Blgtober 7th

I've been doing manly work today.

Not a single crochet hook in sight.

And just a sneaky peek at what I was making.

I think it's going to lovely once it's all clean and polished.

Pop back later and see for yourself.

Blogtober 2nd

The other day I came across a post where someone had pledged to buy nothing new for the month of October. It was the same day I came across the link for Blogtoberfest. Now blogging every day for a month might be a bit of a challenge but I believe it is possible. Buying nothing new for a month is just not going to happen.

( well I really needed a good winter coat and when the perfect coat presents itself... what's a girl to do?)

This afternoon we went for a drive up to Abernyte to the Scottish Antiques and Craft Centre. Pretty safe really since antiques aren't new are they ?  I could easily have bought lots of old stuff to counterbalance the new coat but it was more of a browsing visit today.

I probably spent more time than was really necessary scanning all the old cutlery on display. This is just one of perhaps a dozen similar displays. Sadly I still haven't found what I'm looking for.

I saw some really quirky bangles made from old forks in Covent Garden a few years ago and have been wanting to create my own version with tea spoons for a long time.

This was my last attempt and it's not too bad but not quite right. I bought silver spoons, though they weren't actually silver which was pretty annoying. (and possible a breach in trading standards since they were marked as silver) I cut the fancy handles off and soldered two teaspoons together. It was all going really well until I got to the cleaning and polishing part of the task and discovered the silver plating disappearing. 

Still with all those cabinets of old cutlery I'm sure to find the right spoons one of these days. So the next time I have 10 hours to spare I'm going to pack my lunch box and head back to Abernyte.

Fiona x

A fond farewell.

The problem with making something that you really really like, when you are making it to sell, is that you kind of hope that no one will want to buy it. I made this quite a few months ago and was particularly pleased with the hairy texture. It was the first time I had used my new texturing hammer. I was starting to think that maybe I could keep him....

Then.... I had a lovely new customer today who took one look at my little Scottie Dog necklace and decided to treat herself. I'm sure he will be really happy with his new owner but I did feel a little bit sad to see him go.

Of course it's possible that I could make another one for myself but then it wouldn't be unique.

Is it sad that I went looking for photos of him on the computer...?

Anyway, the only one I seem to have saved was taken before he was polished. How sad am I.. Maybe I should print this one off,  frame it, and keep it where sane people keep photos of their children.

Just kidding ( really...)

My Creative Space

My space this week is pretty busy. There are just under five weeks till Perthshire Open Studios

and just about five months till Christmas which means lots of preparation, lots of making and lots of controlled panic..

My pattern this week reads like this..

*knit 1, solder1, crochet 2 tog. Rpt from *

insert 1 tea then start again.

 Have a visit to Kootoyoo for some more creative spaces.

You can also visit Perthshire Open Studios on Facebook HERE

What a difference a little box makes..

I've been making some little silver rings this week. I keep them very simple, mainly twists and coils. Sometimes I like to add texture, either by hammering or by feeding the silver through the rolling mill along with textured fabrics. So far I have had some lovely results with lace and cross stitch aida.

If anyone has any handy hints on photographing shiney things I would be eternally grateful. I always have a bit too much glare from the flash which really isn't the look I am after.

Anyway.. This week I got some new boxes delivered, and I love these little ring boxes. I had been making do with other boxes but they weren't quite right, and whilst my rings are handmade, they looked a bit 'tooo' handmade in the wrong boxes. Does that make sense to anyone else but me?

Since the minimum order for ring boxes was 50 I think I am going to be making a lot more rings in the future.

Fiona x

My Creative Space

I have always been a little bit (okay a big bit) in awe of people who can draw. Artists always tell me that everyone can draw.. that even I can draw.. but I know that whenever I try to draw something it never looks like I want it to. This isn't a major problem in my life. I have found many ways to be creative that don't require any drawing skills. However, every now and then, I want to make something that needs to be drawn out first and I get so frustrated that my doodles don't look the same on paper as they do in my head.
I've had a couple of ideas which I wanted to try out in silver for a while and yesterday I spent the afternoon in my basement doing just that.

I found these templates in my Martha Stewart Encyclopedia of crafts and used them as the outline for some silver pendants.

This is my favourite one. I still have to do some serious polishing but so far I am really pleased. I hammered the silver before cutting to give him a hairy look then added the flat collar after. Do you think he should have an eye ? I'm still undecided. You barely see the eyes in real Scottie Dogs because their hair is always in the way so maybe he should stay the way he is.

Still a bit more work to do on this one but at least she  has an eye! It's not very clear but I hammered the little wing with a kind of feathery texture though the rest of the bird is flat. I'm thinking now of a wee branch for her to sit on... or maybe a couple of friends then linking them together in a bracelet..

It's been a while since I did any silver work and I had such fun with these ones. I really ought to do it more often. Will just need to buy more silver.

For more creative spaces click HERE and visit Kootoyoo.

Some of my recent work

It's all a bit pretty in pink but we are surrounded with snow here and a bit of colour makes a nice change. As promised I have made a start at posting pictures of my jewellery. This bangle has a hammered texture to it, and is similar in style to some bangles that I did earlier for our baby collection.

I personally like simple jewellery and do a lot with simple twists and coils. Here is a small selection of rings.

Something else I like to do is make things up as I go along. I think the proper word to describe the next two pendants is Organic. The first one is made from lots of tiny pieces of scrap silver: left over bits from other projects. They are all fused together and I love seeing how it all comes together. This one reminds me of the ship in Peter Pan as it passes through the clouds.

Similar technique here, although the silver has been melted right down and dropped in cold water. The benefit is that I can use up all the little bits of silver in my scrap pot and if I'm not happy with the result I just melt it down again.

As I said before, I do like twists and coils.

This piece probably took the most time to complete. The little square measures about one inch, and has tiny holes drilled all round. Do you remember string and pin pictures ? Very popular in the seventies. This piece reminds me of those pictures, with very fine silver wire threaded through the holes.

Burpers, Bibs and Boottees

So, the last time I blogged I told you I had been too busy to blog and it is now two weeks later. I have been busy but I think it was all worth while. We have a free monthly newsletter here in Alyth called the Alyth Voice. It's a bit like a local directory for businesses with a little bit of local news and gossip thrown in. If you fancy a look it is on line at http://www.alythvoice.co.uk/
Well ,the deadline for articles is 17th of each month so I submitted an article about our new arrival 'Burpers, Bibs and Bootees' and then panicked. One of our ladies who does wonderful needle work has been having a lot of trouble with her eyes and has had to put it aside till she has an op. This meant a lot more sewing for me and my poor old 25 year old sewing machine really felt the strain. I'm going to treat it to a service now in appreciation of all its hard work. Somebody told me you should do this every year so I guess I have done well to keep it going this long without a single service.

Thursday 1st October came along a lot sooner than expected but thankfully everything came together and the new range has been launched. Previously we had only cards for new babies and now we have a really nice range of gorgeous things that nearly makes me broody. We have little hats and mits and bootees, all knitted by myself and Maureen.

We have tiny little silver bangles which I think are wonderful even if it does sound like boasting. Often you get lovely little baby bangles and by the time your baby is old enough to wear one, it is too small for them. I have made these ones open in style and whilst they are very easy to wear as they are , they come with offer to reshape them as your child grows. Pretty good eh?

That's my daughter holding one. Her hand looks really big by comparison, but I can still remember a time when it would have fitted her perfectly. Do you like the little freckle on her finger? It was one of the first things I noticed when she was born. My other daughter has a ruby birth mark at the bottom of her back shaped like a map of New Zealand. When she was little, and even now really, it has changed colour when she has a temperature. Like a built in thermometer!!! Very useful.

Here are some of Sylvia's new baby cards. We have a full range of cards for all occasions but thought the baby ones deserved a stand of their own right beside the rest of the baby goods.

A lot of people are reluctant to buy clothes for new babies as they tend to get so many that they never get to wear them all. Another option here is a nice little cross stitch picture for baby's room.

And here is a look at the full range. There are some lovely towels, some matching bibs and burper cloths, knitted wash mits with baby soaps all tied up with a bow and some little terry towelling pillows trimmed with silky ribbon.

And that concludes our tour of Burpers, Bibs and Boottees at Buy Design. Hope you enjoyed it.

Fiona

Missing in action

I have just realised how long it is since my last blog. I feel a confessional coming on. My only excuse is that I have been awful busy lately and keep forgetting to log on till I'm too tired to bother. I did a mini craft fair up at Glen Isla at the weekend which was lovely. Sun was shining and we all enjoyed a little bit of summer.
We are about to launch a new range of gifts for babies in October, so I have been busy with knitting needles and if I didn't know better I would be feeling broody by now. It's hard to imagine that my strapping 19 year old son once fitted into tiny little booties and mittens. They are so cute.
There will also be some tiny baby bangles which I am working on at the moment.
Look out for photos soon. Just need to finish polishing then they will be ready.
I'm having dinner cooked by my daughter tonight and I think it is about ready so bye for now.