Needle felted brooches & WOYWW

Hello dear reader, thanks for dropping by to read my regular update on my textile art work. I'm linking up with What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday today - click here to meet more creative folk like me who join in weekly.

So, I've no desk to show you this morning, it's just my lap as I'm stitching 'on the go' today.

These are a collection of brooches based on a special order I made for a customer earlier this month to match her wedding outfit. Here's what they'll look like when they're finished.

So regular readers will note I've been a little tardy with my 'regular' updates. I've been busy with lots of demo days, working with new stockists and galleries, not to mention squeezing in a holiday and my little boy's 2nd birthday festivities!

Here's a bit of a catch up from the last few weeks to bring you up to date with my activities...

I ran four demo days at Acton Scott Working Farm in South Shropshire. I had a fabulous room and met lots of lovely people, including some very creative six year olds keen to try their hand at felting some sheep pictures...

I've been busy developing a range of sheepy pendants to match my brooch and picture collection...

I've had a few commissions to complete. A little picture for a new baby called Alfie and a set of three sheep-inspired pictures...

My little boy and his bestie, Isabelle, turned two this week so I made them both special cards...

Finally, we have just returned from a fabulous holiday in Parga, Greece. Here's a glimpse of the fun we had...

That's all for this week folks, thanks for stopping by!

Happy crafting,

Max x

Petunia the Sheep - Needle felted brooches & WOYWW

Good morning dear reader! Thanks for stopping by my work desk to see what I'm up to today.

Here's my work desk this morning...

Tools at the ready for work in progress, lots of finished pieces of work to pack away and a delivery of gorgeous hand-dyed wool felt.

Keen-eyed regulars will notice I've been absent from the regular 'What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday' circuit for the last fortnight. I've no excuse other than being snowed under with making and events. Poor excuse huh?!

Well I'm hoping that my little wooly friends here will secure your forgiveness for my tardy blogging! I've been working on new design ideas and these are some of them...

They're all individually named (well who wouldn't name their sheep brooches?)

Here's Petunia...

Here's Matilda...

The rest of the flock can be seen here.

I've also mounted some abstract flowers in needle felting and hand embroidery which I made several weeks ago. 

I've got my hands on these perfect frames but, alas, the well known Swedish furniture retailer has decided to discontinue these frames in the UK so I'm now on the hunt for an alternative for future creations. 

Finally, we've had lots of fun in the sun here at Tilly Tea Dance towers...

Thats all for this week folks! Thanks for stopping by, pop back again won't you?

Happy crafting

Max x

WOYWW - working on new designs

Hello dear reader!

Apologies for my absence last week, I was snowed under. More about that later. You're here to see my workdesk aren't you. Here you go then...

Among all the clobber on the desk you can see my nice pieces of wet felting from a few weeks ago and some linen with little needlefelted landscapes.

I've been slowly working my way through the pieces of wet felting to create new designs. I'm guilty of being a bit hooked on the same designs, so for the last fortnight I've been trying out a few new ideas. Still within my comfort zone of fields, gardens and hedgerows but a bit different. Whadda ya think?

Delphinium

Bluebells and daisies 

This said, I've also had to step up production of my existing sheepy and floral designs by popular demand. My work is now in four shops and galleries and three of these contacted me last week to say my work was going...going...gone and could they have some more?! Chuffed to bits, I started dumfing away and this was how I spent most of last week. Here's the collection I pulled together...

After all the hard work, Ben and I had a well-earned day off to see my friend and her lambs at the farm in mid Wales which was the original inspiration for my sheepy landscapes. We had a fab day!

That's all for this week, thanks for reading. I hope to stop by a few desks later. If you're visiting here for the first time, hop on over to Julia's Stamping Ground to meet lots of other lovely artists and crafters!

Happy crafting

Max x

WOYWW

Hello all and welcome to my regular 'What's on your Workdesk Wednesday' blog post.

The desk is a little sparse today - I'm having one of those finishing off days where I try to finish some of the work I've been sidelining for other things.

I've got some more little dumflings to mount onto cards and a pansy picture to frame.

At the back of the desk you might be able to see Ben's first attempt with gel crayons. These are a much easier crayon for little fingers to draw with but unfortunately it has the consistency of lipstick so he's only allowed them when he's sat at the desk (I fear for my magnolia walls). I think his first attempt looks a little like a flower, but maybe that's just the artist in me hoping I've passed on some arty genes!

Anyway, last week I promised I'd share with you some photos from Saturday's workshop.

I had a fab time helping eight lovely ladies to create their own pieces of needle-felted and hand-embroidered work. They all said they enjoyed themselves and, even with the same basic materials, all created entirely different pieces of work. 

Then, of course, it was Mothers Day on Sunday. Here's the card I rustled up for mum (Twiglet) from my lovely bag of fabric and lace scraps. The colours coordinate well with the flowers I gave her to say thanks for being such a fab mum.

And I wasn't disappointed this Mothers Day either. I had chocs and bubbly, a lovely walk in the Quarry (Shrewsbury's town park) and a delicious tapas lunch at Casa Naranjo.

I think the waitresses were in shock as Ben worked his way through olives, garlic prawns, meatballs, croquettas, chicken skewers, patatas bravas and pork tenderloin.

There's not much my boy doesn't eat and he always makes me proud in restaurants - though I need to have a word with him about the number of kisses he was blowing at the waitresses!!

That's all for today - rather a long post with all the events of the past week! Thanks for stopping by. If this is your first visit to me, hop on over to Julia's Stamping Ground where you'll find loads of other artists and crafters sharing their workdesk activities.

See you again soon!

Happy crafting,
Max x

WOYWW - crafty gifts

Hello all, hope you're well and have been spared by this week's stormy weather.

Without further ado, on my desk today I have a pile of lovely goodies I received for Christmas from Twiglet.

There are some beautiful Tilda fabrics, threads, ricrac, spray glue and bondaweb which should keep me busy on the New Year. Also there's a fab thread bin Twiglet has made for me. She's so clever, aren't I lucky?! There isnt much work in progress on the desk at present. I haven't had much time for sewing over the last week - I've spent much of my time watching my toddler explore his new toys and books (and tidying away the carnage after!)

I did promise to share some of the pieces of work I produced for customers once Christmas was over so here they are...

'M is for Marlowe'

'E is for Elodie'

I also found time to make some last minute gifts for friends and family. This little fella is a Christmas present for Ben's bestie, Isabelle.

My final piece of news is that my business cards arrived yesterday and I love them!

I had several different designs made up for each area of my work. I used an app called picolage on my phone to produce the designs from all my photographs then sent them to Moo.

Well that's all for today folks. I hope to have a busier workdesk to share with you next week. I'll be dropping by Julia's Stamping Ground later to catch up with other artists taking part in What's on your workdesk Wednesday - why not join me?

Happy crafting x

WOYWW - dumfling breeding programme

Afternoon all! I've no workdesk photo this week as we're round at Twiglet's house so I can use the space in her sewing room for mounting all my needle-felted dumflings. Here's a shot of her ironing board this morning instead... I'm sure these dumflings have started breeding!

This week I've been working on another customer order for a little girl's first birthday. Like my post last week, I can't share the full finished piece but here's a quick peek...

Finally I've got to share some pictures of my toddler - or should I say climber...

We've had a couple of bright days this week so we've enjoyed playing on the big kids' play equipment in a quiet play area while the big boys and girls are all at school. The rope netting bit was definitely his favourite bit!

On the windier days we've donned our fab new bobble hat made by Bobble & Squeak. Cute, warm and snuggly.  It certainly does the job!

 

That's all for today, these dozens of dumflings won't mount themselves! Thanks for stopping by for What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday :-)

Happy crafting x 

WOYWW - The Shropshire hoard

Hello all and a warm 'happy December' to one and all this fine 'What's on your workdesk Wednesday'!

Firstly, forgive me for my absence last Wednesday. I took a sabatical to help mum (Twiglet) organise the sewing room following the arrival of new furniture and a huge hoard of craft stuff from storage. More about that later.

You're here to see my workdesk today aren't you? Here it is...

In the foreground are yet more little needle-felted backgrounds ready to work on, so there's lots to keep me busy on these long, cold winter evenings.

One day I'll get round to framing them all (but then I'll have nowhere to store them... note to self: must organise some exhibitions for 2016!) Did I just make a New Year's resolution already?!

To the right is a top secret project - a customer Christmas order- so I haven't been able to share it with you in full just yet. But here's a quick peek...

...or perhaps I should have said a quick squeak!

Now I explained earlier that I'd been helping sort Twiglet's sewing room last week. 'Can it really take a week?' I hear a few of you say. 'Can it only take a week?' I hear others chortle. Well it has...there was quite a hoard. I certainly owed Twiglet some help as much of my sewing time is spent there and a good portion of the crafting hoard that has been amassed is actually mine! The full horror of the task would be too grim to share with you, dear reader, so here's the edited highlights!

Needless to say, neither of us need any more crafting bits and bobs and we could both craft every day next year and barely make a dent in it! Did I just make another New Year's resolution there?!

That's all for today, thanks for stopping by. I'll swing by some WOYWW desks later on today and see what other WOYWWers have been up to.

Happy crafting x

WOYWW - A flock of dumflings...or maybe a herd???

You've heard of a parliament of owls and a murder of crows, right? Well which word would you suggest for a collective noun for dumflings? I have quite a hoard sat on my workdesk today.

They're migratory dumflings, mind you. They started their life on the sofa (I've been sat most evenings with the hand dumfer watching TV) but they're now grazing on my workdesk waiting to be mounted and framed.

I'm swiftly replenishing my stock, having dropped a selection of my work in at a lovely shop in Hednesford last week.

Also flying off to pastures new this week were these hand-embroidered pictures for two special little girls who turned one this week.

The pictures have been produced using a combination of applique, blanket stitch and running stitch.

Hopefully they'll add some hand-crafted charm to their bedrooms or playrooms.

That's all from Tilly Tea Dance Towers today, the supermarket shopping calls! Thanks for stopping by, I'll swing by some desks later today. If you have arrived at my blog by happy accident and would like to know more about What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday, hop on over to Julia's Stamping Ground.

Happy crafting x