To be

A vintage embroidered linen bag for the show on Saturday.



Don't you think that these flowers look like little bags or purses?



I've made some little tissue purses from bits and pieces of embroidered linen left over rather than throw them away - heaven forbid that anything should go in the bin!



These will be a secret surprise for anyone buying a vintage linen bag on Saturday at the craft event (poster on the right-hand column - let me know if you need a map).



It is tempting to only photograph healthy flower heads - but why? The frizzy little seed heads, dying stamens and dry brown leaves around us are worth pausing over - they have also become left over - but have made a huge effort to be.

Sussuration

For those of you who didn't get out onto the hills at the weekend, here's some inspirational pictures. I thought I'd take my own advice from Friday's blog, though I wasn't alone as I was with Mr Bitsbox; and we weren't alone so obviously my advice went down a treat - we saw and met quite a few families and couples taking a stroll or walking their dogs in Macclesfield Forest. However, there's plenty of space for you to find a quiet spot to ruminate.



It's a working forest, producing timber and Christmas trees, and the reservoirs nearby at Ridgegate and Trentabank are the major source of drinking water for Macclesfield. This walk combines a forest walk with the open moorlands going up to Shutlingsloe near the village of Wildboarclough.



There are many wild flowers and plants buzzing with insects at this time of year. The other sounds you can hear are the ebbing and flowing sussuration of the trees and the trickling of passing streams. It's a magical place to be.

This is me climbing Shutlingsloe hill with my fleecy jumper tied around my waist. The walks around here vary in length and you can always change your mind and find a longer or shorter route depending on your mood and the weather. There's St Stephen's Forest Chapel on the edge of the forest, or the standing stones; the reservoir circular walks or Toot Hill to head for.

When you feel like you've earned a drink you can get a coffee at Nice Nosh, a posh nosh van parked at the Trentabank car park - the very friendly owner there also does bacon butties and a chickpea patty with mushroom sauce (which is what I had yesterday). It's a short stretch to the Leather Smithy pub on Ridgegate reservoir, or the Crag Inn on the other side of Shutlingsloe.

Ingredients

The ingredients for a lovely day out by yourself: a good book, some cakes and a nice cup of tea (ah go on, go on, go on . . .). I've set these things out on my little nature table to suggest the things you might see on a lovely forest walk by yourself. (Thanks to the fab Fabrications for these great little sponge cakes!)

I just had to tell you about this fantastic book that I'm reading (and as a bonus it's got a lovely cover - the stripes in the background are a bright jade green and the dried seed heads are cherry red; I can't remember what the plant is that these come from - have you any idea? Damn these dark light conditions again).

Anyway, the book is a gripping tale of a family of women who move from China to America. There's the tension of the cultural divide that the older people have to deal with in a strange country versus the young people who don't remember their birth country and see America as their home. I've got about a third of the book to go and the plot is building up to a revelation of a secret in the family.

One of the threads I'm enthralled by is the tricky relations between mother and daughter. The daughter writes in her teenage diary how much she hates her mum clinging to her and even going through her private things and reading her diary. As an adult she finds the diary and is now cringing at her former self as she can now understand her mum's desperation for contact with her young daughter as she is slowly moving away from her in her growing independence. Amy Tan describes these torn states of mind so well.

So why not pack up your latest fave read, a Tupperware box of cakes and a flask of tea and head for the hills - tomorrow looks good weather-wise. Change your plans and take advantage of any sun we get to enjoy a bit of outdoor time. I know you'll feel far more refreshed in your outdoor scruffs than your towny heels!

Have a good weekend!

Presents

Some adorable little vintage linen bags that I've made for the craft event - which is a week this Saturday.

If anyone needs a map or another copy of the invite for details do let me know.



I love the cross-stitching on this one.



This is a very fine cross-stitch - elegant and pretty.



All these bags have been decorated with vintage pearly buttons.



They could be handy for all your little bathroom bits, hung on the door-knob or wardrobe door in the bedroom (for all your secret things). I have made one for my 2-year-old niece as I think it will make a really nice pressie for a cute little girl.

Life imitating art

Art imitating . . .

life, imitating . . .

art, imitating . . .

life, imitating . . .

art, imitating . . .

life . . .

Wavy Davy

Managed to take these pictures in a rare burst of sunshine the other day. Can you believe it's July? Such dull, dark and rainy conditions out there. Really feel for all the people flooded in the north and in the midlands. It's amazing to hear how some of them just come out fighting and refuse to be washed away by their circumstances. Helping each other and gathering for little parties in the dry spells - feisty! Lets send them all good vibes today.

This is another in the small series of vintage linen bags that I'm making for the craft fair on 4th August. Beautiful blue cross-stitch done by a lady with a very deft hand a long time ago which I've matched with some blue cotton gingham for the lining.

I've done some of my wavy Davy stitching to secure the top of the bag and the handles - it's both decorative and structural.

I was reading in the weekend papers about holidays in Ireland - just wishing! - and found a beautiful country house in Cork that does cookery courses in traditional Irish food. Ballymaloe House looks absolutely stunning - the last word in rural elegance. Cookery courses are also run by Rory O'Connell in nearby Shanagarry. The website is full of information about the courses and lovely pictures for you to dream over on a cold Tuesday morning.

Old-new

Did a little late-night shopping at the Trafford Centre just outside Manchester.

It is a veritable cornucopia of shops and shopping. They have a big Gap and a huge Monsoon both of which have massive sales on at the moment. And I love wandering around Selfridges, especially their bathroom and kitchen departments which are full of beautiful home accessories.

There is also a cinema with several screens - they are showing the latest Harry Potter movie at the moment.

There's also this amazing fake cruise liner decking area with a wave pool dominated by a huge video screen. This is where most of the restaurants are situated. The ceiling is painted to look like a blue sky with clouds and the lights fade up and down to produce a fake dawn and dusk with twinkly stars. You either love it or hate it - it can be seen as quite naff and chavy but it is quite fun and a wonderous feat of engineering.

The walkways leading up to this area are decked out like fake old-New Orleans - the three pictures above show some of the balconies of the fake building facades which are decorated to look like film sets like Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - or maybe Blanche Dubois or Marilyn Monroe really has just hung out Marlon Brando's washing.

The Lady and the Buddha

This lady was lounging around in Selfridge's yesterday.

This Buddha was trapped in a packing case in The Pier.

. . .

I find these objects really striking but I am letting them speak for themselves rather than write anything now. I'd love to read your captions for them - what do you think?

Have a good weekend.

Magic Wednesday

Another of my handmade bags made out of vintage linen. With some careful restoration work, most pieces of this tablecloth could be saved - of course, this kind of work does take time which all has to be added into the price of the things I sell. This means that I'm not really able to compete with the high street even if I wanted to; I don't think my market is really there anyway as what I make is more individual and one off.

I hope I'm also doing my bit for the environment by making these linen bags as the original item might end up in landfill or merely lie bored in a linen cupboard for eons (and what a waste that is).

Do let me know if you have any linen like this to sell, or if you want me to make something for you out of your linen, like a bag or a quilt.



As a 'maker' or 'artisan' or whatever label it is that applies to what I do, I think carefully all the time about what I am making and for whom I am making it. For one thing, it's a niche market, women who are interested in vintage stuff or something unique either for themselves or for a present for their friends. The other thing is that I can only make things that I like otherwise it wouldn't be worth doing. I just have to hope that there are like-minded people out there.

I also try to put some vintage good vibes into a piece - to think good things and meditate in the sense of focusing with 100% attention while I'm working. I hope that by some kind of magic some of this gets transferred to you (at no extra cost at all!).



Hope you like this latest linen bag lined with cheerful gingham. I have had some lovely positive comments lately and I cannot say what a total boost it is when confidence is low so please keep them coming! Just press on the Comments button below and keep a girl going . . .

Human fingerprint

I have cut out the pieces for a number of white linen bags which will be decorated on the front panels with vintage embroidered linen. This is the one I sewed up yesterday.

Details from the front of the bag - so beautifully stitched, almost certainly by a woman, many years ago. This trace of her is left in this world. We don't know anything else about her except that she was an exceptional needlewoman; we don't know who she made it for or any of the circumstances of her workplace.

We hear much about our carbon footprint. She has left her human fingerprint.

And I am leaving mine, by making her work into another work.

Twin birds

I've updated some of my settings partly because I wanted you to know about the book The Tortilla Curtain - am I the only person to have missed this brilliant book (it's been in papeback for about 10 years)? If you're looking for a gripping holiday read this is the one; it's about the border territory between Mexico and the States and the tensions between a rich couple who live there and a poor couple who illegally cross the border to find work. This book grabs you from the first page when these very different worlds collide on the highway.



I have made these two cotton tote bags to sell at the craft fair at the beginning of August. They are twin bags with summery birds. This one above has the teapot fabric as the lining that you can see on the outside of the bag below. I've made a pocket divider inside.



This bag has the pocket on the outside. I love these prints - silly teapots and these very painterly birds. The colours are so complimentary - a sort of sage green set off by the muted pinks.

They are very roomy bags at 30 by 37 cm - ideal for a trip into town or a day out at the beach. They cost £25 each.

Water

What a miserable rainy summer so far! I'm struggling to accept the present reality of all the damp and the dank and the dark that we're experiencing at the moment instead of the blue sky and sun we could do with a blast of. So I looked in my folders of photographs and my little book of meditations to help me and today's blog is for anyone else out there who is also struggling.

When you drink water,
Remember its source.

Water is an essential part of our biological processes but when we drink it are we aware of its importance? Think of its source and the efforts that make it possible for us to have a simple glass of water.

Acknowledge the precious quality of seemingly everyday things.

Maintain gratitude for both the good and the bad things in your life.

Hope this helps - and have a good weekend.

Whiter shades of pale

Again, apologies for the darkness of these pictures - when is summer going to really start?? I for one am very very bored of all this 'rain followed by light showers' (err, just continuous rain then).

I wanted to riff on the glories of vintage linen again (I have made some new bags for you which I hope you'll think are divine but I need to wait for some proper daylight for pics). The colour of authentic vintage linen varies a lot: it can be milk bottle white, clotted cream, skin tone, beige, mushroom soup, whippy ice cream, purlescent cloud, pale sand, or a million other shades.

Consequently, it can be a bit of a challenge, when making bags or quilts out of them, to match the particular shade of white with the other fabrics being used. So if I'm going to make a pale green gingham lining then it has to be the right shade of green to match the linen so as not to give it a garish ghastly Shrek-ish hue (unless that's what you want of course!).

The other important thing to get right is the weight of the fabric which ideally should be similar (unless, again, you are making a mad punk Westwood-style handbag which may require a stark mix of clashing fabrics - sound appealling actually; I might do that this afternoon . . . I have recently acquired a length of big dog-tooth tweed which I am planning on doing some mad applique to . . . more on that story later).

Once you get to know vintage linen it can become a bit of an obsession. Looking at the details of a vintage find - such as the colour, weight and feel of the fabric - become second nature, and nothing matches the thrill of a thrifty new/old find.

This is my 80th post so Happy Birthday! When I get to 100 do I receive a Comment or an email from the Queen? ;-> The funniest rendition I've seen of the song Happy Birthday is by Simon Pegg in an episode of Spaced - he does a little twisty dance in the kitchen for Daisy, singing the birthday song a la Stevie Wonder - it's brilliant - and he has a cake made for her in the shape of a typewriter (she's trying to be a writer) but it ends up getting destroyed in a food fight. With hilarious consequences, as they say.

Vintage linen

A bit of purple paisley to brighten up your Wednesday morning. I made this bag some time ago for a friend who was going on holiday to a Greek island. The fabric is vintage Laura Ashley. I love the bold choice of colours - violet purple, rose pink, cherry red and a little ice blue to accentuate the rest. Of course the design is fantastic - but can you believe this was originally a bridesmaid's dress? They'd look better as Prince's pants.



I promised you some vintage linen this week. My collection has been growing over the years but these pieces have all been sourced over the past year or so from charity shops and vintage shows like the one in Manchester that's held every year, and next spring there is one in Liverpool (details for both shows are on this site). Two of my favourite websites for vintage linen are Pieces of History and Sharon's Antiques. Just brilliant for dreaming even if you don't buy anything.



Please excuse the folds in the cloth by the way. I was in a bit of a rush to catch the minimal amount of day light we seem to be getting here in the UK with all the rain and gloom (while in New York they are enjoying a heat wave!). A lot of these linen items like antimacassars and dressing table doilies are not really used any more so I am happy to make these into something someone will want, even though at first it may seem like sacrilege to cut them up. I always preserve as much as possible and I have a growing collection of tablecloths which are in perfect condition that will never see the scissors. They are more like inspiration pieces to me.

Don't you just love these daisies? I'm afraid the light was starting to fade again. I will be making a small collection of one-off bags from vintage linen like this, lined with either contrasting gingham or with white linen and I'll let you see them as they get finished.

I'm a little teapot

Found this fab shiny gold fabric in an interiors shop in Cheshire - it's got brightly coloured teapots woven into it - how completely gorgeous is this? I suppose the obvious thing to make with it would be a very posh tea-cosy. I might do that, but will definitely be making a bag out of it when I've come up with the right design for it.



An authentic retro find in a charity shop - I found this last week before meditation class on Tuesday. It's that lovely 1950s style of print with a checkered background (as it were) and pots of flowers and plants and vases in the foreground. It's a bit like what Lucienne Day might have come up with on an inspired Tuesday morning. View her designs on this site and you will see how her influence is still felt by contemporary designers. I especially like Dandelion Clocks and Larch.

I love gingham and this is a variation on the theme - tiny red and white checks but with a spray of roses and leaves embroidered onto it. I'll probably use this fabric to line the vintage linen bags I'll be making for the craft event.

Purple haze

I made this handy shopping bag for the craft event in August. I love these pinky purple retro swirls! The fabric is a really good quality heavy cotton - I used the orange colourway for the bag on the poster. I've lined this one with lovely spinach green linen which you can see draped on the mannequin behind the bag. The button is vintage.

As usual I'm only going to make one of each fabric as I want people to have something special for themselves.

Some purples in nature. Foxgloves and . . .

. . . these plants I call purple spires as I don't know the real name. These were originally cuttings from a friend's garden in Oxford - a very long time ago. I collect the seed when it has stopped flowering and shake it all around the garden so it happily self-seeds everywhere. It likes the sunny border at the front of the house the best.

I'm going to make a series of bags this shape and size over the next few days. I just hope we get a few sunny hours to bring pictures to you.

Day lily

I bought this large piece of woven fabric in Hay-on-Wye at the weekend. I love the colours.

By chance, this day lily has been flowering all the rainy week right by where I take my fabric photos. The colours are quite similar. Just shows how copying nature isn't a bad way to go when you're designing fabrics and putting colours together.

This is the cute little shop I bought it in. The shopkeeper says it's African - does anyone out there know anything about it?

The day lily is a wonderful plant for your garden. The flowers supposedly last one day, hence the name, but mine seem to last ages. It's a reminder that we have to take time to stop and look at the world around us, otherwise we might miss something 'awesome' as they say in the states. This plant was given to me as a cutting by someone I used to work with (thanks C!) - there's nothing quite like the joy of a freeby!

Have a good weekend!

Vintage linen

There's something about vintage linen that you just gotta love . . .



I managed to finish this bag yesterday after dropping off some flyers for the craft event I'm helping to organise (poster in the right-hand column here). I went especially into Alderley Edge to drop some off in one of my all-time favourite shops - The Potting Shed. Had a lovely chat with the people there who suggested I should start making 'man bags' for someone they know - what do you think? Good idea? Not sure he'd want a vintage linen one with deep purple gingham lining like this one . . . but maybe he'd like one with a pink pocket . . .



I tried to explain (slightly out of breath having parked badly) that my handmade bags are really useful for gardeners - just imagine popping this one on your shoulder with a pair of gardening gloves, some rose secateurs and the latest copy of Gardens Illustrated magazine and strolling out for a lie down on a beautiful vintage stripey deckchair. Not to do any gardening of course . . .

I have some wonderful vintage fabrics and thrifty finds to share with you just as soon as it's bright enough to take photos!

Bags of Change

I have spent quite a bit of time planning for a craft fair in August: I'll put more details on the blog tomorrow. Consequently, I've been spending a lot of time doing all the little fiddly bits and pieces in preparation for that rather than making bags (boo!). However, here's a lovely summery bag for you that I have made from devoire lime green velvet on heavy linen (a new fabric from John Lewis). It's a very practical size and fits neatly under your arm so you can throw your old carrier bags away.

The theme of the craft fair is 'Bags of Change' - you're bound to have seen a lot in the press and in the news about reducing one's use of plastic carrier bags. Well, my crafting partner Fabrications and I decided to make this the theme of the next two craft fairs that we're organising.

There were some horrible pictures on the TV recently of dolphins in the Pacific Ocean being strangled by plastic bags and eating plastic flip-flops - dolphins are swimming around, these beautiful creatures and symbols of freedom, in the most disgusting polluted waters. Plastic bags that don't degrade hang around for ever in the sea like some sort of toxic seaweedy mesh that fish and animals get caught up in.

We have to do our bit, and Ireland are far ahead of us in this regard. Plastic bags are now charged for in supermarkets and shops so usage has reduced drastically. I saw in Mayo and Connemara this summer that people have got used to carrying tote bags instead. So we thought we'd provide some alternatives for you as well (hopefully in a gentle non-preachy way though . . . ).

This Christmas, there is going to be a lot of publicity around making this the first plastic bag free Christmas in the UK, and this will be the theme of our Christmas craft fair too. It's a bold claim but I think if you don't start somewhere nothing will ever be achieved.

Atmosphere

Hay-on-Wye is a very atmospheric place set against the backdrop of the Black Mountains just a few miles from Brecon in South Wales. Hay is well known for being the town with the most second-hand bookshops in the UK and for the flourishing Literature Festival which is held each year. The town is a broad patchwork of winding streets of lovely stone cottages topped with local slate. This picture above is from the Richard Booth bookshop which is my favourite atmospheric place in town - it's a ragbag of makeshift shelves chock full of books on every subject under the sun.

It's great for a browse or for finding that special present or unusual out-of-print book. I love the jumble of recent literature acquisitions on the first floor - a happy mix of books waiting to be shelved in their correct classifications.

I was disappointed to see that they have actually started to tidy up the vast loft room - I suppose it's for the best but I like the way that you just come across books by accident. I found a beautiful tiny edition of Vita Sackville-West's poems in there once, which I bought mainly for the gorgeous faded gold stamp on the spine and the embossed swirls on the aged pale purple pulpy front cover. It's a piece of history, with a swirly ink dedication on the frontispiece, a genuine vintage find for just a few pounds.

For more modern finds, this pretty shop is crammed with beautiful things for the home, and also lots of handmade things like Poppy Treffry's gorgeous bags and tea-cosies. She embroiders seaside pictures of seagulls, boats and sailors onto her bags. Her creations have the immediacy of a child's drawing.

You will not go hungry in Hay as there are some really good cafes and pub grub. There was also a festival of local food going on this weekend so there were lots of market stalls selling pies, soups and salads. We bought some local bottled beer from Rhymney Brewery of Dowlais, South Wales, which helped the party that night go with a swing.

Sage Femme

We had a very rainy day in Hay this weekend, Mr Bitsbox and I. However, everything was cheered up immensely by finding a new vintage shop in town.



It's called Sage Femme and I had a lovely chat with the owners who kindly let me take a few pictures of their beautiful shop to bring to you via the blog. The shop has only been open 3 or 4 months but they got off to a flying start during the Literature Festival which is held in Hay-on-Wye each year.



Sage Femme specialises in authentic French vintage clothing, lace and linen. What a wonderful job going to France to source these kind of items? There is some beautiful vintage glass jewellery and silver brooches on display as well as an interesting selection of hats which just add to the atmosphere of the speciality boutique.



I love the way that the shop is dressed with period furniture, paintings and chandeliers - very suggestive of turn of the century boudoirs and madame's dressing chambers. I can just imagine the chatelaine sitting in the corner getting on with her beadwork or sewing some lace to madame's wedding head-dress.

There is a stunning collection of kitchen and bedroom linen, plus a wedding dress which has been especially hand-embroidered for the day with the bride's name. What I love about this kind of collection is the social history behind it - you can look at the beautiful work done by some unknown lady a hundred years ago and wonder what life was like for her in a far-away village in rural France. The feel of authentic vintage linen is hard to beat, and I love all the worn corners and hand-stitched repairs - it's the kind of thing that can't be faked.

Sage Femme is easy to find - it's near the monument in the centre of the village at what they call The Pavement (below La Maison - another interesting shop full of velvet and lace clothing but modern). More shopping from Hay tomorrow!