Before I announce our February giveaway, I just want to say thanks to Laura Sheppard for sponsoring last month’s giveaway.  Laura has kindly offered iMake blog readers a 10% discount off anything in her Etsy shop between 1 February and 15 February 2012.  Just enter the code iMAKEFEB2012 at the checkout (note the lowercase ‘i’).  Thanks Laura!

This month’s giveaway is sponsored by local makers Maggie and Mabel (recently interviewed by iMake).  They are offering our lucky winner this cute, handmade noticeboard.  The noticeboard measures 20.5cm by 20.5cm.  It would look lovely in your craft room or in a girl’s bedroom.  If I won the giveaway (which sadly, I cannot!) I would use it to store business cards of all the lovely crafty people I meet.

To enter the giveaway please leave a comment on this blog post.  I’d like to know why you like the noticeboard, or perhaps where you’d put it if you were lucky enough to win.

As usual, one comment per person please.  The winner will be notified by email so please ensure your email address is included in your comment.  I’ll close the giveaway at the end of February 2012.  Good luck!

I am having lots of fun with Instagram on my iPhone at the moment, as mentioned in this post.  So this is a blog feature that you may see popping up fairly regularly.  I plan to chose a few of my favourite Instagram shots and share them with you (as above).  I feel a little disloyal to my lovely DSLR camera doing this, but the beauty of Instagram is that I always have my phone with me and I can make the pictures look reasonably pretty with the various effects available!  There is also the instant sharing options that the app has that makes it so appealing…  My iPhone will never replace my main camera, obviously.  But this is a nice option to have for ‘spur of the moment’ shots.

The photos above are from yesterday.  Charles (friend of the iMake podcast) and I hopped in the car and headed out to Torteval.  Charles has just got a new (proper) camera and recently took a course in portrait photography.  He wanted to try out his new skills.  I am a terrible model and really don’t like having my picture taken, so I am not sure quite how I ended up modelling for him!  It was a nice opportunity for me to try out my skills in portrait photography though, as I rarely have a willing model (apart from my cats) and Charles was game!

We recorded some audio while we were out for the next iMake podcast.  So watch this space for the next episode and perhaps a few more photos…

This interview is the next installment in my series of interviews with local crafters.

I am delighted to introduce you to Gina aka InkBison.  Gina and I were at school together but we have not seen each other for… well… more years than I care to remember!  (Feeling old…!)  So it was a lovely surprise to get an email from her about her brand new crafty project.  It’s been an absolute pleasure interviewing her.

Gina creates original paintings in Indian ink and creates printed cards from them.  She also sells original works and will create bespoke pieces.  Gina’s printed cards are lovely, but I am most interested in her original pieces.  She has a very distinct style.  I particularly like her pet portraits as they seem to capture the pet’s personality.  I anticipate commissioning portraits of Mia and Shadow very soon!  So here’s Gina…

Please introduce yourself

My name is Gina Andrews, aka InkBison. Born and bred in Guernsey, I left Guernsey to study for a BA in Fine Art. I have lived ‘Up North’ and ‘Down South’, done lots of travelling, am a Vegan and painting is my thing.

Describe yourself in 3 words

Creative, thoughtful and generous

A little bit about your crafty background please…

I cannot remember a time when I didn’t draw, it has always been a huge part of my life, but it was at Art College that I first discovered my passion for Indian ink. Much of my work evolved through cartoon mosaics painted in ink. I continue to evolve my art practice through ink and oil painting.

I have been creating greeting cards for friends and family for years. I decided it was time to turn something that I love into something that I can share with the world and on 7 January 2012 InkBison was born. Unique greeting cards created with Indian Ink for sale on my website.

What is your favourite word?

Cool (something I picked up as a teenager…)

What is your least favourite word?

Not now (sorry that’s two)

What sound or noise do you love?

Rain tapping on the roof when I am warm and cosy inside.

What sound or noise do you hate?

Screeching

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

Veterinary

What profession would you not like to do?

Hedge Fund Manager

The stage is yours… what else would you like to say in this interview?

If you would like to follow InkBison’s progress and get updates on new designs, events and promotions please follow me on Facebook or Twitter – your support is very much appreciated! InkBison is a new venture for me and the learning curve (I have recently found out) is massive! I can honestly say that I am enjoying every minute and hope that I can bring enjoyment to others through my creations.

Thank you for taking the time to read about InkBison.  Here are some photographs I took of Gina’s work…

These are some of her original works…

This is one of her printed cards…

I made homemade lentil soup for dinner tonight, served with homemade granary bread and Guernsey butter.  I can’t for the life of me remember where this recipe came from, but it was so delicious I just had to share …

Ingredients

• 500g red lentils (washed – no need to soak)
• Some butter or oil for frying
• 2 large onions, roughly chopped
• 2 litres of vegetable, ham or chicken stock (I used chicken stock made from stock cubes)
• 1.5 teaspoons tumeric
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons coriander
• 4 dried curry leaves
• 0.5 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I used the hot stuff, but that makes for quite a hot soup!  Just adjust this amount if you don’t like it too spicy)

This recipe makes a really big pot of soup (probably enough for 8 – 12 people)

This is what I did…

1. Heat the butter or oil in a pan and add the chopped onions.
2. Sweat the onions off in the pan for 5 minutes.
3. Add all your spices to the onions in the pan and stir.
4. Add your washed lentils to the pan.
5. Pour in your stock.
6. Simmer for 30 minutes until the lentils are soft.
7. Blend until smooth (I used one of those hand-held blender thingies).
8. Season with black pepper and serve.

Yummy!

A short while ago I blogged about a fab iPhone photography app called Instagram.  I am having lots of fun with this app so I thought I’d share a couple of my favourite photos!

This is a bumper episode focusing on our wonderful crafty community.  There’s quite a bit of knitting (including a knitalong with the lovely Chloe and Kate), news on my ebook and some other crafty community recommendations.  There is also an update on the forthcoming Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie Society movie.  Sadly I didn’t get the lead role, but have a listen to the show to find out who did!  Grab a cup of something warm and comforting and join me for some crafty chatter.

Show Notes

Welcome (00:32)

Flattr website

A Playful Day podcast website

Recent Creative Exploits (03:28)

Ravelry Pattern Link: Deephaven Cowl by Bonnie Sennott

Ravelry Link: Sabrina Mitts by Cecily Glowick McDonald (my projects)

Ravelry Link: Sock Yarn Blanket (my projects)

Raverly Pattern Link: Damask

Damask Knitalong (06:35)

KAL = knitalong

My knitalong blog post (full details of knitalong included)

Chloe’s top tips for knitting Damask

Chloe on Twitter

Chloe on Ravelry

Chloe’s blog

Kate on Twitter

Kate on Ravelry

Kate’s blog

Twitter hashtag for KAL: #damaskkal

Damask KAL thread on the Ravelry iMake Podcast group

iMake on Twitter

iMake on Facebook

Shinybees blog

Main Show Topic: Crafty Community (20:02)

Craftypod website/blog

Craftypod’s classes and ebooks

iMake ebook poll (blog post contains poll) – please complete my poll!

Instagram

Bloglovin (please look me up if you join Bloglovin)

Etsy treasury (my blog post)

iMake group on Ravelry

Local Crafters: Lovelypop

Local Crafters: Maggie and Mabel

The Rock magazine

Books (31:21)

Juju’s Loops by Juju Vail and Susan Cropper

Loop London

A Playful Day’s review of Juju’s Loops (podcast episode)

Electric Sheep’s review of Juju’s Loops (podcast episode)

Ravelry Pattern Link: Swoon

CRAFT by Kirsty Allsopp on Amazon

Shinybees’ review of Kirsty Allsopp’s CRAFT

Giveaway Update (33:49)

January giveaway

Laura’s shop34

Guernsey Section: Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (34:58)

Charles’s blog

Channel Online article

Wrap up (38:15)

I’d like to thank our fabulous show sponsor, Great British Yarns:

PS keep listening to the end music… there is a little outtake!!

sassandperil $17.50	monsterkookies $91.00	HandmadebyMia $50.00	majalin $20.00
ZenThreads $18.00	hellopenny $12.00	leearthaus $5.95	SweetnatureDes… $20.00
LuckyBeePress $12.00	engadget $1.95	westbyron $57.00	vivasweetlove $26.00
LittleSidekick $10.00	ZenThreads $24.00	lulubugjewelry $94.00	Stackblocks $53.00

This is my Wise Owls treasury list on Etsy.  Click here to be taken to the list on Etsy, or you can click on the photos above to go to each listing.

I am so behind the times.  How is it I have only just discovered Treasury on Etsy?  If you don’t know what Treasury and Treasury lists are all about click here.  In a nutshell, you can create a little gallery of your favourite listings on Etsy (usually with a theme).  I love mooching around Etsy, so this is a lovely way to document my mooching!  I intend to share a few more of these on the blog, so I hope you like them (they’ll be tagged ‘treasury’).  I used this excellent tutorial from Handmadeology to share my list with you in this blog post (the HTML generator was created by Red Row Studio).  Enjoy!

PS If you have not already done so, please complete my ebook research poll.  You can find the poll in this blog post.  Thanks!

I am planning a series of interviews with local crafters at the moment so hopefully this will be the first of several.  (Incidentally, if you are a Guernsey crafter interested in being featured on the iMake blog, please drop me a line).  Lisa and Sarah are sisters that share a passion for craft.  They formed Maggie and Mabel last year to share their gorgeous handmade creations with the world.  They make a wide range of products and everything has a lovely, homely feel.  Their products include cards, framed cross-stitch pictures, covered notebooks, blankets and (my personal favourite) jars of crafty bits and bobs with a pin cushion on the lid.  Maggie and Mabel have very kindly offered to sponsor next month’s blog giveaway, so keep an eye out!

Please introduce yourself

Sarah – my name is Sarah and I am one half of ‘Maggie and Mabel’
Lisa – I’m Lisa, Sarah’s sister and I’m the other half!

Describe yourself in 3 words

Sarah – Love’s a challenge.
Lisa – Cat Mad Mum.

A little bit about your crafty background please…

Sarah – my love of all things crafty really began since having my two children. I loved doing Art and Craft with them, so I thought ‘why don’t I work on my own craft projects?’
Lisa – I did a Higher National Diploma in Crafts and I’ve been ‘making’ ever since.

What is your favourite word?

Sarah – blossom.
Lisa – love.

What is your least favourite word?

Sarah – moist.
Lisa – hate.

What sound or noise do you love?

Sarah – the birds’ morning chorus.
Lisa – waves breaking in the shore.

What sound or noise do you hate?

Sarah – the sound of the car engines on the Grand Prix.  Hate …hate!
Lisa – pneumatic drill.

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

Sarah – I would love to try running a hotel or a little cafe.
Lisa – Vet.

What profession would you not like to do?

Sarah – a police lady, I hate confrontation.
Lisa – a soldier, I’m not at all brave!

The stage is yours… what else would you like to say in this interview?

Sarah – I hope you like our Maggie and Mabel products as much as we enjoy making them.
Lisa – Check out our website www.maggieandmabel.co.uk – we are building it at the moment but we are working on new products all the time and will be slowly adding them to the website in the next couple of months so keep an eye out!

Lisa Garnham and Sarah Videlo – Maggie and Mabel.

My lovely friend Charles (friend of the iMake podcast) sent me an odd tweet the other day asking if I wanted some baskets.  A friend of his cleared out her loft.  Don’t ask me why, but her loft was pretty much full of baskets.  Knowing that Charles was a crafty sort, she offered them to him.  He, being a generous fellow, offered to share them with me!

So I am now the proud owner of rather a lot of baskets… but I have no idea what to do with them.  Can anyone make any suggestions? Thank you in advance!  Here are some initial thoughts.  I could fill them with …

• Jars of homemade (breadmaker) jam
• Other foodie goodies (spice rubs, flavoured salt – that sort of thing)
• Homemade cosmetics (such as lip balm, lavender healing salve, body scrub, bath salts, body lotion bars etc)

While I am being cheeky and asking for your help, please don’t forget to fill out my research survey on this post before the end of the month.  Many thanks.

In my last podcast I mentioned that I was planning to write an ebook this year.  I have joined a fabulous online class about ebook publishing hosted by the fabulous Sister Diane from Craftypod.  Check out her other online classes here.  It’s week 2, and I need to do some research.  What on earth am I going to write this book about?  Well, handmade crafts seem to be a good starting point.  But what am I going to focus on specifically?

I thought it would make sense to ask you, my readers, for some input.  So if you don’t mind, I’d be really grateful if you could take a few minutes to complete my poll, below.  Feel free to share it on your various social networks.  I intend to keep the poll open until the end of the month to collate as much feedback as possible.  I’d really appreciate your feedback on this.  Thank you so much

Image details: World’s Largest Ball of Yarn, by Kirk Olson, via Flickr

My lovely friend Chloe from Sparkly Shoes are Faster Blog recommended a gorgeous lace shawl pattern to me: Damask.  You can find it on Ravelry here and Etsy here.  It’s stunning and the pattern appears to be extremely well written including charts and written instructions.  Damask is written by a lady called Kitman Figueroa, she is kitman on Ravelry.  I was chatting another lovely friend Kate from Kate’s Twirl Blog and we came up with the idea of doing a Damask Knitalong.  Would you like to join us?

The shawl looks like an ideal stash busting project as it will use up a 100g skein of sock yarn if you make the medium sized shawl, so there is no breaking the yarn diet if, like me, you have lots of sock yarn in your stash.  I recommend using a solid colour as the lace is quite intricate and you want to be able to see it clearly.

If you’d like to join us, just purchase your pattern through Ravelry or Etsy.  It’s important that we all purchase a pattern each to support our independent knitwear designers.

I have set up a thread in the iMake Podcast group on Ravelry so people can introduce themselves, post progress photos and chat generally.  Here are the links.

iMake podcast group on Ravelry

Damask knitalong thread

This thread will also be really helpful if you are having problems with the pattern (Chloe will be our Damask guru as she has knitted one before).  I think it looks like quite a challenging knit, but Chloe assures me that it is very logical.  She also recommends using stitch markers to pick out the lace repeats.

If you are on Twitter, you can tweet about your progress using the hastag #damaskkal.

There is also the iMake Facebook page – you could post your progress there.

I think that’s it, although I have never co-hosted a knitalong (‘KAL’) before, so if I have missed anything, please let me know.

Good luck!

Update:  Check out Chloe’s top tips for knitting Damask and also, I posted an audioboo about the KAL…

Damask KAL (mp3)

These cards are extremely quick and easy to make so they are perfect for complete beginners.  They are also ideal for more experienced card makers needing a quick craft fix!  The cards are inspired by my hand-stamped luggage labels (made for Christmas 2011).  This tutorial may be of interest to you if you’ve never used rubber stamps before.

You will need…

• Card blanks and envelopes (I love these recycled, brown cards, purchased from Eco-Craft, the colour is ‘hairy manila’).
• A black ink pad.
• A selection of rubber stamps, note that I don’t tend to use the wooden stamps, I use the clear, sticky stamps which you mount on a a perspex block.  I prefer these as they take up less space and also you can see where you are stamping.
• A perspex block (unless you are using wood-backed rubber stamps).
• A bone folder or a ruler (optional).
• Scrap paper for practice stamps.

This is what I did…

Fold your card blank and crease it with a ruler or bone folder.

Affix the rubber stamp to a perspex block.

Ink up the stamp.  It’s best to hold the ink pad in one hand and the stamp in the other and dab the pad onto the stamp several times to layer up the ink.  If you do this, you can get away with using a small ink pad – you don’t need a big one.  Just dab the ink on.  Check to ensure you have an even layer of ink.  This should create an even image, although I think it looks better if it’s a bit ‘rough’!

Now have a practice stamp on your scrap paper to experiment with how hard you need to press (it’s very tricky to explain in a tutorial!) I don’t press too hard on the back of the stamp.  I just apply even pressure.  Once you have nailed it on scrap paper, open your card up and lay it flat, ink the stamp up again and stamp your image.

Carefully remove the stamp…

You may wish to add a message using a different stamp to finish the card off, as I have done below. But other than that, that’s your card finished. I told you it was simple. Sometimes less really is more!

Here’s an Instagram of the finished card…

Here is a close up of the stamp – you’ll see it’s really not perfect, but that’s how I like it.

Image details: Romantic Heart from Love Seeds by epSos.de

Hello, my name is Martine, and I am a Pinterest-aholic.  Yes, it’s official.  I really can’t get enough of Pinterest!  I thought I’d share some of my recent pins here on the blog.  If you aren’t on Pinterest and you would like to be, drop me an email and I will invite you (Pinterest is invitation only).  So let’s enjoy a little creative inspiration and don’t forget to…

Click the images to reach the original source.

Happy new year and welcome to 2012!  As I am returning from a short podcast break, I spend most of this episode catching listeners up with what I’ve been doing, as well as saying a few thank yous to the lovely people who contacted me during my break. I cover my recent (mostly knitted) creative exploits, touch on Christmas and then turn my attention to the new year.  I share a few of my new year’s resolutions and consider a few ways to ensure resolutions are kept.  The Guernsey section of the show is all about the Guernsey Dairy.  Let’s catch up!

Show Notes

Welcome (00:32)

Craftypod

Flattr website

Flattr video

**Update, I have since decided to remove Flattr from my website as I found that very few of the podcasts and blogs that I enjoy had Flattr buttons.  There didn’t seem like much point in me keeping the facility as a result!  This may change later on down the line so watch this space**

Top 10 iMake podcast episodes

iMake on Twitter

iMake on Pinterest

iMake Ravelry group

The Knitmore Girls podcast

Recent Creative Exploits (08:41)

Ravelry Pattern Link: Terra by Brooklyn Tweed (my project)

My blog about Terra

Knit Pro interchangeable needles and extensions on Great British Yarns

Ravelry Pattern Link: Mart Jane’s Tearoom Corsage by Susan Hickson

Ravelry Pattern Link: Aeline’s Wreath by Leigh McDonna

Ravelry Yarn Link: Toft Alpaca Aran (aran, not worsted!)

Ravelry Pattern Link: Deephaven Cowl by Bonnie Sennott

Craftlife podcast

Ravelry Yarn Link: Debbie Bliss Fez

Ravelry Pattern Link: Arwen Wrap by Tabitha’s Heart

Ravelry Yarn Link: Debbie Bliss Andes (my stash)

Ravelry Link: Sabrina Mitts by Cecily Glowick McDonald (my projects)

Main Topic: Christmas and New Year (17:19)

Vogue Stitchionary: Knit and Purl

Vogue Stitchionary: Cables

Vogue Stitchionary:Lace

The Very Easy Guide to Lace Knitting by Lynne Watterson

Craft by Kirsty Allsopp

Socktopus by Alice Yu

Knitting Block by Block by Nicky Epstein

My 2011 New Year’s Resolutions

My 2012 New Year’s Resolutions

Craftypod’s classes

ellainaboutique (Etsy shop)

ZoeChen (etsy shop)

Giveaway and Offer Update (25:36)

December giveaway: Made by Ewe

January giveaway: Laura Sheppard Fibre

Laura’s Etsy Shop

Stitchtastic offer for January

Guernsey section: Guernsey Dairy (27:36)

Guernsey Dairy website

Here is a picture I took of some gorgeous Guernsey cows…

A photo of some Guernsey butter…

Image details: Guernsey Butter by Chris Chilton, via Flickr

Wrap up (33:56)

I’d like to thank our fabulous show sponsor, Great British Yarns:

I have always been a little terrified of knitting charts.  I don’t know why but my brain just seems to struggle with them.  However, I have been determined to get over this fear as it is preventing me knitting things that I really want to.  On my lovely friend Chloe’s recommendation, I cast on Terra, by Brooklyn Tweed in Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Worsted (purchased from Great British Yarns).  I should just say a quick word about the yarn actually – it’s 100% wool and only £2.40 a ball at the moment from GBY.  It’s a great yarn and I have really enjoyed working with it (this is coming from a yarn snob!)  Anyway, let’s talk about the pattern…

It liked the way this shawl started. It’s a traditional triangular shawl in that you start from the top in the centre and increase at the edges so the triangle grows. However you start using a provisional cast on which you Kitchener stitch when you are finished. It’s a nice, alternative start to what I have been used to with Travelling Woman and Ishbel.

You then work a simple (but sufficiently interesting) garter ridge pattern which looks nice and gives a lovely texture in this yarn…

Then the lace!  I put a life line in but I did not need it.  I approached the chart calmly and logically and took my time.  I wasn’t scared.  And it just clicked – I have no idea why.  Charts make sense!!  Who knew?

However (and this is quite a big ‘however’). I made a mistake. I didn’t read the chart instructions carefully because I was so focused on the little symbols. I was supposed to repeat each row of the lace pattern twice for every row. The lace pattern included a repeated section in the centre. Instead of doing what the pattern said, I just repeated the centre section. The effect of this was that I had to fudge a few stitches here and there and I am missing the ‘ridge’ down the centre of the shawl. The bottom point of the shawl should be a ‘point’ but it is a curve. Also the lace doesn’t really ‘pop’ as much as it should. To an untrained eye it would not be obvious, but I can see it. You can see it in this blocking shot…

Nevertheless, it is a lovely, warm chunky shawl. It is a great pattern – the mistake was my fault, nothing to do with the pattern. And I have learned a huge amount from the experience. It was a pleasant knit so I don’t feel frustrated, despite my perfectionist tenancies.  I have someone in mind who will appreciate the shawl, despite its (highly original) flaw!

This is me modeling Terra (an Instagram)…

And here are a few more shots of the shawl…

I have found another iPhone photography app that I really like, this one is called Instagram.  I am a bit of a late adopter of Instagram, it turns out everyone is using it, even President Barack Obama!  (If he’s doing it, I simply must get on this bandwagon!)

Instagram is similar to Camera+, an app I reviewed recently, in terms of the effects you can apply to photos.  Actually Instagram may be less flexible, for example you cannot mix and match effects and borders (at least I cannot work out a way that you can).  However, I think the visual effects are better in Instagram. I love this retro-chic look.

Sharing your images on Facebook (profiles and pages), Flickr and Twitter, along with other social networks, is really easy. Also there are several widgets you can download to display your Instagrams on wordpress.org blogs, although I am not sure if this is something I will be doing.  Nevertheless, it is nice to have the option. One of these widgets is Instapress.

I have set up a Flickr set especially for my Instagrams, if you’d like to take a look.

One downside from a blogger’s perspective (well mine, at least) is that the images are square. I like to use lots of images in my blog posts, so I tend to stick with landscape images that take up the whole width of the blog. If I do this with a square image, then you, my reader, have quite a lot of scrolling to do as the images are long! I hope you don’t mind…

That being said, it is a lovely app.  It’s very easy to locate your friends already using Instagram and follow their photostream.  This is a nice touch that Camera+ lacks.  As an added bonus, according to this website, the app appears to be free in the iTunes store at the moment!  If you decide to give it a go, please look me up as ‘imake’ and follow my photostream.

To wrap things up i just wanted to share with you this fantastic blog post about ways to display your Instagrams in your home (A Beautiful Mess is a stunning blog, please do check it out for inspiration).

Happy snapping!

PS… even on days when you think you don’t exactly look your best… Instagram makes you look just a little better!!

In November last year I was delighted to bring you a giveaway sponsored by Stitchtastic.  Our winner was Amanda and I understand she was delighted with the cross stitch kit she won.  The lovely people at Stitchtastic have very kindly offered all iMake blog readers a 10% discount on anything purchased from their shop during the month of January 2012. All you need to do is enter the code JanSales2012 when you reach the checkout.  Thank you Stitchtastic!

I am delighted to kick the new year off with a lovely giveaway from Laura Sheppard.  You can win a set of her gorgeous handmade ceramic buttons.  Check out her Etsy shop, Laura Sheppard Fibre, to see what she has on offer.  The winner of this giveaway can choose which set of buttons they would like.

Laura was kind enough to send me a set of buttons to review (the buttons pictured in this post) and, I have to say, they are absolutely gorgeous.  They are extremely well crafted and would look stunning made into a piece of jewellery or attached to a hand-knitted garment, for example.  I was worried that they might a bit fragile or heavy but they aren’t at all.  There are no sharp edges either – they are totally smooth so they won’t snag on your clothes.  They have a charming handmade look, which I absolutely love.  Thank you so much Laura.

So here’s a little bit about Laura in her own words…

I’m a mom, potter, knitter, spinner, pottery teacher…though I’ve also dabbled in dyeing, soap making, and paper craft (I especially love origami).

I live in Quebec Canada with my husband and three kids, but I come from Newfoundland, an island just off the east coast of Canada.

I am incredibly intrigued by the idea of making something entirely from my own hands. I started my first pottery class over 15 years ago, with no art or craft background, I just had a feeling…and from day one I was in love with the process.

I’ve been making buttons for the past year or so; it started as a way to use up clay left over from larger slab projects, and kind of became an obsession. I still make larger clay items (including wheel thrown table ware, yarn bowls, and sculpture) that will likely eventually make their way to my Etsy shop. I’ve also been playing around with some ceramic jewelry pieces such as earrings and pendants.

As for knitting, I picked that up prior to taking up pottery, but once I found clay, yarn temporarily took a back seat. The knitting bug returned around the birth of my third child and I realized just how tricky it was to keep up with drying pottery while keeping up with family activities. Knitting led to spinning and dyeing and I was hooked on those too, though it’s been a while since I had the dye pots going. Now, handmade buttons and handspun yarn seem like such a perfect combination!

I agree, Laura, your shop is just lovely!

So how can you be in with a chance of winning a set of Laura’s lovely handmade ceramic buttons? 

Just visit Laura’s shop, and leave a comment on this post about the lovely things she makes.  Please don’t include links back to her shop in your comment as it might end up in my spam system and your entry will not be valid.  If you are lucky enough to win, I will ask you to email me a link to the buttons that you’d like.

As with all iMake giveaways, you have until the end of this month, one entry per person please, and the winner will be notified by email so please include your email address in the comment.  Thanks and good luck!

***This giveaway is now closed, the winner was Kathy and she has been contacted by email***

Image details: Super Troopers by JD Hancock via Flickr

One of the truly wonderful things about blogging is the fact that it is really easy to reflect on the previous year.  For example, with one click, I can take a look at my crafty new year’s resolutions from 2011.  To save you a click, I have pasted them below and included a comment relating to my progress…

1. Knit socks: I have definitely mastered sock knitting in 2011.  I was lucky enough to get Socktopus’s book for Christmas so I see more complex socks in my future (I have lots of sock yarn to use up!)
2. Knit lace: I nailed this one!  Last year I knitted Ishbel twice (Ishbel 1 and Ishbel 2), Travelling Woman and Little Colonnade.  I am also working on Terra.  I am actually contemplating designing my own lace shawl…
3. Learn to knit colourwork: hmmmm this did not go so well.  Although technically Clockwork is simple colourwork so hopefully that counts!
4. More tutorials on the blog: I definitely managed this!  Check out my tutorials and recipes category.
5. Spread the word about the iMake podcast:  hurrah!  I think I have managed this based on the increase in my downloads.  Thank you podcast listeners!
6. Use my (shiny, new) sewing machine regularly: yes I have done this although perhaps not as regularly as I would have liked.  Perhaps there will be more sewn projects in 2012.
7. Make fewer handmade Christmas gifts. Yes…  done!  (Phew!)
8. Organise knit-alongs with my Stitch n’ Bitch group: I organised one knitalong and hoped that another member would take the next one on.  Alas, it didn’t happen.  The only reason I didn’t want to organise the next one was because I might end up teaching rather than participating.  Perhaps I’ll float the idea again at our next Stitch n’ Bitch…

All in all, I am really pleased with how my resolutions worked out.  So here are my resolutions for 2012.

1. Master colourwork knitting (carried over from 2011).
2. Make more products for my Etsy shop.
3. Advance my sock knitting skills.
4. De-stash… yarn diet (boo!)
5. More photography posts on the blog.
6. Learn some songs on my guitar.
7. Write an Ebook (not sure what about yet – any comments or suggestions would be welcome).
8. Buy more handmade…!  If I cannot make a gift for someone or something I want, I am going to find someone who can.

I think that’s enough for now.  I think 8 is a reasonable number (2 years on the trot!)  Has anyone else made crafty new year’s resolutions?  Please leave a comment!

Image details: Rusty 2012 by Rachael Town, via Flickr

I cannot believe it’s the end of 2011!  Blimey it’s gone quick (a sure sign of me getting older!)  I thought I’d record a ‘Happy New Year’ audioboo, since I am on a podcast break.  I recorded this boo yesterday in case my reference to New Year’s Eve is confusing!  You can listen by clicking the play button on the widget below.  If you are reading this blog post on a mobile device, you may have more success clicking this link.  Happy New Year everyone!

I am delighted to announce the winner of the December giveaway, sponsored by Made by Ewe, is… (drum roll please)… comment 43, Connie!  Congratulations to you – I shall be in touch by email to arrange delivery.  For those of you still keep to get their hands on a lovely sheep knitting kit, Linda from Made by Ewe is very kindly offering a 10% discount for all iMake blog readers and podcast listeners from 1st – 15th January 2012.  Just use the code IMAKEJAN12 when you check out.  Thanks Linda.

I have fabulous giveaway for January 2012, so please keep an eye out on the blog.

PS Don’t forget to re-subscribe to the iMake blog if you are a normally an email subscriber as explained in my earlier blog post (here).  Thanks!

Image details: The brick wall by viZZZual.com, via Flickr

I have been having several problems with my email subscription service for the iMake blog.  If you get an email every time I publish a new blog post, then this will apply to you so please ensure you read this post (thanks!)

To cut a long story short, I plan to remove the service (which will automatically unsubscribe you) and replace it with a new, improved version.

So, if you no longer wish to receive emails from iMake every time there is a new blog post, then you do not need to do anything.

However if you would like to continue receiving update emails then you will need to subscribe again.  The process is nice and easy now: please enter your email address in the form at the bottom of this post and follow the instructions.  The form below is exactly the same as the ‘Subscribe by Email’ form in the right-hand side bar of this blog.

I will be removing the old subscription service over the next few days, so encourage you to re-subscribe as soon as you can.

If you’d prefer not to subscribe by email and use RSS feed reader (for example Google Reader or NetNewsWire) the iMake Blog’s RSS feed is http://feeds.feedburner.com/imakeblog.

If you have any queries, please leave a comment or email me.  Thank you for your patience and continued support.

This is the second part of my 2011 Round Up covering July to December – I hope you enjoy it!  You can check out yesterday’s round up (the first half of 2011) here.

July 2011

Oh July, I remember you!  The sun was out and it was a very busy month on the blog.  We kicked off with the Guernsey Festival of Performing Arts, and a blog post that featured me knitting in public, Charles snoozing and some cider-induced audioboos!  Little Colin was born (bless)  and the lovely Chloe wrote a great scrapbooking guest post for iMake.  I also discovered vegetables (growing them!) and there were a lot of buttons featured on the blog in July.  The highlight of July (and indeed my whole summer) has to be Knit Nation… so much fun!!  (The Knit Nation podcast was probably one of my favourites).

July podcast episodes included:

Episode 23 Countdown

Episode 25 Knit Nation Recap

Episode 26 Button Love

August 2011

Holiday month! The sun was still out and I experienced (to my surprise) some success with gardening. My radishes were yummy and my garden was transformed from a wilderness to something garden-ish.  I was famous for 15 minutes, thanks to the fabulous Franklin Habit.  Charles became a podcast regular, and I got even more obsessed with Stephen West’s patterns after knitting Clockwork.  One of my August highlights was Guernsey’s North Show, and the resulting podcast was lots of fun (especially Janet’s kazoo!)  I also seemed to bake quite a bit in August and developed a mild obsession with soda bread.  On reflection, I really miss August…

August podcast episodes included:

Episode 26 Tapisserie de Bayeux

Episode 27 Charles in Charge

Episode 28 North Show Recap

September 2011

In September I was thrilled to find a sponsor for the iMake blog and podcast – Great British Yarns.  They have been fantastic to work with and I am hoping to continue working with them in 2012.  There were more buttons (including Jenson), I got pickled, and there were some crazy photo shoot antics!  September was the month of the breadmaker (oh happy purchase!) as well as the sock of doom…

September podcast episodes included:

Episode 29 And Sew On

October 2011

In October I judged a guernsey knitting competition, which was lots of fun.  My Pinterest obsession developed and I had lots of fun with my camera, including shooting comical seagulls and Guernsey’s equivalent to Fangorn Forest.  There was more food (chilli this time) and Charles and I finally finished the Christmas cake soap.  Phew!

October podcast episodes included:

Episode 30 Universal Craft

Episode 31 Catch Up

November 2011

I was a busy girl in November.  The month kicked off with a little advice from me about starting a knitting or craft group, there were also some Christmas card tutorials.  Then I had a knitting pattern named after me – Amartine!  I was so chuffed!  I finally finished my Travelling Woman shawl, made bracelets and made more bracelets, and discovered a cool photography app for the iPhone.

November podcast episodes included:

Episode 32 That’s a Wrap

Episode 33 Podcast in a Podcast

December 2011

And finally, this month…  I have knitted another Ripley (love that hat) and launched a lovely giveaway that is actually still open, so please enter!  I interviewed local maker, Hannah, and got crafty with luggage labels.  Charles shared some wonderful gift wrapping ideas, and I got a guitar!  Then it went a bit Christmas mad on the Sunday before Christmas.  There were biscuits and a ghost story…. and still more to come!

I really hope you’ve enjoyed the blog this year. I also hope that it goes from strength to strength next year. Thank you, my readers and listeners, for your support, comments and emails. Thanks also to my giveaway sponsors, interviewees, guest blog post writers and, of course, Great British Yarns.

All that remains to be said is Happy New Year! Take it away ABBA… (sing along – lyrics included in the video!)

As we reach the end of a busy, busy year, I thought it would be nice to do a ’round up’ blog post featuring some 2011 iMake blog highlights!  This post will be in 2 parts, otherwise it will get too long.  Here are the first 6 months of 2011; please click on the various links in the posts if you’d like to reminisce with me.  Enjoy!

January 2011

So I started 2011 off with a wee look at my blog stats for 2010.  My busiest blog traffic day saw a post that attracted 79 views (my tea cup candles post).   To show how things have changed, in 2011 my busiest post attracted well over 1000 views.  It’s great to see to blog becoming more popular.  I also made a number of crafty new year’s resolutions and I am pleased to say that I have stuck to all of them except colourwork knitting (that can go on this year’s list!)  There was lots of sewing, tutorials, sock knitting and Christmas card making (in January, yes!)  There was a heck of a lot of yarn love in January, and a fair bit of knitting (in particular, the sock yarn blanket was born).

January podcast episodes included:

Episode 12 Shiny and New

Episode 13 Sock Snippets

February 2011

February kicked off with some creative collaboration – something that I am really pleased to have incorporated into the blog over the year.  I interviewed 2 fabulous ladies who inspire me creatively: Kristin and Jesse.   There was a fair bit of sock yarn and button love as well as a new-found interest in working with precious metal clay.  There was knitting in public and more tutorials as well as a little advice on starting a blog from yours truly.

February podcast episodes included:

Episode 14 Craft with Friends

Episode 15 Soap

March 2011

In March, I let readers into my craft space.  There was more creative collaboration, and more soap!  I also tried my hand at dying yarn (reasonably successfully!)  I also made Kanzashi flowers, suffered horribly with start-itis, ate a lot of food (most notably, chocolate brownies) and interviewed myself.

March podcast episodes included:

Episode 16 Time and Space

Episode 17 Food Glorious Food

April 2011

April saw me dabble in kids’ craft tutorials – first a lion mask, then a bird mask.  I also had my first craft column published in GBG magazine (Knitting… the new yoga?).  Twitter started inspiring my making and there was also yarn, cake, tutorials, guest posts and a trip to the island of Herm.  My favourite tutorial from April was not one of my own, it was Chloe’s mini book tutorial.

April podcast episodes included:

Episode 18 Picture Perfect

May 2011

May included yet more yarn (blocking shawls in particular) as well as an interview with the lovely Amanda from one of my favourite podcasts (Craftlife).  The most exciting event to take place in May was the 2011 Photomarathon.  It was SUCH fun, despite the fact that Jo and I didn’t win a thing.  I did it in public quite a bit (oh err!) during May and, when I wasn’t busy KIPing, I was taking part in the Guernsey Literary Festival, which was a massive success.

May podcast episodes included:

Episode 19 Crafty Mojo

Episode 20 The Podcast Strikes Back

June 2011

June was a mixed bag of food (Spanish Feast mmmm….), spinning, decoupatching and a fair bit of leather.  June was the start of my leather craft obsession, it seems!  I also got very into photography during June and took some of my best outdoor shots of the year – probably something to do with the beautiful weather in Guernsey at that time.  There was yet more button love (button cuff) and I received a lovely surprise from my podcast listeners in the US.

June podcast episodes included:

Episode 21 In a Spin

Episode 22 Snap

So that’s the first 6 months of 2011… tune in tomorrow for the other half of the year in review.

Image details – Stocking Stuffer by LooseEnds, via Flickr

So this is my last Christmas themed blog post of the year!  For those iMake blog readers and podcast listeners who celebrate Christmas, I’d like to wish you a very Merry Christmas.  For those who don’t, I want to say ‘Happy Holidays’!  I am working on 2 ’round up of 2011′ blog posts which will go live on 30th and 31st December, just in time for the new year.  Other than that, things may go a little quiet on the blog over the festive period (for obvious reasons).  I look forward to getting back into the swing of things early in 2012.  It’s going to be an exciting year… I have all sorts of fab things up my sleeve!  TTFN!

Image details – Truffles by David Leggett, via Flickr

On Tuesday night, my dear crafty pal Jo and I attended a chocolate truffle making workshop.  It was good fun, although I must confess, I don’t think we are ‘natural’ truffle makers.  Clearly, the gorgeous truffles in the photograph above were not made by us! It was quite a messy experience and we spent most of the evening covered in melted chocolate.  But it was a giggle! I recorded a little audioboo about it for you and also took a few photos.  Enjoy…

The first thing we did was pipe our names on our hats in chocolate (more difficult than it looked!)…

Notice that Jo is stirring so fast, she is actually blurred!

I was quite proud of my piping…

When we weren’t making truffles, we ate quite a bit of this…

Yum…

The finished article…

Me covered in chocolate…

Here is a recipe if you fancy making your own truffles – good luck!

I spotted these gorgeous handmade stamps on a fantastic new website called Knitnook.  Kristin, aka Voolenvine, from the Yarngasm podcast is the brains behind Knitnook and I have to say, it is just fabulous!  Knitnook is one of my new favourite ‘nooks’ on the net at the moment.  I interviewed Kristin many moons ago on the blog here.  And she very kindly reciprocated by interviewing me on Knitnook, here.

This is the blog post where Kristin mentioned these stamps.  The stamps are handmade by a lovely lady called Olga, her shop is called Cupcake Tree and it is just gorgeous.  The stamps are really good value and really well made.  There are lots of different types of stamps so please take a look.

I plan to use mine on mini luggage labels.  I’ll tie them to my handknitted items and write washing directions on the back.

Thank you Olga for a wonderful product and thank you Kristin and Knitnook for the recommendation!

A while back I did a workshop on flash fiction hosted by a writer called Dan Purdue.  The workshop was part of the Guernsey Literary Festival.  Dan wrote a Christmas ghost story called Evergreen back in 2009, but just recently he had a go at recording himself reading it.  I wanted to share his story with you because I think it’s fab.  I know it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but I think it’s interesting to explore different types of fiction, so worth sharing.  Dan also does a great job of reading it – he has a nice voice.  There is some very mild bad language in the story, so you have been warned.  Please don’t listen if you are offended by occasional mild swear words.  Also there is a slight blip in the audio about 12 minutes in.  You can find Dan on his blog, here.  Enjoy!

In yesterday’s blog post there was some talk of ‘the promise of biscuits’.  I thought it would be rude not to share my biscuits with you!

I rarely bake – unfortunately I only need to look at cake to put on weight, so I try to avoid home baking as a result.  Whilst I love ‘making for others’, I love baked goods more.  So if I baked for someone, their chances of ever actually knowing about it are fairly slim!  However it is Christmas, and calories don’t count during the week before Christmas (I have already mentioned this well-known fact).

So!  My Christmas biscuits.  Well, I don’t think I have ever felt quite as domestic goddessey as I did this morning.  You see, I made biscuits last week but there was so much biscuit dough that I froze half of it.

You can find the biscuit recipe I used here but there are lots of different recipes on the internet to choose from.  They are Swedish biscuits called Pepperkaker (there are as many ways to spell it as there are recipes!)  They are small, thin biscuits that have a crispy texture (as opposed to chewy).  They are spiced; usually cinnamon, ginger and cloves.  I understand you can hang them on your tree so I made some of mine with holes in, although I am not sure how long they will last out in the open.  I am slightly concerned about them going stale!

Pictured above are a batch of star biscuits I made without holes. To put holes in, use a drinking straw – hold the uncooked biscuit in your hand and pierce a hole. When they are almost cooked you may need to ‘re-pierce’ the hole as the biscuits grow a little when you bake them (so the hole gets smaller). When the biscuits are hardening on a wire rack, you may still need to poke the hole again with your straw to ensure it is big enough. Then tie them to your tree with string!

Here are a few tips if you fancy making your own biscuits…

• I found that working with dough that was still a bit frozen was much easier – just de-frost the dough for an hour or so and then knead it to soften it up.  The firmness makes rolling much easier.
• If you are making fresh dough, pop it in the freezer for a bit to firm it up.
• Make sure your work top and rolling pin are heavily floured as the dough can get sticky.
• Roll the biscuits nice and thin.
• Keep an eye on them when they are in the oven as the only take a short while to cook and burn quite quickly (trust me!)
• They will grow a bit when you cook them, so give them some space on the baking sheet.
• Finally, when you take them out of the oven, they will still be a bit soft – the quickly harden up as they cool.

Last minute Christmas present idea… make some biscuits and wrap them in cellophane; finish with a nice festive ribbon!

***Tree biscuit update 22/12/12… the biscuits that I put on the tree are now quite soft, I wouldn’t eat them!!  They look pretty though, so I will leave them up!  The best place to keep them is the biscuit tin…***

I am feeling just a little Christmassy today, so I thought I’d share a few pictures of my home on the Sunday before Christmas, just for fun. I used my favourite Camera+ app on my iPhone for these snaps. I hope you like them…

Mmmm… mince pies for breakfast, anyone?  Calories don’t count during the week before Christmas!

Knitted tree decorations (not knitted by me, I confess!)

The promise of Christmas biscuits later today!  (I made some last week and froze half of the dough).

A gift for a good friend (wrapped in brown paper and string with a hand-stamped label).

Sunday morning coffee with hubby… bliss!

Christmas cards hung on my make-shift, indoor washing line, with mini pegs.

I tend to leave novelty hats lying around the house at Christmas time, in case anyone needs one…!

Whilst I am conscious that my main monthly giveaway is still running (thank you to Make By Ewe) I did want to take this opportunity to give a little Christmas present to one of my blog readers.  This is a chance for me to say thank you to everyone who has supported iMake over the past year.  My blog readership and podcast listenership has increased dramatically and I am really grateful to everyone who has been part of that.  So as a little thank you, I am running a ‘quickie’ giveaway.

I have one copy of a gorgeous book called ‘Sweet Treats’ by Tinou Le Joly Senoville.  It’s a gorgeous book filled with lovely cross stitch patterns and stunning photographs of the finished items.  As the book’s title suggests, the patterns are mostly food/cake/sweets related (suits me fine!)

The book’s instructions appear to be very clear, making cross stitch accessible to all, even complete beginners. The charts are nice and simple too.

So… how do you get your hands on this cute book?

To be in with a chance of winning, please leave a comment on this blog telling me what your favourite type of cake is.  Please ensure that you include your email address in your comment so I can contact you if you win.  One comment per person please.  Note that this giveaway will close on Friday 17 December 2011.  I will post the book to the winner the day after the giveaway closes in the hope that it will arrive before Christmas (depending how far away you are from Guernsey!)  Knowing what Guernsey’s postal system is like at the moment, there is no guarantee of this !

Good luck, and thanks for your continued support.  Merry Christmas.  Here’s to a great 2012!

*** This giveaway is now closed, the winner was comment 9 – Gill.  Congratulations!***

From a very early age I was obsessed with ‘making stuff’.  It wasn’t often fabric/paper/glue/glitter related either, my ‘natural’ creativity is more firmly rooted in music.

I have always had an appreciation of music and performance;  I have a good ear and natural rhythm (even if I do say so myself!)  As a child I attended ballroom, Latin American and disco dancing lessons.  I also tried playing an instrument (violin), but for a whole host of reasons I never really took to it so gave up after a year.  (Incidentally I found theory quite dull so played a whole year completely ‘by ear’, this is a habit I find myself falling into even now).

It wasn’t until I became an adult that I started really exploring my love of music.  I took singing lessons and participated in various competitions and performances.  My love of musical theatre developed around this time too and I performed a number of leading roles in amateur productions (my favourites being Nancy in Oliver and Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls).

Whilst I do still love to sing, I still found myself searching for an instrument to fall in love with.  I took piano lessons a while back and enjoyed that – I am working through a keyboard course at the moment as something of a refresher.  I am enjoying it, but get frustrated by the fact that my keyboard (actually an electric piano) isn’t exactly portable.  I taught myself the ukulele last summer, which was fun and was almost ‘it’… but not quite.

It struck me recently that the key to finding ‘my instrument’ was that it needed to be:

1. Portable
2. Something I could sing with
3. Easy enough to learn a few simple songs on quite quickly (attention span issues)
4. A nice sound

Whilst my ukulele nearly fits, it doesn’t quite.  I think I will go back to the uke at some point though.  In the meantime I have decided to ‘up-size’ to an acoustic guitar.  It’s my early Christmas present (thank you hubby!)

My dad and brother are excellent guitarists, so I am hoping the skill runs in my genes!  I love the idea of being able to jam with them too.

I am hoping to blog a little about my progress as I feel the subject ‘fits’ the iMake blog quite well – it’s one of my ‘recent creative exploits’ after all.  Don’t worry, this isn’t going to become a guitarists’ blog, you might just get the occasional update.   Perhaps a sound bite or 2 if you are lucky (or unlucky as the case may be….!)

Before I sign off (it’s time to soak my fingers in surgical spirit again to toughen them up) I must just share this fantastic online resource I have found for learning to play guitar – Justin Guitar.  Justin is an outstanding teacher.  TTFN!

Here is my new acoustic guitar… (spot the large box of yarn just behind the neck of the guitar!)

My December craft column, as published in Guernsey magazine GBG, is all about wrapping your Christmas presents.  It continues some of the ideas mentioned in one of my recent podcast episodes (episode 32).  Thanks to Charles for helping me with ideas and supplying me with some gorgeous gift-wrapped items to photograph.  Here is my column…

That’s a Wrap

Now you have finished your Christmas shopping and festive gift making, it’s time to start thinking about wrapping. Wrapping presents can be a bit of a drag, but with a little inspiration, a few crafty supplies (and, of course, some mulled wine and Christmas music) it can actually be fun.

Here are some creative wrapping ideas.

Cellophane wrap

Cut out a large piece of cellophane, put your gift in the centre and bunch the cellophane up. Tie with raffia, twine or ribbon. I like clear cellophane, but it also comes in different colours. If you don’t want the gift to be visible, add a layer of tissue paper first.

Newspaper

Wrap your gifts in old newspaper – the Financial Times is particularly attractive. Add glitter, cover with cellophane and finish with a black ribbon.

Brown paper

Wrap your gifts with brown parcel paper and tie them up with ribbon, string or twine. You could stop there, or use festive rubber stamps to decorate the paper. Perhaps attach an old-fashioned candy cane to each gift or a Christmas tree decoration. For your crafty friends, tie the gifts up with yarn and top with a pom-pom.

Magazines and music

Recycle old magazines by using the pages as gift-wrap. Match the magazine pages to the recipient. Alternatively, use old sheet music (perhaps Christmas carols) and finish with a black ribbon.

Labels

Recycle last year’s Christmas cards – make them into gift labels. Or make labels out of black card and write your message in white pen to create a miniature black board. Try hand-stamping traditional luggage labels and glue on a few attractive buttons for a vintage look.

Image details – Natwest Piggy Banks by William Warby, via Flickr

This month, Gallery magazine’s theme was Billionaire.  You’ll find my Twitter article on page 27.  Or you can read it here, on the blog.  Enjoy…

Gallery #FF Billionaires

By Martine Ellis (@iMakeGuernsey)

This might come as a surprise, but you don’t see many billionaires on Twitter. This is probably because they don’t make any money out of tweeting. If it doesn’t boost their net worth, then what’s the point?

This isn’t strictly true. Twitter can be a fantastic marketing tool for businesses, but it’s easy to get it wrong. The key is to remember that Twitter a ‘social’ network, so if you are going to use it for marketing, then it’s all about engagement marketing, not traditional broadcast marketing.

Celebrities also use Twitter to instantly engage with their fans, often posting photographs to offer up a unique insight into their lives.

With that in mind, this month’s Gallery Twitterati includes just a few billionaires, some wealthy celebrities, several entrepreneurs and other people who might just tweet the piece of advice you need to make your first billion.

Image details – Piggy Bank on Grass by Images Money, via Flickr

Billionaires

• Bill Gates (@BillGates) – founder and Chairman of Microsoft and Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with an estimated net worth of US$59 billion.
• Richard Brandson (@richardbranson) – founder of the Virgin Group with an estimated net worth of £3.085 billion.
• Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) – American media personality, producer, magazine publisher, literary critic and actress with an estimated net worth of US$2.4 billion.
• Pierre Omidyar (@pierre) – Iranian-American entrepreneur and philanthropist, best know for starting online auction site, Ebay, with an estimated net worth of US$6.2 billion.
• Mark Cuban (@mcuban) – American billionaire entrepreneur and owner of NBA basketball team the Dallas Mavericks, with an estimated net worth US$2.3 billion.

Estimated net worth figures taken from www.forbes.com.

Celebrity Tweeters

• Jamie Oliver (@jamieoliver) – chef, restaurateur and media personality, best known for his TV shows, cook books and food related endeavours.
• Gary Barlow (@GBarlowOfficial) – member of Take that and head judge on the X factor.
• Bear Grylls (@BearGrylls) – Adventurer, Chief Scout and host of Man Vs Wild, Born Survivor and Ultimate Survival.

Image details – International Money Pile in Cash and Coins by epSos.de, via Flickr

Business Leaders

• Lord Alan Sugar (@Lord_Sugar) – best known for hit TV show The Apprentice and founding electronics company Amstrad. He is ranked 89th in the Sunday Times Rich List.
• Theo Paphitis (@TheoPaphitis) – retail magnate and entrepreneur, best known for his role of ‘dragon’ on BBC 2’s Dragons’ Den.
• Hilary Devey (@HilaryDevey) – the newest ‘dragon’ in the Dragon’s Den, she made her fortune in the haulage industry.

Business Advice

• Ed Dale (@Ed_Dale) – a marketing expert Dale has launched a series of successful advice programmes for startup businesses.
• John Jantsch (@ducttape) – a small business marketing consultant tweeting advice for small businesses and re-tweeting other leading small business voices in the field.
• Darren Rowse (@problogger) – a popular blogging expert who offers advice on how to generate income from your blog.

Image details – TRS-80 Model III by Adam Jenkins, via Flickr

Here are a few ideas for making gift tags out of simple luggage labels!  Enjoy…

You can use any kind of cardboard luggage labels – something like this is ideal…

You could sew some festive buttons to your tags.  Make sure you pierce the holes in the card with the needle before you start sewing.  Try drawing on a ‘hand-sewn’ border.  Just do it freehand – no need for a ruler.

With this tag I tied the thread on top of the button for a different effect.  This works best with buttons that have 2 holes, not 4.

A simple rubber-stamped image repeated 3 times always looks nice.

Give your hand-stamped tag a vintage look by chalking the edges.

Made 2 slits in the the tag, pass a length of ribbon through and tie in a bow.  Chalk the edges.

It’s been a while since I’ve published an iMake interview on the blog.  So I am delighted to introduce you to Hannah, the lovely Guernsey lass behind Lovelypop.  I hope this interview will be the first in a short series of interviews with Guernsey crafters.  Enjoy…

Please introduce yourself.

Hi, I am Hannah Godwin and I am a designer/maker from Guernsey in the Channel Islands. I live with Shaun and our two children Bea and Henry. I would be in trouble with Bea if I didn’t also mention the non-human members of our menagerie… Badger the Guinea Pig, Sonny the Cat and the persistently irritating Harvey our lovable new kitten (not conducive to crafting!).

I make under the name of Lovelypop, creating dolls, toys and all things lovable from vintage and new materials. I have been doing this now for a couple of years and have graduated from the basic bunny and on to dragons, giraffes and monkeys – I’ll give anything a go.

Describe yourself in 3 words.

Creative, driven and dedicated (to finishing all those projects…eventually!)

A little bit about your crafty background please…

I don’t come from an especially crafty or artistic background but for as long as I remember I have been drawing and making. I was recently reminded by a friend from junior school that I used to do bubble writing for classmates on all their workbooks.  I know I was obsessed with colouring rainbow colours too and copying cartoons especially Snoopy! I studied fine art in Italy after leaving school and that cemented in me the passion for creating. As part of my degree course I did work placements in various disciplines including rug making and felting, production jewellery (to the amusement of my student housemates I sat at the kitchen table stringing beads for Vivienne Westwood that were destined for the high end boutiques of Tokyo!) and enameling – I loved them all but have always turned back towards fabrics, I seem drawn to the sewing machine.

Lovelypop came about initially as an enterprise to paint personalised pictures for children’s rooms, then one day I needed a baby present and had no canvas so turned to my scrap pile for inspiration, up popped some pink gingham and a pompom, the result was a little bunny with the baby’s name embroidered on the tummy. After a couple more well received handmade gifts I was urged to diversify and now the range includes all sorts of animals and dolls.

What is your favourite word?

Holiday and all that entails, so long as I am relaxing and have my family with me I am happy.

What is your least favourite word?

Credit Card Bill . Technically 3 words but enough to drive me to chocolate!

What sound or noise do you love?

My favourite noise can only be properly heard in my favourite place, Herm island, and more specifically Shell Beach. The sound of the waves pulling against the beach has a particularly gravelly sound that just doesn’t work with any normal sand.

What sound or noise do you hate?

As a mother of two I cannot stand the sound of whining or whinging! Especially if it is coming from two rooms away and I am expected to react.

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

If I have a regret in life then it is that I didn’t pursue a career as an architect, I just know I would have had a lot of fun with that, maybe it isn’t too late to add that string to my bow.

What profession would you not like to do?

I have worked in Graphic Design, Marketing and HR so I am not averse to office-based roles but I really couldn’t work with numbers all day so probably something like an accountant.

The stage is yours… what else would you like to say in this interview?

I just love being a maker, it makes me very happy to be able to do what I love and although it may never make me a millionaire, it fills a hole in my life that is very empty when I am not doing something creative.

Starting Lovelypop happened almost by accident and without a doubt the driving force that has made it successful is the internet and social media. I love the creativity involved in building a website and marketing myself (although I am not always very good at self-promotion), all these things just wouldn’t have been possible even 10 years ago. Twenty years ago I wrote my dissertation on the difference between Art and Craft, why it was that Craft was seen as inferior and how people working in the craft world would avoid using the ‘C’ word. I am so glad that is no longer the case, crafting has an edge to it that sets it aside from the Art world and it is allowed to be cool and experimental and forward thinking in a way that Art cannot be. I would urge anyone to take up a craft and run with it, you really can create anything you want to.

Finally, please take a look at my website to see more of what Lovelypop is all about www.lovelypop.co.uk you can also find me on facebook, search for Lovelypop Creations and I regularly do giveaways so take a look and click ‘like’ to join in!

So I knitted another Ripley hat!  I am obsessed with this pattern.  It’s possible to knit this hat in a weekend without too much effort.  I made the same size but went for the lace edging this time.  I used my dark grey/black Rowan Cocoon.  Interestingly the lace makes the hat less of a beanie, more of a cloche – it’s definitely a different fit.  Here are my photos…

My lovely blog and show sponsor Great British Yarns is delighted to offer all iMake blog readers free postage on orders over £15 placed during December. The free postage offer applies to UK residents. If you are ordering from overseas, you will receive a discount of £3.75 off your postage. Just enter the code IMPOST15 at the checkout. This offer applies for the month of December only. Thank you Great British Yarns!

I am delighted to introduce a fantastic Etsy Shop run by a lovely lady called Linda.  The shop is Made by Ewe, and it is literally jam-packed with Sheepy Goodness!  Linda has introduced a range of sheep knitting kits, which use 1oo% British yarns from British farmers.  And you, lucky reader, have the opportunity to win one of these ‘knit your own sheep’ kits!

But first, let’s hear a little more from Linda:

“I came up with the idea for the sheep kits, when I was researching all the lovely sheep breeds in Britain,” says Linda Regel. “I love the variety of the different breeds, and the different fleeces give the sheep character.”

The sheep are quick to knit and are designed for knitters with some experience.

The kits have been developed to support the British wool industry and promote British yarns. The company is a partner in the Campaign for Wool, whose patron is HRH The Prince of Wales.

As well as British yarn, the knitting kits contain stuffing made from British fleece. The stuffing is made from noil, which is a waste product of wool fibre processing. The noil is soft and natural and is perfect for stuffing.

So to be in with a chance of winning one of these knitting kits, please visit Linda’s Etsy shop, Made by Ewe,  and decide which sheep kit you would like, if you were fortunate enough to win. Then leave me a comment on this blog post telling me the name of the sheep you’d like.  One entry per person please, as usual.  Also, the winner will be notified by email so please ensure you include your email address when you post the comment.  This giveaway closes at the end of December 2011.

Good luck!

*** This giveaway is now closed and the winner was comment 43, Connie – congratulations! ***

I am the first to admit that I am mildly obsessed with my iPhone.  Despite being really interested in technology and reasonably up to date (I have to be in my job) I was a late adopter when it came to the iPhone.  Now I am not sure how I lived without it!

As regular blog readers will know, I am very interested in photography and love photographing my handcrafted items, as well as taking shots of my lovely island. I bought my first DLSR camera recently and use it all the time. For this reason, I have been a bit of a snob when it comes to using my iPhone camera. Why would use my phone to take an arty shot, when I have a proper, posh camera? That changed recently though, when I discovered an app called Camera+.

It’s brilliant! It costs just 69p in the iTunes store (I think it might be on sale at the moment) and it really adds some brilliant functions to your bog-standard iPhone camera.  There are some lovely effects and frames.  There is also a zoom, crop tool and image stabilisation thingie.  You can also add text to your photo.  The app integrates seamlessly with social networks too, so sharing your photos is really easy.

Whilst this 69p app is obviously no replacement for my DSLR, it’s a bit of fun.  And I rather like the way some of my shots look.  All of the photos on this blog post are taken with Camera+.

P.S. I have not been asked to review this app – I just wanted to share my thoughts!

When it comes to making jewellery I love working with leather.  I’ve been playing with a few ideas recently and have designed some very simple bracelets that show off beautiful pieces of leather.  You could, of course, add charms these bracelets if you wanted to, but I am really a ‘less is more’ kind of girl. I hope these photos show you how simple jewellery making can be and perhaps encourage you to have a go yourself.

This one is a length of soft, purple nappa leather, wrapped around the wrist twice and secured with a hook clasp.

This one is similar to the bracelet at the top of this post – a length of brown nappa leather secured with a magntic ball clasp.

This one is a bit more ‘rock and roll’!  Black nappa leather, wrapped around the wrist 3 times and secured with a hook clasp.

P.S. If you like these bracelets, I have added them to my Etsy shop under the category Leather Bracelets.  I also added the riverstone bracelets from a few posts back under the category SemiPrecious Bracelets.  Any iMake blog readers can claim a 10% discount on purchases between now and Christmas Eve by using the code XMASIMAKE at the checkout.

This show is something of a mixed bag and includes me interviewing myself, as well as a review of the Country Living Christmas event by the lovely Kate. There is also my recent creative exploits – this episode is simply bursting with crafty goodness!  Please join in and share the handmade love. This is my last episode of 2011, so I will look forward to speaking to you again in early 2012. Merry Christmas!

Show Notes

Welcome (00:32)

iMake on Audioboo

Kate on Ravelry

Recent Creative Exploits and Christmas Update (03:40)

Terra by Jared Flood

Knit Picks Wool of the Andes form Great British Yarns

Rowan Cocoon from Great British Yarns

Ripley by Ysolda Teague

Finished Ripley on Ravelry

Toft Alpaca Shop

Knit Nation podcast episode

Christmas card workshop post

Button Tree Christmas Card Tutorial

Bauble Christmas Card Tutorial

iMake Etsy Shop

River stone jewellery

Blog Like it’s the End of the World

Google Analytics

My Twitter article

Gallery Magazine on Facebook

Gallery Magazine on Twitter

Main Show Topic – Crowd Interview (13:32)

Crowd website (includes social network links)

Crowd blog

iMake inteview blog on Crowd

iMake’s Stitch n’ Bitch

iMake on Facebook

iMake on Pinterest

iMake on Flickr

iMake on Twitter

iMake on Ravelry

iMake on Audioboo

Creative Commons Licensing

Hootsuite

Other Main Show Topic – Kate’s Report from Country Living (27:49)

Websites mentioned in Kate’s report:

Loop Knitting in London

Country Living Fair

Caroling Zoob

Scatty Cat

A few photos…

Giveaway Update (38:48)

November Giveaway (Stitchtastic)

November Great British Yarns discount

Made by Ewe (Linda’s Etsy Shop)

Campaign for Wool

Wrap Up (38:37)

Finally I’d like to thank our fabulous show sponsor, Great British Yarns:

I thought it might be time for a little knitting update.  I decided to keep the Christmas knitting to a minimum this year and have only knitted something for my Mum (mitts).  Bizarrely, the minute I took the pressure off, I started knitting like a thing possessed!

These 2 patterns were recommended to me by the lovely Chloe, friend of the iMake podcast and writer of the Sparkly Shoes are Faster blog.  First is Terra by Brooklyn Tweed – still a work in progress.  This is a lovely winter shawl.  The main body of it is an easy garter stitch ridge pattern and there is just a little bit of lace around the outside. The lace is charted and I have always been a bit scared of charts, so it’s going to push me outside my knitting comfort zone, which is good. Here is a photo of the garter ridge pattern, it’s very simple, but creates a lovely texture.

I am knitting the shawl in Knit Picks Wool of the Andes (worsted weight), the colourway is Amethyst Heather. The yarn was only £2.40 a ball (!!) from Great British Yarns. At that price, I was not expecting it to be particularly nice to work with, but I was pleasantly surprised.  I am such a yarn snob.  The yarn is reassuringly sturdy with just a tiny bit of itch.  The colourway is gorgeous and the stitch definition is lovely.  I wouldn’t wear it next to my skin, but it will be fabulous over the top of a jumper or coat.  I am really happy with it.

Clearly I was having a spending spree with my fabulous sponsor,  Great British Yarns, as I also purchased some Rowan Cocoon from them.  Cocoon has been one of my favourite yarns for a long time, I often go back to it.  It is a lovely aran weight, 80% merino and 20% kid mohair blend.  I generally don’t like anything with mohair it is, but this one just seems to work.  I have been working in sock yarn a lot recently so this yarn, and the Knit Picks, has been a pleasure to work with as they knit up so quickly!!   I ordered 2 balls of Cocoon, one in a light grey and the other in a dark grey (almost black).  Over 2 evenings I knitted Ysolda Teauge’s Ripley hat…

Yes, you heard me right, I did this over 2 evenings! It’s a super fast knit and really enjoyable. You can customise the pattern by changing the brim (there is a lace option, but I went for the plain one) and the ‘slouch’ (I went for less slouch). The ‘gathers’ in the hat are lots of fun (see the photo at the top of this post). Here is a close up of the brim…

Having said that I am not knitting anything else for Christmas, I have a friend who would love this hat. So I am going to gift it to her. Then I am going to quickly knit myself one with the other ball of Cocoon (hopefully this weekend!)

Image details – Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SV by Ed Callow, via Flickr

As you can tell from the title of this post, and indeed the fast car pictured above (with the very nice SPOILER), this is a *spoiler alert* post (much like this one!)

I am delighted to say I have finished my mum’s Christmas mitts, so here they are….

Details

• My project on Ravelry
• Pattern: Purple Muscari by Melissa Kelenske
• Needles: 2mm DPNs (too small really, but I wanted the mitts quite small for my mum and I think they are about right)
• Yarn: Fyberspates Sock Yarn (with sparkle!)
• Notes: very happy with the finished item, although I’d cast off a little more loosely next time and also add another inch of stockinette before I started the thumb for an improved fit.

I am really happy with the mitts and I think they will be perfect for mum. I think I am going to give myself a break on the Christmas knitting now though. I did have one other project planned, but I need a bit of a break from impossible deadlines!  This leaves me with just one work in progress (my Terra shawl) so I can think about stash busting in the new year.  Over the next month, I plan to knit because I want to, not because I have to.  Hurrah!

Image details – Twitter escultura de arena by Rosaura Ochoa, via Flickr

A new magazine launched in Guernsey this week called Gallery.  It’s an incredibly cool and creative lifestyle mag.  Whilst I am creative, I am not exactly cool, but despite this sad fact, I have been asked to write for the magazine.  My first article is all about Twitter, and I hope to write a monthly article recommending interesting people to follow.  I know a lot of creative, crafty types are interested in Twitter, so I thought I’d post my articles here on the blog.  If you’d like to see the magazine in full, online, click here (my article is on page 19).  So without further ado, here’s my first article for Gallery…

What the #FF?

Have you ever wondered what all of the fuss over Twitter is about? Do you have difficulty distinguishing your hashtags from your re-tweets, and your DMs from your FFs? If so, read on, tweeps…

About Twitter

Created in 2006, Twitter is a micro-blogging and social networking platform allowing users to post short text based messages and images. These are known as tweets. Twitter’s unique selling point is the fact that it’s gloriously concise. Messages must not exceed 140 characters. There is no requirement to ‘tweet’ if you join Twitter. You can simply ‘follow’ people who interest you.

Twitter Terminology

If you are going to venture into the Twitterverse, you should probably learn the language.

• DM/direct message: a direct, personal message through Twitter.
• #FF: Follow Friday. Twitter users often suggest who others should follow on Fridays by tweeting with the hashtag #FF.
• Follow: to follow someone on Twitter is to subscribe to their tweets. You can follow anyone you like, and they can follow you unless you block them.
• Hashtag: the # symbol is used to mark keywords or topics in a tweet.
• Mention: the act of mentioning another user in your tweet by including the @ sign followed directly by their username.
• Re-tweet: the act of forwarding another user’s tweet to all of your followers. Abbreviation – RT.
• Timeline: a real-time list of tweets on Twitter.
• Tweet: the act of posting a message or update on Twitter
• Trending topic: the most popular topics on Twitter at the moment.

Image details – Twitter by Andreas Eldh, via Flickr

Gallery Twitterarti

To follow, or not to follow? That is the question. To help you successfully navigate the Twitosphere, Gallery Magazine has compiled a list of top tweeters – The Gallery Twitterarti.

Top Five

Twitter newbies should really start with the ‘top five’ tweeters (this status is accorded by the number of followers each person has). They need little introduction.

• Lady Gaga (@ladygaga)
• Stephen Fry (@stephenfry)
• Justin Bieber (@justinbieber)
• Katy Perry (@katyperry)
• Barack Obama (@BarackObama)

Style/Fashion

• Gala Darling (@galadarling) – international playgirl, radical self-love revolutionary and false eyelash addict.
• Scott Schuman (@Sartorialist) – street trends as spotted by influential photographer, Scott Schuman.
• WhoWhatWear (@WhoWhatWear) – immediate access to the latest celebrity styles and hottest new trends the moment they hit the runway.

Humor

• The Queen (@Queen_UK) – hilarious parody tweeter. It’s The Queen, only far funnier! Includes regular, satirical humour and frequent references to gin.
• Meeting Boy (@MeetingBoy) – the anonymous man who unleashes bitter, yet hilarious rants about his intolerable boss and office life in general.
• Tremendous News (@tremendousnews) – amusing tweets about culture and technology.

Local

• Chris George (@GeorgieGuernsey) – local photographer, Chris George, tweets include Georgie’s Pic of the Day.
• iMake (@iMakeGuernsey) – blogs and podcasts about handmade crafts, photography, food and anything creative.
• Jenson Button (@JensonButton) – Vodafone McLaren Mercedes F1 driver living in Guernsey (so nearly local!)
• Dawn Porter (@hotpatooties) a loved local writer and journalist.

You can follow Gallery magazine on Twitter too, they are @gallerymaggsy.

Image details – Twitter Profile by Rosaura Ochoa, via Flickr

I am seriously showing my age with this subtle reference to the genius that is (was?) Huey Lewis and the News…  Oooh the eighties…

Anyway, where was I?  Oh yes… I seem to have been writing a lot about craft recently, but not actually doing a lot of craft.  So at the weekend, I had a few hours to spare, and I dedicated it to jewellery making.

First I designed a few new leather bracelets and ordered what I needed to make them from a supplier I’ve not used before – Bijoux Beads.  Their website is gorgeous.  I will report back on their service and products in due course.

Then, through the magic of You Tube, I taught myself something that I’d been wanting to learn for ages – a square knot bracelet closure, pictured below.  I’ve seen it on quite a few bracelets and always admired it.  I own 2 lovely Lola Rose bracelets that feature the same adjustable closure.

With this new technique I made these bracelets (pictured at the top of the post and below) using river stone beads and waxed cotton cord.  I also made similar designs using some jade beads (not pictured).

Isn’t the internet amazing and inspirational?

***Update 20/11/11 – I am now selling these bracelets in my Etsy Shop**

This is the video I used to make the square knot closure.

I needed a reminder on how to tie a square knot so I used this video.

And finally, for those of you who are too young to remember Huey Lewis and the News…

Here is a tutorial for one of the cards I included in a recent Christmas card-making workshop.  It’s a really simple card – suitable for inexperienced card-makers.  It’s the card on the far left of the image above.  You can find a tutorial for the button tree card here (card on the far right, above).

You will need…

• Some string
• A card blank and envelope (I used a 6 x 4 inch recycled card, the colour was hairy manila).  I get my card blanks from Eco Craft
• Sellotape
• Small sticky fixers
• Scissors
• Glue stick
• Pencil
• 2 small pieces of patterned paper (complimentary colours) or a piece of double sided paper (this is what I used)
• If needed, a template for your bauble shape (many are available online, just type ‘bauble template’ into a search engine)
• Bone folder – if you have one, or a ruler should do the job

This is what I did…

Crease your card using a bone folder and then open it out.

Cut out 2 baubles using your template.  If you are using double sided paper, fold a piece in half, draw one bauble and cut out so you get 2 identical baubles.  You’ll be using one side of the paper for the front bauble and the other side for the back bauble.

Work out where you want your baubles to be on the card – don’t stick them down yet. Also cut the string so there are 2 pieces that are long enough to go behind the baubles and over the top of the card.

Tape the string down on the front of the card.

Glue the ‘back’ bauble down over the string, using a glue stick.

Attach sticky fixers to the back of the second (front) bauble.

Stick your front bauble on the card.

Tape the strings on the inside of the card (you can cover this with another piece of card if you wish).

Hand-write a message under the baubles like so…

Done!

You could vary this card in many ways. Perhaps use different shaped baubles or use a white card. I’d suggest not using string on a white card – perhaps draw the strings on with a pencil or use silver thread. You could also add a little silver card strip to the neck of the baubles – that would look nice. Perhaps use a different shaped card or use this type of card landscape … the possibilities are endless!

Here is one of the cards made at the workshop I hosted this week…

This week I had the pleasure of running a Christmas card making workshop for some lovely local ladies (they all work for a local school).  I have run Christmas card workshops for these ladies for the past few years and it is always good fun.  Here is my blog about last year’s workshop.

This year, we made 4 simple cards.  Because they have made cards before, I wanted to present them with really simple ideas and encourage them to develop the ideas.  It worked – they made some beautiful cards.

I tweeted photos throughout the evening under the hashtag #christmascardmaking, so please do check us out on Twitter here.  Even if you are not on Twitter, you should be able to see the hash-tagged images.  Just in case you cannot, I have picked out the best ones below.  They are taken on my iPhone using a few special effects and borders.  Underneath the tweeted images are some ‘normal’ photos.

Finally, you can find a tutorial for the button card here.  A tutorial for the bauble card will follow soon.

At last, my Travelling Woman is finished.  Phew!  I actually finished it last week but I’ ve struggled to find a time (during daylight hours!) to photograph it.  Even now, the colours in the photos are not quite right.  The photo above seems represent the colour best.  Anyway, I’ve been going on about this shawl for ages, but in case you missed it, here are the main details, followed by lots (and lots) of photos…

• Pattern: Travelling Woman shawl by Liz Abinante
• Version: I made the large version in fingering weight yarn with 4 repeats of chart A and one of chart B
• Yarn: I used 1 skein of Wollmeise in Campari Piccolo (I had a small amount of yarn left)
• Pattern notes: this is a gorgeous, logical pattern, but please put lifelines in if you try it.  I got really confused when I changed charts (although I follow the written instructions) because I lost track of which row I was on.  I did lots of ripping and un-knitting!  I am delighted with the finished object though.

Blocking Travelling Woman

Finished Travelling Woman (blocked and styled)

This is how I like to wear it…

But here it is, traditional shawl style…

Close up on lace…

Hanging on my bamboo screen…

Finally, me wearing the shawl for the first time (I tweeted this photo)…

Image details – Stormtrooper Hamlet by Pascal, via Flickr

This is my November craft column, as featured in GBG magazine.  I hope you like it.

To Make, or Not to Make?

Last year, I came up with the crazy idea of making all of my Christmas gifts by hand. That doesn’t sounds too crazy, does it? What was utterly ludicrous was the fact that I only made this decision a month before Christmas. Seemingly, I’d forgotten how much time it takes to make anything! As you can imagine, the final few days leading up to Christmas were spent in a making frenzy. I vaguely recall my husband wrestling my knitting needles off me during the small hours of Christmas Eve…

In the end I managed to make the vast majority of my gifts, but not all of them.

Image details – Christmas Presents Under the Tree by Alan Cleaver, via Flickr

What did I learn?

• Don’t make all of your gifts, unless you are fortunate enough to have unlimited craft time. You turn into a one-person production line and it sucks the joy out what you ordinarily would love doing.
• Only give handmade gifts to people who will really appreciate them.
• Label your gifts so people know they are handmade and, if the gift took a long time to make, include an estimate of the number of hours.
• Start early!

Here are a few handmade Christmas gift ideas that won’t take you too long to make.

• Make pickles and sloe gin.
• Create project bags for crafty friends (fill a drawstring bag with everything they need to make something for themselves).
• Decoupage a plant pot.
• Make soap or other bath/beauty items.
• Make Christmas cards and gift tags from the cards you received last year.

For more ideas and tutorials search for “Quick Christmas Makes” on the iMake blog. Good luck with your festive making.

Image details – Wrapped Gifts Under Tree by Jimmie, via Flickr

Isn’t Ravelry fantastic?  A while back, I had a lovely message from a fellow knitter called Katie.  She was knitting a project in grey Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK.  She had run out of yarn and was struggling to find the right dye lot locally.  She saw that I had just what she needed in my stash and offered to buy it off me.  I was, of course, happy to help out a ‘knitter in need’.  Anyway, it turns out that she is a fab knitwear designer – the yarn was for a new scarf design.  And guess what?  She’s named the scarf after me!!  It’s called Amartine.  I was so thrilled that I had to share my excitement on the blog!  It looks like a lovely scarf.  Please take a look.

Katie is FrizzyKnits on Ravelry, you can find her blog here and buy her patterns on Raverly here.  I am pretty sure she is the model in the photos too.

This episode kicks off with my recent creative exploits, including a knitted shawl crisis and a Christmas update.  It also includes a giveaway, a special offer and lots of beer.  (Honestly!)  The main show topic is gift wrapping.  So you know the drill – sit back, relax, grab your current crafty work in progress, and a beer if you like, and join in with the crafty banter.

Show Notes

Welcome (00:32)

Recent Creative Exploits and Christmas Update (02:09)

Travelling Woman Shawl (my Ravelry project)

Terra by Jared Flood

Purple Muscari (ladies mitts)

Dashing (men’s mitts) on Ravelry

Fetching mitts

Rowan Tapestry

Cerus Scarf pattern (pattern on Ravelry)

Ripley hat by Ysolda (pattern on Ravelry)

Chloe’s blog – Sparkly Shoes are Faster

Pretty Twisted by Cat Wong (pattern on Ravelry)

Rock Island Shawl by Jared Flood (pattern on Raverly)

Juno Fibre Arts Alice Lace

Martine and Charles’s Christmas cake soap

Lavender healing salve tutorial

Lip balm tutorial

Lino printing tutorial

Button Christmas card tutorial

Gift Wrapping (10:16)

Charles’s gifts from last year

You Tube

Pinterest (iMake on Pinterest)

Giveaway Update (19:27)

This month’s giveaway, sponsored by Stitchtastic

Stitchtastic

Great British Yarns discount (kidsilk haze stripe)

Guernsey (22:23)

Randall’s Brewery

Young Business Group

Wrap Up (26:44)… pardon the pun!

Finally I’d like to thank our fabulous show sponsor, Great British Yarns:

I am delighted to offer all iMake blog readers and podcast listeners a 10% discount on Kidsilk Haze Stripe yarn purchased from the Great British Yarns website during the month of November.

Kidsilk Stripe is a self striping version of Kid Silk Haze which is 70% super kid silk Mohair and 30% silk. The colour combinations have been cleverly put together by the master of colour, Kaffe Fassett, and when knitted as a scarf will compliment any outfit. One ball of 50g is enough to knit a scarf and can also be knitted to any Kid Silk Haze pattern.  The yarn is perfect for knitting this scarf.

Suggested needle size 3 – 5 mm, 425m (465yds) per 50g ball.

To take advantage of this offer, visit the Great British Yarns website and choose your Kidsilk Haze Stripe yarn.  Then when you go through the checkout, enter the code KIDSTRIPE10.  Remember this offer is only valid for the month of November.

Thanks to Great British Yarns for this lovely offer.

This is a scarf made from Kidsilk Haze Stripe…

And here is an example of one of the lovely colourways…

As I am sure you know by now, I love buttons! I thought it would be a nice idea to create a simple Christmas card using buttons.  Here is the tutorial.

You will need…

• One 6 x 4 inch card blank and envelope
• A selection of small red and green buttons
• Small glue dots
• Glue stick
• Scissors
• Pen
• Bone folder, if you have one, if not, use a ruler
• Scrap of brown card

First crease your card by folding it in half (most card blanks will ‘naturally’ fold in a certain direction). Gently run the bone folder or ruler up and down the crease to create a sharp fold.

Then arrange your buttons in a triangle on the card (this is your tree).

When you are happy with your button arrangement, stick them down using glue dots. You may find you end up moving the button positions a bit – that’s fine. To use the glue dots, apply the button to the dot then peel it off and stick it down.

Cut out a small ‘pot’ for your tree using the brown card.  I just free-handed the shape.  I also drew little fake ‘stitches’ around the edge so it looks like sewn blanket stitch. Glue the ‘pot’ to the card under the tree.

Then, using your pen, free-hand ‘stitches’ around the outside of the card to make a sewn border. You don’t have to be too accurate.

And there you have it! You could use a rubber stamp to add a Christmas greeting if you like, but I rather like the simplicity of this card as it is.

Image details – Knitting @ LYS by LollyKnit, via Flickr

Recently I was asked for some advice by a lovely Jersey-based lady looking to set up a knitting group.  I have been running my own group for several years now, so I was happy to oblige.  It turns out I have learnt a fair bit about this particular subject over the years, so I thought I’d put it all into a blog post.  I have called this post ‘setting up a knitting group’ but obviously the tips I give could apply to any sort of craft group.

Venue

First and foremost, you need a venue. Pubs are commonly used for knitting/craft groups as it give a cool, relaxed vibe. Also you do not need to organise refreshments as people just sort themselves out at the bar. However most pubs have poor lighting and you cannot be guaranteed sufficient seating for your group.

I hold my group gatherings at a local art gallery. They are happy for me to use the venue for free as it brings people into their space. The gallery also advertises my group to its customers. I would recommend this sort of venue over a pub if you can get it – but avoid having to pay for a venue. If you do, you’ll need to charge people to attend and that creates unnecessary stress for you. Find a venue that sees the value in letting you use it for free, for example a local yarn or craft shop.

Image by sarahnw, via Flickr

Keep it simple

This leads me on to the most important tip I can offer. Assuming you are planning to run this group purely for pleasure, you need to ensure that it involves the bare minimum of effort for you. I know that sounds harsh, but it will be worth it in the long run.

When I started my group, I used to arrive an hour before it started to arrange the tables and chairs in a certain way, then I’d set up a screen so we could watch a movie. I’d bring knitting books and magazines for people to read. I’d get out glasses and cups (which invariably I’d be left to wash up at the end of the night – not because people are lazy, purely because I didn’t think to ask for help!)  I’d buy wine for the evening and other drinks and ask people to make a donation to our ‘wine fund’. Whilst I was never out of pocket on the drinks, the effort I went to was considerable.

Image details – stressed by Rick Audet, via Flickr

Now I leave the tables and chairs as they are, I only offer tea and coffee (I ask for occasional donations) and have a small sign up asking people to ensure they wash up their own cups.  I also have a sign telling people to help themselves to drinks. I don’t show a film anymore, I just put some music on so people can chatter.  That’s it!  I don’t need to buy anything in advance, except a litre of milk and I can arrive 15 minutes before we start.

It’s also a good idea to involve someone else in the organisation of your group – just in case you are off sick.  I am not suggesting you set up an organising committee, in fact, I think this would be a bad idea.  But another person to share the responsibility with would be good.

Timing

Then think about how regularly you want to meet – once a month works well for my group. Although I don’t have it on a set day every month. I organise each session to suit my availability and I vary the day. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays seem to work well. By doing this I get different people attending. The evening runs from 7.00pm – 9.30pm and people can arrive and leave any time during that period.

Image details – Minutiae by Brett Jordan, via Flickr

Name your group

Think about what you are going to name your group. Mine is a ‘Stitch n’ Bitch’ group as it focuses on stitch crafts, although other crafters are always welcome.  Stitch n’ Bitch is a great, well-recognised name.  However it does cause a few issues!  For example if I send an email to my email list, the word ‘bitch’ sometimes causes the email to bounce! Also if you are going to open your group up to other crafts, then the word ‘stitch’ in the title isn’t ideal.

Image details – Cats Love Stitch n’ Bitch by Robin Zebrowski, via Flickr

Marketing and communication

Finally, consider how you are going to attract people to your group and how you are going to keep in touch with them about meeting dates or any changes to arrangements or venue.  If you have a blog or a website already, why not add a page dedicated to your group.  This is mine. If you don’t have a website, you can set one up simply and easily for free.  I am a big fan of WordPress for blogging – you could adapt a blog for your group.  You could use it to showcase photos of items your members have made as well as publishing dates of your meetings and relevant news.

Also consider putting together an email list – that’s how I keep in contact with my group members. I usually send out email reminders that we are meeting and ask people to email me back if they are likely to attend, just to give me a rough idea of numbers.

I think that’s it!

If anyone reading this would like to add some advice to this post, please leave a comment.  I’d also be really interested to hear about other people’s experience of either running or attending a craft group.  Thanks!

I am delighted to announce this month’s giveaway, which has been kindly sponsored by Stitchtastic.

About Stitchtastic

Sarah and Patrick from Stitchtastic have been manufacturing and selling cross stitch kits as well as accessories, acrylic and glassware (to display crafts) since the end of 2006. They started the company because Sarah, a keen stitcher, spotted a gap in the market for more unusual cross stitch designs. They started off with motorbike and car designs, then quite soon after expanded into the caricatures. Most of these are transport related but they also have an animal caricature range. This year they began to look out for artists that could create some new designs that would continue appeal to quirky stitchers, and that’s when they created their Designers by Stitchtastic range. Patrick is one of the designers, plus two established artists, Ann Edwards and Kate Mawdsley.

The Giveaway

You can win one complete cross stitch kit of your choice from the Designers by Stitchtastic range, up to the value of £30.00.  Please check out the links below to have a look at each designer’s range.

Patrick Scott

Ann Edwards

Kate Mawdsley

All you need to do is leave a comment on this blog post explaining which kit you’d like if you won.  Please make sure you pick from one of the designer’s ranges above, otherwise your entry will not be valid.  One comment per person please.   The winner will be notified by email so please ensure your comment includes your email address.  The giveaway will close at the end of November 2011.  Good luck!

***This giveaway is now closed, the winner was comment 47 – Amanda.  Congratulations!***

In episode 30 of the iMake podcast, Charles and I made Christmas cake soap using a kit from The Soap Kitchen.  Click here for some photos of the half-finished cake.  I am delighted to say that we finally got round to decorating it today.  Here is the finished article…

We were quite chuffed!  The decorating was fiddly, but worth it in the end.

We also made some Lavender Healing Salve for stocking fillers today, so it’s been a fabulous crafty day all round.

As promised, here is a tutorial based on my first attempt at lino printing.  I am printing on fabric, but you can print on anything you like – just make sure you pick the right ink.

You will need…

• ‘Lino’ – use the soft, rubber stuff (available online) rather than actual lino, as it is far easier to cut
• Cutting tool with various blades (again, readily available online – I used Ebay for my supplies)
• Permanent pen
• Ink – for fabric you can use fabric paint or screen printing ink
• Either a roller and tray, sponge or paint brush (for applying ink)
• Scrap fabric
• Drawstring bag (or whatever you’d like to print on) – mine was from The Clever Baggers
• Iron
• Scissors
• Old tea towel
• Newspaper to protect your work surface

This is what I did…

Lay out the newspaper – you might make a mess.  Then cut out a piece of ‘lino’ for your design.  I recommend starting small and choosing a design with straight lines, like a star.  I just free-handed my design, as you can see.  But you can print off designs from the internet and trace them onto the lino quite easily.

Draw your design on the lino, use permanent pen or trace it on using pencil then go over it in pen if it isn’t clear enough for you to see to cut the design out.

Your cutting tool will have several different blades, so I recommend experimenting with each blade on a spare piece of lino so you know what each does and how much pressure you need to apply.  Don’t cut too deep – you will go through the lino.

I cut out the outline first using a blade with a fairly deep ‘V’ so it was a narrow, accurate cut.  SAFETY TIP – please ensure you cut away from your hand!  The blades are very sharp.

Then you can change to a wider blade and gradually cut away the background. Don’t cut too deep as you will go through the lino.

Be aware that any ‘ridges’ you cut will also have a high point that could pick up ink, so once you have cut away the background, you may wish to go over it again and take the top of the high points of the ridges (very badly explained, sorry!)

I’ve only been round once cutting out the background in this photo…

In this photo, I have started trying to flatten out the background, close to the star…

When that’s finished, I cut the edges off the lino as they were quite raised and would have picked up ink.

Now prepare your ink and printing surface. I put an old tea towel inside my drawstring bag so the ink would not seep through.

Ink up your stamp either using a paintbrush, sponge or ink/roller.

Have a practice print on scrap fabric. Then when you are ready, print on your bag.

You’ll need to ink up the stamp for every print. If some of the shapes don’t come out well then you can touch them up with a paint brush. But to be honest, hand stamping/printing is not supposed to look perfect!

To fix my prints, I had to iron the bag once the ink had dried.

There you have it…

Now Autumn is well and truly here, it’s time for warming, hearty dinners.  One of hubby’s favourites is chilli, not least because I tend to make a large batch and put at least half in the freezer.  This recipe came from my mother-in-law and has been tweaked a little along the way.  I hope you like it.

Ingredients

• 2 large onions (chopped)
• 3 cloves of garlic
• Oil
• Salt and pepper
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 3 bay leaves
• 1kg minced beef
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 4 teaspoons hot chilli powder
• 100ml malt vinegar
• 6 tablespoons tomato puree
• 3 x 400ml tins of chopped tomatoes
• 2 x 400ml tins of red kidney beans
• 300ml red wine
• Tabasco to taste

This recipe makes a massive pot of chilli – I’d guess enough for 6 – 8 people.  I make it for just hubby and I and freeze what I don’t use.

Fry chopped onions and garlic in oil on a low heat for a few minutes to soften

.

Stir in cumin, salt and pepper, bay leaves and oregano.

Add mince to the pan to brown.

While the mince is cooking, in a jug mix the vinegar, paprika and chilli powder.

Stir the spice/vinegar mix into the pan.  Then add the tomato puree, tinned tomatoes, kidney beans and red wine.

Cook on the hob, uncovered, for 1 1/2 – 2 hours on a low heat.  Add tabasco to taste.

Serve with rice or in a jacket potato with melted cheese on top.  Yummy!

I thought I’d share a few more shots from my Guernsey walkabout earlier in the week (this was when I encountered the comical seagulls). The photograph above is of Le Guet (it really makes me think of Fangorn Forest in the Lord of the Rings!)  Here are a few more…

This is Fort Grey, also known as the Cup and Saucer.  There is a shipwreck museum inside.

This is ‘hedge veg‘ (a regular occurance in Guernsey). People sell their home grown produce on their hedge, or in this case, over the road from their house. You pay by leaving the right money in the tin supplied. It’s all on an honesty basis. So Guernsey!

In the last podcast (episode 31) I mentioned that I had treated myself to a new, handmade knitting bag.  Well, it arrived today… and I LOVE it.  The one on the left with the butterflies is the new bag.  It’s a bucket shaped bag and is slightly stiff so it stands up on its own (ideal for concealing my current project from my cats).  It also came beautifully wrapped and with a lavender sachet inside, so my knitting now smells lovely!  My Travelling Woman Shawl is living in this bag at the moment.  The bag on the right is the ‘wristie’ that I got while I was at Knit Nation.  I use this for knitting mitts or socks ‘on the go’ and it tends to live in my handbag.  Both have been created by a fantastic duo called Made by Loumms.

I was so chuffed with the quality and clever design of the bag that I had to blog about it.  I haven’t been asked to review the products – I paid full price.  I am genuinely very, very impressed.

Here is a bit about ‘Made by Loumms’, taken from their Etsy shop bio:

We are Louisa and Emmms and together we make up Loumms. We live in South-east London, where Lou has a proper garden, but Emmms has an enormous stash, so together we manage rather well.

We can’t quite remember when, though it was probably and over a bottle of wine, almost definitely in the Marquis of Granby, that we discovered a shared passion for making things: apricot jam and barbequed peppers, home-grown tomatoes and container cucumbers, sock patterns and yarn out of camp 70s polyester… Several years, and many more bottles of wine, later we also made Loumms.

Our jobs mean that we either live inside our own heads (Emmms, editor and part-time lecturer) or are bored out of our gourd (Lou, croupier), so any chance to create something tangible is grabbed at eagerly. With Loumms, we’re on a mission to grow, make, create, re-use and recycle as much of daily life as possible, and make it pretty.

This year we have been working our way through the Loumms Year of Socks (designing 18 pairs between us over 12 months); and our love of gardening has made us yearn to spread the joys of home-grown food.

Visit our blog to read more about our crafty adventures, to try out our recipes and for heaps of gardening and knitting tutorials.

They sounds like really nice people too, don’t they?

Anyway, if you want to check out their links, I have listed them below.  All that remains to be said is ‘hurrah for handmade’!

Loumms’s Etsy Shop

Loumms’s Folksy Shop

Loumms’s Blog

I’m on half term this week (hurrah!) and whenever I have a little spare time I like to take a walk, with my camera, around Guernsey.  Today is blustery and Autumnal; probably not the right conditions for good photographs.  But since I am a very amateur photographer, I don’t really mind!

The highlight of my walk was, without a doubt, the hilarious seagulls I encountered along the way.  Seagulls are known for being a bit of a pest in Guernsey, but actually, when you look at them through the lens of a camera, they are quite different.  They are really funny! I photographed a pair of seagulls who could have easily been a married couple (I have shots of them arguing and then making up afterwards!)

I have chosen my favourite seagull photos below, but if you’d like to see more, I have set up a Flickr album called Comical Seagulls.  Please check it out.  I am considering running a caption competition on the blog for one of the seagull shots!  What do you think?

It’s been a few weeks since the last episode so this show is a something of a crafty catch up.  There will, as always, be a works in progress update.  Our roving reporter Kate tells us all about the Knitting and Stitching Show in London.  Also you’ll hear a little bit about my recent trip to Jersey.  So grab a cuppa and let’s settle down for a crafty catch up.

Show Notes

Welcome (00:32)

Roving reporter Kate on Ravelry

Introduction/Works in Progress (03:32)

My Travelling Woman Shawl (my Ravelry project)

Purple Muscari Mitts (Ravelry pattern link and my Ravelry project link)

Electric Sheep podcast

Sweet Clement Yarns

Fyberspates yarn

Mitt patterns I like the look of on Ravelry… Green Thumb, Hedgerow Mitts, October Leaves, White Cap Fingerless Gloves, Fishtail Wristwarmers, Ishbel and Elena Mitts and Mitt Envy

iMake on Ravelry

Applique Project Bag (on the iMake blog)

My knitting bag purchase

madebyloumms shop on Etsy

Gallery Magazine Guernsey

Gallery Magazine Jersey

Kate’s Report from the Knitting and Stitching Show (12:48)

Knitting and Stitching Show

Toft Alpaca Shop

Stitchtastic (cross stitch)

Texere Yarns (chenille Union Flag cushions)

Note: Christmas isn’t actually a couple of weeks away – don’t panic!!

Loop

Kate’s photos from the Knitting and Stitching Show

Giveaway Update (20:57)

Crafted by Carly giveaway

Herdy discount details

Contact details for giveaway sponsors – email info@imake.gg

Jersey Audioboo (22:37)

Condor Ferries

Jersey tourist information

Tennerfest

The Salty Dog Bar and Bistro

Pomme D’Or Hotel

Havana Club

Wrap up (26:30)

Finally I’d like to thank our fabulous show sponsor, Great British Yarns:

Image details – Porsche Carrera GT Spoiler by Stan D70, via Flickr

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a knitting ‘works in progress’ update (aka WIPs).  Actually there is a good reason – I just don’t seem to have enough knitting time at the moment.  So I have decided that this needs resolving, urgently!  Hopefully this will mean more knitting blog posts (although I will be so busy knitting, I may not have time to blog… hmmmm.) Anyway before I get on with it, I just need to give a quick spoiler alert (hence the spoiler photo above) MUM DO NOT READ THE REST OF THIS POST AS IT IS ABOUT ONE OF YOUR CHRISTMAS PRESENTS. Right, now that’s sorted…

Shockingly I am only working on 2 projects at the moment. The Travelling Woman Shawl by Liz Abinante – this is for me. And Purple Muscari Mitts for my mum for Christmas.

I’ll start with the mitts. I have been searching and searching for a plain mitt pattern that uses sock yarn and knits up quite small. I think this pattern will do the trick. It’s by Melissa Kelenski and it cost me US$3.00 on Raverly, which I thought was reasonable. I have just started the cuff, but the pattern appears well written and I think the mitts are going to be ideal. I have still gone down a needle size (using 2mm DPNs) as my mum has tiny hands.

I am knitting the Mitts in Fyberspates sock yarn (the colourway is a gorgeous purple with some sparkly bits).

For myself, I am knitting the fabulous Travelling Woman shawl using some of the Wollmeise I purchased at Knit Nation. The colourway is Campari Piccolo (a stunning orange that unfortunately photographs really badly – it’s hard to get a true representation of the shade of orange).  Whilst I love the smell of Wollmeise, I am not mad about knitting with it.  The colour is stunning though, and I think that’s what the fuss is all about.  The yarn seems to have a very high twist and it is constantly twisting up on itself.  The stitch definition is good though.  I think it will look even better when it is blocked.

The green bit of yarn is a life line by the way.

I love this shawl pattern – it is just so logical.  That pleases me no end.  I think I’ll be making more of these.

That’s all my knitting for now.  I think I deserve to start a new project soon!

Image details – Santa Christmas Gift Tags by AForestFrolic, via Flickr

I thought it would be a nice idea for me to do a short post linking to existing iMake tutorials for items that would make good Christmas gifts.  I have focused on items that are fairly quick and easy to make.  I hope these links are useful…

Applique project bag (fill it with craft goodies)

Lavender eye pillow

Shrink plastic buttons (a nice gift for a knitter/person who likes sewing)

Decoupatch anything!  (Plant pots, boxes, photo frames…)

Cat nip toy (for cat lovers!)

Minibook

Melt and pour soap

Simple bead bracelet

Bath bombs

Body scrub

Bath salts

Lavender healing salve

Body lotion bar

Homemade lip balm

Beeswax candles

Patchwork Christmas card

Pickles

For more iMake tutorials and recipes, click here.

Image details – Christmas lights in Channel Gardens at Rockefeller Center, Southern Methodist University, Central University Libraries, DeGolyer Library, via Flickr

Whoop!  Another fab giveaway, this time it is sponsored by the lovely Carly aka Crafted by Carly.  She has just opened a fabulous new online shop (it’s on Misi, click here to find it) selling gorgeous handmade bags and corsages.  To celebrate opening her new shop, Carly has designed and made the bag pictured in this post especially for an iMake giveaway.  Thanks Carly!

To be in with a chance of winning, just visit Carly’s shop and tell me what your favourite item is by leaving a comment on this blog post.  Please note that you will need to comment on an item in Carly’s shop, not on one of the other shops on Misi.

I’ll close the giveaway at the end of this month and notify the winner by email, so please include your email address in the comment.  One entry/comment per person please.  Good luck!

***Please note, this giveaway is now closed and was won by comment number 40 (Lisa)***

Earlier in the year I was asked to be a judge for a ‘Design a Guernsey Competition’ (I blogged about it here).  The competition was hosted by Visit Guernsey and iKnit London and has been going on for several months.  Knitters were asked to submit designs for a guernsey jumper with a modern twist.  The 4 short-listed finalists had to knit their guernseys.

I thought it would be nice to share a few photos of the judging process and also the short-listed guernseys.

Here is a photo of me and the other judges. Check out my serious ‘judge face’…

Clearly I take my work very seriously…

Here are the 4 fabulous short-listed guernseys.  So much work went into knitting these jumpers.  They were all very impressive.

This is the winning guernsey (modeled by Helen Young) which was designed and knitted by Guernsey-born Rose Polli.

Rose’s guernsey represented more than 80 hours work in orange rust coloured yarn. The design maintained key elements of the traditional guernsey while referencing the knitter’s childhood memories.  You can read more about Rose’s guernsey on the Visit Guernsey website article.

Well done Rose!

I love buying or making gifts for my crafty friends.  Here’s a nice idea with that in mind.  Buy (or make) a plain draw string bag and then embellish it by hand. I went for applique and buttons but you could do anything you like.  I think lino printing would work well.  Then fill it with everything your friend needs to complete a craft project.  For example, knitting needles, yarn, a pattern, stitch markers etc.  I purchased some plain drawstring bags from The Clever Baggers and this is my attempt at decorating one.

You will need:

• Your drawstring bag
• Scraps of fabric
• Needle/thread (I used embroidery floss)
• Buttons/embellishments
• A small sheet of Bondaweb* (or similar sheet product that enables you to attach fabric to other fabric using an iron)
• Pencil
• Iron
• Tea towel

This is what I did…

Take your sheet of bondaweb and draw a few shapes on it with a pencil on the smooth side.  I did 3 circles in different sizes.

Roughly cut out the shapes and then place them, coated side down, on the wrong side of your fabric, as pictured below.  Place a hot iron over the shapes for 5 seconds (a dry heat).

Carefully cut out the shapes.

Peel off the paper on the back of the shapes and position the shapes on your bag (coated side down).

Carefully place a damp tea town over the bag and shapes (take care not to move the shapes) and then place the iron on top of the damp tea towel. Hold the iron there for 10 seconds.

You should then leave the bag to cool for 20 minutes.

After that, thread your needle and sew around the shapes. Use any stitch you like. I used a simple applique stitch but blanket stitch would look lovely.

Add your buttons…

And here is the finished item…

Fill the bag with crafty goodies for a dear friend.

*Please note that you should check the manufacturer’s instructions if you are using an alternative to Bondaweb.

Image details – truer words have never been printed on a napkin by Anjum Malkana, via Flickr

Here is my October GBG magazine column.  I hope you enjoy it.

P.S. Thanks to the wonderful Knitmore Girls for the “3 bites” inspiration.

Life’s Too Short For…

When people see me knitting socks, one of the first things they say is “surely life’s too short for knitting socks?” They’ve got a point! You can buy socks cheaply these days and no one really sees your socks anyway, so why bother? I estimate knitting just one sock takes me around 10 hours, and it’s really quite fiddly; the yarn is thin and the needles tiny. But I love the process. Because it’s a small project it’s portable, so I can enjoy my knitting anywhere. And then there is the end product, I custom fit my hand-knitted socks making them far superior to shop bought ones. I also tend to use high-end yarn, often a cashmere blend, so they are heavenly to wear.

I thought it would be fun to work with this idea by having a go at making things by hand that I’d usually buy from a shop. Things that perhaps I thought, “life was too short” to make.

My attempts seemed to naturally focus around food. I’ve been organically growing my own salad vegetables as well as making my own dressing and mayonnaise. I was most delighted to discover homemade soda bread. Because it doesn’t use yeast you can finish making a loaf (including cooking time) in less than an hour. This has become a firm favourite in my household. Recipes can be found on www.imake.gg.

It’s easy to think that you cannot possibly have time to make anything from scratch, but you might find you really enjoy the making process. If you don’t try these things, you’ll never know. For me, I am now adopting a “3 bites” attitude whereby I try things 3 times before I put them in the “Life’s Too Short” pile.

Image details – Life’s too short to own an ugly pencil by Andreas Dantz, via Flickr

Image details – American Cyanamid by George Eastman House, via Flickr

It’s time for another ‘Pinspiration’ post, this time I am thinking about Christmas cards (I know, it’s too early!!)

Those of you who follow me on the fabulous Pinterest will have seen my Handmade Christmas Card Ideas pinboard.  However I thought it would be nice just to pick out my favourites and share them here on the blog.  Note that these are not my images/ideas/tutorials so I have been careful to attribute ownership through links underneath the images.  I hope these ideas inspire you as much as they did me.  Enjoy…