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Coast & Country Crafts and Quilts Newsletter
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Gool Peran Lowen (Happy St Piran's Day)
Although we ship all across the world, we are very proud to be a small local business based in beautiful Cornwall so we thought we would share with you lots of ideas from ourselves and other local designers and businesses like Poppy Treffry, Louise Nichols and Jo Colwill this week, as part of our celebrations of St Piran's Day this weekend.
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Each 5th March Cornish men and women around the world celebrate St Piran’s Day.
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It began as a traditional holiday for the tin miners of Cornwall. St Piran was said to have discovered tin, the main metal mined in the county. He noticed white metal pouring out of a black rock placed by a fire. This image is what gave rise to the Cornish flag, or St Piran's Cross, a white cross on a black background.
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The festival itself has been around since the 1800s, when miners drank and ate in the week leading up to the holiday, which was known as “Perrantide”. There are county wide celebrations that include eating a pasty, or cream tea, parades, Piran plays, and there will be lots of Cornish flags flying and people wearing black and white or gold and black, or even Cornish tartan. You may also hear two Cornish phrases, onen hag oll”, (one and all) and Kernow bys Vyken (Cornwall for Ever) and the singing of Trelawney (the Song of the Western Men), or This is my Cornwall.
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St Piran is one of three patron saints of Cornwall, along with St Petroc and St Michael. Piran was born in Ireland and made a bishop after studying religious scriptures in Rome. It’s reported that in the 5th century, after falling out with the Kings of Ireland, he was thrown into the sea with a millstone around his neck. After washing up at Perran Sands in Perranporth, he built a small chapel and the inhabitants of the region would travel from miles around to hear him preach. He is also rumoured to have lived until he was 200 until he fell drunk down a mine!
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So while we dream of home made pasties, saffron cake and cream teas, let us look at our local designers and suppliers.
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Have a wonderful week that is full of love, laughter and sewing!
Best wishes
Sally & the girls
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All of us at the shop enjoy not only making patterns from our various designers, but we also love to come up with our own ideas.
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Just look at some of these ideas to keep you busy.
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Below is The Pasty Thief Cushion pattern. Anyone in Cornwall will know that seagulls are beautiful to look at but they are pesky around food, especially pasties!
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We have many more of our own patterns and kits to peruse here.
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Louise lives and works in Cornwall and makes the most glorious Lino print kits. Often they are related to life in Cornwall with gulls, fish and cottages but the range is ever increasing and now includes several festive kits.
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Some kits are the basic lino print for you to embellish using your own bead and threads and felt, some are more comprehensive and include all the embellishments.
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All her kits are available here.
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Poppy is a local textile artist who specialises in free motion embroidery applique.
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Her quirky products come direct from her sketches of everyday life in Cornwall.
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Through her trusty 1930's Singer sewing machine her little drawings spring to life and become bags, tea towels, purses, tea cosies and lots more. They make adorable gifts.
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What can be more iconic of the Cornish Landscape than an engine house? To keep us from pining for Aiden Turner, our wonderful Mary has designed this Poldark Country foundation piecing kit & pattern.
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Finished size 7.5" wide by 9" high.
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£13.95
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Almost on our doorstep we have the manufacturer of these useful pattern weights and the amusing everlasting postcards. They choose designers to work with including Alison Bick who is based here in Cornwall
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Just up the road from us is Jo Colwill and we always enjoy our visits to see her and her beautiful creations. Luckily for those who live further afield, Jo has produced three wonderful books that we stock. Full of ideas and patterns for her applique and patchwork quilts and cushions.
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Although Beaks & Bobbins is a small family business based in North Yorkshire, they create beautiful illustrative embroidery kits based on nature and we wanted to showcase this beauty called Cornish Coast.
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This embroidery kit includes a printed background with all the instructions you need to add the stitching and embellishments to bring it to life.
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Threads and embellishments are included, alongside calico backing fabric and needles.
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£23.50
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You can view their other gorgeous kits here which make wonderful Mother's Day gifts!
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