Spring is finally Sprung....

Galliers here.....Our early spring break on Siesta Key obviously put us in such a laid back mood we came home and did almost nothing for about six weeks.... but are now full of good intentions to plan and make... here are a few photos of a couple of little projects I have managed to undertake....a beautiful old baby blanket dredged up from my Pa's houseful of the flotsam and jetsam of life.... the moth have had a feast and moved on... it has been lovingly laundered in soapflakes and dried on the washing line and lived to tell the tale of... Spring!... Hare in Foxy in the Springtime - I thought I would back it with some vintage cotton and it could be a little wallhanging for a nursery, motheaten but still beautiful I think. The label is lovely "Swando" registered by the Institute of Hygiene, so that's alright then. The other photo is a shoulder bag made out of a pink tweed skirt I got at a jumble sale ... I took the zip out and sewed up the gap, cut the whole skirt in half across the width and put a seam across the bottom, edged the top with pink velvet ribbon, created a strap from some wonderful vintage black and white striped hessian upholstery webbing (charity shop find) and more pink velvet ribbon, stitched a turquoise flower on the front. The flower was made last spring in a period of "let's make felt" where we felted beautiful hanks of wool into flowers with strands of Angelina (heat fusible shiny rainbow coloured fibres) mixed in and handsewn beads. We made smaller ones for corsages but I made 3 large flat ones in various colours which lend themselves very well for stitching down onto cushions and bags. Final touch to the bag was to make a couple of ribbon ties one with a wooden bead from a 1970s necklace and the other a tiny toe-ring of tiny pretty dangly bits! I am rather pleased with it myself, I have another little bright magenta cashmere skirt to make into a bag too, so there could be a run of these. We have already booked our stall at Barnes Fair in the summer July 10th and are in line to have one at the Kew Summer Fair on Kew Green in June. SO we better stop procrastinating and start stitching! It was my birthday this week and I received today from my friend Mairead the most beautiful handtied bunch of amazing flowers (see photo) including pink lilac, purple clematis, sweet peas, deep pink peonies and more... her shop is called Rebel Rebel and is in Broadway Market in Bethnal Green.

Blimey, I think she can do it!

A successful posting, so I shall carry on a little. Rescued and Revived spent a week at the beginning of February in sunny Florida - how lucky are we?? Chilled out, laid back, at least one bit of sunshine everyday, we mostly pottered on the beach in our pjs every morning picking up shells - watched the pelicans, shags and gulls in the lagoon behind the house and generally reeeelaaaaxed. Danced a couple of nights away in the front room and Galliers now officially has the best ipod music ever. Bought trimmings and stitching gadgets and the odd "must have" fabric at Joanne's - a supermarket of all things stitch - never seen anything like it in my life, and that's the truth guvnor. Oh happy days! Needless to say Botkin's suitcase way too small so things had to be left. Here are my beach shoes on the jetty (look at the texture of that ageing wood...) just waiting for my return ......

Botkin here - I am rubbish at this. Think I'm publishing a photo of a Don't Panic teacosy, but not at all sure. This one, has stamped on the back "Have a Nice Cup of Tea and Plan your Revenge". Currently its on display at Monica Boxley's shop in Church St. Twickenham. Pay the shop a visit its a little cornucopia of wonderful handmade things. I shall try this one and if I succeed I've lots more to report!!! Toodlepip x

We are in gear for the New Year

Right! Happy New Year to all, Galliers here. The photo is of Botkin and Galliers at their mate's 50th birthday party on 2nd January in the Coxswain Bar at Ye White Hart, The Terrace, Barnes, SW13. We danced, we drank, we did NOT fall over, we embarrassed the teenagers! Yippee. We are v. close to finishing another "Lie back and think of England" blanket - the same as the lovers blanket EXCEPT... it is a wallhanging .... and very beautiful it is too, destined to hang on the wall of The Breakfast Club in Hoxton, East London. It was commissioned by the owner who saw the original hanging in all its glory at Coralie and Kristie's Christmas Cooler last month. We are so looking forward to going to eat brunch there and sit underneath it... sigh! .... This week we are going to be making bedpost baubles for Valentines Day - little heart shaped pouches made from tweed, fine black leather, lace, silks and satins, to hang from the bedpost and keep your rubber johnnies in (now I bet you've not heard that name since you were at school! - or was it just me???) - they will be embellished with the phrase "Something for the weekend Sir?" and possibly Madam too. Its brass monkeys weather at the moment so hope you are all keeping warm - teacosies! ... that's what Botkin has been working on a lot recently - lots of lovely quirky teacosies - soon to be photographed and put on here. Keep warm out there.

BUST Christmas Craftacular

Galliers here.... (now that Botkin (Roxy to those who need to know) has decided to get involved with blogging we need to differentiate between postings - so please note these are our sign-ins). Today we went up to Bethnal Green and had a wander around the BUST Christmas Craftacular in York Hall. We were not picked to attend this - so it was interesting to attend as punters. My favorites were: Jazmine Miles-Long - Ethical Taxidermist (www.jazminemiles-long.com) - her beautiful creatures preserved in their deathly loveliness for ever can be seen in the accompanying photos - I was very keen on the handsome crow but I would not have been able to bring it home - it would have been banned by my nearest and dearest, shame... she is very talented, clever and need I say, brave! - they are all "roadkill or died from natural causes". Also Corinne Bannister - www.bannbee.etsy.com who makes handmade undergarments - very lovely - very covetable - Botkin bought some flowery knickers but would not pose with them for a photo!.... (but see photo of Corinne and her stall). Also Andrea Garland - andreagarland.co.uk - a fabulous use of pretty and entertainingly worded old tins and pillboxes. She makes delicious natural face, body and lip balms and fills the tins with them - also larger tins such as the Noddy and PC Plod one pictured - as travel kits with tiny potions wrapped in a vintage silk hanky... so clever and so original. I bought after much deliberation - so much choice of container! - a little round gold tin labelled Hollywood La Bonita with lip balm in. AND you get a voucher so you can post the tin to her when its all gone and she will re-fill it for £5!! love it.

Breaking News

Botkin here - very new to this, so I hope i shan't b**** it up - but very very excited - because back here in the 21st Century - we've sold "Lie Back and Think of England" - it will be remade as a wall hanging and is apparently going to hang in "The Breakfast Club" in Hoxton. I am on a mission now to find out where the phrase originated and will let you know!

Other news - I'm stitching tea cosies - check out "Don't Panic" in our Folksy shop, and another's in the pipeline, or at least up in my stitching space - the loft.

Tomorrow B&G are off to BUST's christmas fair at York Hall, Bethnal Green. Currently loving anything "East" - must be the time of year!!!

I'm coming over all 18th Century.....

I am steeping myself in the 18th Century this week, fired up by the lady I am in the throes of making, in fits and starts!.... I have been looking at portraits of women of the time and the costumes and the wigs.... did you know for instance that the women's wigs were powdered with a mixture of ground starch, flowers and orris root (which is a fixative used in the past in pot pourri)and was often coloured lavender, pale blue, or pink... but they used mostly their own hair with added bits, if you could afford it human hair, or horse hair (although mostly men's wigs were horsehair).... the colours would only have been used for parties and balls, not everyday... that's alright then... I fancy a bit of a Marie Antoinette revival myself... I would love to swan round Sainsburys in a big powdered wig, smallpox patches and a big embroidered dress.... I am so bored with walking into all the shops and seeing endless re-hashes of the 1980s - been there already, done it, did'nt like it much... why is it back? every 3 years it gets trotted out, then the shops are full of neon hoop earrings and stonewashed denim (that was NEVER a good look).... ahem... I digress.... here are a few photos of my latest recreational stitching (I have put dolly divine on hold, got a bit bored) a nice domed glass frame which had a manky old print of venice in it, bit of calico with wadding in between and I am stitching an 18th C. lady on it... from the sketch I did from a postcard... also two recent cushions using my handmade animal templates, I did a sketch and then copied it onto the back of a cereal packet and cut it out and then in bondawebbed fabric... voila!.. they are made from a lovely ochrey mustard linen tablecloth from a charity shop, there is a bear too but its in Kings X at the moment. VERY IMPORTANT NEWS!!!.... THE MAIN REASON FOR THIS BLOG TODAY.... is that Lie Back and Think of England lovers picnic blanket is now up for auction on Ebay all proceeds go to the Sue Ryder charity... so if you like it please bid it up! I would hate for it to go for tuppence ha'penny!... also lots of other lovely things from the Upcycle competition - "Ingrid" the lovely lovely reborn Barbie with a chest reduction (I know how it was done, it sounded painful!) is there, very tempted by her myself. Please look!!!