Drop by and see what I'm working on at the moment!
It seemed like such a good idea at the time … I keep reading about crafters re-cycling their plastic bags by cutting them into strips and either knitting or crocheting them into new bags. Great idea I thought, I’ll give it a whirl. Dug out the old crochet stick, found a pattern, off I went.
As a seasoned crafter I’m used to needing a lot of patience and paying attention to detail, suffering for my craft yada yada, but occasionally there are projects when I think life’s just too short and this is one of them. This occurred to me when my fingers were getting red raw from handling the plastic and my right hand was shaped like a rictus claw, it looked like a spat out, splatted piece of bubblegum and I’d only done about … well you can see for yourself.
| So, let’s recap … it was meant to look like this: |
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| It ended up looking like this: |
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| And it made my finger look like this: |
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Recycling as part of your craftery is a very good idea, I’m behind it all the way, keep up the good work chaps … but plastic bags are just horrible, doesn’t matter how you use them. They feel nasty and the end project just isn’t satisfying (well, not when I do it anyway). Having said that, there are some interesting ideas for fusing on the ‘Craft:’ website … maybe my plastic bag days aren’t over yet …
Just got back from a beautiful week in remote Islay (Inner Hebrides). It’s well known for its bird communities which is why we went. Nah not really, although I am partial to a bit of wildlife bothering. We’d heard of it because of the famous single-malt whisky distilleries and we managed to drink our way through all of them. In between I also managed to squeeze in a visit to the ramshackle Islay Woollen Mill which was completely and beautifully devoid of visitors so I was given a quick tour by Gordon, the owner, and his 3 dogs (including a border terrier called Peanut).
It was of those memorable lost afternoons, wandering around chatting to Gordon about his Victorian looms and ancient machinery which is amazingly still in use (”just needs a daily oiling and a spare part or two from time to time”). He and his wife Sheila create their own designs and still take enormous pride in it, particularly when commissioned by famous clients - their designs have cropped up in the films Braveheart, Rob Roy, Far & Away and Forrest Gump. While I was there, Chanel phoned to confirm their latest order, and Gordon told me about the time the Queen turned up unannounced to say hello as she’s a big fan!
I helped him load some pictures onto his website and, on top of the gorgeous skirt lengths I bought, I was given a lovely scarf for my troubles too. Well worth a visit if you ever find yourself up in those parts. Whisky wasn’t bad either.
I keep seeing all these lovely retro fabrics crop up on ebay in the American ‘Fat Quarter’ measurements so I decided to search them out for myself straight from the source. They are, of course, from America and the variety is dazzling. Quilting is so huge over there and I’m warming up to the idea. Not a huge fan of the traditional patchwork stuff as I think I’ve mentioned before, but I like the idea of some tastefully put together fabrics with a beautiful sewn design.
Hugely envious of their choice in the US, so with the dollar so weak against the pound right now I ordered a selection myself from the fabulous eQuilter. My order came through the other day and although I had to pay duty on it, it still worked out pretty reasonable so I think I’ll try it again soon. Haven’t used the fabric for anything yet, but keep getting it down from the shelf and cooing over it. Must get out more.
