Mollie Makes & me!

Doglets ahoy! Issue 13 of Mollie Makes hits UK shop shelves today - I've had a fantastic response from subscribers so far (who got their copies last Saturday). I feel a bit greedy, as the lovely Mollie Makes team gave me a lot of pages - as soon as you open the cover the sweet story begins - and how beautifully they have presented my little dogs - I felt as if I was looking at someone else's work.

...and in the contents...

...and six sumptuous double page spreads after that, with my step-by-step guide to making your own doglet - people, I sweated over that pattern, so it had better work! And yes, those are my fair hands demonstrating the steps.

The basic doglet design is an old favourite - I made my first in the third week of my discovering needle felting, over four years ago. He was called 'Petite Jaune' and he went over to live in Europe.

Soon after, I tweaked the design and made 'Custard', who went to live with the lovely Donna Flower.

Three years ago, I did a limited edition of 'Buttercups' for my only stockists, Teddy Bears of Witney. Sat with his back to us with his friends.

Finally he appeared as Custard again, in 'Peggy's Lost Pennies'.

And now here are his baby cousins in my favourite magazine. I've loved Mollie Makes since issue one - I had an inkling it would be an instant hit (it sold out within a couple of weeks of launch). They have successfully created a gorgeous, approachable magazine which taps into the whole crafting/blogging/lifestyle world in a way that really works, and I admire them for that. Confession - from issue one, I had a burning desire to do an article for them, but I never imagined I'd be asked to do the cover.

I'm not only selfishly pleased for myself, but also that it helps bring needle felting into the mainstream; a few weeks ago I had a needle felt book proposal rejected from a large UK craft publisher on the grounds that needle felting was 'too niche'. I have only one word to say to that - WOOF!

So, here's what you need to know if you want a copy - it sells really quickly, so hurry! It's available in most WHSmiths, some Asdas, Sainsburys and many independent craft shops. The stockists page can be found here, also with international outlets listed. It's also available as a digital download here, if that's your preferred method of reading.

Mollie Makes have five copies of 'Peggy's Lost Pennies' (in which dear old Custard appears) to give away, and you can enter the contest here.

Oh yes, nearly forgot - I'm at the Winds of Change Gallery in Wincombe tomorrow, Saturday April 14th, 11am till 4.30, demonstrating needle felting, if you're in or around the Cheltenham area. My Puddletown toys will be on display, so come and say hello!

Fibreworks workshop

Last Saturday saw me at the Fibreworks in Chipping Norton - not too far from where we live and one of the best things to happen to 'Chippy' in a long time. Claire, one half of the shop, dosed me with coffee and I popped out a few bits and pieces for a display, including a couple of sketchbooks and some of the 'Puddletown Tales' toys, very excited at being out of their storage bags.

I had seven lovely people attending, including Emma - an old work colleague from Waterstones bookshop whom I hadn't seen for nearly ten years, and two travellers from the other side of the country, who came over specially. Which is the hugest compliment. Frances of 'Felting Needle' and Jenny of 'Renragged', both of whom I know through blogs/Twitter/Facebook. After a brief intro from me, everyone began making birds and soon a familiar peace reigned as everyone became absorbed with their work.

It was only a short workshop, about four hours long, but I was very pleased with the results. Jenny had made her own version of one of my birds, finishing it beautifully -

'Tasha made a lovely nautical bird and then designed her own sweet sloth -

A hare was begun -

After making a delightful little 'posty' bird, Emma went on to make her own heart brooch

Someone made an amazing peacock -

- which she finished off at home. I give you - 'Gorgeous George'!

At the beginning, some of the class were a little unsure, having never needle felted before. After an hour or so, they were off and flying on their own, and I could rejoice in passing on the very benign bug of needle felting. Because they did not even stop when biscuits were produced, preferring to carry on working.

Afterwards, Jenny and Frances bought me a pint at the nearby pub and we talked shop for an hour - not only was Frances invaluable during the workshop for wool-facts (she is an expert) but she brought me some Devon Longwool from a sheep called Dilys, which she had dyed herself. My photo does not do it justice, but it is a scrummy pale lime and will be used for something special.

As I write, there are just two spaces left on my Winchcombe workshop. I've sourced some Cotswold Lion fleece for making sheep with; now I just have to design a sheep. I'll also be demonstrating this Saturday the 14th of April at the Winds of Change Gallery in Winchcombe, from 11-4.30, so pop in if you're in the Gloucester/Cheltenham area and say hello.

One of the blogging toymaking greats, who I've admired for many years, is Abby Glassenburg. Her blog 'While She Naps' has been going for even longer than mine - and I'm really proud that she has featured my work in her 'Softies for Sale' series, so if you want to know a bit more about the nuts and bolts of how I work, her post is here.

Up Uffington

Up on Uffington White Horse Hill, skylarks sing their hearts out as they bounce and soar over the dramatic curves of the landscape. The views across the county of Wiltshire and beyond are vast and wide.

Light constantly flickers and changes, like rippling water and fresh, clean winds whip away any fragile spring warmth, leaving you almost breathless once you reach the top. Looking down, there is Dragon Hill - look closer, at the tiny figures sitting on it and the snaking road creeping up the slope.

White Horse Hill is rich with wildlife and we kept company with three types of birds of prey; buzzards, a red kite and a kestrel. A pair of ravens were croaking away below in the valley. Andy stalked the kestrel, hiding in a ditch upwind to sneak closer and got some nice zoom shots - this one was super, just a bit blurred, but I admit to being a little envious of him catching it taking off in flight, something I've never managed.

Below the horse, to the left, is a stunning natural valley formation known as 'the Manger', where the white horse is supposed to feed on moonlit nights.

Naturally, one does not actually walk on (or even near) the horse. It's survived since the Iron Age and deserves some respect.

It's one of my favourite monuments. Although I have yet to work out how to get a full picture of it - the usual view is from the ground.

But from above, it looks like this (taken from an old postcard). Makes you wonder how the Ancient Britons created such a perfect design, best seen from the sky.

I've been quiet recently, due to various *things*. One of those things - which I'm thrilled to be able to share at last - can be seen in a sneak preview here. Busy spring and looks like being a busy summer!

Little ballerina

Jetting off already to her new home, this is my latest hare - somewhat more feminine than Harris and Bracken.

She is named after Gelsey Kirkland, the American prima ballerina. I'm not a ballet buff and I'd already mostly made her when my lovely customer asked for this name. Would she resemble her namesake?

When I did some Google image searching, I was pleased to see that they share the same poise and haughty nose-in-airness - true divas of their art.

Her shoes are worn out from too much dancing and...

...instead of putting my usual needle felt heart motif on her, I simply incorporated a 'gold' heart charm into her pearl bracelet. I seem to be veering towards making little clothes now, rather than needle felting them, something I've not been keen on in the past, but this tutu worked so well (simple as it is) that I'll be trying it again.

I have another workshop locally, on April 7th at Chipping Norton, at the hugely popular Fibreworks, details on their classes page here. Starting off with something nice and quick we will be making little birds, as featured in my Puddletown books. Limited spaces!

A spring in my step

It is exactly a year since I took up the first serious, regular exercise in my 44 year life. Trying to fit jogging in around work and everything else is not easy, but I do make it a priority. It's something I have to force myself to do and I can't say I enjoy the actual experience, but I do feel great afterwards. One of my proudest moments was when I managed to do over three miles without stopping. It's not much compared to 'proper' runners and took me months to achieve. But for someone who has never been at all inclined towards physical exercise and who is not athletically built for it (I have had clunky knees since I was a teenager and have to strap one knee up with two bands before I go out) - I think I've done alright.

As you can see, I'm never going to be a willowy stripling, gliding effortlessly along - I'll always be a slow old dobbin, plodding along, slightly red in the face. It will always be a challenge. But I do it, because it's made me so much fitter, so much happier and to anyone of average health, who thinks they *can't* do it - start as I did, jogging for as far as you can go (not very far in my case), rest, walk and take off again when you feel ready. It's amazing how quickly you build up fitness and your heart and mind will thank you for it. However I'm not promising it will be easy.

I don't normally jog in these glorious fields - I tend to stick to our village lanes, but spring has arrived in the Cotswolds and so we turned our walk into an exercise session, hopping over the county border to the Salperton estate, where I proceeded to do a few stints of 'plogging' and fast walking. Not a bad place to workout.

On the way home, (tired but virtuous) we passed through Little Barrington - one of the sweetest villages in an area crammed with sweet villages.

It's a huddle of cottages clustered around a large green, but has the chocolate box appearance expected of the English countryside. This comes with a hefty price tag, as does all property in the Cotswolds, which is why we are on the move. We're just not wealthy enough (or wealthy at all) to stay here.

(Is it safe to say Winter is over?)

Ladybird/ Ladybug

I very rarely take on custom commissions and to be honest, I was a bit doubtful about taking this one on, as I couldn't immediately *see* it in my head. Although I've done normal ladybird designs before (such as the one above) this was for a standing figure and I got a bit of a block about it. When I finally sat down to sketch it out, I almost gave up - my first effort looked like a children's version of the 'Creature from Planet Zog'. Adding a face seemed to help.

Then I remembered a poster called 'Fairy Bake Day' I produced for an educational magazine, seven years ago.

I don't like it much now, but it did have these characters in it and my problem was over. This reminds me of trips to town with my mum when I was little and being allowed to choose a cake for tea as a treat.





At last I'd found a design I could work with.

She was a bit of a challenge, not least because I've never made anything with a humanoid face before. Despite the wonders of the internet, I still tend to go to my own books for reference material. She was going to be a bit 'Downton Abbey'.

And although I initially struggled with the concept, I was relieved to find that she was, in the end, a successful design. And my customer loves her. She - the ladybird, not my customer - is about 5 inches tall.

Whether she is a ladybird or a ladybug - that's up to you, depending on which part of the world you are reading this from! But she is definitely a lady.