Tag: creativity

Crochet or …..

Let’s face it, most creatives work on one or more crafts at the same time. When not using my crochet hook I like to embroider or stitch in other ways. For many years I owned a shop specialising in all the textile arts, and the time has come to destash/reduce stock as we will no longer be attending popup shows, festivals or exhibitions.

I’ve listed the first items linked from here, so do pop over if you would like to grab a bargain. There will be more to come, but I don’t have much time for listing. In other words ….. watch this space.

Apart from stitching I’m pressing on with my Temperature Blanket. This month has started in a very ‘yellow’ fashion, it will be interesting to see how it progresses. I am thoroughly enjoying this project. It began with the object of making a single granny square a day for 365 days. It has now turned into a major blanket making exercise, with ‘Spirit of ….’ sideshoots giving me more and more ideas. It is being a wonderful source of inspiration.

 

Save

First colour sequence finished

I’ve decided to count these rows slightly differently. I have no idea if this will work – it will be too late to change by the time it is finished. Here’s the first colour repeat.

IMG_0578

 

I think the colours will become more apparent in the next post.

I’m also wondering if I dare take this away on holiday with me….. I have no qualms about doing it – but not sure DH will approve 😉

 

Don’t forget to come and join us in the CrochetC2C group on Ravelry. We are only small – but we like to see what you are making.

Blogging from A-Z April Challenge – G is for

Grids

I find grids very useful. Squared paper is easy to obtain, but better still – the grid you draw.

img_9361

Measuring isn’t obligatory – and I often start by drawing a rough grid by ‘eye’ in my journal.

Are you a quilter? Quite an interesting way of developing your own personal quilting pattern is to begin with your intials. Firstly – fill every alternate square with the initial of one of your names

img_9362

 

Then choose a second initial and complete the rest of the boxes.

img_9363

 

This simple pattern is based on an M and an h – upper or lower case can be chosen at will – and the shape of the letters doesn’t have to have any bearing on your signature.
img_9628

Once ‘inked in’ the line becomes more apparent. The above needs a little touching up if it’s to be programmed into a quilting module – but for freehand quilting, either by machine or by hand, it gives a good indication of the final result.

I love using grids. You never know what you will discover

You can also find my chatty A-Z posts here

 

Blogging from A-Z April Challenge – D is for..

Dyeing!

I love colour. It’s been my pleasure to work with it for over 30 years. I’ve been producing a range of hand threads, fibres and fabrics since I was first introduced to the process in the late 1980s.

Over the years I have developed a number of techinques to produce many mixed colours.

The above are cotton embroidery threads, but I also dye wool, silk and alpaca, which require a different method.

I’m not suggesting you watch the whole thing – but there is even a video of me dyeing here. It shows the first basis of one of my techniques – of course, I have developed it much further for my own use. I sell my threads via my own website and also Etsy, but mostly at shows as I know customers love to handle the goods before purchase 😉

Due to family health problems and the recent death of my mother the shops have been relatively inactive for a while. However, Etsy will have stock before the end of this week.

 

Posted for the April A-Z challenge. All posts for this challenge will relate in some way to my creativity.

You can also find my chatty A-Z creative posts here

Blogging from A-Z April Challenge – C is for..

Collage

I enjoy working with paper. It began as a design tool for textiles – but after discovering that it was also a useful base for stitch it has more and more become an integrated part of my work.

Paper is so readily available! It doesn’t need to be expensive. The cover of this book is just plain old painted newspaper.

img_8956

I’ve built up the surface on cardboard from a cereal packet – glued it down with Matte Medium and added a protective coating of the same on top. Doodles featured heavily on some of the painted surfaces before being cut or torn and laid dowuse pn. Really simple zigzag stitches were added – more as surface interest than anything else. If you are going to try it – just make sure that any paint or glue is well dried before you start.

I use paper for my daily nine patches too. These might seem a waste of time – but the colour combinations have seen their way into other peices of work, so nothing is wasted.

 

Posted for the April A-Z challenge. The posts on this blog all relate to creativity in some way. ‘Chatty’ A-Z posts are appearing here.