vintage Archives - Page 6 of 19

3rd November 201414th March 2020

Selvedge Winter Fair 2014

The Christmas shopping has started! Over the years, I’ve found the Selvedge Winter Fair at the Chelsea Old Town Hall is the perfect place for finding all sorts of unique gifts and unusual stocking fillers all available under one roof.

This year the Fair was a month earlier than last year and the weather was on our side. The Kings Road was bathed in sunshine. It was wonderful to be sitting outside, having coffee and cake and watching the world go by.

The Fair was buzzing with creativity; lots of colourful textiles, vintage and handmade pieces.
So much to see! This year I combined the trip with a day out in London with my husband. I wasn’t sure how it would work out (you know, finding out how much I spend!) but he positively encouraged me to buy all the goodies I liked. He knows how much I adore displaying handmade goodies in my sewing room.

Here are some photos from the day from the sunny rooms of the Chelsea Old Town Hall.

The lovely Viv from Hens Teeth

Grace from A Threadbear Productions with her menagerie of friends

The Chelsea Old Town Hall has such beautiful interiors

Walking back to the tube in the afternoon sunshine of a crisp Autumn day.

The end to a perfect day in London.

28th October 201430th June 2018

Hens Teeth at Hope and Elvis – 2013

Last year I was a very lucky girl and managed to get a place on the Hens Teeth workshop at Hope and Elvis. The idea was to make a sewing or needle case, but as always, I tend not to follow rules and ended up creating something else!

I started off with scraps from an old blanket then added vintage red bias binding and vintage calico from my Arnold’s Attic stash. The wonderful Viv from Hens Teeth gave each of us a screen print for us to embroider the date onto, plus and a selection of screen printed figures to choose from too – I chose her iconic running hen. The whole thing was finished off with flurries of embroidery, inspired by Viv, and some vintage linen buttons from the stash from Arnold’s Attic.
Here is my finished piece…..I hope you like it .
Thank you to Viv for sharing your work with us and to Louise for sharing your relaxing Studio at Hope and Elvis.

The front cover – complete with vintage linen buttons

Viv was a sweetie and signed my work

The back cover

7th October 20146th December 2019

The Eye of The Needle at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

Last weekend my brain was buzzing and I was on ‘Inspiration Overdrive!
The Big Stitch, organised by the Embroiderers’ Guild, was on at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England. Textile artists galore, demonstrating their skills and techniques, were dotted throughout the museum. In addition, me and my chum, had tickets for the renowned Eye of the Needle exhibition, displaying 17th century embroidery pieces from the Feller Collection.

For me, the highlights of the day,
….. were firstly, the Eye of the Needle pieces – and what really made it, was that magnifier lenses (a bit like Sherlock Holmes would use) were made available in abundance within the exhibition space, enabling us all the opportunity to see the textiles up close – this made me see the work in a very different light.
….. and secondly, the textile artists. Each left me with more and more ideas and the enthusiasm to try out and experiment at home.

By the end of the day we sat down for a coffee and rested our feet….. I love a coffee at the end of a long day of looking. Sometimes I don’t see or absorb everything. Discussing highlights and thoughts with another, consolidates your creative thoughts and is a great way of sharing how those ideas can be implemented in each others work.
Here are the highlights of the wonderful day.

Stitches galore in every piece in The Eye of The Needle. It’s hard to believe these pieces were made without the stitching equipment we have available to us today…. stump work, gold work, white work, needle lace and so much more…….. and I do love the embroidered bugs.