Kittens with ruffs

I can remember the first time I was asked to create a cover pattern for 'Mollie Makes' back in its early days in 2012. Since then, I've done several more patterns for them, and five years later I'm rather proud to have my fourth cover with them.

This is a nice, easy design, which should only take a few hours. And of course, can be made in whatever colours or patterns you prefer.

Issue 78 of 'Mollie Makes' has just come out in UK shops and will be in overseas venues later. Also available as digital downloads, with a quick online search. Make kittens...with cute ruffs...be happy.

Mollie Makes Scandi village pattern

I've made just under 50 patterns in the last four years, but this one has to be one of my favourites, a Scandinavian style village in a terrarium.

It's also my third cover for Mollie Makes, which is a bit of a proud moment. As usual, it's been beautifully styled and photographed at the other end. 

Like all of my patterns, it started off with sketches which progressed from initial brain storming ideas - 

- to experimenting with various shapes and arrangements.

Before settling on what would be more or less the final design.

The pattern ended up being quite in-depth, but still a fairly simple process. The entire pattern is in issue 61 of Mollie Makes, and is in the shops now (WHSmith, large supermarkets and newsagents, directly from Mollie Makes, or as a digital format from Zinio,  Google Play or Apple iTunes.  

For my American friends, I believe it becomes available early next year from Barnes and Noble, Books A Million and outlets of Jo-Ann. A full list of countries and overseas outlets can be found here on the Mollie Makes site.

I'd love to see any examples of villages made from my pattern. I'm also holding a 'little houses' needle felt workshop at my old haunt, Folly Fabrics, Wiltshire, on February 27th next year. For more details and to book a place from their site, click here. 

I've been pleasantly surprised at how many people have signed up for my needle felt newsletter, and am planning the first edition for mid-January. If you'd like to sign up for it too, the form is here on my own website. 

In print and on the cover!

It's been quite a year so far for magazine appearances - a few weeks ago, my ever popular pattern for doglets were featured in the Comic Relief/Mollie Makes Crafternoon bookazine. This was the first pattern I ever wrote, over three years ago and people still seem to love it! You can still buy the digital version of this from Amazon UK via this link.

I've also started writing patterns for the UK's best selling craft magazine, 'Craftseller' - my first contribution was in last month's issue, number 48, a set of three tropical bird brooches. This is a copyright free pattern, which means that people can make and sell their versions of it. You can buy the back copy of this issue directly from the Craftseller site here.

This month's issue, number 49, sees me on the cover, with a cute trio of pet shop sweeties. These designs are also copyright free and they hit the selves on April 4th, so there's plenty of time to grab a copy and start making.

Craftseller is a UK based publication and on sale at WHSmith, good newsagents, large supermarkets and some craft shops. I'm really thrilled to have been asked to work for them and also to have snagged my fourth magazine cover.  Bottoms up!

In non-needle felting news - lovely Joe has mended the shed roof after a couple of large chunks were torn off in recent gales. It's good not to be alone anymore, in so many ways.

Made in Felt interview

Amazing to think that it is summer already - and I have a lovely big interview and feature in this year's Mollie Makes 'Made in Felt 2' magazine.

I also got to mention my two favourite needle felt artists, Victor Dubrovsky and Malachai Beesley, always nice to plug other needle felters, especially if you admire their work.

There is also a pattern from my book 'Little Needle Felt Animals' - the very easy but sweet 'Rainbow Mice'.

Lady Winifred Weasel, my latest design, is looking for a copy now. She advises finding more details over on the Mollie Makes page. but if you're in the UK, it can be found in the usual major outlets, WHSmith and various supermarkets.

Creatures

Whistle stop blog post, as I am up to my neck in *stuff*. My polar bear pattern in 'Mollie Makes Weddings' - on Amazon UK here and Amazon USA here.

My kitten pattern in the latest issue (37)  of 'Mollie Makes'. Available as a 'real' magazine here or as a digital download here.

Off  to Cinderhill Farm soon to do the first workshop of the year on March 8th - there are two places left, if anyone fancies it, details are here . I can count on one hand the amount of times I've been anywhere since November last year, so I am very much looking forward to my adventure. Not to mention seeing my dear friends, meeting my workshop students and cooing over the newborn lambs. 

I'll also be launching my first kits, 'Slinky Fox' at the workshops. It's been a long process, but I will soon be bringing out kits on a regular basis. I will return with photos of lambs. And chickens. and more pigs. And goats.

Needle felt news

 

 

I've never done a tea cup before, but when the 'Mollie Makes' team asks, I do my very best for them. If you have an iPad or iPhone, this pattern can be found in issue 55 of 'Gathered' the digital sister magazine at only £1.49 for the whole magazine. (All content to 'Gathered' is different to the paper version of 'Mollie Makes').

These snow geese are a new design too, and were bought before I could offer them here.

As have three of these owl decorations - I have just one brown owl left to sell.

And after missing a year, due to life chaos, I've managed to get a limited number of 2014 desk calendars out. Nothing fancy or expensive, but with twelve months of my latest designs throughout.

 2014 'Needle Felt Friends Calender on sale here

This has also been a  month for workshops and my final one of the year, on November 30th, is my first Shropshire one at the lovely vintage chic shop 'Rustic and White'. There are only two places left as I write - and it even made it into the Shrewsbury Chronicle. Fame at last. More details on my website.

Fanfare for the winners!

THANK YOU to everyone who entered the 'Mollie Makes Feathered Friends' giveaway. The winners  are - Mary Ann of 'A Cloth Doll Maker's Diary'  and Sandra Spencer - Happy Independence day to her and all my lovely American readers.

Mollie Makes Giveaway

Just got my copies of the new 'Mollie Makes Feathered Friends' book. It's hard to put myself back to the time I created the 'Chicken Family' this time last year. Yet here it is. As usual, the style shots are gorgeous - I am full of admiration as I am not very good at this kind of beautiful set up. My things look so much nicer somehow.

The chicks are the tiniest things I have ever made.  Apart from my own trumpet blowing, (Jane Toft the editor writes that I am one of 'Mollie Makes' favourite designers - golly!) there are many more sweet projects, including ones from fellow crafters I know and like.  Laura Howard (aka 'Lupin') Kirsty Elson, and Jooles ('Sew Sweet Violet').

Anyway, the nice team at Anova publishing are giving away two copies via my good self. To enter, just leave a comment at the end of this post and I'll do the names out of a hat thing. If you're a lucky winner, I'll contact you directly and pass your email and/or details on to the book fairies at Anova. And - yes, it is a worldwide offer. CLOSING DATE - JUNE 30th

 

And  in other related news, I have just four places left on another all day needle felting course, on July 8th. This one is held at my favourite pub, The legendary Queen's Head in Eynsham, twenty minutes from Oxford. We will have the entire snug bar to ourselves and the price of £55 covers materials, use of tools, morning coffee and biscuits, buffet lunch and a proper tea mid-afternoon, all made by the landlady and my dear friend, Jackie. We'll be making little houses to begin with and then going on to your own designs. More details on my website.  It'd be lovely to see you.

Mollie Makes - chicken brooch

It has been one heck of a month. I think we've been walloped with so many life events this year - some good, others dreadful -  that we are just reeling from it. However, there is always needle felting and I am so pleased that 'Mollie Makes' have used another of my patterns for their latest issue - a chicken brooch, easy and quick to make, with written and photographic instructions. It's in issue 21  which is in shops now,  available to buy online here or as a digital download  here.

It was also lovely to be in the same section as my online friend, Debs - 'Imagination of a Ladysnail' who has her sweet character brooches featured. We've followed each other's progress for years, and it's so nice to be celebrating a bit of success together. Deb's blog is here.

Latest order to be finished; eight Christmas Cottages for one lucky  person's tree. I'm all cottage'd out for the moment, but you can find the pattern in 'Mollie Makes Christmas' and make your own - I'd love to see pictures of the results.

Gathering acorns

Is this not lovely? The Mollie Makes team have hand crafted a new weekly digital mini-mag for the iPad. I have to come clean and say that I don't have an iPad myself (nor any other kind of tablet or internet gadget, just my grinding old clockwork computer). I believe there are links and clickable things inside. I was delighted to be commissioned to create a simple acorn pattern, which can be made in 2-3 hours easily.

I was hugely tickled to see the promo video, which features a somewhat larger version of the acorns;

Although if you make the ones in 'Gathered', they should be this big;

There is a great offer of your first five issues for free when you subscribe, details of which are here. 

There have been mumblings and grumblings that it's not available across all tablet platforms; there are plans to expand availability next year, but there various technical issues to overcome. However, everything starts somewhere. From little acorns big oak trees grow.

Mollie Makes Giveaway!

It seems like a long time ago when I made these little chaps - in our old cottage, back in the Spring before we moved. Cottages and houses really are the dominant theme this year.

 

And now at last, they are in the gorgeous new 'Mollie Makes' project series, published by Anova Books. I opened my latest mag to see this - and a lovely in-house photo of my little cottages.

The nice people at Anova have offered a giveaway of a free copy to a lucky winner - just leave a comment on my blog here, and I'll draw all the names out of a hat on Wednesday morning October the 10th - so get your name down before then, and I'll send the winner's email address to the publishers. Open to the Whole World. 

I've already got my copies - so many lovely things in there, I feel happy just looking at it.

Oh, and if you'd like a bonus entry, subscribe to Lovecraft/Anova Twitterfeed

      GIVE-AWAY IS NOW CLOSED, THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR ENTERING!