A crafty birthday part 1: The doodle cup

I was really lucky to have some beautiful hand crafted gifts for my birthday this year.


This teacup was painted by my friend Meg, using ceramic paint pens. Meg says she hasn't done anything creative in years. I really love the choice of colours and the stream of consciousness that is Meg's doodle style! Is that a heart? Next to a Catherine wheel, next to a chess board?


Thanks Meg! 


xx 

And this makes it all worthwhile

At the risk of sounding like an old git, when I was a child, people appreciated handmade goods - you were made to! Growing up involved being regularly forced into scratchy jumpers, embarrassing hats and garish cardigans so that the maker could see them in use. It's an etiquette which sadly no longer seems to exist. I may be glad that the ritual child humiliation has died out, but unfortunately it has taken a lovely ethos with it. Handmade clothes, usually made by a family member who belonged to a prior generation, don't tend to be at the cutting edge of fashion, but we were taught that there is love, time and thought in every single stitch. That's something you can't buy, even at Cath Kidston ;-)


All that we were expected to provide in return for all this love and doting, was the pleasure for the maker of seeing a beloved child wearing something they had taken the time to make. It's a disappointment waiting at the end of many a craft project that this tradition hasn't survived.


All this said, you can imagine what a delight it was to receive these photos along with a commission to make another hat in size 3-6 months. A huge thank you to our tiny model and her Mum. Prepare for cuteness overload!