Summer Fete

This weekend I am getting ready to have a Stall at The Mercy In Action Summer Fete , tea and cake served by the lovely Mandy from cakestand and crumb ...and the forecast is supposed to be good too !

Canopy

Just before Easter I spent some time working on a piece to submit to canopy - a visual art project at The National Trust Property - Acorn Bank. My freeform piece was inspired by the symbiotic relationship of fungus and trees and uses hyperbolic techniques and is crocheted in 100% wool - a pre-requisite of the brief.
You can see the piece in situ here, and you can still get involved - details here .
Having taken a "virtual tour" of the woods the pieces look fantastic, and it must be quite an experience to be able to walk through the woods .

Wool House # Wool Inspiration

Last Saturday after Knit & Stitch I jumped straight on the District line and headed over to Somerset House for The Campaign for Wool's Exhibition - Wool House.

The Exhibition runs until the 24th March so you still have time to pop in and see it and entry is free .

I've always had a fascination with wool as it's such a versatile medium to work with, and as a textile artist have had the opportunity to experience first hand processes such as spinning, dyeing,weaving and felting. 

The exhibition aims to demonstrate this versatility and by no means disappoints. 

The entrance to the exhibition is striking with a theme of black and white  running through out. 

A room displaying two tapestries by the artist Claudy Jongstra showed dyed fleece and the highlighted the technique of  wet felting as art.

 Several rooms were also in the exhibit .

My particular favourites were The Nursery, Modern Room and The Natural Room ,

each designed by different textile artists with their  brief and  interpretation .

The felted vessels in The Natural Room caught my eye.

Throughout the exhibition various workshops have been running, and rooms dedicated to craft including showcasing how wool can be used in various knit and crochet techniques were on show, 

including Anna Wilkinson's colourful fair isle swatches.

a mood board and traditional crocheted granny blanket.

 

I think the exhibition was really an inspiration - it showcases wool as a sustainable natural fibre that can be utilised in so many ways from interior design  to fashion to art ,

all in all ,

#woolhouse inspiration.

Spring Knit & Stitch

This weekend I spent some time at The Spring Knitting & Stitching Show held at Olympia

My morning was spent teaching crochet  in the  Learning Curve to a  lovely group of ladies all eager to try their hands at my Vintage Inspired Crocheted Brooch.

I then had some time to take a look at the show myself. 

On show were over 70 traditional quilts from a specialist group of quilters - The Traditional Quilt Group .

These two were my particular favourites - 

"Strippy Strippy" by Angela Rodda

 A quilt inspired by a stash of blue fabrics - I particularly like how the maker has bought the scrap fabric together by using borders of white .

&

"Colourwash" by Lynne Johnson

This quilt I thought was particularly clever as the blending of the patchwork pieces from light to dark does indeed look as if the piece has been colour washed.

Liberty were also were showcasing their lifestyle collection including a collection inspired by Art Noveau,

...don't they just look beautiful all piled high together ?

The Future Stand - home of Simply Crochet and Mollie Makes were also present and had drop in workshops through out the day .

...I also managed to pick up a copy of Simply Knitting's bookazine "Irresistible Gifts to Crochet Volume 2" on the stand that also had a small write up about my website & work.

I left mid afternoon to head over to here, I couldn't resist a visit whilst in London, but more of that later
and I'll just leave you with a taster of what's to come...

Country Crochet

Well it has been a very long time ! 

Lots has been happening in the Hook & Scumble World , but things appear to be settling and I'm hoping that after a rather sporadic time of blogging I am going to attempt to get back on track.

So first things first...some gentle granny squares are currently on the hook for a good cause.

(Picture courtesy of Country Homes & Interiors Magazine)

So if you fancy learning to make some delightful squares you can find details here  and you can even join in  at Somerset House , London this Friday at The Campaign for Wool  -  Wool House . 

cakestand & crumb

The delightful vintage tea shop where I run a monthly crochet class has been featured here ....tempted ? 

Details of the Christmas Crochet Workshop can be found here .

Mozambique

Crocheted African Inspired Necklace & Cuff

A piece inspired by my love of Africa and the fond memories I have of working in Mozambique.