Handmade black hole

CANCER HOROSCOPE DECEMBER 11th 2008

Even if you have already thrown your hands up in despair and let go of your agenda, it's still entirely possible that everything will turn out okay. You may be working overtime to come up with a contingency plan in case things become even more uncertain. Unfortunately, the more you plot and scheme, the crazier it could get. Adjust your expectations, let go and move on.

I heard on the news that scientists have discovered a black hole at the center of our Galaxy or Universe - somewhere big and spacey, anyway. They should have pointed their telescopes at our village, because I can state with certainty that there is a black hole here into which my days are being sucked with frightening velocity.
One of the nicest things to happen this week was the arrival of Jerome. Andy was nosying over my shoulder as I opened the bag, and exclaimed 'ahh, that's nice!' And so he is. He is more than nice, he is splendidly lovely, and he was a very generous gift from Green Phoenix, who makes utterly gorgeous desirables. At the moment he is hanging in my studio, as we are very old fashioned and don't bring our little tree in until Christmas Eve, when he will have a best branch. Thank you so much Nikki - we will treasure him.





My black hole was entirely of my own making - I started making Christmas ornaments and they sold frighteningly well. Faster then I could make them...and as usual, I had dozens of designs and only one pair of hands.








I've been investing in findings and wire, which is a whole new world to muddle my poor head with; wire gauges, split pins and filigree basket beads...luckily I still have a great set of wire tools which Andy's dad gave me way back in 1993, when I had a brief period of making puppets. Or rather, starting them and not finishing them. So for all you crafters who worry about hoarding supplies - don't chuck anything out, you will eventually find a use for whatever it is, even if it is fifteen years later.




However, as anyone who's served time in retail knows, December is Too Late to be stocking up for this year's holiday. So my nice 2009 Country Homes and Interiors calendar starts with my New Year's resolution;




I am so completely off the ball with everything that I forgot to announce the launch of a really beautifully designed new online magazine in PDF form, UK Handmade, (download size 3.41 MB) which is crammed with Good Things and familiar artist/designer names in the Etsy/online crafting world. Toby of Natural Attrill is in there, and interesting articles on fashion, cookery, jewellery, accessories, becoming a small business, lifestyle and somewhere near the end, a rather waffly self penned article I submitted about my discovery of needle felt. When I first heard about it, I hadn't realised just how professional it was going to look; it really is a good looking magazine, and is simply begging to be made into print form. UK Handmade also has a main website with a forum which always welcomes new members.

Did I say that Valentine's Day starts next week? It does in this house; I'm not being caught out like that again and I have so many ideas for little heart-lovey things of gold and silver and felt...

News from Elsewhere

Beth of Felting in Fibrespace has been kind enough to give me this Arte y Pico award (thank you Beth!). I'd like to pass it on to five textile artists who produce unique, quality work. Last time I got this I was a bit foggy about the rules, but apparently they are thus -

1) Pick 5 blogs who deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material and who also contribute to the blogging community no matter what language.
2) Each award must have the name of the author and also a link to their blog.
3) Each award winner must show the award and put the name and the link to the blog that has given her or him the award.
4) The award winner and the one who has given the prize must show the link of the “Arte y pico“ blog so everyone will know the origin of this award.
5) Show these rules.





So there we are. I'm choosing -

Kay Petal, of Feltnalaska whose video I used when making my first, tentative steps in needlefelting. What Kay can't do with a felting needle isn't worth doing; she makes utterly brilliant and sometimes downright scary characters with more personality then some humans I know.

Lindsay of Tart's Tales, wonderful supplier of handspun yarns, rovings and creator of many lovely crafted goodies.

Merry Moon Designs, who makes gorgeous cupcakes of the inedible-but-seriously-gorgeous-eye-candy kind.

Nicky of Green Phoenix, really special papier mache dolls and sculptures.

Oohh, who to have next, I read at least 200 blogs and I love (nearly) them all. (Some I read just because they wind me up in kind of 'scratching a scab' way). Let's see...

Ingermaaike of Daily Felt, a felt maker in the Netherlands who makes amazing organic creations, mainly with wet felt - she often shows projects step-by-step, and it is incredible what she creates.

While I'm here, a special thank you to Sooz and Miss V. Not only the lovely purchasers of Eloise, who was welcomed to her new home with much love and kissing but generous benefactors to the studio chocolate stash.




I ate the chocolates. Well...you have to really - it's a hard job, but someone's got to do it. I am just embarking on the chocolate Chukar cherries and I am making a supreme sacrifice, and using the dried cherries in Andy's next cake. As I get so many generous gifts, it seems fair to pass the love on.

And much gratitude and smiles to Miss V in particular, a creator of beautiful and too-be-kept-forever cards. I'm one of those sentimental hoarders who keeps ephemera treasures in special boxes, and I was in need of a new one, so the now-sadly-empty chocolate box has arrived just in time.




My toys are spreading to all the corners of the globe - Egg Nest travelled a little nearer home, it's owner, Puddock, of Two and a Half Acres blog kindly sent me this photo of the birds taking a short vacation and enjoying clean, Scottish air, Now where better for an egg, than in a tree?



Speaking of which, toys kind of slowed down recently, due to multiple factors - not least of which was my Epson printer dying, so that I couldn't print my toy tags out. I've had many enquiries about 'where I get them printed' and without wishing to give away the secret of how I saw the lady in half, the simply answer is that like most of my stuff, they are homemade; I couldn't afford to get them professionally done. They're just typeset in Quark and punched out. Nothing fancy. Without a printer I'm stuffed, so I forgot about my overdraft and found a cheap Canon. (Sorry Epson, your inks are just too expensive and the cartridges can't be recycled. And your printers die too quickly). Normal service is now resumed. I'll be putting two more toys up for sale on Friday, when this wretched snail is finished...



It's kind of ironic that Synthia the Snail has progressed at, well, a snail's pace. She seems to have taken forever. I'm not sure if I entirely like her; she is more decorative than characterful. I am also working on a special and lovely custom order for my old blog-chum Stephanie, and to my complete amazement and delight it looks as if I have a new illustration job, hopefully my first British book - all to myself. Not allowed to say any more; as with all publishing jobs, it's top secret. Great fun though, hugely enjoyable and it's good to be back in the saddle. Oh yes, and there's the little matter of a cupboard full of letterpress equipment I'm rescuing at the weekend...