Right....it is about time I get on the stick....

I'm starting to sort myself out. Since I'm feeling so much better, the house is getting a bit on my wick....but we are getting there. I can't believe that I've lived in this house for so long with out redecorating more then just the bathroom!!! And that took about 4 years......

I'm going to try and get back to crafting again. I've actually went through my room and cleaned it out, I was so impressed by how little time it actually took. I got rid of just a few things. Now I'm starting to think of how I'm going to arrange the room when I move it to the big room...so watch this space. Wednesdays are the days. I've had a lot of stupid appointments on Wednesdays and with the boiler not working...seemed like I never stayed home long enough to actually craft.

I have been knitting like crazy for Christmas, but no pics....

Few things to tell you about though.....


Met this Layla in Much Wenlock and fell in love with her stuff. We hit to off and I can't wait to work with her a bit. I bought the above print for one of my nephews. They are so lovely.

Well, off to try and get some more embroidery done!

Lucinda Wilby

Wow did I have fun at Wonderwools Wales. My sis-n-law went with me and we both really enjoyed the day. I bought lots of fun stuff, including these wonderful paintings done by Lucinda Wilby. I'm going to hang them in my craft room...whenever I get it redone.....hmm......well...I might have to hang them somewhere else to begin with! They are so cute though! She makes all different sizes. These are 6x6, I think. I will probably have to keep tabs on her and buy one of the bigger ones to go with these. She had four of the pictures hung on a board and it looked so cool!



I also finally got myself an inkle loom, made or Welsh wood of course. I bought a banner that I'll have to take a picture of when the light is better outside (it is raining at the moment). It is a "Hen party". I love chickens that aren't too country and this one is great.

Added later: talked to Lucinda so I got her blog. She is talking now about getting on Etsy hopefully....so if you like her stuff and would like to have one too....contact her and encourage her to do so!!!!

I'm having a bit of a crisis in craftiness. I feel a fraud sometimes, mainly because I have so many ideas...but not the time or skill to pull them off. I need to get to know people we wouldn't mind working with me on projects. So far this Wed off business has meant me sleeping all day....which is what I need....but I'm not getting the house caught up or the crafting done. I don't know if I've mentioned it here, but I have depression and it has taken a lot out of me. I've been trying to live with it for a few years now. It is slowly getting better, but I can get so frustrated with how slow. I want to create, play with my cats, have fun with my husband.....but instead I sleep and work. Ok, done blabbing....I have a wet cat walking on the desk in front of me and I'm taking that as a sign I should go play...since I can no longer see the screen!!!

Brighton Show

She will probably kill me for this....but I had to show the work of this lovely lady I met on Saturday at the Craft show in Brighton. Sue Allan, who works under the name Sew Sister, is so enthusiastic and full of love for the work she is doing. She really helped me get some ideas going in my head of things I want to do. Her dolls are beautiful and if you have had a look at the Textile Directory, you will see they have her dolls everywhere! It is wonderful! Here is a sample of what she does. Unfortunately, you don't get a good view of the texture of these pieces. They are so wonderfully tactile and she was nice enough to let us know her secrets....this is the kind of stuff I love to do myself. Take fabric and then embellish it until it becomes something else almost.

I couldn't resist of course....I mean how beautiful is she! Her name is Tansy, she names them all and they definitely have great personality. Here she is with her friends....
And her she is proudly at home with me....she looks happy doesn't she......

Sue brought to my attention the Needlepunch felt that I actually own some of....typical of me really. This is what she uses to get the texture on her work. I don't know why I didn't think of using this to make rugs. We need some rugs in the house and I've been trying to think of ways I can A) recycle and B) make my own. I think I'm going to make one for the stairs by felting the needlepunch in the washing machine. Then cutting to fit, putting some of the fabric I have for woven rugs underneath for stability, and embellishing with felt flowers...or I think dots. HMMM.....watch this space........

Merry Christmas to us!

Rich and I decided (well I decided) that we should pick up a nice art piece for Christmas. We did the same thing for our anniversary. I think this could become an important part of our gift giving. We picked out this earthenware piece for my favorite art gallery in Much Wenlock. It is by Janet Creed. She had also made some other birds and a pig, but we really liked this. I love Rooks, we see them a lot on our favorite beach. The work is really striking and all of them make you smile when you look at them. That is what I'm looking for in art at the moment...for it to make me smile or go WOW!

I've promised myself to write more on here. I have so many great ideas of things I'm wanting to do and I'm working on and I just don't take the few minutes to blog. Which is a shame, because the whole reason I wanted to blog was to discuss what I'm doing and know that people reading it might actually get what I'm on about!

So I expect to be doing a bit more posting!

Oh, and my Mom and Dad bought me some really great books off of my wishlist.
I have the Loop-d-Loop crochet book and I liked it so much that I thought I would have this one too. I'm starting to get certain designers that I really like. That has made things I bit easier. Though most of these patterns are for inspiration.

I had bought the Twisted Sisters sock book and thought I'd have a go at the sweater one. I can't wait to have a go....though I've got several projects a head of this.

Needlepoint - anyone?

Nothing like scanning a piece to realize that you STILL need to stretch it!!!! How weird. I love this piece though. This is a kit that I bought at the NEC show. The designer, Abigail Bury, was sitting amongst beautiful colors and I couldn't resist stopping and chatting. Her use of color was amazing and even though she had some more traditional kits, the use of the purple color and the bright pinky/orange in this kit just made me smile. I've never really done needlepoint, but now I'm hooked! I bought the apple tree kit for one of my sis-n-laws (don't worry she doesn't check my blog!) I haven't put the buttons on this yet, because I now have to stretch it.....ugh....but at least you can see how nice the kit is and the colors. I'm now going to use the pattern for a beading project. That is what I love about pixel type patterns, they lend themselves to so many different uses! Don't worry, I will be sending Abigail a picture of the beaded project and hopefully she will be able to show that off as another use for her patterns! I'll take a pic of what I ended up doing with it...which I think will be a pillow!

The kit came with more then enough yarn to go with it, the canvas and a needle. The directions were very clear and the chart easy to read. The canvas was unpainted, but she does have some that are painted. Being use to cross stitch I didn't really mind. It was sooo worth the cost of the kit.

Artist and Crafters from southern UK

Recently, a friend and I went to the Art, Craft and Design show that was held at Winchester Cathedral. I bought a few things, but first I thought I would show you a few artists that inspired me the most.

First, was Rachel Jennings she is a textile artist that incorporates paper and other materials into her projects. The picture of the trees on the front page is one that we were able to see. It is spectacular in person! Amazing work.

Another, was Monica Boxley. I bought a pair of earrings from her, more for the fact that they had a great chime. They are sterling silver, and I've not been able to get a good picture of them. They are wonderful though. I loved her necklaces very much, and Victoria (my friend) was in love with her perspex.

Also, there was Ellie Gosse of Loominellie. I loved the use of color in her weaving. As most of you know, I'm a big fan of color color color!

Have a look at some of the work by these extraordinary artists! I feel so lucky to be able to see this type of work. It inspires me to continue with my projects!

(Note to self....must finish weaving project!)

Toby's present.....

I love buying things off of Etsy.com for gifts if I don't have the time to make something myself. I sent this to my nephew Toby first birthday. Maya from Maidenlove made this lovely elephant. I was so impressed, because when I told her it was a present, she took this picture and sent it to me. It was so nice to see how it looked and made it really personal as a gift. She makes these elephants and blankets from fabrics she has collected over the years. She will even make things out of your own fabric if you send it to her. She is in my Etsy favorites for sure!