Birds

My sister Sasha has an enormous - and scarily comfortable - new sofa and she asked me to make her four big (50x50cm) cushion covers to add a bit of colour. And these are them...

Chicken

At the moment cushions seem to me to make good birthday presents for domesticated sisters, this is one I made for my sister Sasha a few weeks ago. She's got lots of chickens in her garden, hence...

Flying The Flag Part II

I moved flat a few months ago, and in the redecorating and furnishing process ended up with a LOT of union jacks in the living room/kitchen (on cushions & breakfast bar stools). And when juxtaposed with Penguin mugs and paintings, a Keep Calm and Carry On poster, and some fridge magnets of traditional British products (Marmite, Colman's mustard, HP sauce etc.), it was all suddenly looking a bit, well, patriotic. So, when we needed a new cushion on the sofa, I decided to throw a bit of the US of A in to the mix to take the emphasis off Britain! And here it is (liberties have been taken with the layout, but its an approximation)...

Pushing The Envelope

Have you heard of Envelop? It's an online shop where illustrators/designers can upload designs that can then be bought by the public and printed on demand onto cushions, tote bags, aprons and more. There are all sorts of cool designs on there. I've been meaning to try it out for ages, and have got my first cushion design up now.

Cut Flowers

Try, try, and try again

As the title suggests, I've been trying very hard. But at what? Well, I wanted to make some new dolls that would be a bit of a mix of my existing ones and the my peg dolls. And I wanted them to be a bit quicker to make and therefore sellable at a reasonably low price.

And yet... these four ended up taking an awfully long time, because I did two rounds of four before I got to these, that either popped open along stretched seams or that had to be abandoned with half their heads stuck in their bodies (sounds a bit gruesome doesn't it?). I was determined to overcome any design faults, and got there in the end. The final group may not have the elegant necks of their predecessors, but they work and that is something! And now that I know what to do I want to make lots!

The rejects

Floral Fabrics

This afternoon I finally got round to trying out an idea I've had in my head for ages - some pictures that use fabric and hand sewing and paint. The plan is to do a series and mount them then have them for sale in my Etsy shop. They're in need of an iron, and these photos aren't the best, but...

Easter Eggs

I've talked before about Small Magazine and their accompanying blog. Well, I've recently started putting together a monthly craft project for the blog, something for parents and kids to make together. This time, seeing as spring has sprung and the supermarkets are brimful of chocolate eggs, I thought handmade egg cosies would be apt. You can see the whole post here.

Crop Circles

This is my eleventh-hour entry for this month's Tigerprint competition - a Spring 2011 surface pattern... I decided to move away from the computer for this and got back to basics with silk, cotton, calico, paint and good old bondaweb.

All's Fair

I've been talking about it for quite some time, and finally on Saturday it was the We Make London Christmas Fair. It was a very festive day, with lots of wonderful stalls, and Christmassy visitors! Next up is the Of Cabbages and Kings fairs on Saturdays 12th & 19th, where my friend the fab illustrator Mary Kilvert will also be exhibiting. Here's my stall from this weekend with my whole collection, familiar and new...

Festivities

Today I sent off a parcel of festive goodies to Seastar Gallery in Cornwall, containing my new peg-angels-with-loops (just like a peg angel but with added practicality), and some of these paintings I've been working on, which are extremely optimistic and which - if they don't sell over Christmas - may make an appearance in my Etsy shop. I've got lots more to sell on my stall this weekend (see flyer two posts below).

Teddy Bears Picnic

Yesterday the latest issue of Small Magazine (an absolutely beautiful online childrens/parents magazine) came out. In their last issue I contributed a DIY project on finger puppets, and this time round one of my beeb bears was featured as part of their "the new bears in town" spread, alongside some of my favourite designer/makers like Abigail Brown and astulabee...

Take Heart

I've made cushion covers in the past, but not often because I had a bit of a fear about inserting zips. But, I thought they'd be a good addition to my collection, so I've pulled myself together recently and made some cotton ones with hot pink silk hearts and stars on. Although they may not look it in these bleached pictures, the square one is blue and the rectangular one is dusky orange, and they have lovely soft duck-feather pads which really make all the difference...

Haute Couture

Have you heard of Momiji dolls? They're little collectible wooden characters, each with a different style and personality. Momiji have been running a competition for people to make larger, textile versions, with the 10 shortlisted dolls being exhibited at Royal/T in Los Angeles. Here are my two entries, fingers are crossed!!

Lutterlagkage

A while ago I read on decor8 about a gorgeous shop opening in Malmö - Lutterlagkage. Owner Stine Holm Weirsoe sells her own and other people's childrenswear and homeware products. I've just sent Stine six dolls and six bears (below) to sell in the shop and on her website, and am very excited they'll be part of such a beautiful environment!

Angelic

I'm starting to get ready for Christmas sales, and these are a new, festive version of my peg dolls - peg angels, which I reckon will make super stocking fillers or tree decorations. The photo doesn't quite do justice to their cream and gold jacquard dresses. Pretty glitzy eh?!

Coming Up Roses

As mentioned below, I'm off to Paris, and during my research into places to go, things to do and food to eat, a few shops and cafes have kept coming up, one of which is Rose Bakery. I've known about it since I bought my sister the lovely Breakfast, Lunch, Tea cookbook a couple of years ago, and now keep reading very very good things about the food there. And... there are two branches in the city so it shouldn't be hard to bump into one of them.

Also, I was arranging a bunch of flowers at work today and kept getting my fingers pricked by rose thorns, which felt a lot like a sewing injury, so I put all these things together and made this embroidery in honour!!

Scrapbook Sunday

Today has been so summery and gorgeous. I've been painting little monsters and making a maquette for the Momiji Couture Contest. Lots of work to be done on this but it's a start!!

Here's a bleached, light filled page from my scrapbook to go with the day...

Flying The Flag

This is the union jack cushion I made a couple of weeks ago - using a combination of new and vintage fabrics and materials, silk, calico, lace, all sorts! The one I'd made before was on a square cushion, but I do think it looks much better on a rectangle, and it has a lovely goose feather cushion pad inside from John Lewis. Inspired by Viv, created by me!

Flatties

Not shoes as the title suggests, but a new group of characters that I'm calling Flatties because they've come to life from drawings. I've just put four of these in my Etsy shop, and I'm selling them with a little original painting of each one - their own portrait!