Elephant Sunrise Workshop at Tatty Devine

This past Saturday, C and I were lucky enough to get tickets for Tatty Devine's second Elephant Sunrise Workshop at their Brick Lane studio. Tatty Devine produce the most incredible, unique jewellery and we have been fans of their work for many years, adoring each new season's pieces and building our collections. We had been desperate to be part of one of their workshops since they began last year, but none had been convenient for us until now. This workshop, being within the Easter break, meant that both C and I were in the same place and therefore able to go to the workshop together. 

We were so excited to make our Elephant Sunrise Necklaces as the weather is finally getting nicer and summer now doesn't seem as far off. It was a lovely sunny day in Brick Lane, when we got to the studio, which definitely helped our crafty moods! 

With just a small group of people, we had fantastic tuition from the lovely ladies at Tatty, Emily, Charlotte and Flo, who expertly guided us through all the processes, from gluing crystal eyes onto our golden elephants to masterfully manipulating jump rings and chains. We had loads of colours to choose from, including tangerello (one of the SS/13 bonus palette), which C made use of on her necklace.  We had so much fun choosing colours and designing our necklaces, I made a sunrise-style necklace in yellows and oranges, and C made a sunset-style necklace with purples and pinks. It was amazing how different everyone's necklaces were, given that we had the same instructions and same acrylic shapes. 

 

We loved learning new skills and had so much fun creating our masterpieces in Tatty Devine style! 

C's awesome necklace!

My 'sunrise'-inspired necklace!

After the workshop we had fun wandering around the studio, looking at the new collection which is amazing! We also enjoyed spending our 10% off (complimentary when you attend a workshop), although it was so difficult to choose between the amazing pieces. 

We had the best time at the workshop and thoroughly recommend taking part in their future workshops which sound just as exciting! Keep an eye on their events page for more information. 

Thank you Tatty Devine!

A London Treat!

What started out as an innocent question “A, do you fancy going to the Hollywood Costume exhibition at the V&A at Christmas??” turned into a marathon day of train and tube travelling, exhibition visiting and a tiny bit of cheeky shopping…..but, oh, what a day!

After taking the first possible non-commuter train up to the Big Smoke, we arrived raring to go…..but then A got her ticket stuck in the barriers and managed to sneak through when C put her ticket in and left C on the other side of the barriers trying to explain her ticket-less state to the Ticket Inspector.  Red faces all round but we managed to convince him of our undoubted innocence and away we went, straight into a queue for topping up our Oyster cards (knew we should have done it online before we went!) but managed to inadvertently queue jump when we were asked to form a new queue for a recently opened machine – Yay! 

Finally, we were on the tube hurtling towards Ken High St and straight into another queue at the V&A for the Hollywood Costumes (no tickets had been available online before we went, one of the downsides of having to visit during holiday time)…..an hour later (and I am quite proud of our ‘staying power’) we were the proud possessors of two tickets for the 1.15pm slot.  Time then to pop into Chelsea for a quick spot of lunch before returning for the 

exhibition.

What an awesome exhibition!  So beautifully put together, even the mannequins were works of art but didn’t detract from the costumes, actually adding to the glamour. All C was bothered about was seeing Judy Garland’s Ruby Slippers from ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and she wasn’t disappointed, the fact that they were displayed next to Marilyn ‘s original white dress from ’Some Like It Hot’ was just a bonus, not to mention getting up close and personal with Daniel Craig’s 007 tux!  We were both amazed at the sheer quantity and quality of the costumes on display, some of them originals from 1930s films, right up to the present day, through every genre of Hollywood movie…definitely hours well spent.

We then caught the tube over to Somerset House for the Valentino CoutureExhibition.  Staggering isn’t the word!  I still maintain it smelled of money!  Dress upon dress was on display in the most amazing and beautiful ‘Catwalk’ arrangement.  Although not to our taste, let’s face it, when would we ever have the opportunity to even gaze upon a Valentino gown let alone wear one? We were blown away by the sheer workmanship and beauty of the dresses as works of art.  We were however, more interested in the display and step-by-step explanation of some of Valentino’s signature textile processes.  An extraordinary exhibition.

We then went on to the totally awesome and absolutely incredible exhibition of Tim Walker’sfashion photography.  Unusual, these days, it was a FREE exhibition and packed full of Walker’s brilliant, sometimes dark, and quirky fashion shoots.  Not only were there rooms full of his photographs but also numerous examples of his props, including a 12ft high skeleton, 10ft tall baby doll, swan boat and two halves of a Spitfire!

After leaving the exhibition and before leaving Somerset House, we watched the ice skaters on the rink outside before visiting the Tatty Devine pop-up shop…..well, it would have been rude not to!  After a couple of well deserved purchases (a Fishbone Necklace for C and a Fox pendant for A) we retreated to the nearest coffee shop for a caffeine shot before wending our way through the commuter traffic for a pizza before catching the train home, exhausted but exceedingly happy with our day…..and our purchases!

Thank you Hollywood, Valentino, Tim Walker and Tatty Devine!

Going for Gold - Crochet Olympic Medals and Free Tutorial

What a day for British sport! First, a gold and bronze in the rowing, then a gold and bronze in the men's cycling time trials, then a silver in the men's 200m breaststroke! A day like this really makes us proud to be British! Inspired by our country's success, we created our very own Olympic gold, silver and bronze crochet medals so that we can join in the celebrations too, and we've even written a tutorial - aren't we good to you?

If you would like to make your own crochet medal you will need:

-3mm Crochet Hook
-Medium weight DK yarn in yellow, grey and light brown
-Red ribbon
-Black embroidery thread
-Red thread
-Pins
-Tapestry needle
-Embroidery needle

Crochet Stitches

-ch
-htr
-ss

How to make a Crochet Olympic Medal


To start, ch4 then join together with a ss to form a ring. Ch2, then stitch 10htr into the ring. Ss into the second chain of your first ch2 to form a ring. This should leave you with 11 stitches.

Ch2, then work 1htr into the first stitch, then 2htr into each of the next 10 stitches. Ss into the second chain of your first ch2 to form a ring. This should leave you with 22 stitches.

Ch2, then work 1htr into the first stitch, *1htr into the next stitch then 2htr into the next stitch*. Repeat from * to *, finishing on 1htr. Ss into the second chain of your first ch2 to form a ring.

Ch2, then work 1htr into the first stitch, *1htr into the next stitch, 1htr into the next stitch then 2htr into the next stitch*. Repeat from * to * ending on 1htr. Ss into the second chain of your first ch2 to join.

Ch2, then work 1htr into the first stitch, *1htr into the next stitch, 1htr into the next stitch, 1htr into the next stitch then 2htr into the next stitch*. Repeat from * to * ending on 1htr. Ss into the second chain of your first ch2 to join. To finish, cut yarn and pull through loop on hook to finish. Tie in ends with a tapestry needle.

Repeat instructions for all three medal colours.

To attach the ribbon, fold in half, pin onto the reverse of the medal and stitch with red thread and an embroidery needle. Embroider the numbers onto the medals with thick black embroidery thread.


We hope you like this tutorial and have fun creating medals to support the athletes or have
your very own Olympic games!

Breakfast at Liberty (and other London adventures!)

After the success of our last trip to London, we decided to go back again (although this time it was Friday 13th). This time we wanted to have breakfast at our new favourite haunt, Liberty London. Now, after the worldwide obsession (particularly on Instagram) with Macaroons, it seemed ridiculous that neither of us had ever tried one, so we did! At Café Liberty we had toasted teacakes with marmalade and jam, then a trio of the most delicious macaroons! They were utterly beautiful and we are now completely in love! After leaving Liberty we walked down Oxford Street, something that was impossible last time due to the great British weather! We made a quick stop in Forever 21, a store we discovered last summer on our travels in New York and adored the prints of the fabrics. We love how refreshing the fashions are in comparison to the shops we are all used to.

Following this, we made our way to Covent Garden, to the Tatty Devine store. We have coveted Tatty Devine for a while now, and we were really excited when we heard that they had installed an in-store laser-cutter which meant that we could get personalised name necklaces done while we waited! A went for a crafty-inspired 'Thimble' in tortoiseshell perspex and C went for the rather fantastic 'Harrumph!' in black. We love them and are so pleased to have our own Tatty Devine pieces!

After our visit to Tatty Devine, we made our way over to the Tate Modern to see the Damien Hirst Exhibition. It was fantastic! We were particularly taken with the butterfly series and his cabinets of industrial diamonds! They were beautiful yet disconcerting at the same time. The butterflies were still stunning even after their death and that was striking. We also adored the live butterfly exhibit. It was incredible to be that close to huge, tropical butterflies, to see their beauty alive! It was magical.

We had a truly lovely day and can't wait for our next trip to London!

Jubilee Guards Egg-Cup Pin-Cushion

Around the time of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, we painted a series of pottery items with images of Guards in true British style. We are obsessed with the red, white and blue colour-scheme and the fantastic bus, guard and taxi iconography. With this in mind, we took inspiration from the guards range by Cath Kidston but put our own spin on them.

Photo: Cath Kidston 

The problem with our pottery was that we just didn't want to use them and spoil them so, instead, we had to come up with other ways to use them. Whilst browsing on one of our favourite websites, The Makery Online, we came across this adorable, homemade guards egg-cup pin-cushion.

Photo: The Makery Online

We fell completely in love and it was decided, that we would make our egg-cup into a pin cushion too! It was really simple, we just covered some toy-stuffing with red fabric then glued it into the egg cup. We love it!

Graduate Fashion Week - A & C go to London!

Yesterday, C and I chose to go to London to see Graduate Fashion Week 2012. We went last year and loved the dramatic, wild and sometimes drastic fashion created by fashion's future stars. We had tickets to the Northbrook College/ AUCB Graduate runway show in the afternoon so decided to spend the morning in Liberty, the most beautiful shop and a heaven for any sewing enthusiast. The building itself is just incredible and the content of the shop is just perfect, not too much that you get overwhelmed. We spent hours on the haberdashery floor! It was pure heaven! Here are a few of the images we took...

 

After we finished in Liberty, we intended to walk down Oxford Street however the British weather changed that, with the weather being the worst we have seen in months! Instead we headed back to Victoria Station where we had lunch and even managed to pick up this month's copy of Mollie Makes!

  

We then travelled across London to Earls Court 2 to Graduate Fashion Week. We looked around all of the University stalls which, as always, were spectacular! After AUCB's brilliant stand last year, we were looking for something of the same standard. This year's favourite was University of the West of England's stand, particularly the work of Eleanor Cox, a BA Hons Fashion and Textile Design graduate. It was  her 'Tea Time Debutantes' collection that caught our attention. Her delicate use of cupcake and teacup motifs against pastel colours was adorable! At 4pm it was time for the catwalk show where we got brilliant seats, despite being near the back. We were on the aisle which meant that we had head-to-toe views of the models. 

 

We were equally impressed by the work of both Northbrook College and AUCB, especially as both showed examples of abstract, tribal-style prints and also strong, sharp tailoring. This year was easily as good as last year! We loved it! We were so impressed and had a brilliant day! You have to love London!