Bramble Crumble Anyone?
What do you get when you take an ecru yarn, dyes, water, heat, a bit of time, the internet and a crochet hook? Well… I took two of these: Added them to a dye bath and then dried the coloured yarn… overnight…. Then I searched the internet to find a triangular granny square shawl pattern which I found at The Sunroom. At this point I had to do a little trialling with crochet hook sizes to decide for the shawl to be soft and drape well I needed to use a 6mm hook rather than the...
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Patchwork Runner Tutorial
Ever wanted to make your own reversible table runner? MADBIRD MAKES : DIY PATCHWORK QUILTED TABLE RUNNER TUTORIAL Select six 2.5” strips of full width fabric. (NB: Jelly roll strips are a good place to start.) You will work all seams with a ¼” seam. Stitch the six strips together in the arrangement you like placing right sides together remembering to pin to hold the fabric in place. Run a line of stitches down the long side of the strips to join them together. Press with an...
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One for the Youngster
A ‘Promise Present’ was given as a Christmas present to my younger son. We were so caught up with negotiating a complete overhaul in our bathroom (including replacing a rotten floor) as well as hosting numerous workshops at the Chapel Gallery, I didn’t have time to knit a ‘bright green jumper’ as was the request. Needless to say I couldn’t source just the right kind of green that the boy wanted in 100% natural wool. So I went for ecru aran weight blue...
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Colour For My Soul
I need colour. Bright, breezy, uplifting, zingy colour. I have been playing with acid milling dyes. Changing ecru yarn into vivid leafy green gorgeousness. I struggle with what type of artist I am. I always have. I’ve envied people who KNOW exactly who they are and what they do. Ceramicists, photographers, painters. However, I transcend so many different media: glass, batik, dyeing, textiles, paper, paint, knitting, patchwork, quilting, jewellery…. the list can go on....
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Yarndale Celebrations!
What an incredible event this was! Now, I know, I had a few cauliwobbles along the way and I was working hard all year developing, designing and making finished hangings, cushions and a multitude of kits and patterns. But I did it! I got it all done and the stall looked wonderful and professional. I was really blessed by the amount of people who had traveled from London, Wales, Liverpool, Durham and other places who came up to say they enjoyed my blog and wanted to meet the...
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Developing Wildlife
I’ve been busy these last few weeks getting the final bits ready. I’ve been booked for a talk at the Richmond and Leyburn Embroidery Guild tomorrow (gulp) and a stall at Yarndale next weekend at Skipton Auction Mart. During my preparations I have developed four redwork kits and a lovely leaping hare… a tassel making kit, a Madbird needlewrap kit, the chapel mouse kit, and three wildlife cushion kits/patterns in addition to a pile of glass sheep and stars and a napkin &...
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