Tulip mania

Highly prized in the 17th century by the Dutch, the tulip gained a remarkable following leading to tulip mania. Tulips became a status symbol and sold for vast prices. Undeniably beautiful I took this photo this week of tulips growing. I love the strong bold image and this has inspired my folksy picks this week. Click on each pic to take you to the folksy shop.

Multicolour Folksy Friday

With the Guild exhibitions coming up soon, one aspect that puts craft shows in a different light is the demonstration table. At both the Blickling Hall and Blakeney Craft events you can usually see a designer maker working on their craft and giving an insight into their working practise. At Blakeney last year I had a piece of silk stretched on a frame which I had freely outlined with small flowers. The idea was that visitors to the table could have a go and paint a flower, and many did! I like to think that I might have encouraged some to take up the craft. Here's the result of that day...

...so my folksy friday picks are multicolour florals, very uplifting. Click on the pic to take you to each shop.

Folksy Friday

Tenuous link with my last blog, as I had used peach yarn my friday picks all have a peachy look! Aren't they gorgeous? Click on the pic for a link to each folksy shop.

Looking to the past

I have just come across some of my sketchbooks that I worked on for my City and Guilds in machine knitting. I still have the original garments, I can't bear to part with them! One project that I worked on was based on historical influences. Looking through books on the history of costume design is fascinating and as I lived in an edwardian house at the time I was drawn towards the fashions from that era. I had already designed a floral repeat pattern using a flower motif from an inlaid 18th century cabinet panel.

Trying colourways

Final garment sketch and colour swatch

Final garment with plainer sleeves

Just a little alcohol goes a long way...

Any of you that paint on silk will be familiar with the alcohol technique. For those of you that don't paint on silk you may be surprised to know that it doesn't mean having a wee dram before starting the project.

Alcohol is used to displace the dye to form patterns by painting onto dry unfixed dyed silk. It will only work with dyes, not silk paints, as long as the silk dye has not been fixed. My sequence of pics show the process in stages.

1. After stretching the silk on the frame I painted it using 3 colours of water based dye. I didn't blend the colours, I let them find their own edges.

2. When the dyes have dried I can start to 'paint' using the alcohol. You can see the shapes starting to appear as the dye is pushed to the edges of the brush shape.

3. More alcohol is added. I was going for vague flower shapes.

4. Texture was added to the background by adding spots of alcohol with the tip of the brush.

5. The alcohol will dilute the colour of the dye so more colour can be added if it's starting to look too washed out. I also added more spots. Sometimes it's difficult to know when to stop!

6. The finished piece of silk taken off the frame but before I have fixed the dye. The fixing process is a lengthy steam using an old steamer over a saucepan of simmering water being very careful not to let any water touch the silk. Not sure what I'll use it for yet, it's about 45cm square, any ideas?

Folksy Friday

We all need friends in this world, especially when times are tough. My Friday picks have friendship as a theme.



1. Berry bunny and friends fabric button set from incy wincy stitches2. Best friends forever duo tags from Jupiter Rocks3. Friends card from Cardmadfairy's Card Creations4. Turtle and friends pincushion from linziloop5. Friends wooden pendant from Zoe Woods6. Running friends and puppy resin necklace from A Resin Revival

Join a craft guild

A craft guild is a fantastic organisation to belong to if you are a designer and creator. Self-regulated with a committee of members ensures that a high standard of workmanship is maintained. I belong to two craft guilds in Norfolk, the Norfolk Craft Guild and the Blakeney Craft Guild. Both offer opportunities to exhibit in good locations at an affordable cost with the support that a guild has at its heart. 

You must be willing to participate in the activities that a guild organises, sit on the committee if invited, and enjoy the social events that are planned. I have been a member of the Norfolk Craft Guild for some years now, having first been the newsletter editor and am currently the membership secretary. We have seen an increase in the number of designer makers applying for the guild lately, word must be getting around that it's good to share!
There are a number of guilds listed on the Craft and Design magazine website pages, find them here.
I have included work by some of the members of the Norfolk Craft Guild which show a diverse range of craft skills.





1. Rosie Hart - Ceramics2. Julie Hurst - Raffia hats 3. Peter Kingsland - Wooden toys4. Hazel Aldridge - Pewter embossing5. Alan Lansdell - Glass engraving6. Suzanne Lake - Wooden home decor