Birds

Often when I'm at the computer a little wren flits down from the hedge and hops about looking for insects right outside the patio doors. I keep trying to get a decent photograph but the teeny tiny bird is just too quick for me. I love birds, they seem to be a reoccurring theme in my work, I guess I'm not a lone as there are some beautiful birds out there crafted from textiles. Here are some of my favourites....

Spring Flowers Easter Brooch by Metrostation

Cotton Bird Red by Cotton Bird Designs


Little Yellow Bird by Abigail Brown

Love Birds Wedding Cake Topper by Strawberries and Cream

If you fancy making your own little flock birds then Spool has a fantastic free pattern.

Debbie Bliss Magazine

Like I said before, I'm not really a knitter but I can knit. My Mum who is a very accomplished knitter bought the first Debbie Bliss magazine, which I thumbed through. I was instantly drawn to the colour palette and beautiful styling, which is why I bought the second issue.


It's very summery with delightful pastels running through the pages, and the photographs are superbly styled. I love the fact that the patterns included are fashionable yet understated, lots of simple shapes and lines. There are also a range of patterns to suit all knitting abilities. Here are some which I think are within my capabilities.



And here's one I might get my Mum to knit for me.


And if my girl was still a toddler I would definately knit this, it's adorable.


I'm almost tempted to dust off my knitting needles, if only there were more hours in the day. If you knit, even just a little bit, I would recommend taking a look at Debbie Bliss. I don't think it's widely available yet, I've not seen it in any newsagents. My Mum bought her copy from her local knitting shop, I bought mine online from crafty-yarn.co.uk

Vintage Patterns

Magazine review to come later I promise. I thought I'd write a piece on my latest passion, vintage patterns. I love vintage clothes, but unfortunately there are no vintage boutiques near us and I really don't like to buy clothes over the internet, they may look fantastic in the photographs but it doesn't mean they'll look good hanging on you. So instead of collecting vintage clothes I have begun to collect vintage patterns, which is much more affordable. I started last year at the fashion and embroidery show, the second hand book stall had a few boxes of patterns and I spent at least half an hour looking at every single one (and was very restrained to only came away with a small handful). Occasionally I'm lucky and will find some good patterns in one of our local charity shops, but by far the best source I've found is etsy. If you search vintage patterns there are over 5000! So my collection is growing, the problem is I have not made any of the patterns up. I can follow a pattern but it's not a process I enjoy very much, what I tend to use the patterns for is inspiration. At the moment I'm exploring how to felt garments and regularly look to my patterns for inspiration. I've just been on etsy to hunt down some patterns to share on here and ended up purchasing this one which I think will work well as a nuno felted skirt.

Purchased from bythewayside.

Here are some others that I have my eye on, so they may not be available for long.

Toddler dress from sandritocat

Vintage 70's Butterick from glamourstitch


50's Skirt and Dress from glamourstitch


1955 cape pattern from somebodysnana


and 70's outfit from patternmania

Red and Turquoise

My favourite colour combination of the week...

Red and Turquoise Crochet Necklace by Stemellina

6 Turquoise Red Felt Beads by Piril

Organic Wool Jersey Toddler Blanket by Organic by Nature

Way Cool Striped Toquish Hat by Mad About Colour

Marine Court Handmade Textile Postcard by Gillian Bates

Koi Pond Skinny Fabric Headband by Crafty Handmade

Fruity Patootie Stawberry Fabric and Felt Puffy Pendant by Annie and Olive

Design by Nihan

Last week I ordered the 2nd Debbie Bliss magazine. I'm not sure why because I'm not really a knitter. I can knit and I can even follow a pattern, but I'm a very slow knitter and quite an impatient person so I've never really taken to it. I do still buy yarn though, I am attracted to interesting balls with lots of texture and bright colours, so I have a stash of odd balls which I'm sure will become something one day. My Mum is a knitter and I am fortunate enough that she will knit my kids beautiful jumpers and cardigans, I have a lot of respect for knitters and I'm amazed how people can fashion an item of clothing from rows of stitches. I can only imagine how complicated it must be to design a hand knitted garment from scratch, so when I see beautiful garments like these from Designed by Nihan, I am in total awe. Living in Istanbul she creates unique knitwear. I love her colour palette and use of textures. She also uses fantastic photographs in her listings that really set her a part from other knitters on etsy.

Take a look at her shop for more beautiful creations, Designed by Nihan.

Later on this week I'll be writing a little review of the Debbie Bliss magazine.

Karna Erickson

Whilst on flickr I stumbled upon the work of this amazing textile artist, she makes the most beautiful and magical creations. You can see her huge range of work on flickr, and it's available to buy on etsy at cocoon designs.

Jewellery

I am spending quite a bit of time at the moment trying to design a range of jewellery which will sit happily along side my felted flower brooches. I love jewellery made from fibre and textiles, just take a peek at these beautiful pieces all found on etsy.

top left: Hydrangea by Tinctory
top right: Bangles no.339 by Kjoo
bottom left: felt flower brooch by woollyfabulous
and bottom right: grey felt and crochet cuff by Elin Thomas