Valentines Day - don't forget your pottery gift!

Valentines Day is not that far away - don't forget to say how much you love someone with a piece of hand painted pottery..........

Let it snow!

Well we woke up on Sunday morning to this ........

and this

We managed to get out to take the dogs for a walk and they loved it. It is the first time Daisy has ever experienced snow! It is her first birthday on 14th February, that year has gone quickly!

Creative Stitches - Bluewater - So much inspiration!

On Saturday, (before the snow!) we headed off to Bluewater for the Creative Stitches and Hobbycraft show in the new exhibition hall at Bluewater. With 5,200m² of space it promised to be an exciting and dynamic show with no reason not be feel creative.


We started off in the lower hall which was full of stands selling everything you could possibly think of for stamping, card making and paper crafting in general and we managed to spend a good few hours browsing at some fantastic products and ideas.

We were particularly inspired by two different stamping companies, the first was Lavinia's Stamps - a collection of magical, woodland themed products by Tracey Dutton. Tracey thanks the environment in which she lives for much of the inspiration for her scenic stamps and says 'we live in a beautiful part of the world; the Vale of Clwyd which is abundant with exquisite landscapes, scenery, flora and fauna”. Her stamps really reflect a wonderful mythical twist on nature producing some stunning artwork.

We also really like the cards and stamps by Cardio. Such simple but beautiful designs.

After a coffee and a croissant we then headed up to the upper floor to the textile part of the exhibition. Again there were plenty of stalls but also a small fashion show and a lecture theatre. We sat in on two lectures, one by Helen Deighan called 'Dyeing needn't be complicated or messy' which caused some hilarity and another by Isobel Hall, a mixed media textile artist, on making vessels and other textile items from gauze/scrimmy paper and bubble wrap. These were both great lectures, extremely informative and enjoyable.  

As well as lots of stands selling tempting fabrics, buttons, beads, ribbons etc there were a number of displays which gave plenty of inspiration for forthcoming projects.

We also saw the costumes from Downton Abbey which were on display

and the best part is the show is back in September (5th-8th)

Sketchbook Phobia

I have owned a sketchbook and a pack of drawing pencils for the last year and neither have seen the light of day since I brought them home.

I am always thinking about things I might draw/paint in the sketchbook but never seem able to actually do it. So the pages have remained blank.

It just looks so daunting but tonight I have been inspired by a website called The Sketchbook Challenge. Every month there is a new challenge set to encourage you to open your sketchbook and draw/paint/explore in whatever medium you choose. The website is very encouraging and reminds you that your sketch book is an expression of you and no one has to see it if you don't want them to however, if you upload pictures to the sketchbook challenge group Flickr account you stand a chance of winning a prize. The challenge this month is Up Close - first take a photo or find an image, now focus on one small area of the image and sketch that. It is incredible how much perspectives change when you go from landscape to closeup. See here for a full explanation of the challenge.

I am very tempted to have a go at this and if I feel brave enough I may post what I create but no promises! If you are brave enough to have a go let me know.

Creative Stitches and Hobbycraft Show - Glow, Bluewater, Kent

I am off to the Creative Stitches show at the new events hall, Glow at Bluewater on Saturday and I can't wait. The rest of my family think I am somewhat unhinged but at least I have my Mum for support!

This promises to be the show for inspiration and education for anyone with an interest in handmade craft. There are free make and take workshops, demonstrators, mini workshops, artists in action and a programme of talks as well as a lot more.

The programme of talks is as follows:
 

with Kim Thittichai

Kim will be talking about her new book. Come and hear about how to

layer for strength, how to recycle layers and discover layers of texture

and colour.

12.00 CREATIVE STITCHED TEXTILES

with Wendy Dolan

Exploring the exciting world of stitched textiles, combining hand and

machine embroidery with layered and painted fabrics, ranging from

small pictures and wedding embellishments, to large commissioned

stage curtains.

13.00 DYEING NEED NOT BE COMPLICATED OR MESSY!

with Helen Deighan

Find out the easy way to create your own colours and patterns through

dyeing. Cotton and wool use different techniques, but both are simple

to do.

14.00 WORKING WITH UNCONVENTIONAL MATERIALS

with Isobel Hall

In this presentation on experimental mixed media techniques, Isobel

takes a look at working in new ways with bubble wrap, garden weed

suppressant and baby wipes. She will also explore different ways for

working with scrim and making paste fabric from light molding paste.

15.00 WHAT IS LACE?

with Sue Dane, Chairman of the Lace Guild

A short introduction to hand made lace in Britain, discussing the

evolution of lace from a cottage industry to a modern textile art.

With all these talks and more I just know there won't be enough time - I should have bought a 2 day ticket!
 

LAYERED TEXTILES

Hometown Quilting and Fabric Shop - Rochester, Kent

I really spoiled myself on Wednesday evening and went down to my favourite shop, Hometown, for their January Sale. 

Hometown is much more than a fabric and haberdashery store. It’s a paradise for fabric lovers, quilters and patchworkers or anyone who shares a passion for making things. The shop not only stocks an eclectic selection of books and hands-on creative kits; but also a range of contemporary home accessories, including Pantone colour mugs, and stylish British handmade textile gifts and accessories.

The owner, Marion Haslam, has been a keen quilt maker and quilt teacher for more than 20 years and has published four books.

Hometown has now been open since 2008 and is a wonderful little shop. I think the sale is on until Saturday 28th January so I may be able to squeeze in another visit between now and then!

Belated Happy New Year!

We are still here, we haven't disappeared but we have been taking a bit of a break after a very busy Christmas season. October, November, and December were extremely busy with paint your own pottery events and it has taken a little while to recover.

Anyway we wish you a belated Happy New Year for 2012 and look forward to sharing many more pottery and craft ideas with you in future.

I am very excited to share my most recent news which is a new addition to my family - yes! that's right - a brand new sewing machine - a Janome CXL301. It is computerised and so simple and easy to use. It has 30 built in stitches and one step button holes. It is truly amazing.

 I am so excited. I have never owned one before and I am really looking forward to trying out lots of different projects, especially machine embroidery which looks quite tricky. However, I am armed with a darning foot and I know how to drop the feed dog now so I have no excuse but to get going.

My first two projects were fixing my son's school trousers and mending my cushions in the living room so let's hope it gets better than that!