Sew Fabulous Fabric and a competition...

In November 2006 Alice and I exhibited as 'folkydokee handmade' at Country Living Magazines Christmas Fair at the Business Design Centre in Islington, London. We spent a fair bit of money on this show to achieve a warm friendly little shop like space with a counter made by the lovely Rod (my other half), a wooden style floor, a gold painted border a with Merry Christmas stencilled greeting and a mock up mantlepiece where we hung our handmade Christmas stockings.

Country Living Christmas 2006

As many of you who do these kind of shows will know it is very hard to have space to store everything, put samples of all the product ranges on display and to also make the space welcoming and uncluttered and importantly fit us both on the stall (we come as a pair!) and allow space for folk to come in and browse.

As a small company we could only ever afford a small space but the long thin ones always worked best for us as you get a lot of wall space to hang products and still have room for browsers to come in and have a closer look. We achieved what we had hoped for and i think it was all worth the extra time and money spent as we received lots of lovely comments about our little space. I feel it also was an important element in why we were approached at that show by the lovely Ali from the publishers David and Charles. This meeting was the start of an exciting collaboration for Alice and I which has now reached completion.

Ali, who had been drawn to our stall and our recycled textile products asked us if we had ever considered writing a book. We had both toyed with this idea before having both had teaching backgrounds, but had never really pursued it.... (i secretly always thought i would write a self help book.. god knows i am an expert as i have read so many.. but that's another story). We arranged to meet to discuss the possibility of this after the Show.

The next stage was for us to submit a synopsis of the structure that a book would take and a list of projects. We had to wait a while to see if our proposal would pass various stages, costings.. etc. Finally we got the go ahead and then began... With the sad loss of Alice's baby Poppy in mid pregnancy, working towards Hampton Court Flower Show and with the Summer Holidays in between, we certainly had our work cut out...

Creating the projects for the book was such fun and the process of writing the text a real creative challenge which we both loved. Alice and I have different styles so we were constantly editing what each other had written. The book contains beautiful illustrations which accompany our step by steps drawn by Helen Philipps and for the project photography we were so lucky to work with the wonderful Simon Whitmore. These photo shoots were tiring but great fun.



The book was finished back in April and we received a copy in July.... this is me (photo taken by my 10 year old) with my copy... i could not stop jumping up and down i was so excited... i am on the phone to Alice sharing the excitement.

Here is a little sample of some of the projects included in the book, having been created from a mix of recycled fabrics, natural fabrics, remnants and scraps as is our style....

Simon Whitmore's photographs

a full contents list can be found by clicking on the book cover
in the side bar and following the search in book facility.

To celebrate the launch of Sew Fabulous Fabric I wanted to run a little competition open to all bloggers as as thank you for all your support and comments over my last (almost 100) posts.
Our publishers, David and Charles have kindly given me a few free copies of 'Sew Fabulous Fabric' so, these are up for grabs. You don't have to answer any questions to enter or live in the uk as we will post the book worldwide (please note that it is written in English), but what we would ask is that if you win you could write up a little review of the book and post it on your blog.

Our books official publish date is 18th September, although i understand that it is now in stock, so i will do the draw on the 18th September at 9am. Good luck.
ginny and alice xx

p.s. a thank you message for Diana from Pebbledash who sent me one of her wonderful handprinted cards to wish Alice and I good luck with the book launch... so lovely of you, thank you so much x

How to keep the children amused...

and avoid too many mesages like this...

so i have time to play with my fabrics...

and get sorted in my new workspace... yeah!

worktop extension knocked up by R as the worktop wasn't long enough. He made the top with wood from an old futon base and the legs and frame from all our offcuts...perfect!

a bright little corner where i shall design and sew.

and a place to put our tea and cakes!

Now i am nearly set up , i will be sewing again. First project is to make myself a lightweight sun dress in time for my holiday... hope this glorious weather lasts!

g x

A giveaway and a breakaway

The giveaway first.
Drawn by my two girls at the Dinner table on Sunday. The name they both pulled out together was......

Congratulations to Emma at Sew Recycled. I will send you the little springtime bundle.

Thank you to all who left a comment guessing correctly that it was indeed a galvanised watering can, roseless but nevertheless perfect and it arrived displaying a tag with 'C1940's ' on it. Amanda said she couldn't resist it especially the 40 bit... she's just rubbing it in... she's 40 next! I was thrilled with it especially as i know she would've loved to have kept it. x Thank you also to those who left a comment for the first time, it was nice to meet you. If i haven't thanked you already, i will be off to check out your blogs soon.

Secondly the breakaway.

Well i'm not going anywhere but life has been hectic and i feel shattered. I have been going to bed early this week and i really need it. That balancing act, me 'juggling all those balls' , well i guess i have dropped some, anyway i need to be kind to myself, not take on to much and hence the blog 'break...away'. I will be back as i do enjoy the little space we all share in blogsville. Until then enjoy the newness and hope of Spring and i leave you with a little bundle brought for me by my man who has just been to New York and found Purl Soho.


p.s. Alice and I are taking part in a FREE Open Day at RHS Wisley this Saturday 8th March 10.30am till 3.30pm. It's all to do with growing your own veg. For further details click here.

g
x

A manic day, a givaway and some perfect cards

Today has been manic.. i just haven't stopped.. even my hour off whilst the girls are at Brownies didn't happen. We were invited to join in a 'fairtrade' talk with guest speakers which was really interesting, and better still was the chance to buy some produce... so Divine chocolate and double choc chip cookies for us..mmm! so all good in the end. It is Fairtrade fortnight at the moment, for further information check out fairtrade.org.uk.

Whilst at the studio today Al and I sorted out a little bundle for the mystery photo draw. So if you would still like a chance to enter and win a few little Springtime crafty goodies...

(sneaky preview of a few of the bits)

then please leave a comment with your guess.(see last post or click on mystery photo link). I will give you a few extra days and will draw at the weekend when i am less busy.

I will leave you with a link to my friend Caireen from the patchwork dress.

I brought some of her eco card packs recently and wanted to share with you how fabulous they are. Each card and envelope is made from carefully chosen pages from beautiful magazines. She has such a flair with theming each pack (comes in a set of 4) and they were such a delight to write and perfect to send as thank you letters.

My friends all loved them.
(thanks Caireen)

Caireen has a beautiful blog and for anyone interested in a great original eco product you can buy her cards here.

Have a good Thursday!

p.s. did you know that the Fairtrade logo depicts a person waving? I didn't. Have a look.. it's such a strong recognisable image but i suspect if asked to draw it from memory most of us couldn't.

g
x

Summer time.....

Happy Summer sunshine to you. It has been glorious here in the South of England.. I hope it has been good wherever you are. A bit of sunshine is so good for the soul. I just adore closing my eyes and feeling the sun's warmth on my face. It makes me feel so alive .. it's like the sun re energises me. As promised i will show you some of the things we have made recently. These little pretties are our Summer bags made from linen combined with recycled fabrics and buttons. We made these for Hampton Court but due to the bad weather (rain, rain and more rain) we only sold a small amount of them. Now the sun is out again they kind of make sense and we are putting them into our Summer sale as we would like them to go to new owners before the weather goes pear shaped again. No... i am actually optimistic that this warmth will be here for a while especially as we're off camping soon!

This is a pretty rose floral which had originally been a skirt and jacket set brought whilst a thrifting. We have used the same fabric for a beautiful Isadora doll which was bought as a christening gift at HC. I so love the button on this one as it picks up the pale gold in the print.


This pretty floral fabric is another Liberty tana lawn. I just adore this print. We have a flower peg bag in the same fabric which i am secretly coveting ( not told Alice yet).


Oh i do have fun.. these photos were done with the self timer (hence slight blurriness as i wasn't there to focus on..if you know what i mean).. i think my neighbours must think i'm mad.. or just plain vain photographing myself all the time, as that's what it must look like from over the fence. I am actually trying to photograph the bags .. really.. ( which 'bag' as my husband delights in saying)! This cherry bag is really sweet. The fabric is a tana lawn. I love the richness of colours in this print and i often use it for the flower brooches as it combines so well with a variety of colours and textures.


This little strawberry is fun. It's a red, and white floral sprig and has a tiny bit of black in too. The button is an unusual black vintage one. These bags are lined with calico and have pockets on each side .. one large enough for a phone and two smaller ones for essential lipstick and hankerchief. The bag dimensions are approx 34cms across and depth (excluding straps) is about 24cms. We designed them for adults and had a bit of fun with the fruity applique motifs but they seem to be appreciated by any girl from about 10 and are great for teenagers. My two both want one ... probably as mum made them, although my 9 is getting more particular and the fact that she likes them is compliment indeed. Here she is modelling an apple one.




We have had lunch out today at the park.. lots of time playing and a girls shopping trip to buy a few new summer clothes for our hols. Always feel i should make them but never quite get around to it.. most of the items we bought were in the sales so i didn't feel quite so bad. I really only try to buy what we need although sometimes it's fun to have a treat. Also today my faith in human nature was restored. My parking had run over by 20 or so minutes... As we approached the car (panting... ) the parking attendent was just issuing a ticket.. I was prepared to pay as i knew i was late ( a hold up at the checkout).. but the lovely lovely man .. took pity on me and said if he could reverse it he would. He could and he did. I was astonished and very grateful. The girls and i then had a discussion about good karma and decided that when he got home that night his wife would have made him his favourite meal and pudding!
The 'Summer' bags are on our website although not put in the sale yet.. need hubby to update for me . They will be sold at £20 if anyone is interested just drop me an email.

Well done if you made it down to this bit.. i know i always make my posts too long.. can't seem to help it... am a bit of a rambler in real life too. Anyway....
Here's to another day when we have to wear our sunhats!
G
x

Countdown.....Day 7

Hello, it's Day 7 in my countdown. It is exactly one week before the Gala Preview at Hampton Court Flower Show. Can't get off that rollercoaster now!
It does seem strange to be writing again so soon, so will just fill you in about progress today.

Picked up some knitted teacosies first thing from a lovely lady who lives in our village who has been kindly making some up for us. Then on to my mums who after a quick call to this morning said she would look after my 6 year old small person who threw up all over the landing last night! Poor little love. She woke up this morning full of beans as if nothing had happenened, but could obviously not go to school (just in case). She packed her colouring things, glue and scissors and was delighted to have nanny all to herself. I then went on to the studio.

Today i wanted to sew up some more flower brooches, many of which i had prepared some time ago. They are all different and each one is individually designed, from fabric combination to thread stitch colour through to final button finishing touch.

Threads chosen and ready to sew

I try and vary them as much as possible so most people can find a colour combination they like. So some are wacky and retro, some pretty and tonal and some simple and natural... and lots more in between.

A finished flower


Me and my summer brooch. I have 3 in different colours.

Alice has been finishing handbags today made by recycling various collected fabrics and giving them an Alice twist. Will try and photograph for you to see before the end of the week. We will only have a few but they really are special and we feel very original. A case of the fabric leading the design.

Our young friend A popped in today too and helped me prep some more flower cards.

A was one of our work experience students from a local secondary school last Summer. She is extremely talented and has a fantastic confidence with colour. She has just left school and is awaiting her results. We work with a scheme called Trident who organise work experience placements for year 10 pupils. We had 2 girls last year and are due another mid July. A very worthwhile thing to do and our way of giving something back to our local community.

See you on day 6.
ginny
x

More florals...

This lovely weather has put me in a sunny mood.

Am loving all these colourful fabrics. Really enjoyed cutting them out.

All destined to be flower brooches.

Have stitched a large quantity up today and tomorrow i will chose complementary buttons as a finishing touch. This process usually takes ages as i am very particular about getting the perfect button for each brooch!
So.. till tomorrow. G

Wonderful florals

Finally back in the studio!

Was seduced by a basket full of florals that just kept talking to me so ignored what i should have done today and started playing.
We do spend a lot of time playing.... as i'm sure most would when faced with such yummy fabrics....... the hardest thing is deciding what to make from them.

These delicate beauties (4 of which are liberty tana lawn salvaged from blouses) are destined to be born again into... amusingly.... blouses for Flora (our gardener doll). Have chosen and cut linen and corduroy to complement for her trousers. Hope we can do the fabrics justice.

Flora was originally created in 2003 for a Spring show and she has appeared in many diffferent colours. We love to individually design each doll and vary them each time. Doing 10 the same just wouldn't be fun now would it?

Looking forward to having Alice back in the studio on Thursday after an extended break. I do miss her fun and energy. We seem to inspire each other and it's great to have the company and someone to bounce ideas off.
In my 'previous life' I made costumes for theatre and dance and worked from home.... It was often quite isolating. I wish the blogging world had been around then!..... i love the friendliness and openess of support and sharing of ideas.
I'm still very much a beginner at this and any feedback on these first posts would be greatly appreciated.
Also it'd be great to know if anyone has found this blog yet!
G