a crafty pretty collaboration

 i absolutely love my job and i absolutely love it when something unexpected happens with it...

a little while ago the very lovely claire from crafty pretty got in touch about us doing a collaboration. 

when you essentially work on your own it is really lovely to occasionally work with someone.

claire designs wonderful ceramic wall art by adding transfers to air drying clay. she saw my fabric samples pic and her brain went into overtime (a girl after my own heart) and asked if i would be interested in us doing something together.

i am absolutely thrilled with how they have worked out. she's a genius that girl!

at the moment they are available (here) in these 4 versions but you can commission your own colours/arrangements (i'm saying you can, claire is probably cursing me right now) in almost any colour on the kona card.

it's been an absolute pleasure working with claire (partly because i haven't really done anything) and so exciting to see my designs presented in this way. 

i haven't quite decided which one i am after...possibly the 9'er...possibly a completely different set of colours.

which one would you choose?

my creative space...

I'm off to the studio this morning to get a couple of designs put onto screens.

Both of them are a new take on old designs and I am really excited to see how they are going to come out.

I'm planning on enlarging my triangle design to make it bigger and even bolder for printing larger projects like cushions. We shall see...

I am also spinning my euro sites design around and around to do an all over print for some boysy pouches and wash bags. Again, we shall see...

I am also doing a third secret design...but I can't tell you about that right now...

So what is happening in your creative space at the moment? Pop along and see what others are up to and join in!

News and updates...

First up progress on the cardi...

After 3 attempts to get the pattern right, I can finally say I am getting the hang of this pattern. I had to pull out and cast on again 3 times last night and was all ready to give up if this final time didn't work. It's not that it's that complicated. It's just that you really have to concentrate counting all the yarn forwards, slip one knit 2 togethers etc etc, coupled with the fact that it is exceedingly fine wool and with my ageing eyes, well, let's just say it's tricky.

Anyway I am pleased to say I am now on the right track. Quite whether it will be ready for June 2 is another thing, but I am pretty sure you will see me racing out on June 1 to purchase a cardi...

Next up, these fab fabrics arrived yesterday! Perfect selection for me or what?!

I can't wait to get started on making something for the Umbrella Prints Trimmings Competition. I have a few ideas bubbling away, but nothing decided on quite yet. Are you joining in? Go here for more details.

On Wednesday I had delivery of 4 new screens and on Friday I went to the workshop to get some images exposed onto them...very excited!

I also had a light bulb moment of putting a little selvedge detail on, which I'm rather pleased about, although looking at it now I realise I should also have put the name of the design alongside too...next time.

I bought 4 screens which I thought would be ample for the time being. Although I already need to order at least 3 more as I had to omit Scruffy Daisy...and guess what someone ordered this week?

So 3 were used for my regular designs and the 4th I put a couple of smaller images on and a new design that had been sitting in my sketch book for months.

Please welcome Kite Strings...

Hopefully I'll get to print Kite Strings out this week and can see how it looks in reality.

Thank you for sticking with me through all my news and updates and for the final piece of news and updates...drum roll please...I am very proud to present my Large Hexies Quilt Pattern!

I am sorry if it's taken longer than some of you were hoping, but it's finally done and in the shop!

I think I have emailed everyone that left an address, but for those that didn't, click on the link here.

So that's it for news and updates, I'm off to enjoy the sunshine and hope you are too, wherever you are.

Happy Sunny Sunday!

So, it's still half term round these parts, which equates to lots of people getting rather impatient with me and my enforced 2 week break from schedule.

I've been working on an order for almost 3 weeks now and all that was finally left was the labelling. When I was screen printing with Ruby last week I resisted doing it. It was her time.

I bloody well wish I had done it then tho!

I wouldn't have run into the problems I had today if I had at least started.

I turned up today with my prepared hand stamped signage all ready to quickly photocopy and get the screen prepared...a quick squidgee and hey, presto...

...or rather no!

The photocopier was broken.

Bad, bad timing.

I spent the next hour manually drawing out the necessary image, which had to then be done on acetate with the spottage added on top in order that the stamped labels didn't cause a blow out like this little detail on the flower below.

This was a surprise little extra for a certain someone who had hinted that perhaps I wanted to do something for her, (you know who you are...) but unfortunately that didn't work. Hopefully next time.

Because of the rather crude way of making my image ready for printing, it wasn't wholly successful. The dots came out rather patchy and I wasn't totally sure I'd be able to use any of them.

I carried on regardless because, quite frankly I have to get this order off this week and this may be an occasion where something is better than nothing.

And then, when I added them to my pieces, I actually quite liked how they looked.

A certain handmade quirkiness perhaps? Maybe?

Hello and a Happy Monday to you!

It's my favourite kind of winter weather at the moment. If you have to have winter, you may as well have it like this...crisp snow, blue skies...just perfect.

2 bits of news this week are...

1. A new Etsy shop!

2. A new product!

First up, my new shop...Blueberry Park Sample Shop...is something I've been meaning to do for ages. I gather a lot of samples from one thing and another. Whether it's from trying out a new design or making up things that don't go with "a range", I have a lot of pieces that don't fit.

In an attempt to keep my original Etsy shop more cohesive I needed another place to sell all these one offs.

The good news is these will all be at a great discount! I've started to load up some pieces (well, two) but watch out over the next few days (I hope) for lots of one offs at brilliant prices!

As for number 2 and a new product...

Whilst screen printing today I thought perhaps peeps might like my Euro design as a fabric patch to use in whatever project you like...add to a tote, a quilt, cushion...I don't need to tell you what you can use a patch for, but I thought they were a cute little purchase for adding a little something. Anyway they are right here, in green cross hatch and navy/grey squares.

Whilst printing up these patches a happy accident occurred...

I was using an old piece of newsprint to test the Euro screen and I don't know about you but I am pretty excited by the result!

These aren't great pics because, as I say, this was just testing the screen, but I like the effect.

Do you?

Now at some point I will be trying out a 2 colour screen and I think this will be high up in the queue. What do you reckon? What colours would you like to see together?

A good start to the week for me...weather...pro-activeness and general happiness...here's to it continuing for a whole week long ;-)

I'm on a mission to buy all handmade for gifts this holidays.

My main source of inspiration as ever is Etsy. Throughout the year I have marked a lot of gorgeous things that I have had my eye on for gifts and now I've started purchasing.

It's such fun!

As an Etsy seller, I know the thrill of selling handmade as I am aware that most customers are looking for something a little different and special, so it is always where I head to when I am looking for something a little different and special.

As an extended family we have 15 nieces and nephews and as a consequence we have a £15 limit, which makes selecting even more fun. We also stick to gifts just for the children.

So here's what I have found so far...

Pretty gold necklaces for the teenage girls (I'm quite eager to get one of these for me too...) from the immensely talented Cindy of Edor Jewellery.

The teenage fellas are all getting a pair of cufflinks from Zinc White. I first met Paul and Lidia at Saltaire Fair and I love their quirky jewellery, particularly these Initial Cufflinks. I have bought a lot of these for gifts over the months since i met them!

The pre-teen girls are all getting a goodie box of one of my notebooks, pencil pouches and a brooch similar to this one below by Elizabeth Pawle.

I'm ear-marking one of these for me too ;-)

The challenging remaining is the pre-teen boys...I'm really stuck on this one so if you have any bright ideas and can point me in the right direction, I'd be really grateful. I'm determined to succeed in getting everyone a handmade gift this year.

I think I've done pretty darn well and hopefully the recipients will be equally delighted. There really is an amazing selection of handmade gifts out there, so I open up the challenge to you...

Can you do a handmade gift list?

So, I took my designs to the screen printing studio today. I know this isn't the design you were thinking I'd be showing you, but all in good time with triangle fever (ooh, I think I've just named it...was wondering what to call it!). I want to sew some of it up before I show you the fruits of my labour.

Suffice it to say, I am rather pleased with the outcome.

I'd also like to introduce to you Scruffy Daisy...

...in grey...

...bright blue...

...and red.

Scruffy Daisy is the result of another doodling session whilst Ruby was off last week and this really is one of those occasions that doodles do come alive in the screen printing process. I won't ever profess to being an artist and consequently my designs will never be perfect pictures, but what I hope they will be is quirky, eye-catching designs.

I printed the designs on individual pieces of fabric ready to make into various items and also straight onto tea towels, which I think work pretty well. If you think so too they are available right here. I'm hoping to get some sewn up into napkins too. And also table runners. The possibilities are endless...

I've had a few enquiries about my fabrics and whether they are available to buy. What do you reckon? Would it be something you'd be interested in?

I got back into the screen printing workshop yesterday, having missed a week and boy was I chomping at the bit to get there.

One of the wonderful things about study of any description is the fantastic new possibilities that arise as a consequence. It sounds obvious, but having not formally studied for many years I had forgotten that and started the Screen Printing Course thinking I knew what the sole end result of doing it would be - to be able to print fabric.

But by the end of Lesson 1 this thought had been shattered and so many more possibilities had already started filling up space in my head.

I knew that screen printing was widely done on paper, it just hadn't entered my psyche that that would be something I would be doing with it.

I think I have mentioned before (just the once or twice) the excitement of discovering new skills and the potential of what to do with them, so when I went in yesterday I wanted to spend some time seeing where this would take me.

I was playing around with my Tweet design on paper and am really pleased with the end result. As I said, this has really taken me by surprise, the fact that I'm interested in doing this, and am thoroughly enjoying trying new things and taking skills I have learnt to a different place.

The trouble is, life often feels too short and it's hard enough to fit in all that we need and want to do without adding to it. But, let's face it, I've never been one to put ideas and projects to one side.

This will consequently mean that my shop will have a new section to it...paper goods...of which there is one item currently in it, but hopefully it won't be too long being it is filling up nicely. In the meantime, this sole item can be found right here...

I promised I'd show you the picture we bought at Knitting & Stitching last week. As I'm writing "last week" that sounds so weird. Time has seemed to have stood still this last week in the UK. We've been blessed? thwarted? with the biggest and earliest snowstorm of recent years, which has caused no end of disruption to our normal routine...

Hour round trips to do just 3 miles...

School buses not turning up...

Only to get phone calls a couple of hours later declaring school was closing anyway.

So to think that it wasn't even a week ago that we bought this picture seems ludicrous.

I absolutely adore this picture and it was just one of many of Fiona Wilson's pieces that I could have bought.

In fact, matthew and I did stand there for a fair while looking at them all, shortlisting, agreeing, disagreeing, convincing each other, changing our minds and eventually deciding on this one.

Like all Fiona's pieces, there is so much in this picture. Her attention to detail is mind-blowing.From the cut out houses above to the pink screen-printed houses below, with the embroidered coastline.

Fiona is inspired by maps and uses this in a very innovative way in all her work. Check out her website for a taste of this. Her work is incredibly appealing and draws you right in. There is just so much to explore in her pictures.

It's not quite framed and up on the wall (I'm not quite sure how something can be "not quite" up on the wall...it either is or it isn't) but I am enjoying it alot.

And once this phase of winter passes us, I'll be straight down to a large home-wares store near me to pick up the necessary frame and actually have it up on the wall.

As well as producing my own art for our newly decorated walls, I'm also in the market for picking up pieces here and there to inject some life and personality.

I've just discovered the talented Eloise Renouf on Etsy today and bought this print, that is just perfect for our colour schemes. I can not wait for it to arrive. I am also thinking I'll have to buy this one too. I think they'll work really well together.

Whilst I was in a buying mood today I bought this tiny (it's only 10 x 10cm) canvas from my friend, Tara. I love Tara's work and it's not going to be long before there isn't a room in the house without a little touch of Tara.

That's where the buying has stopped for today, but there are quite a few more that are on my wishlist...

I simply adore this mixed media piece by Rachel Austin. The colours are just perfect and the design is so appealing

Another newly discovered Etsy artist today (am I spending too much time on Etsy, do you think?) is PrintmakerJenn. Both these next 2 are by Jenn and again, both the colours and the designs are right up my alley and would work perfectly in my house.

And finally (for now), one that is a little different, at least in design, but certainly not colour, another British based artist. I love this black and white screenprinted cityscape by Karolin Schnoor and the zesty green of the trees peaking through is just genius.

The only reason I didn't buy any of these was that I couldn't decide between them and would have ended up having to buy the whole darn lot. I've a feeling, I'm not going to be able to resist any of them for much longer...

I hope it's been a lovely Valentine's Day for you. Right here we've been clearing out the love nest. That's the next room to be hit by the builders tomorrow.

Actually it's been a bit of a blessing. I'd been meaning to clear out my wardrobe for ages and I managed to get rid of 3 bin bag worth of old clothes. The wardrobe is looking a little empty now, so I shall have to rectify that very soon ;-)

We' don't really do Valentine's Day in our house. 'We' don't really believe in it. I think you know who 'we' might be...

As a consequence I normally buy Matthew a present that we'll both like (it's normally the only one I get.)

I've been wanting one of Dee's prints for ever. So to coincide with all the refurb we are doing, it seemed a good time to purchase.

Fortunately Matthew loves it as mush as I do and is very keen to get the others I have my eye on too.

Hope you got what you wanted this Valentine's Day xx