Lovely Day For A Kickabout

There are lots of things in a day that Little Treasures enjoys...food, sleeping, cuddles, looking at lights and 'chatting', to name just a handful. However, one of her very favourite pastimes is kicking about on her quilt.

Her arms and legs move at an astonishing rate, accompanied by her happy gurgles and coos.

I found the quilt in a charity on my travels just before Little Treasure arrived. I was drawn to the lovely pink vintage fabrics, especially because I knew I was expecting a girl!

What made me think "I have to buy this quilt" was when I noticed the pink and white squares of this Laura Ashley fabric. Laura Ashley was the decor of my childhood years - my parents had the fabrics and wallpapers in just about every room in our house! They bring back such happy memories.

I hope Little Treasure will grow up to love the fabrics she's surrounded by and forge her own happy memories of her childhood...

...as well as discover all sorts of interests and passions of her own.

Vintage Fun

What a gloriously sunny weekend we've had! There's nothing like good weather to lift the spirits. As if the sunshine wasn't enough, we also had the Vintage and Handmade Fair in Chipping Sodbury to get excited about on Saturday. It really was fabulous to catch up with so many V&H friends...and also introduce them to Little Treasure (who I'm hoping will be a fan of vintage herself one day).

Here's a look at just some of the gorgeous stalls at the fair...

Hen's Teeth

I absolutely love Viv's work, it's so unique and always makes me smile. I already have one brooch by Viv and have worn it so much, I couldn't resist adding two more to my collection!

More of Viv's fabulous creations.

Treutmade (Gertie Strahl)

Treutmade (Gertie Strahl)

There's always a lovely atmosphere at the Vintage and Handmade fairs. I've met and made friends with some fabulous people from visiting and selling at the fairs. It's like being part of a happy vintage-loving family!

Jane Winton

Jane Winton

Cowboys & Custard

Emma Boyne

Donna Flower

The next Vintage and Handmade Fair is the Fashion and Textiles Fair on 4th June, so be sure to put it in your diaries now!

A New Arrival

It's been rather a while since I last posted anything, but rest assured, I haven't disappeared from Blogland. Life has been turned on its head somewhat over the last few weeks, but all for a very exciting reason...

Mr Treasure and I are delighted to announce the arrival of Little Treasure, who made her grand entrance into the world earlier this month. We're the proudest parents in the world! We're all doing well and loving all aspects of family life...except maybe the lack of sleep, but that goes with the territory and we wouldn't have it any other way.

I'll be back with regular posts again soon, I promise!

The Art of Domesticity

When Mr Treasure and I first moved in together we lived in a little apartment with not much storage. Luckily, we were able to squirrel boxes of things away in our families' attics for safe keeping. Although most of the boxes resurfaced when we moved into our house, we did discover one or two more this weekend! Look what was inside...lots of brightly coloured 1970s Tupperware...very useful!

In need of cake last week, I found my Rachel Allen 'Bake' cookbook off the shelf and tried out the recipe for cherry crumble cake. I'm not too handy in the kitchen, so I'm very relieved to report that it turned out alright and is definitely one for the 'must make again' list!

At the very first meeting of The Wednesday Group we decided it would be fun to have a small project to work on each month so we wouldn't completely forget how to stitch! We now make a postcard-sized piece based on a different theme each month and have a 'show and tell' at our get togethers. January's theme was 'resolutions', so I thought mine could be 'making time for creativity'.

Since seeing it, I'd fancied having a go at the technique Lou Gardiner taught Kirstie Allsopp in the last series of Kirstie's Home made Home...so, I set about drawing everyday objects without looking at them, with the intention of then free machine embroidering my favourite on to fabric.

Having decided I like the cup and saucer and teapot best, I transferred them on to a piece of calico (using a magic fabric pen) and free machine embroidered to my heart's content!

On Kirstie's Homemade Home, Lou and Kirstie coloured their finished embroideries with acrylic paint. A great idea, but I tend to make a mess whenever paint gets involved, so I decided to applique some pieces of fabric on instead.

I love this 1930s fabric, it's so cheery! There's something so liberating about free machine embroidery...but I really enjoy the control you can get with hand stitching too (a great combination).

Here's my finished 'postcard'. I often find it's tricky to know when to stop adding to a piece, but I suppose that's all part of the fun of trying out new techniques and finding your own creative style. Perhaps another of my new year's resolutions should be to push my own creative boundaries and not be too afraid of experimenting with new ideas...

Meeting Sarah Nicol

Last Friday saw me heading off into the countryside to meet renowned textile artist Sarah Nicol, who I'm writing a feature on for a future issue of Sewing World magazine. Meeting interesting people is certainly a great perk of being a freelance writer and I spent a very happy morning chatting away to Sarah and seeing lots of her fabulous work.

As soon as I arrived, Sarah popped the kettle on! As well as working in textiles, Sarah also creates the most gorgeous range of ceramics, with her partner, Peter O'Neil. In fact, Peter was in the middle of glazing the inside of some large bowls on their kitchen floor, so I got to watch the creative process in action! It felt somewhat apt that I should drink tea out of this mug from Sarah and Peter's collection.

A whole wall in Sarah's studio is given over to boxes that are crammed with just about every fabric imaginable.

Sarah creates all sorts from her collection of fabrics, from framed pictures and book covers, to little houses and doorstops. The piles of ticking are waiting to be made into her little 'herb houses', which she fills with lavender.

Sarah's currently working on her new collection for this year, inspired by the colours of the Bayeux Tapestry. Sarah and Peter were off to France this weekend after a moment of glorious spontaneity that Sarah had had earlier in the week, after deciding on Wednesday lunchtime that she just had to go and see the Tapestry again!

Here's Sarah in action, giving me a demonstration of how she creates her book covers.

Sarah's current style of work came about after what can only be described as a bit of an 'epiphany moment'. Whilst on the Amtrak Coast Starlight train from Los Angeles to Seattle a few years ago, Sarah started to draw the scenery that was going past the window. One long roll of paper and a box of pastels later and "hey presto", it was the beginnings of what can now be described as her signature style. At the top of this photo is part of the long drawing Sarah did on the train...and on the bottom, is her interpretation of it in fabric.

Part of Sarah's Los Angeles to Seattle drawings.

I first saw (and fell in love with) Sarah's ceramics in a gallery in Marazion, Cornwall. Having assumed Sarah was based in Cornwall, imagine my surprise when I found out that she lives only a few miles down the road from us in rural Worcestershire! It was great to see the pottery (in Sarah and Peter's garden) where all the ceramics all made. It's a real team effort...once Peter has thrown the bowls, mugs etc, Sarah adds the painted decoration.

Here's a small selection of finished ceramics. These designs all feature the Cornish fishing boats that Sarah sketches on their frequent visits down south.

On the way to the pottery, I was introduced to Sarah's Bantams, including Baby the cockerel. I'd love to keep chickens and was very taken with the idea of bantams after seeing these beauties!

A huge thank you to Sarah for sharing her creative world with me...and don't forget to look out for the May issue of Sewing World when you'll be able to read my interview with Sarah and discover more about her work.