Early Blooms

When in doubt, do what you love....

Handmade Books

May I belatedly wish you all a very Happy and Creative 2014! How is it going so far? I hope the weather is being kind where you are.

One of my special Christmas presents was a 2 day workshop at Hot Bed Press in Salford with the beautiful Elizabeth Willow, a Liverpool based artist. The workshop was called "The Folded Book" and Elizabeth took us through lots of methods of folding books, stitching and making covers. I had a wonderful, intense and inspiring weekend and came home full of ideas.

This morning I sprang into action to create this little story....

...a true event which came about because my youngest son likes to look with his fingers....

The book is folded into concertina folds and backed with card, then secured with a belly band- all techniques learnt from Elizabeth. I made a few mistake during the process, but I learnt quite a lot. For example, when you are  stitching round letters into paper the resulting perforations cause the centre of the letter to fall out! I am very grateful for Elizabeth's careful instructions on how to avoid getting really gluey!

I'm sure that books will become a part of my art in the future. I am hoping to try out something in fabric as part of my Ten Plus Textiles work. (Check out our new website btw!)

Hope you have a good week and remember to look after those fingers!

Merry Christmas

Thank you all for your company over the last year. Wishing you a very happy Christmas and a creative New Year. xxxxx

Woodland Friends

I was very excited to win a giveaway over at Sew Sweet Violet's blog by the lovely Jooles.
The book from Mollie Makes arrived this morning and I can tell I'm going to have fun browsing through it and picking a cute project to make.

Jooles has had a project published in the book- beautiful his 'n' hers hot water bottle covers.

Pop over to Jooles' blog - it's always full of gorgeousness and inspiration!

Have a good weekend xx

Rings and Things

There is a definite chill in the air, time is ticking by and I'm navigating a path through good moments and sad ones. I'm taking comfort (and warmth) from simple things like French knitting- not too much thinking, just doing!

(Blurry photo, but I wanted to show you I'm back to my favourite hair colour)

Finished simply with a cluster of 8 metal washers from a well-known DIY store, ( I have since reduced it to 3 washers as the weight kept pulling the scarf around so it didn't hang straight and I can't stand clothes that have to be fiddled with!)

Ideas are swirling around my mind and gradually I'm becoming productive, relishing the timeless motions of pinning, tacking and stitching into fabric and paper, taking shape between my fingers. I love English patchwork, making hexagons, the simple repetitive rhythm unchanged for centuries.

I have a plan, to tack together the old and the new. Vintage technology revisited, allowing me to print my Nan's letter onto fabric, words from the past whispering inspiration for the days to come.

Some of our good moments were spent at the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair at Spinningfields in Manchester at the weekend- so many talented crafts people. Mr Dotty and I had a wonderful time and spent thousands of pounds in our heads! Actual pound were spent too! I bought this beautiful ring from Helen Shere.

Natural

Simple

Beautiful

Hope your week has lots of good moments too.xx

Look Back at London

I promised a while ago to show a few more pictures from our trip to London at the beginning of summer- boy that seems a long time ago.
The light wasn't great for some of the graffiti shots, (though I also think I don't have such a steady hand these days) so I apologise for the blurriness!

It feels decidedly Autumnal at the moment and I'm trying to readjust to the new term and everyone being back at school, college and work. I'm also trying to get fitter and move forward towards what I want to be doing with my life. I'm walking more with the dog again- he's not a fan of hot weather- and learning to swim better. It's a slow process though because having chronic pain means I really have to pace myself and when I do too much I am flattened by a flare-up, which is frustrating as there is always so much that needs doing.
Anyway, I'm not going to be negative. I have lots of projects in the pipeline so I'll share some progress soon.
Have a good weekend xx

18 Years On

My beautiful baby girl will turn 18 this week. How did THAT happen?

I am immensely proud of how she has grown into a sensible, caring, funny, hard-working and gorgeous young woman.

Happy Birthday Lovely:)xxxxx