Moving along the Moving
Despite all my best efforts, post have been on hold for a few days while decorating fever takes hold at the Brickworks Craft Cottage. The lovely volunteers have cleared out all their stuff and we now have a clean canvas to stamp our style on.
Andy painting what will be the shop area
Andy has been helping me with the painting and we are making great progress although still a way to go yet. The biggest problem is in deciding which of the two workshop rooms should be the sewing room and which the dyeing and printing room. The most important thing is having a sink in the dyeing room and I have spent many a sleepless night thinking about the practicalities of the plumbing!
The smaller workshop room at the moment
The smaller workshop room was originally going to be the print room with the sink having its water feed and drainage in the toilet next door – but I can see all sorts of problems with this so am now thinking of making this the sewing room!
Larger workshop room next to Kitchen
This room is the largest and catches the morning sun so would be great for sewing but it is also right next to the kitchen (for water feed) and has a main drain right the other side of the outside wall – so this is currently the favourite for installation of my large craft sink and long worktop. It will also be close to the washing machine (in the kitchen) for those of you who want to learn fabric dyeing.
We will be back there today agonising over what to do but a decision isimminent – so watch this space!
Margo x
French Fancy – Free Apron Tutorial
Hello!
To give you a flavour of the things we make here at Time4Me, today we’re offering a free downloadable pattern for this apron we made. It’s cute, colourful, easy to make and can be made in your favourite cotton fabrics. Take a look at the one we made:
Here’s a link to the downloadable pdf, so you can get started on your own apron
Let us know what you think in the comments – or feel free to show us some pictures of your work! Also, let us know anything you’d like to see here, suggestions for future tutorials or anything you want to know.
Speak soon,
Time4Me x
On Moving My Business
As the moving date comes closer – only two weeks to go – I keep looking around my studio thinking, where I am going to put this and where will that go? Customers say ‘it’s going to be a big Job, Margo – where will everything go?’ The fact that there are more rooms and consequently more space in my new studio should mean that moving will be a doddle – but I’m not so sure. Here are a few photos of the way things are at the moment.
Small workshop room - still full of junk!
Of course, the room will be cleared ready for my move in date so I can give it all a fresh coat of paint and replace the carpets.
Large workshop room - desks won't be staying!
This is the second and largest workshop room which is the brightest room in the building and has a great view of the brickworks and the courtyard.
Be it ever so ‘umble’ I suspect that this may well be the favourite room in the house – a flushing loo – something that has been missing from my work life for a good many years!
The Loo!
Of course the next best has got to be the kitchen. Tea, coffee and biscuits have become the bedrock of my workshops and the highlight of every session. The kitchen here isn’t enormous but it does have all the fundamentals including hot and cold running water!
The Kitchen - cupboards will be going on the walls rather than on the floor!
I’m on a half-term break next week so hoping to get in there and make a start. Watch this space for further – or any – improvments,
stay warm,
Margo at Time4me
Time4me is on the Move
After nearly ten years in our current studio (which is a large but very cosy wooden building at the bottom of my garden) I have decided that it is time for a change of scene. Years of weather and use have taken their toll on the ‘shed’ and it is time to move to somewhere a bit more solid. And even though my customers have been very accepting and understanding, I am personally a bit fed up with freezing my backside off in the winter, using a chemical toilet and having to boil the kettle every time I want to wash the dishes.
The Current Time4me Studio
So from January 2011, we will be moving the whole operation to a brick-built studio in the grounds of the nearby Bursledon Brickworks and Industrial Museum. I’m really excited about this – apart from the comfort issues - as there will be more room, and facilities, to hold workshops in the other crafts I’m interested in such as fabric printing and dyeing and mosaics.
I’ve looked at so many shops and business units over the past year but, even though I thought I’d found the perfect spot on so many occasions, there turned out to be so many problems with either greedy landlords or over-zealous planning authorities, or getting enough money together – that the stress of it all was just too much. Commercial property letting is a nightmare especially for those of us who are bit wet behind the ears. But the lovely staff at Bursledon have been so helpful and accommodating that I can’t wait to move in and get started.
The new Time4me Studio
The best bit is that we’ll be working closely with the Brickworks staff to run some courses that their customers are interested in and helping out on their open days and ‘steam up’ days.
But before all that happens, there is a lot of work to do, decorating and getting the studio ready for January. We’ll be posting all our photos showing you how the work is going and how it is all going to look. If you’ve got any suggestions, we’d love to hear them.
Time4me x
10 things to love about autumn
Now that the weather is definitely getting colder here (Shorts and t-shirt one week, hats and scarves the next…), and because I secretly have a thing for top-10 lists, I thought I’d share a bit of what we love about autumn. Since this is a family business (and a family blog), there is input from everyone at Time4Me, including a few people who have attended our classes and workshops!
1. More Tea
We never turn down a cup of tea and a biscuit, and as well as providing a sustaining beverage, a minute to think or an excuse or a good chat, during autumn and winter we like it to ward off the cold. Ginger and spiced chai are nice for that toasty feeling
2. Autumn food
Crumble and custard, roasted vegetables, hand-picked blackberries and thick soup from home-grown vegetables…autumn has all the best food. Do you have a favorite autumn recipe?
3. Colours
A great source of inspiration, the turning of the leaves into reds, yellows and golds has inspired many of our favorite projects (see our last post!). We also like the oddly satisfying feeling of crunching though them in wellies.
4. Acorns
Riding over fallen acorns on a bike is also quite satisfying
5. Digging out jumpers from the wardrobe
Is it just us, or is that smell one of the nicest things? Floaty fabrics in summer are nice, but being wrapped up in jumpers and scarves when it’s cold outside is better. Are you more of a spring or autumn person?
6. Recycling summer clothes
After you have dug out the jumpers, there might be a few things that are out of date or just don’t fit anymore. We love this, because we can wash them, iron them, and cut them up to make new quilts, cushions and bags. We <3 recycling.
7. Woodsmoke
A nice, comforting smell that reminds me of bonfire night.
8. Halloween
A great time to make a few things – food, decorations and costumes! It should be just for the kids, but when in Rome…
9. Patchwork quilts
We love our quilts, and while lightweight quilts in bright colours are great for summer, we relish the opportunity to pull or warm winter masterpieces over the bed, or just cuddle up under them on the sofa.
10. Christmas crafting
We know it gets earlier every year in the shops. But this is also a great excuse to avoid the shops altogether, and stay at home stitching up a few early Christmas presents. We love running workshops for making Christmas gifts, stockings and decorations, and getting ahead making chutneys, jams and puddings. Hopefully, we can share some recipes soon!
Do you have more favorite things about autumn? Let us know in the comments.
Speak soon,
Time4Me x
Autumn leaves
Hello!
Now that we’ve introduced ourselves, we’d like to share some of the projects that you can make, in our workshops and at home using our kits. Many of these are made using recycled and hand-dyed fabrics to create a project that is truly unique.
We like our designs to be practical as well as beautiful – it’s a nice feeling regularly using something that you made, or being able to say ‘I made this myself!’. With this in mind we designed these kitchen projects, with delicate autumn leaves and mouth-watering juicy fruits to bring a bit of sunshine to your everyday cooking, even in these cold and dark autumn evenings. Will you be cooking some warming soups and stews, or just curling up with some sewing?
Speak soon,
Time4Me
Welcome to Time4Me
Hello!
Welcome to our blog!
A little about us…
Time4me is a workshop specializing in textile design and tuition based in Southampton, UK. Our aim is to dispel the myth that only some people with a lot of expensive equipment can sew or craft. We think that craft and sewing tuition should be available to everyone of all ages and abilities – even if you’ve never used a sewing machine, we can help you get started. We teach classes and workshops in all levels of sewing tuition, including creating Christmas gifts and multimedia sewing course. Our classes combine quality tuition and materials with a friendly atmosphere, and of course, tea and biscuits!
Through our blog, we hope to provide updates on new classes and projects, free tutorials, playlists, and all the latest news from time4me. We also have a Facebook page, a Youtube channel, and a website with many beautiful photos of projects you can make.
If you can’t get to us, don’t worry! We will be adding kits, downloadable pdf patterns, and some of our beautiful hand-dyed and vintage fabrics to our shop pages on Etsy and eBay, so you can create your own unique projects, wherever you are.
Speak soon!
Time4me x
