Thimble

I'd had a simple box frame in my supplies for a while and this week has been the time to put it to use. I painted the outside in a pretty aqua blue emulsion and waxed it for protection.

I then gathered together a selection of vintage sewing supplies to make a sewing inspired fairy in a showcase. 

I lined the inside of the box in a variety of papers, such as old dress patterns and a fabulous wrapping paper printed with embroidered crinoline ladies. 

The fairy doll was dressed in the haberdashery and sewing equipment. Her wings are fashioned from a pair of scissors and a tape measure. She wears a thimble as a crown....which inspired her name. 'Thimble' holds a length of c1920's flower braid threaded through a bodkin, which she intends to stitch around the hem of her skirt!

She sits upon a large French bobbin of thread.

I added scenery around her - An old darning mushroom, a spool of cotton and another large wooden bobbin. 

Its difficult to photograph a true likeness of her through the glass front, but I hope you get a feel for the artwork. She'll be for sale at one of the fairs I am booked into before Christmas. 

I've also been making some pretty little boudoir bags from rare French antique fabrics - Each is a one-off. 

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And finally some of my latest handmade greetings cards...

Thanks for stopping-by,

Niki x

Edelweiss

This is Edelweiss, one of my handmade one-of-a-kind rag dolls, who has just been added to my on-line catalogue.

She is dressed in a country style ensemble in a cheerful red, white and blue colour palette. 

Niki x

All the Small Things...

I've been busy this week making fairies and a rag doll in preparation for the Vintage Bazaar, Frome next month. I shall show the line-up of girls I've created nearer the time...

Towards the end of the week I took a bit of a breather and made some simpler pieces that didn't drain my time quite so much...

Pin cushions made from antique fabrics...

I'm sold. 

Some card making, using vintage maps, photos and lace.

Cute-size hand bags made from rare French fabrics. 

The back.

The inside.

And this little one made from a classic Sanderson fabric and large Deco button. 

Thanks for stopping-by,

Niki x

Daffodil

This is Daffodil - One of my special keepsake rag dolls dressed in vintage fabrics. Her skirt was created from the pages of a baby's rag book, printed with traditional nursery rhymes.

She has just been added to my on-line catalogue. I hope you will enjoy taking a look when you have a moment.

Niki x

Angora and Lace

As the weeks that I have left on my shop's lease rapidly roll-by, I have been trying to make plans for the next chapter of my life. A day doesn't go by without one of my customers asking 'what's next? - so it can be a little embarrassing when I say 'I don't know'. Until we sell our house and know where we will end up, things are up in the air. The type of property we buy, may well have a baring on 'whats next' too.

Having sewn and made things all my life (always my favourite thing to do when I was a small child), I can't imagine a time when I won't be sewing...Be that making curtains and cushions for our new home, or making pieces to sell at fairs (and possibly on-line).

'Vintage' has become a difficult market to be involved in over the past few years...various reasons in my opinion, which I won't go into now...Its doubtful I shall continue selling vintage goods, but will continue to make my products from vintage/antique fabrics, trimmings and embellishments, as customers do seem willing to pay a realistic price for one-off handcrafted goods.

Apart from that, I am keeping my options open and am having fun experimenting with different ideas to extend my range from fairy dolls, bags and little frivolous treasures, to try and keep things interesting.
Last week I made some prototypes, reworking some pretty secondhand knitwear. Using antique lace and ribbons, I embellished the jumpers to create a one-off look. Type in 'wearable art' into Pinterest and you'll be confronted by some wonderful embellished works that are truly stunning. Beautiful as they are, my concern with them would be how would they fair being laundered?...Although my pieces would need to be hand-washed, I think they would come up well and could be worn and enjoyed for years to come. 

This cross-over style lambswool sweater by 'in wear' was cinched in at the waist by the addition of a fine antique lace channel, threaded with satin ribbon, which ties at the side in a floppy bow. I also stitched a length of hand crochet lace up the front curve and embellished further with vintage fabric rose motifs. The sleeves were very long, so I shortened them and gathered cotton lace at the cuffs.

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For my second attempt, I worked with a boxy angora and lambswool short sleeved pale pink cardigan...

I added some sleeves from another angora and lambswool sweater and lengthened the cardigan hem with a wide antique lace. Again, I made a channel in the lace and threaded it with satin ribbon to tie in at the waist. This was hidden beneath a narrow ruffle, which matches the sleeves.

I'm not particularly fashion orientated, but I did enjoy putting together these makeovers and will be on the lookout for quality knitwear to work with again in the future. 

Would love to know what you think,

Niki x