Off the Grid a Bit

It is entirely too long since I posted last, especially since I had vowed to start posting more regularly than my once a week routine!  However, it seems like  life is rather conspiring against me.  Major change of diet has me a bit distracted while I go wheat/dairy/corn free.  I'm getting the hang of it now and it's going well.  Then I fell into a more than full-time job and that has kept me REALLY busy.  Nothing to get excited about, but I do have to take a break from creating full-time to pay the bills back down and reassure my lonely bank account that I do not intend to abandon it (and possibly reassure my bank of same).  I am not giving up felting, just spending more time experimenting and ENJOYING felting, versus producing on such a high level.  As sales are not great in craft at the moment, I can't justify spending so much time and money there.  It's nice to enjoy the nice weather and relax a bit without last year's incredible pressure to produce and sell.  Anyone would lose their mojo in the midst of that!

Bin Ban Beach in Dingle.  The weather has been pretty
good this spring!

And, sadly, my mother passed away last Saturday, April 7th in Seattle.  She was ill for a long time, but she rallied back from death so many times that we began to think that she just wouldn't succumb.  In the end she did pass rather quickly (and mercifully) and it has been hard for me and Fionn to be so far away.  I had two rough days and now I feel numb and rather shell-shocked, like I could go to bed and sleep for two weeks straight.  But I decided not to take any time off as I thought sitting around the house thinking too much wouldn't do me any good.  I don't think its all really sunk in, to be honest, but it will.  When one or both of your parents pass, it's a milestone; the people who loved you the best and the most are gone.  Thankfully I still have my father.

For now, I am keeping it pretty simple.  Still working on a freestyle crochet cardigan that will be done soon and I need to get cracking on a baby blanket for my new niece who will be here in May at some time.  I started deep cleaning the house, which I am sure must be one of the little-talked about stages of grief.  I may not be the most mentally healthy, but dammit my house will sparkle!  I also am working on felting and patterns for new items, but its all in a muddled state--pics to follow!

Enjoy the spring and I hope to have some decent pics soon as I can't keep cleaning the house at this pace!

You're Not My Type...

What have I been doing, you say?  I have been marinating.  Thinking, reading, sleeping, changing my diet, and trying not to worry about the future.  I started craft club up again in private sessions and its nice to have something messy to do on a Saturday morning again :)  We used a resist and I taught my student how to make a pouch for her phone that evolved into a proper little handbag.  It's cute and drying now and next week we will embellish the flap and work on something new.

Pizza with gluten-free base for Fionn's birthday.  Did a
gluten-free cake also and turned out lovely!

I took the big step of making radical food changes.  I had been wondering for some time about the blood group diet and I picked up a copy of Dr. Peter D'Adamo book Eat For Your Right Type and was instantly intrigued.  I've had a hard time the last two years with fatigue and joint pain like arthritis and his theories on eating and blood type are interesting.  Historically, we are predisposed to eat and properly digest certain foods.  I am type O and we are predisposed to thyroid problems, blood clotting issues, and immune system issues.  We have a lot of acid in the stomach and so when highly acidic foods are consumed then there are problems. The program recommended removing all wheat, dairy, and corn from my diet.  So last week I made the big effort and started experimenting with non-wheat recipes.

Wheat and corn free breads are easy to make, as it turns out.  I bought a whole pantry of white rice flour, rice bran, tapioca, and potato flour and I can make a lovely brown soda bread with nuts and seeds.  It is best eaten on the same day baked, but it isn't hard work for the two of us to polish it off in the same day.  I did a little Internet hunting and found an excellent spelt bread recipe.  It bakes just the same as wheat bread but spelt is much more moist and it stays lovely for cutting for four days, which is handy for mid-week when you are busy.  I'll take pics and post the yeast recipe next time as it takes a couple days for the starter to develop, but for now here is the quick and easy soda bread...it is from Darina Allen's gluten free cookbook.

It might seem like a lot of ingredients, but once you buy them, they last a long time...

Brown Soda Bread

50g Sunflower seeds         1 t. gluten-free baking powder
50g Pumpkin seeds           1/2 t salt
110g rice flour                   1 t xanthan gum (health food stores stock it)
60g rice bran                     1 T sugar
50 g tapioca flour               1 egg, free range
25g buckwheat flour          175-200ml buttermilk
25g dried milk                    1 t baking soda


Preheat the oven to 230c/45of/gas mark 8.

Chop the seeds and place in a large bowl (I didn't and I also added sesame seeds).  Add the rest of the dry ingredients and make a well in the center.  Lightly beat the eggs and add to the well along with the buttermilk.  Mix well, but do not over stir, taking care to add a bit more rice flour if needed.

Add some rice flour to the baking tray and form a circle with the dough.  Place it on the tray and cut a cross into the bread with a serrated knife, taking care to prick the corners to let the fairies out!  Bake in the preheated oven for 5 minutes and then reduce to 180c/350f/gas mark 4 for 25-30 minutes.  You may wish to turn the loaf upside down for the final 5 minutes to let the bottom get crusty.  The seeds really make this loaf and you will want a piece slathered with butter straight out of the oven!

Liebster Award

I got up a couple days ago and found out that Food Fancies had nominated me for a Liebster Award for blogging.  What a great way to start the day! As a recipient--and I am in really great company!--I need to give a heartfelt thanks to my nominator Sharon, also known as Little Miss Cupcake, who has a lovely blog Food Fancies and nominate five more people myself.  Sharon is hard at work trying to get a cafe opened in Dingle in a few weeks time (!) so I do wish her the absolute best there.

Hard to do since there are such great bloggers out there, but I have to say that Nicola Brown at Clasheen is excellent. Great humour and information on felting and always news on the fibre world.  I don't know where she gets her energy.

Embroidery tutorial on Carina's Craft Blog

In no particular order, I also love Carina's Craft Blog.  Lots of great crochet tutorials here and her fabric designs on Spoonflower are beautiful and colourful.  Great for when I get the itch to learn new stitches.

I want to felt like Andrea Graham when I grow up!  Her blog Andrea Graham Feltmaker has great photography and you can see a huge range of handmade felt items and she is quite on the ball about using the internet to teach students via webcam.  Majorly productive and married with kids, not easy folks!

I love the combinations of felt and velvet in Dog Daisy Chains blog.  She always has such beautiful eye candy and I get motivated to get into the studio and start messing around.

And finally A Baked Creation always inspires me to cook or bake something interesting and my son often looks over my shoulder and says "Let's go try that, Mom!"  Go find the Lemon Drizzle Cake--dead easy to bang into the oven and so, so good!  I love the texture of the cake.  My son loves the lemon icing.  Some things never change!

You really NEED this Lemon Drizzle Cake.  So easy and a little too good.

And if I can be cheeky and mention a sixth blog, I love Kathy York's Art Quilts by Kathy York.  She makes vibrant, hand-dyed fabrics and great designs and has given me some great ideas for resist-dyeing fabric.  Love her quilts and she is so inspiring!

Kathy York's story quilt "Morning Commute with Sweet Jane."

The Sun is Shining!

Colour scheme of new crocheted jacket

It's been a busy week!  I've been dyeing yarns on dry days to complete a new free form crocheted jacket. A bit pricey to sell, but I did want something wow! to submit for Kerry Fashion Weekend.  The colour scheme is all reds/pinks/natural wool in a kaleidoscope of patterns.  It's starting to shape up nicely and should be done within this week, I think. Unless I get the mad idea to start beading it in parts, which is entirely possible :)

When I crochet, it gives me a chance to think a lot.  About life, about my son, about things that need to get done.  It's a kind of stream-of-consciousness thing where the hands are busy and the brain relaxes and releases random thoughts, things that have been kicking around in the back of my brain.  That's what creating does, I think: it allows you to think and feel and interpret life.  Life can get pretty hectic at times, so its good to sit down and crochet or muck about in felt and stitch and just try to understand this life we have.

Part of the jacket pattern.  This is the
front right panel.

I've a couple friends sick at the moment and I am really praying for them, hoping they find their way through it.  That they know how many people love them and have the courage to face it all, to keep going no matter how hard it gets.  Some people are blessed to know how many friends they have and to feel love all the time.  Other people resist it like they don't want to believe it, that the friendship and love are mistakenly given to them and that they can't really accept it.  This struggle is hard to witness as they are often lovely people that can't believe in themselves. I sat crocheting late last night and finally gave up and went to bed, with no great insight into how to help.

I went back to my old friend the Tunisian
crochet hook.  It's a bit like knitting &
crochet mixed. You cast on and off...

I dreamed all last night of a great friend of mine who is going through a terrible time.  I woke with entire sentences of encouragement streaming out of me and I had to get up and get a notebook and start writing it all down.  I started sketching designs and had six pages of text and sketches before I knew it.  I looked at it critically and realized that most of what I had written had been to help a friend in need, but it would also work in a more generic basis—everyone needs encouragement or a reminder every now and then when they stray off the path they travel in life.  I think I may have woken up and developed a whole series of textile collages.  The sun is streaming in the dirty windows and I see dust all over the floor and all I can think of is rummaging around my studio until I find the right colour fabric and dyeing new ones and getting started cutting and sewing and beginning the process of making these collages a reality.  I will definitely send the words of encouragement out to my friend, but it has already become something more than that.  My inspiration well is full this week.

So, I'm off to felt/dye/sew on this beautiful, sunny Spring day.  I hope you all get outside for your vitamin D!

Pancake Tuesday

We got up early this morning and made a load of pancakes and sent them off to my son's school.  In Ireland, the Tuesday before Lent  begins is Pancake Tuesday, the day that extra eggs were used up before Lent commenced.  Apparently, in times of old, any luxurious or pleasurable food was also given up for the Lenten period, something that is definitely not followed in modern times!  At any rate, the boys should be full and happy by now and ready to face Ash Wednesday tomorrow.

More lovely superfine Merino scarves that will by coming at you soon!

I have been a quiet blogger lately as there is lots of new things in the works.  Not only have I been busy with part-time work, but I have also been re-designing my label and getting ready to relaunch my brand.  The fiddly bits of tweaking all the marketing text is time-consuming, but I am happy with the new results.  I am having my clothing labels printed as we speak and then I will have to remove all the old ones that I am going forward with and I am busily designing new knitwear items that I will submit for Kerry Fashion Weekend.  Lots of details to follow up on to get it right this time.

I sent off designs for Project 51 in Dublin and I am waiting hear back from them.  I was very impressed with their artisan range when I visited their booth at Showcase and I'd love to take part in their Festival of Irish Design for March 2012.  Fingers crossed there!  There are a couple more options coming soon also, but stay tuned for more details!

In the meantime, take a look at Aisling Ryan on http://www.fundit.ie/project/a-little-old-a-little-new.  She is one of the first craft artisans who is pursuing funding on www.fundit.ie.  Fundit has successfully launched many projects, but their crowdfunding endeavors are now helping individuals get financial assistance.  Well done to Aisling and the best of luck to her!!

Blurry Picture in the Distance

There are times in life when all seems muddy and unclear.  It's really that time of year, isn't it?  Time to wisely listen to the animals and hibernate a bit.  Its the time of year when I drag out magazines to look at new projects, new fabrics, and to think about people I want to work with and skills I need to learn.  I read a lot and cook and try to actively NOT think at times.

After a few weeks of this, something generally starts to emerge.  I am a list maker, essential for anyone balancing too much in their life, and if I lay the lists out next to each other I generally start to see a pattern of interest.  I can see now that there was no way I could sustain the amount of work that I was doing.  I think less teaching, or at least more isolated teaching, is in my future.  I love teaching, but I end up giving too much of myself and the transition between designing and teaching isn't as fluid for me right now.  I think now is a time to concentrate on design ideas and working on selling.

I went up to Showcase on Monday, just to have a look around. I was nearly certain that it wasn't for me, but I wanted to get some feedback on designs.  Not only did I get excellent feedback on my hats and scarves, but I really do think Showcase will be for me next year.  I have a lot to do to get ready, including perfecting my begging face when I have to go to the bank and look for a small business loan, but it will be worth it for the exposure.  The addition of the fashion show this year was really the clincher.  I was told that my work would have been perfect in the fashion show the night before, that I was on track with the style and textures and colours.

And I took a good hard look at what the other knitwear and felt people were doing.  There's no point replicating the same designs as we all look the same and it only creates a price war.  So I now have a fair idea of what I will make that will stand out from the crowd.  Now to just find the space to do it!  I am also seeking advice from a mentor and I am toying with the idea of changing my company name and re-branding. It's a bit fussy, but I think the name I have hasn't been connecting at all and now is the time to do it.  I have arrived at a name and mentor thinks it's good, too, so just have to think about it over the week and then order new business cards and labels for clothing.

Some progress is being made on sorting my house out.  I made a space for my dyeing microwave and now just need to find a space for all my dyeing equipment.  Not easy!!  Hopefully some space will be made available in the near future.  Meanwhile, I am working on samples to show a couple of shops who I am going to approach. I need to get all my details all organized so it looks like a cohesive package.  The mist is lifting and I can see the blurry picture in the distance!

And I also need to get taking some pics because this is all I had this week!

A Bit Lost in the non-Winter

New hat.  I so wanted to bead the felt decor
after machine embroidery, but with sales
so low, I can't justify the work for the prices
I can getting.  The new economy line, I think!

It's mid-January and we are in the middle of a very mild winter, especially compared to the last two years.  My family in Seattle and friends in Boston are despairing the cold and snow and ice, but here in Ireland we are getting a reprieve from the nastiness.  I hope to God it means that we might actually have a beautiful summer also, as the rain this year has been fairly unforgiving.

I closed my studio this week and it was hard work. Condensing another house into my small house is not easy and I found a place to store my felting tables until I can find another workspace.  My house is like a bomb site. I look at the boxes and bags everywhere and I hardly know where to start, but I know I have to make a start of it or I will go nuts.  There is space in the spare bedroom to store supplies and possibly sew, but there is only room on the kitchen table to lay out small felting projects.  The full dye kitchen is much harder as there is so much STUFF to store and I think it will just have to go out to the shed and hope the weather doesn't ruin it.  Mildew seems to be breeding with alacrity and as soon as I get the clutter under control, I need to wash walls with mildew killer and start painting.

Using a lot of gray to foil brighter colours.
Since most of my colours are hand-dyed,
it really makes the vibrant ones pop.

About 5 of my framed textile pieces were damaged with mold/mildew while in my studio.  It must have happened over Christmas when I didn't have the heat on.  I need to take them apart and do repairs so that I can get them up on the wall where they will be safer from children and accidents.  They are certainly cheering my house up no end.  I am so sad about failing and burned out that I haven't even picked up my crochet hook, but that's probably the thing that I need to do.  Floundering is not good, but I am craving quiet and time alone to figure out what I will do with my felt.  I need to get Internet sales going on Etsy or somewhere else, but I need to organize the house first so I can look clearly at designs.  And I want to focus on design work as the newer designs are selling the best, so I know I am on the right track. In the meantime, I have a part-time job I started selling ads and I am hoping that this will bring in some much-needed income. Typically, it is mostly commission, so I will have to keep the head down and the Skype on to make some progress.  It is about time for SOMETHING to succeed as I will also need funds for the next attempt at a studio or flogging my felt.

In the meantime, I am heading up to Showcase tomorrow to have a look around and meet a few people.  I need feedback on my designs and time to look around and figure out where I am going next.  Can't wait to see Pat Lawless' stand as he got a commendation from the Craft Council and the fabulous Garry Marcham will be up there also.  If I can't succeed, then at least people I know and like should succeed!!

The mentor that I requested has finally arrived after three months wait and we need to put our heads together and see if we are agreed on what to do next.  He is suggesting I change my business name and re-brand.  I will have to be convinced!!!

My Dyeing Week

One of the student's resist-dyed fabrics

I have spent the last three days dyeing cloth with over 60 primary school students.  I realized over Christmas that if I wanted more students for the Craft Club then I needed to head out to the schools.  So, I went to Lispole and Dingle primary schools and I offered to teach colour theory and dyeing to the kids to get them interested in making.  They all definitely loved it, but it remains to be seen whether I will gain any students from it.  I shall have to wait until Saturday and see what it brings.

Adding their resists before dyeing

If it all goes pear-shaped, then I will have the hard decision of closing my studio.  People are just not buying and I can't fund it without income coming in.  The students are buying me some time to build up clientele and work on new design ideas, but if I can't get the students then I just have to move as much as I can back home.  It would be both a blow and a relief.  I would only have space to make small items as my house won't accommodate all the materials I have acquired, but the financial pressure has been immense.  It would be nice to just go to bed and be able to sleep the whole night through.

All dressed up and no place to go

There has been a lot of talk about using public buildings to provide arts space/studio areas, but nothing seems to be rising to the surface, certainly not in Kerry.  With many talented people abandoning their craft right now, the Craft Council of Ireland or the Department of Arts should really do something to help artisans to continue their work.  It will come to a stage where emerging artisans will not be able to afford to develop their work because the resources to assist them just aren't there.

The state of Ireland is just bad right now.  I am usually a glass half full kind of person, but the lack of direction and jobs, unbelievable amount of taxation, and extreme corporate greed has left almost all of us a bit deflated.  Even if I wanted to abandon all my training and get another job, where do I go?  My cost of living would be much higher somewhere else.  Where are jobs better?  It's a miracle I can get out of bed every day with all this swirling around my brain.

Is it too much to ask that my work sells and I make a modest living?

The great texture of dyeing your
own work

A Rather Damp & Windy Start

Crocheted & felted hat, with hand-dyed trim
and flower. Machine embroidery!

Well, it's January, and as usual I have a couple of goals.  Trying to stay in business is one of them.  I keep hearing on the news how the retail receipts are up and it was improved on Christmas 2010, but I did far worse.   Is it possible that they are lying to keep us all going???  Tralee was deadly quiet until the 4-5 days before Christmas.  I think everyone is waiting until the last minute now to get the best deals.  Understandable, but hard to take.  I heard that people in Dublin at the Gift Show in December returned items that weren't made in Ireland and were almost patriotic about it.  That did not happen in rural areas.  I did not have much to spend this year, but I did try to buy as much as possible locally and Irish so that at least it was money staying in Ireland.  I saw people doing that last year, but this year it fizzled out.  It is rather hard to go chirpy into the New Year with financial disaster looming.  I know I am not alone, but somehow that is rather poor consolation.

I did get a nice shared feature in the Irish Examiner in an article called "The Life Changers" written by Sharon Ni Chonchuir, so many thanks to her for that!  The photo turned out great, so much try and get a copy.  All publicity is good!

Merino bainín and hand-dyed merino.
Felt/silk/angelina flower, hand-dyed with
beads.  Scarf: 19 micron merino, resist-dyed.

Other goals: Christmas is over, so off the sugar and carbs again.  All the good progress of November & December was probably undone by simply eating bread.  Must get tough and focus now.  I quit smoking the last year and a half, so now its time to tackle that.  I would like to do more creative embroidery and must figure out a way to present them less expensively.  They look fab custom framed, but it's just too expensive when they aren't selling yet.  I am really hoping that www.swoop.ie gets going as I have a good feeling that this will be a much better on-line selling venture than ETSY.  While it's true that I could spend more time marketing my ETSY page, I really have never had any return on the time and money I have put into it so far (over a year).  Hard to plan on spending more time there with no positive outcome.  I think switching over to another online venture is going to work out better as you could spend your life trying to set yourself apart from the pack and not get one thing made! Final goal: I really want to get raised beds done and do a decent vegetable garden this year.  I must also rescue herb garden as its choked with weeks, but its been such a wet year and time was against me with starting a new business.  I'll start with the low maintainence stuff and see how I get on...

Curious response to my samples sent to Boston.  When they came back, the buyer was complimentary but said that my hats and scarves were "too upscale" for them and "possibly in another economy they would consider it."  Now this is a person specialising in handmade Irish craft for 40 years or more and they sell in an affluent area.  The only thing I could take from that is that Irish Americans want the same design the Failte Ireland has sold them all along: tweed, muted colours, and traditional design.  The only problem with that is it isn't modern Ireland.  Does anyone have any thoughts on this???

Must get into the studio now as its time to start producing work again.  I had a much-needed break, but it's time to start keeping the wolf from the door!

Can you find my little cutie in this pic?  Love the
school plays at Christmas!!

In the Gloaming Between

Bernadette Bohan's fabulously decorated Christmas cakes.

The Kerry Christmas Market was a big success.  Lots of work and I made very little money out of it, but the vendors were all very happy.  I have to think about whether I would do two days next year and I would certainly move it up a week so it wasn't the weekend right before Christmas.  Too many people had finished their shopping.  You certainly see the recession on the craft fair/Christmas market level.  Last year, most vendors agreed that they made 2-3 times as much in sales, but all were realistic this year and didn't seem upset as they did better that they expected.  I had two excellent Santy's and it was a shame to see that there weren't many people there for them as I thought they were better than any Santy Fionn has even seen.  Thankfully there were people there for sales.  I have to rethink the top floor as people don't seem to want to go upstairs, even with a lift.  All part of the strange psychology of selling.

Christmas Day came and went and it was as relaxing and chaotic as it should have been. By the time I get to Christmas, I am usually so tired that I am longing for my stack of new books and new pj's to just relax and completely unwind.  This year was no exception as I was going and going for what felt the entire year without much of a break.  I think if I hadn't the two weeks off, my body would have made the decision for me!  Despite the hard work, I didn't make hardly anything in December, which does not bode well for the rest of the year.  I am hoping that www.swoop.ie will end up being a good thing in the New Year to kick of Irish craft online.  I have been part of www.etsy.com for over a year now and my sales are horrible.  Granted, my cost is not high, but I find it a total waste of my time.  There are just too many other artisans to differentiate yourself from and it seems like you could spend a whole day marketing and get absolutely nothing made.  Etsy is probably a good option for Americans, but I don't see the majority of Irish shop owners there doing as well.  Changes must get made.

We made these felt Christmas decoration
in craft club.  Girls are getting to be quite
good on the sewing machine!

I have to get more students on board or I will have to give up my studio.  That is the hard reality of this recession.  I am desperate to keep it so I will spend the first week of the New Year going around to the schools that are likely candidates and talking to students about the Craft Club that I do.  It would only take about 5-7 more students to cover the cost of my studio expenses, which isn't much and a realistic goal.  Otherwise, I haven't room in my house to even move things back home as the tables won't fit and I wouldn't have room to make larger items.  The Irish government is just sucking the life out of the economy and people are afraid to spend or are spending all they have just to keep going.  We all talk about trying to just keep going and wait it out until things improve, but I see this year will be the watershed year of the recession.  People are giving up their craft and are quite dejected.  I am not sure what the answer is, but I know that something good has to come our way in the New Year.  The Year of Craft is very nearly over and I know it gave craft a boost visibly, but it would be interesting to see in terms of figures how much it increased sales.  Part of the problem is that I think Dublin shoppers were much more in touch with buying Irish and buying craft this Christmas, but Kerry buyers were not.  I need to get my work out of Kerry, simple as that.

Meanwhile, I need to get a copy of the Examiner today as there is supposed to be an article on people starting businesses during the recession and I am included in it.  http://www.irishexaminer.com/features/the-life-changers-178524.html.

Colleen Bowler's beautiful, hand-thrown pottery.

And the New Year is almost here, so must make plans!  Happy New Year to all and wishing you a relaxing time for the rest of the holidays!!

Kerry Christmas Market

I've been a bit quiet lately, but I haven't been idle!    I am putting together a big two-day Christmas market for Kerry food and craft producers.  Sales this year have been so poor, that we really need a good event to give us a boost for the holidays.  And it's really shaping up to be a great event!  Lots of fantastic vendors and the Díseart will be beautiful for the weekend.  As Santy himself is too busy to leave the North Pole at this time of year, he has sent two fellas to stand in and make sure boys and girls are being good and are really deserving!  Saturday Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh will be present as Dadaí na Nollaig on Saturday and on Sunday Brendan Griffin will be with us.  Great fun!  Santy will arrive via Dingle Jaunting car at 12pm on Saturday and on 1pm on Sunday.  Loads of details to see to in the final planning, but things are going well...

Another craft fair done yesterday and it was pretty dismal for all, if I am honest.  Most of Ireland is full of anxiety at the thought of the year's budget being launched tomorrow and are just afraid to spend.  We are promised another year of woe and punishment.  I am not sure how many more years of this average people can take.  The politicians have given themselves raises yet again.  It is beyond a disgrace to cut hospitals and creches and people on low income and then to give yourself a €27,000 wage increase (or one for your friends).  I am not sure if people aren't too downtrodden to riot at this stage, but most other countries in Europe would be raging.  Hard to say if it would actually do any good.  It makes keeping a cheery Christmas attitude that bit more daunting, I tell you.  I'd love to say that things will bounce back in the New Year, but I think people are largely thinking craft is a luxury and it is just not on the list of things to purchase.  As well as excellent value, it must be said that not all craft is expensive.  And the negative repercussions of buying overseas imports can be seen as close as our neighbors.  We all buy a certain amount of things that are made out of country, but Ireland has lost so many jobs in the last 3 years that it is critical to keep that money in our economy.  And if people aren't buying craft at Christmas, then I fear for sales the rest of the year.

Tree top angel,  Handmade out of pure wool!

Meanwhile, the craft club is going strong.  We made these little ladies last week and were working on felt Christmas ornaments this week.  I think the last session before Christmas will be Christmas stockings.   I am making these angels for hampers for Bluíríní Blásta Cafe for the next week.  It's all go!

Oh, Knit & Stitch, how I do love thee....

One of Ruth Issett's stunning
textile pieces on exhibition
at K & S 

 We made it up and down to Dublin, Fionn and I, and had a great time.  Knit & Stitch time is my favourite time of year: a chance to get great new supplies, take in inspirational exhibitions, and meet up with friends you see mostly online.  I took a mini-workshop with Ruth Issett called "Running with Colour" and it was fab.  I adore her work and her use of colour--so vibrant and full of life.  I tend to like a lot of abstract work in the last five years and so I could get lost in the piece on the left.  I had this one on my computer desktop to study every day and so it was a thrill to see the original!


Fionn learned a bit of weaving, but it was disappointing that much of the student classes were rather flat.  There were school tours there on the day we were there and most of the craft learning stations were geared towards girls, which was unfortunate as there were plenty of lads there.  I am a strong believer in teaching boys to sew as its part of my Basic Skills for Life training that I teach.  Who wouldn't have to know how to do an emergency repair of a seam or how to sew a button back on?  Even if they aren't going to pursue a creative career, its a great thing to learn to express yourself creatively.  I was told that a group from England decline to come over and tutor in craft.  My response to that is WHY do they have to come from England?  I know Twisted Thread, the organizing group for K & S, comes from England, but there are plenty of talented people in Ireland who could organize and teach young people interested in craft i.e. patchwork, weaving, spinning, felting, stitching.  I did love their great emphasis on repurposing and upcycling clothing and the awareness of who is producing clothing and how they manage to keep their costs low (cheap labour overseas...).  But, it's my third show now and I do notice that the cream of the craft doesn't always travel over from the English shows; it's time that we make sure that the Dublin show is just as good as the English ones.


Now I am back in Dingle, it's time to start working on the Kerry Christmas Market full-tilt.  The deadline to apply is tomorrow and I have lot of PR to do, a poster to design, and one more celebrity Santy to find!  It's coming along great and we have a wonderful group of artisans so far.  The children Christmas carol service will be wonderful on the Saturday and I am working on music performances for the Sunday.  If you have time and a few presents left to get, please DO come to Dingle for the weekend of December 17/18.  Come on the Saturday and spend the day taking in the wonderful food and craft at the Christmas Market and the unique and vibrant shops of Dingle.  Splurge and spend the night and have a fab dinner at Doyle's or Global Village.  Appreciate Kerry as much as we do!


Craft club is going strong.  We felted the pieces to make angels for the top of the tree and next week we will sew them together.  For now until Christmas, we will be making Christmas decorations or presents.  Great fun and the kids are learning so much (and they are a great bunch to work with).


If you have any inquiries about workshops or participating in craft club, please ring 087-9111793 or email sharon1_crandall@hotmail.com to register.

Hats

Tuesday, November 29th
Wednesday, December 7th

Scarves

Wednesday, November 16th
Tuesday, November 22nd
Saturday, December 10th

Absolutely amazing quilt close up.  Won Judges Choice 2011.  Artist is
Janneke de Vries-Bodzinga.

Love this guy!!  

I also loved her sketchbook on how she designed the wonderful seahorse

Very impressed with this one as it was a kid!
Leif Sinclair from Leominster.

This is a panel of a quilt series from Genesis.

Part of Seascapes exhibition sponsored by CCOI.  This is
Marika Miklosi-Manning.

Rolling in November...

Merino and silk hat with resist
patches--looks fab on!

I've been busily felting for a pop-up shop that is opening in Limerick.  New hats and scarves are on the way.  All things going well, I will need to felt more!  Here are two new hats. Both are merino with silk pieces and hand-dyed.  The turquoise one is finished, but I have to think about the burgundy and see if it might need another bit of embellishment.  I have three new scarves I felted and dyed yesterday that need ironing and labels sewn in.  


I'm working on samples to send to Boston for a shop there.  I need to send my lovelies out into the world as the sales in Kerry just aren't enough.  I don't make as much money per item, but I am not making anything in Kerry!!  The studio is great and has put me in great space to produce a lot more, so now I need to put the head down and get some serious production going.  


Deadline is fast approaching for the Dingle Christmas Market (November 11th).  Participants must be in Kerry and all goods must be artisan produced/handmade.  I really want to showcase the talent in the county.  If you are interested in participating, please get in touch with me and I can forward you an application (087-9111793 or leave a message here).  Price is €25 per day and I would prefer that you are present for both days.  I know its a long way to travel, so if you come up with friend, I can assign you space next to each other so you can watch each other's work and not have to be there both days.  I am hard at work on all the details.  It promises to be a great weekend!!

Merino and silk pieces, hand-dyed.  I think these needs a
bit of bling yet!

I also wanted to let you know about an Indoor Christmas Market in Kenmare, Co Kerry. They are looking for potential stall holders that sell Irish Crafts and Christmas Gifts. The market will run from Dec 1st to 31st, 10am to 6pm. Prices depend on size of stall and are very affordable. Contact Sue O'Neill at 087 765 3319 or Anne-Marie on 064 6648907 to reserve pitches. Kenmare is a beautiful place and well worth visiting, so let's keep spending our money on original craft this year. 

 Buying Kerry goods = keeping Kerry jobs.

October is Transition Month...

Crocheted merino hat with hand-dyed felt pieces

Lots of transitions these days.  Transition to self-employed person, which is simultaneously exhilarating and creative and also very worrying on how I will manage a regular income.  Transition to a car owner once again.  Yep, I picked up my darling on Monday and so I am now the proud owner of a 2000 navy blue Ford Escort station wagon.  She has low miles and is ready to go!  I must get her washed again because she is filthy after driving up from Cork, but otherwise seems in great form.  The relief of having a car again!  Plenty to be doing, but must get the final license sorted ASAP as motor insurance is shocking here.

Felted and dyed three scarves yesterday with pics to follow.  Craft fair on tomorrow, so must get labels sewn in and all new pieces tagged.  Trying to keep a high production level, but darn busy life keeps interfering!  I do have samples to make and send to the USA for two shops who have expressed interest, so that will help me sleep at night if I can get that going.

All Kerry Christmas Market on at An Díseart in Dingle December 17 & 18 (Sat & Sun) from 10-5pm.  Standard 6 ft stalls INDOORS €25 per day.  Please give me a ring to register as space is going quickly!  There will be charity Santy, facepainting, excellent food and craft, and more surprises being organized.  Should be great craic! 087-9111793 for more info.

If you are interested in felting workshops, please note the dates below...

Hats

Saturday, November 5th

Tuesday, November 8th

Tuesday, November 29th

Hand-dyed merino felt hat with seed bead
embellishment

Wednesday, December 7th

           

Scarves

Friday, November 4th

Wednesday, November 16th

Tuesday, November 22nd

Saturday, December 10th

Ring 087-9111793 or email sharon1_crandall@hotmail.com to register.  Space and materials are limited.  Plan to make something lovely for yourself or a loved one for the holidays this year!

Time to think about your warmies...

It's mid-October and if the weather hasn't turned cooler where you live, then it will likely do so with a bang in the next week.  So!  Time to think about updating your lovely cold weather gear.  I am listing workshops for making hats and scarves on the following dates.  The price is €40 per workshop, materials included.  We will be using high quality Merino wool and some silk and alpaca fibres to create lovely scarves or hats for winter, which we will then custom dye to the colour of your choice.  All workshops 2-5pm on John St in Dingle, Co Kerry. 






Hats
Saturday, November 5th
Tuesday, November 8th
Tuesday, November 29th
Wednesday, December 7th


Scarves
Friday, November 4th
Wednesday, November 16th
Tuesday, November 22nd
Saturday, December 10th

Ring 087-9111793 or email sharon1_crandall@hotmail.com to register.  Space and materials are limited.  Plan to make something lovely for yourself or a loved one for the holidays this year!


I am also busily planning Kerry Christmas Markets in Dingle this year, with Kerry made food and craft.  Santy will be there with mulled wine and lots of fun.  Dingle has a fantastic array of original food and craft, so plan on spending some time with us!  We have a Jingle Bell jaunting tour and penguins for the kids.  The Christmas tree will be lit Sunday, December 4th. Plenty to do and see, so watch this space for more details...

Hikes and Tests and Christmas

Crocheted hat with hand-dyed red flower &
glass seed beads

I am starting to get that frantic feeling, like time is running out and I need to find a way to duplicate myself so that I will have MORE of what I need.  This week seemed to have so much crammed into it: Scouts meeting, craft club, special orders, planning meetings, Scouts hike, Dingle Business Chamber meeting, and insurance company issues.  It's no small wonder that I have had a hard time finding time to sit down and read my road theory test book, but I spent my day off yesterday reading the dang thing.  I think none of you will be surprised to know that it isn't the most interesting reading.  I have the test on TODAY and the good news is that most of the info was repeat on the test I took 28 years ago in the US.  The Irish government seems to think that they hand out driver's licenses on street corners with reckless abandon, but I did take 3 months of theory and driving lessons before I was allowed to sit my exam.  Ugh.  So aggravated to have to do it again, but it should be over with today and then 12 driving lessons and I can take my road test.  All the drama of this I don't need.

I've been finishing hats like mad and put in an order yesterday for supplies so I can start felting like a lunatic. I have so many hats and scarves to make and so many test pieces to get right so I can start making more.  I have a pile of finished product to upload onto Etsy, if I could find 2 hours to do it.  I ran out of labels to sew into my hats and ordered more, so that will be another relief.  I want to close my studio door and stop answering the phone so I can really concentrate.  I must find a kind of Zen calmness of I will not make it through the busy holiday season...

Craft club going well and we finished the books!  Pics to follow as haven't uploaded them yet.  We felted last Saturday and will cut them into strips and the girls want to make bracelets, so stitching and beading this Saturday--all good!

As much as I would like to rest now, I must get ready to head into Tralee to face the music.  Wish me luck on my second driving test!  

Crocheted hat with orange & yellow
flower and seed beads

Merino, Alpaca, and silk pieces resist-felted
and hand-dyed.  Hand dyed star decor &
beading!

A Foodie Hangover...

The Handmade Sessions on the Dingle Food Festival taste trail was a great success!  We teamed up with Bluíríní Blasta cafe in Lispole and offered up sublime, jamtastic desserts: they baked meringues with their Blás na hEireann nominated lemon curd, fresh cream, and raspberry coulis; lemon drizzle cake with lemon curd on the side; and strawberry jam sponge with fresh strawberries.  All gone by 445pm!  Craft sales for the day weren't great, but there were a lot of people in and out and appreciating the work, so hopefully a preview of Christmas sales.  It was pouring out of the heavens by 4pm and is quite wet now, but still another day of the Festival to go!  We are heading out on the taste trail ourselves and it should be a relaxing, enjoyable day.  I need me some oysters!

It was a rather frantic week of felting and embellishing.  I felted 7 scarves and resist-dyed them and felted two new hats and resist-dyed to match two of the scarves.  I embellished three hats.  And cleaning and hiding all the clutter so the studio would be ready for the general public.  Really, I need a good closet with shelving inside to just store things in and shut the door so my mess isn't out in the open.  The new hat wall looked well and Colleen Bowler and Ursula Tramski's pottery was fab, and the company great all day.  A huge success!

I held the Craft Club on Friday afternoon to make room for the Taste Trail on Saturday, so it was a mad two hours of sewing and helping the girls learn to use the sewing machines.  They really are learning the sewing machines fast for 10 year olds.  Their books are nearly done and next week we start on two weeks of bracelets.  We will felt a lot of pieces and then decorate our bits the next week with stitch and beads.  And then two weeks of Halloween projects, but I have to have a think about what we will do there...

It's all go these days.  I need to do a big stock up on wool as I have a lot of stock to make for Christmas.  Once I have many kilos of wool under my roof, I will sleep well!! New calendar of events for October up, but must get it online still--tomorrow as my day off and then will plot dates for Christmas gift making...Meanwhile, Ireland killed Italy today in the Rugby World Cup and we are slated to play Wales next weekend in the semi-finals--GO GREEN!!

A Quickie...

This is just a quick post to show off two new hats I completed this week.  I have a load of purple on the brain as I have a custom order and I am doing 2-3 different styles and the customer will choose their favourite.  So far, they are totally different!

The first one is hand-dyed Merino with dark purple Gotland curls on the brim.  I carefully stitched the brim up and added grape-like clusters of purple glass seed beads.

The second hat I resist-felted and was trying to
develop the pattern into a cute style I saw online.
The side tail was supposed to collapse inward into a swirl on the side of the hat, but the tail is too long, so must adjust the pattern and have another try at it.  I do like the tail, however, and I over dyed the hat which came out quite dark purple with hints of pink where the silk threads peek through.  There are also pieces of silk habotai and Wensleydale curls felted in, but it so dark that its hard to see them by camera.  I think I might do a sprinkling of beads on the tail...

Meanwhile, it's time to get myself ready to head back into the studio.  Lots to do!

Getting the Head Ready

Felted with Merino and silk pieces, hand-dyed, and then
embellished with hand-felted and dyed pieces and glass
beads

When I go full tilt all week, it is completely essential to have the relaxing Sunday at home.  I try to sleep in, but my eyes open at the same time every day.  However, when it's raining and I am snuggled in the flannel sheets, it's enough to know that I don't have to get up and rush around.  Eventually, I gather laundry, strip beds, and head down to put a load on and start the essential coffee.  I potter around for the day, detoxing toilets, cooking, doing computer work,  and trying to gather the approximately 7,000 pieces of Lego that are in every corner of the house.  I can't complain about the Lego because I have wool all over the house!  I never have a dirty house, but it's some job to keep the level of clutter down.  Children don't seem to MIND the clutter all over the place...

Crochet and then machine felted with hand-dyed yarns.
Over sized flower handmade and dyed with stitching
and glass seed beads.

I finished my green and gold hats and got my window done for the Kerry match.  We will not discuss today's Kerry match.  Here's another pink one finished.  I felted a purple hat that I forgot to photograph and I found a whole stash of completed hats when I was cleaning out my old studio.  They need to be embellished, so I imagine I will be beading and sewing a lot next week.  I am in the middle of moving my old studio into my new space and I am trying to organize so that when we are on the taste trail for the Dingle Food Festival that there will be space for everyone.  I found the new fixtures for displaying hats online and so now I just need the money to purchase!  It isn't too expensive.  I was hoping that I might have them for the Food Festival so things are looking good, but money is slow to come in the door--as usual.  Priority number one is getting the outside of the shop painted as it will make a major difference.  That and a big sign proclaiming Ciarraí Creations that can be seen from the bridge.  All in due time...

Doll competed by a 9 year in Dingle Craft
Club.  Her name is Aisling!

We had our second session of the Dingle Craft Club and the books that we are making are coming along great.  After a bit of sketching, I cut Vilene for them and they painted them up.  I meant for them to only paint a background colour as we would be collaging over it, but they put details in.  No matter, they will see what I meant by next week.  Saturday, they added more items in layers and started working on the fabric pages.  We used coloured inks on the pages as it creates a watercolour affect and dries quickly.  Then we will start sewing in earnest next week, adding layers and details.  Also, with guidance I will introduce them to the sewing machine.  And we have to seal the covers with decoupage.  Must get pics next week as we are so busy for that two hours that time just flies!

In the meantime, the bacon and cabbage is ready.  Time to drown our football sorrows in piggy!

Keeping the Faith

New hat: merino, alpaca, & silk fibres & pieces.  Decor
in progress!

I try not to be a worrier, but it is very hard not to at times.  And these are worrying times that we are living in.  Quite a lot is changing quickly and we are coping as best we can with limited resources and changing incomes.  But I also reach a stage where I think "To Hell with it!"  Either the hard work pays off or it won't.  Either you can make a difference or you won't.  I take time out to think and find the solution for myself and just keep plowing on...

So, I am relieved to see modest progress with my new workshop space.  Craft in Kerry is no longer part of the Handmade Sessions as the summer was just too slow and the guild did not have the resources to keep going forever.  I personally paid out quite a lot of money from my own resources and that could not continue.  I took over the place as a studio/teaching space for myself as of September 1st and things seem to be falling into a nice routine.  The kid's Dingle Craft Club started yesterday and I had a good start.  It will pay the rent and keep me going while I work hard at developing new hats and scarves.  I am looking into exporting as sales are just too slow in Ireland.

Closeup of the texture of merino and silk

I will be on the food trail of the Dingle Food & Wine Festival with Blúiríní Blasta cafe (located in the Seal Sanctuary in Lispole).  The girls make WONDERFUL food, but also sell their homemade jams and are developing other products for sale in their cafe.  The are going to be making their homemade jamtastic cakes for the trail and I will be felting.  Should be great fun!  

I have a whole pile of new hats that are ALMOST done.  Mostly the finishing decorations.  So, it will feel good to put four new hats out by end of day on Tuesday and start work on yet more.  Being productive is a big relief for stressful money juggling!

So, these developments are good. Yes, I would love to be making actual money instead of breaking even, but sometimes you just have to keep going and hope for the best...

New fabric collage for my Green & Gold window that
is going up very SOON.  The All Ireland is next Sunday,
so it has to happen soon!