Wee Birdy

Out and about in London today...

Bunnies at Spitalfields.

One crafty weekend in London...

There’s been lots of good stuff happening at the Wee Birdy nest lately, but first, a recap on this weekend’s summer craftiness.

So it was off to Honor Oak in South-East London for Tea and Make’s debut fete on Saturday morning, which saw the likes of high-profile designers Hannah Waldron and Polly George pitching market tables on the front lawn of St Saviours Church.

I really loved the friendly and relaxed WI feel to the fete, which included a tea and cake stand inside the church hall, (complete with flower-filled vases on all the tables), local produce courtesy of Brockley’s bee-keepers, and an old-fashioned coconut shy.

I was also delighted to catch up with fellow blogger and local girl Basil Exposition (who somehow squeezes in the most amazing knitted and baked creations in between studying and blogging). Here are some of my picks of the day:

Polly George’s new range of ceramic Victorian-style brooches and butterfly hair grips (plus all her usual tea set loveliness), below...

Highgate-based Cornelia O’Donovan’s amazingly individual hand-stitched softies and illustrated bunting (below and top)…

Selvedge’s stall of covetable textiles and dry-goods (French and Japanese printed linen, Lotta Jansdotta’s tea towels, Liberty-print butterfly hair slides, below) …

English Design Company’s fresh stationery designs and beautiful paper garlands, below …

The Arctic’s playful paper beards, polar bear kits and Eskimo masks…

Hannah Waldron’s vibrant birdy prints, quirky finger puppets and hand-crafted children’s books…

... and Laura Laura's recycled vintage sweaters and cardies, hand-embroidered with Frenchie phrases...

After gorging on glorious lemon-curd sponge cake from Sponge U Like, it was off to East London and Bust’s Summer Craftacular, which has upgraded from last year’s wee St Aloysius’ Social Club to the much roomier surroundings of Bethnal Green’s York Hall. So far, so much more air to breathe.

But the new-found spaciousness was quickly filled by a bevy of enthusiastic craftsters, all eager to pounce on the latest handmade beauties from over 50 individual designer/makers. Highlights included Tatty Devine’s exceptionally good DJ set (not to mention their amazing ‘record breaking’ charm bracelet stand, above – those girls are so terribly talented and original) as well as the opportunity to meet some Wee Birdy favourites including Abigail Brown (of Matchbox Tweeters fame), Megan from Mr PS and Kate Wilson of Little Doodles.

Fabric Nation’s vintage tourist scene purses also caught my eye, as well as Claire Platt's embroidered vulvas and vaginas (gawd, I do love mixing my feministing with craft).

But it was Kate Wilson’s charming bird illustrations that won my heart (and my pocket money) on the day, with this adorable ‘Howard dreams of Custard Creams’ print.

The clever girl has just been picked up by Liberty, shortly after collaborating with Marc Jacobs on this t-shirt.

By 3pm I was all crafted-out, but I left with my copy of BUST and new birdy in hand, feeling heartened by the energy and enthusiasm for British designer-makers … and the addition of booze and cupcakes didn’t seem to go astray, either.

Pretty in Print, Part 1

It’s print-mania over at Liberty right now, with the heritage department store kicking off a month of festivities to celebrate their iconic print. I managed to nip over at lunch time to take a few photos and to check out the exhibition, Prints Charming. And just look at what they’ve done to their Carnaby Street wall:

Bedecked in Betsey fabric, Liberty is looking extremely pretty in print. Oh my! Here are some more pics of the window displays:

But the fabric fun doesn’t stop there, with the lifts and stairwells also getting the Betsey treatment. Upstairs at the exhibition, there’s a whole line-up of one-off and limited-edition items that have been rendered in various Liberty prints, including a chaise longue, wardrobe and Skeppshult bike. There was also an art student's Wendy House installation swathed entirely in panels of Liberty print, which I may just have to move into.

The latest exciting news is that Liberty is hosting a ‘Fash Mob’ tomorrow evening from 6pm. Turn up in your best Liberty prints for a photo shoot and prizes for the ‘best-dressed’…

Check back tomorrow for Pretty in Print, part 2, and the latest Liberty print goodies (including the fantastic Artist fabric collaborations).

Wee finds: London’s grafitti knitters

It was only a matter time before I stumbled across London’s gang of graffiti knitters and their rather splendid handiwork. Armed with (knitting) needles and (crochet) hooks, Knit the City’s Yarn Corps are a posse of purlers whose sole aim is to “reknit your neighbourhood”.

Even if your neighbourhood just happens to be Westminster… Check out the extraordinarily beautiful results when a certain iconic (and tourist-friendly) telephone box gets a rather woolly makeover:

The stories behind the so-called “yarnstorms" and "knitblasts” also make for hilarious reading, particularly when they involve run-ins with the local constabulary, confronting thieves and rescuing (knitted) victims from their most recent Woolly Web of Woe at Waterloo’s Leake St tunnel:

Read all about the punk purlers at Knit the City here (and follow their dastardly deeds on Twitter here). Wee Birdy salutes you!

All images ©Lauren O'Farrell, and reproduced with kind permission by Knit the City.
Thanks to Deadly Knitshade (love the name!).

Foxy Knocker

Happy Bank Holiday, London birdies! Couldn't resist taking a pic of this rather handsome fellow on the door next to Ryantown on Columbia Road last week. You can also see that I've recently taken to photographing piles of shop bags (see pic below). However, you should note that these are extra-special shop bags, hand-screen printed by Rob Ryan and featuring a cute wee birdy stamp in the corner. Swoon!