Scottish Gifts, Felt Art Pictures, Shawl Pins and Crochet.

What a fantastic summer is has been since my last blog update and here we are in September already!

I thoroughly enjoyed all the great weather we had during June and July and managed to spend four weeks at the beach! Two weeks on a family holiday in Cornwall and two with my daughter visiting my son in the west of Ireland. The break did me the world of good and I have settled back into work with renewed zeal.

Sand Art at Perrnaporth

I had a stand at Perth Festival of Yarn earlier this month and took the opportunity to stock up on amazing hand dyed fibres from various other vendors. I have been experimenting with my purchases this week and I'm so excited with the results.
These two framed pictures are hot off the work table this week and now available on Etsy. Click the images for full details.

Rainbow Over the Glen 

£145

Wild Atlantic Horizon

£225

I have been making lots of things in little batches since May and did a massive shop update last week. Textile Trinket Boxes, Sheep Brooches, Shawl Pins and Sheep Earrings are among just some of the 200 items I have available right now.

Trinket Boxes range from £36 to £48.50

Sheep Jewellery from £18

Ivy Leaf Brooches £14 

My Ivy Leaf Brooches have been very popular and I have a few still available. 

I also have new coaster designs in.

This set below feature my new stag picture as well as the seascape and sunset I made back in May. I like the highland lochs and glens feel to them.

I revamped my original set of four with the addition of 'Little Lamb' which I think goes quite well with the cottages and coo.

Set of Four Luxury Coasters £14.95

They also go well with my Tea Towel

Tea Towel £9.95

My 2019 Calendar is also here!

I have gone for the square format again with a different image for each month and a whole calendar page to write on.

Calendar £12 inc UK p+p

As well as working on my felt art I have been working on some crochet for myself. I like The Crochet Project patterns as they are easy to follow and the finished pieces look like they were quite complicated but were actually really simple to make.

This is 'Parallel Lines' from The Shawl Project, Book 4 

I used a Scheepjes Whirl in Blackberry Mint Chip and it was enjoyable to crochet with. The colour changes kept my interest going as 1000 m of yarn and a repeat pattern can become a bit boring after a while!

My next crochet make involves this beautiful gradient yarn in blues from WooSheeps and the purples and pinks from Quirky Paintbrush. I think it's true to say that since taking up crochet I have developed yarn addiction on top of fibre addiction!

My next event will be at Pitcairngreen Village Hall on Saturday 27th October. This is a great little fair that I have been doing for about 15 years! There is a small entrance fee that includes tea, coffee , sandwiches and home baked cakes.

After that I will be at The Handmade Show on Sunday 18th November. This is an excellent event held in Perth Concert Hall. Free entry.

Upcoming Events Including Edinburgh Yarn Festival and New Things for 2018

Hello and welcome to my belated first blog post of 2018! I think all bloggers and podcasters experience periods in their lives when updating their areas of cyberspace fall by the wayside for one reason or another. I have definitely gotten out of the way of blogging the way that I used to but my working year has changed so much since I first started my little cottage industry and the focus has definitely been on the making as opposed to the marketing.

I have been extremely busy behind the scenes though. I had a hugely successful 2017 with a variety of events starting with Edinburgh Yarn Festival in March, a few craft fairs and a highland games during May and August, Perth Festival of Yarn in September, more local fairs in October and finishing up with The Handmade Show and The Loft at Ardross in November. Keeping stock levels up for these events is a full time job plus I run my online shop and supply a few local gift shops and galleries as well. I do take a bit of a break in July but 2018 is going to be even busier!

It all kicks off mid March with a return to Edinburgh Yarn Festival. I was SO delighted to be selected to exhibit at this wonderful event again. It is way over subscribed with vendors and it feels like a great privilege to be exhibiting again in 2018. It is a three day event this year running from Thursday 15th to Saturday 17th March. The Thursday is advance tickets only and is sold out already. If you haven't got advance tickets for the other days, you can still show up on the Friday or Saturday and if you are prepared to queue, you will get it.

I have been working hard on getting some new images ready to have produced as gift items. Already in stock are these sets of four luxury coasters.

Coasters £14.95

'Drying Day at the Bothy' has been a favourite image since I created it in 2016 and was really successful as a printed card so I have added it to the coaster set and to the pouches. Mugs will be also available soon and it is back in stock as a card.

Multi-purpose Pouch £7.95

This year I decided to add more A5 notebooks to my range. I have usually gone for the small square format but found that these designs worked will as A5. The pages alternate between plain and ruled and I have managed to keep the price at £5.95.

Notebooks £5.95

My Lens/Screen Cloths are back in stock and available in six different designs. I have had to put the price up to £4.50 though as my supplier has put their prices up but it's still affordable and a great gift idea plus they really are good at cleaning!

I had all these bags made and put them in my Etsy shop last week and two of the designs have sold out already but I plan to have them all available again at EYF.

Bags £19.95

Living in an old cottage surrounded by trees and fields, you really notice the subtle differences as the wheel of the year turns and we start to experience more light and the first signs of Spring. If I had time to go and arrange a nice photo I'd share with you the lovely way the sunlight comes in through the kitchen window at this time of year. We have really deep windowsills and don't get the sun coming in all year round, only at this time in February and later in the Autumn. Time is short though and staging photos involves dusting so you will just have to use your imagination! :D

The point is that I was inspired to needle felt some Spring lambs onto these keepsake boxes and as I am impatient to see the daffodils, I embroidered some of them as well. 

Keepsake Box £45

I'm hoarding my stock of these to take to EYF and should have about six available, all slightly different. I will also have other keepsake boxes in various sizes.

New for 2018 are these little needle felting kits featuring my Pretty Bird and Dolphin designs. The kits contain a needle felting sponge mat, needles, fibres, threads and beads plus the design drawn out on a wool base fabric as well as written instructions. I hope to have a third kit available soon which will be released at EYF.

Needle Felting Kits £12

Available now on Etsy

What's keeping me the most busy is building up my stock of needle felted earrings, brooches, pendants and shawl pins in time for Edinburgh Yarn Festival. I'm trying to make as many as I can in all different colours.

I've added a slightly larger brooch to the range with the cottage and sheep design on it and will have a few with highland coos too!

The cow and cottage brooches take so much longer to make though so there won't be as many of them available but I'm trying my best to have a good few ready for EYF.

Highland Cow Brooch £22

Just six weeks after Edinburgh Yarn Festival I will be taking part in Open Studios North Fife for the 8th time! I can't believe it's 8 years since I first took the plunge and applied to take part in this event. I think it really helped me in lots of different ways to build my creativity into a full time job. 

I will be using the venue at Ladybank that I always use and plan to have lots of kits and fibre packs available this year as well as my full range of artwork and jewellery etc.

For full details about this event visit the website here 

Hot on the heels of Open Studios will be Aberdeen Yarn Fest on Sunday 13th May at Double Tree Hilton in Aberdeen! I'm not sure how I will cope with having a stall at this just 6 days after Open Studios but it's a great opportunity and a chance to take my wares to Aberdeen where I spent 4 years back in the 90's as an art student.

Later in the year on August 17th and 18th I have been invited to exhibit at EWEfest which will be Scotland's first wool festival of it's kind. It's to be held in Dundee at Slessor Gardens which is on the water front near the new V&A museum. This looks like an exciting and ambitious event that I am very excited to be involved it! 

As you can imagine, there is a lot of work involved in preparing for these events hence the lack of blog posts! I do try and keep everyone up to date with what I am making via Facebook and Instagram so do pop over and say hi if you use either of these. And if you are coming to any of the events mentioned above please introduce yourself! It's always lovely to meet people in real life as well as online ♥

Edinburgh Yarn Festival 18th and 19th March

Find me in the Pop Up Market!

Time is racing by and Edinburgh Yarn Fest is nearly upon us!

I am working hard to make as many of my felt creations as possible for the event.

I had a successful day last Saturday at Falkland Craft Market and even managed to make some new bunting for my stall.

I've been topping up my Felt Jewellery Collection with these Cottage and Sheep Pendants below.

Needle Felted Pendants £24

I will also have plenty Sheep Brooches and Earrings with me.

I have been very busy making my Harris Tweed and Felt Trinket Boxes as well.

I have them in 4 different sizes ranging from £30 to £45

A few new felt pictures include this Sunset Cottage and Tree below. Made with beautiful hand dyed Strathearn Fleece and Fibre who will also be at EYF. Looking forward to buying more from them!

Felt Pictures £95

I had to order more Sheepie Pouches as they had all sold out! Some have been laid aside for EYF visitors already. I'm delighted that they are so popular.

Printed Sheep Pouches £7.95

I will have a selection of cushions printed with my artwork with me as well as all my notebooks, cards, mouse mats and mugs.

Oh and I also have my sets of coasters back in stock. I have them in sets of four at £14.95 or sets of 2 at £7.95

 

I'll be spending the next 11 days working like a mad woman to make sure I have my full range of items well stocked up. I'm so looking forward to this event! I love going round all the other vendors as well as there are so many inspirational materials on offer.

You can buy tickets online at 

www.edinyarnfest.com

The festival is held at Edinburgh Corn Exchange

Friday 18th and Saturday 19th March 2016

10 - 6 pm

11 Newmarket Road

Edinburgh

EH14 1RJ

Coasters, Mouse Mats, Mugs and Notebooks

 Here we are at the start of February already and the landscape begins to look a little more colourful. It is certainly very colourful around here with the arrival of new work from the print workshop.

I'm delighted with these new coasters. They are the same four designs that I had made into coasters back in December but the colours have come out better and are more true to the original pictures. 

Set of 4 Luxury Coasters

£14.95

The coasters come Gift Box as a treat to yourself or ready to give as a present. 

Also back in stock are all these Notebooks.

Pretty Bird Notebook

£5.95

My Notebooks are spiral bound and alternate between plain and ruled pages making them perfect for sketching and keeping notes.

I ran out of the design below last year so it's back by popular demand.

Lupins and Sheep Notebook

£5.95

Moon Gazing Hare Notebook

£5.95

Hannah's House Notebook

£5.95

Dolphin Notebook

£5.95

Island and Gulls Notebook

£5.95

Highland Cow Notebook

£5.95

Vibrant Hills Notebook

£5.95

You can find them all for sale here 

I was sorting through my printed cards the other day to see which designs needed topped up and was I was stunned to realise that I actually have around 35 different designs in stock! And yet I always seem to need more! haha

'Home for Supper' below is one of my constant best sellers and is now back in stock.

Cards £2.50 each

'Washing Day' is also popular and as with all my cards, they look great framed.

I'm pleased to have all four of my mug designs back in stock as well.

Each Mug comes with it's own matching Gift Box

The mugs are £8.95 each or £32 for a set of 4.

I am planning a new addition to the mug collection. I have had this image in my head for months of mauvey hills and flowers in the foreground so I made it last week and have sent it off to the printers and hope to have the new mug very soon.

The original will go on sale as soon as I have a frame for it. This is a virtual frame. It's great fun playing around with all the colour options and wood effects. I generally opt for white stained wood with a double mount.

Below is the same frame in Ivory.

Feel free to comment on which you prefer :)

And last but not least, my printed Mouse Mats are back in stock.

There are four designs to choose from.

Cottage by The Stream, Harvey the Highland Cow, Distant Shore and Hannah's House.

Mouse Mats

£6.95

So among all this frenzy of ordering exciting new things, I have also been busy working on orders and making a few boxes.

I got all my favourite fabrics and threads out the other week to make a background using my needle felting embellisher machine.

I really enjoy this process of choosing a variety of different materials in toning colours and meshing them all into a textured piece ready for over sewing.

The piece in question was a lid for a box featuring a dolphin for a change.

This box measures 10 x 10 x 6 cm and is made with Harris Tweed as well as vintage Shetland Tweed and the needle felted lid.

Dolphin Box

£40

Another box I made recently was this raspberry red and green silk one for a commission. I teamed the felt lid up with a reddish pink Harris Tweed. I gave the lid a sparkling of gold and a bit of free machine embroidery just to add a bit of detail. 

That's me almost finished my commissions, just one to go. I'll be concentrating now on making some larger framed pieces for a Gallery and making stock for my upcoming events.