rockpool candy

Mountains and lakes, oh my!

Last week I was lucky enough to have a whittling lesson with Jimbo www.jimbosfrontporch.com
What a gift! I've already spent many a happy hour on the shores of Lake Tahoe, sun on my face, snow on the mountains around me, knife in my hand, creating my own hooks. This one is a piece of lake driftwood and termites have carved it's surface in patterns reminiscent of the wood carving on Vikingsholm in Emerald Bay (google it!) just across the lake from where I carved this.
There's talk of jimbo giving official crochet hook whittling classes. As soon as he does, I urge you to sign up pronto. For his company as much as his teaching. You'll not regret it.

Cross state, upstate, down state

1115 miles in a fortnight.

Illinois, Indiana, ohio, pennsylvania, new York - we drove in 'em all.
But the best mode of transport so far?
A north tonowandan carousel horse.
We've met Wurlitzer music roll artisans.
Carved pumpkins with friends.
And be immersed in university culture in the coolness of canton.
Now on to Portland Oregon.
The adventure contines.

Twisted Halloween

For a perfectly surreal Halloween you will need:

One chunk of Jimbo genius, carved into a HUGE crochet hook.

A dolly mix of me.

 A splash of Crochet Liberation Front.

Mash liberally in a Twisted Yarn store.

And what do you get?

So what are you waiting for?

Come join us!

Artist in Residence

So for the last three weeks, I've been lucky enough to be staying at the most beautiful of schools, Shiplake College,

where the hub and I scored the deal of being artists in residence.

Set on the River Thames, it's like Harry Potter with rowing facilities. (Their Dep.Head is an Olympian Gold Medal Rower, don't you know...)

As you can see, the beautiful surroundings, wall-to-wall sunshine, misty mornings and general eagerness to explore and learn at the college were hellish....

With the luxury of an orchard all to myself, I was able to while away the hours crocheting on the trees,

using neolithic principles to build a loom

and creating a 12th Century-inspired spinning wheel from 21st Century junk.

I span Herdwick on the newly-built wheel. The resulting cob made my heart leap, as it mirrored the huge cones on a nearby fir. Pleasure perfection.

I ventured into new realms of natural graffiti, creating leaf stencils

and veneer marquetry to reinstall in nature.

Along with students, we explored the space amongst the trees using threads and fibres,

then challenged our egos by taking them down, often without even a photographic record. (These are two of the few taken.)

Ask yourself, as an artist, do you need everyone to know that you created a piece, or was the process satisfaction enough? Ironic to discuss on a public blog, but I for one, do not show and tell a great majority of my work. Sometimes it's a secret between me and the piece.

So the adventures continue to bloom and blossom, not just in England, but in just a fortnight across the pond, in the USA, too. Again with the hub, I will be exploring all these ideas and more, with the students of St Lawrence, Canton, NY. I am beside myself with excitement and cannot wait to meet them all. I hope they're looking forward to it, as much as me.

Alternative Fete

Stuck in London and craving a bit o' the countreeeeee, my lovers? Well, this weekend, the Southbank is being transformed into a village fete. I'm not sure if there will be hoopla and throwing sponges at the vicar, but, as a Dooorset gurl myself, I'll certainly be there, along with my very talented friend, Julie-Anne of Curious Tales. (Seamstress of my famous corset and bustle.)

My fibre movement, Let Me Ease Your Day, will feature, and I'll be hawking my spinning batts and Curious Tales' will be selling her fab designer clothing.

For full details, read the press release below.

See you there,

x

Watch this Space Festival, National Theatre, South Bank, London SE1

Saturday 26th September: 12pm - 7pm

Sunday 27th September: 12pm - 3pm 

 

For the second year in a row, innovative live art and performance company, Home live art, presents a riotous weekend of artist’s, craft and produce stalls, performances and participatory activities which re-interpret the traditional village fete for the urban environment of the National Theatre.

At 12pm each day the Fete will be opened by a special Guest Star from the National Theatre….

 

Saturday will revolve around a vibrant stage programme - including a mass ukulele jam, contemporary barn dance, participatory skipping & hoola hooping and a spectacular bird of prey demonstration – alongside a wealth of fun, participatory fete based games and interactions that bring our traditional craft making practices into the 21st Century. The Legendary Miss Amy Lame invites you to make a pom pom for peace, while you can brush up on your knitting, sewing and craft skills with The Make Lounge, I Knit London and Rockpool Candy, as well as play fete games with The Society of Wonders and sample beautiful cupcakes and herbal teas. There will also be handmade toys and crafts using recycled and found fabrics.

 

Sunday's lunchtime programme will mark the seasonal move towards Autumn and Harvest with a series of innovative food and horticulture projects where visitors can share in the art of preparing, cooking and tasting to the sounds of anarchic Balkan beats from the Transsiberian March Band, ending with the fabulous School of Dance, where the audience can learn the Samba alongside the legendary Miss High Leg Kick and Boogaloo Stu.

Food artist Prudence Statie will be sculpting in chocolate, whilst Sharon Baker invites you to vote for your favourite bread breast bun, alongside cup cakes, home made jams & preserves, and innovative food interactions from performance company Curious and artists Lisa Cheung, Miche Fabre Lewin and Sophie Herxheimer.

 

Participants: The Benoit Viellefon Band, Bo-Peep Kids, Blue Field, Chrissy Cromer, Curious Tales, Cut a Shine, The Dulwich Ukulele Club, Golden Co-operative, The Hawk Experience, Hedgerow Provender, Miss High Leg Kick and Boogalou Stu's School of Dance, I Knit London, Lisa Cheung, Liz Bentley, The Make Lounge, MC Paul L Martin, Mary Mathieson, Miche Fabre Lewin, Peggy's Cupcakes, Pom Pom International (Amy Lame & Shane Waltener), Prudence Staite, Rock a Hula! Rockpool Candy, Roots & Shoots, Ros Badger, Sharon Baker, Simon Withers & Chris Jones, Skip Sisters, Skip Theatre, Society of Wonders, Sophie Herxheimer, Sugargrain, The Transsiberian March Band.

 

Notes:

home live art: ‘Home maybe where the heart is, but it is also where innovation takes root and thrives’ Lyn Gardner, The Guardian. Launched in 1999, home live art is a dynamic team of creative producers with a passion for presenting live art and performance work in site specific contexts. www.homeliveart.com

Watch this Space Festival is The National Theatre’s annual summer festival of outdoor theatre, circus, music, dance, comedy and film on the South bank from 1^st July until 27^th September. http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/wts

For further information or images please contact: home live art: Laura Godfrey-Isaacs laura@homeliveart.com, Tel. 07957 565336. National Theatre: Caroline Ansdell cansdell@nationaltheatre.org.uk Tel. 0207 452 3231

I Knit (Dirty) Weekend

So there's a credit crunch and the summer's been crappy.
But it's sparkly in my studio.
I'm carding batts ready for the adventurous spinners who visit my stall at I Knit Weekend.

There's a saucy 'Dirty Weekend' range with lace and silky rags carded in.

A Gold-Rimmed Teacup range - some of which come in a bundle with your own vintage bone china cup, saucer and plate. (Well, who doesn't like a mid afternoon treat whilst spinning?)

And a special VEGAN range - all non-animal fibre blends. Martha Stewart Blues is my favourite....

Don't worry - not everything is sparkly. I've got tonnes of tweedy blends and colourful squishiness packed ready to go-go.

And because we're all on tight budgets this year, I've made up some bundles of 2 or 3 different blends, so you can explore a few colourways for the same price as one ordinary-sized batt.

And on top of that, Let Me Ease Your Day will be in full swing, too. So join in and make a hat to gift in a random act of kindness.

Let count down commence!

Un petit pois

I have a wonderful friend.
She helps me when I need to print.

She takes me on boats to little islands where we see seals and pick up bones. (Even though she gets seasick.)

She teaches me French and laughs at my angry English accent and bad pronunciation.
"Mon Francais, c'est bloody hard work!"

She shares her licorice. And makes me laugh right down in my belly.

She brings me fresh-picked peas and potatoes wrapped up in newspaper parcels.

All this whilst she's having a bad time of it. I hope today brings her answers.
Bon Chance, Mon Petit Chouxfleur!
xx

Rockpool Candy Pebble Rug in Inside Crochet Magazine Issue 3

I've my first crochet pattern in print. Whhhheeeeeeeee. Can't wait to see it. (Can't get hold of a copy in Northern Ireland, so the rest of the world has seen it, except me!)

And I've another pattern next month, as well as a feature about my studio. Ooh, I'm like a bad rash.

found these in my photo album..

and they made me laugh.

If my wonderful husband is ever in any doubt that mucking about with fibre runs through my core like a stick of rock, then he just has to be locked in a tiny ferry cabin with me!

I am nothing if not resourceful.

Etsy Shop Sale!

Sept 1st sees the start of my UK and US tours. This will mean I'm not here to send out batts for my etsy shop. (see box on right)
The shop will be 'On Vaction' until January. Yes, I did say JANUARY!

So unless you're dropping by my stall at I Knit in London on the 11th September,

the next month will be the last chance to purchase my fibre.

I know it's summer now, but have you thought about your winter spinning?

I've even knocked a few dollars off each batt.
So there it is.... one month and counting.....

and if they're not sold....

I get 6 months' worth of touring to spin them for myself.....

wooooooooooooooo hooooooooooooooo!