Free Book!!

My friend Ness is currently Writer in Residence at the George Eliot Collection in Warwickshire and she is doing a Giveaway today so get over to her project blog desperatelyseekinggeorge and grab yourself a good read! (just ignore my nonsensical rambling in the comments bit!!!)

 

Could I ask the following to email me their addresses so I can send their mirrors?

Thisel&Bean

Mari

Seaweed&Raine

Petal

Val

Petit Filoux

Many thanks! I am not sure that if you reply to a posted comment it actually goes to the commenter? Am I being stupid or can you just click reply and get through to the person via nore-ply? Still new to blogger so still trying to suss it out!

Happy Monday!

I am delighted to report that last week ended on a considerably better note than it began and so I begin this week with renewed optimism!
On Tuesday I acted as 'plumbers mate' to a friend of mine who came and rehung the radiator that had fallen off the wall in the middle of the night (did I mention that? Did I also mention that after a long discussion about what the job required I was sent a plumber with no tools or plumbers mate who looked at it and said "You need a Joiner. That will be £50 thanks" and left having done nothing - fume!!)  I no longer have to walk through the office to get into the bedroom - bonus!
On Sat I received two lovely parcels through the post. I opened the first one to reveal this sweet wee bag......

and inside the most gorgeous Bandit Bunnie brooch from Adatine......

 I treated myself to it after selling some of my old crap on eBay!! I also received this gorgeous wristlet bag from my friends Ness and Mark........

They bought it from Melin Tregwynt as they know how much I like their stuff, to make up for the fact that I hadn't been able to take up their invitation to join them at their holiday rental in St David's due to my lack of funds at the moment - such a thoughtful gesture. I love the card too by local artist Linda Norris.
On Saturday morning I also had my first proper meeting with a fellow blogger. I had arranged months ago to meet up with Karen at Ikea in Glasgow and finally the day had arrived! She was easy to spot - sitting on the bright red sofa surrounded by knitting!! We chatted non-stop for 2 hours and Karen very kindly gave me some expert tutoring on how to run the 2 different wools of a scarf I had started knitting (and thrown aside for several months out of pure frustration!)up the sides so I will not have to weave in all the ends.......

here it is in all it's glory so far - the bit at the bottom with the ends is BK (Before Karen) and the rest is AK!! I just can't seem to read patterns - I need someone to show me how to do it and then I eventually pick it up! I love the variegated colours - the pattern was from the BrooklynTweed blog and he did his with Noro Silk Garden. I have chosen to do mine with Noro Kureyon (I think I got it 'On Sale' somewhere) and I have to say that it is absolutely fuckish (good Glaswegian expression to describe something tricky, difficult, infuriating etc etc) to use. Anyway the end result is very pleasing and the excitement of seeing all the different colours emerge keeps me motivated to knit, knit, knit plus I no longer have a lingering feeling of failure when I catch sight of it in my knitting bag!
Karen also gave me a lovely handknitted Scarflette.......

in the most gorgeous colour of red - the photo doesn't do it justice - and some knitting notions for when I get around to knitting my first socks (I appreciate her confidence in my ability!). It was so lovely to finally meet Karen, she's a good laugh and I genuinely hope that it will be the first of many such get-togethers! I eventually headed home to get ready to go out  - myself and several friends had tickets for Wayne McGregor/Random Dance at our local theatre The Tramway.
Expectations were high and we were not disappointed! The show we saw was called ENTITY and it is by far the best thing I have seen all year - I absolutely loved everything about it - so much so that I have booked for the next touring show FAR that is coming to Edinburgh in October. Random Dance are touring throughout Europe and are also going to do a couple of performances in the US and Canada - check their site for tour dates and GO!! Add into the mix a few post performance drinks and lots of Prosecco and you have a great end to the week!! The slight hangover on Sunday was worth it!

EVERYONE'S A WINNER! I have decided that each of the six lovely people who left comments on the Stormy Monday post (Giveaway now closed) will get a mirror - what the hell - Life's Sweet!

Yet more Giveway Goodness will be happening tomorrow on my friends blog here. If you are a keen reader check it out!

My Creative Space.

I have finally got around to winding my skeins of Colinette Jitterbug into balls ready to start work on a Babette Blanket so I spent the day shuttling between winding, winding, winding.......

on my homemade skein winder and, when it all got too much, pinning and sewing some new Liberty Print shower hats......

such pretty patterns and colours - a real feast for the eyes!
More creative spaces here.
Talking of feasts, I am going to miss my weekly dose of Antonio and Gennaro (The Two Greedy Italians) I thoroughly enjoyed their trip around Italy - Wednesday nights just won't be the same!

Stormy Monday.

As I type this a tempest is raging outside my window. It is almost as if my black mood has manifested itself! The event at Benmore yesterday was a complete wash-out - torrential rain made the whole event tedious and uncomfortable despite the magnificent setting. I (and many others) spent the day getting cold and wet (inside the marquee!!) my stuff was getting dripped on and I had to grin and bear it whilst the few hardy souls who managed to attend, picked over my pretty handmades like we were at a church hall bric-a-brac sale, muttering words like "extortionate" and "expensive" under their breath (but loud enough to hear!) I do not think my things are over-priced - the problem is that quite a few of the stall holders attending that event were completely underselling their wares so of course anything over £1.50 seems alot! I shouldn't let it upset me as I know not everyone realises or appreciates how much work goes into making something by hand but sometimes it just gets to me, especially when I am feeling a bit fragile after a rotten week! The diet went out the window and I gorged myself on home-baking from the Benmore Fundraising Stall and finished off the day with a greasy sausage supper - of course after that I really hated myself!
Anyway, rant over! How do you cheer yourself up after a rotten week? You do something nice and cheery like a giveaway! I am giving away 4 mirrors (winners to choose their preferred pattern) made from the new Liberty fabrics I purchased last week while I was wandering around town killing time waiting for the car to be fixed .......

All these fabrics were purchased at 25% less than normal price from Mandors in Glasgow (get there quick whilst stocks last - there is a huge selection!) and I am going to make shower hats from them. The bottom 2 are really cute and I only bought 20cms of each to make into mirrors.

I particularly like this with the owl and horse.....

 and this pretty floral print.......

and these wee owls are just too cute for words............

all you need to do is leave a comment on this post saying which fabric you like best! If there are more than 4 comments I will pick names out of a hat otherwise if 4 comments or less you are guaranteed a mirror. Giveaway ends a week today.
There - I feel much better now!
Happy Monday - have a good week!

Funkified.

In an effort to 'funkify' the living room I decided that I needed to make some new cushion covers. Initially I was going to buy a selection from Melin Tregwynt and make one large patchwork cushion from a pack of patchwork pieces from Margo Selby. However once the Margo Selby pieces arrived I knew that they needed to be mixed with some lovely plain Harris Tweeds from the stash and here they are....

I love the jewel-like colours and sheen of the Margo Selby fabrics......

against the rich matt 'hairyness' of the Harris Tweed.....

 even the monochrome works well.......

I was so excited by these combinations that I decided to take the idea and apply it to some bags which I christened the 'Margo' bags - very happy with the result!
I am off to Benmore Botanic Gardens for an event this weekend which entails a ferry ride across the Clyde estuary. I am hoping to get some good pics to share (weather permitting) - have a good weekendx

My Creative Space.

Lots of mirrors to be made for a wedding happening up in Loch Ness....

There is something very therapeutic about the cutting of circles of fabric and assembly of mirrors - 50 mirrors in 5 colours of tweed.....

 very satisfying - especially when they are all packaged up and ready to go.....

It is so nice to think that these will be playing a small part in someone's special day!
More creative spaces here...

Crappy Bag.

The Loch Fyne event last weekend went very well which is good as I have just had to shell out for dental treatment and for a car repair which has basically wiped out any money I made! I am not a happy bunny! However I do have one thing to smile about - I have a new bag....

I made this to try to sell at the event last weekend but it fell off my wobbly table into a large pile of liquified sheep droppings (we were in a marquee but the ground was very wet)

This is a pic of the car park before everyone arrived on Saturday morning - a beautiful spot, just very soggy! I tried to clean the bag but it was impossible to get the marks off (basically a really stubborn grass stain!)

Most people probably wouldn't have noticed but I knew and just couldn't bring myself to sell something that was less than perfect...

 so I had to keep the bag for myself..........

 obviously I am gutted! ; )

My Creative Space

Not alot happening here at the moment - just getting ready to cut out a shopping bag. It is very simple. Sometimes simple is best!

 **I originally uploaded this on Thursday but somehow Blogger deleted it! Anybody else experiencing this problem??

Pastie Bag.

I have had these fittings and this fabric for some time and yesterday I had a go at making my first proto-type of a new-style bag. I decided that however it turned out I would keep it for myself to use as a cash pocket and somewhere to keep my phone when doing craft fairs etc.
It's a quirky little bag.....

and it is also double sided........

 with a  bright pink lining.....

I think it will be perfect for what I intend to use it for although I am not sure how many other people would find it that aesthetically pleasing! It is a little like the shape of a Cornish Pastie - as they say "you can take the girl out of the West Country......."

I think the pattern will need a little tweaking but overall I am happy with it - it's one of a kind! Hopefully it will be full to the brim after the weekend!!

No Going Back!

If you have arrived here via my old Typepad blog you will have noticed the radical redesign it has received (when they said downgrade they weren't kidding!!) I must admit to feeling a little sad but life goes on and in the grand scheme of things it is not the end of the world!
So anyway WELCOME TO THE NEW FIELDY BLOG!
Just a quick post today to show off my new style iPhone covers...........

which are basically the same as the old style minus the button and elastic closure and are based on one I made recently for a friend.

One of the nicest things about crafting is being able to make gifts that are tailor made for their recipient. I made this iPhone cosy for my friend Anna’s birthday recently. I already knew she needed a phone cover and she had pointedly remarked how much she loved the Echino fabric (and how she didn't like the elastic/button) so when her birthday came around I knew exactly what to make for her.

The bird motif and the bright pink are very striking and the addition of an emerald green felt lining works really well. 

It hardly took any time to make, I already had the materials and she was thrilled to bits with it – you can’t ask for more than that when gifting something! Plus I liked it so much it encouraged me to make some more in tweed!

Finding my Feet.

Well, I only moved in yesterday and still have quite a few boxes to unpack but feel I am getting there! Moving home is a great opportunity to have a good clear out to make way for new ideas. It is also a good time to decide what my aims and objectives for the rest of the year are in terms of life/creative pursuits - if I put it out there for all to read I will feel compelled to take action. Life is taking a few unexpected twists and turns at the moment and I need to work out what I think about it all. I am compiling a list which I will post at a later date but for now I am putting away the duster and sitting down with a cup of coffee to mull things over.
In the meantime here are a couple of gratuitous pretty pics. One of Dartmoor National Park ....

and one of the snooty Miss Flossie - my friends' lurcher.....

Who do you think you're looking at?

Welcome to my new home.

Hello! Welcome! Pull up a chair and make yourself comfortable. This is my new blog home and although I have started on some of the decoration I still have a long way to go so please bear with me.
I am still getting to grips with Blogger so here goes....
Some new products for the summer - Sunglass Cases/Mini Pouch...
and I have already hit a problem! I will have to open a picasa account!
Back soon!
Here I am again! With pictures!

Hmmmm not sure I like this but will persevere....

These are my new sunglass cases in Harris Tweed and Echino linen. They could also hold a variety of essentials like keys, money, credit cards, phone etc - a handy little pouch!