Merry Go Round

Each month, a group of craftswomen from around the world join together and give their reponses to the same question. This month, our question is:

What is your Purple Cow?

This question refers to Seth Godin, who maintained that the key to success is to find a way to stand out and be remarkable - to be the purple cow in a field of monochrome Holsteins.

Absolutely. I couldn't agree more! I mean, when we look at successful artists and crafters work, we can intuitively see what it is that gives them an edge...what makes them stand out. Maybe they have something to offer that no-one else provides or maybe their superb craftsmanship is evident. Whatever it is, they've got it in spades.

But what about me...? What is my purple cow? Yikes. Do I even have one? I'm not sure. Or about the success part, either. So, I cast an eye over my Etsy feedback that I've received over the past 18 months. That was helpful. Then, I asked my family. Tell me about my work, I said. Throw some words at me that sum it up. Go on, I can take it...and these are the words that my girls and the woodcutter came up with:

pretty - I like this word. It sums up all things girly and feminine. All women want to feel pretty, don't they?

bold - Good! I like to think that if you're going to wear jewellery, wear it! Let it be seen and get you noticed! It's not for everyone, but I try to put a bit of boldness into each piece I create.

colourful - colour is important - it lifts your spirits, it says so much about you. It captures your attention. I need colour in my otherwise rather monochrome life (yes, I tend to live in black!).

intricate - I just love details. It's all in the detail. Sometimes, it's just that one little extra bead that you need to add to a piece to create a certain sparkle and allure, or just one more layer of fabric to complete the story. Without it, a piece can seem almost lifeless.

Now that I re-read this back to myself, I can see that it has made me think a bit clearer about my purple cow - I'm going to name my purple cow 'complexity'. I realise that every item I create combines all of the above...a bit of this and a bit of that; old bits and new bits; layer upon layer of fabrics; multitudes of beads...I use it all. I like to think this results in the viewer being intrigued and totally drawn in by the complexities of each piece. I can hope...

I found that quite thought provoking and tough to answer. I wonder how my fellow Merry Go Rounders got on this month? Find out by clicking on the links in the sidebar...purple cows await you!

Merry Go Round

Jump on and join a group of artists/craftswomen as they link around the world and tell you a little bit about their lives in art and craft.

Our question this month is: Summer - What Does It Mean To You?

Would you believe... a whole month since my last post...! Where does all the time go?!

Well, summertime has been and now very nearly gone - in a week, the girls will be back at school in their new year and new classroom...and in a tiny moment, the looooong summer holiday will be just a memory.

So what does summer mean to me? Mine begins the week before my daughters finish their school year, in July. I get carried away with the buzz of what lies ahead: slower, more relaxing mornings; stressless days for us all; warm, sunny afternoons sightseeing and visiting new places; a spot or two of camping in Cornwall; meeting up with friends and their families; the children running in and out of the house, delighting in the great outdoors; having lunch or afternoon tea in their wendy house cafe...a perfect summer!

On reflection, does that sum up this summertime? Actually, pretty much! There has been the odd downside - the lack of sun for most of the holiday and the camping was sidelined for this year. Last year, as this, I have purposefully switched off from blogging and stitching to spend as much time as possible with my family. I haven't touched the sewing machine for...weeks...(eek)...and I have spent a LOT less time on the computer. It has been worth it. The woodcutter has been flexible with his working day which has meant we have had lots of days out together enjoying a bit of culture here and a lot of nature there; I've seen my youngest finally learn to ride her bike; eldest has cooked for us (with just a modicum of help!) beautifully; she has mastered her own sewing machine and has gone sock monkey mad (yes, one of them is peeking out of the above mosaic); we've all crafted and beaded our way through the holiday. In a word - smashing.

Does it really have to end...? The whirrr of that stitching machine is waiting...

Thank you for taking the time to read about my summer. Please take a moment or two to read about my fellow merry-go-rounders and their musings on the subject - although we all live in different time zones right around the world, it is amazing to find how similar we often all are. Likewise, it is wonderful to be able to celebrate our differences! Happy summer's end to you all x

Merry Go Round

Jump on and join a group of artists/crafts-women as they link around the world and tell you a little about their lives in art and craft.

Our question for this month is: What does Springtime Mean to You?

Springtime. Well, it's a busy time for the woodcutter and his wife!

We're now well into our second year of our tipi pole business, and we know from experience that Spring is the time we have to put all our energies into felling, stripping and drying new poles, ready for customers who will want them now, or for those who will leave it until the last minute for their summer holiday...we have to have plenty on offer.

We cater for very small child-size tipis right up to huge, 29ft ones. The woodcutter visits the forest daily to select and fell the trees, which he brings home for us to peel and then dry. We also fell 'to order' if people wish to de-bark their own poles. Many of these sets of poles we also deliver personally, nationwide, so we're busy busy busy!

The log chopping and sanding continues...!

Despite being nicely busy, I'm able to really enjoy the springtime here. It's glorious to be able to wake up in the morning and spot the new shoots in the forest...the beautiful fresh bright green leaves unfurling in the trees around us...wandering amongst the rhododendrons as they flower one after the other...embracing the flashes of colour from balloon-like tulips...watching the flutterings of delicate butterflies wafting through the air...trying to remember the juxtapositions of colour that nature throws together - it's SO inspiring...

Most importantly of all, it's the thankful return of sunlight that I really treasure. It's so lovely to be able to avoid harsh contrasts when taking photographs, and the days are so long I can sew into the night! I have always been a sombre, gothic lover of winter - but nowadays, this is most definitely my favourite time of year.

Please take a moment or two to pop in on my international blogging friends who're spinning on this merry-go-round with me (their links are in the sidebar). See what Springtime means to them!

Girls, I look forward to reading your posts in a week or so!

Merry Go Round

Jump on and join a group of artists/crafts-women as they link around the world and tell you a little about their lives in art and craft.

Our question for this month is: Your favourite recipe is...?

Well, this is interesting...because I can't cook - if I have to cook for anyone, I simply go to pieces. Many friends will testify to that! Which makes writing this post a trifle (no pun intended!) difficult, so here's our favourite, incredibly simple treat...courtesy of that kitchen goddess, Nigella Lawson (but we swap her pistachios for crumbled digestive biscuits...now you have a clue for how simple this is!!)
Take one lazy Saturday morning, add to that two willing little girls, a mass of chocolate (no-one said it was good for you...after all, it is a treat!) and a woodcutter who adores anything sweet (usually cake, but this is an equal first in the favourite stakes), and we're ready.

Ingredients:
350g/12oz dark chocolate, at least 70 per cent cocoa solids, chopped
1 x 397g/14oz can condensed milk
30g/1oz butter
pinch salt
150g/5¼oz unsalted pistachios, shells removed (or biscuits!)


Firstly, pop all of the chopped chocolate, condensed milk, butter and salt into a heavy-based pan over a low heat and stir until fully melted and thoroughly mixed.
Whilst the chocolate mix is melting, stick the nuts (or biscuits) into a freezer bag and crush them with a rolling pin, until broken up into some large and some small pieces (memories of Home Ec classes come flooding back every time). Remember to stir the mixture in the pan every now and again.
Tip the nuts (biscuits) into the melted chocolate mixture and stir well.
Dollop the mixture into a 23cm/9in square tray, smoothing the top with a wet palette knife.
After cooling, pop it into the fridge until set.
Cut into small pieces approximately 1.5cms square.

Once cut, the fudge can be kept in the freezer - there's no need to thaw, just eat straight away.
I told you it was simple! That bit in red? That's the best bit! It's fab straight from the freezer - in fact, you really must keep it in there - and this recipe makes such a mountain of fudge, you'll have a lovely store of it to enjoy for ages. I guess you could just make less in the first place, but to be honest, our families love it so much that after we've had some and bagged up some more for them, it's all gone!

Please pop in on my friends (this week we're pleased to welcome Nikki, Jenny and Wendren to the team) who are part of the Merry Go Round meme - everyone's links are in the sidebar - and see what they enjoy cooking up! We're all posting from different time zones, so do pop back if necessary. Thank you!

Merry Go Round

Jump on and join a group of artists/crafts-women as they link around the world and tell you a little about their lives in art and craft.

Our question for this month is:
If you had the time/money, what new craft or art would you like to try this year?

This is actually a good question for me to be answering this month...it might just give me that little push I need to get working properly again - if only I had more time!
On the approach to Christmas, I felt a strong urge to pick up a sketchbook and draw. The woodcutter will keel over backwards when he reads this - I haven't used a sketchbook for years! I know, deep down, how terrible that is...my college years taught me how valuable sketching is for your skills and inspirations.
I feel a slight shift is occuring in my creative hours of the day. My fingers itch to dabble again with monoprinting - I love the intensity of the process; the purposeful markmaking and the imperfections of the result. I can see, too, how the images could be transferred to fabric (thanks, Sara!), and in turn become something new - a pendant, maybe, or detailings of a collar - and reworked with stitchery.

I've been slowly nurturing a need to start making dolls, too. Mysterious, quirky dolls...dolls with few details, save for decorative ones. I'm thinking worn out ruffles; shabby threads; torn silk; dark, Miss Havisham-esque Dickens undertones. I want to experiment again with papier-mache, so I guess that collage elements will make a welcome return. It's funny, but writing this down makes me want to jump up and get on with it!!

One last thing...I really fancy making coronet drapes (you know the sort of thing - the wonderful fabric 'curtains' that fall from decorative mouldings above beautiful beds in historic manor houses), and cushions with details you feel compelled to reach out and touch...

History, theatre and dusty attic rooms - total inspiration for me. How far can I take it, I wonder?


Eight other women are sharing their ideas with us today. Please click on their links in the sidebar and have yourself a jolly good read - we're all in different time zones, so do pop back later if you don't find what you're looking for straight away. Inspiration awaits you!

Merry Go Round

Jump on the merry-go-round and join a group of artists/ crafts-women as they link hands around the world and tell you a little bit about their lives in art and craft!
We’re being a bit seasonal with our posts this month. The question we’re all going to answer is...
"How do the different seasons and weather affect you in your art and craft?"

I’m aware that for practically the entire month of November, I’ve done nothing but moan. Moan, moan, moan – nothing unusual in that, I know (before those that love me and put up with me feel compelled to leave a comment to prove it). The depressing light of day in these late autumnal /early winter months is hard to deal with. Am I the only person who struggles to get out of bed in the morning, when it’s still dark, and the warm comforts of a snuggly duvet are enticing me back to bed for ‘just five more minutes’?? It really does make you question your self discipline...but thankfully there are children to be breakfasted, sandwiches to make, ‘undergarments’ to retrieve from the ironing pile (no, I don’t iron them) and the school run to undertake (all in a mad rush!). Somehow, I manage to start the day.
But it doesn’t stop there – the general light in the house has lost its summer brightness; all clarity is gone. Remember our parents telling us off for sitting too close to the television – it’ll ruin your eyes!! – well, that’s it, my eyes feel ruined! I don’t need glasses (I’ve been tested) just proper daylight!! Not only that, but I’m fed up with poor photographs. It’s nigh on impossible to use electric light because it always leaves a caste over your images that I simply can’t eradicate...grrr!!

However, there are good points – honestly! I sit and sew my creations, using a machine or by hand. Granted, working in the evening is more difficult at this time of year, but it’s indoor work, so the weather doesn’t stop me. It’s lovely, too, to be able to reflect the changing seasons in your work – the colours of autumn for example, are glorious; winter sees crisp, cool snowy white; the advent of Christmas sees reds and golds; the party season heralds the opportunity to pile on sumptuous textures and sparkling beads; the colder days cry out for cosseting neckwarmers, scarves and shawls...fantastic!! I love the fact that I can embrace the year in this way; living in a forest, nature and its glorious colours are all around me. It influences our daily lives, so why should I fight it?
What was that line from a Crowded House song, now?...Ah, yes –

Colour is its own reward.

Perfect!

Please use the Merry Go Round links in the sidebar to read everyone's responses to this question...it's fun to find out more about each other, isn't it? Just remember that we are all in different time zones - so if you don't see a post, please pop back again later. xxx