The Make and Do Studio

I love the colour in these photos....

I have been taking many photos recently and downloading them into my Picasa files (in an attempt to keep them in some semblance of order!).  It occured to me that the negative to digital images is that you don't tend to keep them anywhere where you can look at them on a daily basis - I tend to look at them. go "wow, that is lovely" and then that is it. So I decided to take a very random selection from the last six weeks and post them  - just so I can see them once in a while!

Children's felt drying alfresco.

Addison catching the last dying rays of the autumn sun.

Canning and preserving stuff - ready for show.

Quilt strips on their way to being finished.

My daughter Sydney made a gorgeous Octonaut cake for Addison's birthday. 

The beginning stages of the Canning and Preserving workshop that just passed.  What a great workshop!

I hope you are all gearing up for the holidays - I know I am but this year I have decided to pace it out a bit. I have slowed down on workshops from the beginning of December and am concentrating on some other studio stuff - putting new stuff on Folksy, sorting out a monthly "Create" night at a local business, writing a business support section called This Crafty Business on the Crafty Network and of all things - hopefully being filmed by the BBC!

All the best and for those back in the States, here is to a wonderful Thanksgiving! 

 

 

 

Think you can't learn a bit of old school food preserving?

As you may know, if you follow what we are up to with new workshops, in a few weeks time, we are doing a workshop that is a bit different from our normal workshops - we have a great workshop for those interested in the basics of preserving and canning (or as someone else pointed out, really it should be preserving and pickling!).

 

I think the idea of preserving your food is so timely, as these challenging economic times means that the emphasis is on making seasonal food last longer and at the same time, trying to reduce the amount of waste that you create. Preserving does all this as you don't have to have fancy packaging - just some glass jars that have been been prepared by sterilising them and fruit and vegetables that are in season (so hopefully, not expensive!).  In our workshop, you make three different items (cranberry and fig chutney, pickled seasonal vegetables and a fruit infused liquor) to show you the ways to incorporate preserving across different food/drinks type.

And when I opened my delicious magazine yesterday, the foodbites section editors choice was all about the "big trend in drinking.....is about added flavour".  They mention Shoots Shots Sloe Gin at £22.95 for 75cl or William Chase Elderflower Liquer is £8.99 for 20cl - by no means a cheap hobby but by learning how to do it yourself (and some of the tips like expensive alcohol is not always necessary as the fruit covers the underlying alcohol flavour!) you can certainly put it in your affordable range. 

I will make sure that we post some basic information about canning (I got a great resource list from a lovely Dutch lady...you know who you are!) so if you can't make it, or want to give it a go at home, then you have a bit of help from us!

Roll on the holidays!

 

Autumn is sneaking in and I need to get back to posting on a regular basis!

It is really hard to get in to a posting frame of mind if you haven't done it in a while!  But I have said that today is the day to get back in the posting saddle again.....

First of all a bit of promotion for a new workshop coming up in November - Basic Canning and Preserving , which is also our first Saturday workshop!  I am really excited to have this workshop as I think it is a great way to add to the idea of being able to Make and Do.  Plus Nathalie Francoise Cosier, who teaches the workshop, grew up in France to a french mother and a british father - she lives and breaths preserving! And she is one of those people that, when she dropped into the studio the other week and was looking at my button mountain, said "when I was living in Russia and working buying fabric, I used to be given loads of free buttons....."  Russia, working, BUTTONS - I will never be able to say a sentence like that!

And for those of you that want to combine the above course with your sewing skills, there was a great post on Skip to My Lou on how to make fabric bow ties for your preserving jar:

And because I love to share anything with folks that makes my life easier (and I am a closet techno geek!) I discovered this download called f.lux  - it is for those of us that work at night and have to adjust from the glare of the screen to the subdued lighting in the room. F.lux, when downloaded (and it is free!) will adjust the colour of your monitor to the light in your room  - so as the nights draw in, instead of facing a bright, white screen it has a lovely, yellow glow to it.  From their website:

"f.lux makes your computer screen look like the room you're in, all the time. When the sun sets, it makes your computer look like your indoor lights. In the morning, it makes things look like sunlight again"

My eyes are so happy! 

 

 

Charlotte and the adopted sewing machine - looks like it is permanent!

I love it when a machine adoption is successful......

Hi Maeri,

Just a quick email to say thanks for the workshop the other night. I had a really fantastic time and it was a perfect introduction to sewing, especially helped that I got to practice on my brand new shiny machine. I have gone from never having used a machine before to being able to set up my machine from scratch and sew on it confidently (straight lines at least hehe) I had a little practice last night and so far so good!!

I thought the content of the course was perfect and the little reference booklet will prove invaluable. The yummy brownies also helped as did the coffee and tea on tap throughout. Its got me really interested in sewing and I definitely plan to come on your dressmaking course when my sewing is up to standard and there are any places left on the course hehe.

Im happy to provide further written feedback for your marketing and you are welcome to use anything written above.

See you again soon hopefully

Charlotte

A few more (free!) things to help with Christmas...

That clock keeps ticking towards the Christmas countdown and oddly enough, I can feel my stress rate rise as the final days approach. Trying to make sure you have all the presents (and for me, mailing them in time for those that live in the States), spending most of one evening making a Greek tunic for my daughters play, getting those last few cards out to the Aunts you only ever make contact with at this time of year - we could all use a few things to make life a bit easier (both in the time department and in the money department). Here are a few more to add to last weeks list:

• last summer, I posted about making alphabet bunting from paper and I am happy to say, I found a more extended Christmas version at Made by Rae (okay, with a little help from Martha Stewart).  If you have slightly older kids, this could be a good way to keep them busy and you get the garland at the end. Win win!
• I like to exchange food (and wine!) at this time of year - everyone appreciates home made food wrapped up to look all lovely. If you want a nice tag for your biscuits/cookies - here is a great link at Joy Ever After.  A heavier weight paper might be good for these so that they don't get scrumpled along the way (I am not sure if scrumpled is a word but in my mind, it describes exactly what happens to food tags when jostled around on the way to being delivered!).
• You need a recipe for cookies so that you add the tag to them?  No problem!  Get that gingerbread cookie cutter out and look at this recipe for chocolate gingerbread men from Good LIfe Eats.  If you would like to convert from cups to grams - click here.

I think that is enough from me for the moment.....I have brownies to bake for my after school workshops (we have our annual Christmas party in lieu of creating - hey, any reason for a party!)

 

 

 

 

No need to panic! Four things to help you relax this holiday season

Okay, only 22 days and counting until all is normal again and the frenzied, weary individuals who have shopped, purchased and consumed until they thought they would explode can put down their purchasing weapon of choice and say "until next year".   But to try and make that 22 days a little less stressful, I offer you the following free!! ways to make sure you come out the post Christmas end sane:

• I have downloaded my annual Christmas music mix which is full of different twists on traditional holiday songs as well as some alternative tunes. And even though I don't really profess to be religious, I do feel a bit hypocritical not giving a nod to the little guy in the manger so they are in their too.  Just click on the play button to the left and you are all set!
• When things get a bit out of hand, visit www.yogatoday.com which has some of the best free yoga classes I have found on the web.  If you click on the link that says "classes" and then again on the "this weeks free class" you get that one class for the week, free! If you get bored of that one, then you have to subscribe but I have never felt the need to do that. The pace is great and the scenery is breathtaking. 
• So you are busy wrapping and you have run out of tags? Or you are just sick to death of the ones that you are using as they are from years past and are all scraggly and sick looking? Check out these free downloadable tags from West Elm studios.  You can change your mind as they have a great selection - don't be afraid to use paper that is slightly thicker for tags. 
• Take a bath!  And whilst you are there, you might as well rub yourself down with a homemade body scrub made from lavender and coconut oil. It smells like heaven and the cane sugar acts as a loofah and gets rid of all the dead skin.  And it is a great gift to make!

 Will try and add more as I find them - can't have everyone getting all stressed now can we?

 

How does Dolly do it?

When I work on Make and Do stuff from the luxury of the Beech Road outpost, I can listen to whatever I want and today, it is Dolly Parton.  My musical taste really does have a bi-polar feel to it and I am by no way religious but she has a new album out The Gospel Collection and it is great though my personal favourite album is Little Sparrow.  I digress...

Photos from our dressmaking workshop - we had a day to chat, layout patterns, chat, talk about the pattern, chat, cut, stop for a lunch of ginger and roasted squash soup and home made rolls, sew, chat, sew....I think you get the idea. But I have to say in our defence, you really do work hard and at the end of 8 hours of pretty much keeping to task, you have a lovely shirt/dress that gives you the strong foundation needed in order to understand basic pattern language, cutting techniques, putting it together before you sew and then working with the machine to get the best possible outcome for your shirt/dress.

School House Tunic as it is seen in paper form....

Getting ready for the cutting....those scissors were my grandmothers!

And the fabric is on its way to being this....

A versatile, top that is from a great little pattern company in the states called Sew Liberated. Sarah, the keenest of all my sewers, sent a photo to me via her iPhone of her finished dress on its first night out - I am still trying to get it off the phone but will post it if I do!

Give me three days in York and I come back a well rested woman!

First, a felt making class last Thursday which was good fun to serve tea at.  As Beryl is the instructor, I am just the dipping in and out lady - "more coffee?" - which I really enjoy.  Below is Anne, under the guidance of Beryls finger, getting to grips with all the apparatus needed to felt...

And then the next day we had a weekend away without any children - some call it a late honeymoon.  We had a fantastic three days away  - did I mention no children - and while we were wondering around, I discovered a few places worth mentioning:

• Grace and Jacob is a lovely little shop that combines felt making and sewing. The quirky felt slippers in the window caught my eye and then the shelf of Amy Butler fabrics pulled me inside. Fiona owns the shop and was knee deep in moving boxes but she took time out to have a chat with me when I am sure she could have been unpacking a box or two.
• Duttons for Buttons - it is still a bit of a wonder to me that this shop, which does what it says on the tin (though they have expanded a bit).  I recently bought a gorgeous Karen Millen wool winter coat at a local charity shop but it was missing buttons. One trip to Duttons and my Karen Millen is about to get a button makeover!
• York Quilting Museum - I know I keep saying I am not a proper quilter but I did want to have a look at what was on offer. Smaller than I thought but well laid out.  And behind the museum...
• The New School House Gallery -  Very light and open - their displays (we both loved the ceramic artwork by Fenella Elms but unfortunately, our wallets did not!). Well worth a browse, because behind the gallery was..
• The most serene public park I have been to in recent memory. It was designed by Annette Parkes and goes back to the city walls.  And it is a council owned park - that really blew me away.
• And it is worth one last mention about the Italian restaurant that sits the front of the gallery, Le Langhe - the deli alone is worth a visit. It had a bit of the same feel as Valvona and Crolla in Edinburgh.  The food was authentic and the wine went down a treat!

Where have you been?

I have been sooooo bad about posting the last six weeks!  It is not because I haven't been busy - I am getting married in two weeks and when the plans were first banded around about where to have it, I decided that since we lived on such a pretty street (especially in the summer) why not have it here!  So between the planning of that as well as having more workshops than expected, posting seems to have fallen to the wayside. 

We have had a few more firsts here at Make and Do - my first mother/daughter students (that does not sound right at all but that is the only word I can think of) who came to our Everything You Need to Know to Learn How to Sew workshop (the last one before we slow down for summer!)    

 

"Jasmine and I really enjoyed the sewing lesson. It was lovely to do a class together and we are now able to support each other... Your method of teaching was great and we felt very comfortable in such a relaxed but professional atmosphere. The muffin was lovely and as a coffee connoisseur I really enjoyed the coffee too. We now feel energised and motivated to start sewing, our cushions are amazing.  You will be seeing us again and thank you so much for a lovely morning.  Susanne and Jasmine

Back in June we had another first which was two classes held in one morning!  Our Fit to Knit workshop was in our front parlour (that sounds so posh, doesn't it!) and we had the second session of our Quiltmaking for Beginners workshop in the actual Studio. We met up in the kitchen for coffee and nibbles at half time, had a bit of a gab and then went back to our respective workshops.  

Other firsts included the first workshop on Cob Web scarf making - which I was lucky enough to attend due to a last minute cancellation.  I know that might sound odd but I don't often get to go to courses that Beryl teaches as either they are full or I am busy on other work related items.I had great fun and my scarf was so soft and lovely, I have added it to my wedding outfit - I might even post a photo of it on the day.

That is my cob web scarf, before it was a scarf (if you know what I mean).

Well, we are winding down for summer but the autumn schedule is all but done ( I am tweaking a few last minute dates) so I hope to add that in the next day or so.  I will post over the summer as I am looking forward to posting about some new topics - and new photos!

Its a bird, is a plane...... it's a man with a cushion?

 

Yes folks - that indeed is a photo of a man.....not just any man but what I would consider to be a very brave man. You will see him pointing to a cushion cover, which he completed whilst attending the Everything You Need to Know to Start to Sew Course earlier this month - which is my precursor to all things sewing related.  I have to come clean though - Pete is a friend of mine.  We worked together in a previous life and when Pete heard that I was offering classes in, amongst other things, sewing, he said he really wanted to learn and signed up.  And the rest is cushion history.... 

It has also been really busy at the moment as I have added on more of the classes that are proving to be popular  - Everything You Need to Know to Start to Sew was only going to be once every three or so months but at the moment it is every two or three weeks! I also added another Quiltmaking course as the one I am currently running is full too.  It is great news but it means that the work/balance gets tipped the wrong way sometimes.  I have also decided, based on feedback from folks that come to classes, I will offer a dressmaking course in September - which might not mean much to you but I can be a bit of a perfectionist at the wrong times and it has reared its ugly head with reference to designing the Dressmaking course.  Several people have said to me that they have taken dressmaking courses that are long in length but that they felt when they left the course, there were big gaps in basic instruction.  Or the classes were so big that they spent most of the time trying to get the instructors attention or machine time. My idea is two half day courses, with a gap of a few weeks in between (very much the same as the Quiltmaking course) where at the end of it, you have all the basic instruction you need to go it alone.  And like all the other courses - everything is provided and the numbers will be low - under four in a class. So now that I have said it out loud, I need to kick the perfectionist to the curb and get busy with getting it up and ready for September!

I also thought I would leave you with a photo that I took at the last class - it is a photo of pecan pumpkin bread ready for our half time break.  Anyone that knows me knows I like to bake and I feel that if you are making the effort to come to a workshop - I should make the effort to feed you well.  

 

Well, as the week ahead holds three adult workshops and two end of term kids workshops, I think I will hit the hay (a good Vermont expression!) Night....