To market we shall go!

Specifically, Hackney Homemade Market on Sunday 10 July and Wonder Hill Market at the Miller on July 30th and August 27th. I love markets as a customer and we have two good ones in Epping (Monday markets have all sorts of things, and on the first Friday of every month we have a Farmer's Market) as well as the Christmas market that I did a few years ago. Visiting a French market is also one of the highlights of holidays with my parents, too, though I haven't been brave enough so far to explain to the girls what all the bunnies and chickens and ducks on the stalls are destined to become.

So, anyway, I'm quite excited to be heading into London a couple of times in July to take part in these events! Both of them are running quite close to other markets - Chatsworth Road in Hackney and the famous Borough Market for Wonder Hill - which will hopefully drive traffic towards the handmade/vintage events as people already have their market heads on. It's the first time I've 'done' the Hackney event, and although I know the area quite well having lived and worked in Hackney, it's still going to be an adventure doing something outdoors. I've done Wonder Hill once before in it's previous home at the Boogaloo Bar, and it's got a lovely ethos and atmosphere. I love seeing handmade goods at markets!

If you're in London on these dates and you want to come along and say hi, find some gorgeous vintage stuff or collect some unique handmade items, pop along...if not, I'll try and blog about them here, especially if I remember to take the camera to get some pics.

You'll also be able to find me at more events around Essex, Herts and London over the next few months - click here to go to my web page with all the details!

Greetings fom Brittany!

Writing from my parents' house in France - it's much warmer here than in the UK, although there was snow on the drive down from Calais on Monday. The lagoon next to the canal across the road is frozen and looks like frosted green glass - on a walk yesterday we saw hundreds of gulls floating on the river and being spooked by a buzzard which then wheeled off into the sky, coots chasing each other in the fields and cormorants perched in an old tree. My OH has been taking pictures so I'll post some when we get back to the UK.

I am managing to get some stitching done too, while Granny cuddles Tove and Daisy plays with all the 'holiday' toys! I started 'Guard this Keep' (Dragon Dreams chart) yesterday - requested by my mum to go in her hallway. It's on lurex-flecked aida and uses 4 or 5 different rayon threads which are too slippery for me. I stocked up on that miracle product Thread Heaven - that helps a bit, and I read somewhere that dampening the threads before use also helps. Any more tips would be appreciated. The design calls for Kreinik braids as well as the rayon so this could take a while!

Last week I made some progress on Maggie's BS - will post pics of everything soon....