The end of a great weekend and the start of another week...

I can't believe it's Monday morning again! We've had a crazy, busy, amazing weekend (me & DH that is), it seems more like a week full of doing things, rather than just two days, so this is a bit of a departure from my usual Craft Britannia shop of the week (which will come after my usual, but longer than usual ramblings).

On to what we've been up to at the weekend... We drove to Wolverhampton (and back home) twice over the weekend, visited the in-laws and then there's the main reason for our trip to and from Wolverhampton, the Marston Sunbeam Club and Register's, Sunbeam motorcycle centenary event! So my Etsy shop and crafting had to be put on hold over the weekend, while we were busy with other things.

My DH is the club magazine editor, so I get the title of 'unofficial official club photographer', personal assistant and any other job title you'd like to give me! 
Saturday morning we set off for the centenary event and I volunteered for the job of manning the magazines stall (in other words standing behind the corner of a small table handing out the latest magazine and ticking off the members who came to collect it). This turned into helping out with selling club merchandise and trying to answer questions if I could, amongst other things. On Sunday, I went back to my 'usual job' of taking as many photos of the event as I could, my DH only picks a few for the magazine, but it's good to get as many shots as I can because he can always use a bike photo or two for an article in a later edition.

It was pretty amazing to see all the old Sunbeams meeting up outside Sunbeamland (which is in the background and now owned by Urban Splash). I wonder how long it's been, since this many 'Beams were at the factory?

Thankfully the rain kept off for most of the weekend, although quite a few members came back on Sunday, looking very very soggy after a planned ride out into the countryside.

Here's a small photo taster of the event...

A sample of the bikes that visited Sunbeamland in Wolverhampton.

Portrait of John Marston from the archives, with possibly one of the earliest Sunbeams

                                              

And now, onto this weeks Craft Britannia shop of the week!
Which this week is Fem of The Feminine Touch. Which, you'll probably be glad to read, has absolutely nothing to do with motorcycles or motorcycle events and clubs,

Fem, another of our Craft Britannia teamies on Etsy, makes and sells all manner of hand knitted and felted items, from sachets to tea cozies, hand warmers to scarfs and also cushions, some of which are made from recycled sweaters, like the ones below.

After the long weekend I've just had, I'd really love find a quiet corner and sink down on a couple of these cushions and have a nice nap, they look so soft and cuddly.

Recycled cushion throw.

When deciding which of Fem's items I'd feature, I was automatically drawn to the more earthy colours. I'm not sure how long our brief summer will last, and autumn seems like it's around the corner lurking somewhere, so the autumnal colours seemed a more natural choice for today.

Orange tea cozy.

                    How about a quirky hand knit cozy to keep your tea nice and hot?

Autumnal handwarmers.

And these handwarmers are just the thing for cozy hands, especially when the weather turns colder. Personally, I think a pair of these are an essential item of clothing, especially when it's nippy and you have to work on your computer or laptop!

I hope you've enjoyed today's featured Etsy team member? Please leave a comment below if you can, it's nice to see what people think of the items I feature (along with my ramblings!)

Oh and not forgetting, Fem's Craft Britannia blog interview can be found here and her handmade goodies are in her Etsy shop is here. Fem also has a blog if you'd like to keep up with what she's up to.

Well, that's all for today, I have so many things to catch up on after our crazy but fun weekend, so I'd better get started on my very large to-do list. 

Something old, something new...

something borrowed, something blue and a sixpence for your shoe.

This week's Craft Britannia Etsy shop of the week is Steph of Six Skeins.
I had a leisurely wander around Steph's shop today and saw that amongst her other handmade goodies and yarn, she had made some items for weddings.
This immediately made me think of my eldest niece and her wedding, which is at the end of this year.

It's a really special to have something handmade for a wedding, it's more personal than something just 'bought' from a shopand is a lovely reminder of the person who gave it to you, as well as a reminder of the day itself.

On to reviewing Six Skeins, Steph's Etsy shop!
Steph's handmade blue beaded garter, would be a beautiful surprise gift for a bride,
It's been crochet with blue and white silk beaded yarn and has co-ordinating satin ribbon ties, with 4 small white organza rose decorations, and it would be just the thing for the something new and something blue off the bride's list!

Blue beaded wedding garter.

And if the bride already has something blue, how about this garter?
Steph made this one from beautiful fine ivory 100% silk yarn, and she incorporated over 140 tiny glass seed beads in a pink/amber colourway around the lower edge.
The garter is threaded with pretty pastel hand-dyed ribbon, which I think gives it a vintage feel.

Beautiful cream beaded wedding garter

Steph's garters are presented in a keepsake gift box, so they can be kept as a memory of the bride's special wedding day. All garters can be custom-made to fit, just contact Steph to arrange the details.


For wedding accessories, she also has these handmade items, the first is a lovely crochet and beaded necklace, which I could see being worn at a very boho style wedding.

Handmade crochet bead necklace.

This scarf would be gorgeous to wear at a wedding, or any special occasion and the cream yarn would go with so many colours. It's been crocheted using fine pure silk cream yarn with mother of pearl chip edging and threaded with cream silk ribbons.

Crochet scarf with mother of pearl edge.

Of course Steph's items aren't just for weddings, you could wear them for any occasion where you want to feel a bit special and her shop stocks so much more than wedding items!

I hope you've enjoyed this weeks post?
On a more personal note, the tax elves did pay a small visit last week, and they lent a hand with my accounts, so the dreaded paperwork is nearly all done now (phew!).


You can visit Steph's Etsy shop here.
And the full Craft Britannia interview is on the CB blog here.

Spinning in a world of yarn!

       This week's Craft Britannia Etsy team shop of the week is Spinning Streak.

 If you want hand knitted goodies, or some lovely hand dyed and destash yarn for your own stash, then Spinning Streak's Etsy shop is a good place to start.

Spinning also makes some gorgeous hand knitted items, like the tea cozy below, which I love for it's mix of colours and textures.

One of Spinning Streak's gorgeous chunky textured cozies.

Some of her beautiful hand spun and hand dyed yarn.

Spinning also knits some beautiful hats. I have my eye on a couple of her slouch

beanies, perfect for my countryside foraging sessions, or even bad hair days!

To read all about Spinning Streak and her work, please visit the Craft Britannia's SOTW blog post for her interview.

I'm not sure who's going to be the next SOTW as we've had a slight re-shuffle around, due to someone being on holiday when it was their turn. It was my last week, and if by any chance you'd like to read my interview and know more about me and my small world, please click here visit the Craft Britannia blog.

I'd just like to add a huge thank you, to everyone on the Craft Britannia team on Etsy. All their hard work made my turn at shop of the week really enjoyable and I felt very spoiled getting all the attention.