Well, for all sorts of reasons January has been a frustrating month creatively.  So here I am, staring February in the face with very little to show for January (other than that fantastic technique for laminating fabric - or to put it more grandly, making your own oil cloth)

I am just about managing to keep up with other blogs though, and finding new ones along the way (I can do that in bed) so here's a quick round up of some current favourite blogs and goings on.

First off, Hilary Beattie.  She's making a banner for her regional quilt group, and this latest blog shows her process rather nicely.  Worth a follow I suggest to see how it progresses, and she writes very entertainingly I feel.

Next up is The Crafty Mugwump (yes- I know! Don't ask me why) who also rather generously shares her techniques and who seems to live a double life - partly not a million miles away from me (she belongs to the Peterborough Embroiders Guild) and partly in the glorious north of Scotland.  It's hard to type this without a tinge of envy setting in!

But sometimes I wander off piste, as it were, and am a bit of a fan of the rather glam Artemis at Junkaholique.  It's worth stopping by sometimes just to get a glimpse of her photos.  Her blog is so scrumptious to look at and her vintage foundlings and crafty gems are often inspirational.

I follow more ( and infact love them all) but I thought you might like a little detour round these, dear reader, if you are not already familiar with them.

So, lets put January behind us, welcome the longer days and plan for a bit of creativity.

I don't know if you can tell from this photo, but that jump suit (part of Son No 1 Autumn Winter 2013 collection) is made from a PVC covered printed cotton.  It's a great technique and one that definitely offers all sorts of opportunities for things like bags, natty dog coats or anything else that needs a bit of protection.

The ingredients:-

• Fabric to be laminated.  We used a screen printed cotton drill but I can't see why this technique would not work with any cotton.  I would like to try it with wool fabrics (perhaps a tweedy one - always thinking of dog coats) but haven't yet.  If anyone does, perhaps you could report back.
• Bonda Web (or I think it is called Wunder Under in the States) - the stuff that comes mounted on a thin but stiff paper backing, which you melt onto fabric, pull the backing off, and then stick another fabric on top. 
• Clear PVC sheeting - now if you live anywhere near the Goldhawk Road in Shepherds Bush West London then many of those wonderful shops sell this stuff.  Failing that you can get it on line. Here is one supplier I found in the UK and here is another.  The picture in this second supplier is better and it certainly looks like the stuff that I bought in Shepherds Bush.
• Teflon sheets  - OK now this is the secret ingredient and frankly you cannot do this without a teflon sheet.  If you look there are plenty of these around.  You'll find them in kitchen shops etc because their main use is to line baking trays etc. I get mine from Aldi, but a quick gander around the internet suggests that they are readily available from many places such as Lakeland Plastics.  But you do need this and not the usual baking parchment or you will melt the PVC.

And I am sorry there are not photos of the tecnique along the way.  We were so full on for those few days that the camera never came out of the bag.  I hope my description gives you what you need to give it a try.

Well, another week has slipped by and not much stitching or textile work has been accomplished.

I have my excuses! (Don't we all) And though I don't watch much television I have been hooked by the BBCs Winter Watch program.  Beavers are back in Britain!  And since that started at 8pm in the evening, not much time to get anything done before, and afterwards, well I have slumped onto the sofa by then.

But I have managed to keep up with other people out there and Kit Lang had a good idea.  She invited people to recommend blogs she might like to follow.

I am a big fan of hers - last year she made some truly heroic art.  And she blogs regularly (puts me to shame) and she works too (my head is hanging).

Have a look at her recommendations and see what you think.

Which I did, and I found Nina-Marie.  Now I have only just fond her, and cannot tell you much about her, but it seems that she too has a pesky day job but fits it all in!  (Note to self - find out how you can manage on less sleep).

But Nina-Marie also has this wonderful little set of rules, which I have somewhat shamelessly copied:-

• Link up any post from the past week that is creatively driven, WIP, Finish Pieces, Process oriented etc - Art Quilt perferred, any media accepted - great idea, let's share! - I would say go beyond the past week.  If you find something out there which inspires, no matter how old, then share.
• Somewhere in your post, please link back to my blog - now I've linked back to hers above, but in case you missed it, here it is again
• Please visit  some of the other blogs and leave a comment or two - an encouraging word means a lot to an artist! - how true.  If you pop by tell me what you think.  My heart sings a little when people leave me a comment.  It does mean a lot.  That said, if I pop by your blog and don't leave a comment, please don't be offended.  Sometimes I just don't have anything witty and meaningful to say and I don't want to just type in something banal. 
• Be Inspired! - goodness me.  Indeed!  Be inspired.  I was inspired yesterday by a simple photo of a set of plastic storage bucket things from Fibre Frenzi (who always is rich with colour!)

More ideas for an alternative textile trip to London!

You may recall that some while ago I posted several blogs about my textile orientated wanderings around the heady delights of Soho.

Well I was recently running around for Son No 1 again, but this time I was headed for the Goldhawk Road in Shepherds bush.







Now, the Goldhawk Road isn't pretty and it's not very convenient (you can just pop to Soho, but you have to schlep west to Shepherds Bush) but it is worth a visit.  All the shops, and there are lots of them and in the very small stretch of road between the Green and Goldhawk Road tube station (with a few also dotted down the Market, but I did not have time to explore those).

The outside of many of the shops suggest sari fabric, but that's just the glitz and glamour to get you in.  And they do vary (both in terms of stock and size) but they are definately worth a visit.

I have to quickly put up a Blog Post about this fabulous quilt by Annabel Rainbow - not because it needs any additional commentary, but because if I share it with you, dear reader, there is a chance it's existence may spread a little further than just through Annabel's blog alone.

Follow the link and read the message.   Then take a little gasp, like I did, and probably read it again.

Then send the link to everyone you know who (even if they are not into the arts or quilting in any way).

PAINTED QUILTS by ANNABEL RAINBOW: Life 5 - "Shall I Be Mother?" finished. Photos and...:

It's going to the Bramble Patch from the 23rd March to the 6th April (no disrespect to the Bramble Patch, but I think it should go to a National Gallery) which means that for a short while Weedon will be the Centre of the Universe.

Now pop off and read Annabel's blog.

(and send her my love and respect!)

You may remember that before Christmas I spent a day at the Workshop Sale (my retail therapy in reverse so to speak!)

One of the regulars at the Workshop Sale is Lush Designs, and I think that their quirky designs are so lovely that they are worth sharing again.


Lush Designs is the 'lovechild' of Marie Rodgers and Maria Livings (that's a bit confusing) who studied painting and printmaking at Maidstone Art College.  They started off in the 1980s doing wonderful and wacky jewelry (if you search on their site you can find a very 80s image of Pamela Stephenson sporting their earrings).

Their love of colour and characteristic quirky prints has been applied to a range of homewares (tea towels, lampshades, sheets etc.) many of which are made in house at their studio at Cockpit Arts in Deptford where they have twice yearly open studio events.




But you don't have to wait that long.

They sell on line, have a lovely shop in Greenwich South London and they wholesale to other retailers so there are a number of their stockists dotted around the country.