Tiny Things

I have finally got around to putting some of my new necklaces online. I have a bit of an obsession with very small cameos and charms, flowers and insects right now so there are plenty of them there. Take a look, maybe buy one if you're feeling flush (I certainly am not... and rest assured that any proceeds will go towards the Lucy holiday pint fund! Go on, you know you want to...)

Said holiday is one week in a cottage in North Wales where I intend to relax (if I remember how to), walk up Snowdon and go 'crabbing'. To make things really cosy, we're even taking the cat! Baz on holiday, he really is spoilt to the max. I also intend to make all the cool things I daydream about making when I'm chained to my desk.

I'm currently working on an amigurumi bear, which is quite a tall order seen as I have only just taught myself to crochet (after someone told me it was easier than knitting. I have now come to the conclusion that they were lying!) Things started off badly when what I thought was the head turned out to be the body and it sort of resembles a knitted prophylactic, but it is gradually getting better. I am a big believer in perceverance. And fortunately a big fan of charmingly mutated handmade toys.

Ahoy, me hearties!

Well shiver me timbers, I seem to have caught the nautical bug which has been spreading like, uh, swine flu amongst every fashionista in the land. However, I have always had a thing for sailor stripes, anchor buttons (rum) and the like, whether its 'on trend' or not, and - as you may have guessed - I do rather like to put my own little spin on things.

The result is two new one-of-a-kind necklaces for my collection with kitschy little sailor-themed magnified cabochons, puffy hearts and tiny anchor charms.

You can find them in my shop, along with other jewellery, cross stitch and cards. My fingers have been very busy this weekend, making six more necklaces featuring teeny tiny cameos, insect charms and sparkly jewels. More to come very soon...

Feminist Shoes?

I generally just use Amazon for buying books, but after a weekend of hobbling around town on sore feet, the offer of 25% off 'comfortable shoes' reeled me in. (As someone who works in marketing, I'd love to say that I'm not duped by words like 'discount' and 'comfort', but I am only human after all!)

I found a pair of pumps that I liked for a reasonable price, but I'd never heard of the brand (Naturalizer) before, so I thought I'd look them up...

Now, jumping on the feminist bandwagon is not something I expect to see when I shop for a shoe, but apparently as the "suffrage movement had provided women with new-found freedoms and, as hemlines became shorter and shoes became the focus of fashion, Naturalizer symbolized what modern women had achieved."

I'm not entirely sure that having shoes that are comfortable and - gosh - pretty too is quite on a par with women gaining equal rights to men, including the right to vote (or did I just miss the whole point of suffrage? Did I, per chance, accidentally skim read over the bit about the shoes?!)

It is a pet hate of mine when advertisers/marketers use the women's movement or so-called ideas of feminism to sell products. Usually because it is done on the premise that "now you have all this freedom... to spend your money on crap which will make you more beautiful/happy/popular/all of the above." With the added clause of "And you really should do, because if you don't we'll make you feel bad."

I have no problem with benefit-driven marketing, I know how it works. But sell some benefits that actually mean something, not ones that you have just made up. Shoes are shoes. They are not political, they are not a statement, they are not symbolic of freedom from oppression (other than, perhaps, from the tyranny of blisters!), and they are definitely not something for which women lost their lives!

Needless to say, I probably won't be buying their shoes.

Greatest Dancer

Every time I turn the television on I keep seeing Earth Song and not enough good, dance-around-my-living-room MJ! And although Thriller is ace, I think it's a bit overrated. If you've got a spare ten minutes then watch Smooth Criminal all the way through. Best song, best video and definitely the best choreography!

Obey the mug

My new favourite mug. It can fit a good 2/3 of a pint of tea in it! I like the sentiment too. Buy it here, share the love.

Yarnbombing!

The best way to describe yarnbombing is probably 'knitted graffiti'. It can be anarchic, witty, expressive and fun, but not the least bit as disruptive or antisocial as its older, more notorious relation. If nothing else, it brings a little bit of comfort to a world that is generally, well, not that comfortable right now!

The practice began in Texas, but has rapidly spread across the globe covering buses, trees and lamposts (among other everyday objects) in wool. Now it has come to Manchester's Craft & Design Centre, where Salford-based Art Yarn have established a growing installation (or 'yarnbomb') called Yarn Forward.

Strip by strip they are covering the upstairs handrail with unique, brightly coloured and often fantastical crocheted and knitted designs. But it doesn't stop there. Where ever you look - from banisters to bike racks - there is some little bit of wool keeping it cosy.

You can post your entries in, so you don't even have to be in Manchester, the UK, or go to the Centre to take part (though I would highly recommend it, they have very scrummy cake!)

Here's how to take part:

• Knit or crochet a strip to measure 7cm wide x 40 cm long. Any colour, yarn and technique is accepted, the brighter and wackier, the better.



• Write a small note stating your name and location. This then gets put on a little label and is attached to your work so everyone knows who made it.



• Send it to the following address:
  
  FAO Kelda Savage
  Manchester Craft & Design Centre
  17 Oak Street
  Northern Quarter
  Manchester
  M4 5JD
  
  Or drop them off in person to the office on the 1st floor.

A sneak peak of my first contribution:

Please excuse the freestyle over-stitching. Apparently they look like 'computer hearts', but I think that might just be a diplomatic way of saying 'rubbish'. Either way, I kind of like them.

Happy stitching!

Rain, Rain Go Away

I didn't even have to get out of bed this morning to know that more jolly romps in the countryside were a big no-no. Instead, I went exploring Manchester, rediscovering my favourite places and things, like the echoey Central Library, side streets off Oxford Road and sitting with Alan Turing (well, his statue) in Sackville Gardens.

Memorial to Alan Mathison Turing, 'Founder of Computer Science'. Sackville Gardens, corner of Sackville/Whitworth Street

Lone Space Invader, behind the Palace Theatre, Whitworth Street

I also did a spot of shopping, but unfortunately my eco-friendly paper carrier bags disinegrated in the onpour and I had to stuff a pile of clothes into my bag, which made me look rather like a filthy shoplifter.

There were a lot of people wearing wellies who, I can only assume, were on there way (via several pubs) to Heaton Park for the Oasis gig. Many of them appeared to be drawing phalluses on each others' shoes. It was all rather odd, but each to their own I guess.

I also spotted a lot of these: