Edinburgh’s first Yarn Festival certainly did not disappoint!…I could tell it would be something pretty special when I arrived at the Drill Hall, where it was being held, more than an hour after opening time and there was still a large queue of people waiting patiently in the rain to get in.

Inside it was absolutely mobbed; people thronging eagerly round each stall to see the marvellous selection of yarns on offer.

I spent hours looking round. At times it was difficult to get near the stalls because it was so busy but it was great that an event like this can attract so many enthusiastic shoppers. There organisers really did a fantastic job of bringing it all together.

Tin Can Knits was one of my favourite stalls – the little rainbow and heart jumper is so cute and I love the wavelike pattern on that shawl.

Although I managed to resist a lot of temptation, I didn’t come home empty handed. The green/pink combo is a long time favourite of mine so how could I leave this behind?

Now…what to knit?

Abigail Brown’s amazing paper mache horse caught my eye last night when I was snooping about on Etsy…which led me on to make this treasury featuring items all made with that medium.  Clicking on the picture will take you over to Etsy where you can find out more about the items and the wonderful creative people who made them.

Last week on Facebook I got a couple of requests for bunny brooches as my Etsy shop had completely run out…so I got busy and ta da!…here they are. Plenty Spring colours to choose from! If you use the code BUNNYMAD at checkout from now until Monday morning you will receive 10% off the purchase price of the brooch (or anything else in the shop!)

I’m experimenting a little by using some of Pantone’s Spring Colour Trends to see if it makes a difference to the traffic who find my Etsy shop listings through Google searches by typing colour names into the search. Normally I don’t pay a lot of attention to these things and just use the colours I’m drawn to. I like purples, pinks, turquoise and olive green and use them a lot but it can’t do any harm to see if more people find my shop when they search for the colours which are deemed to be ‘on trend’.

I can make these brooches in other colours (if you’d like one)  – they’re made from recycled pure wool jumpers so it depends what I have available…but I do have a huge box of little bits now in a LOT of colours! :-)

What do you think about industry colour trends? Do you think they influence what you wear or buy?

Robb and I went off for a mini adventure last weekend. We drove over to the west coast and managed to cram a lot into just three days.

The main reason was to visit the Barony centre for the first time, which was absolutely wonderful…a fabulous converted church, which houses a gallery, cafe, workshop space, and craft gift shop. I feel very lucky to have my work stocked there. The Barony Centre is part of the Craft Town Scotland project, which has transformed the fortunes of West Kilbride from a town which had 21 disused shops in the mid 90s to a thriving town once again.

Very often crafts are dismissed as a hobby, or something that only children do but this forward thinking project shows just how much can be achieved when craft and design are properly valued. I’d recommend anyone to visit. If you’d like to read more about the history of the project you can here.

Next, we travelled up the coast, visiting Largs where we sampled the delights of Nardini’s Ice-Cream Parlour…YUM!

The weather was bright and crisp…pretty amazing really – we kept on having to remind ourselves it was still February!

It was so refreshing to be out and about, exploring…This was the view at Inveraray…the water was so still it was like a mirror.

Then home, via Glasgow and a trip to the Riverside Museum.

Below is the Riverside Museum, which is the new home of the transport collection. I love the design of the building because it is so roomy and bright but as with a lot of current museum redesigns, there is not nearly enough information available about the displays and individual items.

I probably enjoyed the social history displays more than the transport…loved this little display of 1960′s dresses made by a design couple called Donaldson, who once had a shop in Edinburgh called Togs for Togs. Love the groovy one on the right…if you’re thinking it looks like it’s made from a pair of curtains you’re close, they sourced the fabric from a furnishing fabrics manufacturer. It’s the kind of thing I would have loved to wear if I’d have been about then, and the sort of thing that inspired me to make my little dress brooches…

Ah well, back to work for me. x

This heart is taken from my sketchbook and I thought it should make an appearance today….love and hugs everyone  x

Been so busy lately so not a lot of time to blog, although there’s been plenty going on behind the scenes. I’ve been enjoying daily sketching and have been getting plenty of sewing done… Last week I made a top up of purses and brooches for the shop in the Barony Centre in West Kilbride, North Ayrshire. It looks like a fantastic place…just seen photos so far but I’m hoping to make a visit very soon.

Spring isn’t too far away (well, that’s what I’m telling myself) and with that in mind I designed these new tulip brooches and matching purses. I sent some in my order to the Barony Centre and am working on a few more to add to my Etsy shop tomorrow.

Just popping in to introduce you to to new rabbits I made this week.

This is Maude, a serious rabbit with a decadent streak.

and Bunty Hopkins, who is slightly dazzled by the light, after hiding away all winter long.

Hope it shows how much fun I had with these guys!  Maude and Bunty are now available from my Etsy shop. I’ve also decided to keep my SALE section running  at least throughout February. There a quite a few items at half price…maybe something you’d like?!

Have a great weekend! x

This was something which I began working on last Winter, while it was still very cold and damp and there were no signs of new life yet in the garden. I worked on it on and off until it was finished in June. I wanted to express the feelings of loss and longing which are sometimes hard to suppress…like longing for sunshine and bright flowers through dark winter days, and loss for loved ones, which fades but never entirely leaves you.

The envelope was made from silk and all the embroidery was done on the envelope after it was made, which is probably not the easiest way to work. I like the shape of the open envelope, which looks a bit like a little house for storing words in.

Although I was pleased with the end result, I didn’t feel like blogging about it at the time because it felt quite personal. It did feel genuinely ‘mine’, which was very important at the time because I’d lost my creative mojo to a certain extent. Now that a few months have passed I can be a bit more detached about it.

Another reason I’ve finally got around to writing about this it that it brings me on to a new project I’m planning to work on (in addition to my purses etc) throughout this year – 100 envelopes. I would like to use this project as an opportunity to experiment and try out different techniques. My aim is to work on it most days, even if only for a short time and hopefully produce a couple of new pieces a week. It would really help build my confidence if I could complete a year long project as my staying power has never been too good…so here goes!

Are you planning any new projects for this year? I’d love to hear about them.

Hope you’re all enjoying your weekend! There’s been a light dusting of snow here this morning so I’m glad there’s lots to keep me busy indoors. I’m happy that I’ve settled back into my working routine after the Winter break without too much angst and have made some modest achievements this week, although not nearly as much as I’d hoped for on my ambitious ‘to do’ list. It’s mainly been paperwork keeping me busy…it’s getting there. I’m going to be spending  a few hours this afternoon on my Tax self- assessment. Urg.

My Etsy SALE section is filling up nicely, with some really good discounts…If you’d like more details, clicking the picture above will take you to my shop. There are still a few more things I want to add over the coming days and weeks. I’m trying to clear the decks so you can expect some very good reductions.

Also very pleased to have found time for my first sewing of the year – 10 purses made, that’s 5 bunnies and 5 doves. Purses are very low just now… I was only left with 4 at the end of  last year so building up stocks will keep me busy for a while.

2013 is here already! Let me start by wishing you all the very best for the coming year. I hope it’s a good one for you! :-)

I want to thank all my customers and everyone who reads the blog or visits my facebook page for supporting me last year. I am truly grateful for every sale and all the feedback I receive. It makes a huge difference to me and I wouldn’t be able to carry on creatively without it.

The end of last year was very busy which was great news in terms of sales, but exhausting, so my one and only resolution is to pace myself better this year and try to work harder through the quiet times to build up stock for when it’s needed.

I’m looking forward to getting back into my working routine now that the holidays are over. There’s lots to keep me busy this month- most urgently, my paperwork needs brought up to date and my tax self-assessment has to be filed by the end of the month but I also have lots of creative plans buzzing around in my head and a long list of things I’d like to make and do.

The SALE section of my Etsy shop has some great reductions and I’ll be adding more items throughout the month.

I have an idea for a year long project that I’ll write more about soon…

By the way, the photo at the top of the page is of the Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh, which we visited on New Year’s day. The optimism and reassurance of the neon sign really appeals to me just now.

Hello, just popping in to tell you about a few things going on around here. Firstly, not long until this fair, which is the first one I’ve done in ages! I’ve made a list of things I still need to make for it, which should keep me busy right up until the last minute…if previous experience is anything to go by!

The cards I ordered arrived – I like the one with the pink cat on it best so I tried it in a frame to see how it would look…pretty good I think, even if I do say so myself!

There’s birdies too.

and another of my cats.

The past couple of days I’ve been busy photographing all my stock and trying to make sure everything is available in my shops. I know people are beginning to think about Christmas pressies now so I’ve created a discount code which you can use this weekend… if you’ve had your eye on anything maybe this is a good time to treat yourself!  Quote YESPLEASE at checkout to get  20% discount :-)

Code valid in my shop and also my etsy shop.