work in progress: new bag design

My baby girl has had gastroenteritis for the past couple of days, it's not been easy for all of us. We've had broken nights and a growing pile of messed-up sheets and pyjamas to contend with. This is the first 'proper' illness she's had, so I count myself lucky. Plus it will help with her immunity, little babies are bound to pick up the odd bug along the way.



So the past couple of days have been craft-free, but I did start working on a new bag at the start of last week. It's a variation on an old design, I'm hoping it will be something of an improvement design-wise. I also don't need much of an excuse to work with some of my favourite vintage fabric - a piece of Moygashel Pinto in lovely shades of blue, green and purple. I will blog more photos of the end product as soon as I get a chance!

Autumn colours

I have been listing a number of totes, belts and owls in my Etsy store over the past few days. They all have a distinctly Autumnal feel to them (love the word Autumnal, almost as much as I love the word haberdashery).

There are lots of shades of burnt orange, russet red and mustard yellow. I love vintage fabric, but I have a particular weakness for brown and orange hues, which is lucky as nearly everything was brown and orange in the 1970s!















Click here to find out more about the new additions to my Etsy store

new listing: Falling leaves clutch purse in scarlet

This is my latest clutch purse. It is made using striking and collectable vintage fabric dating from the 1940s. Its hard to capture the fabulous raised detail on this fabric. I hope my photos do justice to the texture and complexity of the falling leaves motif woven through the red background. For full details, please view the listing here

Birthday Bunting

Well, my baby girl's first birthday is fast approaching so I thought it was time I started thinking about her party. I'm only planning a small gathering as I don't want to overwhelm her, but it's nice to share such a happy day with family and a few ante-natal friends.

I have been receiving lots of catalogues recently with things to buy for first birthday parties (goes to show how much these marketing people know about me if they know my baby is going to be one soon!). Some of the ideas are nice and some are just a load of tat. So I thought, wouldn't it be better to make some handmade bunting I could get out every year.



I looked through my felt stash, purchased from the lovely Lupin Handmade, That Crafty Fish and my local fabric store (I like to spread my felt purchasing far and wide).

The banner is going to be a carefully planned (i.e. scribbled on a scrap of paper) mixture of alternating flags and letters in shades of white, cerise pink and plum purple. My mum has kindly offered to sew the cerise pink and purple flags, so I only have photos of the white ones. I will blog about the finished banner in all its glory in a couple of weeks time!

Last of the Summer...tomatoes

As I watched the rain lash down today, I was reminded of how lovely the weather at weekend had been. I was also experiencing a glut of tomatoes, so I decided to make some soup. It also included homegrown basil, oregano and garlic (from my Mum).



This is the perfect time of year to get preserving all the lovely fruit and veg which has been growing over the Summer. I know when I take this out of my freezer, I can taste a little bit of Summer in the middle of Winter (if it stays in there that long!)



We made the most of the Sunday sunshine and took a trip to Ashton Court on the edge of Bristol. It's a pretty amazing green space, owned by the council and open (for free) to the people of Bristol to use for picnics, cycling, horse riding, kite festivals and lots more besides.





It's also home to two deer enclosures for Fallow and Red deer. We saw these handsome chaps lazing about near the fence. They must be very used to seeing humans as the council allow access to the enclosures. People are able to walk along designated footpaths to get a closer look at the deer.



Relaxing 'en famille' in the late Summer sunshine, with my Mum, husband and baby daughter!

Vintage love: Hornsea Pottery

A new charity shop has opened in my local area. Never one to miss an opportunity to check out a new thrifting venue, I paid the shop a visit. The minute I walked through the door I saw this little beauty - a piece of vintage Hornsea Pottery ceramic lovliness.



It was marked in the shop as a 'sugar pot', but a quick Google search tells me it is a 'lidded jam pot'. For all you ceramic geeks out there, here are a few facts:

"Hornsea Pottery Saffron was produced from about 1970 until 1992. It was designed by John Clappison and this popular pattern was sold in very large quantities. It has now become very difficult to obtain items of Saffron in good condition"



Every time I look at it, I fall in love with it a little bit more. I love the pattern, I think it has to be my favourite Hornsea motif. It is a quintessential vintage floral pattern, bold and simple. Less is more as they say...



I'm so glad this new charity shop opened, they have fantastic furniture for sale including an Ercol table and set of 'Refectory Style' dining chairs (which look like this). I have yet to convince the other half that we desperately need to buy them. He's not convinced. I guess I will have to be satisfied with my 'lidded jam pot'. For now.

Work in progress: lavender hearts

I's been over three weeks since I last blogged and alot has happened since the 23rd July. My husband was involved in a cycling accident on the 27th July. Luckily, he came away from the accident with bruising and a broken arm. The reason I say 'luckily' is because at first the paramedics thought he may have broken his back. We spent a tense time in A&E waiting to hear the results of his x-rays and we were relieved to discover that he hadn't fractured his spine.

Having said all that, looking after someone who has lost the use of their right arm (if only temporarily) is hard work. Coupled with looking after our 10 month old baby full-time, I've been run off my feet and pretty exhausted by the end of the day. I am lucky to have a helpful and supportive Mum. Plus, I have received lots of support from kind friends I have met via Etsy. They know who they are and their kindness wont be forgotten.



I have (somehow!) found time to cut out a stack of lavender hearts. It's the type of crafting I can do on a tray, in the evening, on the sofa! Obviously my husband and baby are top priority, but I feel I need to work with vintage fabric at least once or twice a week, even if I'm very tired. It's just something I have to do to stay sane!

These photos show the broderie anglais back of the hearts. I have also cut out lots of vintage fabric lavender heart fronts in yummy patterns and colours. I will be listing them just as soon as I get a chance - watch this space...

To see the four colourways I currently have for sale, please click here