Tuesday Treasury - Storage

Yesterday's awful 'Bank Holiday' weather meant that I made lots of progress with my new craft corner in the dining room. The shelving is loaded with craft books rather than empty boxes and computer discs, and i've started to paint the drawers that used gto contain the computer games - they will now contain crafty things!

So, with de-cluttering in mind, my mini-treasury this week is storage ...

Recycled Wood Bank of 20 Drawers, so useful, wish I had room for them -
http://www.folksy.com/shops/greenmanrecycledfurniture

Red Tree and Bird Dish, great for stashing buttons for those WIPs -
http://www.folksy.com/shops/JuliaSmithCeramics

Fabric Coil Basket, what a fantastic use of upcycled fabrics by 'Fights of Fancy' -
http://www.folksy.com/shops/shafeenan

Turned Oak Wooden Cotton Reel Bobbins, what better way to store your precious lace or ribbons -
http://www.folksy.com/shops/TheBunnyMaker

Challenge 52 - Week 21

There is lots of embroidery and knitting going on at the moment, but as it's half-term, I thought i'd gove myself a BIG challenge, this is my computer desk ...

Yes, it's a black and white photo, because i'm hoping to do a Kansas/Oz transformation in my week off! At the moment this area is a dumping ground for magazines, school bags and fabric. We don't use this computer anymore, but the monitor and ugly computer desk still reside in the  corner of my dining room. I don't have a craft room so this spot is the ideal place to set up my machine and organise my stash boxes.
Hope fully during the week i'll de-clutter, re-organise and re-colour ... hopefully i'll post about my Oz-like transformation of this corner in the coming week.
Enjoy your Bank Holiday xxx

Tuesday Treasury - Serenity

My craft theme for the week is 'Serenity', i'm doing experimental embroidery on the theme at the moment. Here is my mini-treasury of serene Etsy goodies ...

Pale Blue Porcelain Bird Brooch -
http://www.etsy.com/shop/RuthRobinsonCeramics

Soft Cotton Bracelet -
http://www.etsy.com/shop/easternsky

'Mint Candy', handspun wool and silk yarn -
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Snowberrylime

Winter Heart, mother of pearl button and freshwater pearl bracelet -
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Piccolissimo

Challenge 52 - Week 20

I seem to be having one of those weekend where I have lots of  projects on the go ... more knitted fish, half-finished socks, wool to wind into balls, work for the sketchbook challenge ... I was finding it hard to think of a new challenge for the week.

I went on the Fibre Arts/Mixed Media website for inspiration. They run a monthly fibre arts challenge, and this month's is Serenity. I've never done one of their challenges before, and Serenity is certainly a long way from the bright orange fish I have been knitting during the week!

I've started by making a 'Serenity' board on Pinterest ...
http://pinterest.com/giddystuff/serenity/


So, i'll print off some of the images, including the ones above, and start scribbling ideas in my sketchbook. In the meantime i'm off to rummage through my yarn and fabric stash for some serene goodies ...

http://www.fibermixedmedia.com/

The Gentle Art of Knitting

Ok, so i've got loads of knittings books (well, books in general), but i'd been reading rave reviews in all my craft magazines about this book by Jane Brocket, so I thought i'd treat myself.

Yes, that is a retro stripey tea cosy in close-up on the front cover! This book has more in common with the knitting books produced in the 1930's and 1940's than any modern knitting book - part how-to guide, part project/pattern book. I love it! There are five chapters of patterns - Comfort, Practical, Charm, Colour and Style.
These round cushions are from the 'Charm' chapter ...

... and these hot water bottle covers are from the 'Comfort'.

For each pattern, Jane has written about her inspiration for the design, the choice of yarn, and she suggested 'Further Reading'  for patterns where you may want to take the idea further.

Before reading this book I didn't know that I 'needed' a knitted linen apron! The projects are practical and useful, there are lots of portable projects too.

At the back of the book there is a list of useful resources, including websites and yarn shops. I think i'm going to spend my weekend reading this book and making a list of yarn I need!

Tuesday Treasury - Hand Printed Fabrics

This week I have picked a mini-treasury of hand printed fabrics from Etsy. These lighter nights make for more sewing time ... fab!

Dark Green Bunting Fabric -
http://www.etsy.com/shop/LittleMissQuarter

Seasons Fabric, Summer -
http://www.etsy.com/shop/showpony

Hand printed Aqua Bows Fabric -
http://www.etsy.com/shop/plainjanetextiles

Droplets, Screenprinted Fabric -
http://www.etsy.com/shop/summersville

Flipflop

A small 'window' of light this weekend means that I can finally photograph the item I received in the Swap-Bot Summertime Swap - a cute green canvaswork flipflop.

It was made by CelticMoon, who lives in Texas. I love green, I love flipflops (when it's not wet), so this is definitely going on my handbag.
I've already been browsing Swap-Bot for other swaps, but think i'd better concentrate on knitting my little fish for now.

Challenge 52 - Week 19

Although the past week has been a busy one, I did manage photograph a couple of past weekly challenges, and do some work in my sketchbook.
In four weeks time (11th June) it will be International Yarn Bombing Day, it is also Knit in Public day on this date! So, this weeks challenge is an ideal opportunity to start planning my yarn bomb. As I live in the 'land-locked' Midlands, i'm thinking of a 'sea' theme ...

I've started knitting these little fish, as a starting point. The yarn is very bright orange acrylic - not my thing usually, but if the knitting is going to be outdoors it no good using your best merino sock yarn!! I just started another one that is stripey, and I hope i'll be knitting some other sea life too.













I'm not sure how i'll display them yet, maybe joined together on an i-cord, maybe in a knitted net, i've got a month to decide.

If you are interested in taking part in this worldwide day of knittiness, look at these links ...
http://www.ravelry.com/groups/international-yarn-bombing-day
http://yarnbombing.com/

Post!

I have been so busy with paperwork during the past couple of weeks, hardly any time for sewing and knitting, so I decided that I needed some little treats for working so hard ...

First I spotted this fantastic 'Stripey Fox' Print by Amy Blackwell on Etsy ...

Then I saw that she had some of her 'Home Sweet Home' badges, which in the past have always sold out when i've gone to buy them.

Swirlyarts always has lovely little treats, and I found they fabulous little envelopes made from a vintage knitting pattern book. I think i'm going to put little messages in them to accompany any knitted gifts that I make.

Find out more about Amy's prints here ...
http://www.etsy.com/shop/blackoutwell?ref=seller_info
... and check out Swirlyart's upcycled goodies here ...
http://www.folksy.com/shops/Swirlyarts

Tuesday Treasury - And now for something completely different ...

Every Tuesday I do a treasury, looking through the pages of Folksy for hidden treasures. I've also signed up to Etsy, i'm finding  more and more UK craftspeople are doing the same, there are some lovely things on there, and I have started treating myself with Etsy goodies.

This week I have decided to put together a collection of UK Etsy goodies as a taster ... it may be something I do on a regular basis as the craft market becomes more widespread ...

'I Like Your Shoes' Mini Print, I love the flower skirt too! -
http://www.etsy.com/shop/askey?ref=seller_info

Little Brown Needle Felt Hen, the wool has been dyed using plant-dyes -
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Lybo?ref=seller_info

Kawaii Chocolate Chip Cookie, i'm a big fan of Amigurumi -
http://www.etsy.com/shop/cutedesigns?ref=seller_info

Harris tweed clutch with lichen motif, tweed is the fabric for handbags! -
http://www.etsy.com/shop/elinart?ref=seller_info

Another mini-treasury next Tuesday.

Bloomin' Bluebell

Finally I had an afternoon where I could get on my bike and plant my knitted bluebell. The bluebell was my weekly challenge last Saturday, but it's been windy and there's been lots of rain so it sat on the side waiting to be planted all week!
I'm using this 'yarn bombing' as a warm-up for International Yarn Bombing Day on 11th June 2011 ... more about that in the future!

I attached a brown parcel tag with the Visit Woods website address and my blog address on it and placed it in it's new home in amongst the real bluebells on the edge of our local wood.
The photo is a bit bright, acrylic yarn and sunshine don't seem to mix that well!

Now,if you're reading this because you've found my bluebell, please don't forget to leave a comment!

Summertime Handmade Craft Swap

A couple of weeks ago, I signed up for a Summertime craft swap organised by giantbutton on swap-bot. My swap item actually had to be sent to Amanda (giantbutton), so I could not blog about anything I was doing for the swap until the postie had delivered it to her door.
That day was yesterday, so I decided to blog about my make ...
My starting point was the (many) dandelions in my garden, the bright yellow flowers and the delicate dandelion clocks. I sketched out an idea for a mini reversible cushion and ordered lots of yummy wool felt in various shades of yellow.

As Amanda is a big fan of Kawaii, I gave each side of the cushion a little smiley face.

Everything from the embroidery on the petals to the stitches holding the cushion together have been done by hand. It's taken me a while to complete it, but it was great fun, and I hope Amanda is pleased with her mini-cushion.
The item that I will receive comes from a different swapper who lives in the States, so i'll blog about that when it arrives ...

Challenge 52 - Week 18

It's a new month, so a new sketchbook challenge. I didn't really get much work done for this challenge last month, my summer swap-bot challenge took over, and I did loads of work in my sketchbook for that instead. I hoe to be blogging about that swap during the coming week.
Anyway, this month's sketchbook challenge is ...

Can't Resist This!

This theme can be interpreted in lots of ways ... something that you can't resist, like chocolates or buying sock yarn  (!!!) ... or working in your sketchbook using resist techniques such as wax and masking fluid.
As my sketchbook is full of black and white pen drawing, I think it will do me the world of good to opt for the latter and get some colour in my book again. I'll post my attempts on Flickr.

'Bird' - wax crayon/wax candle resist with watercolour wash

Tuesday Treasury - Bluebells

The Bank Holiday has thown me, and I nearly forgot to do a treasury today! We have lovely sun here, but it's been too windy! I'm still waiting for the opportunity to get on my bike and cycle over to the local woodlands to 'plant' my knitted bluebell ...
Anyway, here is a mini-treasury of bluebell-inspired goodies on Folksy ...

Bluebell Notelet Bundle, a lovely lino-cut motif -
http://www.folksy.com/shops/hannahmadden

Bluebell, vintage style photograph -
http://www.folksy.com/shops/PipistrellePhoto

Bluebell Cushion, wonderful applique -
http://www.folksy.com/shops/kindredrose

Bluebell Woods, I love this combination of green and blue beads -
http://www.folksy.com/shops/theflowergarland