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.

I’ve been evicted from my studio.  I’ve had to pack up my fabric mountain and move out.

It’s all in a good cause though.  I’ve had to move so that the builders can insulate my studio, replace the window and put a radiator in.  They’ll also be building a new bathroom and storeroom in the unused loft space.

I’d forgotten how much room there is up there.  It was quite hard to see it hidden behind piles of fabric and pattern paper

So for now I’m taking over the front bedroom as my studio and working around boxes of music equipment and old bank statements.  It’s a bit cramped but I can’t complain, I’ve managed to get my cutting table in which is the main thing.

All that’s left to do now is argue with Matt about where my studio goes after the work is done.  I think I should have the big front room, he thinks otherwise…

Things are hotting up here at needlesandhooks.  It’s not just the beautiful weather we’ve had over the weekend.  I’ve just received a new commission to make a wall hanging for a stair well.  Design has just been approved by clients.  Now begins the fun part - fabric shopping.

I’ve also just finished a commission for a private client in London.  I’ve made a large cushion set with flight embroidery using vintage 1940’s wool crepe, printed Japanese cotton and recycled satin polyester.

Am really pleased with the cushions - in fact I would like to keep them.  If you want to see more photos click here

I’ve had a bit of machine envy recently.  Whilst buying needles at Frank Nutt I saw the new, all singing all dancing Bernina 830.  Just a mere £6,500 buys you this very expensive toy.  It has an electronic switch to lift the sewing foot up and down and a really long arm.  No manual lifting of levers here or squashing fabric under the arm.

To be fair I wouldn’t really want one as if I was going to spend that kind of money on a sewing machine I’d be better off with an industrial one.

It does make me think who would buy these type of machines - they’re not made for professionals and they’re quite expensive for hobbyists. I also have a bit of a problem with the automated aspect of these computerised machines.  Is it really you embroidering that picture if you set a machine to do it?

Whilst on the subject of machine envy I went charity shopping on Friday and went past a drycleaners and alteration shop in Harborne.  They had miniature machines as a window display.  They are really beautiful and they actually work

I have my own miniature sewing machine which actually works.  It was a birthday present a couple of years ago and it has pride of place on our record shelves.  I think I want to decorate my studio with more of these.  They’re slightly more affordable than the Bernina 830 and probably more of an inspiration.

So have spent the last 2 days embroidering my display boxes.  It was a slow start but after just 2 days all of the embroidery is complete.  I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the help of Gillian and Olga - a very big thank you ladies.

Here’s a sneaky peek at what they look like

My studio is overrun with cardboard boxes.  In fact not just my studio but the landing outside my studio as well.  It’s alright though they are there for a good reason.  They are going to be my display furniture at Mid Century Modern on Sunday.

It all started when I realised that I needed freestanding display furniture for the show.  My initial idea was to borrow some ladderax shelving from Fragile Design.  It was a great plan - I borrow the shelving to display my work,  Fragile Design get some extra space at show - everyones a winner.  Sadly not - my stall is next to large glazed wall so everything needs to be freestanding.

Cue lots of questions.  How will I display my work?  How much is it going to cost?  How will I get it to London?  Then a bright idea from Matt - shelving from cardboard.  It didn’t take much longer for us to come up with the idea of modular shelving made out of cardboard boxes.  They’re cheap to buy, can be packed flat for easy transport and will easily support cushions and purses.  It also very DIY which is something I like - I get to create my own display.  Hoo-rah for Matt - he does have his uses.

So I took delivery of 30 cardboard boxes on Wednesday from Cardboard Box and have built a mock up of the display in my studio.

At the moment they are quite bare and boring but by the end of the week the sides will be decorated with beautiful embroidery. I’m using DK black wool to embroider and I think it’s going to look great

Disaster has struck - with only 2 weeks to go until Mid Century Modern show my trusty Bernina sewing machine has broken down.  AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!

Cue desparate trips to Frank Nutt and a lot of nervous worrying about when my trusty steed will be back in working order.  The power supply has been replaced but it hasn’t solved the problem of it turning itself off without any notice.

It’s very strange - I’ve never had any problems with the machine before.  In fact it is exactly that reason that I bought a Bernina instead of a Janome.  Bernina’s are just work horses that keep on going.

So until it can be fixed I’m relying on my spare machine - a Brother which is defying its previous status as unreliable and working well.  Fingers crossed it stays that way until my Bernina comes back.

Well the weeks have been catching up with me. I’ve been racking my brains about what to make for Mid Century Modern Show.  I’ve made some large heavily embroidered cushions, a few more ‘jigsaw’ cushions and some hand knitted ones (which I really want to keep as they are lovely).

But today inspiration struck - what about some patchwork cushions.  I’ve got loads of small scraps of fabric left over from making other things and a new crop of jeans to recycle.  It all feels like a plan coming together - or to quote properly  ‘I love it when a plan comes together’.

So here’s what I did - first of all I choose three fabrics to work with, denim from old jeans, some 50’s floral cotton and some wool/cotton blend.  I cut them into 10 x 10cm squares - yes cut with scissors!  I don’t have a rotary cutter but if I’m going to do more of these I think I will have to invest in one.

I then laid out the squares of fabric into a 9 patch block.  That’s a fancy quilters term - I bet you didn’t know that I was schooled in the dark arts of quilting.

When the 9 patch block is sewn together I cut it into quarters and arranged into pattern.

I did this with 4 9 patch blocks and ended up with this cushion front.  The pattern is called disappearing nine patch and I think I’ll be making more of these for the show