A Short Musical Interlude...

This is...A Work In Progress

This is...a work in progress - This week's theme , chosen by [kept in a jar] .
This is the perfect theme for me because it means I have the pick of so many projects which have been begun and not finished.....yet!

Here's a good example.In 2005 I began working on some pieces relating to house and garden,including this mixed media collage .It began as mainly acrylic on cardboard ,with the addition of some leaf shapes which were cut from paper and pasted in place. For some reason,I just couldn't get it to work, despite playing about with the colours .I'd put it away for a while and bring it out again after a few months .In a last dash effort to salvage something useful from it I decided to cut it up and rearrange the pieces .I applied gesso to the pieces ,and sanded each in turn so that some of the paint beneath would show through.I like the worn away surface of the pieces...but what next?

I'm going to spend some time on it this week and see if I can come up with something.

This is the other big WIP I've got on the go just now.Can't believe I'm showing you the awful truth that is the messy end of my bedroom!
When we moved to this house ,more than 2 years ago the room was painted peach and it had (badly made) fitted wardrobes covering one wall.
In October last year we decided to just give the room a bit of a quick make over.Although we didn't like the wardrobes it seemed like too much work to remove them .Since then the room stayed half painted as the decisions about what to do morphed from removing part of the cupboards(above)- to just getting rid of the unsightly creations.That's where we're at now ;wallpaper removed;wall re-plastered where it was needed ;wallpaper reapplied and more paint bought.
I've been repainting wardrobes Robb's parents gave us .That's almost done,which just leaves finishing the painting;the flooring and putting everything back together again!
I'm not getting too carried away with my expectations but I sincerely hope that by the end of this month it will look, at the very least, pleasant.
I can hardly wait to be able to post finished pictures to make up for showing you these !

Shopping List Saturday

Shopping List Saturday : week 2
Etsy is a fast growing market place for handmade goods ;over 100,000,000 people are now registered users! Of those, there are at least 100,000 sellers to choose from.To begin with, finding exactly what you're after might be daunting so the shopping lists are a great way to be introduced to new artists and makers and hopefully save some time if you're hunting for unique gifts (for yourself or others).

It was heartening that last week's choices were popular, so I'm glad to bring you a few more.They've been chosen because they all bring a smile to my face on this very grey and rainy day (that Scottish weather strikes again!)

So lets begin with the one above- made by blossomnbird.I love the exuberance of this .Can you imagine having something made just to your specifications in that style.Wow!Here's the link if you'd like to find out more.
Patchamania Skirt of Dreams...to your wishes Customised

Below is a ceramic wall tile by jasna,and I think it speaks for itself!
You can find it here


I love this ship in a bottle clutch.It's cute and very ingenious! It's made by prettylilthings .Read more about the wonderful creations made by prettylittlethings on her blog


These orange felted slippers are made from hand- dyed merino wool are available here They're made by ingermaaike.Check out her shop to see all the other felted goodies she has to offer.


And last for this week ... but certainly not least! I had to include this lovely little Badger Brooch.He is a creature with so much character ,and is just one of the charming felt creations available from Lupin,who writes about her crafting adventures on her blog

The very talented Charlotte,of fancypicnic, came up with the Shopping list Saturday idea.Want to join in, or find out who else is making lists? - visit the fancypicnic blog. In the next few weeks I hope to be bring you more of my Etsy favourites .Hope you like today's picks :-)

Flowers and Stripes

What do you do with lovely cashmere jerseys that have shrunk in the wash? Wash again on the hottest setting and use the felted woollie fabric to make a few more striped pouches. Ta..daaaa ! Now available in my materialised shop on etsy.

A New Meme: Shopping List Saturday

I've recently discovered the wonderful,richly embellished accessories made by Charlotte of Fancy picnic .When she started a meme over on her blog I was very pleased when she invited me to join in.
The idea is that every Saturday we highlight some of the fabulous handmade goods we would love to own from the independent artists and crafts makers,who sell their work via Etsy (Your place to buy & sell all things handmade)

I already spend a vast amount of time looking at the lovely stuff there, so choosing items from some of my favourite sellers was no problem.Narrowing the list down,on the other hand,proved trickier.

But here goes,in no particular order:

This fabulous,fabulous scarf by ChopstixWaits (I really wish I'd made that)
Available for sale here.You can also visit chopstickswaits on myspace

Shiny new shoe pin by chebang.I love the light radiating from the shoe-it's super cute!
Available for sale here. Silvia(chebang) has a blog,which you can read here

It's no surprise that I covet something by Dogdaisy92! I am in awe of her textile dexterity ...and she's a lovely lady too . This piece,Indian Summer, is available here
And,if you'd like a treat read Jackie's blog Dogdaisychains

I love the colours and textures in this handspun yarn from Colorbomb Creations.It's called
ROUTE 66 - Handspun Art Yarn - 31yds of LoopyDoopyMinis merino wools coils yarn
and it's available here.To find out more about Velma ,the spinner,take a look at her blog

This is the scratchy cat print from lineanongrata.
My cats are scratchy cats,and I recognise that priceless expression! Read more from the artist, Julia on her blog

Build Me Up Buttercup 8 x 8 Fine Art Photographic Print from Green Island Studios.
This one makes me feel all warm and Summery...I can almost feel the reflection on my chin.Love the title too...a great tune I've danced to, often :-)

Random Poetry Bird - embroidered ornament doll from Cathy Cullis...just beautiful! Part of a series of poetic birds Cathy is working on just now.Find out more on her Novembermoon blog.

My final choice this week is from emmajo (Webster), a tapestry entitled Red Memory Landscape
This tapestry gives me such a good feeling...I wish I properly understood why.I know it's something to do with the intense colour,and the arrangement of the colours ,but more than that I can't say.If I knew it's secret, I'd bottle it and keep it handy for emergency grey days.

If your have time and (especially if you have any money burning a hole in your pocket), I urge you to check out these links.So much talent!
You can help independent artists and makers by giving them your support.This enables them to carry on producing work which is creative,individual and of an very high standard .

If you'd like to see some more inspiring shopping lists Charlotte has compiled a list of participants on her blog.

August...Already!

On the first day of every month I think...It can't be ...not already,but it is...the 1st August.I can hardly believe how fast this year is flying by.This week has gone quickly too.I've been busy with more pouches for my shop and there was also some decorating.I'm very pleased to have finally finished painting my bedroom ceiling; only begun in October!

I like when you get to know a pattern well,you can spend less time thinking about how to make it and just get on with the fun bit,which is searching through the fabrics ,thinking Ahahh...that's just what I'm looking for! The one below is mainly made from a soft cream suedette ,so I thought the polka dots would work well and was so excited when I found the smallest piece of silk I'd dyed a few years ago and the colour matched the dots perfectly.It's these little triumphs which make my day...I'm sad, I know!

There's more pouches,and decorating coming soon,but time for a break now and a visit from my Mum.

This is....Short but Sweet

This is...Short but sweet.I found it growing in my garden this afternoon,and it's also the last thing I ate!
To find out who else is writing about this is ,visit Three Buttons

Mint & Chocolate Thoughts

There's been a heat wave in my part of the world,this week. Today I am melted!
I've been inside sewing more of my little pouches.The design has proved popular ,so I'm making it in different colour combos,which I'll be listing in my etsy shop over the next week.This one's inspired by one of my favourite ice cream flavours ; mint and chocolate chip.
The amazing weather has meant I've not had a chance to wear my finished Edgar scarf yet. I knitted it with two skeins of noro Cash Island yarn,which were a present from Robb.

After deciding I wasn't going to buy any more yarn until the small amount of oddments I have were used up,I saw this lovely stuff while we were out shopping together ...and I could hardly refuse when he offered to get it for me (I can't remember how much it was exactly ,but something like £7 per 50g skein!).It's a wool/cashmere/nylon mix,and feels lovely to knit with.

I'm pretty pleased with the scarf.My style guru...(Robb), thought it should be long enough to wrap round a few times...so I just carried on knitting the diamonds till the wool was finished.The pattern was straight forward enough so that after a few rows I could see where to decrease by looking at the stitches,which was great because I don't have the concentration for counting.

There were only a couple of niggles.First the yarn had a join in it quite near the start.So there's a leap in colour from teal to lime,which I could have done without.I also managed to form a nasty loop somehow without noticing.
The pattern is available free on Knitty.com if you fancy one for yourself.

If this weather carries on I won't be wearing it for a while yet....but I'm not complaining!

OK....Where was I ?

...Well nowhere really - just here.But I decided I needed some time away from the computer.The amount of hours I spend sitting staring at the screen is so unhealthy!

A lot of time last week was spent doing DIY (the whole house is now in chaos and every room is in a partial state of decoration...it's got to get worse before it gets better....Aaarrrg!)

Apart from that ,I'm very pleased that I finished my embroidered cushion.This one ,I'm keeping.I used a lot of hand dyed and recycled materials,mainly silks, and I think it might not stand up to heavy use or laundering. So it's found a temporary home in my bedroom...Elvis doesn't seem too interested ;-)

Most of the design choices were made as I went along .I really enjoy working like this as it means you have plenty to think about as you are sewing ...deciding about stitches and colours and what to sew.Some decisions are very laboured over...others easy. The detail below is my favourite part .I felt like I had found the rhythm of the stitches here and just went along with it.

Don't ask me what the green bits are.It just seemed like a good idea at the time so there they are.

I'll leave you with a picture of this beautiful noro yarn ,which was a present from my beloved...he knows the way to a ladies heart!

Mosaic Monday

Mosaic Monday, originally uploaded by miss-frugality.

A few of my current favourites from Flickr. Click on the photo to see the the individual images larger ,and to find out more about the talented artists who created them.