The weather has been so beautiful lately that my sunglasses are finally out of retirement and what do you need when toting around your favourite shades? A sunglasses case!
I wanted to make something with the new tweeds using the wee orb labels.....
and I had some nice wee frames in the drawer that were just crying out to be used so I made myself a new case for my (rather bulky) sunglasses. I liked it so much I made a few more to sell.....
It's great to be able to add a label to these smaller items - something I have not been able to do until now. These could also be used for normal sized spec or as a wee pouch to carry all your essentials if you don't want to carry a bag......
You can also fit an iPhone in them although I am in the process of making some iPhone covers which I hope to blog about next week.
For those who are more inclined towards linen I have made a selection from the lovely Echino fabrics too - I love these fabric designs - such great colours ..........
The events I will be attending in the next couple of weeks will be the perfect place to road test them. Hopefully it stays sunny!
Yes – you heard it here first. The delegates from Creative Scotland (the new organisation that has replaced both Scottish Screen and the Scottish Arts Council) will be sporting Fieldy felted Harris tweed brooches at this years’ Cannes Film Festival as they mingle with the great and the good!
I’m very happy to be involved in flying the flag for Scotland albeit in a very small way – so happy in fact that even having to have a painful root canal treatment yesterday (unpopped popcorn casualty) has not wiped the smile off my (very sore) face!
Our final day on the islands was a bit overcast but it perked up once we entered Stornoway. We had plenty of time before we needed to get to the ferry so we took a drive up to Tolsta which is at the the end of one of the 4 roads out of Stornoway. The road ended abruptly and became single track and looking at the map we realised that if we continued we would reach Port Ness but from another direction – I was always under the impression that there was only one road there and back. We didn’t have time for that but it has been mentally filed along with several other places as something to do next time we are there. I would happily make the trip a bi-annual event (hint hint Is!) – there is so much to do and see and depending on the time of year the landscape is ever changing – I never get tired of it!
We headed back to Stornoway and took a walk around the grounds of Lews Castle which has sadly fallen into a state of disrepair. I rather liked the coat of arms ‘Heart and Hand’ – it could be the crafters motto!! Maybe I will adopt it as my own!
A new addition is an enormous willow sculpture of a woman in the grounds – I know nothing about it but it looks great – as if she is watching over the harbour at Stornoway and keeping it safe.
Finally we had to wave a sad farewell and got on the ferry. The crossing was very smooth (no photos from me I’m afraid!) and it seemed like we reached Ullapool in no time. After a quick scout around we decided that we should round off the holiday with fresh fish and chips from ‘The Chippy’ – we sat and ate them with our fingers whilst looking over the harbour…….
It was without doubt the best Fish & chips I have had for years!!
Four and a half hours later I was dropping Isobel off at her lovely cottage – holiday over :(
Best start saving for the next trip!!
The following day dawned bright and sunny and we set out bright and early for Huisinis – the most westerly point of the Outer Hebrides. I had been there once before a few years ago when working on a student film, however when I had made the journey I had a massive hangover and was actually in the back of a small van so although I thought I knew the right road and that the place I remembered was Huisinis (there are only 4 or 5 roads in Harris anyway!) I wasn’t 100% sure as we turned off the main road down a single track ribbon of tarmac. I was even more anxious as I had seen a sign as we made the turning saying Huisinis 113 miles – I know I was hungover last time and it did seem a long way but even so………
After a 10 mins we passed the tennis courts (yes there are well maintained public tennis courts on the side of a cliff in the middle of nowhere) and I was relieved as I remembered them from the last time so at least we were on the right road. I then realised that we only had half a tank of petrol and started to fret about that (everything closes on the island around 1pm on a Saturday) If Huisinis was 113 miles away on single track would we make it there and back and then up to Stornoway to catch the ferry the next day on half a tank? Unlikely I thought so, after much discussion and a 20 point turn, we turned around and headed back to a small petrol station on the main road which took roughly 15mins. When I was paying for the fuel I remarked to the lady behind the counter (I think she was American) that it was a long way to Huisinis and she agreed! So we set off again – this time with a full tank. There was the sign again – Huisinis 113 miles. After driving along the precarious road for around 20 mins we stopped and looked at the map. According to the map we were 2 thirds of the way there! 10 mins later we were pulling into the small car park at the beach having reached our destination! It was then we realised that Huisinis was only 13 miles not 113 miles – someone had tampered with the sign! I was very relieved as I didn’t fancy 113 miles on that sort of road.
The beach at Huisinis was as lovely as I remembered and we spent some time walking around and taking photos before setting off over the Machair (wild grassland and flowers) to the cliffs. It’s a lovely walk with stunning views out to sea. We were a bit early in the season to enjoy it in its’ full glory – there were buds and shoots everywhere but it will not come into full bloom until June – but it was bright and sunny with a fresh breeze so we weren’t complaining!
Anyone can let their sheep and cattle graze on the Machair so as you walk around you will always encounter livestock. Unfortunately, although I was some distance away, one sheep took exception to me being there and whilst trying to skirt around me got perilously close the cliff edge and disappeared over the side with a startled “Baaa!” Luckily, it landed on a rocky outcrop about 3 foot down but it was wedged and couldn’t right itself. I had to slide down on my arse to where it was and grabbing its’ ample fleece I lifted it up onto its’ feet – it was surprisingly light – it then leapt (who knew sheep were so agile?) onto some other rocks before leaping back onto the grass at the top. After a few seconds it put its’ head down and started grazing as if nothing had happened! I think Isobel and I were more traumatised by the whole event – plus I had a very wet arse!!
Drama over we continued our walk but minutes later I slipped on a very boggy bit of peat and slid a few feet, covering myself from arse to ankle in smelly peat bog mud. I was also pretty close to the cliff edge and decided that walking so close to the edge was courting disaster and headed up to the top. By then the wind was up and with nothing to stop it before it hit our bit of the coast it was fierce. In fact it was hard at times to stand upright and holding a camera to take pictures was almost impossible, plus the glare of the sun meant that all I could see on the screen was my grimacing face! Its’ a wonder that I got any decent pictures at all. The wind did dry me out very quickly though which I was grateful for!
After a couple of hours we returned to the car to get out a picnic that Isobel had bought with her (very well prepared!) and despite the howling wind she insisted on putting it all out including the gingham cloth which we had to weight with stones! It was delicious and immensely enjoyable despite the dermabrasive effects of the wind whipping sand into our faces – we were covered in the stuff – but we are British and nothing stops us having a picnic on the beach! This is our picnic bench - what an idyllic spot. You can just make out Isobel on the beach in the distance!
The rest of the day was uneventful and we drove down to Leverburgh, visiting more beaches on the way back. We pottered about taking photos before heading back to the hotel – another perfect day!
After a hearty breakfast of bacon, egg, sausage and Stornoway black pudding we made a quick pit-stop at the tweed vendors before heading up the road to Lewis. Stornoway is roughly 50 minutes drive from Harris and in comparison to Tarbert is a teeming metropolis!
The day was rather misty and we encountered some thick fog as we got higher into the hills which cleared slightly as we made our way towards Stornoway......
stopping for a few photo opportunities on the way.
You can just see some wiley Harris sheep in the distance - livestock on the island roams free and they will not give way for anyone! Something to be mindful of when driving over there!
On arrival we made a beeline for An Lanntair, the local Arts Centre, for coffee and cake. Whilst there we were lucky enough to catch an exhibition of photography and mixed media and the shop was full of lovely locally produced crafts to enjoy.
Before heading off to our next destination, Port Ness, we bought the local butcher out of Stornoway black pudding to take back to Glasgow (we practically filled the car boot with the stuff!) – it is a great delicacy in these parts and the islanders are trying to give the locally produced pudding the same status as Harris Tweed as it is widely accepted to be the best black pudding in Scotland! I can vouch for its’ delicious tastiness!
Port Ness is the most northern point of the Isle of Lewis....
and has a lovely wee harbour and beach which were shrouded in mist when we were there.
It also has a cafe and a small gallery called the Harbour View Gallery. I was rather taken with this collection of buoys outside!
We had intended to go to the lighthouse on the Butt of Lewis but knowing the road to be rather narrow and on the cliff edge I decided that my nerves couldn’t stand the drive in the thick mist (we wouldn’t have been able to enjoy the views anyway) so we headed off to Carloway. I have been to the islands many times now and have seen more or less everything there is to see (several times - I never tire of it) but I have never managed to make it inside the Morven Gallery but this time we managed to blag our way in! They were not officially open but it was very busy as they were hanging the last few pieces of donated artwork for an auction that was to take place the following day in aid of the Linda Norgrove Foundation. They very kindly let us have a look around and I urge you to make time to visit this beautiful gallery if you are ever in the vicinity.
Isobel made a few purchases from the shop and we set off again – next stop the Blackhouse at Arnol. Until as recently as 1966 people were still living in this type of dwelling – hard to believe.
The house to the left is what people moved into from the Blackhouses and they are known as White Houses. You quite often get the remains of a blackhouse, a whitehouse and then finally a modern kit-house on the same family owned plot of land/croft. The previous dwellings are left to crumble away although now it is becoming obvious that there is money to be made from renovating and renting out these old dwellings as, next to weaving, tourism is the biggest source of revenue on the islands.
We also stopped at the Blackhouses at Carloway – this settlement is less of a museum but still shows how people lived.
The blackhouses here have been renovated to modern standards and are rented out as holiday lets. Tourists have free rein to roam between the hours of 9.30am and 5.30pm but after that the gate is closed and the holiday makers renting them can enjoy some privacy. Unfortunately as we arrived at 5.45 we could only take pictures from afar but you can get the general impression of the place.
The reason we were so late is that we stopped for a look and a chat at the studio of the lovely people at Rarebird who are making quite a name for themselves with their well designed quality Harris Tweed bags and accessories. In 4 years they have developed their business into something quite special – they deserve their success as the work they have put in and the detail in their lovely products is admirable. Plus they are just really nice people!
We ended our tour of Lewis at the stone circle at Callanish around 7pm – unfortunately there was a local photography club there trying to get some photos of the stones at sunset which made it quite difficult to get any good pictures without folk in bright red windcheaters wandering into the shot!
Also my battery had run down on my camera and I was only able to take a few pics with my iPhone.
By this time the visitor centre was closed and I was suffering from a severe lack of caffeine so I consoled myself by scoffing a few too many M&S chocolate mini-bites! (essential road trip fayre obviously) whilst enjoyin the view.
After dinner and a drink back at An Lanntair we headed home weary but happy – this sightseeing lark really takes it out of you – and it was home to bath and bed in readiness for the next days explorations. Yes, we really know how to live it up!
I notice that at the end of my last post I rather smugly wrote that I would be blogging from the Outer Hebrides – well, obviously that didn’t happen! Although there was Wifi in the hotel I couldn’t get the computer working and to be honest it was a relief because what I really needed was total rest and relaxation. Instead, I contented myself with long soaks in the bath with a good book at the end of the day – far better.
I am not good at photography and hardly ever take photographs that are not related to work in some way but for the first time in ages I took my camera with me (Isobel my travelling companion is an avid photographer so that had something to do with it) In the past when I have been travelling I have taken loads of photographs only to get home to find them really disappointing – they never really captured the beauty/grandeur/atmosphere of the places I have visited. Anyway, I did document this trip albeit in a rather patchy manner – Isobel took ten photographs to every one of mine so her blog about the trip will be far more in depth!
So the first leg of the trip was to drive from Glasgow to Uig on Skye to catch the ferry to Tarbert on the Isle of Harris. We were extremely lucky with the weather and although blowing a chill wind it was dry and bright. We stopped at the visitor centre at Glen Coe and then set off up to the Skye Bridge passing the beautiful and enigmatic looking Eilean Donan Castle on the way.
This is one of the most iconic Scottish images/buildings and has an amazing atmosphere…
We didn’t have time to really explore fully but next time will hopefully get a better look.
Miles and miles of driving through beautiful Scottish landscapes and we arrived at Portree, Skye for a quick bite to eat before hotfooting it over to the Uig Ferry…..
Again a woeful lack of documentation here no picture of the voyage over but Isobel and I both spotted this boat at Uig Harbour - New Venture!
A couple of hours later we arrived in Harris and went straight to the hotel where we booked into our gorgeous rooms! A glass of wine and plate of fish and chips later I was ready to hit the hay. Yeah, rock’n’roll baby!
I feel like I am riding the crest of a creative wave at the moment. I have so much energy and so many ideas swirling around that there don't seem to be enough hours in the day. Perhaps it is the new diet I am on. I have cut out almost all sugar and wheat and I feel amazing! My head is clearer than it has been for a long time and I have lost over a stone in weight which feels wonderful. However, all this creativity has resulted in a woeful lack of househould husbandry. Luckily, I have been forced to tidy up as I have had a friend to visit - even the kitchen floor got cleaned!
The workroom too has had a tidy....
I have been jumping from project to project with some minor tidying in between but some serious folding and putting away was required...
There, that's better. An oasis of peace and calm....
somewhere to kick back, relax and browse a few craft books and plan the next few projects...
Thought I would take a few pics as it will not stay like this for long! Finally, it slips seamlessly from workroom to cosy guest room.......
That bed looks inviting - maybe a wee snooze is in order before I start to make a wee list of things to do over the weekend. Now that all the tweed is tidied and folded I can assess what I am lacking in my stock and consider what purchases may be necessary, as next week I am off to the Outer Hebrides for a few days of R&R - I am so excited I can hardly contain myself! This time next week I will be blogging from the hotel in Harris hopefully (by that I mean most probably) with a G&T in hand!
I was fortunate enough to be commissioned to make a bag by a lovely lady (another stallholder) I met at the Spring Fling at the Creggans Inn recently. My being there was a complete fluke - the owner had bought a few items from me for a small shop they have in the hotel and whilst in conversation she asked if I would be interested in taking one of the 2 stalls left for the event which was happening the following week. I jumped at the chance, as did Isobel, so the next week found us driving up to Loch Fyne on a beautiful spring day - the drive alone was worth it!
I had last been to The Creggans about 14/15 years ago - it was the best hotel in the Argyll area and all the actors and the Director of a film I was working on stayed there (it was my first ever film job and it came with a hire car, was filming in the most beautiful locations in Scotland and was starring Colin Firth - I thought I had died and gone to heaven!) It was on this film that I first met Caireen (she was the Assistant Art Director and I a lowly art dept. runner) and we have been good friends ever since!
I was interested to see what, if anything, had changed and I was delighted to see how lovely the interiors are now. The hotel has had a complete overhaul and is both stylish and comfortable plus it has the most amazing views over Loch Fyne. The event itself was very jolly - the local community turned out in force - but sales were poor and I only sold a few things and all to other stallholders! However, it was not a complete bust as I delivered my order for the hotel and got paid and was asked by Fiona to make a bag. It was to be based on the leather bag that she had with her which was her ideal bag but with straps that were a touch too short. So I took some measurements and a couple of photo's, Fiona chose her tweed and, after several emails back and forth, the result was this...
I made the bag with a dark tweed on the bottom as I thought the light tweed would get dirty quicly.
and I lined the inside with a vibrant turquoise......
The handles were webbing which I ran a length of tweed up to te in with the bag which works well but if I make a bag like this again I would probably just use webbing as it works fine as it is....
It's a very simple bag but I am so chuffed with it! I had to figure it all out for myself - make the pattern and work out how to construct it with fabric stabiliser and interlining - I even did my first magnetic clasp! It looks like a proper thing! Best of all Fiona was delighted with it and that's what really counts - I was very nervous about showing it to her - it is very different making something specifically for someone rather than just making something on spec, hoping that someone will buy it.
Also from this one event, thanks to the generosity of some of the other crafters there, I have been invited to participate in two very interesting shows in that area. Both events are on consecutive weekends in May and I am very excited about taking part in them.
The first is a weekend event on the 14/15 May at Loch Fyne and the second is on the 22nd May at Benmore Botanic Gardens. Both events look to be really good fun and I can't wait. They are the sort of events that I would go to anyway as a punter so to be taking part in them is great. It has also given me something to focus on - a sort of deadline - which I sometimes need in order to get motivated and get making. I have a few ideas for some new-style bags (Fiona's bag has given me confidence to experiment more), camera cases and more besides!
When I was planning the ‘groupings’ of objects for my week of inspiration I managed to divide them into six distinct sections and I was wondering how to round off the week and it suddenly became clear to me that the only way I could round off this week was to pay tribute to the person who has been my biggest inspiration – my lovely Mum. I keep this picture in my workroom and although it is not the best picture I have of my Mum it is my favourite – taken circa 1971 whilst we were on a family holiday in Italy. I think she is looking at my brother David.
My sister and I always had the most lovely handmade clothes (not that we spoilt brats appreciated them at the time) made by Mum. I was always begging for clothes from Tammy Girl or various catalogues, anything rather than wear something handmade. I had no appreciation then of the time, effort and love Mum put into making things for us.
I learned to sew at my Mother’s knee – first on the old Singer that belonged to her Granny (known to us as Little Granny) which is now in the fireplace of my workroom…
And then, when deemed competent enough, on her electric sewing machine.
I use Mum’s sewing machine all the time despite having invested in an all singing, all dancing new machine 18 months ago. Mum's machine is like an old friend - solid, dependable, irreplacable.
I love it, it is the best machine ever (over 30 years old and still going strong!!) – and every time I use it it I think of my Mum and how happy she would be to see the way that sewing and making has once again become part of my life. We didn’t have a great deal in common, she never understood my career choice (probably worried about the instability of it all) but what we did bond over was sewing and making and the satisfaction gained from creating something and a job well done.
The month of March is always a strange one for me because it was a week before Mother’s Day 12 years ago that my Mum died unexpectedly whilst on holiday in Spain. I couldn’t tell you the exact date – it never really registered with me – but for me the whole month of March is a month of remembrance. Maybe subconsciously I planned it this way, who knows, but for me , paying tribute to my Mum and showing gratitude for the sewing skills she passed onto me is the only fitting way to round of this week of inspirational handmade loveliness.
So – in memory of Mum and just because I want to, I am doing a retrospective Giveaway. I custom made this heart shaped keyring/bag charm in 2 colours for a customer and this is the colour she didn’t choose!
It will be winging it’s way to NESS who's name was chosen at random from a hat from the few people who left comments on posts over the past Week of Inspiration. I would like to say to you all, thanks for reading and commenting – I appreciate it!
I have never been a girly girl and have always found dolls rather disturbing, but I did have a huge teddy bear collection and several pets – gerbils, guinea pigs dog etc and I quite like horses (have I mentioned that before?) - it seems old habits die hard because since I have started crafting I have become drawn towards what I can only describe as ‘art toys/dolls’ – one can only marvel at the skill involved in the making of these beautiful objects.
I was given this tiny patchwork tweed ‘Nelliphant’ by Caireen (he came pre-named Barry!) and I think it was one of the first Nelliphants that she made…….
He is quite good pals with the beautifully embroidered Matryoshka Doll by Ferragamo Studio (no longer in existence as far as I can tell)
I saw these tweed wool bunnies in Marjii’s shop on Etsy and fell in love with them…..
They are such simple shapes but the detail is incredible.
At the Green Gallery Xmas Fair there was a lady selling handmade felt scarves next to me, and she had been experimenting with needle felting. These two were some of her early attempts. She wasn’t really happy with them so she was selling them at a ridiculously low price so I snapped them up….
And they are now residing in the workroom. Just love those faces!
This sweet Poshyarns mouse in a pink linen dress is standing guard over the Selvedge magazine collection and casting a beady eye over my sewing station…
And this Wee Quilter bunny is warming herself by the fireplace.
It was with great excitement that I collected the latest of my purchases from the parcel office. You know it really is bad for the old Paypal balance to go looking at other peoples’ blogs and shops. You might be so smitten by what is on offer that you find yourself click click clicking all the money away!
When I saw this shop I knew that I would not be able to resist buying something – the hardest part was deciding what to buy but I am delighted with my choice ….
Bob a Wee Fox Terrier - he wants to join the circus –Sarah very kindly added the ruff at my request and I am so delighted with him! Isn’t he just the sweetest thing you have ever seen?
Finally…..this Wee Creature made by Woo…
I saw a picture of four creatures she had been working on, on her blog, and before I knew it had contacted her with a view to buying. Again the choice was incredibly hard but I absolutely love this. Just look at the detail in her face…
So beautiful. Everything about this is perfect and the clothes are just so sweet – I would love an outfit like that! She came beautifully packaged with her own serial number and wee tag saying ’I is a Creature’- really original, and a pleasure to receive. If you are lucky enough to live in the West Country, Woo will be selling her gorgeous wares at the Vintage & Handmade Fair – get yourself down there if you can and purchase your own little piece of loveliness!
Today’s offerings come under the banner ‘Hanging Decorations’ – I am rather partial to a hanging decoration and they can be picked up relatively inexpensively all over the place! Most of these have been bought at craft fairs directly from their makers – all except this which was bought on Folksy…
From Dottery Pottery (sorry about the rotten picture - low light!) I love the colour and texture and although I am not usually one for “sentiments” written on things I quite like this - and the colour looks great against the purple of the kitchen wall.
Textile decorations are great and I particularly like this one by Wooden Tree…
Made from recycled embroidered linen and stuffed with cloves – it smells good enough to eat. Her work is also available from Glasgow craft boutique The Maisonette. This star is made from Kimono silk ….
So delicate! The doll is one of mine - it is stuffed with lavender.
I love these glass baubles – I have them hanging in my workroom window.
The colours are based on the Scottish landscape and I got them in a swap with Meg McGregor – a glass artist who was opposite me at Edinburgh last year. She makes the most amazing glassware and is a lovely person to boot!
There is a new shop in Great Western Road called The Life Craft – they run workshops and sell yarn, fabric and a few handmade items – I bought this ceramic bird bauble just before Xmas.
I do like it but I mainly bought it as it is a new shop and I wanted to support it in some way – every little helps!
This is a recent acquisition – bought at the craft fair in Balfron last week. I love the colours and textures in this mosaic heart made from recycled china plates and cups…..
Jaine has just added these to her range and I thought it was beautiful – it is now adorning my workroom.
Last but not least is this gorgeous knitted horse –….
another fab gift from Caireen – she certainly knows what I like! Knitting, horses, hanging stuff and those gorgeous pinks and reds….all wrapped up in one neat package! Almost there – only 2 more days to go – I have to say posting every day is a big commitment and I will be glad to get back to my old slacker ways!
Today I am going to be talking about 3D art/sculptures. I always think of sculpture as being big, almost monumental, but I have a few pieces of 3D art that are pretty small but none the less sculptural. I have blogged about this horse before – it is the single most expensive thing I have ever bought – but as soon as I saw it at Potfest a few years ago I just knew that I had to have it…..
And I have never regretted buying it – I absolutely love it and am thrilled to bits to have one of my own! I bought it from this lovely lady but as I bought direct from her (I have seen her work in lots of galleries) I paid significantly less than the usual asking price (another good reason for buying direct from a maker)
Yet, another horse sculpture (notice a theme emerging?) bought at a WASP’s Studio’s Open Day about 6 years ago – I can’t remember who the artist was but I remember that me buying it made her day - she must have really needed the cash!
Again I really love this and enjoy it every day – I like the fact that it is on it’s own mini plinth like a monument in tiny scale. Alongside this is a teeny horse vessel by Song&Branch – I love how she has captures the essence of a horse on a tiny scale.
Yet more mini sculptures by PearsonMaron……
Bought at different times – I got the Cloud Factory first – I think they are beautiful, whimsical and totally original. I am now hankering after this and this but it will be some time before I have the money to buy - unless they can be classed as essential items?
Finally today are these lovely wood turned fruit….
The 2 at the front were bought from one of the crafters (to my shame I can’t remember the persons’ name) at The Creggan’s event a couple of weeks ago and the lighter, larger pear at the back was bought from a craft shop in Elgin last year – they make a lovely little grouping and none of them cost over £5 – I call that a bargain! They feel great when you handle them and the grain of the wood adds to their overall beauty – to think that someone has crafted these lovely things from a block of wood is quite amazing to me.
Today’s offerings are gathered together under the heading of ‘Around the House’ as they are just a few of the things that have escaped the workroom/studio (the place where most of my trinkets are squirreled away) and are more than pulling their weight, cheering up wee corners of the flat.
First up is this gorgeous willow tasker that sits on my kitchen table, making it all beautiful…..
by All About Willow. Catherine and Pascale were diagonally opposite me at Edinburgh last year and I was loving all their baskestry, so when Catherine suggested a swap I jumped at the chance. All their willow is organically grown on their croft on the Isle of Eigg, harvested by hand and then woven into baskets of all shapes and sizes, including caskets (by the way, they told me that most willow caskets sold by undertakers are imported from China so if you find yourself in need of one – go to a basket maker!) When I look at this, I don't just see a lovely piece of willow basketry, I see all the hard work, love and effort that Catherine and Pascale have put into following their passion and nurturing their business.
In the bathroom I have this wee pot by Julia Smith (a replacement for a large, ugly metal thing that I got from God knows where, that used to scratch the paintwork)….
and a lovely unglazed ceramic tile by Foto Ceramica – bought for me as a birthday gift by Caireen from Potfest a couple of years ago. They brighten up a wee corner of my bathroom!
Yet more Deepfired in the bedroom…
A replacement for an ugly glass bowl (where did it come from?) to hold all my bits and bobs. At the time I bought the bowl I bought 4 of the insect brooches as I had an idea to make a picture with them. I got the frame in a sale at TK Maxx and hot glued the brooches into it. I left the glass off as I like to be able to see the texture of the ceramic brooches properly – I really love it.
Last but not least are these woven cushions by Angharad McLaren…
I first saw her work at an open day at WASP’s Studios but as I had already spent too much money I was unable to purchase. When I finally got some money I Googled her and realised that her work is available at NOTHS so I bought 2 cushions to brighten up the bedroom. However, they didn’t look right and ended up on the sofa bed in the workroom where I think they look perfect! They go really well with my crocheted blanket and tweed cushions.
Changing a few small things really does make a difference - back tomorrow with some more precious things!
During this week I am going to do a post every day about the things that I have around me, either bought from or swapped with other crafters, that inspire me on a daily basis. I have collected the objects into rough groupings of items that are of a similar nature and today I am talking about ....sewing accoutrements!
I have made no secret of my admiration for the Daily Pincushions' lovely things and I have a little collection of my own....
The work in these is amazing - so neat! And such lovely designs! I love looking at them and get a great deal of pleasure from using them. Likewise these items .........
yet more pincushions (you can never have enough) and a sewing pouch - all of these are in constant use and again I love the look of them and am in awe of all the detail in the weaving! They are made from Wallace and Sewell woven fabric and are available exclusively from here - worth every penny in my opinion. What do you use on a daily basis that you love the look and feel of?
I have almost finished this book and I cannot recommend it highly enough. It is packed full of useful information, some of which I have pretty much discovered for myself already and some of it a complete revelation.
One of the pieces of advice in the book is to create a nurturing space in which to create your work and to surround yourself with things that inspire you. I had already embraced this concept wholeheartedly a long time ago! How could I not? Over the past 3 years I have attended a lot of events and met a lot of talented crafters. And then there are Etsy and Folksy and all those fabulous blogs out there – huge resources of online craft inspiration. I have been buying from, and swapping with, other crafters for a long time and have amassed quite a collection of beautiful handmade objects which inspire me on a daily basis. In fact I have run out of space in my workroom and a few things have found their way into other rooms in the flat!
Next week I have designated as my week of inspiration. I will be posting about the objects (and their creators) that inspire me – one post a day for the whole of next week. I have tried to group similar things together as I have too many things to only do one object per day. I really hope that any readers of my blog will join in and maybe leave links to share anything that they find inspiring. Some of my favourite things have been found through other people or quite by accident!
It is lovely to have all these things as a source of inspiration but ask yourself ‘why stop there?’ There is a whole area of crafting out there that you can actually enjoy when you are out and about, away from your workroom. Yes, I am talking about wearable art. From handknits to handbags, jewellery, accessories and much much more.
A couple of years ago, at the Edinburgh Festival, I came across the work of Lindsay Grime. She had a few things on a stall which was a collection of items by assorted people under the banner of the Owl & Lion Gallery. There was a fantastic ceramic brooch that I was stalking for almost a week and when I finally decided to buy it…it had gone. As they say in Glasgow ‘if you’re not fast, you’re last!’
Driving along Argyle Street the other day I stopped at The Shop of Interest (great name) for a quick nosey. They had some great things, some of which I had seen at the Wasps Studio’s Open Day last year. They also had a small selection of Lyndsay Grime’s work. I couldn’t afford a plate but I could afford this……..
I love this brooch. It is similar to the one I saw at Edinburgh and now it is adorning a very sensible black jacket (lending it some much needed panache) and making me very happy!
Another accessory that is making me very happy (and has been for several months) is this gorgeous woven scarf by Wallace& Sewell…….
I had been visiting their online shop daily for some time, looking at their beautiful scarves and home accessories, when I saw that they had created some scarves (the one in the picture is the one I bought) for Anthropologie. In a couple of clicks the scarf was mine. There is no denying that it was expensive but in terms of price per wear it has been worth every penny. I have worn this constantly since the day it arrived – I even wear it in the house as a wrap on cold days. Everyone that sees it comments on its’ gorgeousness and it transforms the most mundane outfit. The scarf is a bit of an exception in that the majority of things I buy are pretty inexpensive, not necessarily useful but contribute greatly to my immediate environment. In addition to all this, I like to feel that I am doing my bit to support another person’s endeavours and by doing so, creating some sort of Crafty Karma for myself and for them.
The other day I was complaining to a friend of mine about the weather and the lack of good light to work by and to take pictures by. The next time I saw her she gave me this……
And it has been the best gift ever. My friend bought it for her gloomy kitchen but found the light too cold but for me it is perfect. I have put it in the wall mounted anglepoise in my workroom and it has made a hell of a difference to working and to taking photos on dark March days! They are pretty pricey but well worth the expense and you can get yours here.
I visited Caireen on Saturday, despite the swirling snow! (she had made the most delicious wheat/gluten free Blueberry muffins - thanks Caireen!) We had a really good chat about crafting, our reasons for creating and the sort of things that inspire us. I have been struggling with this question for a while and think that now I can be content with where I am at at the moment. I have found further clarity from reading this book……….
And these two articles in the latest edition of Selvedge also struck a chord……
I love making things and it is a privilege to work with the beautiful materials that I am lucky enough to work with. I can’t deny that I get a real buzz when I sell something that I have made but I have come to realise that when I deliberately started to make things to sell in quantities I stopped enjoying it. For me the way forward is to make as and when I feel like it on a small scale and, if I am lucky enough, to make to commission on one off projects. If the sale of my work covers the (rather expensive) costs of the materials I choose to work with, I will be a very happy crafter.
As a voracious reader I have thoroughly enjoyed the run up to World Book Day (March 3rd) and the fabulous programmes relating to it. I have particularly enjoyed ‘Faulks on Fiction’ and ‘My Life in Books’ in which 2 different celebrities chose 5 of their favourite books starting with favourite childhood book and finishing with ‘beach read’ or ‘guilty pleasure’. It was so interesting to see what people chose and what it revealed about them as people.
It got me thinking that it might be nice to do a ‘My Life in Books’ of my own so I started thinking back to the sort of books I enjoyed as a child and at key points in my life as I grew towards adulthood. I have been taken by surprise at the emotions that have been stirred on this trip down memory lane and I have found it impossible to narrow down to just a few books those which I hold most important. On reflection I shouldn’t have been too surprised as reading has always been a very emotional activity for me – a total immersion in another world.
Books were not that important in our house as I was growing up and I have no recollection of ever being read to as a small child but from about the age of 8 onwards I totally devoured books. My first memories of reading are of Enid Blyton – Famous Five, The Faraway Tree, The Secret Seven and Malory Towers (I was desperate to go to boarding school) – that was until I discovered the books of Pat Smythe, a famous showjumper turned author. I just loved the stories of girls riding ponies and getting into scrapes – the closest I ever got to that was a very tame ride around an indoor school once a week! However, my all time favourite books from this period have to the Silver Brumby series by Elyne Mitchell.
As I got older I moved on from horses and ponies to writers like Barry Hines. I remember reading ‘The Blinder’ over and over again I loved it so much – or rather I was a little in love with the main character Lenny Hawk! I think he was the first working class character that I had ever come across in a book - all my reading fodder until then had been about awfully nice posh children or talking horses! Suddenly here was someone speaking in a northern accent and dealing with normal stuff like school work and teachers.
At high school I studied English Lit at 'O' and 'A' levels and this opened up a whole new world of reading that I never knew existed. Along with Chaucer and Shakespeare we studied Thomas Hardy, Louis Mac Niece and Wilfred Owen among others – I still have the books!
Aged about 14 I started working in a shoe shop on a Saturday which happened to be opposite a small independent bookshop – in my lunch break I would go and scan the shelves and more often than not buy a paperback – in this way I managed to read the entire collections of Virginia Woolfe, Thomas Hardy, Henry James, Jane Austen and the Brontes, probably in a desperate attempt to escape the mundanity of life growing up in a seaside town with an average population age of 60. I still have these books although they are old and yellowing…..
I just can’t bear to part with them (Between the Acts disintigrated when I took it off the shelf!)
When I was 19 I went to Nottingham to study and there I discovered D.H Lawrence who I absolutely love…………..
I read every novel he wrote and again still have all the books! I also read a lot of Simone de Beauvoir, Collette, Alison Lurie, Anita Brookner and Iris Murdoch (looking back I was not entirely happy there I think)
After leaving college I lived and worked in London for a couple of years and had little or no time for reading. I didn’t seriously start again until I moved to Glasgow where I discovered the work of local writer James Kelman and canadian Robertson Davies who, luckily for me, was a prolific writer. Reading his entire body of work kept me going for quite some time!
I have noticed that my reading habits are a little OCD in that if I like an author I have to read every book they have written almost to the exclusion of any other author, only then can move on – a bit limiting at times but I am slowly breaking the habits of a lifetime (I blame Enid Blyton) This is getting easier as I am reading more and more modern fiction where the authors are still alive and writing!
More recently I have become addicted to Alexander MacCall Smith – The Isabel Dalhousie series, The 42 Scotland Street series and Corduroy Mansions series – hmmmmm still a bit OCD but when I am working long hours and I am really tired a few pages of this kind of writing is very soothing and easy – like a chat with an old friend. However I am managing to fit a few other authors in and around AMS, I now tend to read books that friends have given me or books that jump out at me in charity shops rather than buying from the bestsellers list at Waterstone’s. I have just finished the most amazingly moving book recently purchased at the local PDSA – ‘East of the Mountains’ by David Guterson. I read and loved ‘Snow Falling on Cedars’ a while back but this book is just beautiful – it made me cry big heaving sobs but despite this I wouldn’t say this was a sad book – just incredibly well written and life affirming.
Anyhoo, enough of this self indulgent rambling - this is my attempt to select a few of my all time favourite books - there is no way I can narrow it down to 5 but here it is:
Childhood Book: The Silver Brumby by Elyne Mitchell
Teenager: The Blinder by Barry Hines
Young Adult: To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolfe ; The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy;
Recent favourites:
A Thousand Acres – Jane Smiley
The Shipping News – E. Annie Proulx
The Secret History – Donna Tartt
The Quincunx – Charles Palliser
An Instance of the Fingerpost – Iain Pears (also like his Jonathan Argyle Series)
The Cornish Trilogy - Robertson Davies
42 Scotland Street (the first book in the series) – Alexander MacCall Smith
I could go on forever…….
Last but not least my guilty pleasure – anything by Joanna Trollope!
Of course no self respecting bibliophile woud be without some hand crafted reading accoutrements! I have bought several of these bookmarks....
both for myself and for friends - they make great gifts and are just lovely! Or you could make some of your own......
using recycled images stuck onto card - the ones above were made from a calender I had 2 years ago - so many lovely images! Frankly, you can never have enough bookmarks - I hate turning down the corners of pages - especially on craft books.
Anyone else want to share their favourite book/books? I’d love to hear!
Sorry to disappoint anyone expecting something truely theatrical! I am just trying to make myself sound more interesting than I actually am.
The past 2 weeks has been taken up with making costumes (really more like adapting existing stuff) and painting furniture for a show I designed for a friend of mine. It was very low budget and only on for two nights last week at Oran Mhor. You can see the costumes on stage and read all about it in detail on my other blog if you are interested.
These are just a few very blurry pics (when are we going to get some sunshine?) of the costumes in my house that I took as I was working on them.
This is a lace dress which I repaired and added some embellishments to a la Gok. The slip is a nightie from BHS with a frill added to it.
This hat was bought on eBay for a tenner including post. I cut off the crown and added a feather boa bought for £1 from a charity shop to get the desired look...
This dress was bought 2nd hand and after altering to fit the actress I added fur trim - I have never stabbed myself with pins so much in my life - fur is terrible to work with and I broke 3 needles on the beaded fabric!!
The headdress was made from a variety of leftover bits and bobs and some feathers - cheap and easy to make but does the trick...
Along with this I have been buying props, painting and covering furniture and generally running about like a blue arsed fly - I have loved every minute of it!!
This week has been great so far - I am making like a demon in preparation for two events this weekend. It feels like a luxury to have so much time to devote to making and also to be enjoying it so much! Looking forward to the weekend - in hope rather than anticipation!
2010 was the year that I decided to explore the possibility of taking my crafting to the next level by participating in considerably more, and larger craft events. Unfortunately 2010 turned out to be the year that most people decided that buying handmade crafts was not top of their list of priorities!
After investing a huge amount of time, effort and money in the many events I attended over the summer I just about broke even, but was left exhausted and without stock for the upcoming winter events that I had committed to, wondering what the hell was I doing with my life? I know from reading other blogs that this has been the case for very many crafters. Disappointing as the financial rewards were I feel enriched by the experiences I have had and by the many wonderful crafters I met in the process - Karen, Catherine and Meg to name but a few. It has also made it clear to me that the way forward for me, at this point in time at least, is to go back to doing a few select events that do not involve a huge financial outlay, at the time of year when my work sells best i.e the Winter months on the lead up to Xmas. Luckily I attended a couple of cracking events at the end of the year that made up for previous disappointments and boosted my confidence enough to encourage me to continue.
This year I have snuck a couple of early March events to maybe catch some Mother's Day purchasers and one in June as it is local to me and part of the West End Festival but apart from that I am concentrating all my efforts into building up my stock for the end of the year. Having made this decision I feel as though a weight has lifted from my shoulders. I now have the time to do other things that I enjoy doing - this year is going to be the year of travelling for me. Not some Elizabeth Gilbert style life changing trek across several continents but a few short breaks going to places I always wanted to go and generally just enjoying myself!
I haven't done too badly so far this year. I have already spent a week in East Sussex visiting family and enjoying the cafes and galleries in Rye and Lewes, walks on Camber Sands...
and a couple of days in London where I managed to catch the last day of the Diaghilev and the Ballets Russe exhibition among other things!
I also managed a short break to Bruges (my first encounter with Eurostar - brilliant - V. civilised!) which is a place that I have always wanted to visit. It is great for a cultural break with it's great architecture, galleries and restaurants. Great shops too. And chocolate! We even managed to see a fantastic piece of performance art/dance.
I have also booked a short break to the Outer Hebrides in April...
a chance to check out the tweed mill and get some good walking in! And another road trip to visit my sister in Cornwall is on the cards! Throw in a couple of weekend trips - The International Quilt Fair in Birmingham, Country Living, Knitting and Stitching Show etc and the year is shaping up pretty well.
So all in all, despite a slightly disappointing 2010 I am filled with optimism for 2011 and I would just like to share a few thoughts with you based on my experiences. They are mostly common sense but.......
1. Price your work realistically and STICK TO IT. Don't be persuaded to undervalue what you do.
2. Know your market - who is your work aimed at - try to find events that attract your target group or that at least have a good chance of attracting at least some!
3. Don't take it personally if you don't sell alot (or in my case at a couple of day- long events only ONE item!!) and don't let it dishearten you (difficult I know) It is NOT a reflection on you or the quality of your work. Use the time to learn what it is that customers are looking for and what they like about your work or just chalk it down to experience and don't book for that event again!
4. Talk to your fellow crafters and try to learn from their experiences - most people are more than happy to share information about events etc. but remember that everybody has a different experience depending on what they are selling and their expectations of what a 'good' day's takings are.
5. Try to test drive at least one or two new products a year - craft fairs are a great way of getting lots feedback about your products. This is especially important if you are attending several events in the same place or area over the year - people like variety and existing customers need encouragment to buy yet more of your fabulous products!
6. Talk enthusiatically to your potential customers about your work - it is amazing how few people will realize that YOU have actually physically made it! Plus people are more likely to buy from you if you engage with them. Promote any other events that you are taking part in and maybe have a small handout/flyer with a bit about you and your craft credentials.
7. Use each event as an opportunity to refine and perfect your stall display - don't rest on your laurels - make an effort to be creative - you don't need to spend alot of money. My favourite addition to my display this year is a twig that my friend Laurence picked up for me in Pollock Park and some battery operated lights from Ikea. Also, move things around on your display - especially if you are somewhere for more than a day.
8. Enjoy yourself! Be prepared and take something to work on if you are not overun with customers, some nice food and a flask of good coffee/tea. I don't know about you but I get very grumpy if I don't get something nice to eat. Some events are woefully lacking in the refreshments dept.!
9. If you are taking part in a large event have a range of items with prices to suit all budgets - sometimes it is the cheaper 'bread and butter' items that make an event successful financially. If you can find that 'magic' item that is quick and inexpensive to produce but highly desirable you are onto a winner!
10. As my pal Isobel always says - Go in HOPE rather than in EXPECTATION.
If anybody has any thoughts or observations to add to this please feel free to comment - I would be really interested to hear about your experiences. Until next time....Happy Crafting!xx
Well yes, actually, it has.
Funnily enough the last post I did coincided with the start of a new contract - Series 3 of 'How Not to Live Your Life' which has just finished it's run on BBC2 (catch it on iPlayer). From that job I went straight onto the next and then the next. As well as working full time I have been attending rather alot of craft events - large and small - which I had arranged (and paid for) before I knew that I would be working up to the end of the year.
It has been a very tiring and stressful few months to tell you the truth but I am sure that in a couple of weeks time once I have had time to relax and reflect I will realise that although this year a few hard lessons have been learned, overall it has been worth it.
I finish my contract today and I am looking forward to having some time to play around with some new ideas and fabrics that I have found. First of all though I am looking forward to spending some quality time with friends and family over the festive season!
In the meantime I would like to wish a very Merry Christmas to anyone who stumbles across this poor neglected blog! And a HAPPY NEW YEAR (just in case I don't get back here before then!)
Best Wishes
Suzannexx
PS: I took this picture way back in the summer when I was dog-sitting - in fact it was the day of the Queen's Birthday and I went to the local WI to buy cakes. A nice summer image to feast the eyes on on a cold winter's day!!
After alot of humming and hahing I have finally got around to opening my new etsy shop: MoFlo Studio. I named the shop after the area in Glasgow that I live - Mount Florida - known as MoFlo by it's residents!
Although I love Harris Tweed I was beginning to feel a little restricted by it and was in danger of becoming a tweed bore (perish the thought!) so I have decided to have a little side project on the go where I make limited amounts of items out of fabrics that I find unusual and lovely thus enabling my fabric addiction by encompassing all manner of fabrics - the sky's the limit!
I started with some shower hats......
made from Liberty prints that I like. A while ago I was in dire need of a new shower hat and found it really difficult to find one that wasn't "grannyish" and so I have made a few in different patterns - who says you can't be stylish whilst showering? I have also made make up bags to go with them and some small purses and sunglass cases. Likewise I have been using a couple of different Echino fabrics to make purses and sunglass cases plus a very few clutch style handbags. I LOVE this fabric - great to handle and such pretty designs!
The first bags I made were this one in Leopard.....
and this bag with an owl print...........
neither of these made it to the shop - I showed them to my friend Elaine and she fell in love with them instantly and bought them both! However, a couple of others did make it so please pop over for a look.
Another new project that I have been working on is my new blog called 300miles - well, it's not exactly mine entirely but I set it up and have gradually been adding to it. Now it is in a fairly OK state so I am happy to share it with the wider public whether they are interested or not!! There will be 3 or 4 of us contributing to it over the next couple of years as we chart the progress of our shiny new theatre production created entirely by us from scratch! So, if you are interested in all things theatrical please pop by occasionally to see what we are all up to. I am very excited about this new project - my co-collaborators are all very creative and talented people who I have been friends with and worked with for many years, although not always at the same time. I feel very fortunate to be able to participate in these sorts of project - it's been a while!
Wishing you a very happy Bank Holiday weekend - hope the sun is shining on you!
You know how when it is really important that you buckle down and address important issues to do with your life, you manage to find other stuff to do that prevents you from dealing with those issues? Yes, we've all been there!
We all find ways of avoiding 'dealing' with stuff and diverting our attention from the really important matters. In case someone out there is running short of ideas on how to do this, why not try some of the following ideas - I have found them to be very useful over the past week or so..............
make some cards and tags from last years calendars/diaries.............
make some nosebands for working horses and donkeys abroad.....
crochet yet more mitts..........
or alternatively knit some mitts (I saw some on Gigibird's blog and thought how nice they looked!)
Or you could sit and admire the print you have finally managed to frame and hang in the kitchen whilst drinking far too much coffee....
After all that perhaps you might be in the right place to deal with tax, bills, health issues, cash flow etc etc etc.
I am delighted to announce that the first name out of the hat for the draw for the wool was Claire so she gets to choose which colour she would like and Frogdancer will receive the other ball - Congrats ladies!
I meant to mention that Isobel has posted a few pictures of our trip to Harris over on her blog if you would like to visit - more coming soon I hope!
It has been dogtastic at work this week! It is our final week of filming (final day today - like last day of term!) and at the start of the week my friend Laurence bought in his 2 Kerry Blues as we needed a dog for filming....
How gorgeous are they!? I sometimes get to dogsit when Laurence goes back to Ireland to visit his family - lucky me!
This is Onaigh (pronounced onya) and this is Murphey ......
So we spent a happy morning petting them and feeding them sausages from the catering van before Sid came in for his afternoon shift.
He was not impressed with me taking his picture......
Will you please stop taking photo's and PLAY WITH ME?!!!!!!!!!
We are eagerly awaiting a visit from this wee soul next week......
This is my bosses' West Highland Terrier, Dusty - she ate a whole pencil case full of wax crayons the other day - bless her!
Just as well we are all dog crazy in this office! I feel a trip to the dog home coming on!
We have a new member of the Art Dept here at the Comedy Unit - meet Sid!!
This little three legged mutt stole my friend and colleague Caroline's heart when she went to the cat and dog home last week to return some props we had hired. Sid is 5 months old and was found wandering with a badly broken leg a couple of months ago and taken to the rescue centre. He had to have his leg removed as it was beyond repair but he seems to have adapted very well. He is such a sweet wee fella and in the week that he has been with Caroline and her husband he has really come out of his shell. He has been coming into the office every afternoon and he is quite the favourite with everyone here - in fact he is getting totally spoilt!
Look at that wee face - how could you not love him!
Sorry for the long silence here on the blog - I have been mad busy with work (what's new) However I have managed to fit in a cheeky wee holiday before I started my new contract...............
no prizes for guessing where I have been!
Back soon with some new tweeds and some new products! I even have some yet to be blogged finished crochet projects to share , oh and yet more stunning Etsy purchases (how I love Etsy) x
Last weekend I travelled to Invercottage (near Strachur) to take part in the first craft fair organised independently by a select band of happy crafters! Despite having spent several months driving around the whole area whilst working on my first film job I managed to get lost and was an hour late - not a good start. However it was fine as I still had an hour to set up before Invercottage opened for business.
Come inside and have a look around.......
Isn't it gorgeous! You can see people enjoying the sun and a delicious lunch up on the terrace to the left.
It was a really beautiful day and quite a few people had come along to see what we had to offer and despite it being in such a remote location sales for all of us were good - it pays to get the right location.
On offer were handmade cards and tags and some lovely Clutterbuckets courtesy of The Patchwork Dress aka Caireen.......
Cards and handmade decorations from Bella Bheag aka Isobel (just peeking out from behind her display!)
Knitted and felted bags and gifts from My Baboo aka Lynne...................
Some hand embroidered cards and hand decorated pashminas ands waistcoats from JemmaJo (no pictures - sorry)
And last but not least some of my own stuff...
The cover needs a good iron!! In fact I am a bit fed up with the way I display my stuff and think it needs a radical overhaul. I had too much stuff displayed and the overall effect was confusing and messy so I am planning to do some serious redesigning.
We had a great day chatting and eating lovely food and drinking seriously strong coffee whilst enjoying the wonderful view............
I would have shown the wonderful view but I can't seem to get it to load properly - it is a composite of 4 images and I have never been able to get anything like this to load so......... just imagine the most beautiful and peaceful Loch on a summers day!
In other news the blanket has reached this stage.
The next time I blog about it, it will be completed ....hopefully.
Ooops looks like thew picture works in Safari! Can't be bothered to sort it out!!
I have a guilty secret - I have been on a bit of a shopping spree on Etsy lately. I use the money in my Paypal account as "mad money" to spend on whatever I want and as I have been living a rather frugal life recently I decided to treat myself to a few things that I needed like this keyring for my car keys............
I am in the habit of losing my car keys unless I have something chunky attached to them and when my latest keyring broke I decided that instead of replacing it with something nasty from the local hardware shop I would invest in this Ladybird made by the dodgy sounding Leatherprince. Of course he is not dodgy at all but he and his wife are talented leather artists! They have a huge varity of keyrings and it was very hard to choose but I think will be going back for Xmas presents! I love this keyring and enjoy it every day so in my view money well spent.
Next up is this gorgeous ironing board cover from mother and daughter team CityChicCountryMouse.......
in this lovely fabric by Joel Dewberry. My old cover was completely minging! What I really wanted was a new board but until I can afford one this cover will do nicely. I bought the iron just before Christmas and it is the best iron I have ever had. It is a Rowenta Focus and has a great metal tip for those tricky bits of fine ironing and the steam is VERY steamy! If you are looking for a new iron try this - I would highly recommend it!
So I started with good intentions, i.e things that were useful that I needed anyway, but somehow I managed to persuade myself that my needles and pins are getting a little dull and what I really needed was one of these.....
It is an emery from one of my favourite Etsy sellers The Daily Pincushion. The sewing is just beautiful and I couldn't resist buying this too...
Just look at the pretty packaging ! But then you open it up and this little beauty emerges...
It is a mini pincushion (I already bought a large pincushion last year) and I love it. I might give it as a gift but then again I might not be able to part with it. I will keep it for a while just to look at and see how it goes.
Last but not least I bought a necklace from Luxedeluxe. I have long admired her work and when I saw this necklace I just had to have it. It came in a sweet little box....
so pretty.....
and I am wearing it as I type!
I love charms and I have never seen an Origami Crane before. Apparently in Japan Origami Cranes represent Peace and Longevity - I rather like that thought.
Thanks to Lynne's efforts a few of us from the Wee Green Market ( Bella Bheag, My Baboo, Patchwork Dress, Fieldy) are having an event at Invercottage next Saturday.
many thanks to Caireen for putting the poster together....
It is a lovely location and well worth a visit - Hopefully see you there!! (It's about 1.5 hours from Glasgow) I am REALLY looking forward to it!! A lovely day out in great company!!
Yesterday was the monthly Wee Green Market at Killearn which is always a great opportunity to catch up with other crafters and buy some fantastic local crafts and produce. It was a very busy market and there were a few new stalls which is great to see - news is spreading about the quality and variety of things on offer! It is the first opportunity that I have had to show some new things that I have been working on and to get some feedback on them. I was really chuffed to sell quite a few things including a couple of my new felted tweed Scottie Keyrings..........
Another new product is my simple contrasting tweeds Pincushion.........
I also made some bigger drawstring Project Bags which I will be putting in my Etsy shop in the next couple of days.............
I have made them slightly larger than the ones I made originally to easily accomodate small knitting and crochet projects. I have also been making more of the Colinette wool corsages which have also proved popular.........
and I finally got around to doing something with this lovely printed logo that came on one of my tweed orders - I was going to frame it but then I saw this emroidery ring and thought it would look nice in that. It has become part of my table display.....
I am going to have to get my act together quickly as I need to sort out my labels/business cards and table display if I am to look in any way professional at the Edinburgh Festival Craft Fair in a couple of months time!! At the moment my display is a mish mash of things I already had and things that I have bought from charity shops and I feel it needs to be a little more cohesive. Will add 'Design new Display' to my ever growing list of things to do! I am off to panic and drink wine!
Don't know about you but I can't take much more housekeeping - it is only because it has taken up so much of my time recently that I have been banging on about it - usually it is the last thing on my mind!
Anyway, today I have finally got it together to post about the mini-refurb in the flat and to discuss the merits of various paints that are widely available now. I am a bit of a paint connoisseur having spent the first 8 years after graduating working as a Scenic Artist/Designer in the theatre industry. I have worked with every paint product imaginable, at one time I even used to make my own paint using size (animal glue), whiting and pigment - you can imagine the smell! That way of making scenic paint has been phased out as thankfully these days even the most basic Trade Emulsions are pretty good plus it was pretty unpleasant to work with all day long.
My favourite paints to use are these............
Farrow & Ball (now available at Homebase), Crown Trade Historic Colours Collection (Available at Crown Decorator Centres) and Craig & Rose 1829 (available at B&Q). All of these have a great range of colours to suit a period property and a lovely chalky matt finish. However, if I had to choose one paint above all others it would be the Craig & Rose. Not only is it locally produced I have found that it goes on much better and covers better than F&B. The only drawback with C&R is that the colour range is quite limited - luckily I like most of the colours and have managed to find colours within the range for all the other rooms in the flat. F&B paints are highly pigmented which give them a grainy texture when applying. This also means that it takes far more coats to cover. It is also £7.00 per 2.5litres more expensive than C&R. On the plus side the F&B colour range is extensive and there are a few colours that you just can't match elsewhere (believe me I have tried) and once you have applied several coats it has a wonderful rich depth of colour and a great matt finish. I have painted my hall in F&B 'Rectory Red' and the walls look like velvet! Both C&R and F&B paints are eco frindly which is also a plus.
Choices for the Kitchen and Bathroom were pretty straightforward. These for the Kitchen.............
Craig & Rose 1829 'Deep Sung Cream' and Farrow & Ball 'Brinjal' and for the Bathroom....
Craig & Rose 1829 'Eau de Nil' - all in chalky matt emulsion finish. The choice for the bedroom was much harder. I had originally painted it an orchid white colour but apart from the fact it was looking very tired it was also incredibly bland. I experimented with a few colours.............
before plumping for a Dulux Heritage colour 'Victorian Sage' in a matt emulsion. It is the pale green sample above the fireplace. I am embarrassed to admit that after mucking around with lots of different samples the final colour choice was made after a visit to one of my local deli/cafes 'Gusto & Relish'. I popped in for a coffee with my friend Anna and we both admired the wall colour. We asked to the waitress if she could find out what the colour was. She heaved a sigh and quoted "Dulux Heritage Victorian Sage". It appears alot of people ask for that information! I tried it and liked it so that was the choice finally made. If only I had gone in there sooner I would have saved a fortune on matchpots! To finish the fireplace I also needed to paint the tiles and fireplace recess so I used this...........
I wouldn't ordinarily use spray paint but I found this in a box the cupboard and thought it would be OK for such a small area. The tiles were painted with Craig & Rose 1829 'Grate Black' . It goes on like emulsion, is water soluble but because of its high PVA content it dries to a dull metallic finish which works well on tiles and metal and gives a good solid finish.
The painting went well, no mess or fuss as someone else was doing it! The only small bit of painting I actually did was the fireplace and that's when it all went horribly wrong. It seems my common sense desserts me when I get near that fireplace. I masked off the carpet area in front of the fireplace and sprayed the inset. Then I painted the tiles and went out for dinner. When I came back I removed the masking and found this..........
Yes I had f*****ed up my newly cleaned carpet. I tried to get it off with nailvarnish remover (acetone) but that just made it worse! The really stupid thing is that I knew at the time that I hadn't put enough paper down but I was in a hurry. The solution to the problem was radical but necessary - I cut the affected piece of carpet out......
I was able to follow the line of the old hearthstone which I then painted with the same paint as the tiles. I think I have got away with it although there are still a few remnants of spray that I can't do anything about. Walls look nice though!
The Bathroom before and after....
I had the ceiling painted the same colour as the walls so it is like a cosy cocoon of creamy green when you are in there - very relaxing.
And the Kitchen ........
or rather a corner of it - a very tidy corner I might add, compared to how it was. My kitchen is not a fitted kitchen but a disparate variety of floor standing and wall hung cabinets. I had the flat valued a couple of years ago when I was thinking of moving and the estate agent walked in and said "Oh, it's very West End isn't it?" What she meant I am not quite sure but I prefer to think she meant arty and bohemian. Delusion is my middle name.
The winner of this months Sew Hip is...........Debs.
One of the upsides of doing extensive decorating is that it forces you to go through all your belongings and to reassess what you actually want/need. My friends and the local charity shops have benefitted from another mass clearout but I found two items that I felt would be good candidates to try out selling on eBay. Apart from the fact that I will never use them, they serve as a constant reminder of my previously unchecked irrational spending habit which in turn leads to terrible feelings of guilt. I am talking about innappropriate shoes of course - we have all done it. You go into a shop and see a beautiful pair of shoes and, even though they are really expensive and are excruciatingly painful you HAVE TO HAVE THEM! And of course they will fit in with the glamorous lifestyle you have yet to cultivate.
First up - a really lovely pair of LK Bennett sling backs...................
If they had just been plain pink I would not have bought them but that red scallop detail just made them irresistable. Anyone who knows me will know that I have never worn a pair of shoes like this - I live in Birkinstocks and trainers!
The other pair I am more likely to have worn but the only time I ever did wear them was when I was blow drying my hair - the mirror in the bedroom has always been a little too high and rather than rehang it I would just put these lovely Jigsaw mules on...............
which would bring me up to the right height so I could see properly. Now that I have had the room redecorated I have a new mirror at the right height and these have become redundant!!
I know alot of people who buy and sell things on eBay so I thought that I would have a go. So far I have been contacted by a few potential buyers but as yet no bids have been made - all part of the tactical way of buying on ebay I believe. It seems relatively easy to use although I somehow managed to list the pink shoes twice and then had a major panic when I realised what I had done - eventually I worked out how to delist them! It will be interesting to see how they do in the auction - hopefully I can recoup a good bit of the money I paid for them and assuage my guilt a little.
I have only ever bought 2 items from eBay - this thread holder and these incredibly ugly shoes........
Totally yucky moulded plastic top and bottom but supposedly very good for you. They are reflexology sandals and they really are great when your feet are tired and need a bit of a work out. I first came across them several years ago when the Mother of a friend of mine came back from teaching in Japan and had several pairs of these in varying degrees of nobbliness from gentle to seriously hardcore in terms of comfort. I have been looking for some ever since and finally found them here on eBay. At first
they are quite uncomfortable to wear (like walking barefoot on a pebble beach) but after a while you do get used to the pain (unlike kitten heel sling backs) I made it halfway to the car yesterday before realising that I was still wearing them! I was mortified! What if someone had seen me wearing them!
I usually go for regular reflexology sessions but as I am now on an economy drive these sandals will do just as well until I can afford to go back. Oh God - I must be getting old! Rather that than - gulp - getting sensible.
Added later: Both pairs of shoes sold at knockdown prices which was a bit dissappointing especially when a mummified cat found under someones floorboards got in excess of £90!! What the......?
During my recent clear out I came across these in the back of one of the kitchen cupboards..........
You might think that these are just some old cups but to me they are much more than that. I am not particularly sentimental and do not get attached to 'things' but I couldn't bring myself to throw these out as to me they represent my youthful aspirations as a student 20 odd years ago in Nottingham.
I shared a cold and damp two up/two down terrace in a not-very-nice area with a couple of friends and had very little money but I couldn't resist buying these cups from which I would drink my morning cup of coffee before heading into college. I bought them from a very glamorous shop which opened in Nottingham in the mid 1980's called The Cookshop (at least I think that was what it was called) which was an early sort of lifestyle shop in the days before they really existed. I often used to go in and wander around just to look at the pretty things they had. It was situated in a lovely building with Art Nouveau style carved wooden window frames. Obviously I only had enough money to buy one of each but I fully intended to buy full sets in my 'future life' when I would be sitting by my woodburning stove in my country cottage watching my horse graze out in the paddock! Just having these lovely cups made life in student digs a little more bearable.
Of course I don't live in a country cottage and I still only have one of each and to be honest although I still like them my tastes have changed quite considerably and my favourite morning coffee mugs are these..............
the two 'rustic' looking mugs are from the Crail Pottery in Fife and the green one from Habitat. I love their simplicity and I enjoy drinking my morning cup of coffee from them as I daydream about my future life where I will be sitting by my woodburning stove in my country cottage watching my horse graze out in the paddock..........some things never change.
Today was my one day off this week and so far I have managed to do the following:
1. 2 loads of washing
2. A weeks worth of washing up
3. Watch 'Homes Under the Hammer" whilst wearing PJ's and drinking strong coffee
4. Taken advantage of the morning light to take a few pics
5. Get my legs waxed
6. Go to 2 different banks
7. Go to the post office to post off orders
8. Get my hair cut and coloured
9. Do the weekly food shop
10. Tidy the house
11. Write this post
12. Put some more items in my Etsy shop!
I will be glad to get back to work for a rest!!
It is so hectic at the moment - I was working when the Wee Green Market was on at BBC Pacific Quay so my friend Elaine manned my stall for me. I had a good amount of sales and some orders so Thanks Elaine! I will be able to do the stall for the Wee Green Market we are doing next Weds for the BBC at River City so it will be a nice change from 'work' work and a chance to catch up with some old colleagues.
My shop is ticking over nicely although I dare say it will slow down after Xmas. Added today were a couple of felted hearts.....
and a couple of needlecases in pink....
and turquoise.......
Just want to take the opportunity to say GOOD LUCK!! to the scottish blogging contingent taking part in the Country Living Fair this week at the SECC- Caireen, Lynne, Karon and Jane - may your sales be plentiful!
Well, I have finally steeled myself to sit down and write about my road trip to Cornwall - it seems like ages ago! I am going to do a series of posts outlining the journey, places of interest that I visited and a bit about the people that I visited - well, rather alot about the people I visited!
Here goes...............I had decided that as I was going to be driving such a great distance that it would be a good idea to make the actual driving/journey as much a part of my holiday as actually being where I was intending to go, so after much plotting and planning I left Glasgow that Monday morning at 8am and by 11am I was sipping coffee and admiring the ducks at my favourite service station (I know - it's very sad to have a favourite service station) which has the most amazing farm shop. I had decided that I was going to take a wee detour through Wales as I was not on any deadline to get to Coventry. It was horrible weather and driving on the motorway was hellish so when I got to the Chester turnoff I was really happy. I was even happier when I crossed the border into Wales and the sun started shining! I drove through the most beautiful countryside and within an hour or two I had reached my destination. I approached the door, my heart pounding with anticipation and what lay beyond did not dissappoint! The HQ of Colinette yarns in Welshpool - Textile Alchemy!
It is such a beautiful shop - I was overwhelmed by the choice of texture and colour on offer and the staff were so friendly and welcoming. I have been making corsages out of Colinettes Grafitti yarn in a couple of colours and I wanted to buy a selection of different colours to try. It is so hard to choose between all the colours as they are all magnificent, so I ended up buying one of each colour. Luckily there is a large sale section in the shop so many of them were reduced because of some perceived flaw - not that I could see any!
There are an abundance of knitted samples showing off the different yarns - I spent a very happy hour there just admiring it all! It is a great place to visit - I would recommend it to anyone. What is also good is that it is situated next to the Steam Railway which has a lovely cafe on the platform selling Fairtrade coffee so there are plenty of distractions for companions not interested in yarny goodness. Welshpool itself is also very pretty and not too far away with plenty of shops and cafes to enjoy.
( You can see the full set of photos I took in the shop on Flickr)
I left with a smile on my face and a bag full of the most wonderful yarn with great names like Lobster Pinch, Vatican Pie and Morello Mash!
Within a a couple of hours I had reached my destination - my friends Ness and Marks cottage just outside Coventry. I had just enough time to dump my stuff before being whisked off to a local pub for dinner and a double celebration! Ness had just found out that morning that she had secured funding from Arts Council England for the play she has written and Mark has just recently been promoted to Associate Dean of the School of Art and Design at Coventry University AND his Phd thesis was being published as a book! Ness and Mark are two of the hardest working people I know and they deserve every success! I am very flattered that Ness has asked me to design the costumes for her show and it is great to be able to do something like this again as I have not done any theatre or costume work for several years and really miss it! Ness and I met at Art School where we were both doing Degrees' in Theatre Design. Ness has always wanted to write and now finally, 20 odd years later, she has realised that ambition. It hasn't been easy and I admire her determination - Well Done Ness! If you happen to be in the Coventry area on the 2nd, 3rd or 4th Oct come and see the play - it's worth the effort!
PS I have just updated my etsy shop! Go and take a peekx
I spent a blissful 3 hours in the hair salon this morning drinking coffee and reading trashy magazines - oh, and getting my hair cut and coloured. Today is my first day off in 3 weeks and God do I need it! This week has been the busiest ever as I had booked two craft events ages ago before I got these two jobs and they both happened this week! I am starting to feel like I have a split personality and I keep forgetting what day it is! Monday I worked a half day and then rushed home to whip up a couple of Wee Hotties in new colourways as samples to take to the craft eve that night at the treatment rooms I go to for Reflexology.
Catriona, who owns Bespoke Beauty, has been very supportive of me with this whole new venture and has bought several things herself. The craft evening was a mixture of fundraising whilst at the same time giving Catriona's clients the opportunity to do a little christmas shopping, all washed down with glasses of wine accompanied by a mince pie or two. All in all a total of £800 was raised in aid of Macmillan Cancer Relief. It was a really lovely evening!
Although I was there to sell (which I did - Thanks Catriona!) I couldn't resist buying some body lotion from the organic range Catriona is developing herself and I won one of her candles in the Charity Raffle!
I then worked Tues and Weds finishing my last job off - putting sets and props into storage etc. Tuesday night I had a meeting with Bevis and Benji to pitch an idea to them about making a documentary about the weavers of Harris and Lewis. I think they will go for it and I hope to be involved in some way.
I started my new contract on Thurs and on Thurs night I had another craft event at St Columbus School in Kilmacolm - I sold loads of stuff and will need to make some things this weekend to fulfil the orders I took!
On Saturday night I will be working behind the bar at the Barrowlands at the Amy Winehouse gig - if only I could clone myself!
On a totally different subject - I took this photo whilst stood at the cashpoint this morning.
I have lived in Glasgow for 16 years and never noticed this plaque on the wall of the RBS on Trongate. Monica at quilt while your'e ahead has been doing this exercise where she takes a photo at every traffic light she stops at. I think this is a great idea - use your time waiting in queues to do something creative, look around you and see what is in your environment. It makes time spent like that seem less wasteful and annoying! You never know what you might see! I didn't have my camera with me yesterday when a Rottweiler crossed over the traffic lights I had stopped at with a pint of milk in it's mouth. That would have made a great photo!
Had a great time at work yesterday! We had a very special visitor on set - the lovely Berlindo!
Isn't he gorgeous!
I love horses so I was delighted when I discovered that we needed a horse for filming a dream sequence for the comedy I am working on at the moment. I think the residents of the housing scheme we were filming at must have been a bit surprised when they looked out to see a white stallion galloping across the grass! We also had a standby horse for the actor to sit on if he was too nervous to sit on the real horse. We had to move it as Berlindo was a little distracted to see it outside the newsagents! I took a quick snap of the propmen moving out the way as it was too good an opportunity to miss - it looked very suspect!
The two weeks preceeding my setting up this blog were not great to say the least but on Monday I decided to make things happen rather than be overwhelmed by things "happening" to me. I placed an order for another 30 metres of tweed which I am eargerly awaiting! On Tuesday I had a meeting with the business advisor at my local Business Gateway which was very positive! I have been avoiding all the business aspect of starting a business, preferring to spend all my time making things in my home studio aka the spare bedroom! However the pressure of having a meeting made me get my act together on Monday and finally finish my business plan and work out how much I have spent and how much I have in the form of stock etc - it made for very scary reading. Basically the advisor told me that the best way to get my work out there was to get online - something I have been meaning to do for some time - and to approach local stockists to see if they would be interested in taking some of my stuff.
After the meeting I was walking back to the flat when I noticed that a new shop would be opening just along the road - a giftware shop. Being nosy, I looked up their website to see what kind of thing they would be selling and it looked quite good - the exciting thing was that they were inviting local handcrafters to submit work to possibly sell in their shop! Several emails later and I have a meeting to discuss an order!
I also finally printed off photos of my work and sent them to the panel who decide who can exhibit at the 3D/2D Craft Fairs (they do all the largest shows in Scotland) I also contacted Alcrafts who run a weekly craft fair in Glasgow and will be meeting them on Saturday to show them some samples of my work! Best of all though, I started this blog! How enjoyable is this?! I have also returned to the gym and I am in the process of weaning myself off giant bags of Malteasers. So in brief, in the space of a few days I have taken back control! I feel energised and I was so excited after my first post that I couldn't sleep and had to get up to write down all the ideas that were going through my head! Sorry if I sound smug - I think it is just the euphoria of feeling so much better after feeling so down - this time last week I was ready to throw in the towel!
I am now going to attempt to upload some pics of the stuff I will be taking to show Alcrafts - sizing is a bit of an issue but hopefully I will sort it out soon!
CAFETIERE COSIES........
ASSORTED CUSHIONS.......
DOGS & HEARTS.........
SMALL MAKE UP BAGS......
WEE HOTTIES...........
and other stuff but have feeling the image sizes are still wrong so will leave the rest for another time - it is more than enough to get an idea!
Looking forward to the weekend!!
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