The Knitting and Stitching Show 2014

There is a great competition over on the Woolly Way blog for 3 pairs of tickets to this years Knitting and Stitching Show! Check out about the show here and the competition here!

Open Studios!

 

As part of Feile na Bealtaine, I'm also organising an Open Day in our newly formed Goat Street Studios! (Thats where I should be, now, tidying up, so I'll keep this short)

Drop into the newly formed Goat Street Studios on the 5th of May, 3pm-6pm

Lots of art activities for all the family.

• ‘Doodle for Dingle’, an art competition for kids. 
• Art & craft demonstrations. 
• A history of the studios and the artists involved. 
• Guided tour of some of the artists’ studios. 

Venice! (Italy Part IV)

Rapallo! (Italy Part III)

Ancient Map of Northern Italy, (with rough indications of towns)

I haven’t really talked about the different kinds of laces I saw yet. Who would have thought there were so many types! We have, here in Ireland, a number of laces, eg Carrickmacross, Kenmare, Youghal etc.  All needlepoint laces, and one crochet lace. Yet the dominant lace abroad, both in the symposium, the museums and with the people I met was bobbin lace. Until now, I have heard about bobbin lace, I even bought some bobbins in an auction a few months back, but I’ve never seen it in action. Now I can say I most definitely have. I can’t get over how popular it is! In fact, Angharad said it was one of the reasons she was delighted both myself and Emer could travel over, because along with Guillermo and his tatting, we were the only ones who were not talking about bobbin lace. I think I was the only person there who has never tried bobbin lace. I’m intrigued!!

Italy! (Part 1)

I’m going to have to split my Italy trip into at least 2 parts. One blog post would be very long and rambling, (as if this one isnt!). Also. for me, there were distinct parts. The 1st part being the Symposium itself, and the 2nd (and possibly 3rd!) part, the excursions afterwards to Gandino, Rapallo and Venice.

Doily Free Zone

I have been invited to attend a symposium in Italy this April. Doily Free Zone, the 1st International Symposium of Young Lace Makers, takes place in Pavia, just south of Milan, coinciding with Milan Design Week. 

Body and Soul Festival 2012

So, my social media skills have been a disaster lately. Sporadically on Facebook and Twitter, barely blogging, its all been far too hectic!

So, a few quick posts over the next week, about what I've been doing. Last weekend, I was crafting at the Body and Soul Festival with the wonderful Nic and Marie of Greencrafts. I know I'm (totally) biased, but the Greencrafts area is always my favourite area of the festival. So, many wonderful, talented crafters. a joy everytime to work beside, especially in times of need; wind, rain, marquees blowing over, broken coffeepots... With pizza and spuds straight out of clay ovens... Heaven!

2011 Kerry Bicycle Festival

Frame: Art Cycles opened in Siamse Tire last night, part of the Kerry Bicycle Festival. I actually got something together for it this year. Anyone who knows me, has immediately said, "did you crochet it"? No, well, not quite...

Heres what I made:







Maybe I take my themes a bit seriously, when they said bike exhibition, I just had to make something out of a bike. (I blame my sister, we've been chatting a lot lately about the merits of inner-tubes). And of course, I had to add a bit of crochet. (The leaves are made with innertubes and crocheted with a fine silver thread.)

If you can't catch the exhibition in Kerry, you'll catch it in Cork at the Cork Cycling Festival,
16th - 24th July 2011

Lace Inspired (...0bsessed...): Part 1

Apart from the Lace Seminar I'm helping to organise (next weekend!!!), I have another reason to be Lace Obsessed, I mean Inspired. As well as doing the Electric Picnic, (hopefully, still TBC!) this year I've been asked to take part in a mini Greencrafts village at the Body and Soul Festival

My theme for EP this year is 'Lace Inspired', and I thought I had the whole summer to be inspired and crafty, but with the Body and Soul in June, the pressure is on to make Lace. Its not the easiest thing to do under pressure, with a short amount of time... I've been gathering up inspirational pictures on Pinterest (lots and lots of pictures). It all began with a Doily DIY Lampshade and some Lace covered Stones And a whole lot of other amazing Lace photos.

So, I started Lace-making. Now when I looked at all the DIY projects, they all either used vintage or cheap handmade doily's. You won't get vintage in Ireland for cheap (or even find any), then I went into a shop and bought 3 small doily's for €1 each. Afterwards the guilt weighted too heavily on me. Just because it is crocheted in Asia, does not mean it is any less handmade, and it appals me to see such work go for so cheap. Each day when I read about the destruction the textile industry is causing to people, to the environment, I feel the need to get more pro-active in my belief in recycling/upcycling, and any other cycling I can think of. So, lots of ideas out the window, because I'll have to make all the lace myself, and I'm not going to buy any new yarn for it. Enough chat, you get the gist, lots of Lace blog posts coming up over the summer.

Here's my first project:

Lace Lampshades!!!
Here's my version of the Doily Lampshade.

The 1st one was made of a series of different doily's, but it took too long to make them, then put them together.

Then I tried a different version crocheting the top and bottom, and then crocheting over the balloon

Still took too long, so I came up with a pattern and new method that is relatively quick and easy!! So here is the final prototype. It didn't dry completely even as it got josled about a bit.

As usual I had to take lots of pics, a I loved the light coming through.

and more pics messing around with the light and colour.

(my favourite kinda blue!!)

I have more plans for this baby, but I guess you just gotta come to The Body and Soul Festival to see the final design...

Body & Soul Festival, JUNE 18th & 19th
Ballinlough Castle,
Clonmellon,
Co.Westmeath.

Cork Textiles Network Conference 2011

www.deirdre-nelson.com

I'm home and finally recovering from a whirlwind trip around the country. First I went down to Cork, to the annual Cork Textile Network Conference. I wasn't going to go, but decided last minute I would. I had seen some of Deirdre Nelsons work online, and was looking forward to hearing her speak, I also managed to book the last spot in her workshop.

The lectures were great, Deirdre Nelson, Diane Harrison and Aileen Johnson. Then after a beautiful (and cheap!) lunch, it was into the workshop with Deirdre Nelson. Well... what can I say. You have to meet this lady to truly appreciate her work, her humour, her thought processes... her way of teaching.

Fantastic is the only way to describe it. Probably the most un-productive workshop I've ever done, in terms of what I made, (maybe, just maybe, I was yapping too much..), but mentally, it was astounding. I think maybe the best workshop I have ever been to, and the most enjoyable. Pure stitching soul food... (with a bit of mackerel, very unsubtly thrown in..)

At the end of the day there was supposed to be a show and tell, but we figured we'd been doing more telling than had stuff to show, so we skived off. At that stage all I had made was a shower cap for a rubber duck... You had to be there to appreciate it...

Heres what I made on day 2:

and a few pics of what others in the class made....

I think everyone enjoyed the class immensely. There was a great mix of felters, stitchers, and of course, crocheters! Deidre is doing a residency in the Sirius Arts Centre in Cobh, Contemporary Souvenirs. She is looking for people to partake, but I will put that in another post. It definitely worth its own post...

Here's some other work by Deirdre

Dingle Stitchling Group!

For some reason, whenever I type out stitching, it comes out as stitchling. Every time, without fail, I have to go back and re-spell it. But today I'll gladly say stitchling, because in less than an hour, is the inaugural meeting of a new Dingle Stitching Group in The Goat Street Cafe.

The Goat Street Cafe
Mondays: 10am - 12pm

Tadhg needs a new hat, so I finally will get it together to sit down and make it for him. I'll be bringing a few spare hooks/neeedles and yarn, for anyone that comes along and fancies joining in..

OOPS!

Got my dates wrong, meeting starts next week, 8th November! Phew, gives me time to actually think about what to make rather than throwing a few balls of yarn in a bag...