TinkeringTimes

Hurrah for sewing

It's been a while but I've managed to find some more time to get back to sewing.

Partly because I've had some ideas I wanted to try out, partly to get my hands on some fabric that's been waiting for an outing, and partly to get ready for a craft market I'm selling at in December.

So here's a little taster of what I've been up to. It's all in the shop and I'll be adding more over the coming weeks.

the market

Yesterday I spent the day at this. I had no idea what to expect, how quiet or busy it would be, who would come, would I know anyone there?

As it turned out it was a lovely day all round. I sold some things, which was nice, and would have been disappointing if I hadn't. But there were so many other reasons it turned out to be a lovely day.

The church was lovely - this I knew as I've been before as a visitor to other arts and craft fairs there. Luckily the sun was shining and I was positioned right in front of a beautiful church window so my stand was in such incredible lighting. I was in between my embroiderer friend Jane Dennerley (who has no website so I can't point you there - Jane you naughty lady get online!) and two photographer girls who were very talented and good company.

It was also a great chance to catch up with some friends old and new. The lovely Mr PS popped down to say hello; as did Mrs B (and she's blogged about it too) so we had a chat about good old fashioned baking, because that's what she loves most of all. Two of my 'followers' (I prefer friends) on twitter dropped by, @catrushmore and @manchesterisace which was a lovely surprise.

And my mum, who lives about 40ish miles away, decided to bring me a cake and sandwich to keep me going. I wonder if mums ever stop being mums? Thanks for the company and the sustenance mum, it was lovely to have you there (the photographer girls had a mum in tow too, it must be the craft market accessory du jour!).

Last of all, the other reason it was a successful day was in the very quiet moments, I played around with some scraps of fabric I had brought to get some new ideas on the go and created some new brooch beginnings (above and below).

Thanks to everyone who added their few minutes of happiness to my day, it was great to see you all.

  

Graphic Space stickers

Just a little post to share these amazing wall decals I stumbled upon by Graphic Spaces.

I have seen so many of this sort of thing lately on etsy and in real live shops. Some of great quality and aesthetic, others just purely mundane. Of all those I've seen I think these are by far my favourite so far. And they ship internationally.

If only we had any wall space left to put things on...

Paper cut

Yesterday I ran away from home. I shirked family life and wandered off into Manchester.

Firstly I popped into the office to pick up something I needed, and ended up doing a bit of a spring clean to help work off a bad mood. It pretty much worked.

Then I spent far too long drinking a coffee and reading Selvedge, which is always a welcome distraction, and reminded me just how much, in a parallel life, I'd love to be making a living working with textiles.

And rounded the day off with the one thing I'd actually intended to do, visit the last day of the exhibition Procession at Cornerhouse. It was a wonderful, warming and though provoking celebration of English life, tradition, people, local heritage and the future. (More here)

And then, a lovely surprise. I stopped off in the small but perfectly formed shop on the way out of Cornerhouse, happened to pick up Creative Review which I haven't looked at for about 3 or 4 years, and opened it on a random page only to find my friend's work being featured.

Helen Musselwhite is a talented paper cut artist. It's gorgeous work, and she's a lovely lady. Not only was she invited to illustrate an article, but they've shown more about her work and studio, and interviewed her for the online version here.

As well as the illustration she created for them, the article shows more examples of her stunning work. I know she'll be thrilled, humbled and overwhelmed by having been commissioned by Creative Review, but Helen you deserve it, congratulations!

You can buy your own very reasonably priced artwork from her here

Off at a tangent...

Wow I am a diagonal thinker apparently. I never knew such a thing existed before today but they do and I am one. It means you think laterally (which I knew) and linearly (is that a word? what does it mean?). So I am officially off at a tangent. No news there then.

It was a test I took for some work I might be doing. Tough way to spend an hour but very interesting.

If you want to see if you're a diagonal thinker too you can do so here. But be prepared to lose an hour of your life and get slightly frustrated along the way...

www.diagonalthinking.co.uk

The Butterfly Ball

How I wish I still worked at the Design Museum some days. This is one of those days, and here's why.

Please go if you're in the area, those guys really do know how to throw a party.

The state of things

You're a big shot designer. You've worked hard to get where you are now. You know how to play the game. You know it's bad karma to steal someone else's ideas and you'd play hell if anyone tried to steal yours.

Unless it seems, you are Dolce & Gabbana. In which case, you allegedly take a fancy to an iconic, instantly recognisable Marimekko signature pattern, bandy it around your products and, incredibly, try to void the existing trademark on it.

I am so stunned by this and will be glued to more details unravelling over coming weeks. More here

pepe and friends
where I will mostly be spending my birthday money this year

the beauty of concrete

Something reminded me of this photo today. It reminds me of why I love modernism and industrial materials - the smooth peacefulness they offer helping light and form bounce around undisturbed.

This was in the entrance area of gallery of Modern Art in Turin, July 2005, when I was lucky enough to spend a week on a Summer School in Arona by Lake Maggiori in Northern Italy. Very hard work but a really inspiring week. Beautiful beautiful scenery. Concrete included.

life online

Mr F has come up with an entertaining idea...
"I'm going to start a website called EtsyFlickr widowers"

Of course the fatal flaw in his plan is that all the members of his gang won't actually be able to get anywhere near the 'puter for all the etsy and flickr wives...

Elsewhere I've been watching the progress of a local online business. They've been collecting some amazing vintage design pieces and other bits and bobs for years and have finally been able to open their online shop. It's definitely worth dropping by. Here's just a minute preview of the hundreds of items on sale...

These and an incredible range of other goodies at H is for Home