Well it certainly is cold outside. And inside for that matter. I’ve been shivering for the last few weeks and have taken to working in my fingerless gloves and scarf.

If you feel the cold then stay snug as bug in these cosy neckwarmers. They’re available to buy from the fabulous Bettyjoy store. And while you’re browsing check out the cute range of accessories, toys, jewellery and homewares. There are some great gift ideas here and many of them for under £10.

And if that isn’t tempting enough there’s free shipping until 3rd December. So go now and shop, shop shop!

www.bettyjoy.co.uk

Remember I mentioned the Keep and Share Travelling Store a few months ago? Well they’re back. Amy Twigger Holroyd’s pop-up shop is on the road once more and will be appearing in Nottingham and London, armed with gorgeous sustainable knitwear designed by Amy and hot off the needles of her small team of nimble fingered knitters.

Each event promises to be different. The Nottingham event is hosted by View from the Top Gallery, perched on the top floor of Waterstone’s bookshop. While the 2-day London event Red Gate Gallery will be topped off by an evening of live folk and psychedelia in collaboration with Down at the Red Bricks.

Nottingham: Wednesday 14th to Sunday 18th November
View from the Top, top floor, Waterstone’s, 1-5 Bridlesmith Gate, Nottingham NG1 2GR
open 9am to 7pm Wednesday to Saturday, 10.30am to 5pm Sunday

London: Friday 23rd to Saturday 24th November
Red Gate Gallery, 209a Coldharbour Lane, London SW9 8RU
open 12 to 6.30pm each day with live music from 6.30 to 11pm on Saturday ’ free entry
live music in collaboration with Down at the Red Bricks

And for anyone who can’t make the events, don’t despair - you can always shop online at www.keepandshare.co.uk. Keep and Share has a unique customer services policy which allows you to ’borrow’ items before you buy.

We’ve just got back from spending a fabulous weekend in Scotland. During our stay we went over to Portpatrick, a beautiful harbour village in the south west and host to a regular indie craft fair. My sister, Cassie Oldham, has a stall at the fair where she sells a range of contemporary knitwear including bags, purses, brooches, beanies and tea cosies.

Each item is hand knitted in unusual wools and yarns. Bags are fully lined with matching fabrics including Laura Ashley swatches and pretty remnants and finished with button embellishments.

Take a look at the pics and if you would like any further info, please contact me here at Indie Quarter.

Brrrrrr. Button up, it’s cold outside. Typical, as I’m about to head off to Scotland for the weekend. But I’ve got just the thing to keep off the autumn chills. Phatsheep is a textile business based in Shetland. Designer Suzanne Shearer works from her home workshop to create a beautiful range of contemporary textiles.

The current range of scarves is inspired by the Shetland coastline, a few minutes walk from Suzanne’s home. As well as the scarves, Phatsheep also produces a range of hand drawn designs which are printed onto cotton and made into bags and baby t-shirts.

Buy online from www.phatsheep.co.uk.

Keep and Share is an alternative luxury knitwear label, offering handmade designer knitwear for men and women. Each piece is designed to satisfy over time and is knitted by designer Amy Twigger Holroyd and her team of makers in rural Herefordshire.

In addition to creating beautiful and unconventional garments, Keep and Share also works hard to buy recycled or environmentally friendly materials where possible. They even recycle their own offcuts, making them into quirky products which they sell on their website.

And if buying luxury, hand knitted garments that are ethically produced isn’t enough, Keep and Share has a unique customer services policy which allows you to ‘borrow’ items before you buy. And if you’re a bit strapped for cash they will consider swapping pieces for goods and services.

For more information and to buy online go to www.keepandshare.co.uk.

Though most of their sales are conducted online, Keep and Share has recently launched the ‘Keep & Share Travelling Store’. The team will be popping up at Cornwell House, Clerkenwell Green, London from 19th to 23rd June, 11am-6pm, offering a fleeting chance to touch, try on and buy their knitwear. If you’re planning to go then take this voucher with you to claim £5 off each purchase over £100.

Milk is a mother and daughter duo based in Paris. They create a pretty range of hand knitted and hand sewn toys and accessories. The goodies are then packaged and shipped to customers around the world for free. Yes, shipping is free wherever you reside.

My favourites are the Pink Snow Slippers - so comfortable and yet so cute. And the quirky I Heart Sheep wallet will organise your bank cards, credit cards, business cards, receipts, metro tickets, stamps and money. Just a taster - there’s lots more at www.milk.etsy.com.

Feeling sad today. Remember I told you a while ago that my sister is about to move to Scotland? Well, she leaves today. We said our goodbyes last night and I left to her finish the remaining packing (and repaper the wall that Monty the cat had scratched). So today’s post has a Scottish theme. The following indie designers/online shops are all based north of the border.

First up is Velvet Boutique. If you haven’t visited this site before you should definitely take a look. Velvet Boutique prides itself on showcasing new, innovative and award winning Scottish design. You can buy clothes, accessories, jewellery, cards and interiors.

I’m sure that many of you will be familiar with Miso Funky - crafty gals based in Glasgow who not only create a host of handmade goodies but have pioneered the Miso Market.

Planet Boo have a crazy range of quirky shirts, cards, badges, keyrings, mirrors, mouse mats and lots of other little gems, all of which are made in a converted coal shed off the north coast of Scotland. They’ve recently revamped their website. Take a look at www.planetboo.co.uk.

Andreea Florisca is based in Edinburgh. I’ve blogged about her gorgeous bags before and even have one of my own, which is currently sat in the hallway downstairs. Andreea’s work is really unusual as she combines knitting and crochet with luxurious fabrics.

Jewellery designers everywhere will be familiar with Hannah Zakari. The pink polka dot online shop has the largest range of jewellery by independent designers that I’m aware of. It covers everything from cute felted accessories to revamped vintage treasures. The site is owned and maintained by Rachael Lamb who sells her own designs through the site, along with a pretty range of handmade bags.

And not forgetting Stella my Star - keeper of crafty blog and creative jewellery designer. Check out her Etsy store at www.stellamystar.etsy.com.

And although this isn’t strictly indie related, I thought I’d mention a fantastic blog that I’ve recently discovered called Forever Amber. Written by freelance journalist, Amber McNaught, the blog is all about her life. Some of the posts are hilarious and it’s definitely worth a read.

Of course, these are just a few sites that I’m aware of. Leave me a comment or drop me an email if there are other sites that you would like me to mention. Have a good weekend!

Two weeks ago I was at the Manchester Fashion Market. I have a stall there on alternate Saturdays. It was a particularly cold day and in true Manchester fashion it rained and rained and the wind blew and blew. I spent most of the day trying to pin everything down to stop it from blowing away. By the time I got home I was freezing. Richard (my husband) says I’m ‘nesh’ which is apparently a Nottingham term for someone who feels the cold.

Since then I’ve been looking around to try and find something warm as well as practical for working on the stall. And guess what - I’ve found just the thing. The mittens above have been created by Crowded Teeth. They can be worn as mittens to keep your fingers toasty warm and when you need to count out money or write, the mittens part can be buttoned back quite niftily to reveal a pair of fingerless gloves.

The Fingerless Gloves/Mittens are available in three cute styles - ‘Go Outside Planes and Trees’, ‘Go Outside Sharks and Mountains, (both of which are shown above) and ‘Squirrel’.

The website is www.crowdedteeth.com and while you’re there check out their range of t-shirts, sweatshirts and accessories.