365 - did it!

So it's the last day of 2010, and i've managed it! I've blogged every day for a year, that's a post every single day, plus there were days during Advent when I posted more than once a day, so I think i've blogged 376 times this year!
Here's what i've been up to during the last twelve months ...

January
I was knitting like crazy ... mittens, bags (that's still a WIP) and fabric for felting. I also bought my first bag from Nicsknots, those bags have become something of an obsession!

February

This was the month I really got into enamelling. I tried all sorts of techniques. It was great fun and I keep meaning to do more. I really would like my own kiln then I could dabble whenever ...

March

I did my first ever ATC swap and loved it. ATC is an Artist's Trading Card, my first one was made from printed felt. I also went to the Fashion, Embroidery and Stitch Show at the NEC in Birmingham ... and spent a fortune!

April

I took place in a 'Round Robin' Necklace swap, working with two other makers to create three different necklaces. I also had a few lovely days away in York ... but kept blogging!

May

May was a very creative month, another ATC swap, lots of jewellery, including a ring I made for the Caithness Rare Breeds Charity Raffle, and the garden was looking fantastic.

June

June was a stressful month, there were inspectors knocking on the door at work and any creative activity seemed to take a back seat to lesson planning and assessment records! I did manage to make some jewellery for my daughter's first trip abroad to France.

July

School was out, and I started to enjoy a summer of Vintage swaps and doodling. The doodling seemed to take over my life! I've still got a few that need finishing from the Summer and i'm still taking part in the DoodleWords challenge too.

August

I relaunched my Folksy shop after months in the wilderness (but at the moment I think it's in the wilderness again!), and I made my first bunting.

September

My knitting needles were busy making little 'giddy' coloured hats for the tops of Innocent Smoothies, and I started making a patchwork 'something' - I still don't know what it will end up being!

October

I launched my first every swap, an Autumn Leaf Craft Swap, got really into Crochet again and also went to FibreFlurry in King's Norton, Birmingham, an absolutely amazing yarn show!

November

We had our first snow of the Winter, I discovered Whoopie Pies, and seemed to be in a constant state of designing and making Christmas decorations ... I also bought a Diddybear!

December

My blog turned into a paper chain fest - three designs a day for 24 days, that's a lot of paper, i've still got some to print out here, so looks like they'll be used for decorations next Christmas. I also took part in SheDraw's Fancy Tea Swap.

Ok, so you're wanting to ask, will this start all over again tomorrow? I'll talk about my next blog challenge then ...

Blue Bowls

I know I showed off my Christmas presents the other day, but I did forget to blog about these beautiful handmade bowls that my brother bought me ... I think they were still in bubble wrap at the time!

I love the colour and I love the surface decoration inside. I don't normally 'allow' ceramics just to be ornamental, but the decoration is quite delicate, so I don't think i'll be tipping my Saturday night Doritos into these. I think they'll take pride of place in the new 'craft area' i'm trying to sort out in my dining room.

Fabric from the sales

I live right next to a Hobbycraft, and although it is useful when a sewing machine bulb goes on a Sunday morning or when I can't find a particular pair of knitting needles in my bag, I try not to buy my crafty supplies from there!
I did, however, go to the sale there on Monday and did quite well. Lots of their fabrics have been reduced, some by over 60% so I managed to bag these treasures ...
Quilting fabrics in shades of 'lilac', these look so good together - last photograph before they become hexagons!

This blue fabrics has the same print as one of the fabrics above, but I can just see it as an overshirt for the summer ...

And the same with this floral print, I'm thinking summer dress ...

The prints are quite subdued so I don't think it matters if I make the clothes for this summer or next, they'll still look fresh.

Now back to feeling sorry for myself because I have a head cold ...

Tuesday Treasury - Starting to crochet ...

A different sort of treasury this week.I'm starting to feel a bit more confident about my crochet skills, and have decided to start some 'full blown' projects in the New Year. I've been looking on Folksy for some basic 'kit' to get started ...

Green Retro Crochet Hook Roll/Holder, I love this colour scheme -
http://www.folksy.com/shops/egiraffe

"Yoda" Radiance Aran (200g), a wonderful three ply space-dyed yarn -

http://www.folksy.com/shops/babylonglegs

Liberty print 'Knitting' fabric Hand made small project bag, so the print is called knitting, but this bag is fab (I already own one!) -

http://www.folksy.com/shops/Nicsknots

Kit for Lemon Syllabub Gloves, it's got the yarn, the hook and the pattern! -
http://www.folksy.com/shops/purplepebble

Hope i'll be blogging about my crochet adventures very soon!



My Christmas Goodies ...

Hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas, thought i'd better show off a few of my Christmas presents on here ...
Don't worry, i've stuck to a few, so you won't be reading all evening!
My daughter bought me this gorgeous Cath Kidston button tin, just what I needed!

I've put lots and lots of my 'general purpose' buttons in, but will need a few more to top it up!

My parents bought me this cute little Marmite teapot. I've wanted one for ages, i've even blogged about wanting one ... they obviously took the hint!!

A friend at work bought me loads of green glass beads, and yes, i'm going to use them to create something for me, they will not go in my stash!

And lastly, I popped into Boots today (with my Christmas spending money) and treated myself to this fabulous Celia Birtwell Vanity Case - half-price of course! I love the little matching purse. I'll probably use it to stash crafty projects rather than toiletries.

http://www.cathkidston.co.uk/
http://www.marmite.com/
http://www.celiabirtwell.com/

Rob Ryan

I'm a big Rob Ryan fan, obviously, I love the way he combines pattern and typography. Last Tuesday I went to the Shire Hall Gallery in Stafford to see his exhibition - "Your Job Is To Take This World Apart And Put It Back Together Again ... But Even Better"

This was painted on the wall as you entered the exhibition.

The Shire Hall Gallery is a lovely exhibition space set right in the heart of Stafford. I go there quite often, but this was an extra special exhibition for me!

There were lots of Ryan's prints and papercuts, along with ceramics, to reflect the fact that the exhibition was in Staffordshire.
There wasn't an exhibition catalogue, but the gallery staff were very happy  for people to take photographs - although I have to admit that lots of mine we're a bit blurred - a combination of trying to photograph through glass and me being a bit excitable!!!

Every Beat Of My Heart

Your Job - Screenprint

Bird Lady



Detail of collaboration with The Rug Company



Screenprint

A selection of tiles

Everything I Do ... Ceramic Tile

And last of all, this tile, the perfect mantra for those "Creative Block" days ...























Apologies if i've titled any of these photographs wrongly, I was a bit overwhelmed!

You can find more information about Rob Ryan on his website -
http://www.misterrob.co.uk/
His blog -
http://rob-ryan.blogspot.com/
And he also has a shop on Etsy -
http://www.etsy.com/shop/misterrob

Happy Christmas!

Webs

I never thought i'd be dashing outside in my dressing gown to take pictures of my wheelie bin, but earlier this week that's exactly what I did ...

We've had some amazing hoar frosts this winter, but on most occasions I haven't had my camera with me (and it's been dark because i'm on my way to work), so I felt really lucky to capture these frost coated spiders webs. The frost really shows all the intricacies of their structure.

Advent Paper Chains - 24th December

Ok, so this is the last Advent Paper Chain design before Christmas ...

So now to start planning what I can do in the run up to Christmas 2011, come on, admit it, it will fly by!!

Have a great Christmas everyone, there will be blog posts over Christmas, only seven more days and i've blogged 365!!

Advent Paper Chains - 23rd December

Some more snowflakes, inspired by yesterday's heavy snowfall ...
One more paper chain design to go ...

Sent off to Santa

I'm still sewing bits and bobs for Christmas, including some bunting made from some fabric I designed on Spoonflower.
I originally ordered the fabric way back in October, but must have pressed the wrong button and ended up with a HUGE repeat pattern!
Thankfully, I had an idea and decided to make this fabric into a Christmas sack ...

The sack is lined with cotton, so it should be good to use for years to come. I'm so glad I thought of a use for this 'mistake', now back to sewing bunting ...

Advent Paper Chains - 22nd December

You might recognise this stocking design from my gift tag design, but I thought they deserved their own paper chains too.

Tuesday Treasury - Snowflakes

What else could my treasury be today! Our garden is thick with snow, and today is the first time i've really seen any major traffic going along our street. So, here is my snowflake mini-treasury ...

French Vanilla Snowflake Brooch -
http://www.folksy.com/shops/JaquelineCooleyGlassDesigns

Snowflake Hand knitted dishcloth -

http://www.folksy.com/shops/amagpieandadove

Beaded Snowflake Heart Christmas Decoration by Ditsy Bird Design -
http://www.folksy.com/shops/DitsyBirdSews

Embroidered Snowflake Needlecase -

http://www.folksy.com/shops/winnibriggshouse

Advent Paper Chains - 21st December

Today we have Christmas lights.Not the trendy modern LED variety, but the old-style pointy bulbs that had a tendency to stop working magically between each December!
Only three more paper chains to go ...

Gift Tags

A quick last minute Christmas print-off for you ...
cute Christmas stocking gift tags ...

Click on the image to bring it up on it's own screen, right click to save it, and then print off using your computer's print wizard.
And if you have little ones who are off school and too bored/excited, there are also these blank ones to colour in, collage or add glitter ...