NEW SEASON/NEW FABRICS/NEW DESIGNS

I've finally resigned myself to the fact that summer is probably over for another year.  Having put my summer sale on the website, I am busily preparing my Autumn/Winter range.  I have decided on some soft needle cord in pale blue/grey and a beige/biscuit and teaming it with some lovely Liberty prints.  I have already started to sample the designs and I'm really pleased with them.  Will hopefully be able to show you in the next couple of weeks...

We've continued our holiday days with some junk modelling.  I've been storing old boxes, plastic bottles and various other containers in a large bag in the basement and today we emptied it all out on the table along with paints, glitter and glue, and few happy hours were pasted.

Finished Products

 A Spider

A Glittery Pasta Necklace

 A Boat

And how long did it take me to clean up afterwards???

ON THE SALTY

Today we took the girls out on The Salty.  The Salty appears when the tide goes out on the river Teign and it's rich pickings for shell fish.  August is the month for cockles and we managed to fill our bucket!

 Walking on mussels, thousand and thousands of them, but the rule is "only pick mussels with an r in the month" so we left them for September.

 

Taking advice from the professional sitting on his haul of winkles. Clean them, add flour and let them soak for 12 hours, rinse and cook for 4 minutes.  Will let you know how it goes!!

FLAMING JUNE

June started well, the weather has been great, but I can believe we're already half way through the year! Bella's back to school after the half term for a couple of months before she breaks up for Summer.

 

Love this vintage Laura Ashley fabric, I came across it a couple of weeks ago, it's a lovely soft cotton. There was only enough to make four little tops from it,  and Mabel now has one as she looks so cute in it. There are three left (in the world!) and they'll be available on my website very soon.

Purple floral, 70's retro print fabric.  Another limited edition, there are only four of these.

Last but not least a Liberty style print

Mabel also discovered make up this week.

Tina and I took Grace & Mabel to see The Gruffalo's Child in Plymouth on Thursday.

Bella performed an indian dance at The Carlton Theatre on Friday, for an Asian Celebration, she loves being on stage, and I had another very proud Mum moment.

I made some new tops a couple of weeks ago from some vintage 70's fabric, which are now all sold.  I've just finished the brown version.

This was a great piece of material, the pattern is very large and so all seven tops are different.

Bought this fabric in a vintage shop in Clifton in Bristol I made a couple of dresses with ticking sleeves.

Today we went to Chagford in West Devon. I can vaguely remember visiting it as a child. It's a quintessential English village, but with a few really interesting shops, and a lovely little deli where we had a lunch and one of the best lemon tarts I'd ever tasted!

(Jennifer Saunders & Ade Edmondson  set up home here for many years before returning back to London.  I imagine living in this village would have been her inspiration when she wrote "Jam & Jerusalem")

That Lemon Tart...Delicious

This shop on two floors, must have been around for years. It was an Aladdins Cave, full to the rafters with everything you need.

 A long time ago I sat and mindlessly cut out a lot of squares from scraps of material, while watching mindless television, partly because I can't bear throwing away any fabric.  

I hoard every little piece just in case I need it some time in the future (a gene I've inherited from my Mum).  I sewed some of them together yesterday, and when I realised I wasn't going to persevere long enough with it to make anything too big ie bedspread/throw...I made a bag lined it in ticking and put some leather handles on it. It's the sort of bag I would have taken to Portobello Market on those self indulgent Saturday's years ago, (before kids)  where I'd spend  the day slowly working my way down from the station and up to the fabulous market under the Westway....... but hey there's always the car boot at Exeter on Sunday's.

I've been making and selling bunting for years, using oilcloth and fabric.  I've just made some using maps of Devon & Cornwall sewn onto red and white butchers string, I think they are really effective and I'm working on a couple of variations.

Maps of Devon, the music from Radiohead's OK Computer album and even a Sanderson print paper....where will it all end!

This weekend Teignmouth played host to a Folk Festival. It rained and there were a lot of strange looking people hanging around.....What more can I say?

Sunday was the Summer Of Love Craft Hub event in Topsham, a really enjoyable time was had by all.

It was then over to my Mums for a cream tea in the garden...delicious...only in Devon!

 

The girls are now very proud owners of a new bird seed holder, We are now waiting for the rain to stop and the birds to arrive,

My Two Pixies

Took the girls to the beach for fish & chips this evening and to fly their new kite. 

The weather was perfect, sunny with a warm breeze.

So nice to see sky this blue again.

The girls tired out and fast asleep in bed.  I sat in the garden with a big glass of Rose and  contemplated what I was going to make with the new retro fabrics I'd discovered earlier today in Honiton, that were already washed and hanging on the line.  

Another simple and totally enjoyable day on the Devon coast.

ORLA KIELY BUNTING

I've just combined two things I really like, bunting because it brightens and adds colour to a space and Orla Kiely's simplistic patterns.  

I've put it on my website so you can enjoy it too!