Making an embroidered bobbin candlestick

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Making an embroidered bobbin candlestick

Living in West Yorkshire, the landscape is peppered with old mill buildings that tell the story of our industrial past. Some of these mills are vast affairs and reflect the huge scale of the cloth industry in this region. Sadly it is all long gone and while many of the old mills have been restored and repurposed, many also stand deserted and decaying. Not long after we came to this area, I came across these old mill bobbins and I loved how tactile they are, steeped in the history of wool production and heralding a day when we produced high quality cloth here in the north.

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Making Autumn cushions and an acorn embroidery

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Making Autumn cushions and an acorn embroidery

Hi there, it’s been a while since I last posted but it is not because I haven’t been busy - in fact I have quite a few projects on the go, and it has taken a while to get one of them finished. However, finished it is, and I am just delighted with this piece of seasonal stitching.

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Making an embroidered sailor collar jacket

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Making an embroidered sailor collar jacket

Hello and I am so excited for this post I don’t know if my fingers can type quickly enough to calm my enthusiasm. I am rather a hesitant dressmaker and often things don’t work out, but this one… oh me oh my, it’s a triumph and I am so proud of it.

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Sargent and Fashion at Tate Britain

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Sargent and Fashion at Tate Britain

Recently I was lucky enough to spend a wonderful afternoon at the Tate Britain’s current exhibition ‘Sargent & Fashion’. It is on until the 7th of July so there is still time to catch it if you can. Aside from being a feast for the eyes with a collection of wonderful late victorian and edwardian costumed portraits, there are also some of the textiles that inspired the paintings with a smattering of original costumes and period pieces to highlight the fashions of the time.

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Making a Liberty Gypsy Skirt

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Making a Liberty Gypsy Skirt

So…having established that this was the year of the skirt revival, the flash of Liberty fabric swishing around the National Portrait Gallery was more than enough to send me up rushing Regent St. in search of the floral heaven that is always ‘that store.’ I have known Liberty’s all my life, or so it seems ….

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Making a 'Feather Maxi Skirt' with Anna Maria Horner

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Making a 'Feather Maxi Skirt' with Anna Maria Horner

A FEATHER MAXI SKIRT?! how cool would that be…. or so I have been saying for at least 10 years, since I first saw this class by Anna Maria Horner on Creative Bug. It has taken me so long to get around to crossing this off my ‘to make’ list and yet again, I am left wondering why on earth it is so, when I always knew it was a lovely project.

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Making a freestyle needlepoint seat cover inspired by the Natural History Museum

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Making a freestyle needlepoint seat cover inspired by the Natural History Museum

…I thought about my little seat cover - it too tells a story. A story of a very grand victorian museum that houses thousands of tiny tales of voyages of exploration and discovery. It made me think that needlepoint can be an enduring way to tell your own story in this modern world. As my canvas has filled in, the weight and durability of the whole piece is highlighted. This seat cover will long outlive me - it has become, almost without consciousness, a heritage piece and a family heirloom and this fills my heart with joy.It’s been a long and relaxed project and in conclusion I can say it is up cycling at the very least and it is a legacy piece of the best kind….personal, interesting and brings a smile to your face in a flash. How lovely is that….

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Making the Tower Crossbody Bag

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Making the Tower Crossbody Bag

Hi there and a little unexpected post that has slipped in between the upheaval in things here. We had expected our house move to go through any day and I was almost packing boxes and then the chain broke at the other end and everything is suddenly on hold again. It is unsettling and disappointing and infuriating and for a few days I was so fed up, I couldn’t settle to anything. But there is nothing like a little bag making and embroidery to calm things down and in sorting out my stash in the sewing room I had come across the last bit of a beautiful piece of raspberry coloured wool fabric that I had brought back from Stockholm.

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City Threads : Paris

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City Threads : Paris

“Whatever one is doing in Paris, it is necessary to do it in style. There is also no doubt that Paris holds within it’s City limits, everything you can imagine to help you find your own style and embrace the love of fru…fru and all that jazz. It is always the place to be.”

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Making the Scout Shawl

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Making the Scout Shawl

Hello and welcome to the first post of 2024. As I mentioned at the end of last year, we are in the middle of a big house move so things are a little in flux here, however, I have had a project on the go through all the stress of selling a house and it has been invaluable in helping to cope not just with this, but also the dark winter days that seem so short and damp and plagued with endless grey skies. The ‘Scout Shawl’ is a masterclass in practicing fairisle knitting.

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