Oooh, vote for Ink & Spindle

Oh wow, Ink & Spindle has been nominated in the "Favourite Handmade Textiles" category of The Poppies! We're feeling very honoured. So if you like what we do at Ink & Spindle and/or my textiles, please vote for us! Takes literally two seconds to do :)

birch sling bag

I wanted to make something bright, cheerful and special for a close friend who's going through a tough time. So what better than a beachy sling bag made of the sunniest coloured Birch ever. With a bag design by no other than Suzie Fry:

Gold Birch Sling Bag - making


Gold Birch Sling Bag - making

Gold Birch Sling Bag - finished! Designed by Suzie Fry, pattern available here

If you'd like to make one yourself, we sell the pattern in our shop, and it just needs half a metre of our fabric to go with.

I gave the bag to my friend over the weekend and she loved it :)

Thanks Port Melbourne

I was on the hunt for some nice Australian native flora to put in a vase at home. The local flower shop didn't have any but Port Melbourne's nature strips came up with the goods - 'borrowed' after dark whilst visiting friends. Thanks Port!


Flowering Gum


Flowering Gum

I do approve of a suburb that plants Flowering Gums for it's residents. Would make a nice print, no?

Thanks Tess!

Ohhhh, the lovely Tess from Metremade just sent me this fantastic parcel of Japanesey goodness as thanks for letting her have my old Elna Lotus ZZ on permanent loan!



I especially love that branchy print at the front with the birds :)

Thanks Tess!

spotted

Oooh, Is that my Rooftops print I just spotted on the Olivelse blog? Oh I love Else's work, it is all so beautiful...

Beautiful products by Olivelse (image copyright Olivelse)

I ♥ my Bicycle

My new bike - Charge Tap from Cyclic Bikes on Pin Oak Crescent

I first saw my new bicycle about three weeks ago when I popped into the local bike shop for a service. I spotted the bike, eyed it off, remarked how nice it looked, and was pretty much a lost cause after Evan the shop owner suggested I take it for a spin.

So, I spent the next two weeks thinking about it and trying to justify the purchase. I had been riding a heavy mountain bike to work every day and managed to convince myself that I do indeed need a proper commuter since I'm not climbing mountains. Plus Moo has been pretty good to me over the xmas period.

And I am SO glad I did. I love my new bicycle. It's simple, lightweight, has hub gears and I'm much more likely to ride it than my old bike. Which means less driving. And that's a HUGE plus to me and our planet ;)


Charge Tap - that saddle is more comfy than it looks


Charge Tap - 8 speed gear hub - how cool!

I highly recommend!

Reaburn Design - Pop-up Shop in Kensi

Remember the Melbourne tote I blogged about recently? Well here's the details of Glenda's pop-up shop finally! I just went down and took some photos (more photos on the I&S blog):


Reaburn Design pop-up shop (yay birch cushions!)


Reaburn Design pop-up shop

Reaburn Design pop-up shop
Open till this Sunday 10th January
399 Macaulay Rd, Kensington VIC 3031

Hello 2010 - and some thankyou's

Happy 2010 everyone!! 2009 was the year of great change and growth, and I reckon 2010 will be the year of simplifying, streamlining, and doing things right. A calmer sort of year. I hope!

I was hoping to do a recap of 2009 at some point soon, but firstly a couple of quick thank you's to some people who have mentioned my work recently (I often forget to do this, so thanks to anyone who's blogged my fabric at any time, I really do appreciate it).


Thanks to Katja from the gorgeous Nestled In blog for featuring my Ginkgo print in a wishlist!



And thanks to Kaydee from The Quest To Become A Well Rounded Woman for including my Cushion tutorial on her blog.

xx