Happy Christmas

                                                        Happy Christmas everyone.

 I hope you have a wonderful and blessed Christmastime and wish you every happiness for 2011!

Knitted Animation

I saw this video of a song by Tricot Machine earlier in the year at an exhibition of knitting at the Touchstones Gallery in Rochdale. I had the gallery to myself and I watched it several times as it blew me away!

The animation is made up of a series of knitted "stills", made on a knitting machine, some of which were on display alongside the animation. I thought it was incredible and very sweet.

It came to mind today while watching footage of snow all over the country. If you have a few minutes to watch it I hope it cheers you in spite of the cold:-)

Craftbritannia Card Swap

Some members of the Craftbritannia group on Etsy have taken part in a Christmas card swap- a bit like Secret Santa. We were each given the details of another member and sent a card to that person.
This is the gorgeous handmade card I received from Claire:

It really cheered me up as I was looking after my poorly boy (he's hopefully on the mend now) at the time:)

Claire makes fabulous hats which can be found at her Etsy shop:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/missbelluk

WARMING UP

I think it is finally warming up and beginning to get a bit slushy underfoot, after temperatures of around -10 last week. We didn't encounter the awful problems with transport that some people did, but a couple of days without heating or hot water was enough to put me off the cold weather this year!

The dog, on the other hand was really excited by the snow. He spent some of his walk this morning trying to round up a snowman, with a lot of barking and running round it in circles!

It has been too cold to sit sewing for long, but I did manage to make another scissor case for my shop to replace one that had sold.

I have really enjoyed making these. The next job is to tidy all my materials and equipment to clear my head!

Salford Exhibition

I have been working on a piece for Ten Plus Textiles (http://www.tenplustextiles.com/), the group that I am priviledged to be part of. The group are having a retrospective exhibition at Salford Art Gallery next February to celebrate 20 years together doing wonderfully creative things, (I have only been with them for a fraction of that time!)

Here is a sneak preview of my new piece. It is just a portion as I don't want to spoil the surprise!

The work combines modern technology with traditional patchwork. I have used the computer to print text and images onto fabric. I have also made "fabric paper" by layering tissue, newspaper and paint onto a fabric bagkground with PVA glue. These have been combined with painted, stamped fabrics of various sorts, which were embellished with stitch, buttons and eyelets. I cut lots of 1.5inch squares which were arranged and stitched to a background.

To see the whole piece you'll need to visit the exhibition:) I will post details nearer the time.

Gift Bags

I have been busy the last couple of days, spurred on by the days rushing on towards Christmas.

I made some little felt Matryoshka dolls as gifts for my son's teachers. These have faces drawn with pens and coloured pencils.
The dolls stocked in my shop have embroidered faces.

I wanted an unusual way to wrap them, so I set about making some gift bags from a  recycled music score. I used rubber stamps and embossing powders to decorate the pages, then folded and stuck them with double-sided tape.

I used a "cropodile" to add eyelets to the top of the bag and I will thread some ribbon through the top and tie a bow to finish them.

I'm really pleased with the results and they look so much better than my usual gift-wrapping efforts!!

Pink Friday

Today I went to the hairdressers to have pink streaks put in my hair. I love having pink hair and feel much more myself now!

As I'm having a "pink day" I made a treasury on Etsy, a collection of pink items from some lovely UK sellers.
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4ce6818b14256d91e4659513/pretty-in-pink-uk-sellers.

Soggy Dog and Inspiration

SOGGY DOG

All this rainy weather means my dog needs a shower everytime we come back from our morning walk. He doesn't seem to mind and stands really quietly while I wash him, though there is a knack to shampooing and rinsing BEFORE he shakes himself! He loves nothing more than rolling around a muddy field with other dogs, so it is a small price to pay.

Here he is looking lovely and clean, if a little scruffy.

INSPIRATION

We took a trip to Holmfirth at the weekend to one of the wonderful ART Markets. There are lots of stalls selling beautiful, quality handcrafted goods. I bought a couple of Christmas presents.
If you are nearby and fancy a trip there is another Art Market this Sunday. More details at:
http://www.artmarkets.co.uk/

I have been trying to add more stock to my Etsy Shop (http://www.dottybluebird.etsy.com/). I finished a crazy patchwork card which I will list later today.

Beginnings

Here I go, dipping my toe into a spot of bloggage and expecting to learn a lot along the way!

I've just come back from a family trip to Prague, which is beautiful. We had a fabulous time-so much to see. The architecture is stunning. We walked miles and miles. The boys particularly enjoyed visiting the Lennon wall which is a legal spot for grafitti.

I am hoping to use images from the wall to make some textile art for my Etsy shop (http://www.dottybluebird.etsy.com/)

This is a card that I made from images of the Lennon wall from a previous trip to Prague.