Jewellery By Little Barb

Here are some gorgeous necklaces made using vintage buttons by talented jewellery maker Barbara, known as Little Barb on Folksy.

Barbara's combinations of layers, textures and her subtle colour palette make for a beautiful end result. Prices are very reasonable too, with brooches starting at £5.00 and necklaces at £20.00, these would make the perfect gift. Visit Little Barb's shop here.

Potfest in the Park 2010

We're just back from a fun-filled morning at Potfest. It is held at Hutton-in-the-Forest (pictured below). It costs £5 per adult to get in, and that includes parking and access to the gardens as well as to the 150 ceramics exhibitors.

The exhibitors have stands set up in marquees. The photo below shows one of our favourites: Charlotte and Sigerd Bohmer of Germany. We bought these lovely plates from them.

We were very taken with these adorable figures by Chiu-I Wu of Yorkshire.

This beautiful hare is by Nichola Theakston of Lincolnshire.

I bought these dramatic earrings from Steve Woodhead Studio Ceramics.

The event is well worth a visit. Lunches, teas, cakes, ice creams and other refreshments are served in the main house and in several other places,while a brass trio plays music in the background.

Each year a competition for the ceramicists is set. This year the theme was "Altars, Shrines and Markers". The exhibits are all set out on the lawn and visitors can vote on their top three favourites. Both Rob and I picked a beautiful and funny entry by Christine Hester Smith showing a queue of tiny penguins making offerings of fish to the God of Flight - a huge stylized eagle. Our photo sadly didn't do it justice, but click on the link to see examples of her work.

Finish up with a walk around the beautiful grounds and walled garden - the latter is full of flowers, fruit and bumble bees at this time of year. Highly recommended!

Hand Painted Silk Cushion Cover

My latest purchase, from Etsy seller Rosemary of Derwent Textiles.
This beautiful cushion cover is made from hand painted silk. Rosemary also makes "wearable art" scarves and accessories and knitted items. Her shop also stocks buttons, photographs and special items sold for charity: well worth a visit!

If you would like a custom designed item for yourself, your home or as a gift, visit Rosemary's own website.

Damascus Drum Cafe, Hawick

Whenever we are in Hawick, (Scottish Borders), Rob and I always visit the Damascus Drum Cafe. It is situated up a quiet side road and serves great food and coffee.

The interior is converted from an old boot makers shop and still retains some original features from that time, such as the wood panelling and interior windows. There is also a small range of interesting second hand books to browse through and buy, plus some wonderful handmade rugs.

There are lots of options for vegetarians on the menu, such as the mezes. You can pick three for £4.95. I chose hummus, roast tomatoes and baba ganoush with pitta bread. Other possible choices include pasta arrabiata, vegetarian burger, filled bagels and soup. The homemade cakes are irresistible and the coffee is excellent. A good lunch with coffee and cake cost us under £18. Highly recommended!

Afterwards, you can enjoy a stroll in the award winning Wilton Lodge Park, a visit to the local museum and art gallery and a rootle round the shops.

Shambellie House Museum of Costume

Rob and I went to the Shambellie House Museum of Costume a few weeks back. It is near New Abbey in Dumfries & Galloway, and well worth a few hours exploration. There is a walled garden you can also visit nearby, plus Sweetheart Abbey and several other attractions in the area.

Here I am in the gardens, admiring a living willow sculpture.

As well as the permanent exhibition showing fashion through the ages in a series of dioramas, there was a special exhibition called 'Marriage In The Movies'. This shows a room full of beautiful period-style wedding dresses that have been used in films and tv series. My favourite one, above, was worn by Helena Bonham Carter in the film 'Frankenstein' from 1994.

Another beautiful dress was the one above, centre, worn by Nastassja Kinski as 'Tess' in Roman Polanski's production of that name from 1980.

This beaded hand bag is one of a number of delectable accessories, including fans, displayed in the Museum.

The wedding dresses will be on display until the end of October 2010.

After enjoying the exhibition, you can stop for tea and cakes in the Museum's tea room, and buy souvenirs in the gift shop. I managed to get another book about buttons to add to my collection ;o)

The Swallows' First Day Out

Here are some photos Rob took of the swallows nesting in our front porch. We put up a shelf for them, but for some reason they preferred the light fitting. This shows the babies the day before they fledged...

And here they are on their first day out...

There are five of them all together, and they have been practising their acrobatics and fly catching techniques for a few days around the house and nearby fields. They seem to be expanding their property portfolio with a second nest, if the new mud splatters on the wall are anything to go by!

Austerity Britain #7 Rag Rug Wall Hanging

I finally finished a rag rug wall hanging folk art representation of the Union Jack flag that I have been working on for about a year, on and off. It is made from a variety of red, white, blue and cream coloured fabrics. I tried to use almost all recycled clothing and charity shop finds to make the artwork.

It can be wall mounted with a hidden baton (provided), or could be used as a small rug in a low traffic area.

The pieces of fabric are 3" long and are 'prodded' through a hessian background, giving a pile of just under 1.5".

This close up shows the texture and whorls of the cut ends of the fabric.

The wall hanging is available for purchase in my Fire Horse Textiles Etsy Shop at £149 + shipping.