Melody Makers

Manbacon's father is a pretty damned awesome accordion player. We, unfortunately, are all filler and no killer. 

Winter News

Here are a few bits shop-related news for winter - 

I recently purchased a few bags of remnants from a factory, and inside the bags were lengths of these rather fantastic snowflake-printed knitted fabric. How wonderfully festive! I've sewn up a couple of pairs for sale at the Tea Rooms, but may make a few more for the Etsy shop. Is anyone interested? 

Secondly, I have finally set up a Folksy shop, with a number of prints and postcards for sale. The above prints are now available on both Folksy and Etsy. 

Two

Cheese and Garlic Scones

Made some cheese and garlic scones this week by following Frugal Feeding's recipe. The original called for cheddar, but I only had Comte in my fridge and went with that. I accidentally on purpose grated more cheese than was necessary and topped the scones with it before baking them, for extra-cheesiness.

These are best eaten straight out of the oven, cut in half with dollops of butter melting on it. I had them for lunch just after I made them, but they are also pretty good as a snack when cooled down. 

Giant Cat Project Exhibition Opening

The Giant Cat Project exhibition and auction officially opened on Monday night in St. Botolph's Church, beside Aldgate Station. The eponymous Giant Cat is the first thing to greet you as you step inside the church. 

 

Anne and Petra worked hard all day setting it up, and the donated items all looked beautiful together by the time I got there at 6pm. The warm interior made a perfectly cosy retreat from the drizzle outside. 

Cat Mask by Saskia 'Wild' Doornbos and Graciela Abicher

Cat Tapestry Skirt by Ali Wall

Hummingbird Bakery provided lots of cupcakes, and there was plenty of wine, coffee and tea too. 

The exhibition will be open til the end of this week, so do drop by for a look if you're in the area. The auction will end on Friday, so there's plenty of time to put in a bid if something catches your eye. You can also pop in to stroke the Giant Cat and pose for pictures with it too!

http://www.giantcatproject.com

Catwalk

Aldona and I (as Inadot) are donating this cushion to help raise funds for the Giant Cat Project. Do pop along to the exhibition in St. Botolph's Church next week if you're in the area!

Wednesday

For Halloween. 

Rusty Pencil Skirt

When I was in Poland this past summer, my mother-in-law decided to offload some fabric and asked me to pick out some that I thought I could use. This velvety soft needlecord was one of the ones I choose - I was  feeling ambitious and thought I would use it for a 'light autumnal jacket' but then of course I realised that I probably wouldn't be able to make it in time for cooler weather so shelved the idea for a bit. 

Feeling the need for a casual skirt recently, I set about looking through my stash and remembered the needlecord. I love corduroy skirts and trousers - as a teenager I owned a particularly soft pair of jeans in builders's-tea-brown that I could hardly bare to put in the wash, I loved it that much.

This skirt is basically a shortened version of my pencil skirt pattern - minus four inches at the hem, and with a thinner waistband. It has a lapped centre back metal zipper and a vintage plastic button to close the waistband. The short length also meant I didn't have to put in a vent at the back to help with walking. 

The skirt isn't lined, because I plan on wearing it even in the summer - it's definitely thin enough for that. However, I did try to make the insides extra special with some minty-green cotton bias binding around the raw edges and hem. I've become quite a fan of Hong Kong binding recently - it just seems to finish off items so prettily and it feels like a little present to yourself everytime you put on the skirt/dress/whatever. It's an immensely comfortable skirt  that will see quite a bit of wear from me. 

Jacket - found on street, blouse - Toast, skirt - selfmade, tights - supermarket, shoes - Converse, brooches - vintage

Bits of Krakow

Dragon's Den on Wawel Hill (nope, not that Dragon's Den).

 Lovely buildings covered in greenery. Probably not great for preventing damp or letting much light in, but still gorgeous nonetheless.

 Stare Miasto - the old town.

P-p-p-poniesssss!

The Giant Cat Project

(photo courtesy of the Giant Cat Project blog)

The Giant Cat Project is a fundraising effort in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital, in memory of little Maymunah, who passed away aged only 5. Anne Kilroy has asked a number of artists and crafters - including me - to donate cat-themed works for an auction that will help raise money for GOSH. 

Those involved include Kitty Valentine, Mr. Martin, Halo Jones and many others from the Tea Rooms. Aldona and I will also be making a special cushion cover for the auction. An exhibition will be held at St. Botolph's Church, Aldgate High Street, EC3N 1AB from November 7th to 11th. The opening night will be on November 7th, from 6.30pm to 8.30pm. Do come along then if you can, or visit during the week and see if there are any artworks that you might be interested in. 

 Cat People by Kitty Valentine

Ginger and Me, by Mr. Martin

The Assistant, by me

I'll leave you with a photo of the tireless Anne Kilroy looking cute in her hi-vis vest shaking a bucket beside the eponymous Giant Cat. The Cat was painted and decorated by the young students of Sir John Cass Foundation School.