Art + Craft Archives - Page 6 of 21

I Love You More Than…

January 30, 2012 By Paola 3 Comments

I was checking out my dear friend Helen’s blog over the weekend and saw that she’d posted a few hand-stamped Valentines cards in her Folksy shop.

The cards themselves are simple and cute, but what makes them extra special is that you can get Helen to personalize the message for you, and suddenly a world of possibilities open up to either compliment your loved one, or damn them with faint praise.

Popular messages so far apparently include

I love you more than a lie-in
I love you more than my iPhone
I love you more than Sherlock
I love you more than I ought to

I’m thinking of getting the Husband either ‘I love you more than yarn’ or ‘I love you more than Sherlock’ (best TV EVAH!) or possibly ‘I love you more than Parmesan Cheese’ but maybe I would not be being entirely honest.

What would you put on yours? (Let me know in the comments, so Helen can get some more ideas)

In related news, our cats decided to send you all an early Valentine

Hotel Pelirocco – Knitted Hotel Room

January 28, 2012 By Paola 9 Comments

I nearly put my back out straining to love this hotel room, which has received a bunch of publicity in recent months, but somehow I just CAN’T.

The hip Hotel Pelirocco in Brighton commissioned fibre artist Kate Jenkins of knitwear and crochet brand Cardigan to create a knitted hotel room, and this is what she came up with.

The ‘Do Knit Disturb’ room features a hand-crocheted bedspread and curtains, knitted cushions, a crocheted lamp and telephone and other whimsical crocheted artifacts appropriate to the seaside location, such as seagull soft toys, a knitted picture of fish and chips above the bed and a crocheted full English breakfast.

I don’t like it because it just seems so expected somehow – all cosy and grannyish and whimsical and about as sexy as a pair of well-worn bedroom slippers. Heck, the room is even a tiny single room because of course someone who liked knitting would never have a boyfriend.

When you think of some of the cool and innovative knitted homewares other craftspeople are making out there, I can’t help thinking that they really missed an opportunity to do something contemporary, textured and elegant; something modern and abstract or even something downright sumptuous and glamorous.

What do you think? Do you like it? Would you stay there? Is it the best job they could have done with knitting and crochet? What sort of thing would you have done?

Happy Keyboard

January 11, 2012 By Paola 2 Comments

This gorgeous craft project by MiniFanFan popped up in my Twitter stream last week courtesy of Nicole from Making It Lovely – guaranteed to appeal both to my love of washi tape and my love of pretty keyboards.

I think it’s gorgeous and I would love to emulate it, if only I had a cool small white keyboard and and not an ugly black ergonomic monstrosity. But I dunno, this might even be worth suffering the RSI.

Fortunately I can continue to indulge my love of pretty tape. This bowl of lovelies comes from Lotta Jansdotter’s new shop. And yes it is an Instagram photo.

Adventures in Knitting – Big Snowy Owl

December 31, 2011 By Paola 12 Comments

Thought you might like to see the Minx’s knitted Christmas present – that you managed to guess so cunningly - in all its final glory.

Snowy owl on snowy balcony in snowy Whistler

I have to say that this was a rather frustrating knit.

Being my usual organised self, I’d left it until Christmas Eve to finish the top of the head and the face when disaster struck and I ran out of white yarn before I’d even managed to finish the ears. This despite having purchased the recommended yarn, used the recommended size needles and knitted to the recommended gauge.

So I had to rip the head back, miss out some rounds without giving him too truncated an appearance and reknit. This time I managed to scrape through to the end, though I still didn’t have enough white yarn to add a white circle to the eyes as in the pattern. You can imagine how thrilled I was by this at 3 am on Christmas morning.

All, however, is well that ends well. The owl is gorgeously soft, smooshy and snuggly and big enough to make for very satisfying cuddles (here he is sitting next to a standard-sized cushion). The Minx is also very fond of ‘Owly’, which makes a change.

More details on my Ravelry page. You can find the pattern here courtesy of the Purl Bee. I DON’T recommend using their suggested yarn though.

Can You Guess What It Is Yet?

December 10, 2011 By Paola 2 Comments

Wow! You guys are good. Too good in fact. I was hoping to keep the tease going a little bit longer at least. However, my undying admiration goes to Stephanie and Rebecca who both guessed that it was the Purl Bee big snowy owl. Oh and please don’t tell the Minx.

I just hope I can do this one justice. It looks like one of those projects where it’s all about getting the face right. I’ll carry on pasting up progress reports.

In other competition news, I realise that I forgot to draw the ‘Edible Seattle’ prize. The winner is Dana. Congratulations! I’ll be emailing you shortly so we can get your ‘Edible Seattle’ subscription to you.

Oh and look for another giveaway on Monday.

Picturing the Holidays – You Hold the Key

December 8, 2011 By Paola 1 Comment

For this prompt I had to photograph something that helps me to slow down, take a deep breath and enjoy the moment.

And it will come as no surprise to any of you that I chose knitting as my thing. I love the satisfaction of seeing the puzzle of stitches work itself out on my needles, of watching yarn forwards and knit togethers line up where they’re supposed to as a pattern slowly emerges before my eyes.

And then when the puzzle is figured out, it becomes a meditation. Each stitch pattern ebbs and flows in its own rhythms and my mind ebbs and flows with it. And if you take things one little stitch at a time; if you rip back, correct your mistakes and press on; if you’re patient and persevering and just keep going, however daunting a project might seem; one day you will be able to look back on your work and see that you have created something beautiful.

Can You Tell What It Is Yet?

December 1, 2011 By Paola 1 Comment

After last year’s tiny little needles and tiny little stitches for Carmen Banana, I am treating myself to chunky size 15 needles and chunky weight yarn to make the Minx’s knitted Christmas present.

I’ll post regular updates before the big day and the first person to guess what it is wins my undying admiration.

Things I Am Loving–Cross Stitch iPhone Cover

November 17, 2011 By Paola 3 Comments

I’ve only ever done cross-stitch once before, when I decided to make a sampler from a kit for a friend’s baby, because it looked like it would be quicker than knitting a sweater. Yeah right. I just hope that the cross stitch fabric wasn’t somehow imbued with all the cursing that occurred in its presence.

And yet, and yet. These fabulous iPhone covers from fabulous NYC yarn shop Purl Soho are enough to make me want to pick up the cross-stitch needle again. Only the thought of having to buy lots of different expensive packs of embroidery thread is preventing me.

If you’re braver than I am, full instructions are on the Purl Bee blog here. The iPhone covers themselves are available to buy in the PurlSoho shop here. The only problem is choosing what colour to get.

Lest We Forget

November 11, 2011 By Paola 1 Comment

Every year around this time I get sad that I can’t buy poppies in the US.

In the UK it’s a huge big deal, with poppies for sale in every public building and in many shops, worn by every public figure, sold out on the streets and laid in wreaths around the war memorials which are in every city, town and village. Even schools get in on the act and since the donation amount is not fixed, ever since I can remember I was supposed to hand over a little of my pocket money to buy a poppy.

So this year I decided to crochet poppies for the family. I used this pattern with full details on my Ravelry page. The shape is based on the paper poppies for sale on behalf of ex-servicemen and women in the UK.

It was a good excuse to start talking to the Minx about the horrors of war and the debt we owe our soldiers and she went off to school this morning wearing her poppy with pride. We even read In Flanders Fields together, though I suspect most of it went way over her head.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields

Adventures in Knitting–Clues 4 and 5

November 6, 2011 By Paola 2 Comments

I finished my shawl.

I’ve been knitting this as part of a ‘Mystery Knit Along’ on Ravelry with a different ‘clue’ released every ten days or so. To be perfectly honest I don’t think I would have knitted this if I’d known what it looked like beforehand , it’s a bit too baroque and lacy for me, though I do like how it works with the coral and turquoise beads. I would have at least gone with a smaller needle or thicker yarn as it’s definitely too loose and webby.

Still, I did learn that it’s possible to knit up something rather fast, if, instead of just playing with it in desultory fashion in front of the TV, you REALLY focus on progressing from step to step.

Clue 1.

Clue 2.

Clue 3.

Here’s the final pattern, if you’d like to knit this. The design is called Polaris and is inspired by a starry night which is rather lovely.

I think that’s me done with mystery knit alongs for the time being. It was far too terrifying not knowing where this was going.