Manchester
Showing posts with label Manchester. Show all posts
The Creative Craft Show
It is always fun going to craft events, especially when you can meet up with friends and it's in your home town! On Friday afternoon I went to the Creative Craft Show at Event City in Manchester. Last year I wasn't able to go so I was intrigued to see what variety of crafts would be included and, after looking at the exhibitors list, I was keen to pay a visit to the Embroiderers' Guild. There weren't many names on the list I recognised to be honest, still I thought it would be good to have an afternoon out and see what was there. This year I have become an ICHF Events Blogger Ambassador, which means I can go to the shows and share my experience - as I have done that with the CHSI Stitches show for the past four years.
Win tickets to The Creative Craft Show Manchester + discount code!
Don’t miss the chance to win a pair of tickets to The Creative Craft Show Manchester taking place at EventCity, Manchester from 30 January – 1 February 2020. This show is the ultimate event for hobbyists and crafters to indulge your passion for crafting and explore the very best the creative market has to offer. Shop for supplies, take part in workshops and see a host of demonstrations and outstanding features. I will be attending so I might just see you there and I have TWO pairs of tickets to giveaway!
Features at the show include:
⬩ a free programme of quick and easy workshops and talks
⬩ papercraft demonstrations and jewellery making
⬩ beading as well as knitting, stitching and dressmaking features
⬩ the latest products and creations from the world of creative craft
⬩ new and exciting crafty ideas, tips and inspiration
Visit www.ichfevents.co.uk for more details and all the latest information.
The Creative Craft Show Manchester
Event City, Manchester
30 January - 1 February 2020
Open:
10.00 – 16.30 Thurs/Fri 10.00 – 17.00 Sat
Tickets:
Adult £10 (£8 Advance Price)
Senior £9 (£7 Advance Price)
Children free if accompanied by an adult with a valid ticket, otherwise £4.00
Use code EV270 for £3 off standard Adult and Senior Tickets!
Follow ICHF Events on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram - @thecraftshows
*GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED*
*Important* please ensure I can contact you if you win by leaving your email or IG handle in the comment or having an email in your blogger profile. No reply entries cannot win.
I will chose a winner on Thursday 23rd January. Good Luck!
I will chose a winner on Thursday 23rd January. Good Luck!
Standard Terms and Conditions apply. Travel costs and expenses to and from the venue are not included in the prize. Deadline for entries is 23.01.2020. Prize has no monetary value and is not transferable.
Visit www.ichfevents.co.uk to sign up to the free eNewsletters and stay up to date with the latest news from ICHF’s creative craft shows.
fabric and day off frolics
I'm gearing up to prepare for next year, despite this definitely being the time of year where I feel like hibernating! It's time to make plans, thinking about what next year will bring and sorting out sewing projects. I'm hoping to get things in order over the Christmas break, sorting out my sewing stuff ready for a fresh start in 2020. Recently there have been a few stash additions, I've been out in Manchester stocking up and enjoying cheese toasties, and finally sneaking some project finishes in!
As I continue to work on my Manx Log Cabin blocks I realised I wouldn't have enough Essex Metallic for the centres so ordered a bit more from Sew Hot and the other prints were just irresistible:
clockwise from top left: Essex Yarn Dyed Linen Metallic in Oyster; Camo in Yarrow, Gleaned by Carolyn Friedlander; Dottie in Coral Metallic, Basics by Cotton + Steel and Pop Off in Peach Fizz, Pop! by Rashida Coleman-Hale - this print is one of those that I HAD to have and knew if I didn't get some I would wish I had. Honestly it's pretty easy to resist these urges nowadays but when it comes to Rashida Coleman-Hale prints I have no control because they are always fabulous.
This next selection was a surprise treat, a very kind lady that came to one of my classes had been to Standfast & Barracks and picked up these big cuts of Liberty Tana Lawn. She knew I loved Liberty and so I got all this for less than the price of 1/2 metre! These aren't scraps, they are large folded pieces. I'm very grateful she let me buy them from her and these snowdrops have already found their way into my log cabin blocks.
hugs not thugs 🞤 free template
Gathering together to sew in company is really quite special. It can be lonely and a bit boring sometimes sewing at home by yourself. While that quiet time is still vital for my sanity, recently I have been much more open to getting out and taking part in sewing groups. Partly because I have more time in the evening now, also my anxiety is manageable, it feels nice to be sociable and join in. Also real life is better.
a day (off) in the life...
This is one of those random posts about good stuff and things I like. A little bit of what's been going on and sharing a day off + day out I had with my husband recently.
Still busy and still teaching! This beautiful vintage Jones, zig zag machine was brought to class and while we did have a bit of trouble because of the position of the needle and feed for a 1/4" seam, it did power through some piecing. A lovely machine, just look at that wooden base unit.
Also a fine vintage, my Nan turned 101 last month. Here she is with her youngest great-grandson. She was in good form, singing Happy Birthday to ME when we all sang to her. She ate some cake and fussed over the kids. Possibly because my Grandad had a lovely head, I don't know, but she always comments on Fred's head - she says he has a good shaped head! We all had a nice time celebrating a special day.
With three rapidly growing children, work, general household chores and all the sewing, it is rare for me to have a day off. My husband and I decided to spend a day off together while the kids were at school, something we will definitely do again. We dropped them off at school and then decided to walk into Manchester city centre, grabbing a coffee on the way. Even on our first date we ended up walking and talking, it's one of my favourite things. So we strolled along and found our way to Whitworth Park, it was just before the art gallery opened so we hung out spotting the parakeets.
The Creative Craft Show ~ giveaway!
**GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED**
It is always fun to be among fellow crafters, take a workshop, get inspiration and shop a little (or a lot!).
At The Creative Craft Show at EventCity you can do just that!
Step into a haven of new supplies, demos, show discounts and exciting
features.
"We’ve got so much in store, from a nationwide bee project to life sized felt animals and everything in-between! We also have a range of specially selected 60 and 90 minute workshops for beginners through to advanced"
The Creative Craft Show offers all the very latest supplies, ideas and innovations in the hobby world. You’ll find everything from kits, charts and patterns to fabrics, yarns, threads and buttons plus opportunities to gain advice from industry experts.
Check out the Makes & Takes section to see stands where you can do some crafting. Or book a place on one the workshops to learn a new skill or create your own project, click here to see the workshops available.
Do you fancy a fun day out full of crafty inspiration and a browse through stalls and stands packed with brand-new crafting innovations, classic tools and products and accessories in every colour of the rainbow!
I am giving away TWO pairs of tickets for a day at The Creative Craft Show at EventCity, open 31st January - 2nd February.
**GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED**
Congratulations to the winners! They have been contacted by email.
*** Please sign in to an account or leave your email address in the comment so I have a way to contact you!
Also make sure you are able to attend the event before entering! The giveaway will close after my kids have gone to sleep on Monday 28th January and the winners will be contacted by email.
Good Luck!
it was a good day
Life has been a whirlwind recently, with such a busy schedule and not much time to play. Then a funny thing happened, in the way that sometimes things just come together and everything works out to give you just what you need. First up though I'm going to show you the quilt I made for the Sewing Quarter last week, using fat quarters of Kaffe Fassett and a simple HST layout from Modern Baby Quilts by Fons & Porter. The dark background fabric allows the prints to shine and gives it a bold, modern feel.
I really like this action shot of the quilt blowing in the wind. Wouldn't a wonky chevron quilt look cool?!
So a couple of days earlier I received an email invitation to a beauty event, not something I would usually have time to attend but I realised that I would be travelling back into Manchester on Saturday afternoon anyway, and decided that it would be so good to do something just for me! That's a rarity and I was intrigued.
one love + an overdue sunday stash
I'm writing about a day spent with my family... scroll down to fabric pictures if that interests you more :)
It has been an emotional day. Before the London attack last night we had already planned to go in to the city centre of Manchester today, it was made more poignant after another tragedy. I wanted to attend Quaker meeting, the girls decided they wanted to come too (for the first time). It was something I really needed and the testimony people spoke was moving. The children gave a short performance at the end and I was so proud that my girls got involved and they did brilliantly.
We met up with my husband and son outside the town hall. We walked through town (that's what we call the city centre!) and made our way to the tributes at St. Ann's Square. To be honest I wasn't really prepared for how I would feel.
The scale of it was beautiful. So much love, sadness, grief and so many heartfelt notes and tributes. I stood and cried.
We went and spoke to some armed police officers, they had come up from Wales, the children thanked them. There were people having their pictures taken with them, I suppose because it's so unusual. Then we went into St. Ann's Church to light some candles. It's a beautiful church. St. Ann's has long been one of my favourites areas in the city, I would often go and sit outside the back of the church when I was in town. It's incredibly peaceful.
Joan high fived a police officer then she continued giving high fives to every officer she saw! Their reactions were awesome, one had never been given a high five and was very happy about it! We took the kids to buy a book each and walked back past the tributes to sit in Exchange Square to have some lunch. It so happened that a Pipe Band began playing (my husband is Scottish and we all love the sound):
I did a bit of shopping alone then met back up with the family to go to Manchester Cathedral. My husband and I had never been inside it before. There was a service taking place so we stayed for a prayer and lit more candles.
As a family we don't go to church, today I went to three (well three places of worship). The girls want to go back to meeting and I would like to start attending again. Faith isn't something I talk about much, and I don't really plan to, but it is important to me. Tonight we watched the One Love Manchester concert on tv and it was brilliant. Not all my usual musical taste but I enjoyed every minute. You could really feel the love, compassion and unity.
Earlier in the week I made these hexie blocks for the Manchester Quilting Bee, they are collecting blocks to make quilts for the families affected by the attack. To get the details click here.
Recently I have had some lovely new fabric additions {I will be including the info about each print when I have time, please check back!}
Lovely Chris kindly offered to send me a Wefty needle, I really can't wait to try it because all the projects I've seen made using one look stunning. Anyone tried it? Any tips?
And she also sent all these amazing goodies!! She totally spoilt me. Thank you so much Chris! ❤
Also this past week my wonderful Nan turned 99! We had a lovely lunch together and our youngest loves borrowing her bling, she strikes an adorable pose:
Wishing you all a wonderful week full of love xx
Manchester Quilting Bee ~ quilt drive
In the amazing way that quilters respond when people need love and comfort, there is now a quilt drive Manchester Quilting Bee calling for hexagons to make into quilts for those affected by the recent attack in Manchester.
To see all the details please click here. My friend Michelle is collecting them and you can find the address to send them to on the post pinned at the top of the facebook page ❤ If you are in the US then you could contact @madebychrissied via instagram as she has offered to collect hexies.
You can download the hexie template here - it's a 5" hexie measuring across from the flat edges, point to point is 5 3/4" and each side measures 2 7/8". They need a 1/4" seam so the finished hexie is 4 1/2". You can send plain hexies or pieced/embroidered if you wish.
*edited to add - if possible please appliqué your hexie to a 6 1/2" square of fabric to make piecing easier!
It is a wonderful way to show our love for those affected and do something positive. Thank you for your support!
Manchester ❤🐝
preface - It's not an easy thing for me to write, we are so thankful that our family is safe and I realise how fortunate I am. I know there are atrocities all around the world, I realise people live with worse daily. This is just my experience, this is what I am going through and this is my space to write about my life, which usually consists of sewing but right now I need to release.
I am writing this post with such a heavy heart. On Monday 22nd May there was a horrendous terrorist attack in my home city of Manchester. The details have been all over the news, there's no need for me to reiterate, in fact it is time for me to stop obsessively reading it.
When I found out what had happened I woke my husband up, I cried and we witnessed the aftermath and reaction together. We were heartbroken.
photo credit: Dick Vincent
My thoughts have been with the families that lost their loved ones, the many people still in critical care and all of those that attended the concert. In the days since I have felt so many emotions, as I'm sure others have.
The next day the police investigation began and it has been very close to home. Literally my home town, the places I go with my family, the schools, the streets, the areas. I heard the first controlled explosion and initially thought it was another attack. The sirens became a constant background noise, the helicopters circling overhead (some of which are media no doubt). All the emergency services doing their very best, working around the clock to keep us safe. I am so grateful, truly, but it's filled me with anxiety.
Telling the kids was hard. We were honest, explained what had happened, my husband stressed the importance of looking at the helpers. They were sad and I'm still not sure how it's affected them. My youngest had a bad nightmare and maybe that's her processing it.
It wasn't easy to leave them at school, would they be safe with what was going on? With the police around I felt like they were but what a strange and scary scenario. And there was still panic in my head.
I have been numb. It's been a week where I literally haven't done anything beyond what was needed for the children. I have picked up my sewing each day and sewn for a few minutes in silence but I haven't felt like doing it. I have cried quite a lot. I donated money to the justgiving campaign for the families of those killed and injured, if you would like to donate please click here. We attended a vigil at a local church. I have thanked those I personally know who are working hard in the hospitals. I have spoken to my wonderful friends and lovely neighbours.
This is the worst atrocity in Manchester in my lifetime. I was there when the 1996 bomb happened, working in a sports shop. I was 16, it was my Saturday job. I was evacuated, saw the explosion and had mild PTSD. Thankfully there were no fatalities that day. All I know is how much that affected me and I can't begin to imagine how everyone that was there on Monday must be feeling. The repercussions will be felt for a long time.
No one I knew died or was injured, all the people I know of that attended came home safely. I feel like I don't have the right to feel so sad or so lost.
There is a feeling of hopelessness, a sense of longing to be able to help somehow. Anger about what has happened. Such sadness. Fear. Questions about how this can happen.
So much of what I want to say is political but that's not what this is for. I will just say that radicalised ways of thinking are not representative of Muslims or the Islamic faith and I hope this tragedy doesn't tear communities apart. We should stand together. As we did in the vigil held in the city centre, or the incredible acts of kindness and responses from neighbouring cities and around the world.
I have lived each day waiting for my family to be together. Thankful and grateful we are.
Today I want to try to crawl out of my own darkness. I will never forget this and I need to carry on.
classes, stickers and weight loss
A random combination for a post but hey that's my life!
The new term is starting at Patchfinders - the local quilt shop I work at - and I have a fun line up of classes covering different techniques. In a previous class a couple of ladies mentioned they would just like a day to make some blocks, to practice and gain confidence, so I'm running a class doing just that. I picked two blocks that I thought were simple but fun and one block that requires fussy cutting and working out measurements to piece your own block.
The blocks alone don't look great hung up in a quilt shop though so I turned it into a simple runner with a little bit of hand quilting and scrappy binding, and now it can be displayed. Of course the blocks could easily be the start of a quilt or made into cushions.
To see details of my classes and how to book click here.
If you follow me on Instagram you will know I love stickers (I may have talked about them here too!!). My latest order was from JuJuAllOver and I am in love with this shop. Their shop announcement states, "Welcome to JuJuAllOver where you are more than welcome to be random with us." - how awesome!
I bought this cool Bokeh sheet and some custom headers (they come in lots of different colourways), which I requested to say 'To Sew', and they sent this cute free wintery sampler:
And THEN I hit the sticker jackpot (at this point it's fine for you to think I'm a bit crazy) because I've been on the lookout for some Adventure Time stickers. It's one show I will actually watch with my children! It's hilarious and sweet and weird and brilliant. The best bit is JuJuAllOver lets you customise which characters you get on the sheet!! I ordered princesses and BMO, my favourites. I bought the small sheet and there's also a large sheet with fewer but larger stickers.
I bought this cool Bokeh sheet and some custom headers (they come in lots of different colourways), which I requested to say 'To Sew', and they sent this cute free wintery sampler:
And THEN I hit the sticker jackpot (at this point it's fine for you to think I'm a bit crazy) because I've been on the lookout for some Adventure Time stickers. It's one show I will actually watch with my children! It's hilarious and sweet and weird and brilliant. The best bit is JuJuAllOver lets you customise which characters you get on the sheet!! I ordered princesses and BMO, my favourites. I bought the small sheet and there's also a large sheet with fewer but larger stickers.
For those of you into cartoons, comics, Disney or such, check out JuJuAllOver for the cutest stickers! Look at them on instagram for coupon codes and offers, and also shipping to the UK was totally reasonable :)
Stickers are going to help me track my weight loss. I made my own sort of reward chart to keep in my planner using mason jar stickers from Oregon Country Store and hexie stickers from The Reset Girl. I have a lot to lose so I'm hoping a visual will help and I can reward myself by filling up the pink jar!
I'm not on a plan or doing a particular diet - as soon as you tell me I can't have something I will have ALL of it! So I'm just being conscious, making good choices and exercising more. Wish me luck... and ask me to show you this jar in a couple of months!
Stickers are going to help me track my weight loss. I made my own sort of reward chart to keep in my planner using mason jar stickers from Oregon Country Store and hexie stickers from The Reset Girl. I have a lot to lose so I'm hoping a visual will help and I can reward myself by filling up the pink jar!
I'm not on a plan or doing a particular diet - as soon as you tell me I can't have something I will have ALL of it! So I'm just being conscious, making good choices and exercising more. Wish me luck... and ask me to show you this jar in a couple of months!
whitworth {and a FQS discount!}
We had a 'family time' weekend and yesterday went to the Whitworth Art Gallery. It's been awarded the Art Fund Museum of the Year 2015 and rightly so. I love it, we had our wedding there, and I've been going with my family for as long as I can remember.
I went to see the Cornelia Parker exhibition 'Magna Carta (An Embroidery)', here is the blurb from the website:
It was so incredible on every level and I was overwhelmingly inspired - definitely see it if you can. It's on from 8 August – 1 November 2015.
There was a really interesting documentary about the embroidery running too and Cornelia was fascinating, I enjoyed learning more about the whole process and the people involved. This was an epic project and the skill (or not) to produce such work is immense.
I chuckled that Jarvis Cocker actually embroidered two words, common and people!
I chuckled that Jarvis Cocker actually embroidered two words, common and people!
Outside I discovered these fabulous stitchy benches:
and the adjoining park provided enjoyment too:
It was the kind of day that life is all about.
Today was the opposite, I was a mardy so and so. Hormones blazing, too many annoying jobs, missed calls, kids not listening to me, etc. It really does seem like I'm having a summer of good days followed by bad! Hopefully that means I'm due a good one tomorrow ;)
And in the spirit of goodness Fat Quarter Shop currently have 15% off all Robert Kaufman fabrics, use code RK2015 at the checkout. Valid until 16th August:
Stock up on lovely solids (I vote pickle, creamsicle and goldfish - is it weird that those are all also snacks?!) or whatever fabulous RK prints take your fancy! I will just point out that includes Architextures :)
I'm going to do a little bit of stitching before zonking out. Hope your Monday was better than mine?!
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