Poppy's Place Winter Craft Fair

Next weekend on Sunday 1st November I'm delighted to be taking part in the Poppy's Place Animal Rescue Winter Craft Fair in Marks Tey, Essex. I'm really looking forward to it and if you're in the area it looks set to be a fab afternoon. There will be plenty of opportunity to start your Christmas shopping, with handmade work from local crafters, a great raffle, food for yourself and your dogs and cats alike and a Mad Catter's Tea Room (my sort of afternoon!) Supporting a great cause and having a lovely time too, what more could you ask for? 

 I'll be showcasing some new jewellery designs and I've also been feeling festive and working on some handmade Christmas cards so I'm looking forward to sharing them. Hope to see you there!

Find out more about the great work that goes on at Poppy's Place and how you can help here

I will have a range of my Harris Tweed Button Brooches for sale on the day but you can also take a look at them in my Etsy Shop, they make lovely stocking fillers!

Photo Shoot Sneak Peek

At the weekend I went along to Hammonds Photography Studio in Chelmsford for a fab photo shoot for some new pieces I've been working on and today I wanted to give you a sneak peek! I've been working on some new Harris Tweed and Knitted Button Brooches embellished with upcycled fabrics and I'm so pleased with the photos! I'm about to start adding them to my Etsy and Folksy shops and I'll be sure to let you know when the shops are restocked with these new Autumnal toned pieces- they make lovely stocking fillers or a treat for yourself to brighten up your jacket on blustery days.

WIP Harris Tweed Button Brooches

Sharing my latest work in progress- I've added some new colours of Harris Tweed into my Harris Tweed Button Brooch range and I'm busy making these to add to my Etsy shop soon. I wanted to add some more autumnal colours to the range and I'm now busy choosing which upcycled fabrics to add to them, Watch this space!

You can check out the knitted and Harris Tweed brooches in my current range here

Make/Customise Your Bag For Life!

Unless you haven't been to the shops this week you'll know that large stores in the UK are now charging for carrier bags. I think this is a good idea if it cuts down on the amount of carrier bags going to landfill, so today I'm sharing two of my How Tos for making and customising your own "Bag For Life"!

This tote bag is really simple to make and all you need is a pretty fabric scrap and your basic sewing supplies. You could even upcycle the fabric from an old skirt/pillowcase/dress etc. A really thrifty make, it folds away and I keep it in my handbag ready for shopping trips! This is also a great bag to use for keeping craft projects safe.  Find the How To for this bag here

There are lots of fabric bags for life available but they are often plain and uninspiring. In this How To I share my customised bag for life, which is given a brighter lease of life with printing, studs and swapping the handles for old belts. 

The finished bag is lovely and bright and I've used it as a beach bag as well as on shopping trips.

Have you made or customised your own Bag For Life?

Wool Week Work In Progress- Fair Isle Brooches

Today sees the start of Wool Week in the UK so I thought this would be the ideal time to share some of my latest work... These are new square hand knitted Fair Isle brooches, made in beautiful British wool. I'm loving making these and transforming them from initial Fair Isle designs into wearable pieces and the Fenella 2ply wool I'm using to knit them is a joy to use and British grown and produced too. Over the next couple of weeks I'll be revealing more new jewellery work that I'll be adding to my Etsy shop soon. Watch this space!

What are you knitting at the moment and do you enjoy using British wool too?