An unproductive time of late... Firstly, the lurgy (ugh!). Then it was Christmas (Hurrah!). The only vaguely crafty things I have been up to are 1) have managed to finish ONE Lady Grey (knitted in red) sock and 2) went to the fabulous Gerhard Richter exhibition.
The Lady Grey sock pattern was from the rebel knitter's guide that was free with the Guardian a while ago. The wool is from the gorgeous K1 Yarns. There is something truly decadent about wearing hand knitted socks. This is the first lacy knitting pattern I have tried, and after some initial hiccups, was fine. Also I managed to sneak this knitting on to an easy jet flight to Berlin, far more entertaining than the in-flight magazine!
The Gerhard Richter exhibition was great, though it was certainly chilly in Edinburgh! It is outstanding the range of different works he has produced throughout his career. I particularly like his technique of dragging a dry brush over his photo paintings to create a blurry edging, and will have to try this sometime.
Had a lovely afternoon at this exhibition at Kelvingrove. I'm learning lots about colour in my course at the moment so this was rather timely. Its strange to think that the impressionists were painting in such a new and remarkable way to what had been done previously. One critic at the time said that impressionism was ‘another name for ignorance and idleness’!
Oh, and of course, we said hello to Sir Roger.
So after a long long long time of doing science based stuff, here I am doing arty-type things. My first assignment was based on mark-making, and trying to recreate movement & textures. This work was based on some photos that I took along Leith Walkway in Edinburgh. We were actually on our way to see the Tracey Emin retrospective, and ended up watching the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre - but that's a different story. The first of these was based on the look of the water and the second is based on some interesting textures seen on some rocks there. 
Ps: I am now the queen of french knots!!!!
My second felt piece was this dark red piece. Hidden inside the felt fibres is a piece of lace which you can just about see (this effect is more dramatic when you hold up to the light). I also added embroidery threads and pieces of wool in to the mix! For my final piece I wanted to create something thicker and heavier, as my previous pieces were rather delicate. I was surprised by just how much merino you had you add to help create a thicker piece. I like the simplicity of this, and its feels super soft to the touch!
In October I went to a great Wet Felt workshop in Milton Keynes. I had never attempted wet felting before & really enjoyed it. I was amazed by how quickly you could produce dramatic results. I managed to make three pieces & even learn to incorporate a bit of needle felting into one of the pieces.My first attempt... was this a cute sheep! The majority is merino, with some wool strands added in wet felting process. I added some extra silk top (to add bulk to the sheep) and red centres of the flowers by needle felting.
Hello all!Hurrah! This is my new exciting blog! The aim of this adventure is to act as a record of all interesting crafty things I create/learn/admire/wish for.Hold on tight!
An unproductive time of late... Firstly, the lurgy (ugh!). Then it was Christmas (Hurrah!). The only vaguely crafty things I have been up to are 1) have managed to finish ONE Lady Grey (knitted in red) sock and 2) went to the fabulous Gerhard Richter exhibition. 
