It’s The Weekend!
Hello! How has your week been. I’ve been away with Rod this week and we came home from Cornwall today. Wow what a journey home it was. I don’t like driving at the best of times and the M5 was a nightmare. We are very glad to be home. We went to Frome in Somerset first to see a fabulous guitarist called Mike Dawes who was amazing before travelling down to Bude.
I haven’t done any sewing this week but I have bought some fabric. I couldn’t help myself. It was so lovely to find actual physical fabric shops and to be able to look at and feel the fabric. The first was The Remnant Shop in Bude and the second was Threads Design in Launceston. It always brings me so much joy to visit a vibrant town centre. Sadly Swansea like so many other towns have lost that vibrancy but we still do have a fabric shop called Lee Mills which has been open for many years.
Threads, Launceston
What a glorious shop front.
Claire had a great time at The Vintage and Makers Market last weekend. She enjoyed catching up with regular customers and meeting new ones. Our next market is The Woolly Market at The National Wool Museum on 24th October. We love this fair as the museum is such a fantastic venue. We shall be busy creating lots of gorgeous makes over the next few weeks for the fair and of course for the Gower Crafts & Artisans Gift shop in Mumbles. Have a lovely week x Suzanne & Claire
September Already!
How can it possibly be September already? Both Sue and I feel this year is flying by and our to do list just does not seem to be getting completed!
We both love Autumn - the start of cosy and the beautiful colours on the trees. We are not however so keen on the start of darker nights and colder days!
Next weekend we have the Waterfront Vintage & Maker Market at the Maritime Museum in Swansea Marina. Its a fantastic market with so many gorgeous items to look at and perhaps buy! On the Sunday there is also the Marina Market selling all sorts of goodies including some fantastic food and drinks. Why not come along and start your Christmas shopping early!
It’s The Weekend!
Hello everyone. I hope you have had a great week and are looking forward to an extended weekend. We’ve got a Bank Holiday….yay! What are you all going to be doing? Claire & I will be back at Port Eynon on Sunday 30th September for a craft market run by The Gower Craft & Artisans. I’m not sure we will have back to back sunshine like we did at the last one as we finally have had some much needed rain. Whatever the weather, I know the day will be packed full of smiles and chat. Hopefully we will see you there.
Claire has been busy making her gorgeous patchwork tote bags and I have been making some unlined totes in fun quirky fabrics. Our next fair will be at Swansea Waterfront Museum. It is the Vintage and Makers Market run by the lovely Cow & Ghost team. It will be on the 12th & 13th September. Have a lovely Bank Holiday Weekend x Suzanne & Claire
Port Eynon Fair
We had a lovely time last Sunday at Port Eynon. The fair held in the village hall was a big success with lots of visitors including many of the 4 legged variety! We always love to see dogs - Sue is a big dog fan and although I too love dogs I am at heart a cat lady!
Sadly Sue and I no longer have our beloved pets but they are always in our hearts. It does mean that any chance we get to pet a cat or dog is greeted very eagerly by us both!
We make quite a few cat fabric bags but very rarely seem to make dog fabric items. Sue does makes a fabulous small crossbody bag which is perfect for dog walking - they are the perfect size for your mobile, bank cards, keys and some poo bags! However I think it may be time to look at making some of our totes in dog fabric too - watch this space!
The fair is on again on the 30th August and we can’t wait to see you there - along with a few dogs visitors too!
It’s the weekend!
Hello everyone. Hope you have had a lovely week. How amazing is this weather? Back to back sunshine. This is usually unheard of during school holidays. Did you get to see the solar eclipse?
Claire and I are off to Port Eynon on Sunday to take part in a Gower Craft & Artisan Craft Fair. All the details are below. We are so looking forward to it. Pop in and say hello if you are around. I must confess I am finding it difficult to sew in this heat. Claire has been busy making her signature patchwork quilted tote bags. I have put some teasers below. Have a lovely weekend x Suzanne & Claire
Summer Crafts
Summer is well and truly underway! We have had some fab weather in Swansea this year which has meant a few trips to the beach. Our grandchildren had a great time collecting many many shells and plan to make their own beach when they get back home!
We have a lovely mini rag wreath workshop coming up on Sunday and the theme is sunflowers. We are very lucky to be near a beautiful beach called Rhossili which has the most marvellous sunflower fields and this helped to inspire our sunflower wreath. A simple and fun make we hope the attendees will enjoy and appreciate their forever sunflower!
Coming Up
Our time at Aberglasney Gardens has come to end. We loved it and managed to get a piece of cake from the fab tearooms on the very last day!
Its time now for us to think about all the things coming up over the rest of the Summer months.
We have our 1st mini rag wreath workshop on the 9th August. Its sunflower themed and will be held at the lovely 1807 coffee shop in Mumbles. On the 20th September there will also be a cross stitch workshop using our cute Woof or Meow Heart coaster kits held at 1807.
We have 2 Gower Crafts & Artisans events in Port Eynon - 16th & 30th August. Then before we know it we will be back at the National Maritime Museum in Swansea Marina for the Waterfront Vintage and Makers Fair on the 12th & 13th September!
August does seem to be a bit more relaxed than July is proving to be - time to catch up on some sewing… maybe even start to think about Christmas!!!
Aberglasney Gardens - Part 2
Hello everyone. I hope you are enjoying all this amazing sunshine. It is so hot! On Thursday, it was the turn of Claire and I to look after the exhibition at Aberglasney Gardens. We had a fab time meeting lots of lovely new people. I always feel so proud of everything that we make and it never gets old when we sell something. We’ve added some more bags including our patchwork totes and mini crossbody bags. The weather was very hot and sunny but the old mansion house we were in was lovely and cool. We didn’t get chance to have our cream tea but we are back there Sunday so there is still hope.
Claire’s new range of cross stitch kits called ‘Flower Pops’ looked so colourful on our table and were well received. Aberglasney Gardens is well worth a visit and even better if you are there Sunday come in and say hello. The exhibition is on until 23rd July. I must confess it has been a bit too hot for me to do much sewing but rumour has it the temperature is dropping a little next week so I can get back in the groove. Have a great week x Suzanne & Claire
Aberglasney Gardens
We are very excited to be part of the Gower Craft & Artisans event in Aberglasney Gardens starting today until the 23rd July.
We will be showcasing our cross stitch coaster kits and will have a selection from our Welsh Blanket collection, Meow and Woof Hearts and we will be debuting our latest collection - Flower Pops! The Flower Pop range has been specially designed with Aberglasney in mind - the coasters feature a simple but striking flower pattern inspired by the beautiful gardens with a colour scheme inspired by pop art. These are not on our website yet but will be coming soon.
Why not plan a visit to see this great exhibition. There will be lots of beautiful unique pieces to admire and perhaps buy all by local Gower artists and makers and the gardens are simply stunning. There is also an excellent tearoom - think Suzanne and I may fit a cream tea in at some point!
Arts & Crafts in the Mansion: Gower Crafts & Artisans – Aberglasney Gardens
It’s the weekend!
Hello everyone. How has your week been? Our week has been all about the totes. Tote bags that is. Claire has been busy making her gorgeous patchwork quilted tote bags as our stocks are running very low. One of which was sold before it was even finished! Bear with us as we replenish our stocks.
I have been making some new tote bags which are not quilted and an ideal size for your laptop, magazine or shopping. I’ve put some photos above. I hope you like them. They are made using fun and quirky prints. They will be making their debut at The Swansea Alternative Market which is being held on Saturday 11th July in Swansea Leisure Centre. This is a new market for Swansea so if you are near, pop in for a chat and a look around. Entry is free which is even better.
We are off for the weekend as the heatwave is supposedly coming back so let’s hope we all get to enjoy the sunshine x Suzanne & Claire
It’s the Weekend!
Hello everyone. How has your week been? Claire and I are back from Paris. What a wonderful trip it was. We went to some amazing exhibitions in gorgeous settings. We did manage to buy some lovely fabric as well. Thankfully we had packed light on the way out. Coming home was a different matter! What to make with it all is the question.
Now it’s back to designing and creating. We had lots of inspiration whilst in Paris from the architecture and the people. We are busy making for the Gower Craft & Artisans shop and for our website. We also have some fairs coming up this summer. Have a look at the dates below. Apologies as the poster is not totally finished but I wanted to get the dates out there for you to see.
Trip to Paris
Rather than buy Christmas or birthday presents for each other, Sue and I save the money we would have spent and put it towards a trip away. This year we are off to Paris for a few days! We have been before and loved it. We plan to hit a few museums and of course the fabric district at Montmartre!
There will be lots of sight seeing, shopping, eating and drinking!
Just the two of us will be going so it gives our other halves some peace and quiet - no sewing machine noises, no muttering under breath when we measure or cut something wrong or, worse of all, pins on the floor.
It’s the weekend!
Hello everyone how has your week been. Claire & I went to an interesting event run by Creative Swansea. They are a hub that brings together artists, makers and small local businesses in one place. You can look for jobs, events and what is happening in Swansea. That includes us! Anyone can register and it’s free to join.
Don’t forget we have got our first workshop at the 1807 Cafe in Mumbles on 17th June. You can book on our website or via 1807. We are looking forward to sharing our love of cross stitch with you whether you are a beginner or someone looking for a fun project.
June is our birthday month. Claire was the fourth of June and mine is today. We are typical Geminis. We love learning and trying new things. This is the same for Sister Makes. We love to design quirky and colourful bags and jackets.
We went to the lovely Urban HQ in Swansea City Centre to listen to some live music. The weather may not have been on board but the venue and music were great and joyful. Definitely brought some sunshine into my day. Oil Sanchez was brill. You can follow him on Instagram and Facebook. See you next week x Suzanne & Claire
Cross Stitch Heaven
We have been very busy behind the scenes prepping for our 1st cross stitch workshop!
Due to be held at 1807 Coffee Shop, Mumbles, Swansea on the 17th June, this is our chance to teach everyone (well up to 24 people!) how to make one of our lovely cross stitch Welsh Blanket Coasters. We will provide the kit and help to make the coaster and 1807 will provide a drink and the chance to purchase some lovely foodie treats.
We are also working on a new coaster pattern - Flower Pops! So called as the coasters will be based on a flower in some bright pop art inspired colours. Watch this space, Facebook and Instagram for updates.
It’s the weekend!
Amazing colour at Clyne Gardens
Hello everyone. How has your week been? We’ve had highs and lows with the weather here in Swansea. The bank holiday was a mixed bag of sunshine and showers. Rod & I went to Clyne Gardens which is local to us. Mind you I was wearing my coat. It wasn’t very warm. It is the most beautiful park and has an amazing collection of azaleas, magnolias and rhododendrons. This time of year the colours are amazing. As you know there is nothing more than Claire and I love than colour. A lot of our Japanese fabrics have these gorgeous flowers on them. We also love traditional floral prints as well. I think all flowers just bring us joy! Have a look at our website shop for some floral inspiration.
We are at the Vintage and Makers Market tomorrow and Sunday at The Waterfront Museum, Swansea. It’s free to come in and there will be lots of amazing artisans and crafters. We will be in the Ocean Room so pop in and say hello. Our newsletter is also out this weekend. If you haven’t already subscribed you can do that here. It will be packed full of joy and sunshine. Have a lovely week x Suzanne & Claire
Reversible Childs dress in blue and pink floral design
Gower Crafts & Artisans
Hello All - writing this just after Sue and I have finished our 1st shift helping out at the Gower Crafts & Artisans shop in Mumbles. We had a lovely time, met some great people and sold some beautiful handmade items. All in all it was great fun and we are looking forward to doing it again! There may even have been a slice of cake bought and eaten from Theo’s Coffee Shop which is in the same building.
The next few days are going to be spent prepping for the upcoming Vintage & Makers Market in the National Maritime Museum in Swansea Marina. Another fun event that we are really looking forward to. I think May is going to be a super busy month for us!
It’s the weekend!
Hello everyone. Happy Sakura! Sakura means cherry blossom and holds huge cultural significance in Japan where Sakura is the national flower. In Japan they celebrate Sakura by holding Hanami parties. Hanami literally means ‘flower viewing’ but is used for cherry blossom viewing. I thought I would pop photos of my apple trees on as they are looking glorious. I love this time of year when all the blossom is in bloom. I love the soft pastel colours of pink and white. How has your week been? I got excited for a minute thinking Spring was warming up but the feeling didn't last long. We had a few days of lovely sunshine and even a bit of warmth. It felt so nice. I don’t know about you but I always feel like doing more when the sun is out! Before I could blink it was really cold again.
Claire and I are making some new bags ready for our next fair which is on Saturday 9th May and Sunday 10th May. We will be part of The Vintage and Makes Market which is held at The Waterfront Museum, Swansea. It is run by the lovely Kevin and John of Cow and Ghost Events. We always love their markets, catching up with traders and customers old and new. Pop it in your diary. It’s free to come in. There will be lots of stalls in the main reception area, corridor and where we are in the ocean room.
Happy Easter!
Happy Easter everyone! If you are anything like Sue and myself there will definitely be some chocolate and a few hot cross buns involved!
Its been a busy few days and there a few plans in place for the Summer! Sue will be giving more details and some teasers in her monthly newsletter due out soon. Sign up now to stay ahead of our news! You can find the sign up form at the bottom of our home page.
Our first bit of news is that we are delighted to have been accepted as part of Gower Crafts & Artisans. This lovely group of artists and makers have a shop in the Methodist Church in Mumbles. Why not pop in and treat yourself or someone you love to a beautiful gift from there. There is a coffee shop in the church too making it a great pitstop after a walk along the sea front.
It’s the weekend!
Our new 100% silk kimono style jacket
I love the marble effect of this silk fabric. We’ve also got one in a beautiful floral pattern. Which would you choose?
Hello everyone. How has your week been? Well Spring was in the air for a fleeting moment but now as I am writing this the weather is back to Winter. I am freezing! I am excited to say that Claire and I are going to be part of a new market in Upper Killay, Swansea. It is on Saturday 23rd May from 11-4 at Upper Killay Community Centre. Keep an eye on our social media posts for more information.
One of our mini crossbody bags in denim and Japanese patchwork fabric. Love the colours.
Lots to do this week. I am making some lovely mini crossbody bags which are great if you don’t want to take out a big bag. I will pop some photos of the new bags on our newsletter which is due at the beginning of April. If you would like to subscribe jump on our website and click on the subscription button. It’s free to join. Have a great week x Suzanne & Claire
Not Goodbye but Au Revoir…
We are very sad to say that the lovely Mumbles shop, Adelante, is closing. Naomi who has run the shop for the last few years is going back to her 1st love which is beauty and has opened a salon in Sketty, Swansea called Elements. This weekend is the final one for Adelante and we want to wish Naomi all the the best for the future. She has been a fantastic supporter of Sister Makes and we have loved the opportunity to sell via her shop.
We are saying Au Revoir and not Goodbye as not only will Naomi be running her beauty salon but has plans for pop up shops, craft & vintage fairs and craft workshops in the future. Watch this space - we will keep you updated!
Elements has a small stock of our makes so do pop in and have a look - you may want to book yourself a wonderful beauty treatment whilst you are there!