Fine foliage.

Little Autumn Treasures.

Leaves in full colour - SkinnyLaminx.

Owen Gildersleeve wallpaper for iphone.

Fabric branches by Jane Joss on Etsy.

'Leafy' by Vanille.

Fabric print - The Artful Parent.

I seem to have stumbled upon so many beautiful images of leaves recently. From the gentle colours in the fabric printing of The Artful Parent to the Plascon cut-outs by SkinnyLaminx. We are way past Autumn in South Africa (we've actually been experiencing some glorious sunny winter days at the moment in Cape Town) but falling, fabric & paper leaves are front of my mind. Thanks to all those above for the 'bit 'o pretty' they've put into the world.

Best thing since sliced bread?

Embroidered sliced bread. 

See more art, textiles, objects and oddities by Catherine McEver. 

Why not?

Wolmer

Meet Anna. A talented ex-colleague of mine. Above are her lovely creations. You can see more at her newly launched blog - Wolmer. I'm proud to say that when she started knitting a few years ago I was the first to give her a commission - a quirky scarf embroidered with felt lettering. Nice stuff Anna!

Look what Lucy did...

Remember this giveaway? Clever Lucy Moose has transformed the winning doodle into the above fun real life stuffed toy. Visit her here for more 'stuffed doodles'. Thanks to Lucy and well done to Lauren.

Beep Beep

Embroidered text messages and other interesting things at Gingeranyhow.

1 September

Officially the beginning of Spring. There was a snowfall on the mountains of Greyton this weekend and huge storms in Cape Town so I think there is still a lot of thawing to do before we pack away those winter coats! 

But in the spirit of all things bright and beautiful I wanted to share with you the vibrancy of Heather Bailey. If you haven't come across this creative talent before she is a fabric and accessory designer. See more on her flickr. I needed to visually feast on some colour and her blog was perfect to counteract the grey day. 

All images copyright Heather Bailey.

PIF

A pile of winter scarves, ready to dispatch. Finally. This PIF gave me a great excuse to crochet my way through some cold winter evenings. I am not that adept so I had to make something simple: what could be more simple than scarves? And I managed it in under 365 days! I hope the recipients like them.

Waxed flowers

I happened to see Martha make some waxed flowers and beautifully style them under a bell jar recently. So I tried it at home. I've made scented candles before so I have all the wax paraphernalia.

I was hoping for an ethereal type effect, something over styled or reminiscent of a prop from a Tim Burton movie but alas, my skills/choice of flower/patience weren't quite up to the task. It wasn't a total waste of time though...

Things I have learnt from this craft:
1. I will never be a flower arranger.
2. I'd rather have my flowers die quicker than cover up the scent of blooms.
3. The end result always looks better in my mind.
4. It's fun to make a mess. Of course I knew this already, but it was nice to be reminded.
5. If you fail at a particular project, just shoot a few close up pics and hey, you can still blog about it : )

Instant gratification

I bought some lovely ribbon at the Design Indaba Expo earlier this year and haven't had a use for it. Decided to make some covered 'Alice bands' over the week end. It was the easiest thing in the world to do and they really did only take 5 minutes (aside from the glue drying time). I used inexpensive plastic Alice bands and left the drop of glue drying (secured by a clothes pin) overnight. I was actually quite pleased with the result. Tah-dah, new hair accessory.

Under the weather

I haven't been feeling so well recently hence my absence from blogging. Crawling my way out from under the haze so hopefully be back sharing cool things soon...
Thunder cloud felt hair clip by mimisayshi.

Complete crochet project 2: Scarf

I was pleased to join some fellow bloggers on Saturday at the Book Lounge for an afternoon of chat and (in my case) crochet. My first experience of 'Kraft club' started by Jesse and Heather introduced me to a lovely group of talented people immersed in their various projects. I'm just a beginner hence me proudly posting my results! I'm now starting another scarf with a softer-to-the-touch wool.

I won't be attempting anything from the below book though - but I thought it amusing. Naughty Needles (Sexy, Saucy Knits for the Bedroom and Beyond) is written by Nikol Lohr. A "champion of the wifely arts, Lohr can cook, sew, crochet, knit, needlepoint, embroider, decoupage, print, grow things, fix things, and generally craft her ass off." The book includes Fembot nightie, felted Red Riding Hood cape and naughty nurse cap to name a few.


Nikol Lohr created DisgruntledHousewife.com and ThriftyKnitter.com, and co-created the cooking site OutOfTheFryingPan.com and 'chick site' SmileAndActNice.com.

Fabric heaven

I discovered this attic full of loveliness in Riebeek Kasteel at the 'Cape Francolin Art Hotel'. The owner, David Bellamy, has an outlet in Muizenberg. A vast range of imported fabrics that I immediately began imagining uses for - and I don't even own a sewing machine!

Heads up - Cape Town 9&10 May

Some nice upcoming events for Capetonians: 'Two Karens' at Curious, Whetstone & Frankley opening Friday eve (87a Station Road, Observatory) and a nice little sale (who can resist a sale?) in Muizenberg on Saturday.

Welcome

I'm back from a lovely break. We had a very relaxing time and I have a few interesting things to share over the next few posts. But first, a welcome: My very good friend and now fellow blogger Kelly.

"Embroiderer, quilter, crocheter, knitter, allsorts stitcher, designer, armchair gardener, wife, dreamer, foodie… and blogger"


She does some fantastic things with fabric and now will be sharing them with all of us. I am particularly pleased that she had decided to start a blog as she and her husband recently moved to the UK - but now I have another way of staying in touch.

Please pop over and welcome her to the blogosphere!

Subversive cross stitch

Make Tea Not War, originally uploaded by mooosh.

Found this group on flickr. Not mad about all the statements needlepointed - bit too hardcore for me, but I like this one!

MAD museum

Another cool example where the subject matter is unexpected for the medium. This crazy piece: a skull table cloth. Not sure I'd display this pretty but macabre cloth although I can definitely appreciate the craftmanship and the love the twist.


By Hildur Bjarnadóttir Untitled (skulls)
Crocheted cotton yarn.
Photo: Richard Goodbody, Inc.

It's part of an exhibit at the Museum of Arts and Design called "Radical Lace & Subversive Knitting."

"A provocative and timely exhibition of international artists using fiber in unexpected and unorthodox ways, this exhibition shines a spotlight on a territory in which distinctions between art, craft, and design are seen to be arbitrary and artificial. It also illuminates a field of creative practice that today is fresh, surprising, and engaging to all audiences."

Another exhibit at MAD is "Pricked: Extreme Embroidery" exploring old crafting and needleworking techniques rejuvenated into mainstream art and design. The artists hail from as diverse countries as Transylvania, Egypt and Mexico. The below piece caught my eye.


Andrea Dezsö, My Grandmother Loved Me Even Though ...
Embroidery, cotton thread on white cotton canvas
Photo: Andrea Dezsö

First steps in crochet

I've started to crochet - for the first time in about 20 years (I think I learnt in junior school). Starting with basic things like a scarf. On noticing my endeavours a friend of my mothers passed on this booklet to me. It'll be a great help as it outlines all the basic stiches and a few easy projects. But we had a real laugh at the fashion of the time so I felt it necessary to share some of the images. Poor quality shots, sorry, but quicker than scanning.

So if any of you have been dying to crochet the look of the moment "country" tie, I'll be happy to forward the pattern! And please notice the price - a whole One Rand and 50 cents.

Happy Holidays everybody!

I'll be posting now and again but likely back again in early January.
I plan to:
Read, shop, bake, crochet, taste, watch, garden, relax and play...

Crochet attempt

I was inspired by a scarf I saw posted on flickr by gifrancis her end result looks fantastic:


Aren't the colours of her shot beautiful as well?


My attempt was less sucessfull -

But since I haven't tried to crochet since junior school, it's no wonder that my choice of needle and wool was wrong and the result ended up slightly more comical than chic... nevertheless I've decided to document my attempt before unravelling it. I'm definitely planning a re-work once I've bought the correct supplies. I still like the silver wool though.