Collaborating - The Return...

At the beginning of the summer holidays a friend and I agreed to share some of our creativity and use it to inspire each other - I was really excited by this, as I love what she does. 

There were a couple of sneaky peeks at the piece of felt I gave her here.

Just before I went on holiday I received her wonderful work....and here it is, accompanied by a full view of the random wooliness:

The Return

Foamy surf, the blue-green ebb and flow of life on earth,

The never-ending motion of the pull against

The yellow sky, not a sunset, almost ominous,

Sulphurous, a backdrop for shadows.

 

A lumbering bulk, clumsy on land, hulking

Against the sandy vastness.

A silent, indistinct almost formless something,

Moving into the rhythm of sea.

At last, in the smooth depths, dugong-like,

Strange grace from great weight; waves lift and caress,

Silver threads weaving in and out of cerulean space,

Bubbles rising to the surface.

Finally, sunset comes, the shepherd’s sky,

A promise of good, and on the shore,

A perfect footprint, as big, as deep as a turtle’s laying nest,

Not formless, not indistinct.

 

I love Karen's poem, I have read it many times and find new depths.

The most amazing aspect of the collaboration has been how the image has been interpreted.

After I had read and commented on her poem Karen shared some of her thought processes. 

The piece of felt had been made with the sand at the bottom and I had intended the dark form as a footprint...but Karen had looked at it the other way up and revealed a shadowy figure....how fantastic!

After my initial reading of the poem I realised this, but found it hard to see 'him' and a tryptich came to mind..(Picture of a figure with yellow sky and sea below; watery scene with smoothly swimming whale form and bubbles; and the existing image as a footprint  on the sand) 

However as I re-read the words and gazed at the picture the figure lumbered into view ...

I could see 'him'! I felt quite emotional!

So I have used the same image both ways up to accompany the poem, I hope you can see him too!

I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Karen and she has sent me some more of her amazing writing. 

I hope to make something in response to some of her powerful work and I have an idea for another piece of wooliness to prompt some more creative writing....

Thank you Karen...may this be the first of many creative collaborations!

Holiday snaps!

Its four weeks since we returned from a short but sweet holiday in the North East of England...we had some very dramatic weather, dark clouds and bright sun made the colours extra vibrant, although these phenomena could only be experienced and not captured on camera!

On our journey up the M6, through the hilly peaks past the Lakes, the sky turned a purpley black and white fluffy clouds whisped past, the grass was luminous lime green speckled with woollyblackfaced sheep, the whole clashing colourful scene would have stretched the artstic imagination had we not seen it. Shortly after, the most awesome rain shower engulfed us...thankfully we were driving and not on foot (memories of childhood lakeland cagoul clad hill walking!)

We saw some fantastic sun shafts through rolling clouds, beautiful pinky purple heather and bright pink Rosebay Willow herb....

Although we were surrounded by fields full of sheep...I didn't buy any local wool this time, I'm still using my soft heathery hand dyed Teeswater from my last trip !

One of our trips was to Hury Reservoir and on such a gusty afternoon it looked like we were by the sea, a much more dramatic experience than on a calm day!

We spent some time with relatives and during one afternoon their daughter entertained us all with her energetic games! She helped me to make and photograph some flowers, 

and requested a woolly robot, for which she cut the hair!

It all seems a while ago now...but its been a treat to recall some of our memorable moments!

So much fresh air and space...on the moor top.....with a vastness of inspirational sky!

Wedding Bowl!!

I have been to a wedding today, the first one for a long time...

it was a really happy and sunny occasion.

I knew I wanted to make something to give the happy couple, and as I'm not sure how to mount my flat pieces of wet felt I decided to needlefelt a bowl.

I was feeling a bit rusty but soon got into the swing of things. One of the edges had a slight dip, so I had  a thought and stabbed away....

I'm really pleased how its turned out....

 

Most of the wool is coloured shetland with the lighter flecks of merino silk blend.

For the orange heart I added some sari silk fibres I recently purchased from Felters Journey's 

Folksy shop.

All finished off the with couple's initials:

Wishing you both every happiness, a life full of bright colourful and fuzzy moments! xx

Collaborating - fusion of fabric and felt!

I'm hoping this will be a mainly pictorial post....

my wordy stream is feeling a bit stagnant...I think its all the earlier mornings...need to get used to new routines!

My fabulously talented friend and neighbour has designed and made matching items from this and this

they are big enough to carry keys and a mobile...

each one has both types of felt....

one on each side...

...and are lined with the most funky floral fabric..

They are pretty perfect pouches!!

I just hope the felt is robust enough to stand up to a fair bit of use!

Thank you creative  C...you are a sewing star!

Felt and Football!

This is just a quickie to say how I've spent a fantastic afternoon felting whilst listening to the footie

(and we won!!)

This leaf was blown to our back door in a huge gust earlier this week

It reminded me of Becky's felted leaf....

Hope you all keep safe and dry in the forecasted blustery showery weather....

or enjoy the begining of the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness depending on where you are!

Seven things about me!

One of the other exciting things that greeted me on return from my holiday was a blog award from Tracey over at baking and making. I'd like to say a huge thank you to Tracey, not only for the award but for such an inspiring blog about her homecrafted goodies and simple lifestyle philosophy.

This really does look irresistibly sweet with all those amazingly succulent looking strawberries!

In accepting the award I am to tell you seven things about myself...so here goes;

Most of my qualifications are science based..but theycertainly do not include domestic science!

A few people (including Tracey and Melody) know this one.... as a child I collected mice...the crafted not the live kind! The entire collection now sits in my wardrobe housed in fabulous 70s shoe boxes. However they will be introduced to you all at sometime ..so watch this space!

As a small girl I shook hands with footballer Nobby Stiles..who was at the time playing for the local team (Boro) and England!

My drink of choice is black coffee or if  I'm out at night a pint of bitter

I'm an early 80s girl at heart and can usually identify an intro before the lyrics kick in..however as I have increased in age I find myself becoming nostalgic for the late 70s disco hits, and mellow tunes...

As a Brownie Guide I fell off a chair immediately before taking my Safety in the Home badge.

I love yorkshire puddings...the best were made by my grandad, served as a starter, the size of the plate covered in steaming gravy.... but chocolate, in any form, is my most favourite food choice!


Also as part of the award I am to pass it onto 7 others....
I am aware that some bloggers are uncomfortable with the accepting and passing on of awards, so if I have included you on the list I will not be offended if you choose to ignore it.
My intention in mentioning your blog is to introduce others to your wonderful creativity and to say how much I look forward to your updates..and big thank yous for your friendly and supportive comments!

So in no particular order (except alphabetical):

Love and Peas*;
Jenny's vibrant colourful and exciting creations and posts are really cheerful, full of detail, charm and character!

Melody Lorraine;
I discovered Melody and her colourful little animals (real, handmade and illustrated!) via the Being Creative project. I love her storytelling, writing style and her characterful paintings and musings from across the pond.

Starfish Studio
This blog is full of lots of  crafty and arty projects, 
 colour, talent and texture.. lots of techniques have been tried in this little corner of Scotland!

That Fuzzy Feeling;
Liz makes the most wonderful wet and needlefelted items, and has recently started cultivating her own allotment. I love her beautiful photographs of her creations and garden.

The Fluff Pot;
I have waxed lyrical about Becky's blog here and I think she may be excused the 7 things about me part as I know she has done this several times recently..but I haven't seen any strawberries on her awards yet...

The Gingerbread Bunny
Sarah has a lovely chatty blog...she has turned her hand to lots of crafts..and been in print!!

wee mindings
Linnhe Mara makes the most wonderful bags and lots of other things besides. I love her witty writing and musings...on lots of subjects I can identify with. Hers is one of three Scottish blogs on the list!


Hope you have as much fun as I have visiting these irresistible blogs... happy hopping!

OOh - How exciting!!!

I think  this title could be used lots of  times over the next few posts!

I returned from holiday to two fantastic pieces of Bloggy news, two collaborative projects have borne fruit and there are lots of  lovely holiday pictures to share.....

so this is the first of a series of  posts I hope you find as exciting as I do!

Where so I start? 

Becky at The Fluff Pot recently held a very generous giveaway to celebrate reaching 50 followers, (since then she has amassed another 24!) Becky began blogging just before I did, she was the first to leave a comment on my blog and has left regular positive and friendly messages since!  Her blog is full of colour, inspiring images and tips. She has turned her hands to lots of crafty creations and its a joy to read all about them, and her beautiful garden.

Imagine my surprise and delight to find out that I had won her fantabulously fluffy feast of goodies.

One day last week, around lunchtime a parcel arrived ....Random Wooliness Junior and his one of his friends were spending the last day of holiday freedom at ours and were immediately mesmerised by the box of treasures.

I managed to get them to wait whilst I photographed the perfectly presented purple packages....

and the sparkly colourful gift boxes...

Just then the sun came out and we took the everything out in the garden to open..

like Christmas in the sun!

It was fantastic to see the lads choosing which shaped package to open next and hearing their descriptions of the contents,  they were so enthusiastic about the colours, textures and shapes. 

One spent time stroking the bright wool tops (each coloured ball was given a name!) the other was very appreciative of the jewellery wrap, its colours and the beautiful button which was examined carefully. The acorns proved to be a real winner - they loved the concept and I loved all the colour combinations and shiny patches.We all marvelled at the amazing autumn leaf vessel with the coppery  wire veins.

The heart pin cushion was given a good squidge by us all and we chose our favourite coloured pins and cotton...the boys were amazed at the hearts that came from the butterfly wings and suggested uses for the colourful card decorations.

We chirped noisily about the bird brooch and watched the necklace shine and twinkle in in the sun. The rose is so delicate..both in colour and texture.

I'd like to say a huge thank you to Becky not only for sharing her talented work (its great being able to view  and feel some of her bloggy items up close!) but for enabling me to hear those two chaps being so enthusiastic about such creative items!

Thanks for all the lovely comments on the announcement too.

Becky has a Folksy shop, her handcrafted items are really well made and feel fabulously fluffy!!

I think the acorns and autumn leaf will be beautifying our lounge soon,
although it feels autumnal today I'm still clinging to summer....

Travel - Being Creative

One of the things I love about the Being Creative experience is hopping around worldwide spaces to see how other wonderfully creative people have interpreted the theme. I am always inspired, amazed and  prompted to think about what I do. The comments people leave on each others posts are so positive and  supportive, as are Julia's e-mails and posts.

This month I thought laterally about the theme... my mind travelling all over the place...wandering too randomly to record, but always returning to something safe,  that could have been made from felt. However, as I like to experiment a little for Being Creative I travelled a different path...

I have been mulling over the idea of books for a while...I love viewing Love and Peas* colourful and vibrant creative journals and Starfish Studio's blog has featured a wonderful handmade book  - something to aspire to!

Whilst popping over to Kaite's blog last month I followed her link to make  a cut and fold mini book ..which is what I did for this months theme of travel.

I made a small book and recorded the journeys made in our car on our recent holiday in the North East of England! Simple, but a quick reminder of some of our travels this year.

 

I'm looking forward to the next theme of autumn...all those beautiful colours and shades....