Manchester Antique Textile Fair - The Textile Society

I heard of this quite a few years ago through friends.  I've only managed to go twice, and yet again, I won't be able to go this year.  The two times I went, I picked up some raffia/ velvet Kuba cloth, and small items of Eastern European embroideries for a very reasonable price.  Sadly I don't have pictures of them as they're in storage. So instead here's a couple of pictures from (I think) John Gillow's World Textiles book or then again they could be actual textiles from a collection I've seen, maybe the British Museum - if only my pics were sensibly named at the time!

It's happening this SUNDAY 6 MARCH 2010 at the Armitage Centre Fallowfield Manchester.  Find out more about it here or call 07719 347512.

Wonder Wednesday - Beetroot Grill & Cafe Morpeth

This is the second in a new series highlighting places & things to do I've found in my new home Northumberland. 

Having picked this topic for this week, I had grand plans for going to Beetroot and having dinner to make this a more rounded review, but then the snow came.  And kept coming.  So no chance!  But come the snow melt....

Wonder Wednesday - Cragside Estate Northumberland

A new weekly series highlighting places to visit, things to do and enjoy about my new home Northumberland.  If you don't know where it is - it's a wild county in the North East of England bordered by the sea on one side and pretty big hills on the other.

This week's feature is the Cragside Estate.  Originally built for Lord Armstrong (of the munitions firm Armstrong Vickers) in Victorian times, it's now run by the National Trust.  This month, to celebrate Armstrong's obsession with electricity, the estate has been transformed by light.  The picture (below) from Northumberland Tourism's blog shows the recently restored Iron Bridge crossing the gorge with the House itself blazing light from every window in the background.

http://www.visitnorthumberlandblog.com/2010/10/12/attractions-to-shine-as-winter-highlights/

Toot Hill Medley is open for business!

It took a while but I'm finally there!  The first Christmas Card series is up for sale on Etsy, and I'm planning to list a new product every day for the next few weeks.  First it's paper goods & cards, then it will be textiles/cloth based products, then mixed media followed finally by genuine One Of A Kind items made from raw materials processed by me (which is why they're One of a Kind - unrepeatable on so many levels).