Big Mill

Caroline & I popped into Big Mill, Preston, today to see our work displayed which will hopefully sell via their new website when it is up & running next week.

Mike has certainly progressed with setting this up as an Art gallery & it looks to be a really good venture.

I have also discussed running an Encaustic Wax Jewellery workshop on 3rd October at the Mill, when Natural Progression's textile exhibition is on there 18th September to 17th October.

Before this we had been playing with needle felting some more brooches for future craft fairs & making weird tokens for the Skirmish weekend in August ( more to follow on this)

We also popped in the Mill, St Catherines Hospice for lunch, a bit pricey but helps towards funding the hospice,

Who said retirement was a time to wind down???

Here are some photos of the Big Mill

Art & Craft Fair Museum of Lancashire

Well we did the two day craft fair last weekend- I sold a few items -so not too bad- However, Caroline only having a few pieces in, did not fair so well & sold zilch! It is the first time that Hopeful & Glorious have held a fair at that venue, & business was slow all round. It did not help that our stall was in a small side room, which the public sometimes just walked past!!!! I am not sure whether they felt awkward going through a doorway or felt they were intruding.

However its all good experience & I quite enjoyed it.

Still the packing to put away. but hey ho it will get down eventually.

Here are some photos of the day- Strangly you will note we are both wearing orange tops???

Caroline looking happy-start of day one

Me looking reasonable!

day two- screen rearranged

Additional display-a chair!

Must look forward to the next one day fair at Helmshore Mill on Sat 13th June- whicvh I am doing alone.

Three Stitches Banner

At last I have made a banner that can be displayed on our stall at craft fairs. I found a piece of textured silky beige fabric, which I fringed & applied a silk fabric layered motif to.

I have used three colours of silk, one of which has been hand dyed in mottled purple/pink colours, with the other two being gold & jade silk bought in Varanasi, India.

I have taken a stencil which has been downloaded from Word, cut out & temporarily adhered this to the purple silk, which had been bondawebbed. I then cut around the shapes.

The jade & gold silk where used in the same fashion, but just cut out slightly bigger each time.

I then ironed the layers of the motif together (I removed the bondaweb backing each time), layering the purple ontop of the Jade with the Gold under.

The motif was then ironed onto the base beige silk, which was then free machined with zig zag stitch around the edges, using a random dyed cotton thread. Gold thread was then zig zagged around
the Jade/gold edges.

We will get a chance to use this at tomorrows Art & Craft fair at Museum of Lancashire.

close up

build up to craft fair - Hopeful & Glorious

Hi despite being ill with the 'Putrid Throat' (Poldark term) I have been extremely busy this week organising the work for the Art & Craft Fair at Museum of Lancashire being held this Sunday & Monday.

I managed to make six needle felted brooches, update the list of items to be sold & check through all the goodies, weeding out items I did not think would sell, especially 2014 diaries!

I also bought two display stands on ebay, from which I had to remove copious amonts of sticky residue from tape etc- half an hour later they look reasonable. Why do people sell stuff that needs cleaning???

However I can now display flyers etc in a more professional way, as you can see from the photo below. Pretty good eh??

The photos below have been taken in my Guest room (lets hope I have no unexpected guests!!!) they won't be able to sleep on the bed or the floor.!!!



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new brooches & stands

boxes galore

Further work on Exhibition 'Art & Soul'

I have nearly completed my work for Natural Progression Textile Group exhibition 'Art & Soul' which is being held at;

Bridge Gallery,Samlesbury Hall, Preston New Rd, Samlesbury, Preston PR5 0UP-

2nd July to 1st September 2014

01254 812010 http//www.samlesburyhall.co.uk

Open Sunday-Friday 11.00am to 4.00pm-

 Free Entry to exhibition.

Preview- Thursday 2nd July 6.00pm-8.00pm-OPEN TO ALL.

Below is a sneak preview of some of my work!!!

I am not giving any more away- you must come & see the exhibition for yourselves., as photographs do not show textiles to their best advantage.

Art & Craft Fair- Hopeful & Glorious.

Hi, I am running a stall at Museum of Lancashire with Caroline on Sunday 3rd May 12.00 noon to 5.00pm & Monday 4th May 10.30am to 5.00pm.

It will be held at Museum of Lancashire, Stanley Street(off London Road & next to the Prison) Preston PR1 4YP- see, buy & enjoy Glorious British Art & Craft.

The goods on sale, throughout the fair, are of a high standard & very very beautiful. A bonus is that entry is free & you get to go around the museum as well. There is also a small cafe- parking on site is limited however. But disabled access is included. If car park is full, there is a pay & display parking on The Range Car Park on the opposite side of London Road.

The museum is great and very interesting, so well worth the visit.

Photographs will follow after the event.

However here are some of our stall at a past event- this was the Christmas stall at Samlesbury hall so ignore the baubles on the Tree!!.

working towards our exhibition

I have been very busy working towards our exhibition 'Art & Soul' which will be held at Samlesbury Hall 2nd July to 1st September this year-more details to follow.

I am also attempting to make some items for The Skirmish Weekend held at at the end of August at Samlesbury Hall & spent all yesterday making brooches to attach to knitted capes for me & Caroline to wear, as we have to dress in Medieval clothing whilst manning the stall.

The brooches seem to be working, made with encaustic waxed grunge paper- but the hat pins which fix them together are causing me headaches, as the beads at the end keep sliding off, obviously the glue is not doing its job!!!

looking good -pinned to cape

Top one still be clamped!!!

Hopefully I will sort this out & maybe try a different glue- I will not be defeated!!!

Either way I am pleased with the end results & will continue to make some more encaustic jewellery for the exhibition as well.

I should really clean the bedrooms & bathroom, however there is always another day???