Charlotte Macey Textiles ~ stitch tales & news...

giveaway

2012-01-29T10:22:00.000Z

** giveaway **

set of 4 spotty egg napkins

simply 'Like' our facebook page and the napkin

giveaway photo and you have entered!

we will announce the winner on Wednesday...

Top Drawer S/S 2012

2012-01-22T11:43:00.000Z

I arrived home from Top Drawer on Tuesday evening, exhausted but extremely happy. I don't set any targets order-wise, as you can never tell what a trade fair will bring, and especially having never done Top Drawer before, so I had absolutely no idea what to expect...

But I was far from disappointed... each day seemed to pick up pace, as stockists new (and old) came to chat to me and loved my work, and placed orders too, which was fantastic!

One of the highlights for me was meeting so many lovely people over the 3 days... twitter people you know who you are and it was fabulous to see you all again, or to meet you for the first time! Although I was ready to go home after 3 intense days (4 including setting up - a tough job when you are doing it on your own!), I was also a little bit sad, as it had been such a thoroughly enjoyable show!

Preparations...

2012-01-13T09:37:00.002Z

As we busily prepare for Top Drawer, which starts this weekend (opening on Sunday to be precise), I have just realised how slack I have been with our lovely little blog of late, oops!!

What with recovering from the Christmas rush, being worn out from a succession of festive fairs, and then putting my 'designing' cap back on to decide on new lines for 2012, I'm not sure where the time has gone...

So until we get back from Top Drawer mid-next-week (we will be at stand L100 if you are popping by!), here are a few sneak peeks of new items / card designs / ideas and a trial run set up snap to keep you busy til then... have a wonderful week x

A very French Christmas...

2011-12-28T18:33:00.000Z

This year we enjoyed a very snowy and very French Christmas... with orders all posted and things in the studio just about under control, I decided that a few days either side of the big day itself might be one of the only chances I would get to take a break for a while, so I jumped at the opportunity!

Before starting CMT I spent a couple of winter seasons as a chalet girl, and I've kept in touch with a lot of the people I met during my time in France. So I asked on a whim about the availability over the festive period, and to my delight there was space for us! We packed our suitcases and jetted off to France for mulled wine, cheese... and even turkey on Christmas Day!

Joyeux Noël xx

noël

2011-12-20T10:22:00.000Z

As we are winding down for Christmas there is just enough time amidst the last-minute order posting to show you a few festive images from Pinterest... snowy scenes, twinkling lights, baking and cosy homes......

...it's my favourite time of year and these lovely photographs depict everything that is wonderful about winter, I hope you enjoy them and Merry Christmas to you all! x

Festive Frolics

2011-12-12T10:16:00.000Z

And so our last festive fair is done and dusted... phew! On Saturday I scooted over to London at 5am for the Selvedge Christmas Fair, and what a cracker it was. The hall was decorated beautifully as usual, this time with swathes of Lewis & Wood fabric adorning the walls (a company local to me, so I felt right at home), tea and cakes from High Tea of Highgate (always a highlight) and so many wonderful customers, it was like chatting to old friends.

Even with the early start, the day flew by, and before I knew it and with last minute sales even as I was packing away my goodies, it was time to hit the road again... but not before saying au revoir to my 'fair friends' (new & old), in particular the ladies from Mud Rabbit, Emily Maude and Cath Ball Ceramics - all beautiful work.

I arrived home to a beautifully decorated Christmas tree, and will be making more tree decorations this week, as I completely sold out at the weekend! I hope you are all getting into the festive spirit and are keeping warm, x

The Makery Christmas Market

2011-12-05T20:26:00.000Z

This weekend we spent two lovely days at The Makery Emporium in Bath, where we had the opportunity to set up shop for the weekend at their first ever Christmas Market. We met wonderful customers, other designer-makers, and The Makery staff too, who were fabulous - thank you ladies!

When I'm next in Bath I know where I'll be heading... straight back to The Makery, it was like home from home amongst the fabrics, threads, cotton reels and all sorts of sewing/crafting delights...

...and ever so festive when it got dark in the evenings and the Christmas lights were turned on... Happy December everyone!

Festive Fairs!

2011-11-27T18:43:00.000Z

After a delightful day of shopping (and selling!) at the Christmas at the Orangery fair in Clifton yesterday, we have spent most of today catching up with orders and writing lists of what to make for next weekend and our next festive fair!

Next weekend (3rd & 4th December) we will be at The Makery Christmas Market in Bath. We are so excited to set our little 'shop' up again, this is honestly our favourite time of year.

Seeing the results of all our hard work culminate in a stall full of goodies is so rewarding, and I would set up our stall every day if I could!

So if you are out in Bath next weekend, or nearby and fancy popping in to see the wonderful array of handmade delights at The Makery Emporium, sat nav BA1 5AR and come and find us at 16 Northumberland Place in Bath... hopefully I can restrain my excitement until Saturday! x

The French Market

2011-11-20T14:17:00.000Z

The French Market returns to Tetbury a couple of times every year, and each time we head on over to get our fill of delicious cheese, a wide range of saucissons, meat and other French delights.

This time was no exception, the smells of Camembert and Reblochon wafted over us, the air was filled with the scent of traditional crêpes being cooked and the general hubbub of shoppers getting into full market swing was delightful to see. We only wish they would return more than twice a year, but perhaps that's just a little greedy! x

Country Living Christmas Fair 2011

2011-11-15T09:48:00.000Z

Yesterday was a day of recuperation and unpacking after the Country Living Christmas Fair which finished on Sunday. We had a fantastic week and met so many wonderful people over the 5 days, and now can't really believe that we're home again, what a whirlwind!

So here are a few snaps of our stand, that we shared with the fabulous Julia Davey (Julia Davey Ceramics), who helped the week to fly by - thanks Jules :)

We are now catching up on orders after a week away, so have plenty to get our teeth stuck into, hope you all have a lovely week, and if you didn't make it to London we will be selling lovely Christmas wares (both our own textiles and Julia's ceramic goodies) at our next festive event, Christmas at the Orangery in Clifton, Bristol on the 26th November, hope to see you there! x

The Country Living Christmas Fair

2011-11-06T13:16:00.002Z

On Tuesday we are off to set up for the Country Living Christmas Fair, I am equally very excited and very nervous! We have been featured in the preview leaflet that went out a few weeks ago and also in an email that was sent this week from Susy Smith (editor of Country Living) to all subscribers and mailing list, which was so wonderful! With most of our preparations done and only the packing of our suitcases to go, I think we are just about ready!

If you haven't quite got around to buying your tickets for the fair you can call the Ticket Hotline on 0844 848 0152 or head to www.countrylivingfair.com/xmas and enter the code CLXMAS9 to get a discount on your tickets. We are looking forward to seeing lots of lovely people there and to begin the festive season in true Country Living style! x

Tickets to Win!

2011-10-30T09:04:00.000Z

Would you like to WIN a pair of tickets to the Country Living Christmas Fair? Well look no further! I have a pair of tickets up for grabs...

Valid from Wednesday 9th - Sunday 13th (but excluding the Saturday) and all you have to do is leave a comment below and let me know what you are hoping to find under the tree (or in your stocking!) this year...

I will announce the winner on Tuesday, so don't delay!

And don't forget if you don't win this time you can always use

our code CLXMAS9 to get a discount on your tickets :)

I am also running this competition on my facebook page... so feel free to

'like' our page and to leave a comment there! https://www.facebook.com/charlottemaceytextiles x

Printed Chickens

2011-10-23T19:01:00.000+01:00

Today we have been busy printing our new chicken gift tags, so I thought I'd share a couple of photos of the new additions... these will be available at the Country Living Christmas Fair in a mere few weeks and in the meantime are also now on our website, http://charlottemacey.co.uk/manilla-chicken-tags.html, £3 for 5 lovely manilla gift tags.

Country Living Christmas Fair

2011-10-16T19:42:00.000+01:00

We have been hard at work here in the CMT studio for the past couple of weeks preparing manically for the Country Living Christmas Fair, and there are now only a few weeks to go!! We will be sharing a stand with Julia Davey Ceramics and absolutely cannot wait to get our stand all set up!

So here is a special discount code for you to use if you would like to come to the fair, I know we'd like to see lots of your lovely friendly faces!

Use the code CLXMAS9 either online or by phoning the ticket hotline on 0844 848 0152 to get £1 off the standard ticket price. And do pop by stand P42 on the mezzanine floor and say hello!

So for now, back to the sewing machine... x

New Bits & Bobs

2011-10-09T21:58:00.000+01:00

Evening all, hope you have enjoyed a lovely weekend, we've been hard at work in our temporary new studio (much bigger and can fit two sewing machines in, which is a bonus for preparing our stock for the Country Living Fair in November!) We are getting by on lots of tea and very little sleep, but loving the fast pace of our stock making due to the extra help!

I have two little announcements this week...

Firstly, our popular chickens tea towel is now available in lovely natural cotton! Available here on the website.

And secondly, we've also been adding a couple of new things to the 'bits & bobs' page, including this lovely vintage cotton braid, in French blue and white. We've decided it would be perfect for sewing projects, using around your home and even wrapping presents! Plus it's only £2.50 for 3 metres, so we're quite fond of it!

Linen Letters...

2011-10-02T22:43:00.000+01:00

I am excited to announce the addition of my new and exciting 'letters' range of homewares. I have just finished adding these two lovely linen tea towels to my website. Available in two unique designs... 'home' comes in a lovely jolly red and 'tea' in deep brown stitching. Both are available on my website now, I hope you like them! x

2011-09-25T19:50:00.000+01:00

Hello everyone! Following on from last Sunday's post I just wanted to let you know that 'bits & bobs' went live this week on my website, and has so far had a wonderful response, so expect more bits & bobs cropping up in the future too!

Even though next week is meant to be warming up, it has felt very Autumnal in the past few weeks, I've started snuggling up in woolly jumpers and have been doing more baking... so here are a couple of my favourite 'Sweets & Treats' pics from my board on Pinterest... hope you all have a lovely week x

Coming Soon...

2011-09-18T10:19:00.001+01:00

I've been planning on adding an all-new section to my website for a while, and this week I started to build the pages for it. The new section will be called 'bits & bobs' and will feature little extras and great stocking fillers, from peg bundles to plain gift tags to decorate yourself, to spotty egg cups, and with plenty of other things in the pipeline too!

In the absence of having a real-life shop and the space to store lots of bigger things, this new section will also co-ordinate wonderfully with my own range... it will be dedicated to bits & bobs that I find and love and hope that you will too. x

Robins & Puddings

2011-09-11T18:25:00.000+01:00

This weekend I have been hand-drawing lots of card and gift tags for one of my stockists, so thought I would introduce you to a few of this years festive cards and tags...

robins card...

figgy pudding card...

small pudding tags...

and last but not least, small robin tags...

Red & White

2011-09-04T17:56:00.000+01:00

Two of my favourite colours: red and white. Simple, pretty and cosy. I don't know whether I am particularly in love with this combination at the moment because of the launch of my Christmas Shop, but as Autumn is beginning to set in and I have started to dig out a few more woolly layers, I thought I would share a couple of pictures I found on Pinterest this week... x

The Coast...

2011-08-28T18:11:00.000+01:00

Here are a few snaps from my recent little holiday to the seaside. I had a very relaxing break and it was perfect to recharge the batteries! My holiday pictures range from beautiful peeling paint, to peckish seagulls...

...lots of photos of my new obsession, boats...

...and pretty coastal colours and paintwork... x

Something a bit different...

2011-08-14T23:10:00.000+01:00

A few weeks ago I was asked by a customer to make a special tea towel for a wedding anniversary, I soon realised the task in hand would require the design to be sewn in a way that was a little different to my usual style of sewing. I was asked to make a tea towel depicting the family's home in the Lake District, on a large scale taking up half of the tea towel...

I was a bit daunted at first but am really pleased with how it has turned out. My customer was also very happy and I'm now making a second one (a mini series of tea towels!) with some different appliquéd sections and I'm finding it all very exciting!

The Seaside!

2011-08-07T21:23:00.000+01:00

This weekend I squeezed in a '24 hour holiday' as I liked to think of it! When I was little I went on a family holiday to Mumbles, so as one of my best friends has recently moved to Swansea, I decided it was time to return to the Welsh coast for a wee break!

To be honest I didn't recognise much of Mumbles, but upon some other friend's recommendations we made sure we had a Joe's ice cream and a delicious lunch on the seafront. (Joe's was delicious by the way!) and we also visited the house where my auntie grew up, which was lovely to see and take snaps of to show her.

All too soon it was time to come home, but I'm now feeling fresh and rejuvenated from the sea air and sunshine and am ready for the week ahead!

This week...

2011-07-31T16:33:00.000+01:00

This week I have been working on orders from Home & Gift. Particularly popular items have been chickens tea and egg cosies and anything with wine glasses on, as well as frilly tea cups, ten green bottles tea towels and lots of napkins!

My new stockists include a new shop opening in Germany by a lovely lady called Iris who I met at the show, Dorfstrasse 9 will be opening in October. As well as Furleys in Rutland, Tilly & Rose and Empathy, in Alton where my cosies and other bits and bobs will be featured alongside vintage painted furniture - the perfect setting.

My Christmas range also went down a treat at the show, so have been making lots of Christmassy goodies too! I can't wait to launch them later on in the year! x

And the winners are...

2011-07-29T14:17:00.000+01:00

Thank you to everyone who entered my competition, these two little cosies are now ready to head off to their new homes. And without further ado the winners are...

Granny Smither (Kate Verrier)

and

Rosa Lily (Pen)

Congratulations!! If you could both get in touch with me at design@charlottemacey.co.uk to let me know your address I'll pop your egg cosies in the post! x

[ GIVEAWAY! ]

2011-07-24T10:11:00.000+01:00

It's Giveaway Time!

It feels like a while since my last competition and I just so happen to have a couple of turquoise 'love' egg cosies sitting here in the studio, pretty prizes for TWO winners!

To enter all you have to do is...

1. Follow my blog & leave a comment below so that I know you've entered!

2. 'Like' my facebook page, www.facebook.com/charlottemaceytextiles

3. And tweet a link to my competition on twitter! For example...

It's competition time @charlottemacey textiles, win a pretty pair of turquoise linen egg cosies! http://stitchtales.blogspot.com/ (feel free to cut and paste!)

I will announce the winners on Friday (29th) and last but not least, good luck!

Home & Gift 2011

2011-07-21T11:32:00.000+01:00

For the last few days I've been up in Harrogate at the Home & Gift trade fair. From sitting in the studio sewing away happily to the trade fair frenzy was quite a contrast, and it was wonderful! I met hundreds of people, from lovely independent shops to fellow exhibitors.

So whilst I'm writing invoices and catching up on a week's worth of admin and emails, here are a few pics from the show...

It was also my birthday whilst I was in Harrogate, so my auntie treated me to dinner at Betty's - so wonderfully English and traditional, I am now their number one fan! x

We Make: Pop-Up Shop

2011-07-10T20:16:00.000+01:00

This weekend I ventured to London town to help out at the We Make Summer Pop-Up Shop in Hampstead. It began last Saturday and finished yesterday, often staying open til 9pm, making the most of the Hampstead late-night shoppers, of which there were many! The shop was beautifully arranged, with wonderful art work and prints on the walls, and everything from cushions to necklaces dotted around the shop, it was wonderful!

We Make also ran workshops throughout the week, and yesterday's was Zebra Making... hand sewn and stuffed, I only wished I could've joined in, the zebra's were amazing!

Oak Studio in Hampstead...

New Bunting!

2011-07-04T08:54:00.000+01:00

With the Christmas range getting underway here in the CMT studio I have turned my hand to my bunting. I have just about used up the last of the spotty charcoal, teal and blue that I have been using for my larger sized bunting since I began making bunting, however now that the spotty has stopped being produced it was time to look at new fabrics and colourways for new bunting. A while ago I introduced 'mini bunting' to my range and due to the success of this cute little version of the larger bunting, have decided to go for mini all the way!

After getting my entire fabric collection out, arranging linens and cottons in piles of colours and patterns that I liked the look of together I now have 3 new mini buntings... a combination of spots, stripes, linens and cottons, and now also a longer length of 1m 50 too!

First up, floral mini bunting...

...spotty blue mini bunting...

... and last but not least, spotty red mini bunting - jolly and festive and is actually a sneak peek at my Christmas range, to be revealed at Home & Gift in mid-July! x

Poppies

2011-06-26T13:18:00.000+01:00

Whilst driving back from the post office this week two factors finally came together... the field full of poppies that I have driven past on numerous occasions in the last few weeks, and having my camera in my bag! So I pulled over and started snapping. The field was full of hundreds of poppies and lots of meadow flowers intermingled with them, the sight was spectacular.

Handmade in Britain 2011

2011-06-19T23:05:00.000+01:00

I have spent the last few days in my favourite city, Bath, at the Handmade in Britain fair at the beautiful Assembly Rooms. I shared my stand with the ceramicist Julia Davey (we are also sharing a stand at Country Living in November, so this was the perfect trial run!)

We enjoyed four days of fair-action, assessing how our products sit alongside each other and planning our Christmas stand in London. I met so many lovely people at the fair, both fellow exhibitors and fair-goers, with some exciting new contacts too.

And I even managed some early morning strolls and coffee expeditions around the centre of Bath before the fair opened to the public at 11am. It is definitely still my favourite city and I'm getting excited about Christmas already! x

Soft Brown Sugar Cookies

2011-06-12T16:15:00.000+01:00

This week we have been celebrating birthday after birthday here in the Macey household... well, two birthdays to be precise. So at the beginning of the week I tried my hand at a spot of baking, and found a tasty-looking recipe for Soft Brown Sugar Cookies on Pinterest (my new favourite website!)

For a start the recipe was using cups (as it was American) and I altered it a tad as I am wheat intolerant, but here is the original recipe...

Ingredients:

2/3 c. butter, softened

1-1/2 c. brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla extract

2-1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1 c. sour cream

Directions:

Blend together butter and brown sugar. Add eggs, one at a time; blend well. Add vanilla; beat until light. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with sour cream; mix well. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto non-stick or lightly greased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. Remove to a wire rack; cool. Makes 2 dozen.

I swapped regular flour for self-raising gluten-free flour and still used the same quantities of baking powder and baking soda, but left the salt out of the recipe, and the results were great!! When I make these again I would add chocolate chips to the recipe and then they would be perfect, but all in all, a good week's baking! x

Weddings & Chickens!

2011-06-05T10:25:00.000+01:00

In the past week my range of cosies has seen a couple of new additions. Firstly a new Mr & Mrs tea cosy (with a coffee cosy to follow in the next few days!) that co-ordinates wonderfully with my Mr & Mrs egg cosies. Inspired by vintage lace and classic wedding dresses it makes a lovely wedding gift.

Each is individually handmade from beautiful ivory linen with a red ticking lining. The front and back of the cosy feature 'Mr & Mrs' stitched handwriting and a pretty quilted-effect floral design.

The second new design I've been working on is... chickens!! I have had customers asking me on numerous occasions for a chicken design, so here it is! This week I made my first couple of egg cosies and in the next few days I will also be adding a tea and coffee cosy. Check my website in a few days to see the full range of 'chicken' cosies! x

We have a winner...

2011-06-03T10:40:00.000+01:00

Congratulations

to the lucky winner of the beach huts tea cosy...

Wendy Massey!

Wendy, if you would like to email your address to me at: design@charlottemacey.co.uk that would be great and I'll

pop your new tea cosy in the post!

...and to everyone who entered, thank you so much!!

Stay tuned for more blog news and adventures and

more exciting competitions in the future!

I hope you all have a wonderful sunny weekend,

Charlotte x

It's Competition Time!

2011-05-28T14:28:00.000+01:00

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

2011-05-23T09:03:00.000+01:00

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

2011-05-19T20:25:00.000+01:00

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...

2011-05-16T20:16:00.000+01:00

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

2011-05-15T15:13:00.001+01:00

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

2011-05-08T12:20:00.002+01:00

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!

2011-05-01T16:58:00.006+01:00

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

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T13:09:00.000+01:00

Happy Easter everyone, I hope you are all enjoying a splendid weekend, hopefully with lots of sunshine, chocolate and good times!

My Easter has comprised so far of some work, a bit of sun, chocolate munching and re-designing a couple of my classic tea towels (which you can see below...)

I'm now off on an egg hunt, have a lovely day! x

NEW frilly cups cotton tea towel with appliquéd floral linen

NEW linen 'cupcakes' tea towel with appliquéd spotty vintage cotton 'cherries'!

Made in Bristol: Spring

2011-04-18T17:40:00.000+01:00

Hello all! Have just finished 110 hand-drawn wedding invitations (more about these in another post) and am packing up orders ready for a Post Office trip in the morning and to deliver the wedding invitation cards in person :)

I've found a moment to upload a few snaps of the lovely Colston Hall from the Made in Bristol Spring Fair on Saturday. The crowds weren't swarming unfortunately but I managed some sales and met a couple of potential new stockists, so all in all it was a well spent day!

Hope you enjoy the snaps x

Blossom

2011-04-17T12:08:00.000+01:00

The Spring flowers may be fading but to remind us that a new season is on it's way are the blossoms, and they sure are pretty... this is just a few of the photos I took of our apple trees, looks like there will be a good crop this year... if the wasps don't get to them first! x

I hate plastic bags...

2011-04-10T11:05:00.001+01:00

After fighting with an array of plastic bags over the last week, in shops and packaging for this, that and the other, I decided it was time to write a post dedicated to the good old cotton shopper... reliable, reusable and most importantly, a whole lot better for the environment...

Whilst on a bit of a notonthehighstreet.com browsing sesh I found this quirky little shopper, by Mr.PS. Cute.

I found these lovely zippered purses after exploring a beautiful Etsy treasury I was featured in this week (a selection of lovely vintage-inspired baking finds: bake me a cake as fast as you can). These purses are by Canadian-based pi'lo and their website is equally as beautiful. Although not specifically a 'cotton shopper' I think pi'lo is a shop well worth a mention.

And last but not least, as I am championing the joy of the cotton shopper - it scrunches down into your handbag, can be whipped out at a moments notice to carry groceries, shopping, anything bulky or heavy, or anything at all really - I thought I would add in one of the shoppers from my own range, this one is stitched with quirky wine glasses.

Have a wonderful sunny Sunday everyone! x

And the winner is...

2011-04-08T14:51:00.000+01:00

This week I've heard tales of egg cup collections, plans of luxurious breakfasts in bed and naughty 'real' bunnies - so thank you for all your entries and for keeping me entertained with your wonderful comments! And without further ado, the winner is...

I Love Hearts

Congratulations!! If you could tear yourself away from the sunshine and send me a little email with your name and address that would be fantastic and I can get your bunnies on their way to you :)

Thank you everyone for taking part and pop back soon for more posts! x

Easter Competition - Win Win Win!

2011-04-04T08:53:00.001+01:00

* * * Welcome to the second CMT giveaway * * *

Since launching my Benjamin and Beatrix egg cosies earlier in March they have been flying out of the studio (although not literally!) so I thought this pair would make the perfect prize for my Easter giveaway!

To win: all you have to do is follow my blog and leave a comment below.

I will announce the winner on Friday 8th April... Good Luck!

The Selvedge Spring Fair

2011-04-03T11:31:00.000+01:00

Good morning everyone and firstly, Happy Mother's Day!

I hope you are enjoying a splendid weekend, yesterday morning I travelled to London for the Selvedge Spring Fair, so thought I would fill you all in on all the day's events.

My day began at 4am, leaving the house at 5am bound for the big smoke. It was my first expedition driving all the way to London and on my own too, I was a little nervous to say the least. However I managed to keep my eyes open and made it to St Augustine's Church Hall with plenty of time to spare before setting up for the day, even managing a small nap in the car before unloading!

We had a couple of hours to set up before Polly declared the Spring Fair officially 'open'! I've added some new bits and bobs to the display of my stand and I was pleased with how it all looked as the fair-goers arrived at 10 o'clock.

Aprons, tea towels and egg cosies all went down brilliantly and I am so relieved, as you never quite know how things are going to go. The hall was decorated beautifully, including hand made paper pom-poms hanging from the ceiling, it was quite a display! I met so many lovely people throughout the day and even put a lot of twitter names to faces too. Fortunately my tiredness didn't get the better of me and I had a sneaky can of energy drink on hand to see me through the drive home :)

I'd like to say a very big Thank You to all the Selvedge ladies (and gentlemen!) who worked so hard to make the fair happen x

The Sunday Post: Country Living Spring Fair

2011-03-27T18:12:00.001+01:00

On Friday my mum and I took the train to London to visit the Country Living Spring Fair. A little treat that we like to enjoy a couple of times a year and definitely the best Country Living Fair we have visited yet!

We had a wonderful day of shopping, eating, drinking and meeting people exhibiting at the fair who I had previously only been in contact with via email. A few weeks ago Joanne from Callula Glass contacted me to ask if I would be interested in making union jack bunting and linen panels for her stand at the fair - I delighted in the task and one of our first stops at the fair was to go and check out the bunting and panels in action!

I was pretty slack on the photo-taking at the fair in general (I blame the excessive eating, shopping and chatting!) but I did however manage to take a few pictures of Joanne's stand complete with union jack bunting!

Spring Colours

2011-03-24T11:18:00.001Z

Never before has the arrival of Spring felt so joyous... the air is warmer, I am no longer wearing three pairs of socks and a pair of slippers, I'm not even wearing a jumper! Yesterday was apparently the warmest day we've seen here in Britain in 6 months, a scorching 17 degrees! It's no wonder this new-found warmth is so exciting, it's been a long time coming.

To celebrate this wonderful weather, here are a few photos that I found whilst trawling the internet recently... the fresh Spring colours and beautiful white walls are right up my street!

The Sunday Post

2011-03-20T13:59:00.006Z

It's been a bit of a Red Nose Fest in the studio this week. My little red nose has been hanging out with the fabric and pins, and put in a special appearance on Friday for Red Nose Day itself. I also spent a lot of time working and listening to the Chris Moyles & Comedy Dave record-breaking radio marathon on Radio 1, which was absolutely brilliant!

As well as modelling my fetching Red Nose and listening to Radio 1 I've been busy re-stocking one of my favourite local shops this week, Made in Stroud. I took over a delivery of new Benjamin egg cosies, tea towels, aprons and Mr & Mrs egg cosies to replenish their stock. They have also given their website a bit of a make-over, which is still in progress but looking great.

Whilst I was in Stroud I popped into my new favourite café, Star Anise. Situated at the bottom of Gloucester Street in the heart of Stroud, where you will find super-delicious cakes, healthy lunches, exhibitions and even live music! It's so well worth a visit that I've been twice this week! x

Mother's Day is on the way...

2011-03-15T18:13:00.000Z

With Mother's Day just under 3 weeks away I thought it was time to put my thinking cap on and to collage together a selection of lovely gifts for you all!

So with all wonderful mothers in mind take your pick from aprons and tea cosies, to tea towels and napkins (many of which co-ordinate beautifully together too).

// take a peek over on my website for many more Mother's Day treats //

Mother's Day Collage (top): linen 'coffeeee' cosies, wine glasses cotton shopper, spotty cupcake tea towel, natural cupcakes apron.

Mother's Day Collage (bottom): white 'croissant' napkins, linen 'marmalade' tea towels, natural union jack tea cosy & co-ordinating natural union jack cushion, set of 4 egg cosies.

The Sunday Post

2011-03-13T20:56:00.000Z

With the Selvedge Spring Fair only 3 weeks away (and of course Mother's Day also a mere 3 weeks away!) it was lovely to read a blog post by Holly Becker on 'decor8' about the fair and listing the exhibitors with links to their shops too. Have a peep if you get a moment... http://decor8blog.com/ it's such a lovely blog.

Following on from last week's 'Sneak Peek' here are a couple of photos of the finished articles... Benjamin egg cosies! Available as a lovely set of 3 or individually, and you can choose from a spotty, hearts or stripey neck-tie :-) bring on Easter I say! x

Sneak Peek!

2011-03-06T11:33:00.003Z

This weekend I've been working on some new additions to my current range. After a couple of trial and error samples my new little friends finally took shape yesterday evening and will be launched a little later on today! (Provided my Sunday To-Do list gets done that is!) So here are a couple of small snapshots to give you a taster til later on... I hope you are all enjoying a lovely weekend x

Later on Sunday...

I have just finished adding my new Benjamin egg cosies to my website, take a look here!
Available as a set of 3 or singly - and you can choose the ribbon neck tie too, stripe, spotty or hearts!

The slightly delayed Sunday Post... the Monday Post!

2011-02-28T17:45:00.000Z

Gosh, how time has just vanished today, I had every intention of writing this nice and early and suddenly it is 5 o'clock!! Better late than never, let me start by introducing my lovely new stockist in Stalbridge, Shy Violet. Suzanne from the shop in Dorset contacted me last week asking for trade details and less than a couple of hours later had placed her first order! I think from the photos on the Shy Violet website that my things are going to fit right in. If you are down in the Dorset area pop in and say hello to Suzanne and see her wonderful shop!

This afternoon I booked my train tickets to visit the Country Living Spring Fair. My mum and I venture over to London every Spring and Christmas as a little treat and yet again I'm excited about it! As the website says, the "Spring Fair is the perfect way to banish the winter blues and celebrate the bright new season" - which sounds good to me!

The Sunday Post: Spring Edition

2011-02-20T11:47:00.002Z

Good morning! With the arrival of snowdrops I feel it is now just about appropriate to celebrate the arrival of Spring! So I've put together a little blog post dedicated to all things 'Spring-y'... I hope you like!

I'd also like to mention the wonderful Selvedge Spring Fair, being held on Saturday 2nd April at the lovely St Augustine's Church Hall, across the road from the Selvedge shop. I am more than excited to be one of the 30 designers and makers selected for this fantastic event and had better start making in preparation! (Click on the Spring Fair banner to go to the Selvedge website for further info!)

So without further ado, here is my Spring Selection...

Croissant napkins, perfect for Spring breakfasts, inspired by some time I spent in France a few years ago and reminiscent of eating croissants and jam out in the French sunshine...

Spotty Eggs Tea Towel and co-ordinating Spotty Eggs Card - the perfect gifts to give friends this Easter or to use in your own kitchen! New additions to my range, spotty eggs are solely inspired by my favourite meal-time of the day, breakfast!!

And last but not least, my range of lovely floral cosies ~ available as a tea cosy, coffee cosy, or even an egg cosy! They look lovely dotted around the kitchen. I hope you all have a wonderful week and I'll catch up with you next Sunday! x

The Sunday Post: Union Jack edition!

2011-02-13T17:28:00.001Z

This week I have been working on a few new products, which has been very exciting. I'm not quite sure where I found the time but I have managed it, just about! So without further ado here are my new products: natural union jack tea cosy and the co-ordinating natural union jack cushion.

As well as new union jack designs I've also added a new 'love heart' egg cosy and a set of Mr & Mrs egg cosies too! Today I also added a 'Weddings' section to my website, displaying my new egg cosies and other items that make great wedding gifts! Hopefully this will make navigating my website even easier and for people looking for wedding gifts this summer, help to point them in the right direction!

Anyway, orders are calling me again so I'd best be off, until next week! x

"The Sunday Post"

2011-02-05T11:42:00.002Z

Phew, what a day! I decided yesterday afternoon to take a trip to Spring Fair at the Birmingham NEC. As a fairly new designer I thought it would be best to check out the fair before committing to a vastly expensive stand in the future! So this morning my mum and I headed up to Birmingham to have a look around.

And gosh am I glad I visited... for a start it was indeed 'massive' (as I had heard from friends and contacts) but it was also well worth the visit. I got a good feel for the event, what the stands and different halls were like and even met some of my lovely twitter contacts too! So hopefully one day soon you will see Charlotte Macey Textiles at Spring or Autumn Fair! Exciting.

This week I also received my much-anticipated custom rubber stamp in the post... and I love it! I ordered it along with some lovely navy blue ink (I wasn't content with plain old black) and am more than happy with the results. Great for stamping onto my brown paper bags for upcoming fairs, above is a little example of my stamping handiwork!

And with only one week to go til Valentines, why not pop over to my website for a browse through some of my handmade textile goodies and lovely Valentines dotty hearts cards! x

And the winner is...

2011-02-02T14:57:00.004Z

Kirstie Williams!

I'd like to say a massive thank you to everyone who entered and became a follower. I had such an amazing response to my first ever giveaway and have loved all your wonderful egg cosy feedback. Thank you all!

Also a big welcome to all my new followers, stay tuned for more Charlotte Macey Textiles news and giveaways... I've enjoyed this one so much there are bound to be more :)

I hope you are all having a wonderful day and pop back on Sunday for my blog entry, The Sunday Post (a little round-up from my week!) x

Win Win Win!

2011-01-30T13:23:00.004Z

It's time for the first ever Charlotte Macey Textiles giveaway!

All you have to do to enter is to become a follower of Stitch Tales.

The winner will receive this one-off red spotty 'love' egg cosy.
Made only this morning, this little cosy is perfect for Valentines and Easter and is made from lovely red linen with a spotty red lining... I'm sooo happy with it!

I will choose a random winner at 3 o'clock on Wednesday the 2nd of February - in plenty of time for Valentines Day!

"The Sunday Post"

2011-01-29T17:02:00.007Z

Hello, I hope you've all had a lovely week. For Valentines Day this year I've made a little section in my Folksy shop, from cards and egg cosies to aprons and tags, all the treats you will need for the big day itself!

With this chilly chilly weather and the legendary January blues I think people are looking to decorate their homes and cheer themselves up a bit, as this week my best sellers have been bunting! From jolly red stripe bunting to my new mini bunting, I think anything that brightens up your home after the removal of the lovely Christmas tree is always a good thing! (Plus bunting is one of my favourite things to make so all in all it's been a pretty lovely week!) Right, my fingers are freezing off as I write this, I'm so keen for some warmer weather now, roll on February I say! x

Valentines!

2011-01-27T11:04:00.005Z

With only a couple of weeks to go until Valentines I've decided to get prepared early this year with a blog post dedicated to all things Valentinesy in my shop! So without further ado here are my pick of Valentines goodies and cute treats for 2011... (you can click on each image to take you to it on my website) x

La belle France

2011-01-22T18:58:00.007Z

After a week in the snow I am finally back in the driving seat, or should I say the 'sewing seat'. It has taken me all week to catch up and get around to writing this! Whilst dreaming of mountains this week I have been busy making fresh batches of egg cosies, aprons and other new goodies and freshening up my stockist's supplies.

I've been busy designing new tea towels, a range of floral cosies and new natural linen pinnies for the New Year and am excited that they are all now in my web shop. Spring/Summer 2011 here we come! In the meantime I'll leave you with a few snaps I took of la belle France and lovely wooden chalets... have a wonderful week, x

it runs in the family...

2011-01-07T18:01:00.005Z

Whilst rooting around under her bed yesterday my mum found a tea cosy made by my grandmother, depicting my dad's old Beetle! I never met my granny but she was apparently a lot like me and delighted in sewing, so I thought it only apt to show you the infamous and well-loved 'Beetle tea cosy'. It is a joy for me to see, as it is part of my family's sewing history and shows that stitch and tea cosy design in particular really does run in the family :)
My granny would often buy a piece of fabric on the way home from work and whip it up into a skirt to wear out in the evening - I only wish I was that good at making clothes!

Above: my new floral tea cups tea cosy. Below: a few of my cosies hanging behind my granny's vintage Beetle tea cosy, a little threadbare in places from years of love and use... x

2011

2011-01-02T11:29:00.004Z

Happy New Year!!!! I can't believe that 2011 is finally here, after months of preparation leading up to Christmas, then the big day itself and finally we are into the new year, it's all very exciting. I hope you all had a great night, with lots of champagne (or something fizzy!)

Whilst being snowed in and snowed under with Christmassy orders I've also been busy planning new products and designs for 2011, so here are a few of the newbies...

mini bunting (above) - looks very sweet on doorways and children's bedrooms!

natural linen pinnies - available in red, natural and navy blue stripe

spotty eggs tea towel - great for a certain celebratory time of year coming up (I have already spotted mini eggs and Easter eggs in the supermarkets - and that was before Christmas!)

new set of 4 egg cosies - perfect for the whole family at breakfast-time!

and last but not least - new 'croissant' napkins, available in white and natural cotton

Happy 2011 from all at Charlotte Macey Textiles x

Christmas-Time

2010-12-26T10:31:00.004Z

Merry Christmas from the Macey household! Yesterday saw a whole day of eating, drinking, walking, watching festive films and most importantly, no work! The one day in the year where work is strictly off the agenda! I hope you all had a wonderful day and are continuing the festive merriment today, as I plan to after this.
And just a little note to say, keep your eyes peeled for new Charlotte Macey Textiles goodies in the new year! Love Charlotte x http://charlottemacey.co.uk/home.html

Happy Christmas!

2010-12-19T22:56:00.006Z

Welcome to my slightly delayed 'Sunday Post'. Today was my last day for posting here at CMT, so I am now officially on 'holiday' (supposedly!) Apart from having a break on Christmas Day, I have a few more bits and bobs to get done before the new year. But whilst on the subject of holidays I would like to wish you all a very Happy Christmas, have a lovely festive period, enjoy lots of eating and general merriment, and thank you for all your support throughout 2010.

New products for 2011 are now ready for action and I have spent large parts of the past two days updating my website ready for the new year (scarily not very far away!) So on this snowy day I will give you a sneak peek of some of my new goodies for the new season and the new year!

Merry Christmas everyone x

Katie Bonas' Open Workshop

2010-12-09T19:34:00.004Z

On Thursday I ventured to a lovely Cotswold village called Yanworth, home to the workshop of Katie Bonas, who hand paints antique furniture giving it a new lease of life. It was another frosty Gloucestershire morning and I piled my goodies into the car wearing 2 pairs of gloves, 2 jumpers and a large coat! But I arrived at Katie's wonderful barn with plenty of time to warm up and take in the wonderful surroundings of her stone barn workshop.

It was the perfect setting for an open workshop and my work was on display alongside Katie's furniture, Lolly & Boo's boxed artwork and Sarah Hardaker's beautiful linen products.

The barn had a steady flow of people throughout the day, the mulled wine was flowing and mince pies were being warmed in a baby Belling in the corner of the barn. It was a great setting and fantastic to be amongst such lovely company design-wise. The day rounded up at 3pm, and I headed off back to the studio to continue with my Christmas orders!
Here is a little excerpt from the CMT Christmas newsletter I sent last night...

* free gift-wrapping *

For the remainder of the Christmas shopping season I will gift wrap all orders I receive in lovely brown paper and festive red string! So that ought to save you some time in the next two weeks to spend doing more fun things like making eggnog or decorating your Christmas tree! * click here to pop over to my website *

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

last posting date...

To make sure you get all your Charlotte Macey goodies in time for Christmas I will be accepting orders up until (and including) Sunday 19th December.

'We Make' Christmas Fair

2010-12-05T11:51:00.002Z

As the rest of the country found themselves under mountains of snow all week I waited patiently for a little more than the few millimetres we did get... til Friday night that is! At half past nine it started snowing, the flakes got fatter, and knowing I had to be up at 4.30 the next morning to go to London I eventually managed to convince myself to go to sleep and see what it was like when I woke up...

The one night of the week I really needed it not to snow and I awoke to white roads, an icy car and thick, thick fog! At 5.30am my mum and I set off to the station, not realising how bad conditions were and how slow we would need to drive to get there, we consequently missed our train! At 6.15am the only logical thing seemed to be to drive to the next station to try and meet the train en route... at 6.51 realising that without a sat nav we had no idea where the station was in the town and had only 9 minutes to find it, I made a spur of the moment decision and zoomed off down the M4 towards Reading... fortunately we made our train from Reading to Paddington in good time (the first good thing to happen in the morning and by this time we'd already been up for a good 4 hours!)

We traipsed down the length of the Kings Road and made it successfully to Chelsea Town Hall, exhausted but pleased we had finally made it there! We had a wonderful day at our Christmas stall and met great people throughout the day, as well as managing to stock up on Christmas presents from the other sellers there. The hall teemed with people all day, with a queue forming for the opening at 11am and people still shopping at 5 when we closed!

As we headed home in the evening I couldn't resist a snap of the amazing Peter Jones Christmas 'curtain' of lights, it was spectacular!! x

Vintage & Handmade Christmas Fair

2010-11-28T17:22:00.003Z

Gosh isn't it chilly!! I must say I was very impressed at the wonderful turnout to the Vintage & Handmade Christmas Fair today, even in these arctic conditions! I've just returned home after a great day at the fair, and met some lovely lovely people too. Unfortunately, by the time I was able to get to the tea and cake selection upstairs, my lovely Lemon Drizzle had all been devoured! Ah well, if time I may make a second one tomorrow ;)

A little snap of my lovely Lemon Drizzle (at least, I hope it was lovely!) and also a few more pics from the fair, including the wonderful Razzamataz carol singers and a couple of my stand too...

Next Saturday I will be popping to London for the day, laden with goodies ready for the 'We Make' Christmas Fair at Chelsea Town Hall. I'm really getting into the spirit of Christmas now and am excited about next weekend already, however, lots to do before then! Have a lovely week x

Christmas has officially begun...

2010-11-21T21:29:00.004Z

You know Christmas has officially begun when you hear festive songs out shopping, and when mince pies and mulled wine become a staple part of your diet... as of this weekend it has happened, and the munching of my first gluten-free mince pie this year has marked the start of the festive season, 'officially', as far as I'm concerned! I have also been selling at festive fairs this weekend, so everything is in full swing and I am loving it! The coming week is going to involve more last-minute Christmas trade orders and making lots of fair stock! I may need a lot of mulled wine this week... and on Sunday (28th) I will be at the Vintage & Handmade Christmas Fair at Chipping Sodbury town hall, which I cannot wait for!! Details are here if you would like to come, and please spread the word too, there will also be lots of lovely handmade cakes, tea, and I expect a fair few mince pies!! x

* a few festive fair snaps... and find lots of goodies and stocking fillers in my Christmas Shop! *

41 days...

2010-11-13T17:56:00.009Z

Firstly I would like to say a BIG thank you to everyone who voted for Stitch Tales in the Dorset Cereals little blog awards, the results were announced this week and to my huge surprise, I came 5TH!!! Yippee.

So there are 41 days to go til Christmas... the air is getting chilly, shops are playing Christmas music and Christmas shopping is now in full flow. So I thought I would share a few seasonal snaps with you!

Fake snow outside the Mall at Cribbs Causeway, Bristol... (it looked so real!)

Stockings, mince pies and even a sleigh, at the Country Living Christmas Fair this week...

And on a product-related note I have now added natural wine glass napkins to my napkin range, you can browse all my napkins and other products on my NEW website, I hope you enjoy it :)

remember, remember...

2010-11-07T08:41:00.004Z

...the 5th of November... well for us it was actually the 6th when we celebrated Guy Fawkes night and held our village firework display. And for a little village it sure was impressive! I captured some sneaky snaps amidst the 'oooooh's and 'ahhhh's and proceeded to munch my way through a large helping of sausages and my fair share of mulled wine! I was 'cosying' up until the mulled wine preparations began last night, and have a few tea cups tea cosies to finish today, but with all this mulled wine and the smell of cinnamon and other spices in the air, (plus the odd Christmas song starting to play on the radio!) it really is beginning to feel pretty festive in the studio... almost time to start decorating, I'm thinking fairy lights and some little hanging decorations, although perhaps in a few weeks ;)

Ooh, and before I forget, my blog has been nominated in the Dorset Cereals little blog awards, so if you would like to vote, here is the link! Thank you and spread the word if you can :) I hope you have a lovely week, and here's to some more chilly November days! x

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T14:12:00.004Z

Hello and happy Halloween! Just to go completely against the grain (and because I haven't started carving my pumpkin yet, it is this evenings task!) today's blog post will not be about pumpkins!! Instead I want to show you a few snaps from Freeze Festival that I went to at Battersea Power Station yesterday... a massive ski slope and amazing bands, I've had the Best Weekend and want to do it all over again! x

the trunk project... update!

2010-10-25T18:57:00.004+01:00

I squeezed in a couple of hours this afternoon/evening away from the sewing machine to tackle the trunk... post-clean, polish, fix, and glue - a final bit of clamping and 'structural' work...

...and onto the wallpapering! In the absence of the ivy wallpaper I mentioned earlier (which has been lost somewhere in the depths of the attic) we used leftover wallpaper from my room as a child, a lovely small buttercup-type print...

...and with a bit of a helping hand, my dad and I tackled the wallpapering of the trunk. We battled the plummeting temperatures this afternoon, as it quickly turned into evening, and we finished the job as the sun was going down...

...we quickly got the trunk inside to a warm house (before we lost even more feeling in our fingers and toes!), and sat down with a lovely hot drink to warm up.
I'm so pleased with the finished result, and am super excited to get the trunk full of fabrics and into my room :)

"The Sunday Post"

2010-10-24T15:31:00.004+01:00

Well, what a busy week! With trade orders still coming in for Christmas stock I've been making lots of pudding-related items, and painting lots and lots of gold spots. However I also managed to squeeze in making a new item, my wine glasses cotton shopper... the cupcakes cotton shopper has always been a customer favourite, and with my 'wine glasses' design going down so well on other items, I thought it was about time the design made its way onto a lovely natural cotton shopper! I'm really pleased with the results, and think they will make great Christmas pressies too.

For those of you wondering how progress is going with the trunk, I must admit I haven't achieved a lot on that front this week... however I'm planning to spare a few hours in the coming week, so fingers crossed I will have a trunk update very soon!
In the meantime, I hope you all have a great week x

the first frost

2010-10-20T09:11:00.005+01:00

The first frost is here! For those of us whipping our gloves out and defrosting cars in the Cotswolds that is... and I suspect in a lot of areas around the UK today. I awoke to bright skies and frosty grass, and it deserved capturing. Our new 'pet' pheasant was also in attendance, in his usual perch, munching his way along the top of the hedge :) so here are a few frosty snaps, to record our first frost and a definite sign that winter is on the way... and it was so warm and sunny last week! x

the trunk project...

2010-10-16T18:46:00.006+01:00

At the beginning of the week my mum saved an old trunk from near bonfire-related death. The trunk belonged to my next door neighbour, Mrs Baker, who sadly passed away at the end of July. Now the proud owner of the trunk I have set a few hours aside this week for my mission to revive the trunk to its former glory.

It arrived at our doorway after years of attic storage and was consequently a bit filthy, very dusty, and pretty unloved. It has original travel labels, and is decorated with Mrs Baker's initials, E.B. The labels I have glued to make sure they stay intact, as they are an integral part of the trunk and it's life so far. Mrs Baker lived to 95, so this trunk has been around for a good few years, and I can't believe how old it could be!

I think it'll make a brilliant fabric storage trunk, great for throwing all my linens into, and is exactly what I've been after. So much so that even in the freezing temperatures in the evenings this week I have been out in our garage, polishing and fixing :)

So far I have ripped all of the inside fabric out, fixed broken wooden edges, cleaned, polished, and 'dubbin-ed' all the leather, the corners, and the seam along the back of the trunk. It's not super-shiny yet, but it's getting there. I'm planning to wallpaper the inside with lovely vintage green ivy wallpaper, so hopefully I'll have a 'trunk-update' for you a little later on!
In the meantime have a good week and hope you are having a lovely sunny and crisp weekend, x

"The Sunday Post"

2010-10-10T10:09:00.010+01:00

This weekend has so far involved mass tag drawing, card illustration, and a wee bit of X Factor. I began the day with robins galore, followed by cupcakes, 'to & from' cake tags, and finished with 30 or so festive puddings cards. Phew!! For the time being my 'drawing hand' is now pleased to get back to some sewing ;) (my hand-illustrated tags are now available in my Christmas Shop!)

For those of you living in or around (or not too far from) Leighton Buzzard, I have a lovely new stockist opening next Saturday, 16th October. 'Making the Best' is at 11 Bridge Street, and is stocking a selection of my homewares, as well as Annie Sloan paints and a whole host of other exciting goodies. So pop in and say hello the lovely Patricia at the grand opening on Saturday, I only wish it wasn't so far away, as I'd love to go! The website is well underway, but in the meantime visit Making the Best's facebook page.

And here are just a couple of snaps I wanted to share with you, taken of my work by my friend Jacquie, she is now stocking a selection of my products in her little 'Galerie et Atelier' in Morzine, France. To see all the snaps pop to my facebook page! I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend, and keep up with all the studio 'happenings' during the week with me on twitter!

Tetbury French Market

2010-10-03T11:05:00.009+01:00

All day the wind has been gusting, and bringing with it sheets of rain. But here in the Cotswolds we wrapped up warm and headed out in search of the delights of the French Market, held in Tetbury, and in the streets outside the chocolate shop I used to work in...

This time last year I was working in the chocolate shop and all the French stallholders (who had arrived en masse for the day) were drinking mug upon mug of Charbonnel & Walker hot chocolate. Today was both exciting and liberating, as I got to sample the true French flavour of the market, breathe in the wonderful French smells, and linger at my leisure at each of the stalls... unlike a year ago!

...from wonderful-smelling French lavender, to Reblochon and Raclette cheeses, traditional French soaps, and a freshly baked 'pain' for lunch (the Tartiflette was unfortunately sold out!). After moseying around in the rain we returned laden-down with French goodies, and are eagerly awaiting their return in May! x

The Sunday Post: Autumn Edition

2010-09-25T09:34:00.008+01:00

Beauuuutiful autumn, and horse chestnuts in full bloom... rustic colours, and more importantly hoards of conkers ready for battle, I found my first one this week, super exciting! It's a wonderful sunny morning here, so I grabbed a moment for a few autumnal snaps. My first pictures capturing the essence of autumn and everything I love about it... chilly air, clear, and fresh!

This week I have been working on a few trade orders, and one in particular for a lovely florists in Hove called Florian. As well as a selection of other goodies, also winging their way to the ladies of Florian, are custom stitched beach huts and "hove actually" writing, on lots of linen tea towels and cotton shoppers :) pop into Florian to see their new custom goodies soon!

Christmas things are also arriving with other stockists around the UK as we speak... you can browse the full range in my web shop, and although it's early I must admit I've been eying up some stocking fillers and other gifts this week in preparation for Christmas! Hope you all have a great week... x

"The Sunday Post"

2010-09-18T21:57:00.003+01:00

Well Autumn has well and truly arrived... this week I have brought out all my woollies, extra layers, and really noticed the piles of leaves swirling all over the roads and gardens. And perfect timing too, as this week saw the launch of my 'puddings' product range (new items at the bottom of each product page!), alongside the new 'Christmas shop' section on my website! I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone for the wonderful comments and 'likes' on my facebook page, as well as lovely feedback on twitter. I've been busy getting on with a few Christmas trade orders this week, and can feel the festive excitement building, as the air gets a little chillier, and the Christmas hub of activity begins... yippee, and more importantly, Happy Autumn everyone! x

less than 24 hours to go!

2010-09-11T19:42:00.007+01:00

Good morning! Exciting news from the studio... it is less than 24 hours til the launch of my 'puddings' range for Christmas 2010. Tomorrow my website will be re-launched with all manner of Christmassy items, and even an all-new 'Christmas Shop'. I will be tweeting all about it during the day, probably quite excitedly (!) so join me if you can!

Ahead of the launch here is a sneaky snippet of info for you...

New for Christmas will be an exciting range of tea and coffee cosies, cotton napkins, a delightfully festive limited edition stocking, 'pud' egg cosies, cotton aprons (for little ones and grown-ups), linen and cotton tea towels, red stripe bunting, and of course... hand-illustrated Christmas tags :)

Here are a couple of sneaky pics to tide you over til tomorrow... x

Mountains and Lakes...

2010-09-04T12:11:00.010+01:00

This time last Saturday I had one day to catch up on some work, complete a custom order, re-pack and set off on my journey to the Lake District the next morning. Having never visited til now I didn't know what to expect, so when we arrived 4 hours later I was awestruck by the beauty of my surroundings. For four happy days we enjoyed wonderful walks/climbs, delicious cakes, beautiful scenery, barbecues and campfires. I took hundreds of photos over the few days, but these are a couple of my favourites...

'Hilltop' - Beatrix Potter's house, where we got to see (and touch - I'm not sure if this was actually allowed, but my god-daughter seemed to think so!) original drawings and letters Beatrix had written to friends (and illustrated - Benjamin Bunny and pals made an appearance in a letter to Margot) ...it was simply magical.

Excitingly, the Autumn issue of Cotswold Essence came out last week, featuring a double-page spread on Charlotte Macey Textiles!! It's wonderfully-written and entitled "Get cosy in the Cotswolds". If you are in or around the Cotswolds and can get your paws on a copy I'm on pages 48-49, and if not you can have a read of the online version here. I finally got my hands on a hard copy yesterday... x

my Devon escapades...

2010-08-28T16:01:00.007+01:00

Here are some little snaps from my few days in Devon... a lovely lighthouse, a delicious Devonshire cream tea (I supplied the wheat-free scones!), a pretty awful picture of boats at the Dartmouth Regatta (but felt the sight needed recording!), and some lovely coastline. I had a fantastic few days walking, eating, and relaxing with my family, and getting some great inspiration whilst I was there. There's something very rejuvenating about getting away to the coast, perhaps it's purely and simply the fresh sea air? Whatever it is it lures us back in year after year, happy Sunday everyone x

"The Sunday Post"

2010-08-20T20:42:00.010+01:00

I'm sitting here drinking a delicious and hearty cup of tea, this morning and as it's been a custom-design sort of week, I thought I would share with you on this sunny Sunday the bits and pieces I have made...

Top: wine glass napkins - wedding gift customised with names and added bubbles to turn my wine glasses into champagne flutes!
Below: linen 'croissant' tea towel. An entirely custom-made design, requested by a lovely lady from Cornwall.

Take a look at the commissions page on my website for further details of custom designs for weddings, anniversaries, or birthdays!

I am still ploughing my way through Home & Gift orders, and have also had a couple of post-show orders too, which is fantastic! This week more goodies have left the studio bound for The Wendy House, Kirriemuir (second order for some Christmas stock!), and Dolly's Country Larder, Cottingham, one of my lovely current stockists. Here are a couple of photos from Dolly's, see if you can spot my tea towels and cosies on the shelves!

On Wednesday I am popping down to South Devon for a little bit of coastal inspiration and sea air... I'm looking forward to crab jacket potatoes, salty hair, and line dancing, in that order of course! If you know of any exciting places/things to visit around the South Devon area I'd love to hear about them :) last year I visited the South Devon Chilli Farm and sampled some of their delicious chocolate, this year... who knows!

N.B. Keep your eyes peeled... Christmas goodies are coming to my shop soon! I'm so excited, and have been getting all festive whilst making my Christmassy items. But for now I shall have to restrain myself, more on this to come!

La Bella Italia

2010-08-15T11:08:00.010+01:00

I'm back from a few days in the north of Italia, and boy was it beautiful! I toured round the Emilia-Romagna region, as well as venturing to Venice and Lake Garda (Sirmione). I've never set foot in Italy before, let alone perfected any Italian... but with friends in tow, it was a wonderful, relaxing, and hot trip. Here are a few photos, I took around 400, so this is literally a 'snapshot' of my lil holiday...

From top to bottom: Venice, bicycles in Ferrara, old men congregating with their bikes outside Ferrara cathedral, gondolier in Venice, St. Mark's Square, Italian gelato, Venice, Lake Garda.

"The Sunday Post"

2010-08-08T10:16:00.007+01:00

Another week down, and what a speedy one it was... it seems only moments ago that I was writing a little round-up of the previous week. Well, time does fly when you are enjoying yourself!
Yesterday I began working on the first of my custom Christmas orders, which I found so exciting!! And I am also making my way gradually through my list of Home & Gift orders. Things are going well, and it's so exciting to get this many new stockists in one fell swoop! This week goodies have been winging their way to Rooms with a View in Diss, Norfolk, and The Wendy House in Kirriemuir, Angus.

At the end of this week I popped over to Made in Stroud, to replenish their stock of tea towels, and also deliver some new tea cosies, and large linen tweed doorstops. These larger doorstops have proved a little expensive to post, but are perfect for a shop pretty local to me, such as Made in Stroud, so pop in if you are around the Gloucestershire neck of the woods! I am still selling my slightly smaller, (but comfortably big enough for the task) spotty doorstops on my website.

I shall be away from tomorrow (Monday) evening, til Friday... so will catch up with you upon my return. I'm taking a little trip to Italia to visit my friend who moved there last year. And will then be back to the work with renewed vigour! I feel a little break/R&R is in order, and I hope you all have a fantastic week, x

new goodies for a rainy day...

2010-08-04T09:57:00.007+01:00

What a rainy day it is!! Hopefully news of some new goodies in my shop might put a little more of a spring in your step!
Firstly I now have lovely soft natural or fresh white, 'wine glasses' aprons, they wash tremendously well, and I even have one of my own for my kitchen now too :) the white apron has green stitched wine glasses, and the natural apron is stitched with charcoal glasses, and each with lovely appliqued floral cotton. You can find them in my shop here!

Secondly, to co-ordinate with the rest of my 'wine glasses' range I have now designed a hand drawn and watercolour painted card. On a lovely A6 watercolour card, with matching envelope, this card is perfect for all sorts of occasions, from weddings, to anniversaries, to even a simple congratulations type card! Take a look at my 'wine glasses' card here.

My last update for this rainy day is the addition of some lovely new lavender hearts, they are one-off's or one of only a very few, so pop over to my website and have a look whilst you can! In pretty blue spot, cotton ticking, and grey gingham check, these hearts make fantastic little additions to your home, and are great for combatting moths too, which is always an added bonus! I hope you are all keeping warm and dry indoors today, and Happy Midweek! x

"The Sunday Post"

2010-08-01T10:38:00.006+01:00

Dear all, I hope you have enjoyed a good week :)
After the stresses and strains (and excitement of course!) of Harrogate I finally feel like I am rested and back to normal (well, slightly!), I'm shocked at how much a trade fair takes it out of you! I have spent the week making goodies and packing up orders. Fortunately knowing how much I have yet to do hasn't phased me and I'm gradually making my way through masses of individually handmade tea towels, aprons, and cosies :) I'm so excited to have 7 new stockists, details of which will be up on my website as soon as the orders start going out...

This week I have also been working on several custom items for weddings. I have posted pictures onto my facebook fan page, so if you'd like to take a look please have a peek here.
Wine glasses seem to be the design of the week here, and I will be adding my new wine glasses aprons, in natural and white, to my website soon!
I'm now setting to work on some more cupcake and wine glass stitching, I hope you are having a lovely weekend, and Happy 1st August! Charlotte x

Home & Gift 2010

2010-07-22T10:23:00.009+01:00

My first trade fair, a 4 hour drive up to Harrogate, battling the infamous Harrogate traffic, and finally arriving at my stand in the Intro North hall, it all began looking a little like this...

...and ended up looking more like this... (see below!) To have my own stand, and almost more like a 'mini-shop' was unbelievably exciting. Once I'd got it looking how I'd envisaged I headed back to my home for the next few days to get some much-needed rest, in preparation for my 4 days of fair action!

Hall E (Intro North) was wonderful, full of inspirational products and people. Making their way round the maze of Home & Gift halls was a wide range of independent shop owners and proprietors, and representatives/designers/buyers from larger stores, the diversity was great, and the amount of interest received in the whole of our hall was amazing! I've made lovely new friends and contacts, and am now considering my next trade fair... once I'm a little more rested might I add! So until then, and to all my new trade fair buddies... I hope you continue to have a fantastic week x

"The Sunday Post"

2010-07-11T11:20:00.005+01:00

Hello and welcome to another post at the end of a manic week! This weekend I am painting each piece of furniture for the Home & Gift Fair, in a delicious white! After masking-taping a 2x1m area in our living room to figure out my space and things I will need for my stand, it now all feels like it is slowly coming together :) my Sunday is set to include more painting, (second and third coats in some cases) ...but at least after the rain we had last night the weather is holding it together!

(drumroll please......!)

Exciting news from the Charlotte Macey Textiles camp this week - on Friday I discovered my egg cosies on the Emporium page of the August issue of COUNTRY LIVING!!! It is currently out to subscribers in the post, and is in shops on Monday... so take a look when you get your copy! It made my week, and I'm still reeling from the excitement of it all!

Moving swiftly on... just a quick note to say that I have new natural beach hut napkins in my web shop. Made from a lovely natural cotton, these are perfect for a wedding gift or even a summer treat! I hope you enjoy :)

Next Saturday I will be making my way up to Home & Gift in Harrogate, so will post a full update from the event when I return on Wednesday... or Thursday morning depending on traffic/necessity of sleep! Until then, have a wonderful week x

"The Monday Post"

2010-07-04T18:48:00.001+01:00

Good morning! My weekly catch-up has resorted to a 'Monday Post' again... how do these weekends get away from me!? This week I have been hard at work on my Christmas range, to be launched at the Home & Gift trade fair in Harrogate in a mere couple of weeks. Not long now! So the studio has been a hive of festive activity, with fabrics, samples, and sketches all over the shop. I also went on a bit of a photography spree on Saturday, capturing some of the wonderful Summer flowers and plants, thought I would share a couple with you, I hope you like them! And now back to the Christmas-making frenzy... it feels a little strange trying to feel festive when it is so lovely and blue-skied out! Happy July everyone :) I shall leave you with this link to my web shop... catch up with my latest press/news, or have a browse through my current range! x

"The Monday Post"

2010-06-28T11:55:00.008+01:00

What a lovely weekend... myself and team Macey have now made it back from London, much less laden down than the journey over on Friday evening, and definitely a lot more exhausted! Early on Saturday morning we headed off to our intended destinations for our frenzy of Summer Fair activity. I set up my stand at St. Augustine's church hall next door to the Selvedge shop on Archway Road, whilst at Chelsea Town Hall my second stand was being set up by my magnificent assistants ready for the We Make Summer Fair. At 11am people flocked into both fairs, and the day went swimmingly. I have to say I have never seen so many florals, dresses, patterns, and cupcakes, in one day! We met so many lovely people, both fair-goers and stall holders, and had a fantastic day in London.

"The Sunday Post"

2010-06-20T18:01:00.005+01:00

Good afternoon! I hope you have all enjoyed a lovely week. Here in the studio the countdown is on til the Selvedge and We Make Summer Fairs, next Saturday (26th) in both St. Augustine's Church Hall, and Chelsea Town Hall, respectively. Mass preparations are underway to make sure we have enough lovely items for you all on the big day! If you are in town, pop in to either (or both!) events, and say hello to us. I will be manning our Selvedge Summer Fair stand, whilst Team Macey will be attending the We Make Fair. I hope you can join us and a wonderful selection of other handmade designers, and we look forward to meeting some new (and old) faces! Have a wonderful week and we hope to see you on Saturday... x

a good day for a spot of line-drying...

2010-06-14T15:04:00.000+01:00

Making good progress today preparing for upcoming fairs and completing orders, and it's an excellent line-drying day (got to keep it green!) so thought I would share a couple of 'work in progress' photos with you... cupcakes cotton shoppers, and a few tea towel 'lait' :) happy Monday!

"The Sunday Post"

2010-06-13T12:17:00.000+01:00

This week has seen a multitude of birthday celebrations, football, and paella! The latter two went hand-in-hand as we watched the first England game last night. An unlikely combination, however extremely delicious.
Birthday celebrations aside, this week has seen lots of preparation getting underway for the two fairs team Macey and I will be doing on Saturday 26th June in London. Excitement is building for the first ever Selvedge Summer Fair, and the We Make Summer Fair at the beautiful Chelsea Town Hall. So wherever you find yourself in London on this day, there will be a lovely handmade fair waiting for you! I hope to see a few of you there, as both venues look to be fantastic, and there will be lots of amazing stall holders, and wonderful things to buy! In the meantime, have a great week, for now I must get back to my tea towels... x

"The Sunday Post"

2010-06-05T11:14:00.000+01:00

Happy Sunday everyone, I hope you are all enjoying a restful weekend, and perhaps avoiding the rain today if you are in the South West like me! The last few warm days have been super distracting on the work front, and in a way I am almost relishing this cooler weather, to knuckle down and prepare for the We Make Summer Fair, and the Selvedge Summer Fair, both on Saturday 26th June in London. With only a few weeks to go there is much to do...!

I have added an exciting new product to my current range this week... wine glass napkins, made from quality midweight white cotton, are each individually handmade, and available in sets of 4 or 6. If you are interested in a different number for your table and guests, do get in touch with me, I have just assumed a couple of table numbers to begin with! These are the second addition to my napkin range, and are also available in a 'beach hut' design. (All with co-ordinating tea towels too!) These make fantastic wedding gifts, and are perfect for Summer table decoration.

A lovely bit of blog press I received this week was part of the We Make Gift Guide blog feature written by Tracy Brown from White Lily Green:

"I'm so excited to have found so many talented Designers of homeware items exhibiting in the We Make Summer Fair. I think I enjoy seeking out original finishing touches for my house more than I enjoy looking for accessories or clothes! There's something rather gratifying about furnishing your home and making it a part of you.

Here are some of my favourites from the exhibiting Designers...

Charlotte Macey hand produces really quirky illustrated textile items and I love them all. Her work makes me think of sunny cottages. I adore the egg cosies, they are so cute! I would be hard pushed to choose one design, so the set of 4 would be perfect! I can just imagine being brought breakfast in bed with one of these cuties keeping my boiled eggs warm :)"

For other new press this week have a little look at the 'news' page on my website. And now onwards with my 'sewing Sunday'... starting with tea towels in readiness for the Summer Fair frenzy! x

Bank Holiday... again!

2010-05-28T16:16:00.000+01:00

Whoopee, it's time for another Bank Holiday... the last one seems only a wee while ago, although not that I'm complaining! I hope you all enjoy a wonderful three days off, and plan indoor activities for tomorrow - it's apparently going to rain :)
I will catch up with you again on Sunday, but for now, back to the cosy-ing...and hopefully a Pimms or G&T later on... x

"The Sunday Post"

2010-05-23T10:21:00.000+01:00

Daisies and deck chairs... this perfect May-weather has brought out all the things we find reminiscent of Summer! I spent the earlier part of the week recuperating from the Bath Coffee Festival and the late nights sewing, and am now beginning to prepare for both the 'We Make London' Summer Fair at Chelsea Town Hall, and the Selvedge Summer Fair, both on the 26th June in London. Team Macey will be coming along to assist me on the day, but until then there is a lot of prep to do. This glorious weather isn't helping much with the prep, although I managed to cut out some lavender hearts whilst out on the deck chair yesterday :) I hope you are all having a lovely weekend, and enjoying the warm evenings and barbecues... happy May everyone! x