I've just discovered 'bad craft' site Regretsy, and I haven't laughed so much in ages! Regretsy (tagline 'Handmade? It looks like you made it with your feet.') trawls Etsy for examples of truly excruciating handiwork and takes the p*** mercilessly.
Mum and Dad came down for the afternoon so the Blonde and I took them to Hove Museum to partake of afternoon tea. In the foyer of the museum is a wonderful coin-operated automata by Ian McKay.
There's a chap reading a newspaper, seated next to a lady with a flask of tea...
... and a kissing couple!
I love automata. I enjoyed making the sheep automata for my mum, and I'd like to learn how to design one myself. I'm not a woodworker so I'd like to see if I could make a fabric one - over an armature of some sort I guess.
Queen of knitted toys, Jean Greenhowe, has a new booklet out this week. Dolly Mixtures is a collection of 9 inch dolls, including a snowman, a pirate boy, a flower seller girl and a Christmas elf.
It's been ages since she's had new stuff out so I was excited to see this, but I must admit I'm a wee bit disappointed that it's another book of large dolls - they're cute but a quite similar to dolls already included in previous JG booklets. But I am a JG addict so will still be buying it!
It's £120 so a bit out of my reach, but maybe if manage to save, or get a surprise commission, I'll be able to make it mine! Or I could treat myself to a mosaiced letter 'K', like this £45 letter 'E'.
These tea-themed mugs and teatowels from Mr PS (Manchester-based Megan Price) are fab - especially the ones with the 'greasy spoon' cafe menus. Available from the Mr PS shop.
Thanks to Anne at the ever-wonderful 'I Like' for flagging them up!
A flashmob of Plasticine figures assembled outside Tate Modern this week to form a 'terracotta army' of Morphs in honour of the late, lovely Tony Hart.
Papercut by Rob Ryan for Elle Magazine, April 2009
Another beautiful papercut from Rob Ryan - this time for Elle magazine. It's to accompany an article called 'A Promise To Mothers Lost', about the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood, an international coalition which aims to ensure that pregnancy and childbirth are safe for all women and newborns in every country around the world
In probably my favourite yarnbombing incident so far, guerilla knitting heroes Knitta Please have covered an old Japanese bus in knitting and parked in Mexico City. I feel some Brighton 'n' Hove-based mischief coming on... ;)
I hadn't heard of Neil Gaiman's children's book Coraline before, but now a movie version has been made I'm getting up to speed. I got the book out of the library and can't wait for the film's UK release (not til May!).
The story is a sort of sinister Alice In Wonderland - Coraline finds a door in her house which leads to a parallel world the same as her own, but seemingly better - she even has 'other' parents... who have buttons for eyes and may not be as friendly as they first seem...
There's a lot of buzz about the film in the crafting community, as it's a stop-motion animation with sets and characters all created by hand, including a cherry orchard made from pieces of popcorn sprayed pink!
The most gobsmacking creations are the pieces of miniature knitting by Althea Crome - see her in action here.
The longer we looked, the more details we spotted - the robin in the tree, the pop bottle knitted from clear plastic, the chicks fighting over a worm, Shaun's iPod! It was fantastic - a real labour of love by hundreds of knitters.
Nicki Trench's sofa, from the Dec 2008 issue of Good Homes
This lovely sofa, entirely covered in candy-striped knitting, belongs to craft tutor and author Nicki Trench, whose home was featured in December's Good Homes magazine. Gorgeous eh? Must have involved some seriously dedicated needle-wielding...
Finally I have something in my Etsy shopmy Folksy shop! It takes such a long time to make just a few things, then take good pics of them and get the listings done, it does feel like an achievement!
Here are some large, sparkly Valentine brooches. I'm single and I always send Valentines to my single friends, and these brooches were made with them in mind. Hope you like them!
The other day, my cousin Lisa and I were tallking about our favourite childhood presents. I was saying how brilliant her mum, my Auntie Sue, was at choosing gifts - a Crayola Crayon Caddy (64 different colours!), a Fashion Wheel, and later, my first proper sketchbook and a tin of Derwent drawing pencils. She could see that art was my passion and did what she could to encourage me.
This is Cinderella. Sue made her for me when I was about six. Lisa had one too. Cinderella looks sad now, but if you turn her upside-down...
...she CAN go to the ball!
There is so much detailed work here. She has a beautiful ballgown of pink and white lace over pink crepe, a choker of flower beads and an elaborate plaited coiffure of white yarn. Can you imagine how exciting and glamourous she was for a six-year old girl in sensible clothes and a 'boy's' haircut?
I will always keep her. I will always appreciate the love and care which went into making her, and I hope that the things I make for my friends' kids will make them feel as special. I hope one day I'll have the time to knit Jean Greenhowe's Cinderella doll for one of them.
Just before Christmas I came across a wonderful Etsy shop called Summersville, full of handprinted fabrics by Suffolk-based Lucie Summers. My favourite of her prints is called Avenue* - line drawings of houses and trees, available in three of my favourite colours - hot pink, teal and turquoise! So I ordered a piece in turquoise, and some Christmas tree stars she'd made from her Weave and Totem prints.
And what a beautiful parcel Lucie sent! I almost didn't want to unwrap it... but I'm glad I did:
Gorgeous, eh? Lucie also has an Etsy shop for her mixed media work - LuSummers, and you can read all about how her work is developed (and which bit of delicious vintage crockery she has found this week in the charity shop!) on her lovely blog.
* A name I also love cos it reminds me of how Margot in my fave 'The Good Life' says, "Not on The Avenue!" aghast, whenever Tom and Barbara get more livestock!
I'm well up for this. The Blonde and I love LLL just for Kirstie and Phil's banter (it's not as if either of will be getting on the property ladder anytime soon). I hope Phil pops in at some point, for homemade cake!
Channel Four says that Lady Miss Allsopp will,"hunt for the "best of handmade inventiveness, design and craft" and visit auction houses as well as reclaiming and restoring pieces of furniture... learn how to create items such as homemade soap, candles, pillowcases and tablecloths... meet all the wonderful artisans who keep the great British tradition for crafts alive from furniture-makers and antique restorers to glassblowers and flower arrangers, and ... learn some of the key skills of the humble craftsman." Can't wait! (Via Crafty Crafty.)
I'll be off to watch The Tudors in a mo', but thought it fitting to warmly applaud the work of caffaknitted (aka Katie Park), who has made a fab Anne Boleyn doll complete (or incomplete?!) with a detachable head.
Fifty bobble hats for Innocent smoothie bottles (c) Kristen Bailey 2007
Well, they've gone off in the post - only managed to contribute fifty hats towards the target of 400,000, but it was fun playing just a small part in it.
This is a great idea from the Purl Bee - frame favourite pieces of fabric with embroidery hoops and hang 'em on the wall. I've seen fabric framed before in picture frames but this is a more interesting way of doing it and is dead simple - just follow their free online tutorial.
Ian Hundley is a Brooklyn-based artist who transforms maps into amazing large-scale quilts. Watch this video from Cool Hunting, where they meet with Ian to discuss his inspirations and capture his process.
Bulldog light by Elaine Sheldon (c) Sheldon Cooney
I just love this handblown glass pendant lamp by Sheldon Cooney (designer Elaine Sheldon and glassmaker Dominic Cooney). What a great idea to use a bulldog clip like that!
I'd like one in turquoise of course - so it's a good job they don't come in turquoise, cos I don't have the spare £350. A thing of great beauty...
Click on the pic for a larger view of this beautiful mosaic, put together by professional mosaicist, teacher and author Emma Biggs in celebration of the pottery and ceramics which have been made in Stoke-on-Trent for hundreds of years:
"There have been over 1,500 potters in Stoke-on-Trent and most of them used a back-stamp to identify their ware, often bearing the words 'ENGLAND' or 'MADE IN ENGLAND'.
Each back-stamp is a story - a story of the company (which may have lasted for two years or hundreds of years), the smoking - fire belching bottle kilns, the child labour and sometimes appalling working conditions. It is also a story of beauty, workmanship, improvement and camaraderie."
You can find out more about the project here, and more about Emma Bigg's mosaic work on her website.
I am in the grip of a fresh infatuation... vinyl. No, not records... upholstery vinyl made into cool things like bags and purses. It's shiny, wipe-clean, hardwearing, doesn't fray and comes in loads of bright colours - even glittery colours - what's not to love?
Of course I haven't yet tried working with it myself. That's on the 'to do' list. But I've already bought three gorgeous things via Etsy... and have my eye on more.
My first purchase was a fab robot motif sunglasses case from Sugar Lust (above) - perfect for me and my robot love.
Then I came across Miss Alison's Etsy shop, and her great 'bent stripe' pouches. Would she make me a bespoke in my favourite colours? Of course! So I'm the proud owner of a turquoise pouch with hot pink stripes (above). I've also got my eye on this Seagull Pouch from her website.
The starry pink beauty below is winging its way to me as I type. It's by Julie at Majesty Inc, and I love it. Great colour combination - and I love five-pointed stars as a motif.
This is Sharifa Rajab Ali, who lives and works in Kabul, Afghanistan.
I've just lent her a few quid so she can buy materials for her beadwork business and use her creative skills to support her family. She needs more than I'm able to lend her at the moment, but once a few other people have chipped in with their loans, Sharifa will be able to stock up.
Kiva.org came to my attention via Miss Malaprop and Crafty World. It's a simple and effective - Kiva enable you to loan your money (as little as $25 - currently less than £13 in sterling) to the working poor:
"Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can "sponsor a business" and help the world's working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the business you've sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back.
Kiva partners with existing microfinance institutions. In doing so, we gain access to outstanding entrepreneurs from impoverished communities world-wide. Our partners are experts in choosing qualified borrowers. That said, they are usually short on funds. Through Kiva.org, our partners upload their borrower profiles directly to the site so you can lend to them."
It gave me particular pleasure to be able to help a creative person like Sharifa - you can search the site by category to find people working in your area of interest - so I've loaned some money to Lolofa, a Samoan lady, to help her build up her mat weaving business.
I really need to start making robots. I sewed one in felt ages ago, but I want to make robots out of junk. Maybe not to the scale of California-based Clayton Bailey's work - this guy uses everything from coffee pots to fridges.
I came across him on The Tech's Robotics site (check out the 360 degree panoramas of his studio and his yard - now there's a garden I could go for!). PS: Great moustache, sir!
I am of course buying far more on Etsy than I'm selling, and my current 'thing' is robots. There's the gorgeous turquoise glass robot necklace made for me to order by Atomic Glassworks, a stunning set of robot letterpress prints by Cricket Press and my new desk buddy, Corkbot, courtesy of Moonshine Bluebirds. I think I'm in love...
Yellow Bloomin’ Bowl by Marie Worre Hastrup Holm, 2006. Photo: Ester Segarra
I love this glass bowl because it's been covered in LEGO flowers. Brilliant. Part of this weekend's International Festival of Glass in Stourbridge, incorporating the British Glass Biennale.
Click on the pics for larger versions (c) Kristen Bailey
Oh Sussex, Sussex by the Sea Good old Sussex by the Sea You can tell them all that we'll stand or fall For Sussex by the Sea
I found this lovely linen 'Sussex' teatowel in a charity shop last weekend and I've made in into a bag, because I love Sussex and I especially love the map, with all the place names on it - so many which hold meaning for me.
Am on the lookout for more 'map' teatowels now. I've got loads of satin scarves with maps on but linen teatowels are easier to work with and make sturdier bags. Another fad is upon me!
Click on the pics for larger images (c) Kristen Bailey
This bag is for my lovely colleague Anra, who I recently lent a book about Lucienne Day's textile designs. I'd bought this 1950s curtain fabric in a charity shop ages ago. I think the print must have been inspired by Day's designs - look at her Flotilla fabric.
I paired the vintage fabric with some lime green jumbo cord and lined the bag in a polycotton - white with red polka dots. It's got a phone pocket and white plastic hoop handles.
Especially for my lovely friend S, here are some knitted lambswool cupcakes by the marvellous Donna Wilson. Perfect for the lady who is watching her waistline. £12 each but they never go stale. I like the choccy one best.
S - you'll also love Heidi's plush patisserie @ My Paper Crane.
Matie Trewe has also produced many other knitted delights for you to try, including the Lacy Skull Shrug, the DoKnit and the Slit Throat Choker ("For when you want to keep a specific 1/2" of your neck warm, AND look like you've just been murdered..."). Fan-bluddy-tastic.
Among them is a shark with a severed leg in its mouth, conjoined teddy bears, a rabbit who has been stabbed through the heart with a carrot, some fluffy pink bondage gear and a roadkill cat with guts and blood spilling out of its stomach. Artist unknown. Enjoy!
Later that same day... A-ha! Further Googling (props to 1percent - and I didn't pinch that post title, honest) reveals that the artist in question is Patricia Waller. There are dozens more works for your delight in her online photo gallery.
Many moons ago, when I was a Saturday girl in a haberdashery, I used to look at the kimble (tagging) gun we used and think, "Wouldn't it be cool to use long kimble tags to attach loads of sequins to curtains?" But kimble guns were beyond my budget, so that idea never came to fruition.
So it's cool to see this bag - and I love that he's used red kimble tags to match, and in all different lengths. Although it's probably best I don't own one - I'd doubtless end up getting constantly tangled up with doorhandles (and members of the public).
There's a lampshade in Habitat which has small pearl buttons all over it, attached by kimble tags. (Slight pause while she Googles for more info.) Ooh, turns out it's by Tracy Kendall, who does all that fantastic wallpaper.
Ladies and gentlemen - for all those who still have horrible colds and all who are wondering exactly when it's going to get any warmer despite it being nearly MAY... I give you the witty and talented PaMdora's wonderful In Bed With A Bad Cold quilt. Yes, QUILT. Click on the pic for more detail.
Check out her amazing new Towers of Babble quilt in detail here. More from the Uncommon Threads: Contemporary Art Quilts - New Directions exhibition at Springfield Art Museum here.
The ever-inventive Zeekomkommer has produced Bake It! - a wordsearch made from letter-shaped biscuits which, thanks to Flickr's 'notes' function, users can play on-screen. Crumbs!
This little lady was a birthday pressie for the Blonde back in June but I've only just got round to posting her picture. She was my first attempt at making a doll from scratch, with no pattern, and didn't go quite as well as I'd hoped. There are a few strange lumps and bumps (that's the pot calling the kettle black...) and bless her, she's a got a distinctive face!
I stitched her features on before I'd stuffed her and didn't realise till then that I'd put her mouth far too low down. Still, you live and learn - and she's got quite a sweet (yet gormless) expression. And I love her shoes. She's made mainly from felt (including glittery felt and some great stuff with shimmery strands running through it) and has a pipecleaner halo.
Why an angel? Well, my little sis used to be (still is) into a band called Little Angels (one of whom is now the drummer in Feeder, who she's also a huge fan of) and ever since then she's liked stuff to do with angels.
I bought an old batwing jumper from a charity shop ages ago because I liked the colours, pattern and sparkly lurex bits. I think I imagined somehow altering it and wearing it, but I never did.
Eventually I decided to chop it up and make a bag - but I was nervous about how to go about it... stretchy fabric is scary! I did it by cutting out the pattern three times - once in the jumper fabric, once in the lining fabric and once in medium-heavy interfacing.
I attached the piece of jumper fabric to the interfacing with tacking stitches and carried on with making the bag as I normally do - the 'self-lining' method (ie sew the two pieces together wrong-side out leaving a small gap, then turn it all right-side out). The bag's lined with hot pink satin (a 20p remnant) and has bought black plastic handles.
I use it whenever I'm having a 'pink' day (rather than a 'turquoise' day).
Prompted by this gorgeous Yo-Yo Pillow by Vicki at Turkey Feathers, I've been off on the trail of Suffolk Puffs - which is what I've always called these little circular puffballs of fabric. They've long been used to form panels for quilts and other furnishings - stitched edge-to-edge - or threaded together in long strings to make toys, like this one from Shop Intuition.
They're a great way to use up fabric scraps (a necessity in past hard times but more likely a 'need to shrink my stash' thing these days). Here's how (via quilterscache, via Vicki!).
I used to have a clown entirely made from Suffolk puffs - it seemed to me that no two were the same fabric, and I probably spent more time exploring the colours and patterns of the fabrics than actually playing with the doll (I've never liked clowns anyhow!).
Here are instructions for making Snooze the Suffolk Wyvern, via Wyrm's Cuddly Dragons page. (Snooze isn't a dragon, but a wyvern - a mythical creature with the wings and upper part of a dragon and the lower part of a snake.)
There are oodles of free instructions for making bedding, blinds, curtains, cushions (including beanbags) and ornamental trimmings on the Alternative Windows website.
They're complete with diagrams and handy hints ... including basic stuff (basic stuff I struggle with) like inserting a zip.
Meanwhile, Dennis Yuen at CaiLun continues to explain the processes behind his beautiful books and bindings, and Graeme's Japanese Bookbinding site has been refurbished and is as inspiring and informative as ever.
It's full of patterns - this time including iPod Mittens, a lovely Chevron Scarf and the Cha Ching Moebius. The first issue (pdf) is also still available.
It's been around for a while but it's handy to make of note of great, free crafty tutorials, so here's Supernaturale's Logan Billingham on how to make undies from a t-shirt.
3rd Jan 2009 - EDITED TO ADD: Thanks to Hope for letting me that the Naive Knitting blog and its tutorials have disappeared. Here are some alternative sock dog tutorials I've found:
Sailor Feebee by Sherri Wood. Tattoo art by Kate Hellenbrand, 1999. Embroidery, found doll. 26" x 16" x 13".
Found while Googling for something else entirely...
"The Tattoo Baby Doll Project is a collaboration between Sherri Wood and female tattoo artists from across the country that combines embroidery and tattoo as a vehicle to explore the images and roles that define and empower women today."
The gallery is brilliant - I might try this myself. It's the coward's option - I'll leave the real tattoos to my sister. Ouch!
Welcome! I'm Kristen and I live in lovely Brighton 'n' Hove on England's south coast. I drink a lot of tea, ride a lot of buses, go in a lot of charity shops, do a lot of drawing, knitting and sewing, and follow Jesus Christ. <3
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