Merry Christmas!

Card stock, felt, buttons, and sponged snowmen. Wishing you all a very happy festive season!

Feeling Festive...

The tree is up.
Complete with silver crochet stars, fabric acorns and felt guinea pigs! My knitting of late has been some cute booties and hat, using these ever reliable patterns. To top them off I used some super cute teddy bear buttons.
Currently on the needles is another Op Art baby blanket. In hindsight I had forgotten just how many stitches goes in to one of these (99,012), and decided it would be perfect from my friend expecting in the middle of January. Currently I am only just over 21,000 stitches, on the plus side, knitting a blanket is a great way to keep warm in the winter!

Perfect weaving weather...

It has been a wild week here on the weather front. We have had clear skies, snow, hail, ice and today - Hurricaine Bawbag!
Perfect conditions for staying inside weaving. I finally finished my guinea pig tapestry. He is quite a cutie!

Lost in Lace

Around the corner from the hustle and bustle of the Christmas Market, there is a wonderful exhibition being held at Birmingham Museum, Lost in Lace. The fountain of all knowledge (Wikipedia) describes lace as being "an openwork fabric, patterned with open holes in the work, made by machine or by hand". This definition encapsulates more than just doilies. The work was varied and outstanding.
One of my particular favourites was the mesmerising Forty Eight by Nils Völker.

Forty Eight from Nils Völker on Vimeo.

I was struck by the haunting After the Dream by Chiharu Shiota. Layers of random black wool trap white dresses. Claustrophobic and gripping.
The Crafts Council created this video to show how the work was created.

Chiharu Shiota installation at Lost in Lace, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery from Crafts Council on Vimeo.

The exhibition is free to visit and on to the 19th of February. I would certainly recommend it.

Crochet hills...

So I didn't get all the way to the end of November with NaBloPoMo. A weekend away, catching up with friends meant that blogging took a back seat. I did craft though, as we drove down the M6, I wondered if Cumbria would suit a few extra hills?

A Rather Fantastic Mr Fox Badge

Take one inspirational vintage waistcoat, some embroidery threads, a piece of 22-count aida, and a badge maker, and what do you get?
A rather fantastic Mr Fox badge. I drew up a chart, picked threads to match and got to work.
Covering a whole waistcoat would certainly take some time!

A Nice Sit Down...

A relaxing evening of cross stitch and catching up on podcasts (A Playful Day and Caithness Craft Collective).
I will share my stitching soon.