It's Competition Time!

Although the weather of late hasn't exactly been super-summery, I'm convinced that summer is indeed on the way! So to celebrate the impending sunny season I'm doing a little giveaway...

WIN this linen 'beach huts' tea cosy

All you have to do is follow my blog, leave a little comment below and 'like' my page on facebook (www.facebook.com/charlottemaceytextiles) - easy peasy!

So use the link above to help you on your way and I will be announcing the winner on Friday (the 3rd)... Good Luck!

Bath Coffee Festival 2011

On Friday we set up our stand at the Bath Coffee Festival; wallpaper tables and painted shelves all crammed into my little car and we headed off to beautiful Bath. Our stand was situated as people walked left upon entering the marquee and also very close to the massive Yeo Valley stand, we were excited to be in such a prime position!

We spent the weekend chatting, eating yogurt and of course, drinking coffee (although I also had more than my fair share of tea at the festival too!) We met wonderful visitors and exhibitors and although I am a little bit sleep-deprived, I wish the Coffee Festival was on for a third day, as I am itching to get back over to Bath already!

Some lovely statistics...

Saturday 21st - more people in one day this year than both days last year (and I thought last year was busy!) And on Sunday 22nd - 600 people through the door in the first half hour! Amazing!

Apple Jackets

Possibly one of the sweetest things I have ever seen, and certainly something I never thought I would be writing a blog post about, but here we are... Apple Jackets! Brought to light by the ladies at Mollie Makes magazine and featured on the front cover of their premier issue, Apple Jackets are taking off! 

Technically apple cosies... these are right up my street. So prepare to drool over these cute and pretty coloured jackets... x

Pashley Cycles...

I don't know where I've been hiding recently but only last week (via Twitter) I discovered the bicycle brand Pashley. Beautiful, classic, vintage-styled bicycles, in a range of pretty colours, perfect for cycling round towns and cities and even pulling an ice-cream cart...

With wonderful names such as Princess Sovereign and Poppy (Pastel Blue) I know what I will be putting on my birthday list this year...

Stroud International Textile Festival: World Textile Fair

Yesterday my mum and I ventured to Bisley, one of the beautiful Cotswold villages near Stroud, to visit the World Textile Fair (part of the International Textile Festival). Before we got there we had been lured in by promises of "stalls overflowing with textiles and clothes, quilts and all manner of decorative delights" - and that was exactly what we found!

Vintage quilts and old curtains from France, Japanese textiles and kimonos, rustic old linen and African and South East Asian textiles. It was quite a delight!

We spent ages rummaging through the piles of fabric, cushions, scarves and clothing, and although we left empty handed, it was wonderful to see and feel all the wonderful and well-loved fabric on offer. A lot of the beautiful quilts and pieces of hand-dyed vintage linen were a little out of my price range, but a girl can dream... x

Stroud International Textile Festival: Made in Stroud

2011's Stroud International Textile Festival has begun! This year's festival runs from 30th April - 22nd May and is so far proving to be (yet again) a wonderful success. I popped into the Made in Stroud shop on Kendrick Street to deliver some more stock and whilst I was there, had just enough time to fully browse the shop and the new goodies specially added for the duration of the festival...

As well as browsing the work available for the festival I was also delighted to spot my own work on display in a group in the very centre of the shop! Such a lovely, prominent position that of course I just had to take a few photos...!

1st Birthday!

Today is the official * 1st birthday of Charlotte Macey Textiles * and what an adventure the past year has been... from my first ever egg cosy and a couple of sample tea towels, to learning the ropes of running my own business and producing and gradually expanding my range of textile homewares, now available on my website www.charlottemacey.co.uk, other lovely handmade sites and also on Not on the High Street.

Here are a few snaps from the last year...

As well as all this I have wonderful stockists and enjoy sourcing my beautiful fabrics from local shops and fabric mills in the UK. I take immense pride in sewing each item I make and have particularly loved the feedback I've received from customers in the past year, your wonderful words have made it even more worthwhile and I'm looking forward to Year 2 with great anticipation! 

Thank you everyone x