Woodland: inspired beauty, mystery and love of nature

It is that time of the year again. The boots are coming out with the soft woollens and cosy knits. I have to admit I love this time of year. I often find renewed energy and focus to buckle down on projects that perhaps I have neglected to the warm sun and light evenings.

Is it because of the colors I see in nature that I tend to turn my wardrobe into browns and reds? I cannot really say, but I find even in my weaving I want bold rich earthy tones.

 

This year I have found myself thinking more of the woodland theme and so I have made two particular pieces which reflect my love of the woods and also the mystery and romance it still holds for me.

The first is a badger inspired hooded scarf.

This hand woven hooded scarf is made from wool and alpaca mixed yarns in stripes of grey, black and cream. It is very cosy and soft because of the alpaca wool mix. In addition the hood is lined for extra comfort with lovely, soft, black jersey knit fabric to help combat cold. The lining also adds more 'structure' to the hood so that it gathers nicely when down and it holds shape when up. To the ‘brim’ of the hood has been added another layer of stiffened liner so that it does not fall and keeps its shape. All of the features to the hood makes it a little more 'damp proof’ for British Winters and makes it a unique piece to add to your wardrobe.
I am donating 10% from the sale of this scarf to stop the badger culls in the UK.
I really wanted to capture a bit of the spirit of the badger in this piece. I kept thinking of something which could be practically worn, but would also be a good representation of this popular totem animal.

The second is a Little Red Riding Hood inspired hooded scarf.

This handwoven hooded scarf is made from cotton and wool in 4 shades of brilliant red. The dark red wool is vintage, hand-spun wool from a lovely batch I purchased from and estate sale a number of years back; it has an amazing deep scarlet color and lovely roughly hewn texture while keeping the softness of wool. I added 3 cotton yarns to the mix in additional shades of red ranging from fiery to soft because I wanted the fabric to have the rich yet varied look of a garment woven a long time ago. I really wanted to create a practical yet romantic rendition of a hood for Little Red Riding Hood.
The hood is lined for extra comfort with lovely, soft, deep red jersey knit fabric to help combat cold. The lining also adds more 'structure' to the oversized hood so that it gathers nicely when down and it holds shape when up. The ‘brim’ of the hood has been stiffened with another liner so that it does not fall and keeps its swooping shape. 
I added a little silver wolf charm hanging from the tassel in the back as a small detail to round the piece off and add to the romance of this piece. I again wanted to have a piece which really is practical and yet ultimately is closely tied to the magic and mystery of the fairytale.

Both pieces can be found in my Etsy shop or in a special showcase page on FB. 

Inspired by something you have seen? Message me on FaceBook.

Getting Ready for a Strawberry Tea... (Preparing for special auction to benefit Breast Cancer awareness)

A group of us are making up a few items to auction off to benefit Breast Cancer Care.

So many of us have been touched by cancer of one kind or another. As we all know it's important to do a little something now and again to help those in need. After chatting with a few of my friends who also create beautiful items we decided to run a little auction. Link to the online event.

This is one of the items that I have made for the auction....

A woven jute square with crocheted edges.

I tied the corners up with bright red coarse wool and added a heart.

White spotty heart as made by JellyBean Home Gifts

 This is the finished basket. 

5x5x1.25inches. 

Ideal for keys, buttons, change, and other small bits and bobs.

Finished little basket.

 If you'd like to see other trinket baskets and scarves I've been making pop over to LoomyBin. I have lots of lovely woven items to inspire and delight.

Glorious Day (A peek at the weaving on my loom)

view from the left (I had stopped at the second bead at the last picture)

View from the right. (Two more big beads added and a string of small seed beads)

The 'whole' as completed so far.

 To see more of my work pop over to LoomyBin.

June 1st B is for.... (Beads, Blue and Beginnings)

I just started working on another bright piece with beads.
I love beads...little shimmery bits catching and reflecting light which you can hold in your hand...

I'm going to call this scarf Glorious Day; bright sun in the turquoise blue sky.

To see more of my work pop into LoomyBin; I love to meet new people.

May 24th GO (for a walk)

This week I've been out with the girls enjoying the sunshine and weather. We've had lots of mini adventures before and after nursery doing things usually kept for non-school days.
My favorite was when we went for a walk in the woods. I love the way light filters through the leaves on even overcast days...

May 22nd Change

A wish for change

Every penny can help

It does not always happen by itself

May 21st I Care About This (finding a cure for -SMA -Spinal Muscular Atrophy)

We all know life is amazing. We’ve heard it a million times. Whether you see it through the miracle of religion or science it is a wondrous mystery. And it is brought all the clearer to focus when you get a glimpse into other lives.  Life is so diverse and so filled with strength of character which those experiencing it often see as so little while the rest of shake our heads and cannot help but admire...

There is an illness called SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy). It is the number one genetic killer of young children. One in every 40 people unknowingly carries the gene responsible for SMA. Researchers estimate that in as little as 5 years a viable treatment or cure could be found if sufficient resources are provided.

I donate some of the profits from the items I weave to help fund research through the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation (GSF) because to me this is a cause worth fighting.  This is because my friends the Zahn family - Barb, Noel, and little Lucy - are battling with type 1 SMA (the most severe) daily.

Lucy’s parents are what I think of as ‘extreme’ parents. Extreme parents are parents/ guardians of special kids.  They are extreme parents because they are pushed to the edge of the parenting spectrum. They have to deal daily with circumstances most cannot comprehend. They have to make decisions for their dear ones which are scary and nearly surreal for parents on the other end of the spectrum.  I have come in contact with a number of other families with children with disabilities, from fairly light to acute and many of them are extreme parents. I am always amazed at how similar, and very different at the same time, our worries are.  I want to say a very heartfelt ‘hurrah’ and ‘I’m with you’ (as much as I can be) to those of you who daily are out there fighting the ultimate battles for your loves.  Just like you I will ‘Never Give Up’ in my hope of finding the cures needed. My support and my admiration of you and your children will never cease.

I urge everyone to find a cause dear to your own heart and fight the good fight for it. No one may ever thank you personally, but the thanks will be those that were whispered by the mind of people who were in great need; your extra strength allowed them to get through to another day.

If you'd like to see some of the scarves I'm selling to help the cause come over to LoomyBin.

May 17th Season (Spring)

I love looking out in the garden. There are so many different Spring flowers growing. Often it's flowers that inspire me the most because of their beautiful colors, shapes and textures.


Here's a few flowers from my garden which may inspire you.

If you want to see some of my scarves inspired by flower pop over to LoomyBin

May 15th 7 O'clock (weaving while they watch)

This is the project on the loom today.

I always love when the light comes in from the windows and through the reed onto the strings... So while the kids watch their morning TV... I took some pictures.

For more weaving pictures or to see the scarves I've woven up come over to LoomyBin.

May14th Need (more Blue)

There's lots of things I need... sleep, time, money for me and to give away, a cure for SMA and child illnesses, string... but in the long run what I always need is more Blue.
This is code for me needing more love, light, inspiration, patience and beauty in my life. I often feel at a loss when my life gets caught up in the 'everyday.' I begin longing for things I cannot have or will take too long to accomplish. I know we all feel like this sometimes. It's a matter of finding a little something which gets us through the day and keeps us holding on until the time is right to do more. It's blue things for me... 

So here, for you, I have a little more blue with the hope that you can find those things that you really need too. x

Blue of the sky accented by the red leaves

More blue weedy flowers

If you want to see some more blue things which inspire:
http://pinterest.com/LoomyBinScarves/

Or pop over to LoomyBin to see some of my scarves and handwoven items.