New directions!

As a child I was always sewing, crocheting and knitting. My dolls had an extensive, if somewhat bizarre, wardrobe. As an adult, these pastimes fell aside and it wasn't until about 6 years ago that I reignited my love of crochet. My self imposed challenge of not buying any new clothes for a year has brought me back to the sewing machine but knitting had remained a hobby of my youth. I did make a pair of socks last year just to prove to myself that I could do it but a workshop this weekend at Marmalade Yarns has inspired me to pick up my needles again!

This may not look like much at the moment but one day soon it's going to be a Fair Isle tam!

As much as I love crochet, it has its limitations regarding clothing. I've just got my hands on this gorgeous knitting book which is full of things I want to make and wear.

The first thing I want to make is this...

It may take a while, judging by the progress of my hat (impeded last night by a glass of wine or two, and the subsequent ripping back of a row of misplaced colours!) 

I'm also experimenting with a new direction in my painting. I love painting colourful birds but have recently had an urge to paint larger, darker, more sinister looking birds. This bird is painted in a combination of acrylics and acrylic ink and is a work in progress. 

It's not a great photograph - I hadn't realised how tricky it was to photograph something so dark. 

However, I'm thoroughly enjoying working on a larger scale, and trying something new. 

Crochet Bag - a prototype...

Family life has got in the way of creative time of late, but I was determined to use the sunny Bank Holiday weekend to actually finish something.  For ages now I've been wanting to make a crocheted bag. I've spent far too long on Pinterest looking for inspiration but wasn't able to choose one design. I finally decided to make one out of some cheap acrylic in my stash as an experiment. I'd seen a lovely, structured bag made out of the African Flower motif so I made a few motifs to see how they would fit together.

The shapes came together quite quickly resulting in a rather floppy sack shape!

I found some Amy Butler fabric and made a double thickness lining to add a bit of structure.

I sewed the handles inbetween the linings and then hand stitched it to the top of the crocheted bag...

I did consider putting some cardboard in the base but decided against it as I didn't want it to be too rigid. As a first attempt it's not too bad, but I already have plans for prototype number 2!

I want to use some of this yummy yarn (Rowan Fine Tweed) to make a similar bag but with a different motif and a slightly more rounded shape.

Finally, in honour of the sunshine that has finally made an appearance, here is a gratuitous shot of Mabel in her Summer attire!

Procrastination!

What does one do when one has a list of dull chores that have been put off and put off until they can be put off no longer? Well, one might paint little patterns on an old glass bowl and stand back to admire the shadows...

Then one might put some colourful balls of wool in said bowl, so as to turn it into something useful...

After a cup of tea, one might whip up some crocheted hearts to turn into bunting needed urgently for a craft fair (in July)...

Then there's always the matter of making motifs that aren't going to be a blanket, but may, one day, be a bag...

And, of course, one could also play around with painting linoprints...

And finally, one may concede that procrastination is a much maligned personality trait that may not get the chores done but does result in a lovely day in the sun!

Running out of space!

Whilst I love the linoprinting process, one aspect I haven't worked out is where to put all the prints as they dry (this usually takes 3 or 4 days). As you can see, I no longer have any work space...

I think I need to fashion some sort of washing line in the studio so that I can hang the prints up. My favourite version of the print so far is this one...

I'm also experimenting with collaging one part of the print on top of another.

I think I might also try a sequence of bird linocuts to collage together. In the meantime my studio stinks of white spirit and I've got nowhere to work!

Lino Bird - first prints

I did my first print of my bird design today ...

I decided the tree shapes were too stark so I cut out some more...

and more...

And now I think I prefer the first version! Oh well, there's not much I can do about it now!

I used some of these prints to experiment with adding watercolour..

And then, because I can't stop fiddling, I added some acrylic ink details...

Tomorrow I'll try printing on different coloured backgrounds and probably fiddle some more!

Linocut bird

I haven't done any linocutting for ages so I decided to spend some time this morning developing some  ideas and came up with this little birdy design...

I transferred it onto the lino and began to cut...

I find the process of linocutting very therapeutic (particularly whilst listening to a good audio book) and I love the fact that you can never be quite sure of the outcome. I plan to finish the cutting tomorrow, and then for the exciting part - the printing! Hopefully, I'll have some prints to show soon!

More sewing...

I finished this summery dress just as some snow flakes came drifting down! Will it ever be hot enough to wear?!

I think I might start a knitted jumper next!