Short Intermission!

There will be a short intermission, after this post.

The preparations for our exhibition are gathering pace

and I will not have the time or the energy for writing my blog.

Thought I would share with you, a few of the pieces, that

I will be exhibiting.

Beith (this is Ogham for birch)

It's mounted on a piece of Silver Birch bark.

Tree of Life

Silk rods and free machine embroidery.

Rust

Scottish Isle (felted landscape)

*  *   *   *

Before I go .....

Daisy, is on the dog house.

Look what she did!!

Chewed up the only knitting project, that was actually for me.

I'm still speechless!

Till we meet again, on the other side.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Exhibition!

I am straying a little 'off-piste', with this post.

I have not wandered into the work room much this week,

as we are busy getting ready for our Exhibition.

It all takes place, over August Bank Holiday weekend,

so not long to go now!

Mr C and I both have our strengths, in this affair.

He prepares all the screens, exhibits etc ... whilst I

concentrate on labels, advertising and all the little

things that go towards making a successful event.

This has necessitated an awful lot of time

on the computer, making posters and flyers.

This is the result of all my efforts.

I was quite pleased with the end product.

As you can see Ethel, has managed to make

an appearance.  She has been complaining that,

I haven't mentioned her in my blog much, of late.

So, to appease her a little, here she is,

modelling my newly blocked, Shetland shawl.

I've secured it, with a little kilt pin, which I thought was perfect.

Also thought I'd give you a peek, at my baby 'bag',

which is on the needles

and

this lovely bark cloth bag, that I keep the project in.

I found it amongst some fabric I was given. It should have handles but

I love it as it is.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Blocking.

It's August today. The year continues to fly by!

The weather has been mostly sunny this week,

although we have been promised a change, in the next few days.

Mr C. gave me this beautiful red rose, from the garden.

The smell, when I open my work room door,

is absolutely heavenly!

Can you see, Ronnie Raccoon, pepping out?

He's been tidying up my small carrier bags, or untidying!!!

Anyway I digress, this week's post is all about 'blocking'.

Yes, my Shetland shawl, is finally off the needles.

The last process, in it's journey, is sewing the seams

and stretching it into it's final shape.

Thought you might be interested in how I did it.

Blocking, involves pinning out the finished garment, either

wet or dry, onto a flat surface, to the correct measurement.

This gives the finished garment a professional appearance.

Tools

Blocking pins (I got mine online, from Loop, in London)

and tap water, in an old window cleaner bottle.

Started off, blocking the centre portion.

Folded up a very large quilt to put underneath. You could use foam,

cork board or polystyrene sheet but this is what I had to hand.

Pinned the centre to the blanket, pulling it in to it's full extent,

to avoid puckering.The knitted shawl is very delicate, 

so had to be very careful to ease it gently, to avoid damaging the threads.

Sprayed the whole area with water and left to dry, naturally.

Then had the dilemma of what surface I had, that was large enough

to accomodate the whole shawl.

Had the sudden idea that I could use my large rag rug frame.

Attached threads along one edge of the shawl

and tied them to the rug frame to the approx shape.

Repeated this process, along the opposite edge.

Then sprayed the whole thing with water.

Left it overnight and will take it down, when I have 

finished this post.

Very pleased with the final result. 

 I have changed the design of the centre. The pattern

showed it all one colour. Didn't have enough wool

to do that, as it was not bought specially for this project

 and was reluctant to purchase any more.

So 'necessity being the mother of invention', I

designed my own. I am very pleased with how it's turned out.

Looks a bit Art Deco, I thought.

Have a great weekend everyone.

I'm off to release a shawl!

Anatomy of a Bag!

The weather has been scorching this week.

Whilst walking Daisy, I noticed that the 

harebells, have started blooming.

The Pop-Up Shop, ends it's current run, this weekend.

One of the things that has found a new home is this,

Crochet bag.

This galvanised me into making a replacement.

It's not finished yet but I thought I would show you

how it's progressing.

I chose, soft shades, this time (reminded me of heather),

 with a mossy green top.

The closure, is a modern button, with a vintage

green glass button, in the middle.

Couldn't resist, injecting some colour, so .....

I have chosen to line it with this vintage fabric.

I love the little birds, perched in the tree.

The colours compliment and add something to the overall design.

Only remains, to crochet the handles,

so you know what I will be doing today!

Have a great weekend and happy holidays

to all those of you, who are setting off on your travels.

Enjoy!

'Do You Want to Know a Secret!'

It's raining, this morning, quite hard but not the
horrendous storms, the weatherman has been predicting ...yet!
This week, I am going to reveal what that 'Blissful' wool,
I showed last week is for.

I have a little secret, that I want to share with you.

To quote the 'Fab Four',

"I've known the secret for a week or two"

but the time was not right to tell.

I am going to be a grandmother, for the first time.

It is soooooooooo, exciting!
Naturally, I want to make the baby something special.
I last made this for my first born, many, many, years ago.
The pattern has been languishing in a folder but as I am
in love with all things fairisle ......
 I thought it was time to give it an airing.
Perfect for a January baby!
I've got plenty of time, so have decided to complete, my shawl.
Too may projects, on the needles, half finished!

As you can see, the two halves of the shawl are done.

I am now knitting the middle square, which connects them.

It is quite a job, juggling with all those stitches.

Not sure if I will have enough, deep purple wool,

to finish the job, necessitating another visit to the wool shop.

Oh dear, heh! heh!

The crochet bunting too, is a little present for the nursery. 

Made it to take, on a visit I am planning, in the next few weeks.

I proudly showed it to my neighbour. She duly

admired it for a few moments and then said,

"Does baby have two b's, I thought it only had one".

I was mortified! Me, who prides myself, on

my spelling and use of words .......

Took me a whole day to sort that one out.

That'll teach me!!

Hope it's not too wet where you are.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Not a Lot to Report !

Not a lot to report this week, as I haven't

had a lot of time for creativity.

I have spent most of the week,

being an interface, between Mr C. and a

company in Mexico. He has been commissioned

to produce a screen and needs his image converting

to a file, that the engineering company can understand.

It has proved to be very complex and has taken up

a lot of my time. Almost at the finishing post now!

However!

I did complete a little project, that I blogged about a few weeks ago.

Crochet bunting.

Purchased some wool, on trip to Ilkley.

Bought, for a new project. Can't say what yet ..... it's a secret!

and 

Sold a pair of my crochet mittens at the Pop-up, yesterday

(not these ones, same design but different colour)

Hope you've had time to be creative this week!

Round the World Blog Hop!

Woke up this morning to rain and bike fever!

Yes, today is the day, that the Tour de France, starts in Yorkshire.

The 'Grand Depart' as it's being called, is the culmination of two
years of planning.The race is all around us, with today's
leg, finishing in Harrogate.

There are yellow bikes, knitted bunting and a frenzy of 

expectation everywhere.

Anyway, I digress! This is not what today's post is about.

I have been invited, by Eleanor of Stitches and Seeds to take 

part in this blog hop. She is a very creative person who has

been having an adventure, on the island of St Helena, for the

past two years.

The idea is to tell you a bit about how I work and what I make and then

to send you on your way to visit three more talented makers.

      What am I working on

I am a bit of a butterfly and tend to work on several projects

at once. This is where I work.

 At the moment I am knitting ....

A Shetland Shawl.

Felting ......

A Yorkshire Landscape

Sewing .......

 Spiral textile (small part)

 Rugging ......

not sure what it is yet!

How does my work differ from others in this genre

I don't think it does, there are lots of like minded people

out there doing the same thing as me. I love combining unlikely materials

and found objects. Using different techniques, like embroidery

rag rugging and felt work, sometimes all in one piece. I try to recycle

as much as possible and most of my materials are given, found or

liberated from local charity shops. Lately, becoming interested

in visible mending, which gives old but much loved garments, new life.

How does my writing/creative process work

I usually start a textile piece, with a 'found' object. 

In this case, several copper brooches and beads from an

 old necklace. I then build the piece around it.

I don't tend to make drawings but have an idea in my mind's eye.

Often inspired by plants or by the textural nature of the Yorkshire Landscape.

I use whatever technique, that I think will represent my idea best.

Hessian or hessian scrim is used as background as it is malleable

and easy to sew, knit or felt on. I particularly love 

the embroidery technique of, needleweaving.

Why do I write/create what I do

I simply do it because I can't not! 

It's what defines me. Could not imagine life without

being able to create something. Blogging has added an extra dimension.

It's so exciting to read about other peoples creative endeavours

and what motivates them. Having a love of words, I enjoy sharing my

 thoughts and work. The 'Word of the Day', column is just as important, as

it gives another aspect of my personality.

I must mention Ethel, at this point. She was given to me

by my 'late', little brother and has become my friend, model and muse

ever since.

Well I think that's enough about me. I seem to have been

rabbiting on for hours. Hope you haven't got bored and dropped off!

Before I go must mention, three talented people whose

blogs I love. Well worth a visit!

Ali, fom Random Wooliness, who shares my love of words

and creates with wool, mainly using crochet and felt.

Jane, from Plain Jane, who creates, usually from wool 

and fabric and muses about life (words again)!

Lisa, from Mrs Bobo Bun, who loves colourful wool,

vintage fabrics and buttons and does lovely things with them.

Off to spend some time in my work room.

Happy weekend, everyone!