The Handmade Fair 2015 - Live Craft Mash Up

It was a case of Knitter vs Glitter this weekend as I returned to Kirstie Allsop's Handmade Fair as one of her Craft Experts to take part in Friday's Live Craft Mash Up, sponsored by Mollie Makes magazine and HobbyCraft, and this time I was up against the fabulous (and feline friendly) Deadly Knitshade. We were both given a plain polysterene wreath to decorate, in front of a live audience in just 45 minutes.

In advance of the Mash Up we were asked what materials we'd like, I opted for the stuff I love best: sparkles, spangles, glitter, confetti, sequins and lots and lots of gemstones, while Deadly Knitshade brought in yarn (obviously!)

As she wound her wreath with a pre-knitted fluro magenta panel, I got messy decoupaging the base - both of us crafted while being interviewed by our Mollie Makes host.

I hadn't tested out my design, just did a few sketches and developed a concept, inspired by both of our mops. DK is usually seen with blue hair while I'm currently rocking purple and green. Together we are a human peacock so I took my lead from that and whipped up a themed wreath.

Due to time restraints it wasn't the neatest of craft projects but I did manage to cover the base, create some giant peacock eyes lined with sequin trim and filled them in with think confetti glitter, stick on lots of gems (whilst also welding some onto the table), before completing my design with a feature section made from peacock feathers and my piece-de-resistance, a felt peacock which I had stitched the night before in front of the telly.

Meanwhile Ms Knitshade transformed hers into a monster door knocker complete with bulging eyes and slithery bits.

The Knitter just pipped the Glitter to the post and Deadly Knitshade was crowned the champion of the Mash Up. 

 I loved her creation and was pleased with mine too - I'm going to hang it proudly in my pad somewhere. 

Think you don't have time to craft? Although we both did a wee bit of prep, we still managed to create crafty showstoppers in under an hour, see, it's possible! 

Afterwards we hung out at the Fair, hooked up with some fellow crafters including knitter Louise Walker, printer Zeena Shah and animatronics/designer maker for film and TV, Emma Brassfield. I also had a good old natter with some other crafty folk which was superb.

A fine afternoon of living the crafty life. I have a few more craft events appearing in my diary in the lead up to Christmas which is nice, including guesting at my local WI, hopefully running a workshop for a well-known brand and possibly recording a video too. Exciting!

Thanks to Lauren & Emma for taking most of these pics - if you were at The Handmade Fair at Hampton Court, I hope you had fun and extra special thanks to everyone who came to see us : ) 

Working On The Greenwich Show

Filming in Greenwich with Cameraman Michael Cole & Presenter Robert Gray

Over the last few months I've been working on an exciting TV project - The Greenwich Show, a magazine programme about the local area I live in. I've been living in the London borough for over eight years and I am obsessed with the place. It truly is a unique area with so many stories, so it has been an honour to be involved in bringing these tales to the attention of the world (the programme airs online and on an actual TV channel.)

Director Ian Ramsdale with Presenter Robery Gray filming links on a rainy day

The show is the brainchild of these two gentleman, Ian the Director and Robert the main presenter. The show is significant because back in 1972, 'Greenwich Cablevision' became the UK's first local television service - it was history in the making - the first time there was local TV in the UK, as opposed to the normal terrestrial channels everyone had. In keeping with that theme, it's now the first borough to have a programme to be showcased nationally on - The Community Channel.

Ian briefing Robert

The whole series (and series one which was broadcast almost a year ago) is run by volunteers. Everyone involved including Ian, Robert, the rest of the team and me have given up our own time and resources because we are all passionate about wanting to create, and be part of something so special. In fact this series has been called #Series2MadeByYou because everyone who lives in the borough or has a connection to it, was invited to be part of it - from suggesting programme ideas to being in films and having their photographs and memories featured. 

Me, behind camera two!

I approached the team because I enjoyed watching series one and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to expand my television presenting skills, but I did more than just stand in front of the camera; I got behind it too and did research, scripting, running and even some filming. 

Filming a Food feature with Mike, The Very Greengrocer

My favourite aspect though, is being one of the show's Reporters. I present three short films which appear in episodes 2, 3 and 4. One of which is a fascinating look at the people who have food businesses or provide food services in the borough, including Mike, The Very Greengrocer.

Not just any old van, this is a travelling grocery store!

Mike is retired but spends his spare time helping others by providing a mobile food service. His van is packed with local produce that he delivers to people who are less mobile, such as elderly folk or those who simply don't have time to shop - delivering them fresh vegetable boxes.

Michael honing in on the veg

Adam from Season Etcetera showing us how he makes jam

There are four unique stories in the film, including Adam who makes and sells jams and chutneys alongside his day job, at local farmers markets. He let me and amazing cameraman Michael (who deserves an extra special mention because he worked super hard on the series), come to his house to watch the jam creation in action...

Strawberries on the boil

Straining the strawbs

Voila!

Adam also makes tasty chutney

Taste-testing Adam's jam...this wasn't the only slice I ate!

See the full report in Episode 2! (Aug 30th)

Michael filming outside the famous Blue Nile Cafe in Woolwich

For Episode 3 (Sept 6th) we went to find out more about local restaurant The Blue Nile Cafe, which was named the best in London on website Trip Advisor, beating off competition from five star Michelin places headed up by famous chefs.

With owner Shewa

The Blue Nile is an Eritrean and Italian restaurant. The setting is as authentic as the food which is served up with love, something you really don't feel in the majority of places you eat out at. The homely vibe, affordable prices and great dishes has already seen me go back since filming there.

Delicious feast of Eritrean food

Discovering new flavours

And for the final Episode 4 (13th Sept) I got to talk craft, as we headed over to Greenwich's weekly knitting night at The Pelton Arms pub.

Filming at The Pelton Arms

Open to everyone and anyone, it's an informal meet up that was set up by local craft queen and knitting expert Susie Johns who is an absolute heroine of mine.

I love the decor in the Pelton

Knit night essentials

You can either turn up with your own project and work on that, or borrow some yarn and needles and get help learning.

One of Susie's knitted masterpieces

The Pelton have hosted the night for a few years now and they are ever so friendly, they sometimes even feed the knitters as they did on our filming night - yum!

Looking after the knitters with snacks

Knitting & nibbling at The Pelton Arms

The Greenwich Show kicks off tomorrow. Made with utter passion and positivity, I hope it gets the viewers it deserves and most importantly if we get lots of viewers, we'll attract more advertisers, which will help us make a third series. Plus there's nothing else like it on the TV at the moment, there's no reality/celebrity nonsense, just good old-fashion television.

Coming up in the first episode!

Tune into The Greenwich Show #Series2MadeByYou on The Community Channel - available at

Freeview HD 63, Sky 539, Virgin 233, Freesat 651

Episode 1: Sun 23rd August 2015

Episode 2: Sun 30 August 2015*

Episode 3: Sun 6th September 2015*

Episode 4: Sun 13th September 2015*

All episodes are repeated the following Wednesdays at 9pm and Fridays at 4.30pm. 

*these ones have my reports in! : )

Batman Crafts

No.1 Knitted face mask

I love Batman. He's my favourite super hero and this week I'm feeling extremely excited as Batman Live the stage show is coming to London and not just any old part, my home town, Greenwich, so to celebrate I've scoured the web for the best Batman crafts. If only I could own all these things. Starting with with a super cute knitted Bat face mask modelled on Blythe. Actually it doesn't look too hard to make, keen knitters can easily adapt a basic hat pattern to recreate their own.

No.2 Printed dress

What a dress, and it looks like it would fit me! I would like to wear it and twirl around all day as it has a beautiful cut which would swish in the breeze.

No.3 Kicks

But which of these???? The Robin ones are very nice, if not a little 'teeny'...perhaps I am too old to own a pair?

No.4 Thong

Ha ha, not these though, I could definatly wear this!

No.5 Pendant

Hmmm and what a lovely yet simplistic pendant.

No.6 Pinboard

Like many crafters these days I am obsessed by Pinterest but that doesn't mean we should not still have a physical pin board, especially one so fabulous?

No.7 Knitted cuffs

 The classic Bat logo looks good on everything, especially gloves.

No.8 Bento

I wonder if this is what the cast members are lunching on...Batman Bento?

No. 9 Wooden table

 A beautiful handmade table - doesn't even need any colour, it's perfect as it is.

No. 10 Wall sticker

Wow...! This wall sticker makes such a difference to a white room.

Me as Bat Girl

I know..... the auditions and casting are over, but the show is touring, and this is evidence I would  make a brilliant Batgirl....I already have the outfit!!

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside....

If only...

No this isn't my Beach Hut, but I am photographed in beach hut heaven, aka Whitstable; a quaint little seaside resort on the Kent coast. I first came here in 2001 and remember thinking this was a place that had a personality like no other. I returned in 2005 to do a photoshoot for a magazine. We shot inside a beautiful home that was a refurbished school. I also travelled through briefly when I was camping on the Kent coast in 2009 but a fortnight ago when the sun was shining, I went on a daytrip, to properly reminisce over that first trip, enjoy the sights and indulge in being a tourist.

Beach hut paradise

Beach huts are the backdrop to Whistable in bright, bold colours, all with different themes. Looking inside them and seeing how people use them is fascinating - some people have beds, kitchens, children's buckets and spades or they really go to town with elaborate themes; most look like they belong in the pages of an interiors magazine. If I had one I wouldn't know where to start - there's so many possible design ideas and obviously I would love a crafty one where I could keep my sewing machine and make things whilst looking out to the sea. This photo was taken while I was standing in the water looking back at the huts. It was very shallow in parts, you could walk right out and from a distance it seemed like people could walk out to the horizon.

Fresh oysters

Whitstable has an international reputation for being the best place to eat oysters in the UK. I had never tried an oyster in my life as I don't get the concept of eating oysters and champagne indoors...outside with sea air, feels so much more natural. And so here I was in the land of oysters, it was time to finally eat one! Bought from a stall on the harbour, the woman there explained if I'd never had one before I could pick it out with a fork and swallow if I didn't want to chew. Nah...I wanted to do it properly so I tilted my head back poured it in and chewed it up! It was incredibly fresh and creamy in texture and so fun to eat that I immediately ordered another one. They were 60p each and as I went through town I noticed the prices varied - this was the best deal by far.

No they aren't all my shells!

They certainly get through their oysters here! Shells were randomly piled up all over the place, though I didn't work out what they do with them...

Shell art

Apart from that some people use them for their art. I thought these miniature paintings were a brilliant idea. I spotted them in amongst the market stall huts on the harbour; a hive of crafty goodness and  fresh treats to eat.

Crafty shopping

I bought some pretty beads from this bead hut, 1/2 the price of what they are in London!

Fab window display

And it the main town centre was intrigued by the fancy window displays left over from a recent competition.

Knit-tastic bike

These knitted bikes however topped off the day. Parked outside an amazing store called Taking The Plunge filled with all sorts of handmade loveliness they were made a group calling themselve Incogknito. I don't know anything about them as their website doesn't work and all I found whilst researching was other people who photographed the bikes for their blogs. However I did find out that the artists involved are called Dropzitch, Beat-Knit, Knit-Nurse, K.1. P.1, Ann Gora, 2 ply, Sal Paca, Knit Whit...I would love friends with names like that!

Yummy bike

I also visited the exhibition space inside The Horsebridge Arts Centre. It was filled with beautiful works, many of which were made my local people. I was most drawn to this...well who wouldn't be? It's just the kind of bike I want!

What's that smell?

And if you think you've seen it all when it comes to lavender, you need to pop to Whitstable Lavender - a whole shop selling lavender products, I picked up some fragrant lavender fudge (I have a thing for lavender in food) and a wheat bag since my two at home have been mauled through by mice. 

I also managed to have a relaxing nap in the sun, watch boules in the castle gardens and stop off for fish and chips which is compulsory when you're visiting the British seaside. The trip was made even more special because I was tweeted some tips of what to do and see by Catriona Campbell who runs creative workshops and breaks in Whitstable called 'Escape to Create.' It certainly was an escape and reminded me of the power just a few hours visiting somewhere can have. A good daytrip gives you the same relaxed energy as if you've been away for a few weeks whilst knowing it was so much cheaper! Whitstable differs from other parts of the coast because it has a genuine creative energy with a focus on the natural beauty and local produce rather than chain shops, arcades and tourist tat. It's warm and welcoming and very relaxing, even if you can only pop here for a couple of hours, do!