Happiness is... a Crochet Bag

"Every gift from a friend is a wish for your happiness"  So said novelist Richard Bach.

Well, my friends must wish for me to be very happy as, over the years, I've received some lovely craft-related gifts!  This is just a tiny selection of them.

My knitting pal, Eveanne, gave me this rainbow of Rowan Cotton Glace yarn following her craft room clear-out.

My sister-in-law, Frances, gave me this pattern book and cotton DK yarn as a birthday gift a few years ago and our mutual friend, Carol, gave me this very cute tea-towel from knit/graphic design brand, Tillyflop, because she's a lovely person.  It's too nice to actually use though.

All items were appreciated at the time, and I hope I was effusive in my thanks, but all were carefully stowed in my craft room awaiting the perfect project.  

Little did I suspect they'd come together in the same project!

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Back in July, I saw this photo on  Instagram by crochet designer Sarah-Jayne Fragola.

Sarah-Jayne is known around the web as Bella Coco Crochet.  She is my go-to on-line crochet tutor and I always recommend her website when I'm asked about crochet as her video tutorials are so clear.  Her website is a fantastic resource and is especially helpful for beginners and left-handers.

The Instagram post related to a blog article by Sarah-Jayne who, dismayed by the low cost of crochet items on our High Streets, set the record straight about the true cost of such hand crafted items - and urged us to make our own.  Not only were there clear instructions and video tutorials to create this bag, 50% of sales proceeds were donated to the charity Labour Behind the Label, which campaigns for garment worker's rights worldwide.

Read the whole thought provoking article here.

So I bought the pattern.  Maybe those multicoloured balls of cotton had finally found their purpose.

But I did have some reservations before starting to crochet.  I get peeved when modular crochet projects teach you how to make one motif, then the pattern glibly tells you to make a gazillion more.  I'd lose interest well before the end is in sight.  Who needs another guilt-inducing, unfinished work-in-progress?  So, one of the key attractions of this pattern is that you only need to make 13 granny squares.  

Here are mine, all neatly stacked. 

The creamy cotton came into its own joining all the squares together and it soon began to look like a bag.

So what about that lovely tea towel, I hear you ask?  Well, that's where a bag lining comes in.  Knit or crochet bags are notoriously holey and a fabric lining adds structure, as well as ensuring small items from your bag don't land on the floor!

My next challenge was to actually sew the lining.  I say challenge as sewing is not my superpower!  Unstitching the edge of the too-lovely-to use tea towel made a fabric I could cut to size and machine into a simple pouch to insert into the crocheted bag.  Even I could manage that, surely?

Please be impressed by the pocket I added, just the right size to hold my mobile phone! 

And retain these wise words from Julie of Tillyflop, so true for my once-was-a-tea-towel - sews a little, knits a little, designs a little and dries up even less!

Some soothing hand stitching later and the no-longer-a-tea-towel lining was firmly attached inside the bag.

Fabric handles are notoriously tricky as they're apt to stretch so I reinforced mine by enclosing cord inside the crocheted strap, making my bag a little different from the original.  I happened to have some cord leftover from a bag I'd made my daughter a while back - a clear case of  'you never know when it'll come in handy'!

With the handles securely attached, my bag was finally finished and ready to use.  

Big enough for all the usual nonsense I carry around - but stylish too.   

I couldn't be happier - and I used all these gifts from my kind friends.  

Just as they wished  (according to Richard Bach, apparently).

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Find Bella Coco Crochet here

Get your copy of the bag pattern here

Find Tillyflop designs here

An unintentional outcome

I recently had the chance to try my hand at Gelli printing, a form of printmaking which encourages creativity whilst using relatively simple and inexpensive materials.  

The original Gelli Plates are made by US firm Gelli Arts from non-toxic, vegan-friendly synthetic gelatine but this brand name has now become a catch-all term.  Think Biro or Hoover, but for monoprinting!

The afternoon printmaking class was held in The Shop at Daviot, a lovely local cafe where I'm more likely to be found enjoying an Americano and a wodge of sticky ginger cake, whilst perusing the shelves of arts and crafts.  

Shop owner, Karen, had engaged art tutor, Fiona, from CreateWithUs to show us the ropes.

We inked up the squidgy pads with acrylic paint then aesthetically arranged a selection of pressed leaves on top.  Clean paper was gently smoothed over this by hand and the paint transferred, leaving a stencil outline of the leaves.  But the magic happens when the leaves are removed from the pad and a fresh sheet of paper is applied - a ghost print appears.  I was having so much fun, I forgot to take a photo of any of mine at this stage!

Fiona showed us how to overlay the first print of one stencil layout, over the ghost print of another, resulting in a variety of colour combinations and patterns.

Some were bold and some were subtle.  Sometimes the colour wasn't as expected.

All were a surprise as the paper peeled away from the printing plate.  Such a fun craft!

Fiona encouraged us to embrace this experimental experience suggesting we cut out the bits we liked if some areas of our prints were more pleasing than others.  She provided us all with card making materials and I made a few (which I'll doubtless send to creative pals who understand my need to constantly make stuff!)

I'd have been content to leave it at that, having thoroughly enjoyed my crafty afternoon.  

When it comes to knitting, crochet and mosaic, I know I'm product-led so I'll happily work to the end of the project as I really want to see the finished product.  With a class of this nature, I'll embrace the creative process and not focus too much on the outcome.

That was until Lesley came to visit....

Painter and fibre artist, Lesley, made this vibrant felted scene, inspired by my photo of Bennachie, at my kitchen table in 2019 - read more about it here.

As well as selling her pictures in galleries in the Borders, Lesley creates lampshades from her images and has recently had cushions made for her as well.  She very kindly brought me a gift of this Bennachie cushion, created from the artwork she'd made in my house.  It perfectly compliments the colours in our recently refreshed lounge and I love it.

When Lesley saw this monoprint in my pile of papers from the printmaking workshop, she suggested it would make a great cushion.  It was one of my favourites, I have to admit.  

After taking a good quality photo of my print, I submitted it to www.my-picture.co.uk, the firm Lesley uses for high resolution photo printing.  I ordered a 40cm x 40cm plush cushion and opted to have the image printed on both sides.  Though production is based in Germany, my cushion arrived in a week and the postage didn't break the bank.*

Now - where does it look best?

Find out more :

The Shop at Daviot 

Fiona Chance artist

Lesley Johnson artist

My-picture.co.uk

*my cushion cost £21 for a two sided plush cushion and postage was £6.  There was a promotion on at the time but the company seems to have regular discounted prices so it's worth waiting for these.

I Made Mushrooms

 I do love fused glass - it's one of the first things I see when I walk through my front door.

As the walls of my house fill with stuff I've made over the years...

I'm increasingly drawn to create artwork for the garden - so a fused glass mushroom workshop by The Glass Needle sounded right up my street.   Susan Petrie is the glass artist who's been creating jewellery and homeware gifts for eight years as The Glass Needle.  Prior to discovering a passion for glass art, sewing was Susan's crafting first love, hence the name of her successful one-woman business.

 

Held at H1 in Aberdeen, the same venue as the jesmonite class I attended early last year, the art-space was set up for all four participants and was bright and welcoming.  We could  admire Susan's fused glass mushroom samples in person for the first time, complete with the copper pipe stems she hand crafts.  Safety is always paramount whilst working with glass and Susan helped us navigate the tools and materials supplied in order to stay safe. 

We all practised a straight line cut before Susan demonstrated how to shape our glass into a circle.  Quite daunting.  Though I've been cutting glass regularly when I make mosaics, I tend to cut mostly straight lines then use the grinder to shape the glass into curves.  With Susan's clear explanation of curve cutting, I'll be more confident to try this in future.

In any case, I was pretty pleased with the two reasonably round circles I managed to make as the bases for my mushrooms.  

Susan then showed us how the coloured glass powders might react once fired before we approached the tantalising selection of powder pots arrayed before us.  The colour wheel also helped identify how the numbered powders might look and Susan's beautiful glass bowls served as examples of the hues we could expect for our mushrooms, post firing.

It will surprise no-one that I chose Teal and Spring Green for my first mushroom!

Powder is gently sprinkled through a tea-strainer onto the glass base then sprayed with water to intensify the colour and fix the powder in place.

These little nuggets are called glass frits and they create nubs of intense colour following a visit to the kiln.  

Veering out of my colour comfort zone for mushroom two, I combined orange and two blue powders with glass frit accents in tangerine. 

With the mushrooms completed to this stage, the workshop was over and a very pleasant couple of hours drew to a close.  It's so enriching to spend time with like minded souls learning something new.

The mushroom tops headed home with Susan for firing and shaping.  She sent me this picture of them in her kiln, all set to be fused.

A couple of days later, they were ready to collect.  I was excited to see them after the kiln had worked its magic and I was not disappointed!

It just remained to see where they should go in the garden.  I tried out a few positions.

Before settling on these pots on the approach to my front door.

To find out more about Susan's workshops, check out her Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/TheGlassNeedle.shop

Follow this link to purchase from her Folksy shop:

https://folksy.com/shops/theglassneedle

Instagram will show you more beautiful glass creations by Susan (and students like me!)

https://www.instagram.com/theglassneedleshop/?hl=en

Three Trees in a Row

 Craft workshops appear to be like buses - none for ages then three come along at once!

This is Tanya - also known in woolly circles as TJ Frog or The Button Lady - who runs a creative business focused on Dorset Buttons from her home on Skye.  We first met a few years ago at a yarn show, and we're pictured here at last August's Wool At Portsoy event.  Though I've been at gatherings where Tanya's been teaching the heritage craft of making Dorset Buttons, I've never been quick enough to secure a place.  They're so popular!  

When I learned a few months ago that Tanya was running a virtual Dorset Button Tree Brooch workshop on Zoom this spring, I signed up right away.  

A comprehensive pack of all the materials I'd need landed in my post box ahead of the class.  It included everything, right down to a sewing needle and thread!  Most of the class participants hailed from the US, but one or two other ladies from the UK had signed up too.  We were quite a jolly band as we listened along to Tanya's patient instructions and followed her fully illustrated guidebook.

Using the wool and base provided, we worked through the processes of casting, slicking, laying and rounding.  Honestly - it's a whole new language but what I'm actually doing is covering the ring and fashioning a tree shape.

Quite pleased mine looked like Tanya's one in the picture.

I opted for a mixed kit to enable me to make a spring inspired pink blossom tree as well as an autumnal one.  It was the latter I concentrated on during the class, adding lots of French knots in browns, golds and yellows then I stitched on tiny seed beads from the kit in complimentary sparkly shades.

I think my finished brooch will look great on my hand knit cardigan.

Though I've enough materials to make several more brooches, my next workshop was only three days later and I was soon immersed in felt making.  Now, if you've read my blog before, you'll know I've made felt before on several occasions - so why would I go on a wet felting course?

The most obvious answer I suppose, is to learn something new.  I've done more needle felting than felt making so I jumped at the chance to take a wet felting class with Léla of The Green Boat when I learned she was going to be hosting a workshop near me at Cookston Crafts Studio.  I probably have all the materials at home, and potentially could've spent Saturday afternoon making felt but the bottom line is, I probably wouldn't.  Enjoying a course away from the house, and the pressure of household chores, encourages creativity I believe, as well as providing the opportunity to meet new people and make new friends.

Or it would if I hadn't walked in and immediately discovered that my old friend, Jo, had enrolled on the same course!  So companionable.  Everything we were going to need was neatly laid out in front of us and we got to work creating a base square from carded white wool, some soap, water and a bit of elbow grease.

Encouraged to choose from the wide range of coloured wool tops and yarns available to create our designs, I (rather predictably) gravitated towards the turquoises and greens.

I love the eclectic array of materials required to make felt other than the yarn - there's net curtain to protect the loose fibres while they're still flyaway, bubble wrap to provide texture, and insulation foam to roll out the felt.  Liberal sprinklings of water from the adorable watering can, more bar soap and plenty of rubbing by hand, soon make the fibres stick together and shrink to create a tight weave fabric.  Towelling underneath absorbs excess damp and a waterproof cover beneath that protects the table!  

Léla encouraged us all to incorporate undyed natural silky fibres into our piece and I added some to my horizon.  The lustrous texture following the felting process was unexpectedly beautiful.  Always something new to learn.

What might have been a seascape turned into a landscape with a feature tree as I let myself be guided by our encouraging tutor and my chosen palette.

The joy of working alongside others at a well run workshop is that we all have the potential to create the same thing, yet we all make something very different, reflecting our own colour choices and creativity.  

The boot was on the other foot at my third workshop in a week as I was the tutor!  

Michelle from Kemnay Library asked if I'd run a short class there during the Aberdeenshire Wellbeing Festival.  I'd only an hour so opted to show the participants how to needle felt this wee cherry tree. 

I had to make a practice one beforehand to familiarise myself with what to do but was able to finish mine in 30 minutes, giving me confidence that the ladies could make theirs in an hour.

What a pleasant way to spend an afternoon  - seven participants, a table strewn with tactile textiles, welcome refreshments from the lovely library staff and plenty of chatter.  We were also treated to the delightful sound of the Spectrum Singers, performing in the library as part of the festival, as we gently overran our allotted hour.  No one seemed to mind.

Just look at the lovely trees the ladies created.  

It's a joy to be able to share my love of craft with others and I was especially impressed with this needle felted forest as most of the class had not done this before.

Whilst the proximity of these workshops is not the norm for me, it is possible that the choice of subject matter, all these trees, may have been in part governed by attending three classes in one week!

And I can thoroughly recommend TJ Frog and The Green Boat if you fancy a workshop too.