Making cards again

I love making these cards with their own magazine page envelopes! Assembling my painted papers, scraps of Liberty fabric, old stamps, a bit of embroidery and favourite magazine pictures. The pansy picture is, I think, from a Kaffe Fassett leaflet and the beautiful bags below are by Asta Barrington.

Dolls and velvet flowers

I love the velvet flowers I use to decorate my dolls' dresses. They are exactly the kind of unusual, special craft item I'd like to stock in the shop. Does anyone know who manufactures them?
Recently I have been too busy to sit down and make dolls but that is exactly what I plan to do this week.

The Cabbages and Roses look

I love the Hatley print (pictured bottom right) by Cabbages and Roses. Faded glory.

It comes in blue, lilac, raspberry, pink or dark grey all on off white. I like the grey best. For wallpaper for my spare room, for cushions, even for bed linen. Yes please.

I also like the fabrics and styles of their clothes as sold through Jigsaw shops. As yet I only possess a small sponge bag in this fab print but one day I hope to buy more from this intriguing label. The book is published by Cico Books. See more on www.cabbagesandroses.com

Collage cards selling

I'm pleased to report that collage cards are doing well in Chichester. At exhibitions/ shows it's always the little things that sell fastest. I suppose that's obvious but then you wonder that if you didn't display cheaper items would customers buy more expensive items instead? Probably not!

Yesterday I worked my last day at Tricot Too and all day customers were sad that it is going. They often say something about the economic climate and that individual shops can't be expected to survive. They don't realise of course that they are talking to someone just about to open one of those individual shops. And I am determined that it should not just survive but thrive!!!

Old Buttons

I save all my Bonne Maman jam jars (the ones with the red check lids) for buttons. I have too many buttons now. They take up too much space. One big favour the shop will do me is to take the pressure off my home by relieving it of countless jars of buttons. Perhaps I should stitch some onto watercolour paper for selling. That's when I'm not crocheting flowers for that cushion I mentioned and folding old magazine pages into paper bags.

Meanwhile today is perhaps my last ever day working at Tricot Too as Monday is a Bank Holiday and we don't usually open on Bank Holidays. I shall just have to travel over to Arundel where our sister shop, Tricot Designs in Tarrant Street is.

Savon de Marseille

Tricot Too - last week - 70% off

All clothes are now 70% off at Tricot Too, Petersfield. Pictured are some of the items available now.

There is still a good range of Out of Xile and ekta, and some Lauren Vidal, Ultimate Mik's, Myrine and Me and Avoca Anthology left. Tricot Too closes next week. I'm working there today. Come in and say hello.

The shop - naming and stocking

Ok maybe I should wait until I've signed the contract but my brain is full of all things shop.

I want visiting this shop to be inspiring and uplifting. A creative place where you can sit down and make something or just have a play with materials and tools that are easy and fun. It's not for kids though I hope they'll enjoy it too. It's for adults who want to switch off their lives for a moment and get lost in colour and play. Where you can buy wool, like Michelle's hand-dyed wool pictured, felt, beautiful ribbon, buttons, handmade gifts, creative kits ,nice cards etc.

So a name to reflect all that. I keep thinking 'Making Colour' but I'm not satisfied with that. Name ideas would be really welcome dear readers. Just click on the comments' Anonymous button for speed and put your name in the text if you want to.

ps. After my moans about minimum orders being too expensive I just had an email from Rowan and their minimum order isn't quite as much. I like some of the fabrics they do too..!

Selling in Chichester and viewing in Arundel

Yesterday I had fun setting up in the Oxmarket (wish they still called it Chichester Centre of Arts). I'm in the big gallery amid lots of paintings, some by Sue England. I like her work. The exhibition runs for two weeks. I'm next there on Friday. Drop in and say hello! www.sueengland.co.uk

I then drove to Arundel to go round the Gallery Trail (recommended) which is on til next Monday. I love walking round Andy Waite's house in Tarrant Street. His walls, floors and furniture are perfectly co-ordinated with the paintings. Looks great. www.andywaite.net

In the same street you'll want to see Vanda Zebrak's detailed embroideries if you're a textiles person www.vandacrafts.com 
 I like the way Tina Gunstone has incorporated old buttons with silver into jewellery. www.tinagjewellery.co.uk  In the same house is Karren Urben's brilliant painting of women deep in conversation www.karrenurben.com and some great still life's by Karin Moorhouse www.karinmoorhousedesign.com . I also love Gilly McCadden's watercolours and silk screen prints. www.gillymcadden.com

Think I might have to go round again!

Loving Flo's crochet!

I just found http://fantaisiesdeflo.canalblog.com and I want to share a couple of her photos with you.

Here is crochet for the 21st century! I love her use of colour. Don't you think the top crochet flowers would make wonderful cushion covers?
I've added 'crochet blog' to my Nice to Look At list on the right for quick access to more of her wonderful makes.

The WOW! factor

This fab postcard is by 21st century yarns. Colours and textures that make you say 'Wow'. That's what I want for my shop. 
What I am finding, and it's quite frustrating, is that companies I like have large minimum orders I can't afford. Drop, a Norwegian company that produces nice Alpacas and pure wool asks you to order between 80 and 100 kilos of yarn - that's between £1,500 and £2,000 worth.


 Colinette who do wonderful colours and unusual ribbon yarn want £600 plus VAT for a first order - that's £720 up front. Too rich for me. Mind you I haven't yet approached 21st century yarns and their stuff is wonderful...

Are yarn companies assuming that every trade order will come from a wool shop? What about people like me that just want a small section of their shop for colourful yarns? Why don't they have a 'gallery deal' so shops can order just what they like? The artful displays these shops will create are an excellent free advertisement for the yarn companies concerned.

Just to say...

Thank you for stopping by to look at my blog.

More collage cards will be available in the Oxmarket or Centre of Arts as it used to be called in Chichester from Monday.
I'm taking part in a two week exhibition there with four others.
Also on from this weekend is the Arundel Art trail which is always a must in my diary.

Crochet everywhere!

Photo: Masquerade.
Lifting that manhole cover must be hard work. How about some rainbow sweatbands?
Photo and caption from Urban Knits by Simone Werle (Prestel £9.99)
Thank you Jesse. This made me laugh!

Glorious Gloucester Cathedral

Aunt Liz loved this place and worked tirelessly on its behalf. In March when her brother (my Dad) died she told me that what she really wanted was for her funeral to take place here, in her beloved cathedral. Little did she or any of us imagine that just five short months later her wish would come true.

In the enormous,high vaulted building her personal, family funeral took place yesterday. Her grandchildren spoke of their memories of her and in such a big space the atmosphere was small, almost intimate. It was a good funeral in a very special place.

Nice to Look At

Do you ever click onto the blogs in my 'Nice to Look At' box in the right hand column? Recently I've added a few more and I particularly like the Purl bee pictured. It's the official blog of the Purl shop in New York and has lots of quality how to projects. The next best thing to flying to New York and seeing it all in person. http://www.purlbee.com/

Btw I've not mentioned it lately but fingers crossed, my big project - the shop, is gradually moving forward.

Out of Xile, Lauren Vidal and ekta

In Tricot Too's window now, pictured above are white jacket by Out of Xile with Ultimate Mik's skirt next to ekta blue rose top and rimini harem trousers.

Pictured below is Lauren Vidal linen tunic over Avoca Anthology top and Lauren Vidal flowery leggings. On the right is a Lauren Vidal dress over Lauren Vidal pink leggings.
All now half price in the sale at Tricot Too.

Gayle Bicknell - Colour

I was excited to find Gayle Bicknell's colourful makes at yesterday's first Art and Design fair in the Square at Petersfield. Birds are her theme.


 The printed silk scarves (foreground of pic) would be great individually framed on the wall and I particularly like her little purses made with her own unique fabric on the left.


 I also like the way she's given old chairs a new lease of life by re-covering them in more of her edgy prints (I should have pictured those too shouldn't I?)

Gayle teaches textiles at Alton College and has a blog: www.thelifeofatextilesteacher.blogspot.com

Heather Lipscombe embroidery

As promised here are two close ups taken at the Physic Garden exhibition in Petersfield - last day today.
The top detail is of 'Conversation Post' with wood finials either end turned by Ken Briffett. I like this stacked, stitch on stitch hand embroidery.

Below is a detail from 'Autumn Minestrone' showing hand embroidery with machine embroidered leaves. I like the velvet berries with spiders' web stitching shaping them.
http://www.heatherlips.com/

ps. Today, Sunday there's a new craft fair in the Square 10 - 4 from Winchester. I'm hoping to see some good handmade items there.

Writing the Worries

When the tough get going; the tough write lists.

Do you try to solve problems by writing two columns the Pros and the Cons? When there are important decisions to be made. When your worries are keeping you awake at night.

I find writing it all down on a sheet of white paper really helps to get my thoughts in better order. It's as if the pen pins down those niggly doubts and negative thoughts and puts them in perspective.

There are so many things in life we have no control over but what we do have control over is the way we react to them when they happen.

The end of an era

I am sad to report that Tricot Too will be closing at the end of this month. I cannot imagine right now how much I am going to miss it. The town of Petersfield will not be the same without this very special clothes and interiors shop.

I remember the first time I went in to the shop six years ago when I first moved here and how I envied the nice woman with long straight hair who served me. What an ideal job I thought. The atmosphere was, and is, so relaxed. The two owners the most easy going employers you could imagine.

So if you live locally I urge you to have a good look at Tricot Too's sale now to check if there's anything you want before it is too late.