I'm a bit of a groupie ...

It's not often that you get to meet your heroes. But just last week I met one of mine: Craig Underhill. I have, for an enormously long time, been a huge admirer of his work. When I tentatively asked if he'd be happy to take part in an exhibition in my new gallery I practically fell of my chair when he said yes. When he said he'd deliver it in person, I came over all wobbly. Honestly, if you are any bit of a ceramics geek like me, then you HAVE to see Craig's slab built vessels. Lucky for you - they're here in the gallery until June 4 (unfortunately one vessel didn't make it into the exhibition as it accidentally ended up at my house, no idea how that happened obviously...).

Craig's work is being exhibited alongside some stunning textile pieces from artist Rachel Gornall who I discovered at last year's Contemporary Craft fair at Bovey Tracey. Rachel's hand-dyed hand stitched 3D pieces sit beautifully alongside Craig's work.

It's easy to see why both artists are highly respected in their fields. If you are in need of creative inspiration pop in and see their work.

FREE Beach Bag tutorial from CLOTH magazine

BUT FIRST ...

Craftacular Craftacular was a rip roaring sucess. Yay! We had 9 make-stations manned by 9 very clever and talented makers, each offering a different bite-sized project to make and take-away. Pop into the gallery when you're next in Barnstaple as we have samples of all the projects out on display. Next Craftacular Craftacular is planned for July 13th. Make sure you sign up to the Atelier newsletter as tickets will be limited and they will go fast (there's a link to to right on the blog).

The wonderful Cloth magazine also lent their support on the evening by offering a free tutorial for this gorgeous beach bag. I have copies of the tutorial in the gallery so please grab one when you're passing as, you never know, we might be making it down to the beach this year!

We'll be stocking Cloth magazine from now on too. It's an indie publication that offers lots of brilliant projects to make. What's particularly great is that they focus on upcycling and recycling but in a very cool way. In the current issue they show you how to make a Liberty inspired watch, with a lovely silk strap. I have coverted one for some time and now I can make my own.

New Tutorial: Lavender Scented Mice

This lavender scented mouse is a really simple project to use up old T-Shirts or Babygros. It's handsewn so no special equipment is needed and it doesn't matter how good you are at sewing ... I think wonky stitches rock!

The wonderful thing about using cotton jersey is that it doesn't fray so no need for hemming. I also kept all the stitching and knots visible on the outside - something I learnt from the fantastic Alabama Stitch Book, one of my all time favourite crafting books.

He can be tucked into your drawer to keep your clothes smelling fresh or, with a cute little ribbon tail you can hang it in your wardrobe too. Make loads and give them as gifts for friends!

I can't post documents on this blog (doh!) so, instead, you can download and print the FREE tutorial and pattern template using the following link on mediafire (just click to download):

http://www.mediafire.com/?38byy4qh9d5ex59