Free time...

 As of this week my Thursdays are now free, meaning I have more time available to develop some ideas that have been brewing... .

I recently bought some absolutely beautiful hand-dyed viscose felt from the ever wonderful Myfanwy of Sassalynne (her Etsy shop is here).  As usual I have been 'sitting' on it for a wee while waiting for inspiration to strike - which it inevitably does, sooner or later, when one is lucky enough to have a store of such lovely supplies...  .  Here is the first stage of my idea - 9 versions to be precise - more to follow at a later date:

The colours and the texture of the felt are irresistible!

Another project I got to finish today is another 'bib'-style necklace - I've slightly tweaked the design with this one, and changed the parts that connect to the ribbon to a more 'pointed' rather than 'rounded' shape.

This one is called 'nightgarden'.

The felt piece is made of silk hankie fibre, cotton scrim, cotton nepps, and silk tops, embellished with many glass and antique metal beads, and colonial knot, seed, bullion knot, detached chain and woven spider's wheel hand embroidery stitches.

A rainy afternoon...

There's not much I like better than getting down to some embellisher action on a dreary, misty, moisty Saturday afternoon... .

I had quite a busy December and January in my shop, which has meant I've been able to splash out on some gorgeous new fibres.  I'm particularly loving silk bell caps/hankies at the moment - a little goes such a long way, and with wonderful dyers out there like fibercottage and knotmydayjob providing such beautiful colour inspiration, I've been having fun this afternoon!

So, here's what I came up with.  I'm particularly excited as more ring blanks have arrived from Olay, so I'll be getting to work on more felted, embroidered and beaded rings this evening.

These will become rings, earrings, necklaces and brooches sometime soon :D

My favourite supplies... Part 1!

I've been thinking for a while now about how lucky I am to have access to all the wonderful sellers who produce the various supplies that I use in my work, and wanting to acknowledge that in some way.  The internet, and especially Etsy, have really enabled me to 'make' in the way I do.  When I bought my embellisher, I really had no 'formal' idea of what to do or how to use it 'properly'- but I was able to find shops on eBay and then Etsy that stocked things I had never even heard of, much less though of using, to try out - and what's more shops run by helpful and friendly sellers (which makes such a difference!). It is because of these sellers that I am able to enjoy crafting as much as I do - so as a 'thank you' I have decided to post occasionally about my favourite suppliers.  Hopefully you will see something that will inspire a new project!


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My first favourite supplier is Sarah, of therainbowgirl, on Etsy.  Sarah is a fellow UK Etsian (always great as it means the goodies arrive faster!!) who sells really beautiful hand-dyed threads, fabrics and fibre.  

Sarah has a wonderful eye for colour, and puts together many marvellous selections of different hand-dyed fabric like this:

I've used pieces of Sarah's fabric for smocking (the variegation of colour looks great), embroidery and also in my fibre art cards.  Here's some more beautiful examples, which you can find here:

Unfortunately I'm no quilter (but it's on my list...!) - but I can imagine a gorgeous, sunny quilt made using these lovely pieces.

Sarah also puts together fantastic mixed thread selections, which I love to use for embroidery, couching and my kumihimo jewellery. This beautiful sandy and green selection available here:

Another great idea is her fabric and thread kits in co-ordinating colours, like this one:

And then there's these beauties:

- a 'mixed bag' containing cotton and muslin fabrics, lace, trim and threads, again all hand-dyed in such pretty colours.  I have found these packs so useful for using with my embellisher and as the basis for fibre art pieces.

These are delicious silk-carrier rods which give wonderful texture to felted pieces:

-and there are plenty more wonderful delights in a tempting rainbow of colours to browse in the shop.  If you ever buy supplies (and come on, I know you do :P) I urge you to check it out!

I am a regular customer of Sarah's (she knows my address off by heart!) and using her wonderful threads and fabrics in my work is a real pleasure.  However, Sarah is not only a supplier - she is also a very talented embroiderer and artist - check out her new blog for some wonderful work and inspiration.

Thank you, Sarah!