Spring!

Spring is definitely on the way in the UK and it is such a fantastic time of the year. My thoughts always turn to gardening and veg growing, but now I am a new mum it's hard to know if I will have the time! I'm hoping once our baby is old enough I will get her interested in gardening, but at a few months old, I think that would be a bit ambitious for the 2010 growing season!



I have started chitting some potatoes and hopefully I will be able to grow some tomatoes. I need my annual homegrown tomato fix every year, the ones in the shops just aren't the same. I'm also planning on growing lots of herbs and salad leaves, possibly some beetroot and maybe some spinach. As our baby will be starting on solid foods soon, it would be fantastic to give her some homegrown produce. I'll see how it goes.


I spotted my first bee of the season yesterday. I'm not very good at identifying them, but it was very fat, so maybe a bumble bee? I know that honey bees are endangered, so I have started following "Help Save Bees" on Twitter, they also have a website. You can find out how to make a home for bees and help with the dwindling population by building a Bee Hotel over on the RHS website.



I have recently discovered the new Royal Horticultural Society gardening forum, it's called "My Garden". It's a great place to find gardening advice from other gardeners. There's lots of photos and tips and plenty of information for anyone stuck with a gardening query.

If you want to see some beautiful RHS gardens, take a look at the garden finder. The RHS are also on Twitter, you can find them here.

New Listings: vintage fabric belts

I have recently added a number of handmade belts crafted from stunning vintage fabrics.

The first is a Scarlet and chocolate brown vintage linen belt. It is made from a floral Irish linen in shades of tangerine orange, lemon yellow, crimson red, bright green and pure white on a rich chocolate background



The second is a Orange zest vintage fabric belt



It is crafted from vintage fabric featuring a retro pattern of circles in shades of tangerine orange and mocha brown on a pure white background



The third is Vintage orange blossom fabric belt



It is handmade from vintage Tokyo Crepe and it features a gorgeous oriental pattern of flowers, trees and blossom on an orange background.



I am also offering free worldwide shipping on all bags, totes and clutch purses throughout March, please see my Etsy store for full range of handmade items.

Handmade Gifts

I am lucky enough to come from a crafty family of knitters and seamstresses!

My Mum can sew almost anything she turns her hand too, my Mother-in-law can crochet amazing blankets, my Auntie can knit fantastic characters and my cousin's wife can follow the most complicated knitting patterns I have ever seen!

They are all happy to make a handmade gift for special occasions and their creations are all so beautiful I wanted to share them here

My baby daughter has received some gorgeous handmade gifts including a group of knitted animals from my Auntie, made up of a koala, a bunny, a pig and a panda. I think the koala is my favourite as I love the ears!



The same Auntie also knitted us a lovely bride and groom when we got married last year, they are so cute!



My cousin's wife knitted our baby the most beautiful blanket, it's really hard to capture the 3-D detail in a photo, but it really is stunning







She also knitted a pretty little mauve cardigan



And, she also knitted us a wedding cake as a gift last year, and yes, I did say wedding cake...



My Mother-in-law made three crochet blankets, this one if my favourite:





My Mum made some Paddinton bear curtains for the nursery, which I blogged about here



And finally, I was delighted to receive this gorgeous wall plaque for my baby from Lisa of Seaurchin. I am lucky enough to have met her via Etsy.



I love each and every handmade gift that has been made for me, my husband and our baby daughter. There is something very special about they fact someone has taken the time to make a gift for you and I will treasure all of them for a long, long time.

Lavender rabbits and owls in a new colour

I've been working on some new vintage fabric rabbits and owls in a fab new colourway of turquoise and cobalt blue with splashes of bright green





Each owl and rabbit is made from vintage fabric and filled with chemical-free, French Lavender and non-allergenic stuffing

You can either place them on your pillow to help you float off to sleep.

Or put in your wardrobe to make your clothes smell nice.

see the full range of rabbits here

and full range of owls here

Pouch Etsy store

Fairtrade Fortnight

Fairtrade Fortnight runs from 22nd February through to 7th March.

This year the Fairtrade Foundation are asking people to take part in the 'Big Swap'. The idea is simple, you swap your usual stuff for Fairtrade stuff. Your usual bananas for Fairtrade bananas, your usual cotton socks for Fairtrade cotton socks, and your usual cuppa for a Fairtrade cuppa. Whenever you pop to the shops, you can use your wallet to make a stand.

"Swapping your usual stuff for Fairtrade stuff is a brilliantly small step to making the world a fairer place. It means that you get to show your support for developing world producers through what you buy. Two billion people - a third of humanity - survive on less than $2 a day. Unfair trade rules keep them in poverty, but they face the global challenges of food shortages and climate change too."

So take a look at the Fairtrade Foundation website and register your swaps here

Vintage Find: Paddington fabric

I must admit that this isn't something I found myself! In fact my Mum found this gorgeous Paddington fabric in a local charity shop. She made it into curtains as a present for our baby, clever Grandma!



It dates from 1984, so it's what I would call 'new' vintage, or vintage of the future. Although 1984 is now 26 years ago, which makes me feel old. Anyway, I wanted to include it as a vintage find on my blog as I absolutely love the fabric!



Paddington was one of my favourite characters as a child and I'm so happy to see these curtains hanging in my own baby's nursery. She loves looking at Paddington and his messy decorating antics as the sun shines through the fabric.

I wanted to share some other nursery details, first off, this sweet hot air balloon from Ikea. Another present from Grandma!



I also love these stacking cups which I thrifted for £1 from a local charity shop. They are so colourful an I'm sure they will be a firm favourite for bath time fun in the future!





Our baby also loves this cute wall decal I bought in Devon a few weeks ago.



I also have my eye on some handmade goodies from Etsy, including Little Butterfly TEETHING TOY by littlesaplingtoys My Little Button Boots by hipknotz, Fiona's top by Rasmilla, Herman The Enigmatic Bear Knitting Pattern Pdf by dangercrafts and finally some Pretty Girl English Bunting by Paperfish

The nursery is shaping up to be one of the prettiest rooms in the house, I wouldn't mind sleeping in there myself!

Exciting news!

Just after returning home from hospital after the birth of my baby, I received an email from the team behind the 1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse book to say Pouch would be included in the publication!



I applied way back in January 2009 and was delighted to be picked. Over 7000 images were submitted from designers, crafter and artists from around the world who specialise in working with recycled materials. The author, Garth Johnson, had the hard task of shortlisting the final 1000 images to be included. He describes the book as:

"Quarry recently published my new book, 1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse, which gathers 1000 projects from contemporary crafters, artists and makers from across the globe. Every project in the book reuses materials in a clever way, transforming everyday materials into exciting pieces of fashion, art, jewelry and furniture...After all of the work it took to put the book together, it’s amazing to finally hold a finished copy in my hands. Every page is loaded with exciting ideas that inspire me to create my own repurposing projects..."



I had to wait until January 2010 for the book to be available in the UK. I couldn't wait to get hold of my copy from the Book Depository. I am so pleased with the results, five images of Pouch items were included. The book has been made to a high spec with colour co-ordinated images grouped together for maximum impact! I recogonised many familiar Etsy sellers in the book and in particular, members of the Eco Etsy Team.




Above image contains Pouch Mini Messenger made with repurposed denim and vintage fabric



Above image contains Pouch recycled vintage fabric belt



Above image contains Pouch Messenger bag and Pouch Dilly bag in recycled vintage fabrics



Above image contains Pouch Mini Messenger made with repurposed denim and vintage fabric

I'm so pleased to be a part of this intriguing publication. It gathers together many different ideas into one book and creates a fascinating showcase of recycled arts and crafts.