Memories of Oxwich Bay

Last summer we spent a lovely week camping in the Gower, near Oxwich Bay. Last weekend, as I was looking back through various photos for inspiration for my next felt picture, I spent a lovely few moments remembering a wonderful week. And here is the resulting picture... I used my new hand carders to mix the wool, which gave a much more textured look on areas such as the clouds and sea, and some strands of Wensleydale fleece to add a nice swirly effect on the dunes and the foamy edge of the waves. It's not the greatest photo, but I plan to frame this one for our wall so I'll take another photo then.

Felt art - first attempt

Well, I'm not sure if you could call it 'art' yet!!

Armed with my new book 'Beginner's Guide to Feltmaking' (by Shirley Ascher and Jane Bateman), I have attempted my first felt picture - it's a bluebell wood, in case you can't tell! I did a small sheet of grey/brown/black pre-felt first and cut that into strips for the trees and then created my pciture. I think it needs more definition and the blue and purple colours should've been mixed a bit more, but overall I was pleased. It was fun to do!

My wonderful assistant

Design laid out, ready to felt

The finished picture - just needs a bit of pressing to get it flat

Close-ups of the felt

My handmade Christmas

In an effort to use my new skills, save money and give meaningful presents this Christmas, I attempted a handmade present for everyone in my family (I only give presents to my immediate family so it's not too many). In fact, the only person who didn't get a handmade present from me this year is Sam (his present - a log bag - was handmade, but by a Mummade colleague rather than myself!). I don't have a photo of the linen laundry bag I made for my brother and his wife for their travels (they are currently spending 3 months travelling round SE Asia and Australasia) but here are the photos of the rest:

The doll I made for Matilda - complete with a dress that matches hers.

Drawstring playmat for my nephew

Shoulder bag for my sister

Fingerless gloves (made from jumper sleeves and lined with fleece) for my other sister

Baby doll for my 14-month-old niece

Crayon/pen roll for my 5-year-old niece (plus matching roll for her doll)

Wine cork board for my parents (who run a winery). Frame from a charity shop, painted to match the winery colour scheme.

Making presents for everyone was fun (if a little time-consuming!), and they seemed to be well-received - I'd love to keep it up next Christmas if I can!

Mummade - a new venture?

One of the reasons I was so busy in the run up to Christmas was that I was busy crafting away for a trial of a new venture I have started with some friends. We held a 'Mummade' festive fair in a friend's back garden chalet to showcase our crafting talents and to see if we could make enough stuff to sell.

It was deemed an overall success - we each made a few quid (which we didn't think was bad considering we had not widely advertised the event). I made £25 and sold all the felted soaps I had made, but didn't sell any of my bags or Christmas decorations. Our immediate reaction was that the trial was successful and that we would hold more events in 2011 or attend existing craft markets.

The idea is that Mummade is a collective of 'crafty' stay-at-home mums, making things to sell (mainly from recycled or pre-loved resources) and rediscovering some traditional crafts. I'm fortunate to know some incredibly talented mums! I think we all found it eye-opening how much time goes into things like this!!

Here are a selection of photos from our festive fair (mainly of my contributions):

Felted soaps - made by me

Felted bauble - made by me

Bags - made by me

Resolutions

Well it's back to the blog after a busy December (more about this later). The photos are still downloading, but here's a taste - snowy Lake District mountains rising out of the Eden Valley mist.

We had a lovely Christmas and New Year up in Cumbria at my parents' place. Matilda had a great time with her Granny and Grandad and all her cousins, although I think she found all the noise and activity of Christmas Day a bit overwhelming! My mum had done a great job organising everything - it's my turn next year (yikes!), although it will be a much smaller affair at ours.

So aside from planning next Christmas, I've been having a think about things I'd like to achieve over the next year. Here's a list of resolutions for 2011 - who knows if I'll achieve all of them, but hopefully I'll find time for one or two!

1. Master the art of wet felting
2. Try freehand embroidery on the sewing machine
3. Further improve my sewing skills - particularly dressmaking/customising
4. Learn to knit
5. Start playing football again (or failing that, running or cycling)
6. Help get Mummade off the ground (more about this later)
7. Spend as little as possible
8. Buy as few new things as possible
9. Sort out spare room
10. Have another baby!