You are currently browsing the monthly archive for October 2008.
Firstly I am very happy to say i will be having a stall at the Manchester Craft Mafia Christmas market at the Whitworth Art Gallery in December. I will keep you posted on the markets and remind you all to come along and say hello if your in Manchester, nearer the time.
I have been working on some new pieces for the market and for the shop. the image to the left will be part of a series of purses and bags I’m making. the new work will concentrate on purses, bags and new flower pins. The colours and fabrics will be a mix of red, blue and green and prints and plains. I’ll post more images soon.
I’ve added a category to the blogroll named Origin 2008 with links to some of my favourite exhibitors, I will be adding more over the next week. The image to the left is jewellery by Jane Moore
After my trip to London I came back all inspired and ready to get on with my new work. I’ve been working on design boards for a couple of weeks so I was able to buy some lovely fabric and ribbon from Liberty (I just love that shop). I’ve revisited some older work that I don’t feel I fully explored previously, partly because I had to try out other ideas to get to the point I’m at now, hope that makes sense. What I’m trying to say is that I took a slight detour with my last lot of work, lots of people do this I think, its about doing something to get it out of your system then you can move on again. So I’m back to my bright happy colours again, this is where I feel I should be. I must say I am very excited about the new work I’m doing and hope other people will like it just as much. The design board is a sneak peek at what to expect, mixing print and plain fabric, mix of cross stitch and applique, traditional motifs and text. I’ll be posting more images next week and keep you up to date with my progress.
On Wednesday I went down to London for the day, mainly to visit Origin, but I managed to fit in a bit of shopping and afternoon tea. I’ve decided to insert images of my favourite designers work and link to their website so you can make your own minds up without me waffling on about how wonderful they are. I will start with my 2 favourite designers, because I bought something from each of them. Firstly Andrea Williamsonmakes gorgeous knitted products in the Shetlands. I bought a lovely scarf to keep me warm throughout the cold winter and cheer me up with the bright colours and folky patterns.
Teresa Green makes simple but beautiful printed textiles. I only bought a tea towel but hope to buy more products in the future.
Over the next few days I will post images of the rest of my favourite designers at Origin week 1 2008.
The paper n stitch first online exhibition is open and looks fantastic, I feel quite flattered to part of it. Their is some fantastic work and I highly recommend a look. the print n stitch blog is excellent to, lots of new finds, ideas and other craft info. This is the link to my shop in the exhibition.
Call for entries for the Manchester Craft Mafia Christmas Markets to be held at the Whitworth Art Gallery on Oxford Rd, Manchester. If you make lovely things from textile and/or paper then why not apply for a stall, it will be fun. I’m hoping to get a stall and busy working on new pieces for the market.
This is the recipe for my Gran’s chocolate cake, from a previous post
4oz butter
5oz caster sugar
2 eggs
1 heaped tablespoon of cocoa
2 tablespoons of hot water
4oz self raising flour
1 tablespoon of milk
Firstly preheat the oven to 180 Celsius. Then you need to mix the cocoa and hot water into a paste now set to one side. Next, cream the butter and sugar together, beat the eggs and add to the butter and sugar mixture, blend this all together. Now add the cocoa paste you set aside earlier, mix together. Gradually add the sifted flour to this mixture and fold in, adding the milk to loosen the mixture slightly. Now put in a greased tin and bake for approx 30mins, depending on your oven. I added whipped cream and strawberries to mine, but it tastes good just as it is.
