Sale!

I've recently been thinking hard about my Etsy shop and my jewellery-making in general, and have made some decisions about the direction I'm going to take (more on this to follow in a later post!).

As a result I have decided to hold my very first sale in my Etsy shop - selected items from my older jewellery design ranges will be available at a substantial discount, starting October 1st 2010.

This is a precursor to me slightly revamping the shop, and and reconsidering difficult things like pricing structures and packaging.

So, if you would like a tastykaeru original at a bargain price, check out my Etsy shop from October 1st - the sale will run throughout October.

Rêve...

Here is the second of my linen experiments, an opportunity to try out a few ideas in preparation for a bigger project (more details on that anon!).   This time, using a palette of grey, silver, teal and pink, I worked onto the felt/linen... 

...adding tiny iridescent 2mm sequins...

...wee labradorite chips...

...and glass and vintage metal beads, as well as running, bullion knot, colonial knot and detached chain hand embroidery stitches.

Again this is just a small piece, fitting into a 6 1/2" x 4 1/2" aperture frame:

Terrain...

Recently I had an experimental session felting onto upholstery linen for the first time, using small scraps left over from other projects.  ... although slightly tricky and needle-bending, the linen is very satisfying to work with, and I feel the muted natural colour of the fabric brings out the colours of the fibres.

I was working with a wonderful selection of hand-dyed fibres that I picked up at the Festival of Quilts (called a  'texture pack'), made up of scrim, viscose felt and other goodies.

I was quite surprised to find that the linen took to the felting quite well:

Then of course came the beads, couched threads and embroidery:

It measures about 11cm x 8cm. 

What I learned this time was that yes, I really should have used a hoop for the beading and embroidery (I hate using hoops but linen this thick is just such a nightmare to get flat...), and that next time I would use a slightly lighter-weight linen to felt onto.

I got a bit carried away during the linen felting session though, so I have a few heavier-weight pieces to finish first - details to follow!

The reel thing...

When my Dad visited recently he bought a rather large box full of interesting things, amongst which were several pieces of driftwood.

We have been collecting driftwood in one way or another for as long as I can remember, so now there is quite a stash in my Dad's workroom.  We have been trying to think of a good project to use it on but hadn't had many viable ideas.

Then, recently, whilst trying to tidy (!) my own crafty stash I started thinking about all of my thread spools and whether there would be a way to store them more accessibly and visibly - to see them all at once for colour inspiration.  I started thinking about some sort of wall-hanging-spool-tidy, and drew a few sketches which I sent to my dad for suggestions (thanks Dad!).  The idea gradually developed, and then we realised we would finally be able to use some of the driftwood!  Hurrah!

Here's what we came up with:

(it was my Dad's idea to call it 'the reel thing', honest)

I really like the mishmash of different types of spools and it's great to see all the colours together.  I'm hoping it will inspire me to develop my machine embroidery skills!

Sunburst and Vortex...

It has taken me quite a while to get these finished... . I've been otherwise engaged all over the place doing lots of fun things like the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and travelling down to Birmingham to see my sister and nieces and going to the Festival of Quilts.  The Festival of Quilts was quite an event (I had never been before) - and although I am not a quilter we had a wonderful day drooling over all the stalls and getting lots of inspiration.  The highlight of the day though was actually getting to meet lovely Myfanwy of Sassalynne in person and to see (and buy!) a collection of her wonderful supplies 'in the flesh'.  Over the course of the day I bought lots of exciting and inspiring supplies, and discovered new sellers like 21st Century Yarns, which was great too.

Anyway, back to Sunburst and Vortex - these are prototype necklaces, the first two end results of my Sassalynne viscose felt project. 

'Vortex'

I haven't done any felting myself this time - the colours of the felt were so lovely I didn't want to cover them up by adding any more fibre.  Instead I just beaded and embroidered onto the surface, and experimented with a more 'ethnic' feel with dangly (not sure how else to describe them!) additions at the bottom of the felt piece and on the chain.

Glass beads and tiny sequins, with seed stitch in ribbon and cotton.

'Sunburst'

Glass beads, and seed and running stitches in gold thread.

The addition of the metal drops is a bit of a departure for me - the idea arose from wanting to try to incorporate a bit of movement into a necklace.

Aegis...

'Aegis' is another new necklace prototype I have been working on - I wanted something a little smaller than the 'bib' idea, but still large enough to give me a good area to play with :).  I have been trying to think of iconic shapes, but steering clear of anything too figurative like hearts or stars.  Eventually I was reminded of a 'shield' shape (inspired by beautiful earrings I bought from ILDVED on Etsy) - ok so still quite figurative but more unusual, and the symbolism of protection and strength really appeals to me.

So, I tried a few shapes and sizes out in card, came up with a prototype stencil, and here is the finished result:

in situ:

I made the felt from silk hankie fibre, merino roving, abaca tissue, silk throwsters waste and cotton nepps.  Then I added couched thread, glass beads, and seed and colonial knot hand embroidery stitches.

First stage...

The first stages of my viscose felt projects are complete:

(they each measure 4.5 x 6 cm)