Indian Embroidery

I promised to tell you about the workshop with Surjeet Hussain. I belong to the Embroiderers Guild we meet once a month and the meetings are very inspiring.

It's nice to get together with like minded people. just like blogging eh!

This was a two day workshop covering 'Sheesha', 'Kantha' and 'Pulkari'

Surjeet was the most inspiring teacher. She combined stories of her life in India to give us an insight into the geography, history and culture of her country.

We all felt that life would not be complete without visiting this amazing place.

We spent the first day applying 'Sheesha' mirrors to fabric. Let me tell you it is quite fiddly and Surjeet made it look so easy!

Finally I managed, and as she said 'the penny needs to drop'.

The rest of the time we worked on Kantha And Pulkari. I'll show you some of that another time.

I so wanted to play with the mirrors using some cream dupion silk and matching threads.

I've had some little notebooks for a while waiting to have a nice cover made, so heres what I did.

I had a lovely couple of hours stitching and thought it was pretty enough to keep your secrets in so you'll find it in my Folksy shop.

Altered Bottles and Collages for my White Collection

Remember the bottles I found in my local charity shop, I spent a couple of great days making them pretty. This could become addictive!

I really enjoyed fiddling about trying out all the bits and pieces. In the picture on the left I have used old vinegar bottles with lovely stoppers They are covered in a mixture of Italian corded lace and some vintage lace scraps. I raided my mums old jewellery box for the trinkets.

I have also used the same lace to make make these hearts.

This one I bought at a floristry suppliers and has been sitting around waiting for me to find the right thing to do with it.

I'm pleased with the result.

These were wooden Christmas decorations, I painted them with a creamy white paint then made them as pretty as I could, Do you think I should add more?

Finally I made these three small collages using photos from my family collection, guess who is smiling!

Hope you like my bits and pieces, I'm off now to buy some silk to embroider on as I spent the weekend at a workshop on Indian embroidery with Surjeet Husain, a truly insiprational teacher, but more of that on my next post!

Happy WW to you all!

My Great Escape.

I have been working quite hard for the last few weeks preparing for this summers fairs. So, on the spur of the moment we decided to 'escape, for a couple of days. The weather has been so nice, lots of spring sunshine to bring out the leaves on the trees.

First stop Port Isaac on the north Cornish coast, we arrived in the late afternoon and walked around the narrow streets before sitting by the sea and enjoying a Pimms.

Most of these white cottages and indeed most of Port Isaac dates back to the 16th and 17th century. Its so nice that it remains unspoilt by modern development and retains all the charm of an old Cornish fishing village.

We spent the next day on hired bikes cycling the Camel Trail to Padstow with its pretty harbour and narrow streets before heading of to walk some of the South West coast path. This is the longest of our National paths stretching for 630 miles around the south west coast of England.

This is where the Atlantic touches our shores.These spectacular views are from my favourite part of the coast path, starting at Porthcothan beach, no surfers today, so different from high summer when you can't see the sand for people, picnics and surf boards.

It's a 90 minute walk to Bedruthan Steps where the cafe serves the best scones I have ever tasted, they are freshly made throughout the day and are so delicious that I just had to indulge, no cream or butter though with makes me feel saintly! Anyhow theres always the walk back to undo the sins. A truly memorable day.

On my last day I had to find something white to complete the post. I was so pleased to find this beautiful 'Blackthorn', the blossom is truly white and looking its best in the sunshine.

I,m home now, I cycled 12 miles and walked over 12 miles of coast path in my three day break and I'm going to be at my sewing machine in the morning.

Happy WW to you all!

Tales of a white wednesday

I would like to say a big thank you to Karen at Valentine Design for giving my blog a fabulous make over. I am delighted with the result, so if you need help she is sooo... clever
This week is my second white wednesday and I am loving being part of it.

My inspiration this week comes from this beautiful Italian Corded lace, I have several metres of this and am now using it in my designs.

I have used it to embellish this bolster cushion, it

looks so pretty over the natural linen. I have stitched small white pearls to highlight the edges of the lace. The ends of the bolster are finished with a rolled linen rose.

I'm using up lots of my lace collection in these pictures, the photograph is of my grandparents dancing on Blackpool Pier I think possibly in the early 1930's. Grandma has a white dress and white sunglasses and grandad is in his Oxford bags. Fancy wearing a suit to visit the seaside.

Talking of seaside, on my walk on Easter Sunday I found some white pebbles on the beach, I have put them with some pearly shells given to me by a friend and with a big shell from the beach in Cuba. They sit on a shelf in my bathroom.

Hope you like my whites this week , thanks so much for your comments last week.

Happy WW.

Tea for two.

I love to wander around the charity shops looking for treasures from yesteryear. As I have been longing to try my hand at Altered Bottles I snapped these up. This is the 'before' picture I'll let you know how I get on.

There is nothing the English like better than a cup of tea! and tea tastes so nice from a china cup. On todays wander around the charity shops I came across these beautiful vintage china trios. I couldn't resist, would you? They seem to be hand painted and the plate is such a lovely shape.These will be just the thing for Easter Sunday Cream Tea!

Happy Easter to you all!

and don't forget, recent research proves that chocolate is good for you , well we knew that all along didn't we??

My first White Wednesday

Hi there, I am so excited to be joining white wednesday at Faded Charms. These linens belonged to my grandma, she lived to be 102 years old.

I remember her sitting crocheting this tablecloth when I was a child. Her whole house was full of what she called her 'fancy work'.

Everything in her home she made herself, curtains, cushions, soft furnishings and all her clothes. I remember her sitting at her Singer treadle sewing machine, I was always fasinated, so began my love of fabrics.

The pillowslips belonged to her mother and though the fabric is getting thin I treasure them.

I loved Karens cushions at mydesertcottage and it has inspired my spring and summer collection. I found the gloves in a charity shop and the mice are in charge of mouse house tales.

I made the sparkly hair comb for The Swan Queen in a dance school production. I also made 16 white feather headresses fo the corp de ballet, I found feathers in my house for months afterwards. Never mind I am told white feathers are sent by the angels watching over us.

Thanks to all the white wednesdays it cheers up the midweek!

Quilts at the Victoria and Albert Museum

Phew! what a busy Friday!

I started out on the 6-30 train to London, arriving at 9am. An early start I know but that means I get lots of time in town. It seems in London at least spring has arrived. It was warm and sunny with the first early blossom on the trees in the parks.

First stop, the Aveda salon for a long overdue appointment with my lovely hairdresser Liene, she turns up the glamour in me every time I see her. I always leave a relaxed new woman. Thank you Liene!

Its a great treat to meet my friend Liz, we don't meet very often but always seem to carry on the conversation where we last left off. She and I both have a love of quilting so a visit to the exhibition at the V&A was a must.

The quilts were a real inspiration, I particularly loved the bed hangings that are the first thing you see as you go in. The patience needed to piece all those clam shells for such a large piece is amazing.

I was moved by two of the exhibits, the grandmothers flower garden quilt made by young women and girls, prisoners of war in the Changi camp and the male prisoners at Wandsworth prison in London who found peace and calm through there quilting.

If you can get to London to see this exhibit you won't be disappointed, I will certainly be going back for another visit before it closes in the summer.

You can get more info at the Victoria and Albert Museum web site.

After a pot of Earl Grey tea in Harrods we enjoyed a very late lunch and lots of memories before going off to catch my train home, which I nearly missed buying these beautiful Peaony Roses.

I jumped on the train just as the guard was blowing his whistle, again phew!!!