St Andrews Craft Fair, 5th September

Aileen Clarke Crafts will be exhibiting at the Craft Fairs Scotland event in St Andrews on Saturday 5th September.
I will be selling lots of framed textile art work, plenty of Handmade Art Cards and some Textile Jewellery.

Western Shore

I have been working on lots of new pieces including some seascapes inspired by our trip to Ireland.
We enjoyed some fabulously sunny days as well as some wild and windy days but no matter what the weather, the scenery was stunning.
The colours in the sea never cease to mesmerise me. I was delighted to pick up some yarn in Kenmare that has all the right shades of turquoise and sea green in it. I have used it for the sea in the piece above. I have also used some pale aqua merino, a tiny bit of angelina and some white silk for the cresting waves.

Soft Summer Sunset

The west coast sunsets are always stunning and I have tried to capture some of the warmth and glow in this piece.

Also new to the Aileen Clarke Crafts range are these narrow bracelets and bookmarks.

I've used some pretty buttons from my vintage collection to fasten the bracelets.

I was going to add tassels to these bookmarks but I like them just as they are.



I have also made a few new pieces using older designs.
This Poppy was very popular and I was asked more than once at the last fair if I had any pictures in red.

The Houses by The Shore series has never stopped being popular so I've made a few new ones of these too.

I'm undecided about what to call this one. The colours and textures are so vibrant and vivid that I felt it did not need a focal point.

Around The Bloomin' Heather

This piece is sister to The Wild Mountain Thyme that sold before it even reached the shops. I like the little tuft of lilac cloud over the sun and the heathery shades in the foreground.

So my machines are very busy this week and my creativity is working on maximum stimulation!

It's funny but it seems the more I have to do and busier I am the more the ideas seem to come.

In amongst all this I was commissioned to make a Celtic Wedding Card for a friend to give to her friends. I new what I wanted to do but it look me a while to decide on the right background for the heart.

I decided on a shimmery ribbon with iridescent sparkles against a beautiful deep purple satin. I've mounted the whole piece on silver mirror board and white linen embossed card.
If I can get some more of that ribbon next week, I'll have some of these ready for the fair too.

Inspired By Bee's Teas

Our summer holiday to the Dingle peninsula was long awaited and much enjoyed this year.

As usual we camped away out on the western tip of the peninsula, surrounded by beautiful hills, endless beaches and rolling surf. This area is a great source of inspiration to me but when it rains, it really rains and on those days we found ourselves in Dingle town looking for somewhere comfortable to dry off, have a nice cup of tea and while away a half hour or so reading.
This year we were delighted to find ourselves in Bee's Teas, a beautiful little upstairs tea room situated behind Dick Mack's pub.

The minute we walked in the door we knew we had come to the right place.

Not only did we enjoy a lovely pot of tea and fabulous scone but the whole experience was enhanced by Bee's attention to detail and exceptionally friendly service.
David loved his builders tea in an enormous enamel mug and I liked how a handmade tea cosy was promptly popped onto my sturdy tea pot.
It's great to see a theme taken and done so well.

The scones were delicious with lashings of cream served in the cutest little tea cup.
I must add that there are a multitude of different and exotic teas on the menu with the herbal infusions arriving in beautiful glass tea pots on glass stands with a tea light beneath to keep them warm.

I've been pondering the recent popularity of all things tea related and the thought of making textile tea pot and tea cup pictures has been on my mind for some time.
Bee's Teas has really inspired me.

I like Bee's colour scheme of blues and pinks with plenty of florals and ginghams set off by fresh white and rustic wood.

She has even provided a cosy corner to drink your tea in during the colder months.

So here are my first Bee's Teas inspired pieces.

The pot and cup and saucer are cut from fabrics which I have layered with ribbon and net. I have used a polka dot net for the background and cut a few flowers from more layered fabric. The flowers are attached with large gold brads which coordinate with the gold shimmering dots in the background.

As soon as I get some more polka dot background fabric I'll be making some more in different colour ways with different motifs.