Cushions or should that be pillows

Last week lampshades, this week it's time to sew some cushions or should I be calling them pillows.  I know the Americans have always referred to those squashy things on the sofa as pillows but it was always cushions in the UK but recently I have noticed that more and more of my customers describe them as pillows. Certainly the word cushion can often be challenging to northern vowel sounds like mine and perhaps pillow sounds softer and more appropriate but then what do we call those things our heads rest on whilst in bed
Anyway to the point.... I bought some pieces of quilted toile in December and was looking forward to seeing them made up

There was one piece large enough for the front of a cushions and the other pieces have been combined with white linen

The second piece was part of a bed hanging I think and I've kept the scalloped edge to overlap the white linen although the cushion opens at the back as usual. It's a story I've come across before, Le Digit Coupe or the cut finger and shows a little boy having his injured finger bound up by an old lady
A cat features at his feet

And for dog lovers the third smaller cushion is La Bonne Nouvelle, although no text on this piece. "The good news" is being read whilst a pekenese sits at his feet

I picked up some nice pieces of French ticking; simple blue stripe with enough for a large pair of cushions. This size is almost the same as a pillow and looks good on beds.

Also a beige linen ticking, much rarer and if bigger very nice for lampshades. I've teamed the ticking with a cream vintage linen and finished the group with a large shade in this cream linen. Looks lovely lit as the cream fabric gives a warm glow

Finally a group of simple mangle cloth cushions. These linen pieces with striped edges were used to protect fragile pieces of fabric whilst being mangled and are very useful for making shades and cushions. Finished this group with a small shade with striped band

Am now working on new greetings cards as stock had become very low by the end of last year
My next open house will be at the beginning of March, slightly earlier than usual but do hope you can make it; get in touch if you need directions....be lovely to see everyone after the winter break

Telling the story

One of my favourite trade customers always talks of the "story"; we need to tell a story she says.
By this she means choosing cushions and shades which work well together and draw the customer into their grouping in order to promote a purchase or maybe more than one.

I find these stories often emerge as fabrics lie next to one another in piles in my workroom or accidentally as I place cushions in bags ready for fairs. The starting point for this story was a lovely vintage French floral with pink roses on a red ground. it looks great with cream or beige and tones with stripes as in this image

Sometimes there may be a positive/negative connection as in this group.

Finished cushions and shades sit in a muddle on the chaise longue in my workroom awaiting pricing and photography. However I decided to bring these down to my bedroom for neater shots; this little sofa is such a favourite piece. I recently made this simple loose cover from a lovely slightly crumpled linen sheet I'd bought

I often make both cushions and shades from the same fabric in case someone is looking to coordinate them in a room.

I like this "waisted" shape shade and have accentuated it with a wide striped band.

The floral panel shade is a regular favourite and I like using a toning stripe if possible.

If you see anything you like just email for individual photos

Spring Open House this weekend

I always enjoy getting the house ready for one of my open house sales but this time its involved rather more furniture shifting than usual. I've a few pieces of furniture to sell so making room for them has been a priority.

The large space we cleared in the sitting room to accommodate an extra sofa whilst the log burner was fitted has been usefully filled by a bed!
This sweet brass and iron bed has been stored for use by our grandchildren only to find that a blow up bed is a much more practical and indeed very popular alternative. Hopefully someone else will enjoy dressing it with a quilt and a pile of cushions; the art nouveau motif is particularly nice.

This weekend however it will be great to show off the quilts and the abundance of red and blue cushions I have at present

This oak dresser has really neat proportions so useful storage where space is tight. It has polished up nicely but could of course be given a painted finish

I placed this sweet hat and gloves as if their owner had just returned from her errands; think I had Mrs Dalloway in mind!

The paint finish on this bench is original and a lovely shade of green and cream. Great for halls and conservatories these benches can also be left outside although maybe not over a winter as long and chilly as this one is proving to be.

They are lovely left bare but I find ours tends to fill up with cushions or more often abandoned coats..please note discarded shoes husband dear!

I have a tiny cupboard for sale, very beautifully painted inside and out with a waxed finish; it sits nicely on a table and hides a stack of CDs for instance

I like this interesting box although the camera hasn't captured the lovely dark blue grey paint colour. It was used to carry round radio equipment in WW11 and I love the stencilled instruction to "handle like eggs" obviously more precious than china in the war

Finally a close up of the mantelpiece with a French road sign and a rather lovely portrait
Do hope I'll see some of you on Friday or Saturday; if you need directions just email or ring as its always lovely to welcome customers both old and new

return to the past

I first called myself hellish designs many years ago when making greetings cards to send to friends and family
So it seems ironic and a little sad that I've rather neglected this element of the business of late
It's probably down to commerce in that the cards are a relatively low earner and take up more space than can be justified at fairs but also lack of inspiration I'm afraid.
Its easy to make cushions and bags when presented with fabulous vintage fabrics, less easy to start designing a card from scratch.  However I was fortunate enough to buy some very old (1849) French legal documents at the Manchester fair on Sunday. This fair always delivers the unusual!
The beautiful copperplate handwriting is tiny, the perfect scale for a card and there are some interesting seals as well. I've used it as a background in a collage of family photos and fabric scraps

With my daughter's wedding in mind I've designed a wedding day card using my parent's wedding photo
They look so young! What a fabulous lace veil although not at all what Imogen has in mind for her wedding outfit

Had to even things up with a photo from my husband's past; his father with his 2 boys
Love the blue linen fabric which is actually a photo torn from a magazine, wish I had the real thing

My lovely grandma and her brother, Percy are, somewhat unbelievably given their clothes, sitting on Scarborough beach
I've now run out of documents, typical, just when I was really enjoying making the cards. Still hopefully it's got me started on card making again.

One occasion when I do sell a lot of cards is at my open house when I have plenty of room to display everything I make. Hope you'll come along next week..Friday and Saturday..do leave a comment if you need more information. I'm selling several larger pieces of furniture; photos to follow early next week.
The blogshop is now full of cushions, click on the link to the right to take a look.

First fair of the year

It's been three months since my last fair; the longest lay off I can remember and some of the time at least used productively. Nevertheless I feel quite nervous preparing for next Sunday's textile society fair in Manchester. The early morning start, rush to set up amidst trade buyers who arrive early and most of all, will I sell anything?
I've always enjoyed this fair as there is a great mixture of vintage and ethnic textiles, both fashion and furnishing so it appeals to a wide range of customers, often very knowledgeable about the fabrics they are looking for.

I'll be taking more fabrics to sell than usual alongside my designs; quilts, manglecloths, sheets and some fab 1950s curtain fabric. I have however been sewing madly and have more than enough cushions and shades to fill the stall, hopefully enough for my spring open house which follows 2 weeks later (see details to left of post)

I first used this lace before Christmas when it sold so quickly I had had no time to take photos; I have made more now including this pair combining the lace with antique French linen, first world war sheets which had never been used to be precise

This group combines the lace with vintage linen, also mother of pearl buttons

I always buy warm red fabrics with roses, they're great for living rooms or on beds

The brick red and cream of this quilted toile cushion tone beautifully with the Hungarian monogram on cream linen

This beautiful blue print, roses again, has made a lovely pile of cushions

Pair of sweet candle stick shades

I like this simple floral shade, lovely for a cottage interior. Hope to make another before Sunday if you need a pair of shades

Finally some lovely scraps of quilted fabric, too small for real cushions they've made pretty lavender sachets
Do hope you'll come and see but ring or email for details if you'd like to buy any of the items and can't get to Manchester. I'm also pleased to say we have a date for the first Country Chic fair of the year. It will be on Sat/Sun April 20/21 at Whixley village hall, details to left or visit Polly's website

Selvedge Winter Fair

Not sure if you're planning to brave the crowds and Christmas shop in London?..but why not combine it with a visit to the Selvedge Winter Fair on Saturday 10th November

Print off this voucher to allow entry for 2 for price of one.

The magazine dedicated to all matters textile has held fairs showcasing craft and design for the last few years but this will be the first fair held in the beautiful Chelsea Old Town Hall.

I love this venue, drawing a veil over the hideous unloading in a cramped street and up 2 flights of stairs, as the rooms are huge, wood panelled and lit by wonderful, large windows.

The following images were taken at the recent London Textile Society fair at the same venue.

I will be taking a similar selection of cushions, shades, fabrics and vintage finds

Sorry, this is blurred but don't seem to have another shot of this side of the stand

And when you've had enough inside the hall its a mere step to Heals or to the fabulous emporium, Anthropology; if I'm not on the stall thats where I'll be!

Come and say hello

French grey

I don't know what it is about the combination of these words but as soon as I see french grey on a paint chart I want to buy a tin and repaint a wall or piece of furniture.Silly as the shade may vary between blue, grey and sometimes green but I think it conjures up sun faded shutters and doors glimpsed on summer holidays in the south of France.
My favourite French prints almost always include grey; it works so well as a foil against strong colours and reduces their brashness. The French knew all about fifty shades of grey before E L James had ever been thought of!

 I love this turquoise and it is a perfect match for the velvet on my French bed.
As its such a large scale print I've used large feather pads which are the same proportions as pillows and look great great on a bed. An extra smaller one is made from the leftover piece.

This fabric is in great condition, probably not been made up before, a lucky find.

This red is slightly more softened by age and is a lovely warm background for this grey print.
The flowers are so beautifully drawn and full of life. I think they are a tree peony but any botanists out there can correct me.

They're all for sale from £26-28 so please get in touch in you'd like more images or info

the day the gazebo collapsed

I was tempted to title this post, "the day my house fell down" but it did sound unnecessarily melodramatic; that was however the feeling as we struggled to keep our gazebo from depositing the weight of an hour's heavy rain onto the stock beneath.
It had always felt rather mad to be leaving home at 4.30am (especially after a very enjoyable meal at friends the night before) to drive to Norfolk to set up an outside stall in the wettest summer on record; forgiveable if booked months before, not when I did it last week as it lashed it down outside.  We had needed the help of 2 lovely men from a nearby stall to erect said gazebo but we had simply not factored in the difference the sodden canvas would make to its stability. Poor Ken held on as well as he was able whilst I ran to beg to be allowed to set up stall inside the main marquee; yes, dear reader there were inside stalls which yours truly had eschewed in favour of a bigger pitch outside.  But here the story brightens even if the skies did not.  Many thanks to the staff of Nelson events who were kind and efficient and found a free stall for me to use and later when an adjacent stall was a no show allowed me to use this space free of charge.  We moved the stock, set up stall, dried out Ken, met loads of nice people, sold lots of stock, felt much more cheerful and vowed to return next year having booked an indoor stall.  The only casualties in the final analysis were the gazebo (which stayed behind) and my lovely hairdresser's "do" which returned to frizz in the damp.
I know many of you who have lovely partners who are equally keen on vintage but thats not Ken; its not his bag so I am particularly grateful for his support and physical help on these occasions especially when it involved missing the first men's singles final in our lifetime involving a Brit

And the rain continues...so its been no hardship to stay indoors and sew.
I remember as a child being saddened as my father ripped the pretty white flowers from the bottom of our garden. Now, as a gardener, I know bindweed is a pain and pull it out myself whilst loving the shape of the flower. I have seen it growing wild with a pretty pink/white striped flower but never blue so not sure if this is an artist's impression.

Makes a lovely combination with the soft blue striped linen.

Another section of the same fabric features these beautifully drawn roses teamed with a lovely cream vintage linen.

 I think it makes a pretty negative to this stronger floral also featuring roses. I plan to make the red fabric into cushions later today.

These simple linen striped cushions were popular on Sunday, I guess near the coast the blue is a great choice for holiday cottages. I've replaced the ones I sold with more
All these cushions are on the updated blog shop..click on link on right or http://www.shophellishdesigns.blogspot.com/
I want to send my good wishes to any of you who have summer events coming up, long planned no doubt and hoping for sunshine or at least not a deluge.  Two couples of my acquaintance are marrying later this month and I so hope they have decent days for their celebrations...my brush with the elements was trivial in comparison!