Our stand at Fair in the Square
Fresh flowers were provided by the lovely Lou at The Little Red Robin
One day I will make a tabletop cover but in the meantime I am using old linen sheets.
A stack of notebooks with beautiful handmade paper and my 'Day at the Allotment' embroidery framed with reclaimed wood.
Pink hydrangea embroidery in handmade chippy frame.
Tiny drawers, velvet flowers, linen string and handmade paper notebooks... A few of my favourite things.
Blue hydrangea in handmade chippy frame.
My 'The Secret Garden' embroidery based on the logo for the Little Green Door.
Labels for my handmade items, artwork by Kate at Oyster Bridge & Co.
Our conservatory and where I can be found most days, stitching and watching the birds.
The conservatory. The old wooden box houses my painting supplies. The patchwork cushion was a gift from my mum (it is a Tilda pattern using Tilda fabric). She made two cushions and a matching quilt for my 40th birthday and I love them!
I keep pretty sweet company when I work. Here she is, watching watercolour YouTube videos with me on the laptop.
Brocante season has begun! It was our first fair of the year at the weekend. We had a stand at The Country Brocante Fair in the Square in Midhurst. I had planned to launch my embroidery pieces online at the end of March but being invited to stand at the Fair in the Square changed my plans a little and I decided it would be nice to use the opportunity to display a few pieces of embroidery and see what sort of feedback I received.
In the weeks leading up to the brocante I had the most nervous tummy. It is one thing attending an event where you have bought in items to sell but when you've made things yourself it is a whole other thing... It has become personal and I was struggling with my confidence.
The day of the fair was bright and sunny. The marketplace was full of gorgeous stands, all decorated with flowers and bunting. It was beautiful. We were in the town's Old Library which is a stunning old building and provided the perfect backdrop to our stand. I couldn't have hoped for a better reception to my embroidery. I had so much wonderful feedback and I feel inspired to continue. Thank you so much to everyone who stopped by and especially those who gave me a few words of encouragement about my work, it meant such a lot to me. I sold a few pieces and took a couple more orders but for now I am back in my workroom finishing a few stitcheries to sell at the Larmer Tree Brocante in Dorset this bank holiday Monday.
It is my first time attending the Larmer Tree Brocante but having followed the team on instagram, I am super excited by the list of exhibitors and the prospect of a ukulele performance in the 'Singing Theatre' during the day. It sounds wonderful!
I am lucky to have two rooms in the house that I can use as workrooms. I am in the conservatory today which is the room I use for painting and stitching because the natural light in here is, obviously, fantastic. I have a sewing room at the top of the house, in the eaves, where I have a cutting table and a sewing machine. My sewing room is a terrible mess at the moment as I have bought a few new (old) pieces of furniture and need to have a bit of a sort out in there to declutter. I am looking forward to getting home next week and having a long overdue tidy up and organisation session but in the meantime I will enjoy watching the birds in the garden, listening to Spotify and embroidering a floral bouquet. Hopefully see you in Dorset on Monday!
Love
Nicki xx