Embellish, Stitch, Felt and Buttons.

Time to create can be quite short and sporadic sometimes and I like to make best use of it and therefore find it hard to make time just to experiment.
As I build my little business and expand my range of items, I really have to be quite disciplined to get the work made and out into the shops or ready for fairs and events.
Discipline and creativity don't always go hand in hand though and I'd hate to stunt my creative growth by being too rigid about how I spend my time.
So with my embellisher machine up and running again and the urge to just play around with some fibres and fabrics, I found this piece emerging over the weekend.

The base is just loosely felted merino roving in shades of ochre and rust. It was originally square but I used a bit of it for another project. So with the L shaped piece that was left I cut it into this long rectangle and chopped bits off the spare part to needle onto here in sections. I also needled on some gorgeously rich orange organza ribbon then left it for a while wondering what to do with it.


The idea to add fused fabric areas came to me after looking through some of the great books I have invested in.
One of which is Embellish, Stitch, Felt by Sheila Smith

This is a must have for anyone looking to expand their use of the embellisher machine.

I love the effect of stitch on felt and the textures of metallic fabrics on felt excite me too.
I have had my machine for two years now and I still have not even scratched the surface of what can be done with it.
I got this other book free with my machine when I bought it and it is stuffed full of inspirational techniques to try.



I have just ordered a huge amount of new fabrics online and can't wait to get them. There's nothing like new 'stash' to get the inspiration flowing.

My vintage button collection is slowly but surely increasing too. With a few good finds in some charity shops last weekend I am now able to separate them into jars! They used to all live in the one box but it was taking me ages to find just the right button for the job.
The lovely ornate brass ones used above came from the Comrie Cancer Shop and I'm pleased I've been able keep them together.

These jars are from a yoghurt making machine that I was given but have never used. I thought the jars were cute though and look even more cute filled with buttons!

So here we are in February all ready. First Craft Fair will be in March at the Cupar Corn Exchange (date to be confirmed).
I have also been asked to do the front cover for the Glenfarg Folk Feast Programme again this year. The Folk Feast is on the 9th, 10th and 11th of April and I will be having a stall in the foyer of the Village Hall during the evening events.

May will get off to a busy start with the North Fife Open Studios on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd and the Craft Fairs Scotland St Andrews Craft Fair on the 8th.

I've been asked if I will be running workshops at the studio any time soon. The answer is not yet. As you can see I will be busy making for all these events but I hope to get someone in to do a felting workshop later in the year.

West Coast Inspiration

After a wonderful long weekend over on the West Coast of Scotland I have found yet more inspiration for my textile landscapes.
Last Spring we went to Skye for the first time and I loved all the mellow colours of a landscape only beginning to awaken from Winter. Well this trip to the west was just as inspirational with the landscape just washed clean by snow and ice and still sleepy in it's quietness due to the lack wind and very few people around.
We were blessed with bright days and starry nights, with the lochs like mirrored glass and the tops of the higher mountains still capped with snow.

I decided to have a go at painting Bondaweb for this project. I tried painting some earlier in the month using fabric paints but I only have a few colours and the result was quite muddy so this time I used watered down acrylics.

Because the Bondaweb is attached to paper, it wrinkles as it becomes wet. Ideally I should have worked so that the wrinkles were horizontal but I'll know next time. I painted quite a large piece so I wasn't going to waste it.

Above is the Bondaweb ironed onto some pale blue fleece.

I was then able to needle some toning organza onto the piece then add some free machine stitching.
It has been six weeks since I last used my Embellisher machine. I broke three needles all at once and when I went to get my replacement needles I couldn't find them. So I phoned up to order more only to discover that they had gone from £11 for 10 to £28 for 10! I didn't order them in the hope that the ones I bought last year would turn up. They didn't. I can only conclude that I used them all without realising.
So, rather than leave my poor machine lonely in the corner I bought lovely new needles for it and it is wonderful to be using it again. It really is such a fabulous piece of equipment.

So with a little cottage added and some French knot sheep, here is the finished piece.

A Reflective Moment

We are still pretty much snowed in here in Fife. The roads are treacherous so we are staying in our cosy cottage making soup and homemade bread and generally enjoying the last day of the holidays.

2009 was a very busy year here at Aileen Clarke Crafts.
It saw the birth of many new designs including a whole range of textile accessories that I hadn't even thought about this time last year.

I enjoy looking back over what I have made and deciding what to make more of and how I can improve the design or how I can interpret it in new colours and techniques.
I thought I would have plenty time in January and February to experiment but looking at the calendar, I have fairs starting in March and eight shops to stock so I will really have to start batch producing my cards and accessories and get on with making up a stock of framed pieces now.

A Selection of Fused fabric Art Work from 2009

I think I have made more felt pictures than fused fabric over the last year. I really got into using my sewing machine and love the effect of stitch on felt. I have also enjoyed creating new textures and effects by mixing sheer fabrics with fibres using the embellisher machine. I love the vibrant colours and beautiful sheen that the sheer fabrics have and I would miss using them in my work if I was only using felt.

A Selection of Felted and Needle Felted Art Work from 2009

I always have great intentions of making a range of special cards for sale but end up so busy that I only really make special ones if I am commissioned to do so. Hopefully I can add a range of baby cards to my craft stall this year and some pretty blank cards that could be used for every occasion. As I said, I like to think that January and February are quiet months for getting on with these things but in reality the time flies and there only so many things I can make at a time.

I can forsee lists being made and promptly lost beneath the piles of fabrics and fibres that accumulate around me as I work.
When I look at what I have made over the past year I wonder what on earth I will be making this time next year! Here's to lots of new inspiration.

Snowed In

I have to say that we are thoroughly enjoying the deep snow that has fallen over our part of the world over the last week or so.
Last Wednesday we got officially snowed in with both roads in and out of our pocket of Fife blocked and iced over. There was nothing to be done except stoke up the wood burner, rustle up a pot of soup and go for a lovely walk in what felt like a different world.

Our Cottage.

The View East.

Hazy Sun on the Horizon.

Spanish Oak on the Lane.

And just when we thought we couldn't get any more snow......we got another four inches last night and woke up to this today.

Rowan Tree

The Rowan tree above is where I hang the bird feeders and it is a hive of activity at the moment. There are robins, sparrows, great tits, blue tits, dunnocks, black birds, bullfinch, wrens and a woodpecker having a real feeding frenzy out there. I was shocked to see a Sparrow Hawk swoop in the other day and pin down a wee birdie but it escaped unharmed. We also had a family of long tailed tits for a while last year and there are a pair of Jays that make an appearance every so often.
It's a wonderful place to live and a real inspiration for my felted landscapes.

I haven't been able to get to the studio over the past week but I'm hoping to be there on Thursday the 31st Dec. So if you are passing please pop in between 10 and 4. I'll be working on some new felt landscapes and I also have a new toy to play with. It's an inflatable ball for making felt vessels. I'm very excited to try it out. It looks for all the world like a bouncy foot ball made out of bubble gum! Photos to follow.

Hope everyone is well and enjoying the winter holidays as much as we are.

The Green Door Craft Studio Open Weekend

Welcome to the

The Green Door Craft Studio

64 Commercial Road
Ladybank
Fife KY15 7JS

Open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays during December 2009
10-4pm



Here are some photos of our new craft studio.
We have the main room set out like a little gallery and shop for the Open Weekend.
I will start working from the studio full time sometime next year. Due to the success of the Open Weekend we are going to open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays for the rest of December.

We have enjoyed the company of lots of visitors. Thanks to everyone who has come along.

I have a wide variety of my own work on show. It's lovely to have wall space to display my pictures. It is never easy displaying them on a stall at a Craft Fair.
I sold a few pieces of jewellery among other things. Still thinking of new colour ways all the time. It is always good to get feedback too on what colours people like best.
Must make some more greens.

My Mum sold a lot of her bags and coffee pot cosies and has orders for more in different colours and sizes. Tweed is definitely a popular choice of fabric this season.

We are already thinking about how nice it will be in the Spring and Summer to have more Open Studio Weekends but be able to use our little court yard out the front for tables and chairs.
Our little corner of the street really catches the sun in the afternoon, making it light and bright to work in. The sooner we get our equipment in the better! Although we love the set up just now. It's so nice and tidy too.

Pop in for some sherry and shortbread.
Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays during December 2009
10-4pm

The Green Door Craft Studio

Aileen Clarke Crafts and Dunira Designs are delighted to announce the opening of
The Green Door Craft Studio.
We have been toying with the idea of opening a studio for a long time now. My Mum and I both work from home and mainly sell through craft fairs and shops. We thought it would be nice to have an Open Studio Weekend where a wide selection of our work will be on display for sale.

The Green Door Craft Studio
64 Commercial Road, Ladybank, Fife, KY15 7JS

Open Studio Weekend Sat 5th Dec 9-5pm & Sun 6th Dec 10-4pm

Textile Art . Handmade Cards . Cushions . Cosies . Textile Jewellery

So please feel free to pop in and see us. Children welcome.

Daisies, Birdies, Hearts and Flowers

Another day, another design.
I have turned my attention to making some new pieces with the fabric I made last week.
I really enjoy making new things so rather than just make the hearts and daisies for necklaces and brooches, I made these birdie brooches and large flower brooches too.

Birdie Brooch £9.95

Large Daisy Brooch £15

I think a brooch looks great on a bag as well as on a coat. I also think they can look really good on hats.

I have made some of the necklaces and smaller brooches too. I got the most fantastic beads from Bead Crazy in Perth on Monday. They are like super shiny Smarties and reflect the iridescence of the fabrics perfectly.


So, time to get the wood burner on and get the cottage all cosy for another wet day here in Scotland.

We actually love living here in all seasons.
It's lovely to hunker down and keep cosy in wet weather and when we are blessed with beautiful days, we only have to step out the door to be amongst lovely countryside.