7.2.14

Needle felt workshops


It's going to be another busy year with workshops - the first one of 2014 commences with one of my favourites, at Cinderhill Farm in the beautiful Forest of Dean on Saturday March the 8th. We will be making moon gazing hares.  Last time there was morning coffee and homemade baked stuff, a hot lunch with the farm's own free range pork and the speciality of the farm, Deb's high tea. Which last year looked like this...


It's an all day class, with all materials, use of tools and all food included in the price of £60 per person. Vegetarian/allergy  options can be provided.  This year the farm shop, the Pie House, is open, with local  produce. the farm pies and gift wares on sale. There are only eight places available and we are half booked now, so if you want to secure a place, please contact Debs directly via the farm contact form.



Then there are several four hour workshops at Chipping Norton Fibreworks and Oxford Fibreworks throughout the months, making a variety of things depending on the time of year. Candy Buns are the spring design.



And a new venue for me, the Buckinghamshire Summer School, where I will be teaching larger classes for two days. August the  7th is beginners and August the 8th is intermediate, with a discount for anyone booking both classes.
On the 7th the design is little chickens and on the 8th you can make a slinky fox. All materials and use of tools included.


Later in the year, I'm thrilled to be making a repeat visit to the glorious 'Hope and Elvis' studios, in Nottinghamshire, making the perennial favourites, Acorns and Toadstools', in October. Last year's two days were fantastic experiences for me and we had lovely feedback. The studios are situated in the stunning Welbeck Estate (think Downton Abbey, but more so). Apart  from the workshops, there are simply gorgeous shops, a gallery and I can personally vouch for the food at the Limehouse Cafe.




These are the confirmed workshops, but there are more in the pipeline. All details of these can be found on my workshops page, where you can visit the various websites and contact the organisers to book directly. Hope to see some of you there, it's always great to meet up with blog readers face to face.

29.1.14

Woolly scrimshaw





Some of the new designs I worked on over the Christmas period, looking at antique scrimshaw folk art and converting the style into my own versions. 



21.1.14

Hellebores for you


One year on since you went, my darling boy. You took part of me with you that night and I would gladly give all of me to have you here now. Always missed, always in my heart.

15.1.14

Round the corner


 

 

  

 

I don't seem to get out much, but I am looking forward to spring and exploring a little more. Walking is hard, as that is when I feel Andy's absence most. He could be just out of sight, waiting for me around a corner, as he so often did. I walk around the corner and and he is not there. But I still have my camera to keep me company and bear witness. And I still have my life long love of landscape and nature.

3.1.14

Emerging

        


    "Oh God, your sea is so great and my boat is so small"
 (Breton fisherman's prayer)

Christmas has for many years been my least favourite part of the year and I knew that this one, my first without Andy and my first on my own, would be particularly rough. So I took a Sabbatical from online life and avoided the season as far as possible. Life for me went on as normal. I have been cloistered away in this little cottage for the last eleven months, grieving in solitude and trying to find a new way of life. It has been a struggle, but work has always been my lifeline and so it proved to be again. I used the time to explore new designs and plan a business that will hopefully enable me to stay here. 

Many people sent me cards and good wishes. Some hoped that I would be spending Christmas with friends or family. I did have invitations to stay with friends, but I would not have been good company and needed to face things on my own, fight my own demons. Thank you to everyone for the kind thoughts, which are so much appreciated, even if I have not celebrated the season.

My boat is very small and the ocean I'm sailing on seems unbelievably vast. But I learned to steer it, alone, at a young age and slowly I am learning to sail solo again. 





3.12.13



That's been a rather busy November - four workshops, two patterns and lots of work related stuff in-between. Back to dear Oxford again, where I attended a concert at the beautiful Victorian church of St John the Evangelist on the Iffley Road. I once had a student bedsit up there, when I was a hungry art student.  Odd to go back again, but the concert was very enjoyable, performed by the talented and energetic members of the Magdalen College School orchestras.



The church was packed with proud parents snapping away, so I wasn't able to get many photos myself, but I did love the painted ceiling.



The next day there was another workshop at the lovely Fibreworks Oxford.


So pleased that someone returned for more and brought some 'homework' she had done since the last session.


 It was a Christmas theme and everyone made trees.


Well, nearly everyone - there was a robin, a Christmas cottage and a sweet toadstool house as well.


My final workshop of the year was my first Shropshire one. Held in such a nice venue, at Rustic and White in Wyle Cop, filled with vintage treasures and with parts of the shop dating back to Tudor times.


Pleasantly surprised to find that we'd filled all twelve spots and were actually oversubscribed. 


This was an all day session and also Christmas themed. There were one or two people there who read this blog, so if they are reading this, it was great to meet you. 


As well as bringing two suitcases of wools, as usual I did my best to supply as many beads, findings and decorative bits as possible, which does result in a  bit of a crafty mess at the end of the day!

 


After several hours of industry, fuelled by hot drinks and cake, there was a simply gorgeous batch of trees. I started everyone off with the same measurement guidelines, showed them the basic method and let them loose. Despite starting with more or less the same amount of wool, a wide variety of trees appeared, each bearing the maker's personality.

 

So that's it for the year and I am already booked to do more next year. I'll be posting some dates soon.

15.11.13

Mice and more mice!


They are everywhere! I was commissioned to make a copy of Mrs Mouse, from my book 'Mrs Mouse's Cupcakes'. I made the first one about four years ago and it was intriguing to see how the second one was so much better than the first. Can you tell which is the old one and which the new? I will put the answer at the end of this post.


And now for the gentlemen. Another pattern, this time for 'Crafty Magazine', of the Town Mouse and the Country Mouse. Or Hugo and Joe, as they are now known.

It was a bit of a challenge to come up with a simple pattern, incorporating several elements and two similar but slightly varied designs to fit into a reasonable amount of steps, but challenges are goods and after some pencil chewing and hair pulling, I think I managed it.




There are a limited amount of 'Crafty' to buy from their site here. Or, for digital users, you can buy the download here. Otherwise, it will be in most WHSmiths, supermarket sections or good newsagents. Have fun! 

(The new Mrs Mouse is on the left hand side of the picture).


11.11.13

Needle felt news

 
 

I've never done a tea cup before, but when the 'Mollie Makes' team asks, I do my very best for them. If you have an iPad or iPhone, this pattern can be found in issue 55 of 'Gathered' the digital sister magazine at only £1.49 for the whole magazine. (All content to 'Gathered' is different to the paper version of 'Mollie Makes').


These snow geese are a new design too, and were bought before I could offer them here.




As have three of these owl decorations - I have just one brown owl left to sell.






And after missing a year, due to life chaos, I've managed to get a limited number of 2014 desk calendars out. Nothing fancy or expensive, but with twelve months of my latest designs throughout.




This has also been a  month for workshops and my final one of the year, on November 30th, is my first Shropshire one at the lovely vintage chic shop 'Rustic and White'. There are only two places left as I write - and it even made it into the Shrewsbury Chronicle. Fame at last. More details on my website.




30.10.13

Bodge Cottage heroes

 

When we bought the cottage a year ago, we hadn't anticipated a renovation job. but once we uncovered all kinds of nasties, that is what it turned into. Losing Andy in January made the prospect of turning it into a liveable (and sadly, maybe saleable)  condition seemed overwhelming. The last thing I could think about was DIY.  But in this, the most terrible year of my life, I have been blessed with the support of so many good friends and this month I had two batches of visitors to help me wrestle little Bodge Cottage into something habitable. First, Adam and Helen, old and dear work colleagues of Andy's (and mine, too). We stripped, sanded and heat blasted my bedroom until it was down the the bare bones. Now I just have to try my hand at plastering the walls.


After the weekend, two more friends arrived and the Bodge Cottage torch was handed on, over a cup of tea. Jackelien and Herbert, all the way from Holland and taking time out of their Shropshire holiday to help me out. Jackelien and I met last year when she had a one-to-one needle felt workshop with me and from the start, we clicked, as if we'd been waiting for each other. Funny how that can happen sometimes.

  

The biggest structural job, something I could not do alone and certainly could not afford to hire anyone else to do, was removing the stud wall from under the stairs, to open up the room and provide space for a book case. Or something. But probably a book case.   Herbert assessed the situation and whether he could remove most of the stud wall without bringing the house down.


Work commenced, peeling back the add-ons from the last several decades.  Jackelien discovered the original tongue and groove partition underneath layers of wallpaper. It has a weathered, distressed surface which I am going to smooth down and wax. It's too beautiful to cover up.
 

The old plaster and lathe under the stairs was damp and rotten. I had a hand in taking it down, which was strangely satisfying. (The cottage isn't listed or even 'that' old, so this was legal).

 

Then a new piece of plaster board was cut to size and once Herbert had reinforced the struts under the stairs, it was put into place.
 

On another wall, an original oak beam was uncovered, which is going to stay exposed, even when the room is eventually re-plastered.



There were the remains of an old mouse nest in the little gap to the right and I think I'll leave that open too. Put a little 'bibelot' in it as a point of interest. 

 

It was amazing to see the space just as I'd imagined it - and where there were gaps, some of the discarded boards were used to neaten it up, to keep the original character.



Even down to the trimmings on the edge. It's just perfect.



  

And as if that wasn't enough, they tackled the grotty old dog kennels, removing the grim caging and opening up the garden by taking down the trellis. (I was not totally lazy in this operation, but a creamy chicken casserole had to be made...)



So I was able to stack my winter logs, safe from the rain. I don't know how I would have survived this heart breaking year without my many wonderful friends around the world to help and support me in so many ways. Actually, I don't think I would have done.  Thank God for friendship.