This little angel went to...

...Los Angeles, and here she is in her new home:

Looking rather lovely and suitably glamorous for an angel on a christmas tree in Hollywood, don't you think? 

Having crossed the Atlantic, she's now safely with my cousin Lucy, who has written a very glowing blog-post about my work (you can read it here).  Hello America - thanks for taking the time to come and visit this site - can you see me blushing (in a very English way) from where you are? And massive thanks to Lucy, my most enthusiastic overseas supporter! 

Welcome to baby Charlotte

A freshly completed commission:

This one is being taken to Germany next week. Am really enjoying the thought of my work being slowly spread around the world. To date, I know of three pieces in America, one in Australia and one in Madrid. Have I missed anyone out?

Another Christmas present (from me, to me)

Christmas markets are dangerous places. I sometimes think I should have a cash-box that only allows me to put money in, not take it out - otherwise I end up spending a good proportion of any money I make, before I even take it home.   This is the screen-print I bought at the Widcombe Christmas market in Bath. Isn't she a beauty? The artist is a lovely lady called Gill Flury - no website yet, but I think there might be one in the pipeline! Will keep you posted...

(I think spool would be one of my favourite words even if I didn't love sewing.)

Even lego men need a quilt

He may look rather affronted, but secretly he loves it.

A little bit of shopping

Look what I managed to bring back from my shopping trip:

When I set out, the only thing on my shopping list was red and blue bias tape to finish off some bunting. Many thanks to Sew n Sew in the Guildhall Market, The Makery, Country Threads and Husqvarna Studio for lightening my purse! The little yellow chap in the top right hand corner is a tape measure (you pull on his ear....) and eldest daughter already has her eye on it, so if it goes missing I should be able to guess who the culprit is!

Also, for those who were wondering, yes I did buy the bag. It arrived today but I haven't taken it out yet - technically it is a Christmas present after all! Not sure I'll be able to hold out that long though....

Oh. My. Lord (Objects of desire No. 7)

Was supposed to be working today, but I've just found an email from Mimi Berry offering a 15% discount all week, and now all I can think about is this:

But which colour? Have also got a lot of time for this:

Does anyone know if my husband (entirely computer illiterate) ever reads this blog?

It's....the Bookshop commission

And here's the final post of the evening - this time to introduce the piece I was asked to do by Mr B's Emporium for the cover of their Christmas catalogue. Have been keen to post a picture but they asked me to wait until the catalogue came back from the printers.... (I'm not usually known for my patience but I did as I was asked!)

And here's the actual catalogue:

I'm about to start work on another building commission - this time it's going to be a picture of someone's home, which I think I'm going to enjoy. Until I started work on the Home Sweet Home picture for Downing Street (would love to know what's happened to it - still no thank you letter!) I hadn't even thought of creating a series of stitched buildings, but I'm really enjoying making them, and even find myself looking out for new candidates as I walk around Bath. Will post a picture of the new piece once it's finished.

Hello Kitty brooches

Oops - totally forgot to include these pics in the last post:

Widcombe Christmas market

Had a great time at the Widcombe Christmas market yesterday and met some lovely people, both old friends and new - thanks to everyone who stopped to say hello.

Here's a few pictures:

And here are some of the new Christmas tree angels, specially created by Annie Scotland:

Stuff Bath

Spent a lovely day today helping to set up mantelpieces for a brilliant new exhibition which opens in Milsom Place, Bath tomorrow.

"In existence, the mantelpiece commands the focus of the domestic interior; an altar, serving as a place to exhibit precious and sentimental objects. It has a permanence and somehow stands quietly separate from the daily life around it. On the mantelpiece everyone is able to curate the things they most love."

Spending the day there today has made me realise that I need to think more about how I display my most favourite objects (though I might have to wait until Christmas for some spare time to actually do something about it...)

You can find out more about the exhibition and the contributors here:  http://stuffbath.com/about/the-mantelpiece/  The various mantelpieces are all very different, and each is inspiring in its own way. In short, it really is a beautiful and thought-provoking exhibition, and well worth visiting if you are in town over the next week!

Gift tags - not just for Christmas!

The new gift tags are already selling well so it's lucky that husband and I spent last night cutting out, folding and stamping enough for 18 more packs. Little does he know, that he'll be doing more of the same over the next few days as I've just had an order for 6 packs from Sarah Jane at www.lottielovesvintage.com

Sarah Jane is a fellow stallholder at the Bath V&A market, and she was so pleased with the tags that she bought at the weekend that she's been back for more. Here's a couple of snaps of the labels hard at work on some of her lovely pieces:

Wise words

This piece was collected this morning - it's based on all the favourite sayings of her mother and father, and will hopefully bring a smile to someone's face on Christmas morning!