Autumn Dream Catchers

I was lucky enough to be invited to help out at my sons' former primary school on one of their "Break Out Days". I've probably got the official explanation of what these are all wrong but from what I can see they are joyous occasions when teachers and children dare to stray outside the boundries of the timetabled National Curriculum. Every member of staff put their activity ideas into a pot and, if they can be organised with parent and other local support, those ideas are offered to the kids. During my stay I saw bread making, a wetsuited group off for a canoe lesson, gardeners busy with some willow structures, amazing Giocametti wire and clay sculpture, pumkin carving....the list goes on.

My group of the sweetest 5 and 6 year olds opted in to make Giant Autumn Dreamcatchers-  the brainchild of the lovely Mrs Lamb. First we borrowed some hoola hoops from the PE cupboard and wrapped them in green and brown florist tape. Having decided to do 3 each a little different we had to think fast how to thread them. In the end one was knotted in the traditional way for dream catchers with some of my 4mm leather cord. The next looked amazing finished with garden twine woeven as a spiders web and then backed with some thin hessian. For the third and final hoop we used long strips of hessian in one direction and twine in the other to make a grid.

Bounty fron our nature walk

Luckily the weather was kind-ish and after what seemed an age (to a mum who hasn't had to do it for a decade or so) buttoning coats and finding wellies we ventured out into the beautiful grounds. The kids gathered all manner of gorgeous Autumn bounty - leaves in every colour and hue, conkers, acorns, feathers etc. Our safety briefing had forbid berries, fungi and politely requested that no dead birds or insects return with us.......shucks!

Having added our finds to the leather, string, ribbon and fabric strips already assembled the fun began.

The Dreamcatcher table fills up

Big and little hands got weaving

......and wrapping and poking and knotting!

Thank you every one - I had a great time.
I wasn't familiar with the  Dream catcher legends before -  the stories of how they can protect us from our bad dreams and choices in life. Sharing these with the children as we worked and hearing them re-tell their best dreams was magical.

Thank you every one - I had a great time.







Thank you's

A huge thank you to DottieAngel for her very generous words about "my follies and my glees". Imagine for just one moment the excitement in this house when it was discovered that the Queen of Granny Chic aspires to a Folly and Glee  lampshade in the Mossy Shed. There was some shrieking....and them some gasping....something dangerously akin to palpertations....followed by several hours of wry smiling. Even the boys read the post! I got to share the news with my good friend and crochet teacher Anne (aka Cloonty) yesterday. I'd taken the laptop along to our village's newly opened fab restaurant and coffee shop Dino's. Here a similar cycle of shrieking followed much to the amusement of staff and customers.

Anyway a big thank you Tif and if there is anyone out there who hasn't been charmed by Dottie's delights you know where to go and if you are writing your christmas list this book the second in the Suitcase series can be pre-ordered now.

Another nice suprise was that Whitney over at Whisker Graphics posted about the wallpaper bunting lampshade that was strung with the gorgeous Divine Twine in candy pink.

I'm delighted Folly and Glee are stocking the full range of colours in what I think is the loveliest of the baker's twines for all us folk on this side of the pond. Never has cotton string made such a difference to packaging......I could marvel at baker's twine uses for hours. Just look at the inspirational combination of the orange twine with a personalised stamp from Butterfly Fly Stamps on Etsy. Brilliant.


Images from Butterfly Fly



Crazy to Cut?

Well perhaps not a suprise but today whilst eating what counted for lunch I had a crisis of conscience. Who in their right mind would cut up near perfect lengths of barkcloth some of which is approaching 50 years old. What if no body likes my Folly&Glee lamp shades? What if we move and I need to make new lampshades for our home? What if their is a state of national barkcloth shortage emergency declared?  .......I'll feel like a right NUMPTY. That's what.

The furry one said just take a look around you. Do you need any more lamp shades? No. Do you feel pleasure everyday because of the ones you have? Yes. Wouldn't you feel good sharing some of that joy? Suppose so. Do you need the dosh to buy those Camper boots? Definately.

So.....I did some cutting and some laminating and some stitching and some rolling and there are 3 more vintage barkcloth lampshades in the Folly&Glee shop or if you prefer to but in US Dollars over at my etsy shop.

Vintage Barkcloth lampshades

Yea well it only took me 5 years to feel brave enough to cut up some of my treasured vintage barkcloth. Don't know what it is about the stuff but I do love it so.

At the risk of "teaching granny to suck eggs" barkcloth , also known as Dobby, is made of 100% cotton, it has a very rich look and feel and is extremely durable, and long lasting. To be honest I think that unless someone puts some actual barkcloth in your hands and says, "this is barkcloth" then it's next to impossible to really understand what it is... However technically barkcloth is a Momie Weave  used primarily in furnishings. The interlacing pattern usually uses spun yarns and creates a fabric with a rough texture somewhat like that of tree bark, hence the fabric's name.

So the legend goes after WWII American GI's stationed in Hawaii saw these brightly colored barkcloth curtains and other home furnishings (as well as some shirts) and brought or sent them home. In the years following  the late 1940's through the 1960's, bark cloth became a staple fabric in the home interior textiles market. The most collectable of these barkcloths are the atomic "Eames era" prints popular in the 1950's and early 1960's.

I fell in love with my first piece of barkcloth after pulling and old curtain out of a black bin bag at the local Scout Jumble sale. Totally unexplicable why... its was faded, it was almost a paisly pattern and worst of all it was mauve.....but there the love affair began.

It has finally dawned on me that I cannot curate a barkcloth museum from the linen cupboard in our spare room so now its open season on my precious bolts and scraps as they one by one reform themselves into......lampshades. Why lampshades? Well a great lampshade is always hard to find. You can never have enough lamps in a room. I'm lucky enough to have access to the professional materials needed to make them well. And most importantly they show the wonderousness of the fabric off to perfection.

I'm not so good at photographing them yet. Just look at all those shadows.....and it took me hours! Any tips greatfully received.

All from Emma Lamb's shop on Etsy

Whilst on the subjected I'm so greatful to Emma Lamb for posting about my shades. I've been a fan of her crochet for a while now as her designs and colours are always so contemporary and just a bit more edgy than most. Emma also manages my two favourite Flickr group "granny chic" and "all colours in" as well as producing the best etsy collages  or roundups on her blog. You have an extraordinary eye Emma. Cheers.

Geometric gorgeousness

Always having been a sucker for florals I didn't think I'd fall for the current geometric trend. But oh I was wrong.

Now I spend my sofa evenings huddled over a pile of hexagon cut outs. I cannot say it is the most enjoyable patchwork project as its a fiddly process but its very rewarding. I love that the old fashioned classic cuts of floral linen appear transformed into something so much more contemporary just by virtue of being an angular shape. Its a slow grower but my plan is to finish a length for a new FollyandGlee lampshade.

Triangles haven't escaped my attention either. I love the simplicity of this little coffee set of cups, saucers, cream jug and sugar bowl. Perfect for expresso or maybe a little after supper chocolate moose? If you love too you'll find it in the shop.

The current obcession with shapes has extended to our wallpaper lampshades too. First to succumb was this lampshade made in an ivory lace vinyl and then strung with bunting. The bunting was fun to cut from tiny scraps of vintage wallpaper laminated onto triangles of the lampshade PVC. I used Divine Twine's gorgeous new candy pink baker's twine which I'm delighted to now have in stock.

I've missed these blog posts over our eventful summer. Whilst it sometimes feels a little self indulgent blogging does give you that reflective time to stand back for a moment and appreciate......whatever. Promise to be back soon.

Crochet Therapy

Why am I hooking away with my feet up at 10.30 am when there are a 1000 and one things I should be doing?

I am crocheting for my sanity! Being a newby hooker I wondered how such a seemingly fiddly process should calm the senses. I had read that it was so from those whose work I admire. And I had sensed a whiff of cheerfulness and serenity from those that hook regularly. But I had not experienced it for myself until now.

Our boys have started their summer in some style.

With one doing this....

and another doing this...

...it is perhaps no suprise that we might have already incurred an injury.

Always armed with dressings and my trusty antiseptic cream I am no stranger to scrapes and cuts. Sadly Big J's accident on Friday whilst dirt jumping was more serious. He has fractured his wrist in two places and needs an operation next week to "bolt" the break together. Oh my goodness .......typing the words makes me feel more than queezy. There is NOTHING worse than having your child suffer.

A difficult few days in and out of hospital waiting rooms has passed and J must now cope with the dissapointment and frustration of cancelling all those holiday activities with his mates he had been so looking foward too. We know we are in good hands for the operation to come nonetheless I am feeling somewhat anxious but at the same time VERY thankful that his injuries are not worse.

So that I'm afraid is my reasoning for why for a few moments the washing, cleaning and the business can wait a while and the hooking takes over. To have found the donkey brown Rowan cotton in a charity shop for only 50p helps lessen the guilty pleasure even more! And dear Anne (aka Cloonty) if you're reading this thank you so much for teaching me how to wield a crochet hook. I'd still be staring at written pattern instructions in total confusion without you!

For those of you who might be interested....yes I was sitting here first. As usual the Furry One is by my side and saw a photo opportunity plus a ready warm spot to steal.

Porcelain Lace and the case of the missing Mojo

I think I lost my blogging mojo. Lack of time to oneself is of course also a possibility. However I must be honest and admit to several occasions when I have been oggling the work of truly talented artists and crafters. Inspirational yes.....but viewed during a busy end of term stretch filled with seemingly endless demands for lifts and laundry and the work of the truly talented has left me feeling a bit inadequate.

Delighted as I was to find a way to incorporate crochet lace doilies into lampshades (without creating a fire risk) it is nothing compared to what Kristen Wicklund can do.

The Porcelain Lace in the exhibition photo above is made by dipping the doilies in porcelain clay and then firing them. The crochet itself is burnt away leaving behind the moulded procelain. Beautiful. And look at this.....

called Reincarnation, a work-in-progress crocheted entirely from used plastic shopping bags gathered in New York.

Until my mojo returns x