Sunday 17 February 2013

joining the party rather late...

Finally, having muttered about it for some time, I have got started with this blog. Seriously, the word 'blog' was a delayer for a while for me: such an ugly word. I briefly considered 'journal' – as found on some rather elegant blogs – but a journal is not what I hope to write here. What I do hope to do is record my creative efforts, share some of the practical knowledge that my job as an illustrated craft book editor has given me over the years, and join (and hopefully start) some interesting discussions. I'm aiming for a once-a-week post but I warn you, if I run out of brain I shall resort to cute pet photos: I have a good number of those...

A make to start with I think: for the last three years I have taken a stand at the very excellent Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace in October. I've met some fabulous people, sold lots of my makes, taught some classes, and generally thoroughly enjoyed myself. At the show in 2012 a buyer from Liberty of London saw my china pincushions, contacted me, and now some of those pincushions are on sale in the shop... 

A faun escaped to Liberty...


A quite extraordinary swan...
Lettuce-leaf-head grandma...

A present from Germany...

A Start-Rite pincushion...
A slightly blurry phone-photo of the assembled multitude on sale in Liberty...

And in front the display was a pile of my pincushions book...all very exciting indeed!
I went to visit the pincushions a week later, and some had gone! Be still my beating heart! I really was quite ridiculously excited by the whole thing. I mean, I've sold many pincushions myself, but here they were in a proper shop! And one of my favourite shops!
This has spurred me on to start thinking about new types of pincushions I could make, which I'll share as they transition from the imaginary to reality. That'll be soon, I hope...