Ceramics and I...Time to go our separate ways?

It's been a fair old while since I've posted anything on here, which only goes to show how useless a 'blogger' I am.  In order for a steady traffic stream and to increase my audience, I should really be posting something at least weekly, if not daily! However, I am under no illusion as to how interesting this is for other people (amusingly, the post that still gets the most views is the one in which I mention my 'Dukes of Hazzard' cushion....those poor people searching google for something interesting about Bo & Luke Duke and all they get is some woman banging on about children's textiles!!).  I really would rather be making things or spending time with family & friends as opposed to sitting at a laptop/playing with my iPad  in order to regularly 'blog'. I am therefore being kind to myself and (trying) not to get annoyed that it's another thing on my 'to do' list that often isn't achieved. 

That said, thought I'd just add in some of the work I've been doing this term at college in my ceramics workshop.  I have (I think) decided it's the 'end of the line'  as far as ceramics go...for now anyway. I've signed up for the Summer Term but will probably not be returning in September. I've absolutely loved pretty much every minute of it and really do feel I've learnt a new skill, but without investing an awful lot more money and time in it, I feel I've reached as far as I can go for the time being.  I could, of course, start working on new forms of 'ceramic art' such as sculpture, but I really prefer more functional pottery and wouldn't know what to do with a bunch of pottery heads or such like (besides, it would just make me think of that dire 1980s Lionel Richie video 'Hello'). One day I will return to it I am sure and my dream of owning my own potter's wheel might come true eventually. For now though, I am so very very pleased that I decided to take the plunge and spend the money on the course. I wake up every Friday with terrific excitement to be going into college and sometimes can't sleep on a Thursday night for all the ideas buzzing round my head....but more than that I am grateful to it for reminding me how much I love to create things and giving me that little push to start doing so again (Gush, Gush, Gush!)

So, anyway, here are a few pictures.  More and more bowls being produced...each one a little less wonky than the last and I've been having a good old experiment with glazing, combining different colours and enjoying what happens to them when they mix in the kiln.  

Whilst I once thought it was impossible to have too many 'general purpose bowls' (rather like cushions!), I am beginning to think that perhaps it is...I would have to make a serious amount of tapas to fill them all now, so decided that perhaps jugs are the way forward...chunky, rustic ones - perfect for displaying freshly picked flowers from the garden.

There we have it. Just 10 more weeks and my love-affair with the potter's wheel will be over..(probably....just whilst writing this I am wondering whether I might change my mind come the summer!) I hope to decide on a new area of  crafting to have a go at later this year.  Not sure what yet, but there are so many to choose from, I would certainly like to learn something new.  Maybe I'll start work on a fabulous quilt, or knitting, or crochet, or or or....

Come ON spring...

                                   

This winter seems to be dragging on forever. Motivation and energy have been seriously lacking. The first couple of months of a  new year always feel like a bit of a false start to me.  Christmas is over, the decorations packed away and you're ready for the new year, a new start, new ideas...yay! Then you realise it's still rather cold and dull and dreary and dark, but there is no festive season with it's cheery celebrations to enjoy and chase away the gloom.... Suddenly spring feels like a long way off and the temptation to hibernate  with mugs of hot tea and wedges of chocolate cake takes hold. That said, the first snowdrops are appearing in the garden, and the days are slowly getting longer...so there is hope on the horizon & spring flowers (nearly) in bloom.

Once again this year I have succumbed to moaning and shuffling my way through January, not really getting much done, but I'm determined not to waste February as well. Therefore, in an attempt to focus the mind, I thought a new post featuring some of my latest handcrafted 'makes' might be a good place to start:

First up a gift for a good friend. Another of my zipped pouches, but in a fabric chosen specifically for the Birthday Girl. 

The feature fabric is by textile designer Kate Spain for Moda & as soon as I saw it and it's  peacock feathers-inspired lovliness, I knew it was perfect!

The young daughters of 2 sets of close family friends also celebrated birthdays just recently. It does get difficult to buy gifts when you know they are going to get loads of presents...and we've only just had Christmas. So I decided to make them both name-banner flags to hang in their bedroom/across the end of the bed/along a shelf/on the door/over a window.......

As with many of my gifts for children, I wanted to use fabrics that would last the girls for some years to come and not feel too 'baby-ish'. Hopefully, these flags will do the job!

A new little product I wanted to get going on this year was doorstops. A friend of mine had requested one in the same style as one I already have propping open our kitchen door. It wasn't something I had made, so the challenge was on to make one the same....a bit of tinkering later...and da dah! I didn't just make one however,....I made LOTS:

These make a great gift for yourself or someone else, with fabrics chosen to co-ordinate with the rest of a room. Fab for a child's bedrooms too...to prop that door open at night-time and keep the scary dark at bay!!

So there we have it...proof that I have done SOMETHING in the first few weeks of this year! Next up are another couple of orders for toy bags and then I'm planning on utilising some of my ever-expanding stock of designer fabrics to create some products to (hopefully) sell on my 'yet-to-be-set-up-but-always-on-my-to-do-list' Folksy site.  That's the plan anyway...let's hope for no more snow, or I'll be back moaning about the weather with that hot cup of tea and chocolate cake, achieving very little, other than an greatly increased waistline!

New Year....New Ideas....

Love this banner...not my own work I'm afraid..but that of Two Chikkadees....

So, 2013 is here already. T has been back at school for a week, I made it back to the gym (only once but hey, it's a start) and I've completed my first couple of orders of the new year.  We had cupcakes to celebrate this afternoon.....

Not the most beautiful of cakes but they tasted good!  I am full of admiration for the talented individuals who can decorate cupcakes with style and finesse, producing the most amazing works of art. My problem (combined with the fact that I'm just not very good at it!), is impatience .  I am such a lover of CAKE in it's many forms, that I always hurry through the icing process to enable me to eat them as soon as humanly possible!

Last weekend I did a bit of fabric sourcing for a drawstring bag order.  There are so many gorgeous new Spring/Summer prints already appearing, that I'm really excited about using them for projects that I'm going to start working on in the coming weeks.  I have lots of ideas for some more textile home-wares....doorstops, table mats, coasters, floor cushions and beanbags. I  also want to develop some  protective fabric covers for mobiles, iPads/tablets and Kindles; and of course, I will be making more of the zipped pouches, coin purses, tote bags, cards and personalised children's gifts that I've really enjoyed making recently and have proven pretty popular. Over the coming months I also want to look into producing more 'stock' items from my ever-expanding fabric stash, with the aim of setting up an online shopfront via Folksy or Etsy. With this in mind, I feel I need to develop my 'house style' when it comes to photographing my work. Consequently the images that appear on my blog may change from time to time whilst I experiment with different options. Phew! Sounds like I might be busy...and perhaps need a few extra hours in the day....

Anyway, before this drags on too long, a little note about the orders I completed this week.  Firstly there was a bag which was made as a gift for a friend of a friend & their new baby boy, Monty.  These drawstring bags work really well as new baby gifts as they can initially be used as useful storage for nappies, muslins, accessories, clothing and then as the child grows up, they can become toy bags or kit bags for nursery/pre-school.  I found this really fun fabric from Birch Organics which I thought was perfect for a little boy and the neutral colours will work with most bedroom decors/tastes.

I used my favourite natural cotton/linen base fabric and then personalised the bag with Monty's name and a cute star that make a feature of the little robot. The bag was lined with a bright, bold orange cotton to match the flames coming from the rockets.

...and finally, I also made a little collection of 'spotty' coin purses this week. These were little 'thank you' gifts that a friend requested.

Until next time, thanks for looking....E x

A quick look back at December 2012 'makes'

I can finally share some more pictures of the gifts and orders I was busy making in the run up to Christmas (but was keeping secret!) I don't want to write too lengthy a post about these bits and pieces as my head (& pinterest board!!) is now full with new ideas and projects for 2013, so I'll be brief....here's a few of the things I got round to photographing before they were packaged up and delivered:

These stoneware, hand thrown ceramic bowls, glazed in creams and green hues, are from the collection I produced last term. I made them with certain friends & family in mind, in the hope that they would be good enough to give as Christmas gifts.  They were well received so hopefully the recipients weren't just being kind!

Quite a few of these zipped pouches were ordered for Christmas, and I made a couple to give as gifts as well. I'm planning on making quite a few more with some of the new spring ranges of designer fabrics I've seen.

The natural canvas tote bag, with applique flowers and free-motion machine embroidery, that featured in a post last autumn proved to be really popular. Each one is totally unique and can be tailored to suit the individual, making them a lovely personal gift. Here are a few examples.

Another natural canvas tote, with a pretty green spot lining.

These 2 tote bags were made in a very practical dark charcoal/nearly black heavy cotton and feature different colour themes and prints to make them unique and personal. 

The printed cottons featured in this first bag are from a fabulous range from Birch Fabrics, by textile designer Rebekah Gilda.

This second bag is appliqued and lined using a variety of printed fabrics from the gorgeous Tilda range:

The bags together; similar in style but completely unique.

I then created coordinating coin purses and luggage tags. 

I've had absolutely loads of orders for these 'bag tags'....totally individual, fun and an inexpensive little gift. I really love making them too!