MrsGPicks @Handmade and Fabulous!

I’m not one to brag, but an exciting proposition has filled me with pride, confidence and joy, so I will brag maybe just a little…

My friend, lovely Susie of LynwoodJewellery, who is a regular contributor to UKHandmade, a successful jewellery designer in her own right, lover of all things handmade, woman of great taste, and last but by no means least my best customer and biggest fan has set up a gorgeous new blog Handmade and Fabulous! and asked little old me to be the guest blogger.

My column, called “MrsGPicks” is a monthly fashion article on all things gorgeous in knit, crochet and felt from around the globe. A fantastic job, which has me surfing the net in search of the best, most wonderful, daring, independent designers. If only I could make it my day job… one can dream.

It would give me the greatest pleasure if any of you faithful followers would care to read my first article and leave a comment. It’s “Born Again Granny” and you can find it here.

There will be plenty more gorgeous finds and the next theme to whet your appetite for beautiful handmade fashion is “Here comes the bride…” and will be published very soon, so do keep checking.

QueenOfHerts has arrived!

 Today for the first time QueenOfHerts opened for business. The shelves in the shop will be filling up steadily. Still lots of designs to list, lots of photographs to take and of course a bit of promoting to do.

In one day the shop has created a fair bit of interest and with time and with more designs I hope to delight you all and satisfy your need for unusual, edgy, one of a kind, stand out from the crowd jewellery.

I hope i have whet your appetite with my selection of photos and you will visit the new shop.

I appreciate all feedback and tips how to improve QueenOfHerts and make it a shop you will truly love.

Queen Of Herts!

With the New Year there’s a new venture taking shape. I wouldn’t like it to overshadow MrsGKnits, which has been a success in its first few months of existence. Success, which I will be shortly confirming on this blog with the satisfied customers’ comments and hopefully some pictures of lovely people who appreciate finer things in life and live to enjoy the unique, luxurious knits from MrsGKnits. But another time about that…

This post is dedicated to MrsG’s little sister. Ladies and gentlemen I give you QueenOfHerts!

QueenOfHerts was born from my exploration and pushing knitting and crochet to see what else can be done with a few unorthodox materials. First it was beaded crochet bracelets, then crochet and knitting with wire and then the imagination was truly let loose. Like most of my knitting designs, which you can see in MrsGKnits (my luxury knitwear emporium), the final results are not obvious until the late stages of completion of the piece. I enjoy the whole creation process, from gathering a few eye catching bits through the discovery what shape they will take. At times this might be a very long time until the Eureka moment when the idea how to finish the design comes suddenly and the piece takes its final shape. And from there I found I actually enjoyed teaching myself how to make other jewellery pieces and that’s where QueenOfHerts became a mixed bag of crochet and knitted wire, beads, knitted and crochet necklaces and corsages and a few other bits put together.

The new shop will be opening on Folksy soon and I will be back here to announce the launch officially. Watch this space folks!

Bentley Priory Winter Fair

HO! HO! HO!

Yes, it's that time of year again, when most of us crafters not only start thinking about Christmas, but all the more serious of us actually start doing somethig about it. This year I'm happy to say I have been busier than ever. Private commissions are coming in with a steady flow thank you very much, but there's another event that will keep me knitting and crocheting on turbo speed.

I was invited by the organisers to set up a stall at Bentley Priory Winter Fair. It will take place on Saturday 5th December at Bentley Priory in Stanmore. The setting for the fair is so pallatial and grand it is a rare opportunity for the public to actually just visit and see Bentley Priory in its full glory. And if that wasn't enough to tempt you, the Winter Fair will be full of Crafts, Antiques and hand-made gifts, sold exclusively by artists invited to the Fair by the organisers. You can check all the exibitors and sellers when you follow the link above - if you persevere you will see MrsGKnits there too.

The proceeds from the entry fees, which are £1 per adult and 50p concessions, will be donated to charity by the organisers. There is free ample parking and the nearest tube station is Stanmore (there are detailed instructions how to get there on the organisers website).

I have a limitted amount of complimentary entry tickets, so if you would like to visit the Winter Fair please let me know. It would be great to see a friendly face on the day. And think of all that Christmas gift shopping - you can get gorgeous, unique, hand-made gifts for everyone in the family.

Hope to see you there...

What to do on a Monday?

I work just off Totthenham Court Road, and that in itself is reason enough why I don't venture out shopping in West End. I'm there 5 out of 7 days of the week, and don't relish shopping trips when West End is full of weekend shoppers and tourists.


On Monday, now on my week off I decided to go on a wonder in Covent Garden. My main aim was beads and other little bits from The Bead Shop in Tower Street. Of course I got more than I went for and feeling the surge of energy decided against going home and went further instead. I walked lots in Covent Garden, browsing all the lovely little shops, ended up in Strand (I always get lost in Covent Garden!) From Strand I wondered to Trafalgar Square, Regent Street and off to Carnaby Street.

The day was absolutely gorgeous, sun shining making the flowers on the back wall of Liberty's come to full bloom.

After a good couple of hours in Liberty's - haberdashery department mainly - I decided reluctantly to make my way home. With Oxford street still packed I ventured through the backstreets of China Town and Soho towards Charring Cross Road to get a bus home.


I managed to finish a little project on the way back, another one of many bracelets is completed.






I think I might have got them out of my system now for a little while and I can start knitting again, that is of course if knitting will have me back despite my fling with crochet. Only time will tell...

This Need for Beads...

... has taken over the last week of my life. I'm off to Covent Garden in a moment to source some lovely materials for all the ideas buzzing in my head. Before I go though I'd like you to take a look at what I have been up to last week.

This is my first ever beaded crochet bracelet you've seen in previous post and another one that is already adorning my friend's wrist - belated birthday present that's put a smile on her face.

Mrs G in action

...and the bracelet is ready!!!

This will be one of my favourites. Love the vibrant colour combination for summer!



This pink, lilac and pearl white is for my mum. It's very muted and classy, and bigger beads in the middle add extra style.

And finally here's something I'm experimenting with at the moment. I'm trying to work out how to use the beaded tubing to create ear-rings and rings. Ear-rings are already a clear idea in my head, but the ring needs further work. At the moment it's far too bulky to wear on the finger so I will have to use just a section of tubing for the top ant attach to some sort of ring base. I have a few ideas, but too early to share.

Have a wonderful bank holiday. If you're not going out why not crochet a beaded bracelet. Here's Bees workshop to get you started. I'm off for my fab supplies. Covent Garden here I come!

Bracelet Extraordinaire!

Another Sunday, another fabulous day and another creation I am ever so proud of!

Last Sunday four of us have gathered for a creative workshop taught by lovely Bee of chaincreative. Sarah, Stacey, Aveen and yours trully decided we can master the art of tubular crochet with beads. Ha ha!

Not one to be beatten easily I must confess this tested my patience a little bit, but with Bee's mantra in my head -"it's easy once you get going" - I have set out to succeed. And succeed I did, although i will let you all be the judges of that. All I say is my work colleagues were impressed.



Workshops with Bee are always an event I look forward to and then regret they end so quickly. But after every single one of those I left with a new skill which has completely hooked me.


The Bead Crochet Workshop was no different. The day was beautiful, hot, glorious sunshine, the surroundings were cosy and peaceful and Bee was her usual enthusiastic self , spurring us on and not letting anyone give up. What better way to spend a day than rummaging through colourful beads, picking colours for a project and then turning them into a wonderful piece of jewellery.


Girls, this really is my idea of a perfect Sunday!

This is my first attempt. I'm planning a few more for sure. I already threaded beads for one more and I don't think I will be stopping there.









I finished my bracelet at home on Sunday evening after the workshop and I have been wearing it every day since...

Hearts in Herts.

These are my lovely new crochet coasters. I got sooooo hooked on crochet I keep finding little projects to practice on and these were just perfect. Such pretty little things, quick to do and you can make as many or as few as your heart desires. If you fancy having a go here is the link to Bella Dia and the pattern.


I have also started experimenting with wire and combining it with beads, as that went pretty well, I have taken on wire and pearls and the results are good - girls at work loved them, but they need to be perfected. When they are I will post some photos. For now I'm so proud of my coasters I might even make some placemats to match.

And here's one I made earlier... started it during my crochet class with Bee, but only managed to finish it off this weekend. It's a crochet bracelet, felted in the machine with pink and purple beads stitched on after. Another little project that delivered lots of fun and satisfaction.


...of course while I'm having a hot affair with crochet I can't be neglecting my knitting. I managed to fit in a couple of knitting projects into my days, mainly due to a long daily commute from the rural Hertfordshire to the heart of London (it's all hearts in this post?). My handbag is of the "big enough to fit the kitchen sink" variety and always contains a book, an i-pod and a knitting project or two. Yes, dear reader, I KNIT EVERY DAY! ... and lately I crochet nearly every day too. So many ideas - so little time...

Kiosk Kiosk

Last week on Sunday something very nice happened. Claire Montgomerie aka Monty with the help of Bee Clinch have been spreading their enthusiasm and knowledge of knitting, crochet and sewing on the South Bank at Kiosk.

Being an avid enthusiast of knitting and now also wonderful crochet, thanks to Bee, I ventured out from my little cosy pad up north (Hertfordshire) to cheer on my favourite crafters and their new venture. It was to promote the crafts by giving free advice and on the spot tuition and troubleshooting.

There were some lovely creations on display and available to buy from Claire and Bee.

This little girl astonished us all with her amazing dedication and talent. Very inspirational and reassuring that the all things crafty will live on. Olivia came not knowing what knitting was, and within minutes she was knitting away quietly, tongue out, concentration on her face.

Of course there were rewards in the form of these yummy cupcakes from Sugar Rose, absolute works of art in their own right. You can find out more about them from Make&Bake.

The weather was shaky, but mainly held up and I managed to escape before the rain came down. Views were quite magnificent all round and tourists were aplenty.

I was so glad I could make it as nothing makes me more happy than the company of happy people, who share the same passions...

Crochet! Wonderful Crochet!

Over the past 3 Sundays I was lucky to be part of a fabulous beginners crochet class at Loop.

I did other classes at Loop, improvers knitting, experimental knitting and hand felting, which were all great, mainly because I wasn't a complete novice, and I knew what I was doing. This time it was a beginners course and that made me feel a bit apprehensive - will I be able to "get it"? will I be able to keep up? Well, I shouldn't have feared at all.

First thing to say is that our little group got on very well and I think the biggest praise goes to the wonderful teacher Bee Clinch, who has a great personality and the style of teaching everyone who gets a chance should experience. Oozing crochet enthusiasm, putting us all at ease and making it all look like a piece of cake. Speaking of cakes... we had delicious, most unusual red velvet cupcakes, made for us by Bee's former crochet student.

We started from scratch, all very serious, very focused and very stiff. A cup of EarlGrey and a couple of buscuits later we relaxed and I stopped getting a cramp in my right hand. Although an absolute beginner myself I was really chuffed to be able to produce a few things at the end of the course. We did lovely corsages at our last class and as soon as they are good enough for public viewing I will put a couple up for everyone to see.

Of course I wouldn't be myself if I didn't think I could run before I could walk, so I decided, after the FIRST class, to indulge my love of mohair and combine it with my newly discovered love of a "double treble". I should have known better! I do know better! Mohair is a "one way ticket". Once you've started there's no way you'll be able to frog it, so I just carried on. By the end of second class and a bit of rough practice I knew how to keep my work straight and I managed to rescue my not so straight scarf. A bit of sweet edging all round and voila... one very original scarf....

I felt a bit sad that the classes were coming to an end, but I have to say that thanks to Bee I am hooked on the "hook" and I will carry on in hope that my next crochet creation won't have to be born out of a bit of a "cock-up".

It wasn't a sad good-bye.

You can see us here (Bee first on the left) at the end of our last class all smiles and confidence that now the basics have been tamed things will just keep getting better and better and better...

I'm hoping to stay in touch with the girls, so if you're one of our bunch and you're reading this let me know what you think. Maybe we'll meet again at the improvers class in October.

Knitting is number one, but...

... even though obsessed with knitting Mrs G has ventured out to the unknown. I am on a crochet course and let me tell you my knitting obsession has a serious rival in crochet! So far it's been fun, thanks to the wonderful Bee Clinch who is our tutor and the cosy atmosphere of my favourite shop on this planet - Loop. I am loving my newly discovered skill, and already planning some projects to utilise some of my well bought stash. Oh joy! Simply can't wait for next Sunday!