Small Boy and Weddings!

My lovely cousin got married to an equally lovely bride...Congratulations Chris and Becky!

 It was the most fabulous day, although I think small children always find these services long. The wedding photograher captured my son's mood perfectly.

Makes you proud!?!?!  I love the way he is concentrating on the bride and groom down at the alter..tee hee.

Fantastic pictures were taken, if anyone in Yorkshire needs a photographer- S6photograghy.

Butterfly World Project Craft Sessions

I have had lots of fun over the last couple of weeks, divising a craft session for local children at Butterfly World Project. We have had a couple of sessions and over 100 children have gone home with butterflies. My friend Claire came and worked alongside me as my 'helpful' assistant.

Getting ready

Mum's, Dad's, Granny's, Grandad's all helped their children have fun, get wet and go home with a butterfly each.

Colour co-ordinated butterfly.

It was really busy, great fun...although Claire and I could have done with a little more coffee and cake to keep us going! We will plan that in next time. The best bit was getting to see the children's faces when their butterflies were finished and they were taking them home.

A few of the finished butterflies.

We are back in the Easter holidays and looking forward to seeing more butterfly makers!

New Workspace.

My OH has a proper, grown up job that doesn't involve fibre in any way....however, at the weekend he transforms into a stone carver and has needed a space to work in for some time. He has been stuck at the bottom of the garden all summer - next to the compost...not ideal, I'm sure you'll agree.

We have been toying with the idea that he needs a proper space to work in...and after tearing down the old shed he ordered a small Dutch Barn (glorified shed) and started building, lining walls, putting up shelves etc. Here are the children...being helpful!

They are testing out the top shelf to make sure they don't fall down under the weight of the sculptures!

Ashridge- Chiltern Country Fair

What a joy, this is such an amazing place if you like the outdoors.

It was a real privilege to come here and be part of the Chilterns Country Fair, fantastic venue, as stall holders we were really well looked after. I met up with some people I enjoy spending time with- a great day!

There were a complete mix of craft people, as well as local flapjack makers and wine makers- both of which I've sampled and can recommend.

 

Then we had the more unusual....Ferret Man (with ferret racing) and Wild Men (cooking bread rolls with children on open fires).


 

This was my first big outdoor fair and I loved it. I was really pleased with how
everything looked, it made all the late nights and friends coming over and helping really worthwhile.
I had been really busy making and trying to make sure that I gave a broad view of what we could do with fibres. It's always really fascinating watching the faces of people when you show them the raw materials and then they see what can be made with it. I think this has to be the favourite bit for me.

There were lots of orders and lots of interest in the workshops, I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again soon.

I had this smile all day.

Wedding Shawls- Done!

I have loved every minute of making these. I loved working with Lisa (the Bride, in Australia- via email),  the dyeing, colour mixing, testing, making the prototypes and working out all the design aspects ...last week they were packaged and posted, today they got there.

Wedding Shawls for Bridesmaids

We deliberately made something that would pick up from all the colours from the bridesmaids dresses, but also that would be a lovely gift that they can have as a keepsake for many years to come. I hope they enjoy wearing these as much as I enjoyed making them.

Plum, purple, blue, green, teal.

Can you see all the rivers of silk, they remind me of the waterfall I saw in a picture of the Blue Mountains where the wedding will be held.

Wishing L&L a fabulous day!

Mess!

I am writing this post for myself, I am not including photographs because quite frankly I am embarrassed ;-)

I cannot see the floor or table in my studio. There are piles of fibre everywhere, templates everywhere, I have lost 4 cups and a notebook.

I have been working like mad, in a space that is getting smaller and smaller, fibre is crawling up all around me - soon I will be in a fibre cave.

I think I need to tidy up

...and then start again....

Wedding: Merino and Silk Shawls

I am home, tired but very very happy.
A few weeks ago I was asked to make some wraps for a wedding in the beautiful Blue Mountains in Australia. I have spent the last couple of days with friends and working on the scarves.
I have really enjoyed playing with colours to get the right mix. Photo's have been going back and forth across the ether so Lisa (the bride) could be involved in the making and decisions.

I started with merino and silk

We added colour and lots of it.

We have the fibres ready to go.

Felting planned over the next couple of days...What an exciting moment, I am really looking forward to seeing these finished and being worn by my lovely bride and her bridesmaids.

Now...got to go and make them.

Gift for Local School

Recently I was asked to make a hat for a school. They wanted to be able to use it to put names in of all the children who did well with their work or contributed in some way. The aim is to collect all the names and then randomly select at the end of term, the names that are selected will get a prize or recognition. I wanted to make something fun. I decided a sorting hat would be perfect.

School Sorting Hat

It's hard to see the colours, it's a royal blue and looks much lighter because of all the sparkles, I think it must be all the magic ;-)

I hope they like it!

Just had to share this...

We came back from a trip to the beautiful Welsh valleys where our children ran free and we all had a fantastic time...to find 14 dead wasps in the bathroom and a nest on the outside wall.

Dibber (husband) decided that he was going to get rid of it by spraying it. In order to do this he would have have on the appropriate clothing. This is what he came up with...

I can't stop laughing!

Fibre-East 2011

We arrived on mass, daughter, mum, mum-in-law, aunt-in-law,sister-in-law, partner of sister-in-law, daughter, friend of aunt-in-law...you get the picture.

 

This was the first wool festival we have had in this part of the country and we were very excited. We came from far...my family travelled from Bristol/ Nottingham/ Letchworth...and some were nearer - Bedford.

Three of us (Em, Claire and me) got there early because we had signed on for a fibre workshop. We wanted to play with batts, luckily we were able to spend the morning with Jill Shepherd - Master of Colour and Batts.

Jill - Talking us through Hand Carders and Blending.

 

 

 She showed us how to make these blended rolls...great for spinners (Claire was excited about these - she spins!) (I'm going to learn...at some point).

Spinning Magic

Next came THE CARDING MACHINE- YEAH!!!! I have wanted to get up close with one of these for some time. I knew I wanted to buy one, but not having used one this was the ideal opportunity to get some hands on experience to make sure it did what I needed it to do.

I never really thought there would be any technique, just feed in the fibre and turn the handle....how wrong was I? Jill carefully (and lovingly...here is a woman who enjoys her fibre) explained about the different types of carders and introduced us to this one made by Paul Brittain of  http://www.classiccarder.co.uk. 
Worked beautifully and at least 3 people from the group bought one from him at the show. I think there was pleasure and panic by the time he left...he has a very long order book and he makes everything himself - he is going to be busy for some time.

 Gill made the workshop great fun. She gave us great themes to help us with our colours. This example was called 'Jealous Mistress'

Nice and calm with little flashes of red.

Emily's Rainy English Garden

Midnight in the Garden by Sarah...who went straight out and got a carder!

Claire modelling 'Traffic Jam on Motorway' - Or how to look like garden gnome?!?! Lol.


 Was great fun, we were all really happy to have spent time with Jill...and then we went on to buy all manner of things. We returned home happy, but a little bit poorer. -Perfect!

A Little Bit of Fun!

I was asked to make a cupcake for a competition - I decided to make one out of felt.

My first little bit of needle felting....a cupcake with strawberry on top.

This was the second attempt, much happier with this one.

This was the first attempt....which wasn't so good. I found the proportions all wrong, the base of the 'sponge' looked more like a muffin and it all looked a bit like a wobbly tower.

This is the tea cosy I made to keeep it company. I've given this to a friend who loves tea. I have one at home and it keeps the tea hot for over 2 hours...nice but a bit stewed!

Tea and cake...lovely!

Claudy Jongstra

While I was studying my City and Guilds, we had to select artists and look at their work.
Claudy was one of my choices, I remember looking at her work and being blown away!
I hope you enjoy this.

I want a wall like this in my stairway! But then I think I would sit there stroking it  - all day...

Cub Camp

This is my little girl...ready for Cub Camp. She went with 400 other cubs for the weekend. They stayed in tents and had the most fantastic time, building shelters, playing, eating and generally having a wild time without their parents. She absolutely loved it.

I can report that she has slept very well since coming home!!!

Perfect Logic...

I feel this way about fibre...what about you?
...it's perfectly logical!?!

Colinette - Felt Making Workshops

 I am sooo excited, I might have to eat 6 satsusmas... it'll help!

It is confirmed that I am going in to Colinette  www.colinette.com (my favourtite yarn retailer ever) as a tutor for 2 felt making workshops.

The first one is a beginner's workshops in July and the 2nd is in October, we are going to be making cobweb scarves with their beautiful fibres.

I love the coloursways, I love their retail outlet - a proper Aladdin's Cave with fibre jewels everwhere. I am soo excited...have I said that already?!?!

I could eat these colours...yummy!

Eiffel Tower Shawl

Today I finally finished a birthday present for a friend. It's not felted - Shock, horror! I did start felting something for her, but it just wasn't working...do you know what I mean?

Anyway I was struggling because I wanted something I thought she would really enjoy. I thought about her and I know she liked shawls and I knew she loved Paris and dark colours...so after much searching I found the Eiffel Tower Shawl, you can find the pattern here http://natalieservant.ca/.

I knitted it in a lace weight yarn by malabrigo...called Paris Night..coincidence?

Eiffel Tower - Blocking.

The Eiffel Tower Shawl knitted in Paris Night yarn...now this was working for me...and...will hopefully work for her.

The Shawl has 5 arches

And lots of border detail.

                                        

The shawl is based on the arches and detail in the photograph that Natalie took and planned her design from.

Delivered tonight...phew!

10th Wedding Anniversary!

Last week... I had an adventure...I woke on Saturday morning and came down to breakfast, where my husband had laid the table put out flowers and the laptop!?!

I was asked to sit and press play...

This is what I saw...

With a note asking if I would like to have dinner here...WELL YES!

I was shown pictures of... FELT / TEXTILES / SILK / FOOD...

It turns out that he had organised our 10^th Wedding Anniversary...and we were going to Marrakesh that afternoon!

We stayed at a Riad in the heart of Marrakesh, you can find the details here www.lestroismages.com/ We were lucky enough to be given an upgrade in our room booking and this is where we slept...the Suite Bahia. It was amazing, the people were amazing, the food was amazing! We loved it...

This is our bathroom... has a domed roof over the shower / bath with little stars cut out. Very cute!

This is where we took tea after a long day walking and shopping. It was...mint tea...and there was lots of it.









And just to give you a taster this is Omar at work...more of him to come...





And ...this is MY Arabian Knight

Who gave me the best anniversary gift... ever! xx