The afterglow...

So, here we are a few weeks down the line from the Creggans Xmas Cracker and I'm still absurdly pleased at how well it went. We had a total of 24 different makers, crafters, artists and small businesses showcasing a quality array of products - from handmade soaps to fine art cards and prints, stunning designer jewellery to the best chocolate Brownie bites in the whole of the country (thank you, Fi Bashford-I still taste them in my dreams!!), wonderful, hand-crafted knit- and felt-wear, ceramics, retro cards, coasters and embroideries - too many fine things to mention! See pics below for a wee glimpse of the goodies on offer:

Fi, Fi and Lorna and their sweet treats to die for!
Rosie's Retro Styling - fabulous vintage inspired goods, gifts, cards and coasters

Amazing knitwear from 'Moses Well' - aka Pauline MacIntyre

the rainbow effect - natch! Am loving those new appliqued hottie covers!!

The wonderful Penny Crisp and her creative goodies including hand felted baby bootees, beautiful bunting and more hottie covers!!!

And the place was heaving!! I think Gill (proprietress extrordinaire of the Creggans Inn) had a bit of a wobble and was convinced no-body would come, but come they did, in their droves!!

The whole place was buzzing all afternoon and the icing on the very rich and delicious cake was the sweetest of sounds made by the choir from Dunoon Grammar School (although when our Effie is big enough to attend no way will she be allowed to wear such short skirts!!)

So, I felt justifiably pleased with the end result and, after a careful evaluation of the proceedings, next years promises to be even better!!

Applique Crazy!

Decided that my sewing skills could do with a kick up the backside, so I've been experimenting with some shapes and styles. These are the latest ones - and I'm ridiculously pleased with them!

I am especially fond of the tartan Skull 'n ' Crossbones (see below) and can see myself doing a lot more of these! Am currently working on a S 'n' C in vintage floral fabric that I think looks kinda cool - girly, with a twist, if you know what I mean.

Anyway will be sewing my wee fingers off to get ready for the Creggans Xmas Cracker - see last post!

A 'Craftacular' Christmas in Cowal

There’s no denying it-Christmas is on it’s way whether you like it or not! So how can you make your gift shopping pleasurable, and dare I say it, fun? Well, on the 5^th and 6^th of December there are two events that should sort out your gift ideas but in the most relaxed and delicious of surroundings. For two days only you will be able to get your hands on some of the best, most innovative and divine handcrafted goodies in the West of Scotland. We’re going all out for the most ‘Craftacular’ Christmas ever-think innovative, inspiring, unique, fun and all made with care and attention to detail. Think ‘Handmade not High Street”.

Kicking it off in style the delectable Glasgow Craft Mafia pay another visit to the Cowal of on Saturday 5^th December. Head down to Inver Cottage for some serious ‘eye candy’-choose from all manner of delights from the following fabulous designers and makers - Covetables, Pumpkinsputnik, Askingfortrouble, Rosies Retro Styling, Girl Industries, Sarey Poppins!

And if that wasn’t enough!! Sunday 6^th December sees the 'Creggans Xmas Cracker’! Come to the fabulous Creggans Inn in Strachur, Argyll for delicious Sunday Lunch then stay and browse the stalls at the Indie market which include the rainbow effect, Fresh Berry Designs, Pure Therapy, Carrot Coriander, Bute Crafts, and many, many more!! In addition be soothed by the DGS Heavenly Choir and, if all that wasn’t enough, we’ve even got our own Beauty Angel on call for a bit of pampering (appointments direct, contact Kate - 01369 860160) and a vintage style tea room going on-now what a way to make your shopping a little bit more fun! Food, pampering, stylish gifts by the bucket load-A Merry Christmas indeed and all within a scenic hours drive from Glasgow!! For further info contact 01369 860279.

They came, they saw, they had a great time!

The dust has finally settled, the reports and evaluations are nearly complete and the time has come to now say that this years Cowal Open Studios was a roaring success - in excess of 2000 visitors over the weekend and a total visitor spend of around £18k. The feedback from visitors and participants has been overwhelmingly positive and I think I can safely say that COS 2009 was a fantastic event!

The additional events at the Hall on the Saturday went down really well-the singing workshop was such a hit that the singers have been meeting regularly to exercise their vocal cords-and workshops were well attended. The concert in the evening was a foot stompin' crowd pleaser and the highlight of the weekend!

So onward-the battle for funding starts here. Cowal Open Studios is key in promoting the work of artists in this most beautiful part of Scotland and is a vital and vibrant part of the Cultural Tourism Industry in Argyll and Bute-we just have to get this message over to the Council so that they can start to value the contribution that these businesses make to the local economy. This will be our challenge for 2010!

Watch this space!!

The Vintage Tearoom Vibe hits Argyll

Blimey-been a while! Thought I'd better get my act together pit together an update on what I've been up to. It looks like 'the rainbow effect' might be taking a different direction and diversifying a wee bit.

So, sewing has been put on hold for the time being as I've been Project Managing 'Cowal Open Studios'. It's been a challenging one this year and not without some emotional bumps and bruises along the way-but, hey, that's what life's all about, isn't it? Anyway, we're approaching the home stretch with the event just around the corner. Should be a really great weekend this year and lots of fun!

Additionally, though, I've been pulling together my facilitation/management skills to put together a delicious little event as part of a programme of extra events at the Cowal Gathering. Collectively known as 'Gathering Around' these are 'add-on' events running on all three days and include a parade and a concert by the Peatbog Faeries.

But on the Sunday as part of the 'Cowal Family Gathering' to be held in Strachur, there will be 'Crafty, Cakes and Crooning' in the Memorial Hall. We will be transforming the New Hall into a 'Vintage Tearoom' paradise with gorgeous tablecloths, bunting, vintage table decorations and delicious, traditional home-baking. To top it all off and add to the enjoyment we're providing loads of Crafty bits'n'bobs for kids (and adults) to do and local musicians will be on hand to add some soothing tunes-bliss! It should be a truly delightful, vintage feast for the eyes, spirit and stomach-you should come, if you can!!

In pulling together the strands that make up the 'Vintage Tearoom' experience an idea has taken fruition. Between four of us local lasses we have a passion for all things vintage, exemplary culinary skills, a huge personal treasure trove of props/dressings/china/napery etc (see pic below-this is merely scratching a very large surface) and the knowledge of where to get more, crafty skills, an idyllic location and excellent management and facilitation skills (this really means some of us are very, very bossy!!).

So, I'm thinking of rallying the lasses and putting together a 'Vintage Party' package for all sorts of events from the personal-birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, hen parties-to smaller corporate do's! This, I know has been tremendously successful 'darn sarf' and there are some fantastic organisations in Glasgow who are at the forefront of the Vintage thang, most notably the fabulous 'Made in The Shade'. But we want to 'spread the Vintage Gospel' further afield and we are lucky enough to live in an area that has stunning, traditional Village Halls and great places to stay-so a little bit of that Vintage nostalgia and glamour could add that exceptional and unusual extra cachet, that 'wow' factor to an event. It also is a fabulous way to recycle the past-I think I personally have kept the local charity shops going by my constant rootling around!!-and justifies the enormous amount of hoarding myself and girlfriend Penny have been doing (forever, it seems). A case of all the gear, big idea and the transport to cart it around in!! Whoo-hoo!!!! A meeting of minds is planned around a bottle of red wine, so we shall see.

Will post some pics of the 'innaugral' Tearoom Event-and if you're free, come along and enjoy a bit of traditional Argyll hospitality and some tremendous home-baking!!

Mono Market!

Come along to Mono (12 Kings Court, Glasgow, G1 5RB) this coming Sunday (29th) to see a host of handcrafted goodies made and sold by some of Glasgow's finest designers and crafters! I'll be there, too, between 1-6pm with my treasure trove of delightful kids and adult appliqued and tie-dyed tee-shirts, vintage and recycled fabric hotties, bags, blankets, boudoir sets. Mono is a great place to also have Sunday Lunch or stop for a refreshment break - be there or be square!!

Red Nose Fun!!

Especially for Red Nose Day! I did a tie-dye workshop with the Strachur Playgroup Pre-Schoolers, which was lots of fun. They especially enjoyed dunking the tee shirts and then stirring them round in a big bucket of Poppy Red dye (sadly now defunct, thanks, Dylon!! Glad I stockpiled when I did).

I took the tees home and rinsed them in the washing machine and brought the damp, tied tee shirts back the next morning. It was really cool seeing the excitement on their wee faces when they took the bands off and saw the patterns they had made. They were very chuffed by the finished articles and will be showing them off on Monday 16th-a tad late for RND, but they don't open on a Friday! Better late than never, they will be showing off their finery, then.