Wednesday craft day

Hey! I did it! With some distractions.....

as this in my face as I try and make this:

I like this, but decided it wasn't long enough....and of course I didn't have enough of the tiny beads...so off for more. I used waxed linen and I've learned that using beeswax and letting the end get hard a bit makes it go through the holes much easier. Stuff like that you can't learn from a book!

Next I took apart a necklace I bought at a charity shop to make one that I've been inspired from Instyle Mag. Of course, again not enough beads. I was going to make it out of wood beads, but didn't like that they are dyed and can't be guaranteed not too bleed. Then I thought of glass beads, but that was going to be very heavy. The necklace in the mag was made of resin...so I thought it would be ok. Especially when I walk into the only charity shop I went in that day and found this necklace! So I just need to find a few more small plastic beads and I'll have that one made. I'm not sure if I'm going to keep either of these necklaces. I like them, but the colors aren't really me. I've been tempted to open an Etsy shop....but not too sure.....what do you guys think...and give me your real opinion....you won't hurt my feelings.



I started working on this box then...again don't have what I need. I used some cool double stick tape I bought that is suppose to be really good. But I still think it needs some glue to fill in the wholes and make the whole thing more stable. I've had this mix of beads for ever. I think it looks cute on here. It is just a box that I got with some jewelry I bought. Thought it would be cool to recycle some more!There...so I finally did something! Now I'm going to watch telly with hubby and maybe fool around....with my blog layout....fooled ya!

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!!!

Tomorrow.....

anticipation. I'm off tomorrow for the first time without being sick or at a meeting...lets see if I actually get some crafty goodness done.....and POSTED!

Change in my life...

I've become on of those part-time workers....and I'm so glad. I took a chance with my boss at work and we decided that I should have one day off during the week. So now Wednesday can be catchup and....wait for it.......CRAFTING DAY!!!! Well, that was the theory...until I came down with a killer cold and spent all of Wednesday moaning around the house...house...I mean BED. Anyway, next week I hope will be better and I can do some posting! I've got a really cool couple of necklaces I'm working on, and I'm really close to getting another sweater done....if I can just get the arms right.

Anyway...HAPPY CRAFTING!

Paris trip

Here are a few pics from our trip to Paris ....

These cakes were gorgeous....but we didn't buy one....well maybe a piece of something!


On the hour the tower sparkles with flashing lights. I thought we did a pretty good job of capturing that!

I did get my sweater done on time...but forgot to get a picture...it was a bit cold really to be taking my pic with out my coat on!

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........

Finally some WIPs....

This is what I've been frantically working on at the moment. It is a Colinette pattern called Enid, out of the book Iona. I'm not using the silk yarn they asked for....well I've never made a sweater and I'm not so sure about paying that much when I'm not sure how it is going to work out. I'm doing it in Skye Magenta.....it definitely has a WOW factor as far as color. I was knitting outside in the little bit of sunlight we actually have had this week and it seemed a bit brighter then the sun!
I'm also working on a Granny Blanket. Some of the yarn was given to me and I didn't know what to do with it. I bought the bright pink, which is another yummy yarn called Marshmallow. I need to get some more...hopefully Ippikins will still have some.



If you venture into my house...don't be surprised to find a few body parts laying around.....I bought this book recently.....

and I've been trying to make one of the teddies....but the body parts keep disappearing.....the culprit is one of my kitties that has decided that anything I make is for her sole use as a toy!

LillyMoon

The Orange Book

I decided that each month I would try to treat myself to a little something off of Etsy. This month I decided I had to buy a print from LillyMoon. So I bought the above print. It will look so nice in our bedroom...I was hoping to paint one of the walls the blue in the background. It also covered three of my favorite things as a subject...reading...sleeping...and knitting (spot the knitting needles in her hair????). Her work is stunning. I bought some of her buttons too, with images from her work, but they didn't scan very well. She sent the items in such pretty packaging along with a free 5X7 print below.

Dear Mr Rain

That is what I love about Etsy...everyone is so excited about their work and they take such care presenting their items as if they were found in a physical store....instead of just online!

Alison Willoughby

When my friends and I went to London last fall to Origins, we met Alison. Two of us had been admiring her work in Selvedge and other magazines for awhile and were so excited to meet her and view her work in person. I was going through my new Fiberarts magazine and low and behold she has written a book about how to make her skirts!!!! I'm so excited and have put it on my wish list for sure....even though it doesn't come out for awhile! For some reason the picture and title will be different in the States:

Go figure!!!!

I also ran across this book that I want really bad when it comes out!

Came across this book....

I couldn't resist it! That is soooooooo MEEEEEEE!!!!!!! I love RESTING!!!!!!

And I definitely plan on doing this one day!!!!

New Blog

One of my favorite craft book (well knitting) editors has a blog now!

http://www.melaniefalickbooks.com/

It will be good to keep an eye on what she is working on. You might know her from "Knitting in America", which is the book that got me knitting 10 years ago. She is someone I trust when buying books. I've always something inspirational!

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.

Pay it forward?

Hmmmmm....so no one has taken me up on my offer. I could take this personally, but after Amanda's comment I think that the idea of getting something and then needing to pay it forward to someone else has put people off.

Actually, that wasn't part of what I was thinking with the project. I was more thinking that I would like to "pay forward" things that had been done for me. Whether you then do anything for someone else isn't an issue......so please comment whether you plan on doing the same project. I really would like to make things for people that actually appreciate them!

Pay it forward......

a friend and I were talking the other day about "paying forward" for things that have been done for us. I have had so many "aunts" over the years. I tend to collect them a bit. If you are reading this, you might be one of them. I've loved them all and they have been in my life when I particularly needed them. I'm now of the age that I can pay forward these wonderful deeds. Whether it is taking a young friend out to eat or encouraging them in their craft, I feel such a kinship with those that have been there for me.

While reading Whipup I came across a post about Heather Smith Jones. She has posted here about a really cool project she is doing..... and I thought the idea was wonderful. So here goes....the first 3 people to write a comment to this blogpost, I will handmake you something. It won't be right away, in fact she has given herself a year and I think that I'll do that too. The reason I'm doing it is because I would like to keep an eye out on your blogs and get to know you (if I don't already). I love the friendships I've made through this medium and I would love to pay you back (or forward) for all the wonderfulness that you have given me! It is another way for me to pay forward all the love that has been done for me over the years.

I look forward to seeing who responds!

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.

Finally getting down to some Embroidery

I've had this book for a while...I've probably posted about it...though I can't remember. I've been inspired by many of the patterns. I have to admit it, I'm getting really excited about free-style stitching. I'm trying to not use a pattern that is copied on to the material. I want to see if my stitching is better then my drawing. So far it isn't too bad.


This is my interpretation of the cover.....





(wool felt - cotton 6 strand)



and this is a poor scan of my edging.




(Cotton Velvet hand dyed, wool thread, cotton 6 strand, cotton one strand)

I have to admit something to you all. I'm knitting, but it isn't my first passion. I've become obsessed with fiber in all of its guises. I also like to blog about Indie craft/arts people that I come across. I will be doing more and more of that. I love buying stuff from other crafters and I love spreading the message about them. Like many of you, I've been on a bit of a hiatus from blogging.... work and life gets in the way. But I pledge to do better. I've got lots of pictures of stuff that I want to post about...lots of stuff I need to take pictures of.....so I will try and work out how I can post more often and hopefully get others excited about what I see out there too!

I can't even believe that I've not posted about Knitting and Stitching at the NEC, Origins - London craft fair, or the Knitting and Stitching at Alexandra Palace....not to mention Wingham wools at the Guild this weekend...where I swore I wasn't going to spend much...and ended up with a huge bag full of lovely fleece to spin...and other things......

Shows! Shows! Shows!

I've been able to go to several shows lately. This last one was the best. I decided this year to go to both the Knitting and Stitching show at the NEC in Birmingham and Alexandra Palace in London. So last weekend I went with a group of gals from Shropshire and visited the NEC. It was a small show, but packed with good stuff. There weren't many people, no elbowing people like at the Alexandra Palace. I got to see some great stuff from up north, Yorkshire in particular that I would have missed and a great couple of girls in the graduate show that weren't going to make the trip to London.

First off I have to exclaim over the graduates. They were wonderful. One of the best was a girl who makes these lovely items for children (or just young at heart like me.) Rebecca Shreeve prints her own fabric and hand stuffs and sews her little critters. I have to say that her blankets are just what I would want if I had a little one....shoot I'm tempted to buy me one! I did buy a little mole that she was finishing up in front of me. How cool is that!!!!

There were three exhibits there that were just too stunning for words. Most of them I had seen in Selvedge magazine. Tilleke Schwarz was the first person I saw. Her work is wonderful. She makes embroideries that reflect things she hears and sees during a period of time. They are very much like graffiti, which is very cool. She signed a book for me and I'm looking forward to sitting down and reading about her inspirations.

The next people I know where in Selvedge. Their work is so inspiring. They are Primmy and Jessie Chorley and their exhibit was called "Like Mother Like Daughter" and it is so true. Looking at their work, it is difficult to tell who might have done which piece. I bought a broach that Jessie had made and I plan on buying one of her journals when I see them again at the next show. Their work was so vivid and sweet, but not so sweet that it wasn't grown up. Check out Jessie's website and see what you think. I'm trying to get a book that was written about her mother at the moment. We shall see if it comes in.

The last person I want to talk about in this post is someone else I've been longing to see her work in person. She is Julie Arkall. She doesn't have a website, but you can see some of her work here. (You can also see Primmy's work there.) The works were stunning and I've got plans on a book of hers, because she ran out of them, and something from her small collection that she sells.

I'm not sure if I'll bother buying any supplies at the next show. The exhibits are so great.

I'll try to get sometime to take pics of some of the stuff I bought. There are a few more people I would like to talk about. Sorry no pictures...but I wanted to get this posted!

Goodbye Sybil...you will be missed!

This is Sybil, one of the Librarians who has decided to retire this summer. She will be sorely missed, especially by me. She has been an inspiration for some of my crafting, even though she doesn't really know it. The neck piece that she is wearing was her going away present from me. I've been wanting to make this for a while. I bought tons of beads in black...which most of you know really isn't me!...and had a good time trying to decide how do make a piece that I knew that Sybil would like. She is very creative and arty and I new that she could pull off this idea I had. I got the inspiration from a piece I saw on-line that I thought was a shade for a lamp (it ended up being a neck piece....but hey. I can't find the picture right now. )

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!)

Inspiration - love this!