We Make London Pop Up Shop

I'll be selling my wares at the We Make London Pop Up Shop in Hampstead from 2-9 July. It opens this Saturday. See my designer feature on the We Make London Blog.

Here is a sneak preview of some of my handmade goodies. 

Lots of lovely things for babies and toddlers mostly...

These are my popular baby & toddler pantaloons, based on a harem pant with a wide waistband and leg cuffs, this pair is made from some natural linen I found in a Norman brocante which was originally a curtain in a Paris hospital stamped 1843. It's beautifully soft with a heavy drape. I just love this fabric. Some of it was beautifully darned too, I'm adding this bit to my darning collection!

A variation on my pantaloons, these playsuits are adorable. They are so perfect for babies and toddlers because they do not restrict the movement and flexibility like many toddler trousers do so they can sit in that perfect lotus pose that only a child can do!

 Also for little ones my patchwork neckerchiefs are made from my scraps of vintage fabrics that I just can't throw away. They are a stylish way of catching the dribbles of a teething baby and reversible too.

There will be much more at the show, please come along!

Weekly sourdough

I just wanted to share this recipe for Sourdough bread that has got me on a weekly regime that supplies us with more than our fair share of wholesome bread for the week. It was kindly passed on to me by Lina who was given it by Cecile. Now all you need is a Sourdough starter, make one yourself or ask around. You may be surprised by how many people have a starter or know of one that you could have a spoonful of. I hear our lovely bakery down the road called the E5 Bakehouse in London Fields has a new sourdough starter that is over 100 years old and from Iceland. My Grandpa's father was a sailor from Iceland who jumped ship and ended up in Australia. Since we are emigrating to Australia this year as a family and my Grandpa turns 100 later this year, I secretly harbour hopes of getting me some of this infamous starter and baking bread in Australia for the special centenary celebrations. It was be a nice story wouldn't it? Well anyway, here is the recipe, click on the images to view in full and then print. Follow the directions to the letter and you'll have two lovely big loaves. I freeze one for later in the week unless the first loaf doesn't make it past baking day! But remember, resist cutting into the loaf until it has properly cooled down or you will destroy the crumb! (whatever that means)

Merlin's technicolour dream quilt

I've been meaning to blog about this quilt project for a while now. When I was expecting my first baby (Merlin now aged 2), my Mum had the idea to create a patchwork quilt made up of squares created by all the wonderfully creative women in our family and friends close to us. It was completed for Merlin's 1st birthday Dec 2010. 

The result is this magical technicolour dream quilt with a whole lot of history. There are pieces of retro 70s curtains from my baby room, embroidery from the baby bib of Merlin's grandmother, Merlin's father's embroidered school badge from his uniform showing the ashford river where he grew up. There is a crochet granny square by Merlin's great grandma, stunningly detailed embroideries by Merlin's great aunt in France, wonderful silk applique by some friends living in cambodia at the time which depict little scenes with fond memories of our friendship.  There is even Merlin's knitted umbilical cord tie made of bamboo yarn that I made to avoid the standard issue plastic one (complete with mummified belly button!). I know, I know... slightly weird but nevertheless all part of Merlin's birth story. 

click on image to view detail

The quilt project had its own facebook group where the most active members, my mother and auntie Corrie uploaded pictures of their squares as they went. There were squares from England, Cambodia, Australia and France. It was so touching to have so many dear friends and family add to the story of the quilt. It gives us as a family many visual cues about those dear to us, especially considering Merlin will always be on the otherside of the world to one half of his extended family. It's a story quilt. When he gets his own bed, this quilt alone will provide enough bedtime stories for an entire childhood.

To those of you who contributed, thank you for the love and creativity you bestowed these small squares of fabric that together will keep Merlin warm and entertained for years to come. It's truly an heirloom and we will treasure it always. Sorry it has taken me so long to actually show you photos of the finished piece!

Mum sewed all the squares together with the seams on the right side. With the squares all being quite different in size many of them would have lost quite a lot of their edges. The effect is that each square is kind of framed by its selvedge.

Contributors and relationship to Merlin

Bev (grandmother)

Pat (grandmother)

Corrie (great aunt)

Marilyn (great aunt)

Faye (great aunt)

Elaine (great grandmother)

Josephine (late great grandmother)

Penny & Ellie (aunt and cousin)

Heidi (aunt)

Brenna (mother)

Dominic (father)

Kirsten (friend)

Andrew (friend)

Daisy (friend)

Nami (friend)

Janet (friend)

Mags (friend)

some individual square that were photographed before the quilt was put together, click to see detail

Dyes from plants

We've just returned from a bit of a research holiday around Herefordshire and Wales so it has been a long time since I posted on this blog. I'm slowly trawling through the mountains of blog fodder I gathered on this trip which included visits to many a woollen mill, a knitting design weekend and tours of various eco communities.

To start off I just wanted to post a couple of beautiful pictures of an incredibly inspiring spectrum of naturally dyed wool skeins.

We visited the National Wool Museum in Wales where these lovely little specimens were on show. They were created by the Wallis Woollen Mill, Dyfed, Wales which closed in 2002.

The plaque reads "These colours were extracted from nine different plants with the exception of the bright reds, pinks and burgundies which were obtained from the cochineal beetle. Natural dyes were in use until the middle of the nineteenth century, when synthetic dyes based on coal tar were discovered. Synthetic dyes are cheaper to use and it is easier to repeat colours more exactly but they lack the subtle harmony and gentle ageing properties of natural dyes. Recipes used in this mill in the nineteenth century are still in existence today. "

More from this fascinating museum later...

Summer Hats Hand Stitched in American Smocking

Hooray for the sun! It's properly back after what feels like a very long winter. We've had some beautiful sunny weather here in London and I've been loving the chance to wear my summer hat again. I've just put a whole bunch of new hats on my etsy shop please take a look.

I have lovingly hand stitched these vintage style hats using fabrics from my collection, mostly vintage pieces I've picked up from various places. I just love American smocking and how it makes gingham fabric look almost woven by the way it pulls together every other square of the grid.

There is a great tutorial on American Smocking here. It looks complicated but actually you can really get into a rhythm with the stitching, so although it has to be done by hand your stitches seem to fly by. Traditionally you use the grid of the gingham fabric to guide you in your stitching but you can also use non check fabric and just draw on your grid.

I've just had some lovely photographer/fashion designer friends staying who took some fantastic photos of my hats.

Here is a link to the fabulous Finnish photographer who so beautifully photographed my hats being modelled, thank you Arsi and thank you to my good friend Jaana who made a most beautiful model!

How to make knitted Easter bunnies

This is a great craft project to do with the kids this Easter holidays. I've seen this in an old Waldorf crafts book, it's really simple and great project for Spring. It involves no knitted shaping, you just start from a square of fabric and the rabbit shape is formed by the simple sewing up and stuffing.

Step 1: knit a square in garter stitch or stockinette stitch or for a super fast rabbit cut out a square from an old woollen sweater. A square about 18cm (7") width makes a large bunny as shown, the little one is made from a square approximately 12cm (5").

Step 2: Sew each corner up about one third of the length of the edge...

Step 3: Stuff the cavity with wool, putting a bit more stuffing in the top as this will form the head.

Step 4: Sew up the hole by gathering the top and bottom of the hole and stitching the sides of the hole together...

Step 5: Form the head by tying a length of yarn around tightly at the end you would like the head to be.

Step 6: Sew the limbs in place by sewing the front two legs together and folding the back two legs forward and stitching them to the body to keep them in place.

Step 7: Make some ears, stitch some eyes and a nose and finally attach a small pom pom or ball of yarn to form a tail. The ears can be made from cutting out a piece of felt, knitting some up or using a folded i-cord or other piece of cord or ribbon. Improvise and make your bunny uniquely yours. Happy making!

Other craft activities to do with the kids this easter holidays:

- Egg blowing and dyeing

- Making nests

- Making your own chocolate easter eggs

A little bit of a beautiful thing

On the weekend just gone, I had the most wonderful experience at the Battersea Arts Centre annual One-on-One Theatre Festival. This is a theatre festival where each performance is performed for you alone. It was incredibly intimate and at times challenging and at first I felt very nervous indeed but that didn't last long as I came to realise this was entirely the point of the festival.

The festival goers could choose from a number of set show menus. I chose Menu 9 - Reflective.

The piece I want to write about here was a lovely little history lesson from which each participant came away literally with a little slice of the past. It was called "A little bit of something beautiful" and was by Barnaby Stone actor/cabinet maker.

In the room there was a large oak beam, it was a 700 year old piece of oak that was once a beam in the attic of the beautiful Elizabethan Hardwick Hall. After sharing some facts about the beam and contemplating the past as it may have resonated in this piece of wood, the artist began hammering in a wooden nail that I was asked to choose from a pile and sanding and polishing the surface. Then he pulled across a ban saw, that was set up on a track along the floor and cut off a sliver of the beam punched with my initial and presented it to me as my little bit of something so beautiful. Held up to the light you can see evidence of the other wooden nails that have been hammered in representing other participants. The nails are in a range of woods from cherry (the redish wood), walnut (the dark one) and I forget what the light one was, ash or something. It was a truly charming performance and this piece of wood something I will forever cherish.

Natural Dyeing: Organic Cotton Baby Dresses

This was one of my first experiments in the wonders of natural dyeing. Although you could say I cheated somewhat by buying the natural powdered dyes by Earthues, but for my first experiments I wanted to try to get my head around the process of mordanting (preparing the cloth/fibre to take the dye) and then playing with resist and dip dyeing to really understand the possibilities.

I love the idea of really getting experimental with this medium however. I was kindly given a book called A Dyer's Garden and have my heart set on the idea of growing and harvesting my own dyestuffs, especially the most wonderful indigo. I'm just hankering for my own garden, one that I can really invest the time and energy into.

For now however I have Alkanet growing rampantly in my backyard, it's very invasive and common around East London and it makes the most wonderful greys and aubergine colours. I'm currently drying some roots and have some others soaking for use at a later date. I'll post about these real experiments soon, but for now here are some dresses I made from organic cotton knit fabric then dyed with a range of pigments including Madder, Teal, Fustic and Logwood purple and I only used small amounts of the non toxic cellulose fibre mordant alum acetate.

 

 

These dresses are made to fit a little girl approx 12 months to about 24 months. They are designed and made by me, in a beautifully soft organic cotton with little bows on the shoulders. Each one has been individually resist dyed in a range of natural earth dyes. You can find out more or pick one up on my Etsy shop.

Aran Trivets/Pot Holders

I've been collecting Aran sweaters for a while, you can find lots of them at car boot sales. Over time they tend to felt and shrink a bit and they tend to feel really rigid and heavy so they are not that pleasant to wear anymore. But the texture is beautiful and I love repurposing them into all sorts of things. These hot plates/trivets/pot holders are really handy and look lovely on the dinner table or as a plant pot holder. They're practical too, you can just throw them in the wash if need be, since they have already been felted they won't shrink any further. I'm working on more of these for my shop in a range of colours. I've just listed these...

Take a look at my shop for more.

Granny Square Egg Cosies

My mum was having a clear out last time I visited Australia and she gave me a bag of Grandma's old tapestry yarn in beautiful colours, I think these were left overs from a tapestry Rembrandt that she did. She was also big on crochet, not being able to knit anymore because of arthritis. As a child, I remember my Grandma sitting on her beige velour recliner crocheting granny square after granny square for blankets that I don't remember seeing finished. 

So these egg cup cosies are a tribute to her. Once I started pairing up the colours I couldn't stop until the bag was used up. You can find a pattern for these at the great knitting and crochet resource by the fab Norwegian designers at Pickles. 

I often find really cute egg cosies at car boot sales, I once found a little set of vintage cotton poplin egg warmers with little matching placements embroidered with little chickens. You do have to wonder who really needs to keep their boiled eggs warm, but having said that I do find that preparing a soft boiled egg breakfast is a bit of a military operation, ensuring everyone's eggs are perfectly runny and have buttery soldiers at the ready.  So having a few egg cosies handy could help whilst you round up the troops to the table I suppose. Anyway with Easter and Spring approaching it's nice to have a few egg related objects around. 


I have these pairs of egg cosies for sale on my etsy shop, they are just a limited edition now that Grandma's tapestry yarns are satisfying all used up and all the proceeds will be donated to Médecins Sans Frontiéres (Doctors Without Borders).

Blue Zig Zag Quilt

I found some real textile goodies on the weekend at a stash sale at Fabrications , a great crafty eco design shop/workshop run by pioneering sustainable textile artist Barley Massey. In my haul, amongst a few of the gems, was packet of fabric that on closer inspection turned out to be two parts of an unfinished patchwork.

I had been trying to make a version of the Purl Bee zig zag quilt for Merlin for ages, well since he got his own bed about a month ago, but the project had been stalling while I tried to make all the perfect fabric choices. So I was thrilled that I didn't have to make those decisions and could finish another's stalled project. I think that's one reason I avoid buying new materials because if you get me in a fabric store, it's like being a kid in a sweet shop, you just want a bit of everything! And that makes it impossible to make any style choices. It explains a bit why my etsy shop is a bit of a mish mash with items from crochet to paper mobiles to shoes. I also can't decide which craft I like best, I just want to make it all!

So in my Fabrications bag (a bargain at only three quid!) there was two pieces of fabric that had been lovingly stitched in a blue and white zig zag pattern. I sewed to two pieces together to make one, and they magically matched the exact dimensions of the crib quilt cotton wadding I had bought for the quilt. I backed it with some organic fair trade cotton I picked up, stitched along the ditches of the zig zags to quilt the sandwich and trimmed it with a bit of ecru bias binding. It's really cute and perfect for the warmer coming months. I am thinking of adding some running stitches width wise and the giving it hot wash to shrink the cotton wadding to give it a bit of a wrinkly antique look but I'm not sure if this would be overkill.

I'd love to know who started this quilt or whatever they intended this fabric to be and to show them that their hard work didn't go to waste that it is actually being appreciated again and given a new lease on life...

I also picked up some beautiful hemp/burlap grain sacks from Barley's Grandmother's time, when she worked in the Lancashire textile mills. I'll put some pictures up soon of these and see what they would like to become...

Doll making - Day 2

Doll making day of reckoning. Assembly time. This was the hard bit, I had been stressing about getting the face right. I have learnt making my owl dolls and other dolls in the past that a few embroidery stitches can either make or break your doll and I wanted to get his expression just right... Anyway to cut a long story short, I did it! I am super pleased with him and Merlin has already given him a tea party and lots of cuddles. He's also remarked that he has "nice hair" (see post below). This is truly a man after my own heart, I knew he appreciated luxurious fibres. All he needs now are some hand knit clothes. Oh joy!

To see pics of the doll in the making see previous post