Xmas Pint

Textile treasures

You may have noticed that I like a good tea towel, and these feature heavily in my work. I love the details in them, like these boats, such sweet simple graphics...

And the simple representations of towns and villages, like these Cotswold ones...

Pebble and Dash

Just packed up these lovelies for Pebble and Dash, a new shop opening in Herne Bay. We had a lovely afternoon meeting the Pebble and Dash team at the Points of the Compass show and wish them lots of luck with their lovely seasidey project. I've included a few special Kent Purses in the parcel, so if you hurry, you might be able to snap one up.  Check their blog for details of when the shop pops up later in August. 

And next on my list, is more of these Devon Postcard Purses for the lovely Katie at What Katie Did....

Coast

I've been looking forward to September's Coast magazine, always a lovely read around the British coastline and a celebration of our very special seaside. Taking a peek at the contents page, who do I spy...

Whoop! The edition featuring my souvenir makes with the Seaside Sisters is out at last!

The lovely Clare from Coast magazine contacted us about running a feature on things you can make with tea towel.  This is just the sort of project we like, so we were super chuffed to be invited to share some of our favourite projects with Coast readers.  We are very partial to seaside souvenirs and these projects show you how to make your own holiday souvenirs from the humble tea towel.

Once the final four designs were decided on, we spent a day with the talented Coast team on location shooting our four tea towel projects. The location was a beautiful house filled with rooms adorned with light and texture. Seeing the work that goes into product shots was impressive and we are very grateful to Mel, Joe and Yvonne for the care and creativity that went into the photos. 

All four projects for making a cushion, apron, bunting and bag are in the September issues of Coast magazine.  You can see more of our coastal crafting on the Seaside Sisters website and tea towel souvenir workshops are planned with Crafty Pint in the autumn.  You can even buy the ready made made projects featured in Coast - take a peek here and here.

Points of the Compass

We met many lovely people during our Points Of The Compass showcase at Craft Central. One of whom was the very talented photographer Vic Phillips.  He is launching his vintage inspired portraits and wedding photos company, and has lovely individual retro styling.  He liked our style, so very kindly took some photos of our exhibition.  Here are some of Fabric Nation and you can see more from the Seaside Sisters on our blog. 

'Lympics

Enjoyed making this special bunting commission for an opening ceremony party, using the colours of the rings for the flags and adorned with prints from vintage Olympic Games posters.  Loved the opening ceremony too for being so bonkers, spectacular and just perfect from snippets of Kes to bouncing punks and not so subtle sub-text about our NHS.  Well done Danny Boyle!

Happy to make bunting to commission, using vintage and contemporary fabrics, please email Gillian at Fabric Nation for more details. Styles include fabrics with applique letters or pictures with trims and ribbons.  Below is another example from a commission I had with the Seaside Sisters for Victoria Woodcock's 'State of Craft'.

Points of the Compass

Ahoy! My annual outing with my Seaside Sisters is coming up in a few weeks. This year we are in love with compass roses and ships.

I'll also have my souvenir textiles...

and some fabulous workshops...

Embroider souvenir hankies with Gillian Elam of Fabric Nation

Embroider a souvenir handkerchief with Gillian from Fabric Nation. We provide all the materials, including pure cotton hankies, embroidery silks and for inspiration, our collection of vintage souvenir hankies and textile design books. You will be handle vintage souvenirs from the 30s to 60s and learn about souvenir hankie designs and embroidery at this workshop.

With our tuition and top tips you will design and stitch your own hankie all handmade by you.

Thursday 28th June 6.30pm – 9pm

£25 includes all materials and refreshments

All workshops are suitable for beginners.

Book your workshop place here.

Print a tea towel with Gillian Elam of Fabric Nation

Print Your Own Tea Towel with Gillian from Fabric Nation. We provide all the materials, including pure cotton tea towels, fabric inks and for inspiration, our collection of vintage tea towels and textile design books.

With our tuition and top tips you will design and cut your own lino block and print up a tea towel, all handmade by you. We use a soft lino which is much easier to cut than the traditional lino you might remember from your school days. All inks are washable and non-toxic, but do bring a pinny in case of inky stains. The inks are fixed by ironing, so your finished tea towel can be used and washed. That’s if you don’t plan to frame your work of art!

Take a peek at our Facebook album to see all the fab things we made at our previous printing workshops.

Saturday 30^th June 11am – 2pm

£25 includes all materials and refreshments

All workshops are suitable for beginners and children from age 8 are welcome accompanied by an adult.

Book your workshop place here.