sewing shoes

I've seen these a few times today (blogland, not on real feet) and thought that I would also share! Just the thing to feel glam in as you sew! $795 if you are interested.

Christian Louboutin Dressmaker shoes:

uber choccywoccyness

Choccywoccydoodah is on TV!

(piccie courtesy of Good Food Channel - everything in it is made of chocolate, apart from the guy in the middle!)

If you haven't caught it already (it's on nightly at 9pm, on the Good Food Channel - SKY 249/ Virgin 260 - but lots of repeats inbetween) it's a documentary about Brighton's extravagant Chocolate Cake Shop that is Choccywoccydoodah.

I appreciate the Americans have the fabulous Charm City Cakes but we have the highly imaginative, creative, extravagant, flamboyant, cheeky chocolatiers in the centre of the city. We love looking at their window displays, which are amazing.

I will only have some of their cake, from their cake bar, every few years (it is v v rich, but v tasty, and I just can't justify it, unless it's a special occasion!)

They do not reveal how they model with the chocolate (some magic recipe with glycerine, maybe?) Although you can buy modelling chocolate from other sources (I once bought some but I didn't like the taste) and I'm sure I was given a recipe from a chocolate workshop I did a few years ago? Or do I imagine that?!

The artistry is superb, and it's amazing to watch how they put together their cakes.

Big Decs

Although we have just taken down all Xmas decorations tonight, I wanted to share this sweet reindeer that I bought in the lovely Inhouse Space in Brighton the other day. The shop is in the North Laine area, on Gloucester Road.

I saw him before Xmas, when I was buying a present in the shop, and then couldn't get him out of my mind! I went in the other day and even though not in the sale I decided to have him anyway! When I got to the till, the owner said, without any prompting from me, I'll reduce that, and knocked about a third off. That was very nice of her.

It is made by a company called Big Decs Unique whose website says they are eco friendly, handmade, and fair trade.

Then I went into Berts (who I have mentioned before!) and saw these two ornaments, also by Big Decs. They were reduced so I had to have them! The red is looking brighter on the computer than it does in real life. They have a nice tactile quality. I think the heart and star are made from shredded coconut palm.

All of the decorations are quite large, around 30cm/ 12". I am very pleased with them, as it's nice to have a few things that stand out, and capture your attention. The fact that they all match is good, as it'll help create cohesion within the flat!

artistic treasures

Brighton is in the middle of the Xmas 2010 Artists' Open Houses. I have mentioned this amazing scheme before, as it also happens in May for the Brighton festival.

It is the most wonderful thing. I walk to houses, within 5mins of my own, and get to meet artists, see their work and buy things that I like (and can afford).

I started at at the Dragonfly House (#48 on the house tour) which always has a great choice of artists and disciplines. In this house, the ceramicists really caught my eye. There were three (I think, all with totally different styles).

I picked up this heart Xmas tree decoration made by Stacey Manser-Knight.

I really love it, very simple but stylish.

And to prove not all art is expensive, it was only £4.

I believe this sweet little bowl is made by Christiane Kersten, who usually makes printed ceramics. It was only £8, which I thought was pretty good for a limited edition piece.

The next house, that I bought something was The Family Show (#46 on the house tour). The standout artist for me was Shyama Ruffell. I bought this flower print from her (stupid blogger keeps turning it around!) I might be able to sort it out later, I've already tried twice.

I like the seedheads and flowers in this. The originals in oil were amazing, but I could only afford this print, which cost £25.

The next house that I went to, that I was impressed with, was 24 Yardley St (#24 on the house tour) There were three artists, Belen Gomez, John Dilnot and Kate Jenkins.

These 2 cards were by John Dilnot. I have seen his work in a shop in Brighton. I like his animal/ insect prints. All I could afford were these cards at £2 each. I plan to frame them, and put them on the wall in my son's bedroom. My eldest son likes them and wants them above his bed.

I picked up this sweet locket (£8) made by Kate Jenkins.

But my favourite things in Yardley St were these:

One side of the mug

The other side

The ceramics are made by Belen Gomez.

She is a lovely lady, and talented artist. I bought 2 mugs and 2 egg cups from her, with her allotment/ hen theme.

They are all on English fine bone china. (which is always nice to drink out of).

I hope you will agree, this is a great way to find some lovely presents for your family and friends and yourself!

sewing table - woo hoo!

Apologies for the picture heavy post.

But here is my new sewing table. All keen followers of my blog will know that I have been looking into a suitable sewing table for a long time. so I will talk you through it and give you my opinion. I ordered it without seeing it in person, but the Horn Website has videos on it, which was instrumental in helping me make my mind up.


This is the Horn Hideaway 33. Despite every website that sells it saying it has a 28 day delivery, it came in a week, and with the correct cut out for my machine.



So this is it as a table, which is an ok size.



And from above. You can see the grooves, where the 2 table top pieces join. If I wanted to lay a pattern out and copy it, I'd have to be mindful of those grooves.


This is the upper table piece being raised up, to fit the sewing machine in. It has a very smooth action. You can raise it via those black screws, so it fits in line perfectly.



This is the plastic insert that fits around my machine.



The machine in situ.


As you can see the plastic insert and upper table, extends the sewing machine, giving more support to the fabric as I sew. This is especially useful for quilts, as they get very heavy.

The plastic insert has a ruler on it, which is handy.

I have already used it as I'm sewing a quilt at the moment. I have found the table to be really sturdy and well made. It is easy to open up and down, and I couldn't be more pleased. Now all I have to do now, is create a space for it in our spare bedroom. It's currently in our hallway, which has no natural light.

I would definitely recommend this. It also comes in wood, but I thought white would be easier to see the true colour of fabric on.

Brighton Artists Open Houses

The Christmas Artists Open Houses is back on, it started last weekend, will be on this weekend and the 11th and 12th December.

This is a great way to find lovely gifts and support local artists. Plus it's a great to have a nose around people's houses!

There is a flickr group as well here.

Sewing Table

I do not have a designated sewing area in my home and I am always envious of anybody who has a room for their hobbies (I can only dream!). At the moment, if I want to sew I have to do it on the dining table, which as anyone else who does that knows, is not very practical.

I had been thinking of getting a folding sewing table for a while. The SewEzi table was one I had seen online, but not in person. But with all the uncertainty over my husband's job I put it to the back of my mind.

It now has a rival, from Horn. The Horn Hideaway, model #33. It also does a cut out for your machine to slot into, so you get a larger sewing area, great for quilting (same as the SewEzi). It is a similar price (currently £159). It comes in either oak or white.

From the dimensions, the Horn slightly longer by about 17cm.

If you have experience of either the SewEzi or the Horn table please let me, and the other blog readers know of your experience with it. My birthday is coming up, so this could be a great present for me!

Quilty Pleasures

Finally a brand new quilt shop in Brighton. The nearest one is in Lewes, so this is great news.

It is called, as you may have guessed, Quilty Pleasures, and is in walking distance from my house! Marvellous!

I'm determined to support it, with the little money I have, as what a great resource to have. I'm pleased to say that Liz, the owner, is really friendly and approachable. And has some lovely modern fabric in her shop. I'm sure over time her stock will increase. It can't be cheap setting up a shop. But she's knowledgeable and really lovely.

They are having an opening party:

Quilty Party
12th June 2010 All day!

So if you can go along!

Loving London

On Saturday, I woke up early, walked to the train station and got on the fast train to Victoria, London. Then of course, I had to make my way over to King's Cross, to meet my sister, who had got the train down from Leeds for the day (2.5hr journey). Of course the tube line I needed wasn't working, as they were doing repairs on it! But never mind, I made it via the Picadilly and District lines instead!

Once I met my sister, she was having a to do updating her Oyster card, we got on a bus, and made our way over to the Business Design Centre in Islington for the Country Living Spring Fair!

It was pretty busy, and so many stall holders! We'd only been there an hour when we felt we needed a sit down at the Yorkshire Tea Cafe! They are part of Bettys (the most amazing tearooms in various Yorkshire towns).


Once we'd been revived, we continued our look around, not quite believing how many stalls there were. We picked up some nice greetings cards each (it was 10 for £5, so we split it!) and we both bought some prints from an artist called Clinton Banbury, I bought one for my children's room, (see above) I'm slowing adding art to their walls. My sister also bought a piece of art from an artist called Iona Mackenzie Laycock.

I picked up a small milk jug from Beverley Hewitt Designs all made here in the UK, in Stocke on Trent, the pottery capital of Britain. So next time I make some of my lovely scones, make tea in the tea pot, I've got a nice jug for my milk.

I also picked up some decopatch items, for the children to do in the holidays. I chose their names (well I used their shortened names, as it was getting a bit costly!) and some suitable coloured paper, and the glue. Basically it's a special waxy paper, that won't tear, when you add the glue. The glue is a glue and a varnish all in one, so how can the kids go wrong!!!?!!

My sister was very tempted by some London cushions from the Jan Constantine company. They were very nice indeed, but I felt beyond my embroidery/ applique level! Also they were v expensive.

But we had a great day, and it was nice to be in the capital and see my sister. She then hopped on the train home, and was going out that evening with friends in Leeds, and I headed home to Brighton, back to my family!

Ascending Wings

Nothing better than when a package comes, weeks before it's expected! And it only cost $1.44 to post (unlike other US based sellers, who ramp up the prices!)



Inside is something I got from this NY based jewellery designer.



Inside a lovely necklace, of 3 wooden wings, on a silver chain.

And finally on, me!!!!

I'm very pleased indeed.

Retail Happiness

Firstly, sorry for being away so long. Been so so busy. Had my in-laws stay for 9 days. Now, about 9 or so days later, I've recovered!

Had 2 traumas on the sewing front, 1 may be recoverable, 1 i don't think so. I made the Tate Skirt from sew hip, and it was a disaster, their fault, with wrongly sized pattern pieces and so on. So I could rip it apart for the 4th time, or just leave it in the not quite right pile (which seems to be growing with my Heather Ross stuff I made!!!) From now on I'm either going to buy a pattern from the major pattern makers or just shop in a normal shop!!! Having said that Boden have SOLD OUT of the lovely spot skirt I wanted!!!! Curses. Sold out in EVERY size.

The other skirt, that may be salvageable, is my attempt at making my own pattern, based on a skirt in the toast catalogue! My husband's grandma is giving me all her old craft books, and one of them is a great pattern manual, from the 1970s, but is so comprehensive, it's fabulous!!! So using that and the Reader's Digest book of Sewing, I constructed my pattern. (I use IKEA kid's paper, that comes on a roll. Really handy for drafting patterns on!) It's nearly there, I've just got to get the side zip in, that will go in on a curve, between my waist and hip, and hopefully look smooth! I'm using an invisible zip for a neater finish.

Went to Gap today as they are running a 30% off week. I needed new jeans, but I guess I was having a fat day, as all the styles that I tried on, did nothing for me. So I left it! Skirts just seem more flattering, right now.

But what has been a success was my trip to Bert's Homestore, in Brighton. Just me, no children. So I could actually look at EVERYTHING they sell. It is such a great shop for kitchen and homeware. Really nice makes (actually they sell my friend's tinwear, Elite Boxes, which is nice as well).

As my husband always moans that my salad is not dry enough, I have bought a salad spinner. In, a lovely red colour, plus it's also a measuring jug, so therefore excellent value for money. Obviously I'm either 6 months too late or 6 months early with this, as we ate salad non stop throughout the summer months, and we eat it a bit less through winter!

I also bough a jelly mould, as they have to look special. So jelly will be made this week, for sure! My local veggie shop sells vegetarian jelly mixes. Also, I do need a larger mixing bowl. They had a pink plastic one, that looked cool, or some of those traditional ceramic ones (brown and cream ones). I will be going back in a few months to pick one up!

I have also been looking for some bits and bobs for our hallway table, letter holder, place for keys etc. And I happened to go into the Futon Company. See what you can do WITHOUT children with you, amazing! And bizarrely they had just the thing. I bought a nice bamboo letter holder, and also this little lidless box, with a slim drawer underneath it, to store your pens. Just the thing to pop a notepad in by the phone, and a place to leave my keys when I come home! I have to say these new purchases for my table, now make my table look like it needs an upgrade (which it does, it was bought years ago, for our old maisonette, where we had virtually no hallway, so we needed the smallest table for it! Now we have a large hallway, and a tiny table which needs replacing asap!)
So all in all, I had a good day, where I bought some improvements to my home. Small steps, sure, but happy ones all the same.

Wardrobe Planning

I've been thinking about my clothes, and I'm trying to be more organised and practical in what I buy. So I'm just making an inventory of what I've got and any gaps in my wardrobe. I need to stop being a magpie, and have a more uniform style, if you will.

Janie Dress from Monsoon £60

Having said that, I need a few long sleeve tops and some knitwear, in the colours that would go with the bulk of my clothes, which are mainly deep pinks/ purples, greens and brown. Well it looks like these are NOT the "in" colours of this A/W collections, as it seems to be a lot of black, grey, coral in the shops - oh no!

Tess Tie Neck Dress £55 - Monsoon

I used to wear black ALL the time, from my teenage years into my mid 20s. I have made an active decision to mainly keep it out of my wardrobe, and go for more colourful items. So this leaves me with a bit of a dilemma, as I do need a cardigan and 1 or 2 long sleeve tops, but obviously I need them to match my other clothes! Admitedly half the time I wear jeans, and I also have an A line denim skirt, so they do go with any colour!


I did see this amazingly cheap grey jersey dress with 3 flower details from Next for £22. That does seem very tempting! Yet again, I can't pull pictures off their site, but it's worth a look! It also comes in black! I know, I know, it is NOT in my colour spectrum! But it's so cute, and a bit more exciting that I usually go for!

Favourite Crew Neck £39 - Boden

I have ordered an orange cardigan/semi jacket from Boden (this was at a muched knocked down price of £22 - from £75) and a stripey purpley jumper.

Sasssy Fit Cardigan - Boden Sale (looks better on, in the photo!)

I know all these clothes look a bit disparate, I guess what i'm after is like a core wardrobe, of mix and match. I'm happy to have other clothes that are outside of this, but I want to sort out my key elements, so it's a lot less hassle getting dressed every day!

Obviously I am skint after the summer holidays, so I have plenty of time to continue my window shopping, and work out my my clothes etc for Autumn and Winter. On the sewing side, I am making a quilt at the moment, and I am going to make an A-Line skirt from some material I picked up last year, I think it's an embroidered brown corduroy. Anyway, very autumnal!

The only reason I'm doing this is because last week it went all cold here, but of course this week we're back to the summer sunshine! Hooray!

Catching my eye

Apologies for blurry image, but I've just discovered these kits over at AMH's shop. I love the dress in the Drawing room fabric, Volumes in Gold. It costs $63 which includes the fabric and the pattern. I think I'll save up and get that for next spring, if I still like it! (I'm pretty sure I will).

And I loves these green shoes from Next, £45. Ok, I don't have a huge amount of green in my wardrobe, but I'm sure that can be changed!

And I've been enjoying the new Boden catalogue. I bought a raincoat in their sale, and notice they do a winter version, that looks identical, except it has an inner fleece to keep you snuggly. I bought it as it had a hood, a must have with a buggy! Mine is in a brown fabric with a lovely contasting lining. Boden makes me feel a bit grown up, and smart, which can come in usefull with all those yummy mummies at the school gates!

Shine A Light

I've been window shopping, well net browsing, and have found yet more gorgeous things for your eyes to gaze at! They can all be found at Radiance, a lighting shop in Hebden Bridge, but you can buy online as well!

These tea lights are my FAVOURITE thing (I'm hoping someone I know is reading this and feeling generous!) I love the heart, so sweet. They and the hanging vases are by a ceramist called Wendy Jung. Very talented lady.

These light pulls are by Lorraine Ditchburn, I don't need any, as I only have push switches! But what a nice touch, if you do!


This is for the floral lover! It looks so delicate, it's by Colin Chetwood.




These two lovely lamps are made by the Radiance owner, Hannah Nunn, what a talented lady. I do like the houses. Very nice, indeed!

This shade is by Helen Rawlinson. It appeals to the mother in me!

This table lamp is by Mibo , some great designs.
And this amazing ceramic butterfly shade, surely a piece of art, as much as a practical object is made by Mixko.

And last, but not least a lovely hare by Helen Minns.

Well, if I had more cash, I would quite easily be online shopping at Radiance tonight! So inspirational. No more lampshades from Ikea and Habitat! It's all really beautiful.