Spring

Still not a whole lot to report, but I felt like posting about Spring, because I am quite fond of it. Cardigan-weather is great.



A friend of mine and I are hopefully going to collaborate on an etsy-based shop type affair soon, I will keep you updated of any developments with regards to this!

Tomorrow I am off to this gig, which I am rather excited about:


(poster designed by twoducksdisco)

Oh and I spent my afternoon today baking banana bread and carrot cake! The carrot cake fell apart, but I found the whole experience incredibly enjoyable and will probably eat far too much of both in the next couple of days.
xxx

Enjoyable Things

Hello there!

Things I have enjoyed doing since my last update: visiting the countryside, baking, walking in the countryside, getting bargains from the supermarket just before closing time (who knew a 10p loaf of bread could be so satisfying?), the emergence of spring, Sufjan Stevens and nature documentaries. I have also been more urgently trying to find a job, hence today has involved the terribly exciting activity of filling out numerous job application forms. Needless to say, I haven't done all that much in terms of crafty stuff, although I did give a few badges away to friends of mine. Spreading the love and that.

I did manage to fit in a little sewing last night.



And here are some more russian dolls from a while ago I realised I never posted:



Annnnddd here are some cookies made by Cameron Steward, Geoge Steward and assisted by me! Check out moustache ice-cream man.


Hopefully I will have something more exciting to post about soon, until then, take care!

Embroidery Update

I've added a little more to the embroidery I was working on:

I imagine this'll be the sort of thing I end up adding to and adding to and then realising it looked better half-done. I'd quite like to embroider some tea towels or something next!

On Monday I was in Manchester with my sister and we visited Affleck's Palace. Aside from reminding me of my youth, there were also a few great little stalls that have popped up there since the last time I visited, a few selling fantastic original jewellery, and another selling recycled fashion. I have a website address for the recycled fashion stall, but it doesn't seem to be working, hmm. Anyway, if you are in Manchester any time then you should check it out, it's called "Love Me Again".

The idea of recycled fashion inspired me, so I ended up getting my huge bag of old clothes out (which I have been meaning to take to the charity shop for months) and I added this collar and button to an old top:
Oh and the girls I am moving in with in July all seem super interested in crafts, so hopefully we can get some super fun collaborative projects going on at some point. Hurray!

Trying Something New

Yesterday I found an embroidery hoop in a charity shop for 50p, so I thought I would experiment a little. The stitches are not all that neat and it is not quite finished, but here is my first attempt.

Cambridge

Hello there!

The Cambridge adventure was much fun, and the gallery space in which the poster show took place was incredible.



We also visited the biggest Wetherspoons in the country, which was impressive in a certain sort of way. Cambridge seems like a really lovely place, bikes everywhere and very nice people. Many thanks to Alex Curtis for putting us up!

On a completely irrelevant note, I love the colourful buildings in Nuuk:

I'd like to go one day, it looks otherworldly. I sometimes get moments where I really, really want to travel. If only I had the cash! I saw a programme last week about Billy Connolly travelling through Canada and he visited Newfoundland - it all looked amazing. I think that may be what triggered this.

This and That

Hi, hope you all had a good weekend! Mine was very quiet, I sewed, watched bad television, and on Saturday night the boy & I watched a lovely film called "The Straight Story" about an old man who rides across America on a lawnmower to visit his ill brother. It was amazing.

This coming weekend is going to be a lot busier, as on Saturday I am off to Cambridge with some great poster artists, to a great poster exhibition, which is going to be a lot of fun. I believe there is also a gig happening on the Sunday evening! Exciting stuff :)

I've been making a very big mess of late (scraps of felt are becoming very familiar features on my carpet) and the other night I couldn't stop sewing and gave myself a headache. But it was a productive headache, at least. Here is the army of badges as it appears at the moment.

There are also a few ideas for projects in the near future. I won't talk about them just yet though, in case they do not work out. But suffice to say, I am excited.

Here is where I have been working, with aforementioned mess. I am hoping to buy an old desk or table from the big charity shop near my house soon, which I can put beside my window. I need good light for sewing, otherwise it makes my eyes go all funny.

I've been reading a fair bit of the Handmade Nation book which I got for Christmas lately, it's really interesting and today a friend recommended My Paper Crane to me, which I then realised is one of the featured artists in the book. The website is full of lovely stuff and I spent ages looking at all of it. There is a really lovely heart embroidery project, which has made me really want to try my hand at something similar. Check it out if you have a few minutes!

Oh and I had the most amazing thing on Friday: a hot chocolate made out of an actual chocolate bar. Dreamy. I have been constantly craving them ever since.

Owls & Seals & Craft Shops

Hello! I have been making lots of little brooches this week.

I also visited the craft shop and got a little carried away, hence I now have materials to make necklaces:

I don't know why, but visiting the craft shop suddenly and inexplicably makes me yearn to own masses of tiny dollhouse furniture and bizarrely-shaped buttons, which I would perhaps never find a real use for.

I visited my parents at the beginning of the week, and acquired some new fabric, both from charity shops and my Mum's scrap-fabric collection. This is exciting news in Sarah-world at the moment.


Oh and, on a completely unrelated note, I saw two great films this week which I highly recommend: American Splendor and Milk. Sean Penn was absolutely amazing in Milk. I've only seen two films at the cinema this year (the other one was The Wrestler, also recommended) but this is definitely my current favourite film of 2009. I think it will take some beating.