Why walk when you could run?

I think it's fair to say that the phrase "running before you can walk" was invented for me. After re-upholstering two vintage stools (requiring only common sense and a staple gun in the way of technical expertise) I decided to re-upholster a chair I found in the street.

Having stripped the grotty specimen of its previous covering using only a pair of tile nibblers (any upholsterers reading may have to go for a lie down in a dark room at this point), I discovered not foam underneath wool, horsehair, burlap and springs.

Ah, so we have jumped froward from novice to advanced in one go here, but I am a tenacious sort and it takes more than that to put me off.

Three excellent YouTube videos and a roll of wadding later, I was well on the way to a new chair. (And, so enthused with the project that I never even found the time to change from my vintage 1960s green paisley dress and glass necklaces into more "suitable" clothes.)

I used a single 1950s curtain I'd been saving for something special for a long time to cover the chair, I adore this fabric and I've never seen any print quite like it.

I'm thinking of getting a tattoo of the word "Crafts" over a pair of scissors and a staple gun rampant. Home brew or macramé next, do you think?

One for craft fanatics. Otherwise, nothing for you here – look away now.

Last week at one of my regular markets, I unearthed this trashed 1950s blue satin dress.

I've no idea what on earth has happened to it, but the damage is akin to a cat sliding down a pair of curtains with its claws out. The front is ripped to shreds and the zip has been taken out of the back, leaving very little holding it together, but there were two glorious, sequin-encrusted, large patch pockets which I was able to get off in the nearest café using my Swiss Army knife keyring!

I'd originally thought about making a bag by sewing the two pockets together, but then decided a bit of garment customising was the order of the day. I found this heavy cotton sweatshirt dress in a sale, and not only is the sportswear-glam mix a tried and tested one, but the grey of the dress picks up the silver of the sequins and is much easier than trying to match that tricky blue.

Put the kettle on

It may be over a month since I last posted here but I have been busy working, organising May's Artists' Open House (more on that nearer the time) and – most importantly – making things.

Thwarted in my desire to collect the real thing by a lack of anywhere to store any more teapots than I can actually use, I've started a tea- and coffee-pot series based on mid-century modern design classics.

Here are one old (Poole) and two new ones (Midwinter Sienna Marquis and Zambesi).

Collage-a-go-go!

After meeting the deadline from hell with a clinical design job, I have rewarded myself with a very enjoyable day making collages. The first one is digital, produced in Photoshop, and the other two are traditional collages over large-scale pen and Indian ink drawings on brown paper.

Jonny Hannah at Castor + Pollux

All work and no play has made me a VERY dull girl of late, so I trotted down to the private view of Jonny Hannah's exhibition at Castor + Pollux in Brighton on Friday night.

The walls had been painted almost black by the gallery owner, Mike, showing off the work to great effect, especially Jonny's large unframed vignettes.

The theme is Paris and luuurrrve, just in time for Valentine's Day. If you're not already familiar with Jonny's lovely work, you can see more at here: http://www.castorandpollux.co.uk/cakesandalepress/index.html

Printmaker Robert Tavener = another big art crush

Ronald Searle: I love him!

Greyhounds and Ronald Searle: two of my favourite things.