making waves...for C-art

where does the time go? sorry I haven't been here much, just had so much to do to get ready for C-art, strange how in a year my studio has filled up with so much stuff! Thank goodness for the beautiful clean new loft space above and a loft ladder...husband of great patience I salute you!It felt like moving house, but now we have room for 3 artists and room for lovely visitors...

The New Bookshop in Cockermouth is kindly hosting a C-artists window display...so thought I'd better rustle up something new...been feeling sea-ish since my return from Mull...

here's a run through of the 'how to create a wave' process...choose delicious fabrics, snip them up and lay them on a backing of old blue blanket, needle felt with my fab machine, then get free machine stitching with more stunning blues...now the tricky bit, turn into a tube, stitch up by hand...luckily it just fits on my machine so I can stitch over the joins to blend them in and afterwards the fun part adding a lacey wavy top using dissolvable fabric...

I do like a technical and artistic challenge...and actually I am pretty chuffed...it worked! 

By the way I am having a few issues leaving comments on your blogs since I changed my blog name, apologies, I do visit and love your blogs, I will try and sort it out..any ideas please let me know!

Havea great week, back with some C-arty pics I hope, have a great week Emmaxx

I do soo love running workshops...

a chance to meet other textile enthusiasts and to enjoy time together sharing my knowledge and seeing how they take the techniques and make them their own... they learn and I learn too...and we have a fun day in the studio playing with stitch and fabric and embroidery and buttons... and did I mention the momemade cake?? thanks to my recent group of lovely ladies here stitching away...

 

so here without more ado...a quick trumpet for this term's workshops..autumn is upon us and cosy times indoors beckon... what better time to get making?

By the way...I am thinking of adding in a hatmaking workshop as I had a request at Woolfest but not sure how popular it would be ..if you fancy one let me know! I do like the idea of it...but if it included machine embroidery it would have to be a two day-er...

more workshop details here...

by the way bit apologies for the random posting of late...C-art Open Studios was such a huge success with over 170 people finding their way to our studio...and we even had a preview party and an artist's party ...but it is very tiring and now the house is a complete tip and the studio needs sorting and I've a craft fair next week...and to top it off we are currently having a new septic tank fitted (living in the country sn't all flowers and romance!) so outside down there is like WW1 trenches at the moment and there's a digger parked outside the studio and a lorry outside the house! 

  mm mud mud mud!

Is that enough excuses?? (not that I would change a thing as I'm loving this artist life!)

no, seriously I have missed my regular blogging so I will be back properly as soon as I've had a lie down...here's a little taste of autumn inspiration... I spotted this gorgeous book in Mollie Makes and well...now it's in my studio inspiring me...

it's wee Friday today as they say in Scotland...so have an inspiring  weekend and see you soon xx

To act on impulse...

is something I do love to do...so how nice after a morning out to be spontaneous and have lunch out...by myself! 

actually it was a way of saying thank you to the cafe owner who kindly displays posters for C-art and workshops etc...and it's a great cafe for such casual dropping into...and a way of celebrating the joys of being self-employed...

after all it was lunchtime so I had to eat... and a delicious bowl of soup and homemade roll doesn't cost the earth...wonder if I can put it down as an expense after a morning publicising my business?

it's funny too that we are all so used to people taking phone photos these days that no-one batted an eyelid when I took out my camera (in my handbag for another task)...

It was so lovely just to take time out and sit and people watch and read a magazine...it has been kind of hectic lately with summer hols and C-art so this was a chilling out moment. Note to self...must do this again sometime...

it reminds me of when I was a student many moons ago in Liverpool...the height of grown up decadence was eating pizza out by myself in a nice pizza restaurant and reading Cosmo...so sophisticated!  

ps I did eat out with friends too....amazing what you could manage on a student grant (happy days!)

 I rather liked this smiling woman and her big basket...rather an attractive house too...

can you guess where it is yet??

...and did I mention C-art is on till 16th September?? had a fantastic weekend with so many lovely visitors...and sold lots of artwork and bags and cards and Ian and Steph sold their beautiful books and prints too which is soo very gratifying...hope all the other artists in Cumbria are doing well too...

do you think this gets the message across? I just couldn't resist using up my spare stickers...



have a great week....hope you get the chance to chill out and relax a while too...xx

C-art Open Studios...tomorrow!!

the artist's life is a merry one...as I troll along, a workshop here, an exhibition there....but opening the studio and making space is the game this week...how to get from this...

to this...

and now we're almost there and I have to say we are pretty CHUFFED and PLEASED WITH OURSELVES!! Our beautiful studio is now filled with contemporary art and craft and awaiting the audience...preview party tomorrow evening, then the sheer pleasure of sitting and making and talking to our visitors...it don't get much better than this! 

BIG thanks to Donna and all at Eden arts for their organising behind the scenes, thanks to my husband of patience and daughter mine for all their help and support, and to my fellow artists  Ian and Stephanie for their support this year and for wanting to do it all again!!

hope you've enjoyed the virtual tour...if you're passing do call in, a warm welcome awaits you...have a great weekend...I'm going to!xx

autumn and it's time for tweed....

  

...although the weather is of course now going to be hot and sunny in typical contrary and wonderful fashion... and as it is supposed to reach 22 today I am back in summer clothes.... just because I can! Every time I go out of the house I am bathed in blissful warm air and sunshine....a memory to treasure in the long winter months to come... 

dare I mention the word C-Art...ooh I think I may just get away with it. What a joyful success! Ian and Steph and myself have been Open Studioing for 2 weekends with one still to go and it's been fantastic - lots of lovely people have visited and loved our work and talked and shared what they do and we've had a poet and a Benedictine nun and a musician and an actor and all sorts of folk, and a lady who just came and sat and drank a cuppa tea and watched us working in a very peaceful way...and although it's been exhausting we've just had a wonderful time and have hatched all sorts of plans for running workshops and sharing what we do and helping others to get in touch with their own creativity...ooh and did I say I was interviewed on Radio Cumbria and had a bit of a public moment on a local News website...sorry just have to make something of my starring moment!!

...have managed a little making too... in between the tea and chat and I'm loving the feel of more earthy fabrics and colours, fitting in with nature all around slowly moving towards autumn sleep...conkers and berries, the glorious browns and reds of leaves, the trees becoming more refined and skeletal in form...

we have new hens too, a trio of big and beautiful Welsummers from a local rare breeds auction so daughter is soo happy and they look utterly at home in the orchard...just got to introduce the 'old' girls to the new, probably this weekend...

and husband is relaxing into a new way of working...4 days instead of 5 means Friday is a 'working by choice' day and then a whole weekend for what he wants to do...already his shoulders and stress levels are lower after just 2 weeks (money isn't everything) ...and he's signed up for a willow weaving workshop with the wonderful Phil so he can understand working willow better when he makes hurdles for us to use like the lovely circular one in the picture here...

loving the vibrant red of this tartan bag - and you should see the lining...

 

...and a final pink glorious showing from the asters in the garden, they have been waiting patiently for their moment of stardom...