When VV Rouleaux Comes to Town

All is BRIGHT with the world...

The delectable Annabel Lewis (left) and her handmade fascinator...

Alongside the disgustingly talented Claudia (milliner extraordinaire) who joined in the ribbon making!

Caravan installed in Silk Street entrance for the world to see until Sunday!

  

Thousands of metres of ribbon draped from antlers on the wall for all the world to fondle.

We learnt how to make roses out of ribbon wire and then pinned them on to my good self.

 

 

 

 

And then it all had to be packed away.

And that was sad.

But we'll get over it.

With another trip to Marylebone High Street.

Pausing for breath

The reams of events that have been going on here at Camp Beholden have finally caught up on me and my body is starting to slow down.

Which is rather a shame as my schedule will continue to be busy regardless, at least for the next five days.

We had an INCREDIBLY popular photography and makeup sesh in the gallery for the First Thursday of July

We celebrated OAKFEST 08 at Oaklands School in Bethnal Green

We crafted and coutured our way to stunning sample technique pieces with Ruth

I will be lying down in a darkened room shortly.

But sadly not quite yet...

July Fourth... When You're Not American...

Good fun, particularly when your guests are only able to sing Bye Bye Miss American Pie instead of the Star Spangled Banner in celebration of the Big Day.

And your fireworks are reduced to one sparkler on top of a pile of cookies...

My ambitions never quite lives up to Martha Stewart's expectations...

Do they??

My Life's Work is Done...

There was a fayre...

There was a Produce Show...

There was a Lemon Cake category...

I came Third...

I'm ignoring the fact that only Three cakes were on Show.

Herewith my father-in-law (to be) successfully catching a long-range egg in the Egg Throwing competition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What a weekend...

What a week...

And the season has only just begun.

The exhibition programme that I have been working on since starting my new job in January is finally kicking off this week.

The opening was glamorous without being intimidatingly snooty: I was so pleased by how many people were happy to chat away with me. I even had a jaw-dropping (well for me!) five minutes with Gok Wan ending in air kisses and hugs! Fingers crossed he'll be working with us sometime in the near future!

The beautiful Ruth's work has gone online and her workshop has sold out in record time!

Tonight sees the launch of the public programme proper so fingers crossed and of course, I'll report back!

England in bloom

 

God love the summer sun...

Townies and farmers...

A gorgeous weekend with great friends in Norfolk.

There were freshly picked carrots that made their way into our roast dinner  ...

A restored retro trike complete with trunk for all important storage of creeping crawlies and wriggling worms ...

'Paintfacing' ...

Hard grafting at the computer ...

And general frolicking and frivolity ...

Gosh it's great to give children back at the end of a summer weekend. The playing is great, but the peace is better!   

Literally counting the days until our next visit.

Another day... Another exhibition opening...

A cutting edge duo are exhibiting at the museum I work in... A dress is required... The pressure was on...

And the wallet was empty.

Queue a very old piece of printed silk crepe given to me by a friend's grandmother...

And some scraps of shot taffeta along with a pressing need to jump on the Suffolk Puff/Yo Yo bandwagon that's bouncing all over the internet...

Images are rubbish but hopefully I'm nearly there. Just need to hem it and pick up some cheap-o shoes from some high street somewhere...

Comments on a postcard to the usual address.

Weekend wandering

Borough Market in all its spring splendour offered a smorgasbord of asparagus and pick'n'mix mushrooms.

The Museum of Childhood made me happy in its floor...

and its cavernous ceiling...

Great cafe too...

It's all about the fabric

If ever there were a dress to prove that amazing fabric can bely basic construction and possibly even dodgy methods... this is it.

I'm not saying this dress is dodgily made at all. It's a large rectangle of amazing printed silk shirred all the way around the top. No zip, no shaping, it's all in the elastic. Excellent for the summer and a great way to show off the cutest of prints.

If I only I could get my hands on the fabric. Something tells me I shall now be ebaying for flamingo printed cotton.

Stitch / Step / Stitch / Step

Utterly in love.

Utterly want.

Utterly can't justify four pairs of shoes in as many weeks.

Utterly disgusted with myself for having so much willpower.

Some more stitchin' and some bakin'

As modelled by the beautiful rocking chair...

An embroidered cushion for my shabby chic friend's 30th birthday...

 

 

 

 

 

 

And a dairy-free baking session for a work colleague's 30th birthday to accommodate a lactose-intolerance in the office, which will only add an element of challenge to my efforts...

Just about retained my domestic goddess crown with this decidedly flat whisked sponge cake by resurrecting the height with the last minute addition of soya yogurt and raspberries...

A pile of bananas muffins on the right made sure that none went hungry.

My parentals have a farm...

My dad is of Irish descent and has decided to return to his roots. My folks have put their house in the Cotswolds for sale and have purchased a plot of land in the middle of County Tipperary in southern Ireland. In order to get planning permission, they must prove that their land is for farming use.

Queue my parents playing at being farmer Giles, complete with beasts!!

 

Brilliant! The Boy and I are going out to play in July, so keep your fingers crossed that we manage to catch the five days of the year when it doesn't rain...

An Irish feast and a rainy spring feast

Well, the weather outside is frightful and the stodge has been just delightful...

Entertaining guests with lasagna and a decadent chocolate mousse

And a St Patrick's Day bonanza chez parentals featuring Bailey's cheesecake and Leprechaun Champagne

A Stitchin and a Rockin

A pinafore dress from cotton samples and Liberty Tana Lawn offcuts for my god daughter's fifth birthday...

 

And a bargain (by which I mean entirely free!) find in the wood and refuse pile at the local recycling centre...

All in all, a weekend well spent / saved...

Here to thrifty fun!

The calm after the storm

It is 6.45pm on a Monday and I am still wearing my pyjamas.

The reason for this is reviewed here, amongst other places.

The weekend was chaotic but great fun, although I think I have to work on my stamina. Fourteen hour shifts are just plain painful!