Woven Stripes

Stripey fabrics from Laura Fletcher!

Here is a taster of some cushion stripes I have been developing with a weaver in Sudbury. I love using neutral colours, natural yarns (cottons and linens) which are injected with a pop of zingy colour.
The designs have all been woven and are on the roll, soon to be made into some versatile cushions- watch this space......! They will be available on the Newhouse Textiles website soon.

Strawberries for Summer

These days New House is very a international and sophisticated technical business - but away from work, there's nothing like escaping into the garden for some basic hands-on work!

The good thing about gardening is that it's pitched at a level where you are physically occupied, but your brain has plenty of time to dream. I'm not the greatest of gardeners, and if it were not for supermarkets, Bob Geldof would be organizing a Live Aid concert for my starving household. But I keep trying...

Last week I revived an old strawberry barrel that my granddad bought in the 50's, but never used.

It had lurked in the corner of an outbuilding for years, and aquired a bit of woodworm, but after treatment I reckon it'll be giving me strawberries for years to come.

The barrel was beautifully made by Malleny (does this company still exist?). It's pretty basic - but these  English-made products from another era, feel quite different to their (probably) Chinese-made equivalants of today. The wood and metal is much thicker and heavier, so after a modern equivalent has long-ago rotted away, I bet this strawberry barrel will still be there.