Ocean life

These two pieces, inspired by a workshop led by Nerissa Cargill Thompson, depict ocean life (my abstract imaginary take on it) and there's lot of texture in them.

I used paint to make marks on the base fabric, and a lot of recycled fabrics as appliqué and Suffolk puffs, as well as some old lace, ironed plastic netting, couched wool thread, some beads and a fair amount of stitching. 

Both pieces will be mounted onto 1 canvas, next to one another. Perhaps part of a future exhibition?

9 pieces of work - concertina book

Because I found myself a bit lost in the "forest of workshops", I wanted to take more time to explore my own artistic voice. That's why, during the summer, I set myself a challenge, to create 9 small pieces (just for myself, so no room for perfectionism or judgment), using the materials and techniques I like most. Each piece had to contain design and colours I love and words that relate to my art.  It required a bit of reflection and not a huge amount of work, so ideal for summer!

I hoped to get an insight into my own practice at this point in my life : giving myself room to think about my voice and to make choices allowed me to that.

the 9 pieces were subsequently collected into a single concertina book.

check out a short video I put on youtube here 

The Secret Garden

This collage got made while I was reading “The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett, what a wonderful book! I tried to capture the enchanting story, the magic of nature and of place, using fabric, paint, paper, transferred images and stitching. The atmosphere is calm due to the muted colours, but at the same time it’s buzzing with life, adventure, and possibilities. 

The piece grew organically during the reading process, which I love. I think I will try this with other favourite books; it’s an intriguing way to make!

Some details : 

Anne of Green Gables

Jo March, Lizzie Bennett, Anne Shirley,.... I like these fierce girls with their seeking souls.

Some time ago, I bought this very fun book "Literary yarns, crochet projects inspired by classic books", partly because there is an  Anne of Green Gables pattern in it. I just knew I had to crochet it. So here she is, my Anne with an "e", love her!

I am not so very good at amigurumi, not so very fond of it either because I find it a little hard on my hands and wrists. But, as always , happy with my new friend!

(There is also a Sherlock Holmes, who screams to come to life in crochet!)

Handmade sketchbooks

I used different kinds of paper for these little sketchbooks : Japanese handmade paper, pages from an old book, wrappers, sketching paper, decorated paper.

The pages are handsewn together with bookbinders’ thread. 

The covers are unique designs I hand-painted with water-colour paint, sometimes with added embroidery.

The backs are covered (handsewn) with matching fabrics.

In every book I have all ready sketched a flower. 

This is a labour of love and I hope these little books will end up with people who love to sketch, write or collect stuff in them!

(I will show and sell them at this local event on Sunday July 3th : Kunst Montmartre Beveren-Waas in Belgium)

The sketches on book pages:

The covers painted:

Bookbinding:

Say it's only a paper moon and stars...

This small piece is my take on the workshop led by Jessica Grady, via Textileartist.org. 

The moon is cut from a page out of an old book. I folded written paper into stars and added some yellow beads. 

The big blot is blue ink. I love that effect, suggesting a dark but not gloomy night.

I’m not sure yet if I’ll cut the edges and leave it in the hoop as a piece of its own or whether I’ll make it into something else.

Jo Mittens

Jo March has been one of my heroes since childhood. In "Literary knits, 30 patterns inspired by favorite books" by Nikol Lohr, I found  a pattern for Jo mittens and really wanted to knit them. Partly because I like Jo so much, but also because of the practical boyish look of these mittens.

I struggled with the pattern, to be honest. I don’t think it 's written clearly enough for a not so experienced knitter and I had to frog more than once. I didn't seem to be able to make the pattern work, so in the end I modified it. Overall, sometimes a bit of a frustrating experience but, in the end, also very rewarding.

I like my Jo mittens a lot and am happy I persevered! I love the look of the knitted fabric, its warmth and the way the mittens fit and feel. 

The yarn I used is Rauwerk 100% merino (100g - 220m), an eco-friendly and ethical yarn from Germany. this is fantastic yarn, soft and rustic at the same time, in wonderful colours, a real favourite of mine! I bought this skein at Yarnporium in 2018 (you can read my blogpost on Yarnporium here) at the booth of Wild Woolly (a super nice London yarn shop)

And a little shout-out to the knitting needles I used, Lykke driftwood double-pointed needles : simply super! The combination of the yarn and the knitting needles made this a lovely project!

the wonderful yarn and super needles :

Bookbinding

I went to an online bookbinding workshop with Ali Ferguson and I am SO excited by this new skill!

We learned how to make (stitch) a small sketchbook consisting of several sections (signatures), with an open spine and fabric taps and a fabric cover.

It’s a time-consuming process but very rewarding. I love paper and have been collecting all kinds of paper and wrappers for such a long time. It’s wonderful to put these to good use!

So far I’ve made 5 sketchbooks. I’ve used paper from the Flow book for paper lovers, notepaper, food wrappers and other assorted leaves and scraps. I embroidered onto the pages, decorated them with washi tape, little envelopes, some fabric, postcards, images and quotes. This way the sketchbooks became quite personal gifts and I hope they encourage people to continue to decorate and fill up of the pages.

Bookbinding is defenitely a craft I hope to explore more in the future!

            

some of the pages are decorated, others are still blank :

Spring Foliage Mitts

This is a design by Alana Dakos of Never Not Knitting. You can find it in the book "Botanical Knits". When I first saw these mitts, I immediately fell in love with them. Spring foliage grows up one side and into the thumb gusset and side shaping has been added to flatter the curve of the wrist.

I used yarn from my stash : Rowan felted tweed and some unspecified ecru yarn.

If I would knit them again I would only use one colour and that would be a lighter green. But that said, I still love the design very much!

In the past I already knitted two more of Alana Dakos' designs : the life circle scarf and the twin leaf loop. I really like the way she incorporates these botanical themes in her designs!

The owl that didn't like flying

There was this little owl that didn't like to fly. He was more of the observing and the thinking kind, let us say. And so he found other ways to move around, which made him quite a content owl after all!

This is a tiny knitting project with fiddly bits that takes more time than you would think, but the result is fun! You can find the pattern in Mini Knitted Woodland  by Sachiyo Ishii.

He travels by hot air balloon:

Or by cable car:

or gets simply carried around by his human!

There is even some video footage of one of his travels here: https://youtu.be/McY9zydPxAA

Sideways slouch slippers

Another great and fun way of stash busting : the Sideways slouch slippers. I found the pattern in my much-used book "Knitted and crocheted slippers" by Alison Howard. This is an easy project from my early days as a knitter, but I still love the design and I'm sure I will make more of these!
As I mainly started this project in order to practise garter stitch, I used some random balls of yarn, without labels or specifications, that had been lying round the house for ages. Holding the yarn double, while guessing the yarn weight, I knitted myself a pair of fun-looking, warm slippers. I recommend this pattern for some easy-going, quick and stash-busting garter stitch knitting!

                                                                                                                                                                 

                    

Chunky tweed slippers

This is a pattern I have used twice, because I found the construction of the slippers really fun. At first it looked rather complicated, but the shaping of the slippers happens quite easily and naturally.
the pattern is from the book 'Knitted and crocheted slippers' by Alison Howard. There's lots of great, lovely, unusual footwear in this book. I'll make some more in the future!
For the pair in the photos I used Schachenmayr Boston wool and acrylic blend and acrylic leftover yarn in different colours held double for the soles, which makes them quite durable.
The slippers are really warm and cosy, lovely and fun to wear.

cosy and warm!

 with sturdy soles:

Oma's pull through scarf

This is a great little gift-knitting idea. It is a small scarf with an elegant look because of the yarn I used : it is Aiko (Lang Yarns), a merino-mohair viscose blend. The yarn feels soft but not too stretchy. And I love the colour, purple with some speckles, a bit of a tweedy look. I bought it at Lana in Antwerp, a nice shop with lots of the more classic quality yarns and lots of knowledge to tap into. 

You can find he pattern in "Cute and easy knitting" from 2013, so not brand new. I know there are lots of books for beginning knitters but these patterns are really lovely, beautiful, very cute and worth knitting.

I knitted this little scarf some years ago, for my mother in law, when all my Christmas presents for that year were handmade. As I mentioned before on here, I'm recovering from shoulder surgery, so this year no handmade presents sadly. But I am doing much better and am determined to carry on bravely with the physio, so 2020 can become a crafty year once again!