The Floral Fringe Fair at Knepp Castle, 30-31st May 2015

We have had a wonderful weekend at the Floral Fringe Fair at the stunning Knepp Castle! Its a wonderful event -an eclectic, quirky, foodie, arty, plantaholics wildlife event with a vintage twist! 

Set on the 1,416 hectare Knepp Estate which is the subject of an amazing Wildland Project, there was a brilliant mix of different stalls. We were selling our handmade cards and original wall art, which have been made using freehand machine embroidery. We also took some of our shabby chic furniture which we have painted and upcycled. 

It was a great success and we look forward to returning in the future!

Hoop art, vintage style…

We have been putting together a series of artworks inspired by a vintage theme, including vintage typewriters, sewing machines and teapots!

We decided to go for gorgeous simplicity: an intricate and beautiful black stitched illustration, sewn on lovely linen, with delicate floral printed linens to add texture and soft colour. We are really pleased with how this collection is turning out, the designs are tactile and nostalgic and they look wonderful on the wall in our studio.

Before each design is sewn it is drawn out, and then the illustration is followed by hand on the sewing machine. We love how every single piece is unique; every Hoop is individual and it’s so wonderful to see each one slowly come to life.

If you would like to see the complete collection as it is made follow our instagram account, @i_stitch_it (you can find the links on our website).

Old Wood, New Life - A beautiful cabinet transformation!

This lovely cabinet was a boot-sale find, the top was a little scratched and stained but we couldn't resist! We sanded the top down, which exposed absolutely gorgeous wood -we then waxed it for protection! The rest we painted in olive green chalk paint, which was then lightly sanded back in places. It looks quite grey in the picture, but it is more of a dark olive colour!
This piece would make a perfect side table, or you could put the television on top, maybe?

Spring Time = Bunting Time!

It’s officially spring, yay! …which, naturally, means its time to make bunting! Yards of beautiful handmade bunting made from floral fabrics, French linens and vintage lace –just perfect, and absolutely necessary, for spring time parties, (I’m thinking tea parties!) or to bring seasonal colour and life to bedrooms and homes!

Today we are making mini bunting, which is as delightful and fun as normal bunting…but is extra awesome because it’s MINI! We are using the cutest flower fairy material (cuteness overload!) as well as a beautiful blue colour scheme.  

The photos show our process, from cutting out the triangles of material to sewing them all together! Each line of bunting is a meter long, so perfect to hang along a cabinet or along a bookshelf. Does a little loved one have a birthday coming up? Or perhaps a baby shower? This mini bunting would be perfect! 

Time for tea! ....after making some lovely teapot cards!

Today we are making some lovely teatime inspired cards... they are my personal favourite and absolutely classic!

To make these cards we each have different jobs... one will cut out the shapes, mount and stick while the other sews sews sews! Every single teapot is unique, and we always make sure each one is different.  Today we have mounted them on some gorgeous natural linen, and used vintage and floral materials for the teapots.

We start by adding a freehand machine embroidery foot to our sewing machine, which allows us to create these tactile illustrations. This morning we are stocking up, so every process is done on mass (from cutting out the teacup shapes to cutting all the threads). The last stage is to mount and stick onto cards, ready to be photographed!  

For these cards we added some lovely vintage lace along the bottom (we found it at a car boot sale!). 

To see more examples, visit the 'Cards' gallery on our website!