paint these lovely old potato trugs, he loves doing little jobs like this,

and cocentrates very hard :)
I chose some colours I thought looked a little bit vintage and would look great sanded down to give an aged feel.
Then I realised that I had been influenced by the colours in the car museum..inspiration can come from anywhere, it is funny that I took the picture above while we were at the car museum, it obviously was ingrained in my brain. As I took the picture below I had a feeling I had seen it before and had to search back through my photos for the one above ;)
They have come out quite well considering they were covered in mud and looking very shabby.
Now I can put my yarns in them and they will stack on top of each other (easier to use sack trucks to get to pitch) and then go straight on the shelves saving me some setting up time.
George said they look like 'farmers market' but with yarn instead of veg, well that about sums it up I think?

Fibre Fest, Coldharbour Mill.

2009-09-02T23:57:00.000-07:00

I had such a great time at The Fibre Fest in Devon, organised by the lovely John and Juliet.

I arrived at 8.30 on Saturday morning , and had volunteered to help two mornings in return for getting in free and staying on the exhibitors campsite. Obviously I did not do this to save money as I realised after I volunteered it was only £6 to get in if tickets ordered in advance :) I thought it would be great fun meeting other Ravelers and there was mention of spending time in the Phop knitting tent.

So I arrived on the gate armed with knitting. I met the girls on the gate and was a handed a high vis waistcoat to put on, then I was thrown in at the deep end by Juliet and sent round the exhibitors tent to hand out the Fibre fest brochure to all the exhibitors. Which was fab cause I got a sneak preview of who was in the marquee before the general public arrived (good job cause it got so busy later it was hard to get to any of the stands) what i didn't realise was that with the lovely green jacket on I looked like I must know every thing, 'where are the toilets?' 'can you get me a ladder' etc.. I just smiled and said I had just arrived which didn't go down so well lol.

When I got back to the gate all hell had broken loose and there was a long que of people going way up the street..and thats where I stayed. The girls on the gate were fantastic and kept smiling all day dealing with any problems that came up really quickly. It was great to see so many people coming through the gate many of whom I recognized.

Dee and Debs arrived on Saturday so i spent saturday afternoon going around the fest with them, Debs was trying to make up her mind between one of the fleeces or a gorgeous big handmade basket. The setting for the Fest was perfect the marquees were put up in the grounds of Coldharbour Mill a working textile water mill.

There were animals outside alongside basket weavers and music playing next to the knitting tent.

A great atmosphere!
Above is a little bit of the yummy tops I bought for spinning and felting, I was trying not to add to much to my stash as we may be moving soon and I already have soo much!
Dee fell in love with this gorgeous fleece, the colours in the marquee were fantastic, but I did not take any pics of the stands, I was put off at Ally pally last year when I asked if I could take pictures the standholders said no and glared at me as if i was just going to copy them. So now I am very careful, what i need though is a more discreet camera.

On Sunday I worked again in the morning and was lucky enough to do the Vintage sock workshop in the afternoon. It was great fun and I felt like I had used one before, though I did get lots of holes! I'm sure with practice a pair of socks could be knitted in no time. I will be on the look out for one of these little machines :)
I fell in love with all the bits inside the mill especially the bobbins which just look amazing with the yarn on. Debs bought some from The Threshing Barn with lovely multicoloured yarn wrapped around them.
I really enjoyed my time at The Fibre Fest and was more than rewarded by John and Juliet when they sent me a box of mixed bobbins as a thankyou..I was so excited when I opened the box :0 (not pictured) I now have them on display in my shop. ( though I will not be selling them they are just for looking.)

I forgot to mention all the lovely people I met up with like Picperfect and knitcave and puddytatpurr.

Blog Awards

2009-08-24T23:50:00.000-07:00

Ya, I have been given 2 blog awards one of which was a little while ago and i hadn't noticed.

The first one is from Woolyholic (and she lives up to her name. ) Her crochet skills are amazing, and make you wish you were part of the Granny Square swap..take a looksee :)

Thankyou Woolyholic :)

My second award was from the lovely Mollimoo her blog is full of loveliness and sharing as well as the crafty things she makes for her Folksy and Etsy shop, she is also a bit of a buttonholic so when she pops into my shop for a visit we don't stop talking!

For this I must make an acceptance speech..so here goes.

I would like to say a huge thankyou to all you bloggers who pop in to read my little blog and leave comments. It is a great comfort to know there are so many crafty folks out there and I am often inspired by all of your blogs and creations.

*tears welling up* stumbles off stage.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I will pass these on my next post, which will also include the fun i had at the Fibre Fest in Devon.

Holiday snaps

2009-08-09T11:01:00.000-07:00

We had a fab break. It was raining and grey as we headed down to Lymington to catch the ferry to the Isle Of Wight. We got on the ferry and as it crossed the small distance to IOW the clouds cleared and the sun came out Ha Ra!
We drove straight to the beach, and spent the rest of the day enjoying the sunshine, very unexpected! The boys had a great time, George and Harry are so good with Arthur. I sat on the beach and crocheted flowers in lots of different yarns while sipping tea perfect :)
The Hotel was hidden down a little lane and on a cliff edge though the trees blocked any view of the sea. When we arrived we were told that we no longer had the rooms we had asked for as there had been a mix up, we had booked a suite of 3 rooms and two bathrooms..before getting cross we went to look at the alternative, which turned out to be 2 rooms one of the rooms had 5 beds in it! Any way it was not what we wanted at all.. the man got on the phone and came back to us, with an offer of a suite for the teenagers and we have the first suite with Arthur, the only problem is (he said) that they are in two different wings of the hotel..you should have seen George and Harry when they saw there rooms! They were over the moon, and next to the snooker room, swimming pool and table tennis. It worked out fab, they could have there time and we met up at dinner.

Tony managed to find a quiet spot, and on Sunday I spent the morning sat in the garden on my own reading a book, lovely.
The boys taught Arthur to play golf and table tennis (Arthur occasionally went in search of George and Harry, they all loved it, and also met in the pool before Arthur went to bed.
Sunday afternoon we went down to the beach near the hotel, no sand, but it was very quiet and unspoilt and very hot! I yarn bombed a few pebbles, Harry did some cave painting..

George found a quiet spot, and sat thinking..
mainly about skate boarding, and what he could do instead..
Jumping the rocks seemed like a good game! I took photos and tried very hard not to shout be careful or don't be silly, I have learnt that he needs these extreme times and nothing I say will stop him. There is quite a big gap between the rocks in the photo above.
I took a lot of photos as the colours were fantastic,
I love these weathered roots of an overturned tree,
There was weird red sea weed everywhere which contrasted beautifully with the azure blue of the sea.

We did drop George off at Vetnor on the Monday so he could get his skateboard fix, and we went off to Shanklin for a walk up the chine and a play on the slot machines to get that real seaside holiday feel :)

It was a lovely break and we were so lucky with the sun. We got back to Lymington and it was pouring with rain and we drove through torrential rain all the way home. What a fluke :)

For the love of flowers..

2009-07-29T23:06:00.000-07:00

The other day I met up with two of my close friends who I have not seen for sooo long. Lotte and Barbara used to work with me in my shop in Warminster, for 3 years. We had some great times :) Everyone used to think Barbara was my mum! She is a very trendy dresser and used to wear all the clothes from the shop ( which were quite hippy and glitzy) and she always looked amazing. Lotte worked on Saturdays while she was doing A levels, I was pleased to hear she is off to Falmouth to study Contemporary Crafts, so she will soon be outshining my work!!

We went for Tea and yummy cake at Pythouse a lovely cafe with a walled PYO garden. We thought we'd go and pick some raspberries, and filled up our little basket only to find we'd picked logan berries instead doh! So then we filled up another basket with raspberries.
Lotte left us after lunch and I decided to take Barabara to Flowers Of Hatch just around the corner from Pythouse, a large field full of flowers with an amazing view over the countryside..a great 'escape' place. Arthur went straight off with his scissors and bucket, he did like chopping the heads off the flowers so I had to keep an eye on him. We put the heads in a bowl and around Barbara's garden when we got back, so they were put to good use:)
I love the colours of the flowers, it's been ages since I did any paintings of flowers, due to lack of time , so it is great to be able to take lovely photographs :)
Echinacea's are one of my favorite flowers not only to they look gorgeous but they are used to keep colds away..handy at the moment :)

Gorgeous daisies and cornflowers, to remind us its summer..
and my lovely bucket of flowers I took home.
Barbara loves to see Arthur..she is his adopted granny ! They chatter for hours!

Barb was very happy with her flowers :) We also went home via the Dairy House as Barbara had never been there, Arthur enjoyed showing her every floor and all the little rooms full of yummy antiques, it was very difficult for me to go further than inside the door as thats where all the lovely fabric and buttons are kept ;) A fab day and I hope to meet up with the girls again soon, I have been so busy I hadn't realised how much I missed them.

Happy Day!!

2009-07-14T23:30:00.000-07:00

I had a lovely day off on Monday, we decided to go to Lyme Regis whatever the weather. It was very grey when we left and even when we got there, but first stop was our favorite cafe for lunch so it didn't matter that it was raining.

This is the Bakers at Lyme Regis. They have long tables and benches, I remember taking Arthur when he just started to walk and he just went up and down the benches holding onto them...now look at him. Straight in there with his apple juice. They have big jugs of milk, butter and jam out on the tables and you just go up and help yourselves and tell them what you've had at the end.
We sit down and just feel ourselves relaxing, the food is always delicious.

When we got to the beach, the clouds stayed behind us and we had blue sky for four hours..bliss
Not sure who was enjoying making sandcastles most ?

Arthur bought his big hat at Lyme Regis when we were on holiday earlier in the year and has not taken it off!

A beautiful day, I also knitted all the way down and back so have a few mobile phone socks to finish now :)

A little bit of Yarn Bombing..

2009-07-11T03:08:00.000-07:00

The knitting went on the tree really well, Kate, Else and Gill turned up to help and Joyce my neighbour came along at the end to check out the tree she had made some gorgeous multicoloured bits to go on the tree.

I had sewn the main body of the tree ealier in the week and realising how much it stretched made it much smaller than the measurements I had, it worked really well.

Next we added some of the other squares and rectangles, as well as some of the bits I had previously sewn together. Arthur came along to help too.

I was glad Tony joined us, he was great at climbing the tree! He has requested a knitted belt to hold his tools on the next yarn bomb :)

Well as usual the pictures have not gone exactly where i want them!

I love Cath's (aka snowbdrift) it of embroidery on her knitting it looks fab on the branch.

Arthur must be one of the youngest yarn bombers in the world..he really got stuck in and decided to decorate the tree with all the bits of yarn he had cut up.

Every one really enjoyed the sewing up, and apart from the teengae girls sat on the wall no one took any notice of us!
It was lovely and calm as the tree got covered and the rain stayed off.
Else took lots of photos so i may be adding a few more on the next blog....I don't think I did much of the sewing on the tree by the look of it ;0
'Right lets get outa here' Arthur practising for a quick get away ;) the next time we yarn bomb

we be in a better known spot, we do have some ideas for a winter yarn bomb which we talked about last year. This year I think the knitting group will feel a bit more confident that it can happen.
I think it looks great, and will get a picture of it when the sun comes out, I am dying to know what Gillingham residents think.

I went to get Arthur a pizza after we finished and there was an absolute down pour!! We finished just in time.

A huge huge thankyou to all the ladies who helped with this, including Maria( aka Wonder woman not), Bridgette, Sandra, Roz, Alice (aka Ladypole on Ravelery), and Jo as well as the girls mentioned above and Tony and Arthur and all the other knitters who have helped over the last 3 months :)

Tree project count down!

2009-07-09T14:01:00.001-07:00

Just a very quick update on the tree sock project. Everyone was still busy knitting squares tonight and I did a bit of needlefelting graffiti, as above which will be sewn onto one of the branches.

I have got measurements for the tree, but when i laid out the knitting and measured it, I did not allow for stretch...and there is a lot of that :) So tommorow i will sew up some squares for the branches but only half the measurements, the rest will be sewn on while at the tree.
Which will be 5.30 Friday 10th July. Lots of knitting ladies meeting by the tree..Tony will also be joining us with a ladder.. I have volunteered him to do the higher branches! He is actually very good at sewing. I have watched him sew hems on his trousers.. I am pretty rubbish at sewing so he did not ask me to do it :)

I laid out some of the squares in the garden (lawn not looking good!) to get an idea of how it will look, the trunk is roughly 41 " .

Can't wait to see it on the tree, everyone has worked really hard, including the neighbours.

The Anonymous Traveling Market Visits Melton Abbas

2009-06-21T11:30:00.000-07:00

This was only our second trip out with our little gazebo. I gave myself a lot more time to set up, and really should not have taken so much stock ,the shop was shut so when I was loading the van I kept taking things off the shelves. (which is not good, cause now I have to put it all back )

Arthur helped set up the gazebo by hammering all the pegs in..this started with Tony holding the pegs while Arthur hammered..ouch! not one of his best ideas :) Then we couldn't get the hammer back off Arthur (I know he's only three, but he did not start the day in a great mood!)
The setting was amazing, we looked out over an imaculate lawn to fields and woods. It was in the grounds of Melbury Abbey. Tony and Arthur had a fab day, they went off and explored and went swimmimg in the pool, they even got a ride on a fire engine which went down to the village and back. I didn't see them again until it was time to pack up..so I had a very relaxed day!
It took a while to set up, but I feel much happier this time. It was a very good practice. Unfortunatly there were not that many customers. The traveling market has some amazing stalls and excellent food stalls. The last one we did we were rushed off our feet, this one was a more private affair and the girls who run the market were not allowed to advertise it and were told there would be 600 people.

Ah well it was a very nice day, i did lots of chatting and quite a bit of knitting. I actually felt like i had a day off.
I feel a bit more confident about booking some more fairs now. More established ones!

Am going to completely rearrange the shop tommorow while it is shut. After I have escaped for a bit :)

Lovely day for it..

2009-06-17T03:57:00.001-07:00

Saturday was World Wide Knit in Public day, which I knew way in advance but really only got organised last Thursday. So we decided at short notice to sit outside my shop and knit. It was a gorgeous day. I cast on my extreme knitting needles which I actually bought last year but have not really had a good enough excuse to use them since..they are not ideal for knitting on the sofa ;) or in my shop which is so packed full there is not even room to stand them up straight!
and she's off ha! it was a great fun knitting with them, i had cut up a few of my t-shirts the night before to make a giant ball to knit. This is going to be a strip to go on the knitted tree.
It knitted very quickly :) Bridgette (one of my angel knitters) and Maria (aka Wonder woman) joined me for the morning.
Then Roz and Alice (aka ladypole on Ravelry) joined me for the afternoon , Kate and Jill also came along for a bit of knitting so we were outside from 10-5pm which was really good going and we must have got enough knitting done to cover the trunk of the tree. Ha ra!

Arthur was very good and played by himself for most of the day..we had a lovely picnic by the river after i finished work so that made him happy.

I must just say a huge thanks to all the ladies that joined me, it was great to be out in the sun all day.

I may put my spinning wheel outside one sunny day soon at sit all day producing yarn, of course I do expect to get interrupted by customers :)

Knitting a tree sock project!

2009-06-12T02:46:00.005-07:00

This is the start of quite a huge project, and being really organised (noooot!) we have only three weeks to complete it!

For the Gillingham Festival which starts on the 4th of July for two weeks, I suggested we cover the tree opposite the show ground with knitting, people have nodded and agreed but not really got any idea what i'm talking about (this happens alot he he ). I am on twitter and am following Knit City which is so inspiring and this is the sort of thing I hope to achieve hopefully with a little bit of help from fellow knitters.
Some of the knit and Natter group have donated knitted bits already as above, which is fantastic. Tommorow 13th of June is World Wide Knit in Public Day and we are going to knit outside my shop...I am going to attempt knitting with my giant needles (should help the project along a bit!) There will be lots of tea and coffee and Biscuits to keep us all going. If any of you would like to join us and knit a square you would be very welcome :) Also if any of you knitters out there have odd bits of knitting (ie tension squares) that you don't know what to do with we could add them to the pile..then there's going to be one huge sewing day. I did pick up an extreme sewing needle from Rachel John at Ally pally last year so that should make it a bit easier.
This is the tree..it is going to be so colourful!! The sign may need a bit of knitting to.

Tamsyn G on The road.

2009-06-08T01:48:00.000-07:00

This is some of the Fabrics I was sorting to take to The Anonymous Travelling Market at Pyt House, actually these were the bits I didn't want to share :) Some lovely vintage fabrics that I will save for a day when the sewing machine comes out. I sorted lots of other bits (two big boxes full!) into fat quarters and also sorted through my button stash and bagged up lots of buttons.

I was making things all week, lots more cupcake brooches and button bracelets., little heart brooches and mobile phone socks. So it was a bit of a manic week.
The Gazebo arrived on Thursday and i thought I would test setting it up. Arthur came back from nursery and decided it should be a fruit stall, so out came his till all the fruit and george to be his customer.
It was great to be out on the road again, but I had really forgotton how much time you need to setup! we were right at the bottom of the garden, and I had loaded the van with hings in baskets and bags so that they could be put straight out. This was not a good plan, and 2 hours later i was still trundling things down the garden using a borrowed wheelbarrow. Then was asked to move the vehicles and that there was just 20 minutes left..which sent me into a panic attack, I just felt like sitting on the floor saying ' I can't do it' and 'there's no way i will be ready' as people started to come in, (actually that is what i did in the end, then recovered quickly as people started shopping). The next thing I knew it was 3 oclock and I had not spoken to Kate (who was next to me selling lovely vintage bits) once, nor eaten and only managed to have one cup of coffee that a lovely friend got for me.

By the time we stopped all the food had sold out and people were packing up. Though quite hungry i'd say that was the best result we could have hoped for.

The next time I go to a show the stock will be neatly stocked in 3 big boxes that fit on my sack trucks and I will have some sort of plan as to how the stall will look.

The week in pictures.

2009-06-02T00:36:00.000-07:00

I have been making these little button hearts to go on Folksy (the bottom one has already Sold :) and also for
a little craft market this Saturday called the Anonymous Travelling Market, it's going to be held at Pyt House Garden, which is a lovely pyo and has a gorgeous cafe. There is going to be food stalls as well as local crafts. I have no idea how its going to go, and it will be the first time i have exhibited for a very long time.
It was lovely being able to work in the garden last week in the sun.
Tony and george thought I had gone mad when these Bakelite furniture rests arrived, but I did have a plan for them..
Great for putting all the little beads in and also for people to use on my workshops for collecting the buttons and bits for making. They don't take up as much space as the little saucers i have been using.
It was a great week for barbeques and yummy salads in the garden.
George went to a 70's and 80's party and decided to go as a pacman...think he had got a little bit bored by the time it got to painting it :) Arthur had to help him test it out.
Apparently it lasted about an hour at the party (as george had predicted) every one wanted a go in it till it completely fell apart.

Well I'm off to do some making with lots of other ladies as its Crafty Tuesday! Any one can join me round the table and bring whatever they are working on, knitting,crochet,sewing,beading etc. A lovely way to start the week :)

2009-05-25T02:18:00.000-07:00

I can't believe a whole week has gone! though i have been fairly busy. I actually managed to get an order out.
These are tea cosies covered in vintage buttons (the more buttons I use up the more i can buy he he!) They were knitted and then felted in the washing machine before i added the buttons.
Another great way of using up some of my button stash..these little bracelets are made using some new yarn that came in last week, it is as wide as ribbon and has silver thread running through it. I can sew the buttons directly onto it and make instant bracelets, I also did some using the felt flowers and buttons. I am aiming to do some mixed yarn bags for sale in my shops, also adding little packs of vintage buttons and unusual ribbons that i have now...one day soon i will get organised :)
I also finished a batch of my little felt brooches. All of the above has gone to my favorite cafe in Childe Okeford.
I have had a new delivery of yummy yarns
and gorgeous fairtrade Rosewood needles by Mango Moon.
The above yarn I thought would be great used as a fringe rather than knitting with it, and this will be one i add to the mixed bags.
This is a really soft multi coloured yarn, which i have not yet tested. I will make some mobile phone socks in this to see how it knits up.

Right i'm off to do some more making. I have 3 more shops waiting for orders.

A beautiful walk.

2009-05-13T08:55:00.003-07:00

On Monday we went for a gorgeous walk, me and George went out Sunday night to take photo's and discovered the woods at Duncliffe full of Blue bells. It was getting dark by the time we got there so I just had to go back Monday morning and get some photo's before the weather changed.

Tony and Arthur came too, which was great because I was free to take photo's while Arthur chatted and chatted..
We went through a gate along the path towards the woods,
then we turned left across the field and up through a gap in the bushes,
onto a lovely bluebell lined path..

and on further into the woods,
I stopped to take in the beauty around me, such great colours. I love this time of year especially when the suns shining.
We followed tracks through the blue bells,
'this way daddy' Arthur decided to lead the way and was loving being out with his dad.
Tony asked Arthur 'what black and white animal lived down the holes' Arthur replied 'Zebras?'..
While they searched for zebras I got down to flower level,
back on the homeward stretch,

Chatter chatter... Arthur did not want to turn left back down the hill, he wanted the walk to carry on allllll dayyy :)

The winner is..

2009-05-10T13:33:00.000-07:00

Becky aka purple sparkle.

George my eldest son printed off the names and cut them up, then shook them up in the hat and Arthur picked out the winner :)

So your cupcake fabric and cup cake are on there way Purple sparkle, I hope you have some lovely plans for the yummy fabric.

So sorry to all of you who entered, thankyou so much for entering.

I will be doing another Sunday giveaway next week..not sure yet what it will be. Maybe vintage fabric or buttons, something I have made mmm will have to see how the week goes.

It has been a very intense week which i will blog tommorow, i'm off to watch desperate housewifes now and collapse.

Have a fab week x

Abbey Hill Steam Fair.

2009-05-06T00:08:00.000-07:00

Arthur had such a fab weekend, on Saturday there was a celebration of the railway station in Gillingham being open for 1oo years, with steam engines trundling down the high street and lots of model railways to look at. Tony took Arthur out for the whole morning, then to a indoor play centre in the afternoon. (so I had a lovely peaceful Saturday.)
On Sunday we went to Abbey Hill Steam Rally, which was a great day out, its such a laid back little show with a friendly atmosphere and not too busy. Arthur is looking out of the trailer above which is towed by a steam roller...out onto the main road all around the showground and back in through another gate. Arthur just went really really quiet but loved every minute.

Me and Arthur went off around the stalls while Tony looked at bikes,
'mmm should I get one like that next?'
'mmm or one like that'..this went on for an hour.

while I managed to add to my button collection, finding two jars of buttons at 1.00 each ya!
Which are still unopened, I am saving them for when I need a bit of button therapy ;)
Arthur added to his car collection (which is nearly as bad as my buttons). So every one was happy! Tony then took Harry and Arthur to watch the stockcar racing on Monday, so I had a very peaceful weekend.....think Tony is still recovering from all that running around though :)

Today I am going to do some photographs, in order to update folksy, etsy and my website.

Cupcake Giveaway!!!!!

2009-05-03T13:24:00.001-07:00

To celebrate getting the gorgeous fabrics in my shop Tamsyn G I have decided to give away a fat quarter of my favorite fabric.

As well as one of my felted brooches, made from a recycled jumper, I have needlefelted gorgeous merino wool to make the icing and vintage wool on to make the cake case then added a lovely vintage button (that looks just like a smarty) and beads.
So if you love cupcakes as much as me...(well i like to look at and eat them not so good at making the real ones!)
and you leave a comment on my blog, I will put all of the names into a hat and get Arthur to pick one out to be the winner next Sunday, the 10th of May..I hope thats not too long to wait :)

How lovely is this?

2009-05-02T07:11:00.001-07:00

I love all this fabric that has just come in! I've got masses of ideas of what i could make with it.

These little Russian dolls would look great just cut out and embellished onto things, they would look fab as fabric buttons, and brooches. There is also ribbon like this which i have yet to photograph.
I love the vintagey feel of these linen fabrics. I am going to cover some boxes in this fabric and turn them into little sewing boxes

How fab would this fabric be for tables at craft and vintage fairs? Though a little costly, it would be a great base to put things on and look amazing.

This would be lovely made into vintage style aprons or pinnys. I think I might cut up the little squares and use them as little patches, soooo cute!

This is obviously my favorite! The cakes look good enough to eat, they would look great emebellished with little beads to look like hundreds and thousands.

More Russian dolls but a much bigger print such gorgeous colours.
I have now posted these onto my website Tamsyn-G.com, which is quite quick for me :) Tony has taken Arthur out for the day and the shop has been fairly quiet so for once I have actually put the time to good use.

I am thinking of doing a Fat quarter giveaway tommorow.......so watch this space :)

Sneak Preview..

2009-04-28T05:43:00.000-07:00

Ha ra the fabrics arrived! A much smaller box than I thought, Which i had a little trouble opening due to my excitement.
I was a bit worried of running the knife straight through the packaging and through the fabric..I have done that many times before!
You can't really tell from this pic, but the fabric is as fab as I remember.
I will take better photos over the next couple of days..and maybe actually put it on my website :) For now I better find some space in my shop.. and then start cutting some fat quarters.

Banished to the dining room.

2009-04-27T06:12:00.000-07:00

Last night I was banished from our sitting room, as tony and harry were taking it over. They were going through rugby dvd's of the under 15's North dorset Teams season...which I must say has been a good one winners of the County Cup 3 years running, infact i think they only lost one match in the whole season and that was to come second out of 8 teams. any way tony is putting together the end of year dvd where it shows highlights from each player. So they annoyingly have to watch all the matches , they watch a bit discuss it, pause rewind watch it again discuss, write down the number so they can go back to it..this goes on for hours! Now i don't mind watching Harry play rugby a bit, but i get bored after....10 minutes and moan so much that they have had to banish me, and warned me in advance.

Well I do have a lot of toys to play with (of the crafting kind!) so I decide to get out the embellisher which I have not really tested out properly since I got it at xmas.

The skirt on the table i started to embellish at the last Make do and Mend workshop, and just need to add one more heart and possibly some fabric to the bottom, to make it longer. I have this great wool that looks like it has been sewn all down the middle of it, I have embellished onto the skirt and used it to make some cup warmers (will finish them and post a pic tommorow). It is great for edging and looks as though I have sewn it on.

I have been collecting lots of denim skirts and jackets to upcycle, so at least I got going on that.

I also used the embellisher to fray the edges around fabric hearts which I anm adding to old pillow cases and turning them into laundry bags. So I had a lot of fun.
I had a brill day yesterday, starting with a carboot in the morning, me and arthur left the house quite early to get there before the other buyers, it was lovely and peaceful for the first half an hour and we managed to get quite a lot of good stuff, I got some fabric, needles and assorted knitting bits, as well as an old wooden sewing box with a lovely needle holder full of really old needles (twice as thick as the modern day ones) and two skirts to upcycle.

Arthur got a fab spider man suit (which he has not taken off since it came out of the washing machine. I did make him leave it at the end of his bed explaining how hot he may get if he left it on! (not great to sleep in nylon!) he also got a whole load of army vehicles for a 1.00 so was very pleased.
When we got back Arthur played with his new toys and I was able to do some spinning in the garden yay! Alice aka Ladypole gave me some of her gorgeous carded wool to spin a few weeks ago, so it was great to see it turned into yarn. A wee bit over spun but i am just learning :)
Saturday i spent cutting some of my fabric mountain to put in the shop as fat quarters. I have a huge delivery of fabric arriving tommorow, which i am a little apprehensive about as no one really knows i have started doing fabric...ah they will tommorow ,it is gorgeous linens from japan, some cupcake ones, some vintagey looking and some russian dolls with the most amazing ribbon.
These are button hearts i have been making to show people how they can use up there buttons.

Back to work.

2009-04-23T01:44:00.000-07:00

I had a lovely delivery of Jewellery Tuesday and have been busy changing my whole cabinet, which now looks very flowery, and organised....another delivery of Pearls and Girls jewellery is due in any day, and really there is not much space left for it. I think I need a rush of customers, always the optimist :) Today i am going to finish these brooches just need to add butons and beads.
I really should be doing a whole shop stock take :( but keep getting side tracked as usual..there are much more fun things to do, counting is boring! I have started though..slowly slowly, I have found Items that no longer go well in with the constantly changing stock, so next week I am going to have a photography week, and update my shops on Folksy and Etsy (with new bits) and have a sale on e-bay (with old bits). While doing the link to my Etsy shop I realised how long it is since i updated it, poor shop.
These are some of my button brooches using some of my huge stash of Vintage buttons, I have been teaching people how to make these and button hearts as well as jewellery as part of the new button workshop.
I thought I would share a couple of my favorite cards with you, these are by Pulp, and I have a great range of them in my shop.
Der.. think that might be me ;0

Colours of spring.

2009-04-20T09:28:00.000-07:00

This is my summer hat I crocheted while on Holiday, not photographed very well, I need to get one of the boys to take a picture of me in it. I like it but I am going to try and make the next one much more 'bucket like'. More like the old cloche hats. It has been made using the Adriafil memphis cotton from my shop. I was going to do a link to my website (now I have learn't how to do this.) but have just looked and I have not yet added the plain cottons...a week of photography coming up I think!
This is bunting i am knitting to show off the sock yarns I have just got in, I don't think any one could imagine how the ball of wool will knit up without seeing it. The long bit is the cord to hang the bunting from ( I think it would look great as a skinny scarf.) I will add felt balls and possibly buttons to the finished bunting.
My pile of finished triangles. I love the colours.
I have spent the last two days still in holiday mode. Sunday we went for a walk along the disused rail track at Sturminster Newton, Arthur rode his bike by himself for the first time and absolutly loved the freedom. It is a lovely place to walk, a nice safe path in the middle of beautiful countryside.
Today I took Arthur and Harry out with my Mum to Brokers wood .
We had a lovely picnic by the lake, and Harry ran off with Arthur so Mum and me were able to take some pictures. It really felt like spring.
Harry and Arthur on the flying fox.

We saw wild orchids, bluebells, and violets, a brilliant time to walk in the woods.
The bluebells were just starting to come out, but I'm glad I got some pictures. The last couple of years when they have been out it has constantly poured with rain.
The blossom looks beautifull every where. Back to work tommorow. :(

egg cosies are not just for Easter..

2009-04-18T08:29:00.000-07:00

I hope! I made these cute egg cosies before Easter and put some on Folksy.

I,ve also been making summer socks for mobile phones (no heels involved!).
These colourful ones i did not put on as I took the wrong style pics, I forgot that I needed to do them square. I will be taking pics again next week when Arthur is at nursery.

I was doing these in vintagey (not sure if thats a real word?) colours, with lovely fabric vintage buttons. I managed to put a couple of these on Folksy.
So next week i will be adding lots more on Etsy and folksy, because I will have lots more time..Arthur starts nursery 4 mornings a week yay!

Family holiday.

2009-04-18T04:59:00.000-07:00

We have just spent a lovely week down at Charmouth, so many great places to visit from there.The older boys and Tony walked over the hills to Lyme Regis (one of my favorite places!) on Bank Holiday Monday while I sat on the beach in Charmouth knitting and looking after Arthur. The sun was shining , the beach was busy but not over crowded.

The picture above is Beer, where we went for breakfast on the beach. There is a few shacks on the beach that serve breakfast. It was really lovely and quiet. I managed to have a look round one of my favorite galleries Marine Gallery, on the walk back to the car.
The boys spent an hour throwing stones, this one was aimed at me..not a good idea!
Arthur looks like 'butter wouldn't melt!' He had fun being taught by his dad and brothers how to climb rocks, jump waves, dig huge holes, and generally do things that may be a little dangerous. They often went off and left me to knit, so that I didn't keep saying 'thats not a good idea,' or 'be careful' or' you will live to regret that!' I am such a thrill spoiler!
I wander how many holidays are left where we all go? George did manage to find some good skate parks the Trick factory at Bridport was favorite, followed by Seaton.
It was great to spend time with the whole family, we stayed in a house which was a huge plus. We have attempted camping for the past three years and always end up very wet and very cross through lack of sleep. I managed to get quite a bit of knitting and crochet done while we were away. Pics to follow :)

Now all I need to do is catch up on bookwork, take lots of money to make up for the lost week of takings and get some orders finished...oh and do a painting by May, once I clear my attic studio of all Arthurs old clothes and toys as well as the stash of jumpers I have for recycling. Ho Hum :)

So excited!

2009-03-27T11:07:00.001-07:00

I was experimenting with photos for an advert going in a little mag to celebrate the Gillingham train station being 100 years old. I thought a vintage style ad would look good. In the end I used my previous pic with the old patterns behind (posted in a previous post). Tony did a fantastic job and the advert looks great. The above pictures do show a little bit of how the shop is changing though, really taking 'make do and mend on board! :)
What i am excited about though is not boring adverts, but this amazing box of buttons one of my lovely customers brought in for me...
How lucky am I, of course I gave her a great big hug.
My evening is going to be spent sorting buttons, great fun and very exciting..well to me any way:)

Spring Time ha ra!

2009-03-25T09:26:00.003-07:00

I have been adding more yarn to my website, I love the colours of the Gedifra cotton and can't wait to crochet some flowers and bags using it. I have as usual got too many projects on the go!

In between masses of stock has been arriving which seems to take days to sort and then I change the whole shop around to fit it in. This is great fun but does mean theres a lot less time to make. Which is why I like the classes on Saturday mornings because it means I get to play too :)
The yarn above is just like ribbon, I think it would be great embellished onto things and used in Jewellery making. I made a crochet necklace using it which I hope to finish soon and I will post up.
It was so lovely to be out in the sun last Monday (the weeks seem to be going by to fast!) I met a friend at Pythouse and we had a delicious lunch. Then walked round the garden and played hide and seek with Arthur.
So nice to see the daffodils out in the sunshine and know that spring is well on its way.
I will be glad when the clocks go forward this weekend, Arthur has been waking at 6 o Clock for the last three weeks but still goes to bed at the same time, at least then we can go to bed an hour earlier and when we wake it will be a more sensible time.

Finishing off.

2009-03-12T07:34:00.001-07:00

This should have appeared at the bottom, I am still not getting the hang of this, I am off to get the table ready for knit an natter, I have to go to Georges school at 5 for parents evening (not a good night!) and take Arthur. So by 5 Arthur needs to be fed the table needs to be ready with 20 chairs and cups and saucers out, then straight back from the school to get Arthur ready for bed before everyone arrives. Tony is taking harry to singing lesson then on to rugby..so a slightly busy night. I have said everyone will have to get there own tea! (thats food not cups of, incase any knitting ladies read this!)
I love these jars, I got the bigger ones at a jumble sale on saturday and decided to organise some of my collection of beads,buttons and ribbons. I can now see all the lovely things I need to turn into works of art for my shop mmm.. if the days were just a bit longer or if I could stay awake to make them longer!
I have been trying really hard to get these brooches finished and off to Galleries..nearly there!
I was taking pictures of the yarn for my website using this wrapping paper as backing, and loved the way the cupcakes are slightly camoflagued (I know, I am useless at spelling, that part of my brain seems to have shut down.) The otherside of this paper is also patterned. I think its the nicest wrapping paper i've seen for ages, but of course i am slightly biased as it is for sale in my shop.

Surrounded by Angels!

2009-03-10T14:27:00.000-07:00

I am surrounded by angels! It amazes me how generous people can be. last week nearly every day somebody brought me something for my shop. These buttons were donated in a great big sweety jar! You should have seen my face :0 such a great big grin!

I love sorting through buttons and discovering the history behind them. Tony also joins in when I have put together some treasure. He is very good at telling what materials and machinery has been used, so being able to date them. Some of the ones in the photo above we believe to be very old.
I will use a lot of these in my jewellery and as embellishments on my brooches, but I am a little bit more careful about which ones should not be used. I have a few tins of 'treasure'.
The buttons below were brought in today, the lady that gave them to me knits for charity, so when I have spare wool I pass on some to her and so the love goes round!
I really feel at the moment I am in the right place at the right time..for once!

I have also had help from little angels with some of my sewing..of labels and a bit of beading on some of my brooches....because I am not really being very productive at the moment, absolutly full of ideas and inspiration but lacking in time. Mainly because I keep being distracted by buttons! :)

The button workshop.

2009-03-09T09:01:00.000-07:00

All set for the button workshop on Saturday. I had great fun pouring all the lovely buttons into the coloured bowls.
I put out some large vintage buttons to be the bases of the button brooches. This was my first button workshop so I had not promoted it too much as I like small groups to start with.
Vintage buttons and beads were put at the end of the table, I put out everything I think people will need, show how to make a few things and get every one inspired and basically let them make whatever they like. It is very free and easy. Every body said what a lovely relaxing morning they had. It is great that people have the opportunity to test out the techniques with out any of the outlay.
Everyone went home with ideas on how to use up there button stash.
These are some of the hearts that were made. I love the colours of the one above...it makes me want to make more.
I also get lots of inspiration from every one that comes on the workshop.
Chloe came with her Mum Jill and produced two beautiful necklaces .

I am looking forward to the next workshop and really must get on and add the new dates for April and may. Some of the people who have already done two or three have asked whats next! So I need to come up with some new ideas. It is a great way to spend a Saturday morning and at only £15 I think everyone definitely gets there moneys worth :)