Watching it grow....

The Mercerie Video

My friend Sue has been super busy continuing to grow her online business The Mercerie - including showing new designs from her Festival Collection at the Norwich Fashion Week.

Thought you might like to view her new video which is 'hot off the press' this week.  And if you can believe it, it was filmed very recently amongst the snow falls!

Hello dear Pantry Violets, Happy Mothers day to you all even if you don't have any sproglets of your own! xx

"inching" along.......

okay Violets......

I am working away on these and have a WONderful time (!!!)

Hope everyone is well.....

It it snowing like CRAZY here today - so beautiful!

Sue has the "inchies" then on to Margo and Taylor 

and then to Cynthia in England.

I'll finish 'em up this summer and we can 

ALL celebrate the distribution after that.

Missing all of you... thinking about you...

xo

Corkin's Lodge - Chama, NM

It was a month ago we were there....heaven!

 Sarah, Trudy, Barb and Kathie

On the way out, we had visitors:

 kinda takes your breath away....

and then, in the rear window,

they surrounded Kathie's car!

It was fabulous....

the perfect weekend with pals...

thanks always, dear Sarah.

Thoughtyou might like to know that Julie Arkell has a lovely little exhibition showing at Wilton's Music Hall in London - with some new and wonderful 'crow' pieces, and some pictures. It opened last night and will be on display for a few months

If you're in the area- do drop in and have a look, and have a drink at the wonderful Mahogany Bar

Wilton's was the setting for the recent Stephen Poliakoff series on the BBC, and is well worth a visit anyway if you are in London

https://wiltons.org.uk/

inchie initials

I have been working on a few things....

just thought I'd share a couple:

Seems the "inchies" are back on track

YIPPEE!

Hope all is well with each of you.

Sending LOVE and HUGS!

xo

Children make beautiful things

Jodie thank you for your blog.  We are clearly all doing things.  I have been working with a group of kids after school and they are making fantastic things, I am just so thrilled with their imaginations. Look at this horse!

It's got to be good for you!!!

Thought this might be interesting - it was the frontispiece from an old Glove Making Book I found in the British Library.

Even though there's not been many posts for 2013, I'm sure you're all sneaking a peek at this blog now and then...


XXXX

Red knitted scarf

It

It was my youngest boy's birthday (7) and I asked the oldest one (9) if he had an idea for a present he wanted to give him.  He delighted in pulling out of his pocket a red woollen scarf that he had knitted at school for his brother's toy  "moufflon".  How cool is that!

More Christmas

Since I was not posting for so long, I have many photos of little things I made 

up to and during the Christmas holidays:

 I found some plain cut-out angels like these when I unpacked the ornaments

I thought I was pretty clever having cut them out last year...

...but thought myself even more clever to carve stamps this year

and stamp wings and faces on new cut-out angels.

With those stamps, I stamped a bunch of cards and sold them at a Holiday Faire.

I also sent some out, but, though I had intended to send them ALL out,

that did NOT happen..... sigh.......

Still, I hope all holidays were good and that you are ALL

as excited about the New Year as I am.

BTW, I am teaching at Briancon (!) this summer

and we will be carving some of our own rubber stamps

along with LOTS of other things.

August 13 thru 19

click HERE for more info

xo

home for the holidays

Here is our kitchen mantel during

the holidays:

I guess this photo doesn't really show all the details,

but it does make me smile.

(you can click on it to make it bigger)

Hope everyone's holidays were great...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

xo

Pearl's Birthday

Back in October, my friend, Pearl turned 18

I made her a little bag with

THIS embroidered on it.

It is SO nice to be back to blogging.

I think the break has given me some perspective.

Happy New Year!

xo

Do you feel lucky????

The lovely Sue at The Mercerie has asked if anyone at Pantry Violets may like to enter her competition to win one of her gorgeous felted bags.

She has just started her business, and is selling the kits to make them - they are really beautifully presented and the perfect present.  I got one for my stepdaughter now the nights are drawing in, and she was thrilled.  Hope you are all well - it's been a bit quiet here at Pantry Violets - presume you're all being very industrious!

You can find out how to enter at http://themercerie.net/competition/

.. move along little inchies.....

Just finished my contribution to the "inchies" (a lot more work than I had imagined) and have passed them along to Carol - so no blaming me for the delay now.

Carol, Susie and I will be taking a stall at the Selvedge Fair in November at the Chelsea Town Hall, London to promote Les Soeurs.  More about that later, but we have started making little promotional items for the stall - nice stocking fillers we think - as well as some of our aprons.  What do you think?.....

julie arkell workshop and exhibition :: a little preview

Just a little look at the window at Petite Violette right now - not long to go till our Julie Arkell workshop (Sept 23) and exhibition (Sept 29 - Oct 26). Wish you all could be here!

Our Last Full Day

On Sunday afternoon, we had to take Di to the airport in Bergerac.

It was drizzly, but we got her there safely.

Here is a photo of three of the four of us

(click HERE for the others)

and this is a little page from a book Di bought

The images are soooo yummy!

xoxo

The Gang's All Here

Well, not exactly, as they've left now; but Oolie, Jone, Becky and Diane made it over for a few days last week.  I was so flattered to be invited, and fortunate to be able to join them for a couple of days for a few precious hours and I was overwhelmed by their generosity, kindness and creativity.  And, boy, did I learn some tricks.    Also joined them for a visit to our "secret brocante" - which frankly, isn't such a big secret anymore - where I managed to find some very useful vintage, but rather grubby, dear little deck chairs and, oddly, some American wooden cotton reels.  The question now is should I recover them (the deck chairs, not the cotton reels);  would love to hear your views?

Anyway, a Big Thank You ladies for letting for me join the gang for a moment or two - you were, it goes without saying, a huge pleasure to be have around.

If you are interested in seeing some of the beautiful things they made during their visit, I have posted one or two photos on Les Soeurs Anglaises blog and I am sure they will be posting many of their own images before too long.

It was a fab week and L'Espace seemed to work perfectly as a venue for the self-supervising group - may there be many more!

To think, we used to just throw these away when we'd finished the thread!!

ahhhhhh....

We DID it!

We got on the planes and trains and in our little rental car and spent the week at Briancon.

It was magnificent!

For a day-by-day account, please go to

polkadotponie.blogspot.com

Enjoy!

Di's birdie

Hi Di, here's where your birdie is.  With a mate and some 2D friends at the back.  Would you like him to fly home to you for a spell?  He can come visit and then you can pass him on to the next geographic location.  What do you think?

BON JOUR MES AMIS

Hello Violets!

Sorry for the long delay - yet again in blogging. 

You may remember when Jo was doing her bird project I made this little birdie, the Lesser Spotted Tattered, with the crazy red eyes .......

Does it still sit on your desk Jo?

Last week, from Tuesday to Sunday I was at Les Soeurs Anglaises with Becky, Jone and Oolie for a few heavenly days of R&R.  More posts will follow from us all about our makes and the fun we had - it was a truly uplifting, inspiring few days that we shared in the lovely studio L'Espace - many, many thanks to Katie and Mike letting us have the use of the studio and rooms for our stay.

Amongst some things I took to finish off was a donkey brooch I made whilst on the second Hens Teeth workshop at Weston Park, near Stafford - I cant recommend Viv's workshops enough,
its such a great day out, sewing in a lovely 'hice' in lovely 'grinds' with a great bunch of women each time - and as if thats not enough, theres cake!  Here is the finished brooch ....

I just posted my second lot of haberdashery brooches and another little paper mache donkey -  on tinkeringbythesea.blogspot.com - please take a look.

Hope everyone is well and happy!  Taylor, sorry not to have been in touch since West Dean, its been a crazy busy time as you can imagine but I did enjoy the time spent with you on Julie's course.  Im getting back on track and have sent a bijou treat for you home with Jone so expect mail soon.

As soon as I have sorted out pictures will post my french finds and the things I made last week and Im sure Becky, Jone and Oolie will be doing the same.  We thought of you in France.

Love to All

xx Di