Fusing (not con-fusing)

It's no secret that I like coloured glass.  This wee selection is on display in the bedroom and I've blogged here about the stained glass piece I made last year which hangs in our hall.  There's a rainbow sun catcher in the lounge window and other decorative glass bits and bobs around the house.

When the opportunity to take a fused glass workshop with renowned Aberdeen glass artist Shelagh Swanson arose, I jumped at the chance.  Shelagh has produced beautiful artwork for Aberdeen's Duthie Park and I was able to see first hand her commission for The Silver Darling Restaurant on a recent lunch date.  Check out the photos of her glass herring shoal sweeping majestically up the spiral staircase in Shelagh's own blog - my pictures just didn't do it justice.

 

So, on the evening of the workshop, Shelagh welcomed me to her bright studio in Market Street in Aberdeen which overlooks the quay with its ever-changing array of colourful harbour traffic - and the occasional window ledge seagull!  

I took my pal Carol with me - she's a dab hand at stained glass so I knew this'd be right up her street.  Three other experienced glass workers joined us in the studio making our two hour workshop a sociable and creative experience.

 

First we had the opportunity to explore the studio and look at finished pieces to see what might be achieved.  We'd the choice of making four coasters or one larger panel of fused glass, and both chose to make the latter. For a little extra, the panel could be moulded to make a tea light holder but we both chose to create a flat piece for our first attempt.

Shelagh made sure everyone was working safely with the tools and materials as we got to grips with the cutting equipment and special glass.  This has to be able to withstand the high kiln temperatures required for fusing.  There's some crossover with the skills required to make stained glass so I felt reasonably confident handling the glass cutter and nippers.  However, the fusing powders and granular frits were quite new to me as were the tiny glass rods called stringers.
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I made a rough pencil sketch of the landscape I hoped to create and then got on with cutting my pieces and assembling my 'sandwich' of coloured bullseye glass, frits, powder and stringers.
   

Meanwhile, across the table, Carol was creating these lovely daisies.

Our precious panels had to be very carefully carried to the kiln once completed as most of the glass bits aren't stuck down or attached in any way.  No one sneeze please!  

With our very enjoyable evening at an end, we thanked Shelagh and left her to contact us once our panels had been fused in her kiln.

I was pretty excited when Carol told me she'd been to collect them.



Carol sent me these pictures so I could see how they looked and what mine looked like at her window with the light behind it.  Once I had my own panel home, I tried hanging it in several places before I was happy with its permanent spot.  This skinny end wall faces our inner front door so it's one of the first things you see on entering our house.



I'm really pleased with my first ever attempt to make something using the fused glass technique.

And it won't be my last as I'm going back this week to have another go!

The Birthday Jumper

It's just not worth making a garment for someone who hasn't asked for it.  It might not fit  It might not fit with the recipient's aesthetic.  It might spend its life in a cupboard.  It might be donated to charity :(

This is heartache for knitters.  Sweaters take time to make, weeks and months - perhaps years for even the dedicated knitter.  As a self confessed butterfly crafter, I'm often drawn away from the project at hand by the new-and-shiny.  Let's not talk about that knitting kit I was given in the 1980's...

Of late, though, I've been knitting garments again for myself (though find it hard not to strike a ridiculous pose in a selfie).

It's still a bit of a leap for me to contemplate knitting a jumper for someone else.  

Last Christmas, my daughter, Maddy, gave me a copy of Pom Pom Quarterly.  Pom Pom is a beautifully curated collection of knitting and crochet patterns with articles for contemporary crafters which is produced in London four times a year by a vibrant young team.  I knew the modern designs appealed to London fashion student Maddy.  She especially liked the cover sweater on Pom Pom Magazine Issue 22, a pattern entitled Diesis by designer Alice Caetano.  (Incidentally, a diesis in printing terms is a double dagger symbol like this ‡ )

(And let's just take a moment to appreciate the cover model - nuff said.)

Anyway, I've learned from the experience which comes with my own grey hair, that knitting something for someone else as a surprise may not work out as I'd hoped.  With that in mind, I collaborated with Maddy over wool choice, size and fit.  The designer's clever webpage for the Diesis sweater allows you to imagine how your chosen colours will look.  

Maddy had a clear vision of what she wanted.

I bought several shades of pink and created a swatch so Maddy could see how they would look together with the red and cream she liked.  The yarn we chose is Drops Karisma as it is 100% wool, comes in over 40 shades and is machine washable.  

I began knitting at the end of May and tried to knit exclusively on this project once I'd started.

One unexpected drawback of knitting a woolly jumper in late May, June and early July of this year was the beautiful spell of weather and my desire to knit outside and enjoy the sunshine.  I persevered despite the extra layer of warmth in my lap which I didn't really need!

One day it was warm enough for me to take my cup of tea outside at 8 am and crack on with the cuff!

Sometimes I had a bit of company from the hens (matchy matchy!)

Diesis is knitted in the round from the top down which meant there was only a tiny bit of sewing up once the actual knitting was finished.  Then all that remained was to sew in all the ends.

Having a deadline was really great at keeping me focused and motivated - I finished sewing in the last end at 8 minutes to midnight on the eve of Maddy's birthday! 

Happy 20th birthday, gorgeous girl, and may you enjoy many years of wear!

More details of this knit are on my Ravelry project page

Can you make me this?

Most makers are asked to make something for someone else from time to time.  I often find myself saying 'yes' when I haven't really thought through whether I can actually make the item in question.

At Easter, a friend from knitting group asked if I could crochet a rabbit from her Woman's Weekly pattern.  I'd no idea if I could but I enjoyed the challenge of making this bunny for her.

Shortly after, I was contacted by a former colleague from the National Trust for Scotland who also had a request for my creative self.  We'd  worked together in the shop at Pitmedden Garden last summer.  I was part of a small friendly team who worked hard to maintain a beautiful garden, farming museum and tearoom and support all the people who came to visit from all over the world.

At the helm was a very special lady, the much respected and loved Head Gardener and Property Manager.  She was moving on after 24 years with the Trust and my friend was making a special leaving gift for her from all the team.

Pitmedden Garden not only has a dedicated workforce and volunteer task force who look after it, it also has a resident cat called Ben.  Ben is very popular with younger visitors especially and even has his own merchandise!

It was Ben I was being asked to make in miniature to include in the presentation piece!

My friend sent me this image from the internet and said, "Can you make me something like this?"

I'd little experience of felting animals.  This blog post shows my wee felted dog (which I thought looked more like a sheep!) so I sought out this excellent tutorial to guide me through making a cat's face.

First, I made the basic shapes for Ben's face.

Then I fashioned  his nose and made ears which were far too big for a start so I had to trim them down! 

I then added his eyes, whiskers and distinctive eyebrows.

Here is Ben with 'Ben'

And here is the finished presentation wreath my friend made, complete with tiny Ben peeking out from the garden paraphernalia!

Needless to say the gift was very well received and I was delighted to have been able to make a small part of it.

So what am I being asked to make next?  Well, I'm currently knitting a jumper for my daughter's 20th birthday next week at her request for the first time ever - pattern and wool colours chosen by her. 

But I suspect that's a whole blog post on its own...

A visit to the shedio

When my husband, Geoff, asked for a picture by his favourite artist for his joint birthday/Christmas present last year, you'd have been forgiven for thinking I might've baulked at this, believing I'd have to sell an organ to purchase an old master!  However, his favourite artist is someone we've been friends with for over 20 years - talented Borders based maker, Lesley Johnson. 

To facilitate Geoff's picture choice, Lesley invited us to visit her "shedio", a tiny creative space at the bottom of her garden in Peebles.  With a husband and two teenage sons mad-keen on mountain biking, Lesley doesn't even get the whole shed to play in as two thirds of the space is storage for bikes and outdoor gear!

But Lesley packs a lot of kit into her shed/studio aka "the shedio".  When she's not teaching chemistry, she produces artworks using various mediums and tools, favouring texture gel and copper ink applied using implements as diverse as a pastry brush and old credit cards!

The sewing machine allows Lesley to embellish her textile pictures which are made by wet felting colourful merino wools.  She also uses her hand produced fabrics to make tea and cafetiere cosies.

Transferring her designs to fabric enables Lesley to create beautiful lampshades for these bottle lamps.

Lesley's inspired by light, colour and texture, local hills and countryside in the Borders and by Scotland's stunning coastline.

Botanical images often feature in Lesley's artwork with seed heads being a favourite subject.

Her delightful family home is like a mini art gallery so we were able to appreciate her own pictures which adorn the walls prior to Geoff choosing something for himself.

In the end, he didn't choose just one picture, but two of Lesley's originals made their way home with us to Aberdeenshire.

This is entitled  "Treelines" and is created using acrylics and pastels.  We were agreed we really wanted it to hang where we'd see it all the time so it's in our bedroom opposite the bed.

"Blooming Heather" is a smaller work in acrylic and ink on paper - it's hanging in the hall.  Here they are in situ.

Thanks, Lesley, for such a wonderful and inspiring visit to your shedio - we are enjoying our new artworks every day!

You can contact the artist yourself by following this link to her Facebook page.

Aberdeen Yarnfest Part One - Anticipation

So I decided to make a bag.  Out of these leftovers.  All treasured bits from previous projects hand dyed by my friend, Helen, of Ripples Crafts.

When I learned that Aberdeen was to host its first yarn festival, and that Helen would be attending as a vendor with her wonderful wares, I offered to help her at her stand.

She said yes.  I'd need a bag and what could be more appropriate than a bag made from my precious Ripples Crafts stash.  So, with only a vague plan in mind, and less than a fortnight to go, I started crocheting wee squares.  I already had some bright pink lining fabric to match the main colour.

I'm not the only one to keep all my precious Ripples Crafts leftovers.  My yarn enthusiast friend, Ethmay, is a champion sock knitter and kindly lent me her spare yarn dyed by Helen to add to my colourful collection.

The squares each got a pink edging...

... then I joined them all together.

During a car journey to visit friends and back again, when I wasn't driving(!), I crocheted a plain rectangle to be the back of the bag.  I was going to need every scrap of Helen's wonderfully named pink 'A Cerise Which Demands Attention' so a pussy hat I'd made some time ago which was too big was unravelled for the greater good.

Pinning out the fabric whilst damp helped iron out the rumples.

I crocheted a long strip to add width and attached it along three sides.

The sewing machine and I are not best friends -  however I managed to make a cotton lining with my vibrant pink fabric and insert a zip.  Please don't look too closely.  I then hand-sewed the lining into the bag.

All that was left was to crochet a strap and attach it.  Not cutting it fine but I was sewing in the handle whilst having coffee with Mum the day before the festival and just hours before Helen was due to arrive!

So I filled my bag with festival essentials and pinned on my favourite badges.  My 'Adventures in Yarn' notebook is made by Popcorn and Crocodiles and my wool girl brooch is made by Gabrielle Reith.

I wore my bag all day and it worked really well, even if the strap got a little longer as the day went on!

Were you at Aberdeen Yarn Fest?  Did you visit the Ripples Crafts stand and see me and my colourful bag?  I'll be writing more about the great event the yarn fest turned out to be in my next post.