:: selvedge ::

it's that time of year again...xmas fair season...where i can normally be seen galavanting off all over the place at various fairs around the country.

it's an unusual year this year however, due to other work and personal commitments, as i am actually only going to be out and about at one fair. 

i am going to be exhibiting at the selvedge winter fair at chelsea old town hall on fri and sat 29 and 30 november.

coincidentally this is one of my favourite fairs to exhibit at and also to shop at. it is full of beautiful handmade products that make exceptional gifts. i'm hoping to conquer my complete xmas/chanukah list whilst i am there!

if you are in the neighbourhood and fancy a great day out do come along and as a little incentive to come over to my stand i am offering all my lovely blog friends 10% off at the fair. just make yourself known to me quoting {fair13}.

right, i'm off to make some more goodies for my stand and hope to see lots of you then!

ps if there's anything in particular you are wanting to buy do let me know and i can make sure i have it or put on one side for you. x

wonderful way to spend a friday...

what a fantastic way to spend a friday!

i had the pleasure of liz coming over for her one-one screen printing workshop.

liz has done a couple of screen printing courses before and so had a good idea of what she was up to.

she claimed she wasn't very artistic but if you see what she produced i think like me you would disagree rather swiftly.

liz brought some sizzex paddle punches with her. I haven't seen these before and they are so cool! It would be very difficult to cut these shapes for stencil printing and liz used these in such a creative way. I just love the effect she achieved.

we spent some time talking techniques (actually we didn't stop talking for the over 3 hours liz was here) so that we could perfect her already more than basic skills.

 one advantage for liz booking a one-one session was that she had more me time (not necessarily an advantage you might say) and we were really able to work on her skills.

she also had plenty of time and could work on 3 different designs.

 whichever workshop you book on you get tote, tea towel and fabric pack to work with.

i love how the stars came out on liz's tote!

with a little bit of time left liz set to work on her 3rd design - partly hand cut, partly sizzex paddle punched. 

how cool is her tea towel? just genius!

liz really was an a* student in both attitude and aptitude and i had such fun hanging out and 'playing' with her today.

thanks liz for a wonderful time!

if you would like to come and do a fun workshop there are a couple of places remaining on my march class or like liz you could book a one-one for that little bit more me time.

next week i have my next group workshop and i can't wait!

So, I took my designs to the screen printing studio today. I know this isn't the design you were thinking I'd be showing you, but all in good time with triangle fever (ooh, I think I've just named it...was wondering what to call it!). I want to sew some of it up before I show you the fruits of my labour.

Suffice it to say, I am rather pleased with the outcome.

I'd also like to introduce to you Scruffy Daisy...

...in grey...

...bright blue...

...and red.

Scruffy Daisy is the result of another doodling session whilst Ruby was off last week and this really is one of those occasions that doodles do come alive in the screen printing process. I won't ever profess to being an artist and consequently my designs will never be perfect pictures, but what I hope they will be is quirky, eye-catching designs.

I printed the designs on individual pieces of fabric ready to make into various items and also straight onto tea towels, which I think work pretty well. If you think so too they are available right here. I'm hoping to get some sewn up into napkins too. And also table runners. The possibilities are endless...

I've had a few enquiries about my fabrics and whether they are available to buy. What do you reckon? Would it be something you'd be interested in?

Wow, how did it get to be Friday again so quickly? I am seriously concerned with how life is passing by. I have had a productive week, but as usual the week ends much sooner than I anticipate, leaving a longer To Do List each week.

It's Half Term in England this coming week, so we are taking a jaunt to London for a few days to see some friends. We haven't been to visit for a while for one reason and another and I'm really excited to be heading down to stay with our buddies.

Heading down to stay with them meant I had to make time today to take a hostess gift to take with us. They have had huge renovations to the house since we were last there (translate that to mean walls ripped down and rooms created) so I am even more excited than usual to head down.

I've been through the renovations every step of the way with Jo, so I can't wait to see if they look anything like what is in my head! One thing they have done is create a massive kitchen living area. I'm not really sure what they need to accessorise the new place, so I figured I'd take a little something this time and once I've seen it be able to do something bigger.

All I could get at this stage from Jo is it's all very grey and since they haven't set on any accent colours, I decided it wasn't my place to dictate it (although I'm obviously pushing for some yellow), so I'm taking down a couple of grey based tea towels that I hope they'll enjoy and will fit in with whatever else they decide to add.

Happy weekend to you and look forward to catching up on our return x

Not only are December and Christmas creeping upon us oh too quickly, we are just one sleep away from Chanukah. Chanukah fluctuates every year, as the Hebrew calendar is lunar. December 1st is the earliest it ever is and it throws me every time it is this early. We are all geared up commercially for Christmas and when Chanukah comes 24 days earlier, it's more than I can manage. We don't celebrate Christmas so you would think it wouldn't matter. But, it's there everywhere and also, obviously, my business is centred around Christmas.

So now I'm panicking. I did a big Amazon shop last night (thank goodness for Amazon) and

fortunately I got an early start with some of my handmade gifts, but I still have the Poppy Doll to do for Ruby.

All the family are coming over to us for candles, presents and dinner on Friday and whilst we normally only buy the children gifts at Chanukah, I wanted to give each of the ladies a gift - a gift FOR the ladies, but for the men to USE, obviously...

I've made each of them a pretty tea towel to match each of their kitchens. The pink one above is my Mum's. She has the prettiest palest pink kitchen.

This yellow one isn't actually for anyone, but how I could sew something and not do a yellow and grey version? It will however be in my Etsy shop, along with several others very shortly.

Can you guess who this one below is for?

I'm feeling a little more relaxed and prepared now that I have these made.

But no relaxing just yet...it's our wedding anniversary tomorrow too...and I haven't done a darn thing about that...

It's my Mummy's birthday today, so the kids and I are just about to pop over and go and take her cards and presents. Unfortunately this present I ordered hasn't arrived in time. It's my own fault. I can't expect miracle postal delivery at this time of year. So last night whipped up this tea towel for her, so I wouldn't be going empty handed. I know it looks a bit raggedy. It's a linen mix and embroidering it creased it all up. And our iron is broken!

I need to give full and entire credit to the inspiration coming from Sam of Inklore. Sam is incredibly talented and produces the most beautiful screenprinted designs on her textile work. I've been a fan forever. Go check her out if you don't know Sam already.

One of my daughterly duties is to buy my Dad's card for her. He's disabled and can't get out on his own, so I always get one for him. Normally I get an overly slushy 'To my wonderful wife, I love you' kind of card, but when the kids and I were in town earlier this week I found this card and could not resist. You'd need to know my Mum and Dad to know how utterly appropriate this is!

Happy Birthday Mum! Wishing you a very special day for a very special Mum. (Managed the gush after all ;-))