Crochet bowls

Lately I've been working on some crochet bowls, it took a while to get the hang of it so I practiced some different shapes and sizes. The best thing about crochet being that if you go wrong, you can just unravel and start again! 

I've been using Tektek tshirt yarn, which is made in Portugal, leftover from garment production. Each different roll of yarn varies in thickness and texture, so if you want to make a few matching things it is best to get a large roll so that you'll have a big quantity that'll be consistent. I found this tutorial from The Makery really useful in getting started. You can buy the yarn from there or else from eBay.

My latest Cornwall Trip

I've collected a few pics I took whilst on holiday in Cornwall a few weeks ago.

 Loved the different textures in this pic, taken on my cliff walk from Polzeath, and the vivid orange of the Lichen.

 I photographed lots of coastal flowers and plants, which I plan to draw at some point!

 A selection of beautiful Dahlias from the collection at the Eden Project

I love the the beautiful leaves on these Succulents and how they grow out from the centre. 

 Adorable Tree Frog hiding amongst the leaves in the rainforest Biome

 The contrast of colour on the leaves of this plant really caught my eye.

 The ethereal beauty of the Sensitive plant's flowers 

A lovely mix of colourful wild flowers

 

 Lovely contrasting green and purple cabbages in the vegetable garden at the Lost Gardens of Heligan

 Not sure what flowers are but their colour and scale is stunning!

 Mud man at Heligan

Sunny Harlyn Bay on the final day.

Craft fairs

I've done a few craft and country markets/fayres lately so I thought I'd post up some pics of my stalls.

Below is Nunney Fayre which I went to today (it did get busier than in the pic!) which was great, lots of compliments on my work and met some lovely people.
I always like Nunney Fayre because it's popular with local people and visitors alike, though I think it always rains there. Also there is a Castle, which is cool (you can see it in the background).

Last month I had a (very tiny) stall at The Frome Independent which was also very busy and full of lots of great designers and makers.
 

 

 

Recent Cross Stitch projects

Having acquired a MASSIVE load of coloured yarn from my Nana, I decided to try using up some of it on some cross stitch! it's been lovely to have so many lovely colours to choose from. These are some experiments that I designed and sewed myself, simply drawing them out onto the fabric using a fabric pen, and for the more complicated chevron one I used some squared paper to draw out my design.

The Contemporary Craft Festival 2015

On Saturday I visited The Contemporary Craft Festival in Bovey Tracey, Devon. The weather was lovely and there were so many beautiful items by some talented designers and makers. Here is a rundown of some of my favourites:

Suzanne Breakwell

I loved Suzanne's adorable sculptures of birds and animals, you can tell that she really loves her subject, which is the natural world & all its glorious flora & fauna. Her pieces are constructed from wire, paper mache, pages from books and cotton rag papers.

Liz Willis Jewellery
Liz makes beautiful jewellery using tiny knots in silk thread, over gold and silver wire.

Emma Cocker
Emma creates fabric sculptures, characters & illustrations using knitting and stitching, combining antique, vintage and reclaimed textiles, and British wool. So cute!

 

Helen Round

Helen uses traditional hand screen printing techniques to create limited edition collections from her sketchbook drawings inspired by the Cornish landscape. She prints on to linen and hemp, and then carefully stitches to create beautiful pieces for you and your home. Also a very nice lady!

Benton's Menagerie

Tracey Benton sculpts these wonderful British birds and beasts by hand from 100% wool.

Emily Kidson

Emily uses old samples of colourful laminate (formica) to make this unique and imaginitive jewellery.

 

Vinegar and brown paper

Andy Poplar designs and etches onto all sorts of different glassware, including vintage items, apothecary bottles and laboratory glass.

Olive Rose

Emma of Olive Rose uses a Victorian lace craft called “Tatting” to manipulate a single line of thread into a complex structure, creating some unique jewellery.

Helaina Sharpley

Helaina creates 2d and 3d wirework pieces which feature all sorts of things from kitchenalia to iconic architecture, I was really impressed by her unique technique.

Miriam Jones

Miriam uses different types of wood which she sources and recycles and turns into beautiful bowls and other items, adding colourful cotton thread, which symbolises the concept of make do and mend.

Emily Notman

Emily creates a great range of fabric items, on her work: "I create bespoke textile installations and accessories mixing media and building up tactile delicate surfaces. I work and rework my pieces with paint, dyes, bleach and ink, burning and layering until finishing it with hand stitch."

The Store Hus

I was really impressed with this pair of printmakers, whose designs are simple yet bold and eye catching. They have produced range of hand printed practical and decorative items for the home.