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!

December Panic in Dingle!!

Crocheted and felted lacy scarf: Merino, Mohair.

I have been procrastinating in my blog writing, but that's because we have been struggling with the cold weather and I have had to move almost everything home because there is no heat in my studio.  I put in two hours work there and was frozen.  Even my heating system at home isn't keeping my house terribly warm and the kitchen is too cold to be in by night.  I know it sounds boring to go on about the weather (though it is an Irish national pastime), BUT it seems to be having a big impact these days.  I am just relieved that we aren't having as much snow in Dingle as it is treacherous with the snow and ice.  And I feel truly sorry for my English friends as it is much worse there. 

I am in the middle of a mad week of projects.  I have cuffs to embellish and finish, a festive top to felt, a quilt to assemble and finish, fours hats to embellish, and felting more scarves.  This doesn't include getting ready for the craft fair on Sunday, felting with Fionn's class, and cleaning and decorating the house.  All go!! 

The craft fair at Benner's Hotel in Dingle should be wonderful.  The Dingle Chamber of Commerce and MFG are organizing a shopping day in Dingle, so come out if you have time (and the roads are very good our way) as there will be caroling, discounts in shops, and at 430pm there will be a Lantern Parade with all the school children in West Kerry.  They are having  a competition for the schools on who can make the best lanterns out of recycled materials.  Go Scoil Iognáid Rís!!! It should be a wonderful afternoon and no better weather for warm woollies!!

Now, back to the sewing machine and the cold kitchen!!

The End of Mid Term Break...

He thought I was crazy when I realized we were
on Raglan Road ON AN AUTUMN'S DAY!! 

Whew!  Another school holiday down, and just in time, too!  I have a lot of work to get done and that means Small Boy needs to be in school and out of the way.  We went up to Dublin for the LOVELY Knit and Stitch Show http://www.twistedthread.com/ in the RDS and it was wonderful and all too short!  We both too a workshop: mine in resist felting with Feltmakers Ireland and Fionn with Colourcrafts and spritzing Brusho on Lutradur and mucking with all their lovely products www.colourcraftltd.com/. We ran around like headless chickens buying fabric and beads and new scissors and dyes.  I then went over to the community stand Knit One Pass it On and taught crochet for the afternoon.  There weren't a lot of takers on instruction (the stalls were jammed with people buying), but I helped a few and learned a new stitch myself!  The RTE1 show Nationwide was there filming all day  and the exhibitions were stunning.

It passed all too soon and so next year I must try and get there for two days.  I must cultivate Dublin friends who have couches/spare rooms as all these cultural events are in Dublin these days.  Feltmakers Ireland is doing a workshop in late January that I would like to go up for, but the price for all these activities goes up considerably when you have to pay for a hotel.  Feel free to leave a comment if you are in a position to offer because I make a mean breakfast!! 

It's great to have conversations with people who make things and possibly sell them and get updates on new products, shortcuts, creative ideas.  Creating things is a rather solitary process, so the public events shoo us out of our rabbit holes, where we have been muttering and creating for far too long.  We laugh and appreciate each other's work, and eat and try not to spend several weeks worth of wages on things we NEED and WANT badly. For me, its great to get encouragement and advice as I am beginning my selling phase and so many people are there actually making a living at it--it's the light at the end of the tunnel!!

Hilary Bell, Voids 3, Machine Embroidery & Silk.  This was part
of the Filament exhibition.

Sheila Jordan's wonderful piece entitled "Dance of
the Spirits" in wool/cotton/silk for Filament.

Arlene Shawcross' delicate "Fragility" for the Craft Council of Ireland's
exhibition.

Feltmakers Ireland had a wonderful (if not warm) display booth
upstairs on the mezzanine



Volunteers for Knit One Pass it On teaching crochet.  There were
more takers for crochet than knitting.  Hooray!!!



I am addled...

Between the mid-term break holidays, a head cold that is refusing to totally evacuate, a mouse in my house (!), and getting ready to leave for Dublin for the Knit and Stitch Show, I am addled.  I am thoroughly disorganized and I am trying to motivate myself to get upstairs and pack, but no, I am here fiddling around on the computer and talking to YOU.  I have mousetraps to set.  I have tolietries to organize.  I have to pack my camera so I can take lovely photos to post here for you.  All I want to do is drink coffee and relax in the chair by the fire.  I think relaxing for the school holidays has gone all a bit wrong ....

I must remind myself of all my fellow fibre people that will be in Dublin for the show!  All those inspiring exhibitions!  All the people that want to learn to crochet!  And we cannot forget the wonderful supplies that will be there: velvet, silks, wool, dyes, paints, beads--oh, my!! 

In between these daydreams, I did manage to felt a scarf and one hat.  The hat needs more work, so  I  haven't photographed it, but the scarf is on the right.  I love the colours, but I do think it needs something more on the length, perhaps a fringe, so it doesn't feel complete to me.  And I dyed more fibres on the dry days this week, so when I get back, armed with my new goodies, I should be heading straight to the studio.

Now, I must head upstairs and face the music!  If I don't get organized, I will be so sorry when I get up at 6am....

The Autumn Cometh

This weekend I could definitely feel the chill in the air and last night it was cold!  It was the first night I had to light the fire, instead of wanting the cosiness of it lit.  I suppose my news today is that I have my Etsy site up and running!  It feels a bit like giving birth, except I haven't nosy nurses poking at my girly bits and I am not starving!  But my baby is up and running and now it is time to start SELLING! Plenty more will be added in the coming weeks. 


More nuno felted silk/merino
scarves this week



I am going to be working on scarves this week as the hats and scarves have sold the best.  Lots of purple and gold for our Huskies! I have rovings that are dyed, dried, and ready to go, so I need to make lots of pre-felt pieces to add into the designs and get some chiffon dyed up so it is ready to go on Tuesday.  Chiffon is dry in minutes, so I need to dry my purples and greens and blues so I can get ready to lay down some fibre!  I have the week to complete scarves and then I must get onto some slipper samples.  The resist felting is going really well, but I think the slippers will be more challenging.  And hats!  More hats must be felted.  Eek, I haven't enough time to really get at all the projects I need to!  If felted a lovely dark blue/purple hat for myself and I need a new scarf to go with it :)  When I say NEED, you know what I mean....

It seems like I am inundated with forms to fill out lately.  Paperwork for citizenship, kids, Scouts, jobs.  When I get through this next bit I need to get on to Halloween. We pulled everything out of the attic, but with all the interruptions today, I didn't get a thing put up.   So the house must transform.  At least I will have a great excuse for leaving the dusting for the next few weeks!!



Fishnet cape: crocheted, felted, felted flowers, beaded collar.

Photos Snapped!

Bright pink hand-dyed lambswool

Well, I finished the photography for ETSY today and I just edited the photos.  We have had glorious Indian Summer weather, so the light was perfect.  This is going to be a mostly photographic post, so here goes:

Fishing net cape with beading around the neck

Merino/Silk/Alpaca hat

Turquoise funky beret

Felted, embroidered, and beaded green wrap