December Delights

With all my events for 2016 finished, I have been able to stock up my online shop with everything that I have available to purchase.

Lots of Sheepy Shawl Pins plus a few pendants, earrings and brooches have made their way onto Etsy today.

New this week are these digitally printed cushions. The design is printed onto suede effect fabric which retains the soft feel of the felt but makes the cushion cover much more practical and durable.

Cushions £40

Having sold over 30 of my wee Textile Trinket Boxes over the past two months, I am amazed that I have any left! 

Harris Tweed and Felt Trinket Box

£35

I got really busy in November and made lots and lots of felt brooches. I have some Ivy leaf shaped ones available as well as Tweed Birds.

Brooches £12 each

Bracelets £20

My bracelets and earrings have been popular gifts. I have the bracelets in two different lengths, one fits an average wrist and this one above fits a wider wrist.

Earrings £18

I have just two of these Seascape pendants available. As with all my jewellery in this style, these are made with iridescent textiles set behind resin. The shimmering sea colours really catch the light which is always difficult to convey in a photo.

I also have this Textile Seascape Box hot off the work table today. The seascape is made with a variety of fabrics and fibres, meshed together using my needle felting embellisher machine. Vintage lace gives the effect of a beautiful foaming wave and iridescent accents catch the light. I have used a shell that I found on the beach at Gairloch to weight the lid and the box is made up with Harris Tweed in lovely blue and turquoise shades.

Seascape Box £45

This framed seascape is made in a similar way, again with lace forming the wave and iridescent accents catching the light beautifully.

Seascape Picture £145

All of these and more can be found in my Etsy shop here

I thoroughly enjoyed all the events I attended in 2016 and look forward to 2017 starting with Edinburgh Yarn Festival on 10th & 11th March! 

This was my stand at Ardross Farm Shop Loft last weekend.

It was lovely to be on the East Neuk again and we were rewarded with two stunning sun rises on our early trips across the hill.

I have some ideas brewing already for new pictures but have a couple of commissions to finish before making a start.

I'd like to say a massive thank you to everyone who keeps up with my work here online and who come along to the fairs and shows throughout the year. Big thanks to all who organise the events as well. 

Keep cosy and have a lovely Winter ❤

In The Loft at Ardross Farm Shop November 26th & 27th

You can find me this weekend, Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th November In the Loft at Ardross Farm Shop near Elie.

This is my last event of 2016 and such a lovely one to be at! A special selection of exhibitors in a cosy loft space above the award winning farm shop between Elie and St Monans on the Easy Neuk of Fife.

We are open 9-5pm on Saturday and 9-4 pm on Sunday.

New for November

Here we are, first of November already! It has been a busy few weeks for me with school holidays, events and new makes.

Earlier last month I was asked if I could make my Sheep Brooches as actual Shawl Pins so I sourced some suitable pins and got to work on these right away.

The pins measure 8cm long with the sheepie bit measuring 2.5cm in diameter. They are great for keeping thick layers of knitwear together be it shawls, scarves, cardigans, cloaks or cowls and as a few have pointed out, they can be used as stitch markers as well.

Sheepie Shawl Pins

£18

I tried my hand at my first big felt picture a few weeks ago. It's quite big for me anyway as I am used to working small scale but I wanted to have a go at a larger piece.

I got a fabulous carded batt from Clive at Gongcrafts when we were at Perth Festival of Yarn. The fibre was perfect for making an aurora picture, with strands of angelina and bright lime greens. I added shiny silver dots to the sky for stars and iridescent accents to the sea which reflect the light quite magnificently. The picture measures 80 x 50 cm and was quite tough on the arms to roll! I have it in my Etsy shop now here

Aurora Borealis Over Islands

£345

I've also been working on some smaller framed pieces at 15 x 15 cm in 30 x 30 cm frames.

Sunflower Cottage

£95

Flower Lea Cottage 

£95

and Little Tree Cottage 

£95

These can all be found in my Etsy shop or from me at upcoming events.

My multipurpose pouches are back in stock in all three designs. Useful for so many things! I keep crochet hooks in one and my sunglasses in another.

Pouches £7.95

So you can find me this Saturday at Falkland Craft Market. Free entry. This market supports local artists and makers with stall fees going toward the upkeep of the community hall.

Falkland is such a lovely place to visit with beautiful gift shops, tea rooms, cafes and walks as well of course as the palace and gardens.

The Handmade Show is a real highlight of my year as not only do I get to take my work to my home town of Perth and sell at this fabulous event but I get to meet up with other fantastic artists and makers whose work I admire greatly.

Check out the exhibitors list here 

My boxes have been selling like hot cakes over the last few weeks so I am doing my best to make more for my Etsy shop and for my events.

These two are hot off the work table this week.

Harris Tweed and Felt Box

7 x 7 x 7 cm 

£35

10 x 10 x 6 cm £40

So hopefully I'll see some of you at one of the events in the next few weeks. My last event of the year is at The Loft, Ardross Farm Shop, Elie. This is a lovely two day event of Saturday 26th & Sunday 27th November 9 - 5pm

Autumn Fairs in Fife and Perthshire

I had a brilliant start to my Autumn events season on the first weekend in October. It was lovely to be back in Falkland on the Saturday and Perth Festival of Yarn on the Sunday was a great success! It was heartening to know that many visitors came because they had seen the events advertised online so here is an update about more to come.

I will be at the Pitcairngreen Green Village Hall Annual Fair on Saturday 22nd October, 10 - 3.30pm.

 This is a lovely event with tea, coffee and home baking as well as a good variety of stalls. I have been exhibiting at this fair for over 10 years and it's always nice to go back and see familiar faces.

I've been busy restocking my Etsy shop as well with new makes.

Brooches £12

Next up after Pitcairngreen is Falkland Craft Market again on Saturday 5th November.

I will have my full range of items with me and hopefully some new framed pictures as well.

Sheep Earrings £18

Sheep Brooches £18

Sheep Pendants £24

My 7 x 7 x 7 cm Boxes are very popular so I have been making more of them. Made with my own felt and lovely Harris Tweed, this size is £35.

Later in November on Sunday 20th, I will be at The Handmade Show in Perth Concert Hall.

This year's show is shaping up to be excellent with new makers exhibiting along side some firm favourites.

My new coasters have been a big hit both online and offline. I got little boxes for them making them an ideal gift, especially easy to post!

Coasters £14.95

Later in November I'll be In The Loft at Ardross Farm Shop near Elie on Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th 9 - 5 each day. This is a lovely two day event, up above the farm shop and well worth a visit if you are in the East Neuk that weekend.

So it's a busy time keeping up with everything. 

Please feel free to get in touch with any questions you may have about my work or any of the upcoming events.

aileenclarkecrafts@yahoo.com

Saturday 1st October Falkland Craft Market and Sunday 2nd October Perth Festival of Yarn

Events season is upon me and it all kicks off this weekend with Falkland Craft Market this Saturday and Perth Festival of Yarn on Sunday

Falkland Craft Market is a great place to shop local here in North Fife with a wide variety of local artists and makers exhibiting their work. It's the perfect opportunity to see what's new from me as this is my first event since August and I have been very busy.

Perth Festival of Yarn in The Salutation Hotel, South St, Perth on Sunday is shaping up to be a great day out for all fibre and knitting enthusiasts.

The complete line up of vendors is 

Gongcrafts 
The Border Tart / Blue Moon Indigo 
Mothy and the Squid
My Mama Knits
ThisBoy
Eva Christie Hand Knitting
Melted Moglet Dyeworks
Moulin Yarns
Aileen Clarke Crafts
Capercaillie Kilts
Proggy and Tweed
Lagom Felt Studio
The Haberdashery Project
Rosedean Ryelands
Ewenique Fibres
Wee County Yarns

£3 entry

I have a new set of four coasters just in this week. I have chosen to mix the designs in the set up a bit to include my new hare picture and the dragonflies which have been so popular.

I still have some calendars available and will have them at both events.

And I have been busy making new textile and resin jewellery pieces including pendants, earrings and bracelets.

Hope to see some of you there and I will post some photos here next week. 

Upcoming Events for Autumn 2016 plus New Cards and Cushions

After a long summer break from making and blogging, it's back to work now with preparations for all my upcoming events this Autumn!

I had this idea for a felted hare picture back in June and finally got time to make it once our schools went back mid August.

The original measures 20 x 20 cm and comes complete with mount and frame. The outer edge of the frame measures 36 x 36 cm.

Hare Among the Wildflowers

£145

One of the reasons for making the picture was to have it printed into cards and notebooks.

Cards £2.50

Notebooks £5.95

I also had it printed onto cushions!

Cushions £40

Other new cushion designs include Gardener's Cottage and Drying Day at The Bothy.

The originals of both of these pictures are still available in my Etsy shop here 

Other new card designs include Gardener's Cottage

Aurora and Stars

Dragonflies and Seathrift

Drying Day at The Bothy

and Winter's Garden.

The cards measure 12.5 x 12.5 cm and are all available individually at £2.50 each or as a set of six at £12 

Click here to see the card section of my shop.

My cards and jewellery are also available at The Rowan Tree Gift Shop in Falkland, right on the main street, opposite the palace.

Staring on Saturday 1st October, I have six events lined up for Autumn so far.

Saturday 1st October 2016 10 - 4pm - Falkland Craft Market, Falkland Village Hall, Back Wynd, Falkland, KY15 7BX. Free entry

Sunday 2nd october 2016 11 - 5pm - Perth Festival of Yarn, Moncrieffe suite, Salutation Hotel. South Street, Perth Entry £3

Saturday 22nd October 2016 10.30 - 3.30pm - Pitcairngreen Village Hall Craft Fair, by Almondbank, Perth Entry £3.50 includes refreshments and home baking.

Saturday 5th November 2016 10 - 4pm - Falkland Craft Market, Falkland Village Hall, Back Wynd, Falkland, KY15 7BX. Free entry

Sunday 20th November 2016 10.30 - 4.30pm - The Handmade Show, Perth Concert Hall, Mill Street, Perth. Free Entry

Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th November 9 - 5pm- The Loft at Ardross farm Shop, Elie. Free Entry

I'm particularly looking forward to Perth Festival of Yarn on Sunday 2nd October.

Other vendors include

Gongrafts,

Blue Moon Indigo/The Border Tart,

Mothy and the Squid,

My Mama Knits,

ThisBoy,

Eva Christie Hand Knitting,

Moulin Yarns,

The Queen of Purls

To keep up to date with this event, see the Facebook page here

So I have been busy building up my stock of Felt Sheep Jewellery and Textile Trinket Boxes.

I also have my 2017 Calendar out.

The calendar features 12 different images, one for each month plus a whole calendar page per month to write on.

£10 each 

For daily updates on new makes etc from me, I am now using Instagram more often. I am @aileenclarkecrafts

I'll leave you with a nice sunset we enjoyed while on holiday in Ireland in July. The photo is taken from the very end of the Dingle peninsula, Co Kerry. This is one of my most favourite places to be!