out in the middle on nowhere, somewhere near jaipur in india but far from home, there is a small town that still prints with mud and then indigo dyes the fabric. not many people left doing this trade, not many at all. let me introduce you to some of them.

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i tried my hand a traditional block printing. a craft dating back to way before 220. block printing originated in china and was a technique for printing text, images and or pattern. a long hand process, a very much dying trade, but still used widely throughout east asia to create beautiful textiles, which could not be produced in any other way.

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whilst sitting on the living room floor this morning making a start on our christmas crackers, you can read how to make those here, my mind wandered off to cutlery and napkins. i was mumbling to myself, when Mr HPMcQ asked what i was babbling on about. “well, i was thinking that maybe instead of napkin rings i could make some little jackets to keep the cutlery and napkin together” he laughed and gave me a squeeze “i love you”

so whilst he popped out to sainsburys, i made some jackets.

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with a flurry of 40th birthdays winging their way from all directions, trying to find special individual gifts for your besties can be a tall order. i’ve known claudine for 22 years now and in 22 years you’ve pretty much covered every gift known to mankind. what was i going to get her?  not a scooby. until i spotted a tweet

and there you have it, bingo.

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