Weaving workshop

I just want to start by saying thank you all so much for all your fantastically supportive comments and feedback about my 'little idea'......the next step is underway and I've been scouting out venues to host crafty classes with mums-to -be. After the large amount of messages I received from those who were not 'with child' but equally wanted to make a sweet little deer, I've also decided to make the design into some kits. So keep your eyes peeled :)

This friday just passed saw me heading up to the little seaside village of Johnshaven with some looms and wool in hand, to host a weaving workshop. The venue is Starfish Studios, where I've hosted a couple of workshops before, and am always happy to return as it never fails to be a really lovely day. The crafty table that sits snuggly in the craft shop can sit 6 ladies around it, which I find the perfect number for a gentle day of chatting, relaxing and creating.

I always seem to say the same thing after a workshop,but I find it so inspiring and interesting to see what happens when you present different people with the same materials, share a few techniques, step back and watch how they make it their own..... so FAB!

Love this combo of colours and textures, makes me think of mossy woods and fairies! 

And how about these sparkle-tastic ocean inspired weavings.....just gorgeous.

Beautiful pale greens and neutrals..... gentle layers and loopy textures. Lush!

Funnily enough 2 of the ladies gravitated towards a similar choice of colours, even though they happened to be on opposite ends of the table with mountains of wool in between! Loving the bold black and grey with pops of purple (one even has a pompom too yipee!...I was being a total pompom pusher that day! haha!).

A super day.....and plenty more inspiration to fuel my next weaving project :)

x

Swooning over : Liz Payne

I was asked at a recent talk where I got my inspiration from....and being unprepared for such a question (I mean where to start!?) I gave a a pretty lame reply.
Having had a little more time to think about it, I realise I don't often share what makes me want to create, where I go to if I need some ideas and inspiration and what makes me want to experiment and play. 
I also realise that most of what does inspire, make me smile and want to grab a needle/ brush/ pencil, has been introduced through someone else sharing.... whether its through a book,magazine,social media, bricks and mortar shop or gallery.

So I've decided to make more of an effort to share the things that inspire here on my blog, and I hope that it may invoke a little tickle of creative -juice- flow in you too!

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I have only very recently had the pleasure of discovering the stitchery work of Liz Payne (a graphic designer and artist based in Australia)...but lets just say it was love at first sight...I mean, those colours and textures....swoonaroo!
Unsurprisingly Liz's work is starting to attract a lot of attention.
Hope you enjoy!

"Not afraid" by Liz Payne

Friday by Liz Payne

Liz paints simple shapes onto the fabric, then spends many hours adding  beads, sequins, stitches and french knots galore.

Burger with gold fillings by Liz Payne

Work in progress by Liz Payne

Front ...Liz Payne

Liz celebrates the back of her pieces as much as the front, and has framed pieces with glass on both sides.... hooray to that I say :)

Back ...Liz Payne

There are so many more sumptuously stitched, colour and texture packed beauties to be seen if you head to Liz's facebook page,  instagram or etsy shop.

A crafting bonanaza of a week!

What a fantastically crafty week it's been!
The beginning of the week saw me and my trusty assistant (my mum!) take a trip to attend the Craft, Hobby & Stitch International Trade Show. It was in Birmingham...and as you can see the weather pulled out the stops for us! :)
Mum being the ever practical one had a brolly in her bag of tricks, I however had to settle for gratitude that skin is waterproof!

Birmingham bull ring.

The show was just as expected...a sweetie shop FULL to the brim of crafty eye candy, colours, wools, fabrics, threads, felt, papers, paint, ribbons,kits and ...and... and.... rainbow woolly sheep!

Woolly sheep by Woolyknit 

I hold my hands up and say I was completely rubbish with taking photos...there was so much to see but very few photos taken....and the ones I did snap seem rather random. But I did promise you, so here is a montage of the SIX photos I took!

1. Felt 2.Sweet cuckoo clocks 3.Felt 4.Mario Wall 5.Woolly Medieval Tent 6.Autumn colours

If you have spent any time with young'uns, you'll recognise Mario (from Mario Karts)...but what you may not realise is that the wall is made out of  little plastic craft boxes. It must have been around 9 feet high!

 And the Medieval Tent is fully knitted. There was a knitted life size Guinevere and Sir Lancelot too.I couldn't decide if they were quite amazing or bordering on the obscene! wish I'd taken a photo for you to decide ;)

It was great to go to a Trade Fair on the "other side" this time. (I've shared my other experiences as a seller here).

The sense of empathy to the tired looking stand holders was in full swing. And the realisation that walking past lots of stalls without buying anything was not because I didn't like or appreciate the items, it just wasn't specific to what I was looking for. Nothing personal at all! 

Ahh, we put our hearts on our sleeves, us creative peeps :)

So that was the start of my week , and the crafty bonanza continued right through to today, ending with a really lovely Purse Making Workshop next to the sea.

Water again , however this time optional - only if you wanted to dip your toe in. 

How's that for a washing line location?!

The gorgeous little fishing village called Johnshaven..a tiny treasure of a place and where I ended up to do the workshop. I'll be back to share some lovely pics on that next time 

Have a lovely weekend x

All things soft and beautiful - Part 2!

How are you all? In a frenzy of wrapping paper and mulled wine, or quietly winding down before stopping completely for the hols? I'm in the first category (of course!).... so I do hope you will humour my late blog appearance!
I mentioned in my last post about some dolls that I've been inspired by, and while I still don't have any of my own work to share I thought it the perfect excuse to show you.
So lets begin with the stunning work of The Pale Rook.

"The Oak nymph" by The Pale Rook

I've never been a huge "dolly" girl (even as a youngster) but oh my.....these dolls I would own in a flash. 

"Ethel" by the Pale Rook

Its the mix of pencil and fabric, and the shapes that are created...... down to the little feet.

"Oak Nymph" by The Pale Rook

Violetta by The Pale Rook

Simpy sublime stitching! 

Next I'd like to introduce Nadya Sheremet and her beautifully embroidered dolls....

Deer from a small town by Nadya Sheremet

Mysterious Goldilocks

The amount of work that goes into each piece is breathtaking. The design hand embroidered onto the skirt worn by "Goldilocks" is a piece of art in itself....and hints at the care and time invested into each piece.

And how about the details embroidered onto the dress worn by this "Girl from the Irish Coast" 

 Don't forget her pants!....

I can hardly comprehend the patience required to create such detail. Amazing!

And last but by no means least is the charming and colourful work of Valentina Felce of Blue Raspberry Designs. I love the tattoed dolls created by Mimi Kirchner, but have to say I laughed with glee on stumbling upon this doll on etsy.

Vincent Van Gogh with Starry night tattoo!

This glee was heightened after reading Valentina's little blurb on why she does what she does.

"I have always wanted a different kind of toy. That is: I had different sensibilities when it came to clothes, music, and dolls when i was a kid and I found myself often altering the things around me to suit my tastes. I was a little edgier than most, and I know I wasn't the only one. I would cut the hair off my barbies into stylish bobs and cover them with tiny sharpie tattoos. That's basically what I still love doing today! 

My Sindy doll (showing my age now!)  definitely got subjected to a haircut.... but I don't think the "scalped" look could be classed as stylish ;)

Painted Lady -Circus Performer by Blue Raspberry Designs.

"The White Queen" by Blue Raspberry Designs

Love them! 

So there you have it..... a doll bonanza to enjoy... I wonder if its too late to add one to my list for the big Mr S ;)x

All things soft and beautiful....

I am so enamoured with all things "plushie" or stuffed at the moment. These words don't really do justice to the beautiful creations I've stumbled upon..."soft sculptures" (aka mini works of art) are more accurate.
As my busy schedule of keeping up with orders continues (and family activities ramp up with the upcoming festivies), I thought I'd share a few stuffed wonders with you today!.....

Birchwood Spirit Bear : Mount Royal Mint

I have long been a fan of Mount Royal Mint and the beautiful little animal totem-like sculptures Sabina creates.... her background is in animation and puppetry, which is apparent in the thoughtful and tiny details she adds.

Unicorn: Mount Royal Mint

Oh Albatross also creates the most beautiful little soft sculptures with muted tones and lots of hand stitched details......this is my kind of lovely!

Country Foxes in Love : Oh Albatross

Quail : Oh Albatross

Spring Deer Dandy : Oh Albatross

I'm certain you've come across the beautiful work of Abigail Brown before..."creature textile extraordinaire", maker of  birds and "wierdlets (below)

Abigail has also introduced a new selection of soft toys  in her "Only tiny" shop, which are simpler in design but hold the same enchantment and unique quirky beauty as the rest of her work! Love them.

Only tiny "Dolls"

I've also discovered a plethera of "dolls" which are so unique and beautiful and definitely deserve a separate post of their own....so consider this post "to be continued"!

Hope you are having a lovely weekend

x

Oh ps. I've been working on my newsletter and this months free design, which I'll be sending out next week.... thought you might like a sneak peak. Pop your name on the list in the right sidebar if you haven't already! :)x 

Tilly and the Buttons to the rescue!

Its now nearly 3 years ago (wow!) that I left my post as a midwife and became a self employed artist. Which means it's also nearly 3 years that I've been promising to make some clothes for myself.  I would like to say that the colourful collection of fabrics I have gathered (below) have only been sitting around gathering dust for the same length of time...but truth is it's been waaay longer than that!

I have been the BIGGEST procrastinator when it comes to making my own clothes....... Ok. ok. I take back the procrastinator bit.....I've been the BIGGEST scaredy cat!

Yes I'm more than at home with a sewing machine...... but deciphering patterns and sewing with precision (it is helpful that arm holes actually match with the sleeves) gulp! Add this to a very poor history of following patterns (did I ever show you the knitting pattern I tried?...supposed owl mitten turned into wierd mini blanket..aherm)

So I have decided to "take down" (insert fist pump) the scaredy cat, and tackle the fear of sewing my own clothes which has now grown horns and an extra head. To do this I have armed myself with a worthy ally.....the book "Love at first stitch" by the very adorable Tilly Walnes (of Tilly and the Buttons fame).

Photo Credit: Tilly Walnes

Tilly started a blog several years ago as she voyaged into making her own clothes and shared the adventure, along with tutorials to help demystify dressmaking jargon (Hello! this is EXACTLY what I need!) She was also a contestant in The Great Sewing Bee (which I never saw myself but have been told was highly addictive to watch!) She now runs a blossoming business selling her own patterns, holding workshops, and of course publishing a book. If you go check out her blog you will be instantly pulled into the lovely world of Tilly and want to stay around to see what she is creating whether you dressmake or not!

And just like her blog, the book is full of the same bold and beautiful visuals (which definitely helps a reluctant seamstress like me)

Photo credit: Tilly Walnes

Photo credits: Tilly Walnes

Photo credit: Tilly Walnes


(c) Tilly Walnes 2014

See what I mean!

The projects in the book walk you through projects and techniques working from the simple to more complicated...... I'm jumping right in (so may end in disaster) and making the Megan dress! 

I've got some sweet navy polka dot cotton for the job......

The girls are now off school for their 2 week October holidays.. it is my mission to send the girls back to school wearing a polka dot dress.... 

:)

wish me luck! xx