Buzz and Lolas Wardrobe

Photos by Hilary Glynn 

Over the past few weeks I've put the crochet hook down and turned my attention to the sewing machine again. I recently ordered a whole stack of gorgeous fabric and have been having fun with it. I just finished this little fabric neckerchief collar for Buzz. The neckerchief material is 'Meadow Aroma Creme' from the Floressence collection for Art Gallery Fabrics, I think it's beautiful. I also love the shiny buckles, so much nicer than the regular plastic ones. Its nice to be able to create something like this as I find the variety of collars in regular pet shops are pretty boring and either a choice of plain and sensible or something with cartoon characters on it, neither of which appeal to me for Buzz and Lola.

Photos by Hilary Glynn 

I've also been making some ribbon leads and collars. This one uses beautiful vintage rose print ribbon by Berties Bows. I made it for my friends mums dog who owns a gorgeous chocolate lab by the name of 'Belle'. I hope she likes it!

Crocheted double bed throw

I was delighted to give this blanket to my friend Lindsay today. Lindsay asked me to make her a blanket for a double bed throw about a month ago.  She wanted something with navy and cream and a dash of color so this is what  I came up with. I used bamboo cotton again ( my favorite at the moment) in navy, violet, gold, oatmeal and cream. I'm really pleased how it turned out and I would really like to make something similar for my own bed. It may technically be summer in Ireland but it seems the sunshine hasn't got the memo, I won't be putting the blanky's away anytime soon!

'Dream Creative' Irish Craft Retreat

I would absolutely love to be able to go to one of the Squam retreats, they look amazing, always hosted in beautiful places with top talents teaching a variety of crafty skills and giving you the chance to get away, relax and unwind. I’m surprised and disappointed that there are not more creative retreats in Ireland. We have so many beautiful spots around the country that would be perfect creative havens to host such an event. There is also a wealth of home grown talent that could teach an array of skills and techniques. I’m sure I am not the only one looking for something like this in Ireland, I’d say there is definitely a market for it not to mention the interest there may be from international creative junkies. I have found one or two camps for specific skills like drawing and glass work/ceramics but not many multidisciplinary. Perhaps more exist that I am not aware of (please, please leave me a comment if you know of any). So in the absence of anything real I have decided to dream up my own creative Irish retreat, hmmm that sounds like a good name ‘Dream Creative’ here we go…

LOCATION

It would be located somewhere like Bellinter House, Co. Meath, where there are lots of quirky rooms in a lovely woodland setting on the banks of the River Boyne complete with a lovely Spa to relax the body after a hard day of crafting!!!

WORKSHOPS & TUTORS

Each day would be filled with workshops to choose from covering a variety of arts and crafts hosted by talented artists and designers. There are endless possibilities but here is a small selection of those on my wish list.......

PRINTING &TEXTILES

Image Src (from left to right) Row1: Jennifer Slattery, Erin Paisley, Sanna Annukka,  Skinnylaminx, Row 2: Stephanie Lau, Row3: Aimee Ray, Emma Lamb, Katrina Rodabaugh, Fawn, Jenny Hart, Polka&Bloom, Damn Fine Print

PRINTING

Irish/Based in Ireland: Fan Regan, The Printing Fawn; Eric Greene and Kim Willoughby, Damn Fine Print Studio
International: Sanna Annukka
I'd really like to learn about the different methods of printing and have a go myself. I met Fan Regan briefly at a design fair, she creates beautiful original fine art prints and takes pride in printing each one by hand. You can find out where to buy Fans work and more about her design process on her website.
I only recently stumbled upon the Damn Fine Print Studio via twitter and then saw some of their prints last weekend at the Dublin Flea Market. Damn Fine Print is a screen printing studio that offers affordable access to equipment for artists to use as well as a service to produce prints. According to their website they   will also be running workshops so hopefully I'll get the chance to sign up. I've blogged many times about Sanna Annukka, she creates beautiful designs inspired by Scandinavian  folklore. You can see the print I was lucky enough to get for my wedding anniversary here. I would be so happy to meet her, she now produces all her screen prints personally by hand.

TEXTILES
Crochet 

International: Stephanie Lau All about Ami; Emma Lamb

I love to crochet and it would fab to meet Stephanie and Emma whom I greatly admire and have the chance to learn from their vast hooky knowledge. Stephanie creates amazing Amigurumi creatures and shares lots of tutorials on her lovely blog; she was recently featured in Simply Crochet Magazine and she shared a gorgeous Spring Bunny pattern on CRAFT. Emma creates beautiful vintage and retro inspired crochet using lovely colors. She was recently featured in several publications including Mollie Makes and UK Handmade. You can read more about her in her Etsy Seller Feature and on her blog and purchase some of her work from her Etsy Shop. 

Textile Crafts

International: Katrina Rodabaugh; Erin Paisley
These two ladies have crazy talent in a variety of crafts. Katrina is an artist and writer with skills in textiles, poetry, printmaking, installation, and photography. She recently hosted an online textile based course with Lisa Solomon (another great artist) called Interwoven, it looks right up my street so I hope to take part next time it runs. She sells some of her creations in her Etsy shop Made by Katrina and you can read more about her work on her blog.  Erin is a self-taught artist who paints, crochets and embroiders. She makes the coolest little amigurumi and plushy creatures, you can see a glimpse in the collage, I absolutely love them. Erin has two Etsy shops one for her textiles Fox in the Woods and the other for her prints Erin Paisley and you can follow along her adventures on her blog

Embroidery 
International: Aimee Ray  Little Dear Tracks; Carina Envoldsen-Harris from Polka and Bloom; Jenny Hart Sublime Stitching Another love of mine, artists like Aimee, Carina and Jenny  inspired me to get back into embroidery in the past few years with their modern approach. Aimee Ray has published several books including Doodle Stitching Motif Collection which I'm happy to have at home and also sells her work in her littledear Etsy shop. Jenny Hart has also published several books including Embroidered Effects which I also have, (you can see one of the designs I completed from it here) and sells her own range of embroidery supplies in her online shop. Carina sells her unique patterns in her etsy shop and her first book 'Stitched Blooms' is due to be published in autumn of this year. You can find out more about each of them in their blogs (linked above).

Textile Design
Irish/Based in Ireland: Jennifer Slattery
International: Heather Moore Skinny Laminx
From initial sketches to the finished fabric-how does this all happen? I'd love to find out. Jennifer Slattery originally trained as a graphic designer and later returned to study textile designs. She now combines her skills to create unique textile products featuring digitally printed imagery. Jennifer's products are stocked in stores all over the country and you can also buy from her online shop. I have blogged about Skinnylaminx before, owner Heather Moore is a self-taught illustrator and designer. She works from her shop/studio in Cape Town and primarily creates fabric and paper designs. Heather has a great eye for styling which you can see by the pictures of her shop set up and her online issuu catalogue. You can buy Heathers' products online from her Etsy shop.

JEWELLERY & PHOTOGRAPHY

Img Src from left to right: Row1 Eva Dorney, Rangoli, Allegria Photography, Row 2 White Tea Photography, Sharon Montrose ( Images are copyrighted by Sharon Montrose Photographs, LLC. All rights reserved), Chupi, Alan Ardiff

Jewellery Design
Irish/Based in Ireland:Aisling Nelson, Rangoli; Alan Ardiff; Chupi Sweetman-Pell Chupi; Eva Dorney 
Like graphic design I have very little idea on the actual processes and techniques used in the different forms of jewellery design. I met Aisling (virtually) last year through blogging and have recently had the chance to meet up in person which has been really cool. Aisling designs beautiful bridal jewellery and hair accessories from her studio in The Design Tower. She recently designed the jewellery for a beautiful themed Irish wedding shoot which was inspired by The Gathering, you can read about this and more about her work and inspirations on the Rangoli blog. I have admired Alan Ardiffs' jewellery for some time now, I haven't managed to get my hands on some yet (more hints at the hubby must be needed), his studio is also in The Design Tower. Alan creates unique quirky jewellery and is also talented in painting and sculpture. His jewellery is available to purchase on his online shop. I got a gorgeous Chupi bird necklace from my mum for Christmas, it is very special to me and I would love to meet Chupi Sweetman-Pell and hear about her inspirations and design processes. I was introduced to Eva Dorney recently and her bespoke jewellery is gorgeous, it would be lovely to work with her to make a piece from scratch that's uniquely yours. She also owns 'Clasped' a new line of jewellery that works with interchangeable clasps and strands.

Photography

Irish/Based in Ireland: Aga Maru White Tea Photography  Aine Teahan Allegria Photography

International: Jeanette Lunde ByFryd
I (virtually) met Aga of White Tea Photography online some years ago in my previous blogging life as Blacklashes, Aga creates beautiful wedding and engagement photography, full of fun and whimsical style to capture the real feel of the day. Aga also has personal website AgaMaruPhotography where she shares some other photography projects that she has worked on.
I recently met Aine from Allegria Photography through a blogging friend. Herself and her husband focus on baby/kids photography and pride themselves on taking beautiful natural shots in a relaxed enjoyable atmosphere. I found Jeanette Lundes work through Decor 8 blog and was lucky enough to take some classes she taught on Photography and Styling in BYW 2.0. Her photography is full of light and subtle detail. You can check out her work at BYFRYD

ILLUSTRATION

Img Src from left to right:Chris Haughton, Leigh Viner, Gemma Correll, Alan Nagle, Lynn MacPherson

Irish/Based in Ireland: Chris Haughton; Lynn MacPherson; Alan Nagle Yellow Hammer Prints

International: Gemma Correll; Leigh Viner
I really have no drawing skills and would love to learn some basic techniques. I'm also sort of fascinated by graphic illustration and have absolutely no idea how it's done so I'd really like to see how the process happens. Chris Haughton is an illustrator and designer. He has created a popular series of children's picture books and also contributes to fair trade company People Trees. Lynn MacPherson is an illustrator and designer. Her brand Salty Philip aims to produce environmentally responsible accessories, prints and cards. You can purchase some of products in her Etsy shop. I recently bought one in The Loft Market for my craft room wall and I love it! Leigh Viner is a talented fashion illustrator, her work has been featured in numerous publications and she has worked on loads of excited projects and collaborations including one for Lady Gaga and Etsy. I am a real fan of her work and have two of her prints already; I doubt they will be the last. Gemma Correll is a cartoonist, illustrator and writer probably best known for her whimsical Pug cartoons. She is one of my favourite people to follow on Instagram with snaps of her sketches and lots of her Pug furbaby. Gemma recently released the book 'A Pugs Guide to Etiquette' essential reading for pug and dog lovers alike. Alan Nagle is an illustrator and owner of Yellowhammer illustrations. Using geometric shapes and bold colour Alan has produced a contemporary collection of nature inspired prints (as well as many other collections). You can purchase his work in his online Etsy shop .

PRICE:
Affordable to regular joe's like me!-I don’t know how this would be possible with such a line-up of talents and beautiful location but hey- this is my dream!!!

Are you living in Ireland/Europe and also looking for something like this? Have you attended any lovely crafty retreats? Who would be teaching on your dream craft retreat? Let me know I’d love to hear your ideas/experiences

Cashmere Merino Silk Baby Blanket

Photos by Hilary Glynn

Congratulations to my good friend Barbara on the arrival of her first baby 'Henry'. I was very happy that Henry was indeed a 'Henry' and not a 'Henrietta' as I had made this snugly soft baby blanket in preparation for the arrival and although the colours are pretty universal I think the teal green appears quite blue and gives the blanket more of a boyish feel overall. It's a granny stripe pattern with a shell edging and made of a luxurious cashmere, merino, silk blend. I hope little Henry enjoys snuggling up in it.

Crocheted Lounging Blanket

Photos:Top left by Holly Becker for Decor8; All others taken by Hilary Glynn

I've just finished making this granny stripe lap blanket and I'm really pleased with how it turned out. It was inspired by a photo from Holly Becker of Decor 8. I loved the way the pink flowers looked in the brass colored vase. The blanket is made from lovely soft bamboo cotton (apart from the metallic yarn in the border). It took a bit of searching to find the metallic yarn but I eventually found it tucked away in Winnies Craft Cafe, a fab shop in Booterstown (Dublin) that also sells online.

So what do you think? do you like the color combination? 

Stephanie Levy's Creative Courage

At the end of last year I took part in Stephanie Levy’s Creative Courage course. Now I have to admit that I didn’t have as much time as I would have liked to dedicate to the course but I still really enjoyed it. The first thing to say about this course is that it is set in an extremely friendly and open atmosphere. Stephanie comes across as a very genuine, caring person who really wants to help others to realize their potential. To me the main objective of the course seemed to be getting your mind and your body into a good space so that your creative ideas can flow and you are then physically capable of transforming them into something tangible. It is not a ‘how to’ type course. For this reason I think the course is particularly suited to people with a creative business who have maybe become a bit stuck and dragged down into the ‘business’ of business and have lost the enjoyment or inspiration in their craft. For those of us like myself who are hobby crafters and/or have ambitions to turn their hobby into something more then there is definitely still merit in taking the course and I can certainly recommend it.

What I have learned over the past few months which relates to the message from Stephanie's course is that the best thing you can do is ‘something’ just do it, do something, take some sort of action, they say actions speak louder than words well actions speak louder than that voice inside your head too, so if you are overwhelmed with thoughts and ideas the best thing to do is to pick one of them and physically do something, balance out your thoughts with some actions… make a start…

Thank you to Stephanie, I wish her continued success.

Crochet Granny Stripe Blanky

I'm delighted to have finished my Granny Stripe blanket just in time for the arrival of the snow here in Dublin. I really enjoyed making this, its so easy, the perfect project for hooking along to while snuggled up beside the fire. I think I will definitely be making more of these!