Small needs our support

At the beginning of the year I wrote a piece about using shops or losing them, so I was really sad today when I saw that our local toyshop was closing.  It took me back to saving up my pocket money to buy a tambourine from my local parade of shops, I have to be honest, it was something only a seven year old could love... On the face was a scene in a gypsy encampment with a wild haired girl dancing round the camp fire... but better still it had red and turquoise ribbons and frankly by the end of the day that I bought it, I could have joined the Sally Army such was my proficiency on the tambourine!  And yes I did wear my mum's headscarf...

So I am asking you all to buy at least one Christmas gift from a local shop or a small website and to tell us who they are.  Here are my local faves:
Cedar Tree - who are on the Broadway in Leigh, it is the best place to find the present you didn't know you needed
Natural Edge - also on the Broadway, it's where you go if you cannot find it in Cedar Tree
Goods and Chattels - on Rectory Grove, unusual gifts
Now on the web
1st Unique Gifts - Wendy does brilliant plaques and black boards, fantastic service
Red Needle Sewing - Caroline does fabulous free style embroidery and her items have a super finish
Claire Manwani - Pottery to die for!
Now let me know where else we should be shopping to support small businesses

And the winner is... Me!

I rarely win anything... and certainly not anything decent but last week, it happened :)  I won a clock on Wendy's 1st Unique blog and here it is hanging up in my kitchen:

Now as I get older this is an amazing aide-memoire... Imagine forgetting to get your G&T ready each evening... I mean that would be so sad...

So I have my kit ready and I have the clock, I mean what more could a middle aged crafter need? Actually I am slumming a bit cos Plymouth Gin is real perfection but Tanqueray will do in a squeeze...

Well there is something that I still need... I am putting this up so friends and family can see... remember it is not for me, it is to fulfill a professional need...

Yep, it's one of Wendy's too... and the most repinned on my Pinterest!

So thank you Wendy... as you can see the clock has found its spiritual home... all puns intended!

Lady Elgin's necklace for Christmas - tutorial 3

On Friday night I was tossing and turning about what I could make next... I thought about devising a pattern for a simple cable scarf, you would all have plenty of time to get that done by Christmas - but as a friend asked me out for a drink, I decided that I would have to make something that was a tad quicker, after all a G&T was calling.   So then it came to me, something quick, easy and attractive, a girlie Xmas gift - the fabric covered necklace.  

Lady Elgin's Necklace
Option A - Small boy with marble collection with about a dozen or so spare marbles
Option B - Marbles from the Pound shop or a defunct large bead necklace
A piece of fabric 44" long by 4.5" wide - just check that your fabric will wrap around your largest bead
A 60cm of narrow velvet ribbon
and as we are working with fabric, your iron and ironing board
Needle and cotton
Matches
If taking option A, explain to small boy that your need for marbles is greater than his, I did try this with my Godson but failed spectacularly so I bought a jar of Marbles from the local Pound shop!

Lay out your marbles in the order that you will want your fabric wrapped beads to lie... I chose three large marbles and eight small marbles.

Press the raw edge of the long side of the fabric under, about 1/4" should do it.  Now fold it in half so that you can find your centre point.  

Place your centre bead there, we will be using this as our marker as everything will fan out from there.

Twist the fabric as tightly as you can and tie a knot into the fabric or you might want to use some jewellery spacer beads/cuffs.  Now keeping the fabric wrapped around your marble, twist tightly again and tie another knot or place in your spacer.

Working alternately on the right, then left of the centre marble continue until all your marbles are wrapped up

Fold over the end of your fabric neatly and over stitch this in place.

Now cut your velvet ribbon into two equal pieces, remembering that velvet ribbon has an affinity with 100m runners, flame the ends to seal the ribbon.

Stitch the ribbon in place at both ends.

Tie your necklace in place with a bow... await compliments and requests for the shop address!


Now don't you think it is time to high tail it over to Wendy's Handmade Monday BTW, Wendy's plaques got an honourable mention in the Telegraph as a kitchen must have, and do you know they are are quite right!

The Monday Make

Do you know, for a couple of days after a show, I never want to see a sewing machine or a pair of needles ever again but then my fingers start to twitch and I need to get cracking again.  I had planned to do a tutorial on Cathedral Windows and have even got as far as cutting out and folding the fabric but then I went to the woolshop Bodkins of Thundersley.  


Well, I was well and truly scuppered and ended up buying a few balls of Can Can to create a handbag... which is progressing slowly but steadily as I work out a pattern for it.  However I also came across another new wool from Katia - Triana.  Now this yarn is almost like a mesh when you open it out and you literally knit into the holes a bit like just using the thread between pompoms on PomPom wool.  It was an extremely quick knit and I finished it in a couple of hours on Saturday night.  I admit to being a bit sniffy about the yarn when I saw it in the shop but I think I may be going back for more...


So here is my piece for Wendy's  Handmade Monday but there is a problem... if you are the one from the UK Craftsforum whose Easter bunny I am... please look away from the screen now... cos this little Summer scarf is going into the post for you this afternoon.

I promise to have the Cathedral Windows tutorial completed later this week... just the hand sewing to complete, so we might just make it.