I’ve been a busy little bee this week.  I had a slow start to the week with the ongoing (and seemingly never ending) tidy up in my studio. On Wednesday however, things really started hotting up.

I went over to my good friend Ruth Green’s studio to do some screen printing.  It’s something that I haven’t done since I was at school but have been meaning to do for a while.  I was very lucky to have expert tuition and guidance from Ruth to ease my screen printing nerves.

So with plenty of tea and biscuits we got to printing.  First the background eggs

Then we printed some birds over the eggs.

I want to say a big big BIG thank you to Ruth for letting me use her studio for a whole afternoon and acting as my lecturer and technician.  I wouldn’t have been able to get so much done without your help.

Today I’ve been embroidering the prints with images of architectural details

I’m really pleased with my stitched pictures, they look great.  I’m most pleased with the machine control (yes I did it all freehand - no computerised sewing machine in this house).

Now I know what they look like I’ll be developing some other designs.

It was our anniversary yesterday.  13 happy years since we met. It doesn’t seem that long ago really although 13 years is a long time.  To celebrate we went out to Simpsons for dinner. My pudding was divine - carrot and walnut cake with white chocolate cream and salted caramel ice cream.

As a present I made Matt a bowling shirt from some lovely cotton linen blend that I bought in Copenhagen.  I really don’t understand why its so difficult (and expensive) to buy similar material here in Birmingham.  Oh well it does give me the perfect excuse to always go fabric shopping when on my travels.

Matt bought me a Bruce Gilbert record that I’ve wanted since going to see Michael Clark Company at Barbican for my birthday.

Heres to many more happy years

I’ve been in London for the past week parading my wares at 2 shows Handmade in Britain and MidCentury Modern.  Both shows were OK - not many sales but lots of interest. On a plus point I did meet Rachael from Amelias Magazine who have featured my work in a blog post here

I did see lots of lovely things including the new window displays for Jigsaw

I wonder what happens to the window furniture when the display is finished? I think these would look brilliant in my studio.  I might just go in to the Birmingham branch and find out…

Things are a hotting up here at needlesandhooks.  The house is a hive of activity with the building work in the loft nearly finished and just 2 weeks until my 2 London shows.

As exciting as my new bathroom, bedroom and store room are there is still loads of work to do before I can kick back and relax in my penthouse suite.  For one, I’ve got a really long list of products to complete for the London shows.

I’ll be exhibiting at Handmade in Britain (11 - 14 Nov) which is held at Chelsea Old Town Hall and Mid Century Modern (15 Nov) which is held at Dulwich College.

Am very nervous (and excited) about both shows especially Handmade in Britain.  It will be the 1st time I have exhibited there and I’ve never visited the show either.

It will be the usual mix of accessories and cushions for both shows although I’ll be exhibiting some hand knitted lace cushions at Mid Century Modern which won’t be available at Handmade in Britain.

I’d better get back to work as there’s a lot to do.

Back to the sewing machine after Marvin’s Magical Mini Mart.  A big thanks to all those who came along to support us.  Hopefully there will be more events like Marvin’s in the near future.

I’ve just completed commission no 3 - a black denim jacket for a private client.  I’m really pleased with the results.  If you want to see more photos click here.