COMPETITION TIME!

GINA TAKE A BOW would like to wish you all a very happy, prosperous and peaceful 2015, and to celebrate the new beginning, is offering three lucky winners a length of beautiful embroidered border from the Gina Take a Bow range. Two metres of Pixel Rose border to stitch across some cushions, or along the bottom of a blind, around the hem of a coat, or down the side of a bag - the possibilities are endless!  I designed the climbing rose design using inspiration from a piece of Hungarian embroidery I found in my local vintage store and had it machine embroidered onto a wide woven ecru tape.

All you have to do to enter is sign up to follow this blog by email (by clicking on the follow me or  email tab on the right hand side of this page) or, alternatively, like and share the Gina Take a Bow Facebook page.

Simple! Tell your friends!

On Thursday 15th January 2015, we'll draw out three lucky winners and, if one of them is you, 2 metres of a Pixel Rose border will soon be winging its way to you.

THE 12 MAKES OF CHRISTMAS NO. 8

THE DRAUGHT EXCLUDER

Once the shopping is done, the tree trimmed, the presents wrapped and the turkey basted, for most of us it is a required Christmas tradition to veg out in front of the TV... and for that, at least here in the Northern hemisphere, you need a decidedly toasty home.  Now here is something that will work hard to provide that cosy ambience...just by flopping down at the foot of a draughty door, keeping the icy air outside at bay.  

You can make this draught excluder either as a gift or for your own home - its another easy make with instructions on the Makes tab above.   I made this one out of some beautifully textured fabrics from Mark Alexander and Osborne and Little, trimmed with my Gina Take a Bow checked braid in black and natural.

Not only is it stylish but it will buff up your eco-credentials - after all, green-ness is integral to the very idea of a draught excluder - but in addition, because I believe a draught excluder needs to be a) quite heavy so it stays put and b) eco-freindly, no flimsy polyester wadding goes anywhere near mine. Instead I recycle fabric and interlining scraps and even the odd old t-shirt, slicing everything into strips and stuffing them all tightly into the tube.

Now, where's that TV Times?

NEUTRAL NATURALS

Here's a shot of a recently completed job where we re-vamped some plain twill curtains with a deep embroidered border of Romo's Black Edition Safi Natural, which beautifully reflected the client's eclectic mix of pattern and texture.

This sparked me off gathering some other swatches of fabrics together, all neutral naturals with lashings of wonderful texture. Some embroidered, some woven, some appliqued - all gorgeous!

From top left, Ian Mankin's Kintyre check and Fulham linen, Zoffany's Banyan Coconut, Sanderson's Savary Linen, Romo's Ennis Steeple Grey and Austin charcoal, Gina Take a Bow's Pixel Rose Natural. 

 Middle from left: Harlequin's Caprice Chalk/Linen, Clarke & Clarke's Maroc Natural and Raja Natural, Harlequin's Cheree Slate/Chalk.  

Bottom from left: Romo's Chaumont Pewter, Clarke & Clarke's Anita Natural, Romo's Xilia Feather Grey, Ian Sanderson's Macita Husk.