Colour me bad...

MONO is a free paper which has visual essays. I picked up Issue #3 last week, featuring 18 Unassisted Readymades by John Stezaker. These were unmanipulated images from the golden age of Hollywood. I couldn't help but give them a revamp, not by cutting and pasting like many of Stezaker's pieces, but by adding a little colour.
A bad case of 'red eye' there!

I want a wine drinking badger!

Yesterday was Mr Crafty's birthday. I must share the card I gave him featuring a tipsy badger! It was from the illustrator and textile designer Sophie Parker.

Her designs are beautiful, combining fair isle inspired patterns with animals. Check out her shop on Folksy here.

Down at Fraggle Rock...

Sunday was the loop sitandknitabit fundraiser at Stereo.
I got to drop off these squares.
I got to have a knit and a drink.
I saw this little creature on the stairs.
I watched some great bands.
I admired some lovely decorations.
And attempted to teach Mr Crafty to knit - the lesson learnt is that Guinness + knitting don't mix!
For more photos see here.

The Inventors of Tradition

Scottish textiles are more than tartans, tweeds and Fair Isle knits. A huge textile industry was once based in Scotland. Names such as Pringle, Mackintosh and Ballantyne were synonymous with luxury, and renowned worldwide. This exhibition from Panel and Atelier celebrates this heritage. Archive film footage is shown alongside promotional materials, artists sketches and knitwear. A row of Mackintosh coats line the centre of the room.
The usefulness of this item really hits home in rainy Glasgow, and its range is shown with the standard issue work coat of British Rail sitting side by side designers such as Katherine Hamnett. Complex intarsia knitting patterns, carpet patterns and Singer factory memorabilia are present. Scarves adorn tapestry heads by Elizabeth Radcliffe, with amazing texture detail.
Atelier have created a new collection which fits perfectly in the show, and a book to accompany will follow later in the year.

Doodle...

Star constellations or atomic structures?
Or just plain doodles?

Sew & Sew...

I told my mum & nan about the sitandknitabit 100 million stitches project (who in turn told my nan's neighbour). And at the weekend I went down to MK on a visit and came away with almost 50 squares! Having volunteered myself to help sew up the squares one day in March I thought I'd get a head start on this bounty!
For anyone in the Glasgow area there is a fundraising event for the project at the lovely Stereo on Sunday. There will be cake, music & knitting - what more could you possibly want?

Seascapes, Iona & Cadell...

At the Hunterian Art Gallery I was drawn to a painting of the sea - white sands, hills in the distance, calming and picturesque. On closer inspection, I realised why the view looked so familiar - I had been there! The Scottish Colourist, Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell (1883 - 1937) visited Iona each summer to paint.

Cadell - Iona c.1923-25
Hunterian Art Gallery, Glasgow

Cadell - Ben More from Iona c.1913
Hunterian Art Gallery, Glasgow

I think he captures the tranquility of the island perfectly and I am transported back to my trip there last summer.