My longest post so far

Brace yourselves girls as I'm guessing this could end up being quite a long post, it might be wise to go and put the kettle on and grab the biscuit tin!
As promised I have finally got around to uploading the photos I took while I was at The button Tin workshop a couple of weeks ago. As predicted they don't really do the place justice so I suggest you pop over to Gemma's site  and check it out for yourselves, or better still if you live close enough hot foot it over to Rotherham and see it in the flesh.
 I hadn't been to Rotherham for years (anyone who is familiar with Rotherham will probably understand why) BUT I was really surprised by how much it had changed and the Imperial building and the surrounding areas were really beautiful, apparantly they have been boarded up for the past twenty years and have only recently been uncovered. For more info and great pictures of the imperial building check out Heart Shaped blog
I will definitely be returning in the very near future as there was a fantastic tea room my friend Adele and stitching partner in crime and I wanted to try but sadly it was closed the day we visited.
Back to The Button Tin I am soooo easily distracted!

The place itself is in the centre of the Imperial building so it's completely enclosed which means you also get to enjoy the outside space in complete privacy. It was so peaceful you wouldn't believe you were in the centre of town.

If you think the outside is special wait until you see the inside.

The tiny space is absolutely packed to the rafters with beautiful vintage items from aprons and haberdashery to sewing baskets and machines, even the practical pieces of equipment like the glue sticks were kept in a pretty tin! (I notice these things!)
I could have happily sat there for the full six hours just looking, everything looked so beautiful.
There are a few of Gemma's items for sale but most of the things you see are the materials she uses either every day for her workshops or for her commissions but Some things are there purely for your viewing pleasure.
When it's not being used for workshops it's Gemma's private studio so you can't just walk in, which I think makes it all the more intriguing and special.

After telling us a little about herself and her work Gemma invited us to rummage through her enormous suitcases (vintage obviously) which were overflowing with fabulous pieces of fabric... as you can imagine I was like a kid let loose in a chocolate factory, I just couldn't decide which fabrics to choose but in the end I went for a green/yellow sort of theme.
Gemma showed us how to make the most beautiful flowers from our chosen fabrics that were actually much more simple to make than they looked. When we had mastered the basic flower technique we got to make them into pieces of jewellery or a hairpiece/fascinator.
I opted for a brooch but to be honest there was plenty of time to make two or three pieces. Most of the girls made rings and brooches and hair clips and a couple of the girls made fascinators.

Gemma served tea mid morning while we carried on stitching then we popped out for lunch. When we returned we had tea again and at 3p.m we had tea and cakes all served on pretty china.

This is the brooch I made, I do like it but I feel it's slightly too large for my liking and I'm not entirely happy with how I stitched it together so I think I'm going to unpick it and make three smaller brooches... what do you think?
I also made a ring and a hair clip.

Sadly the day came to an end all too quickly and we said goodbye to the wonderous place that is The Button Tin.

You may remember in my last post I mentioned that Mr. H was collecting something very special..............

well here she is in all her filthy glory.

Obviously she needs a little massive amount of T.L.C not to mention a bloomin good scrub.
Admittedly she's not a Rolls Royce model but for £30 I think she was an absolute steal and will be perfect for housing my growing collection of Woodsware and pyrex.
At the moment I am drawn towards yellow and white but I am open to suggestion so feel free to comment!

I also had a fabulous day at Mary's Marvellous vintage and Craft Market on Saturday and an equally fabulous morning at the car boot yesterday in fact I'm still giddy from just thinking about the haul I brought back home with me. I am just about to take some snaps but the weather is so dark and miserable here in Sheffield I'm not sure it's a good idea.

Mr H spent yesterday repairing the garden gate that the scummy chicken thieves wrecked last week, the plan is to get the roof on the chicken run replaced and get ourselves 3 new girls, the garden is just too quiet without them.

I just want to say thanks to all my lovely friends both bloggy and none bloggy for your lovely comments and for your kindness and understanding.
My mojo is slowly returning and I have lots to look forward to.

Off now to polish off the last piece of my mums delicious carrot cake.

Hope you all had a great weekend
: )