Smallbeans

This is where design and create things made from fabric and stitch. For your home and your coat. I have also made huge quilts with primary schools!

23/09/2026

Be still my beating heart 💓 This vintage beauty has come to a good home, picked up this morning from the local Scrap Store omg! I have wanted one for a long time. I did have the opportunity a few years ago but didn’t have a spare £260 (for an older one with the lovely sylko label. But this is fabulous from the 70’s and all the reels were in it, considerably cheaper. I could fill it 5x over probably (sshhhh!) It is a thing of beauty and very welcome in my studio as a prop, NFS. Perfect for the upcoming tree season, I must get on with some Christmas trees very soon but have been too busy! 🧵💜🩷💙

19/09/2026

Remember these? Three weeks ago I did a creative retreat with my fiend Cherry in a beautiful community woodland hosted by Ruth Singer. I made swiftly-swallow-like birds with eucalyptus leaves, carefully arranging and stitching into place. I then had a flash of inspiration at home and eco printed them onto some wool with walnut leaves from the same day. Thinking about migrating birds making their summer homes in our urban environments. The exhibition is only on for 2 days 12-4 at Arts Central Studios but this work will return I’m sure. Cherry Abrams Ruth Singer Heritage Open Days Save Wolverton Swifts and Martins Eco print on wool, leaf collages, appliqué and hand embroidery,

14/09/2026

I had a lovely afternoon at SGI-UK Taplow Court yesterday taking about my Saxon textiles inspired by their Saxon Mound. The weather wasn’t great, but I was very happy under a gazebo in the courtyard. I had a few interesting conversations with Buddhists regarding their belief in finding a tiny glimmer of hope in dark times.I had no idea my subject focus had that relevance to their beliefs and practice…..it just made sense to me in the dark place I found myself in and looking for glimmers hope and glimmers of gold in the excavations. A thoughtful day, thank you 🙏🏼 also thanks to Phil the head gardener for the invitation his wife Claire Rollinson Art and lovely assistant, another Claire. Some great conversations!

I set up the larger work, with information and soil studies on the table. Lots of conversations about eco printing and making oak gall ink, there was a table to try the magic of the iron water for themselves.

This was my view, a beautiful Japanese tree 🌳

The reason for going initially was to take a photo of my Taplow inspired work next to the mound. I should have taken a stylist 😂 a day in the rain did nothing for my frizzy hair and my over stuffed pockets!

Taplow Part 2, this one will be framed for the museum collection.

07/09/2026

I’ve been channeling my Saxon Stitching recently, ready for an open day on the 13th of September (next Sunday!) at the SGI-UK headquarters near Maidenhead. Taplow Mound was one of the settings from my recent residency with The Muir Trust, I loved visiting back in June and being shown round by the Head Gardner Phil. I’ve been stitching my 2nd Taplow walk and more of the ‘soil studies’ with oak gall ink and vintage threads. The garden is open from 12.30-5pm it would be lovely to see you there if you are local to the area, come and say hello!

19/08/2026

I’m in the North for a few days! Staying with friends who have moved up from Milton Keynes and it is glorious and it rained heavily today, I was thrilled, I took a video 😂. Yesterday we popped into Berwick upon Tweed and found SkyBluePink a lovely little textile wool craft shop Jo from Jo Andrews had recommended last year. Jenny doesn’t do social media at all “if they find me they find me, if they don’t they don’t!” I was very happy because my hosts know Jenny and gave done some of her workshops! I found some lovely tweed fabrics that ‘spoke tree’ to me 😉 and some variegated threads that spoke Saxon buriel site corn field 👍 oh and chatting about my Saxon projects, Jenny showed me a collection of iron drop spindle weights that had been found locally- beautiful! Now Jo of Jo Andrews happens to be giving a talk tomorrow night in the area, but by then I’ll be back in MK so will miss it! Damn it. But I have to be back to prep for a workshop on Saturday, it’s all go!

18/08/2026

Taplow mound version 2. Work in progress. Slow stitching, silk threads couched onto eco printed vintage cotton.

11/08/2026

Remembering the cards we made Class On Grass Cards 27 years ago to the day. We lived in a lovely new flat in Backchurch Lane, E1 1LS East London, Evie was 11 months old. Her bedroom was green, ducky lights and a glitter ball 🪩 all the sparkles in this moment were the 11th August 1999, of course they were. The second card shows one of our hand made Christmas cards, us on our balcony, early Apple Mac illustration, hand cut and coloured.

Address

Milton Keynes
MK130

Telephone

+447941547433

Website

http://www.smallbeans.co.uk/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Smallbeans posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Want your business to be the top-listed Gym/sports Facility in Milton Keynes?