Xmas decorations, a recipe

Recipe for lovely Xmas decorations:

- Ask your partner to go out for a romantic walk (make sure you have a Swiss knife in your bag, just in case)

- Locate a suitable spot with view/panorama etc...(possibly with plenty of dead branches/trees around)

- Enjoy the view together

- Now convince your partner to collect the most beautiful branches you've ever seen (trim the long ones with the Swiss knife if you need)

- Wait until he manages to get them all in the car (of course beauty spot is far from home/studio)

- Once at home decorate with felt baubles. Et voilà!

Next: how to make felt baubles

and more!

I adore this watercolours by Silvia Codignola - I saw them for the first time at Il Basilisco art gallery, owned by another Silvia - and they have been within me since then. I love their colours and the incredible sense of peace they emanate.
Something to add to my wish list....

More info on Silvia Codignola here

buy handmade!

www.buyhandmade.org

Per Natale quest'anno (in effetti in qualsiasi periodo dell'anno!) sarebbe bello che le persone acquistassero i loro regali da persone che creano oggetti con le loro mani. Comprare qualcosa fatto a mano vuol dire possedere qualcosa di unico, che ha una storia e che parla della persona che lo ha creato. E significa anche distinguersi dalla massa!
Supportiamo gli artigiani artisti, soprattutto i tessitori!

This year it would be nice if people bought their Xmas presents from artisans/crafters: buying handmade means getting something unique and special, that tells a story about the person who created it. It's also a way to be original!
Lets support artist/crafters/artisans, and above all handweavers!

and now some tasters from etsy:

lovely cushion from joom

another lovely cushion from absoluut (anybody noticed I am into cushions recently?)

a ring for my wish list from lunatic art

and cute wristwarmers from winsomeandsaucy

Wish list

Another month has literally disappeared and it's already December - I have to say that handweaving an item is not something you can expect to finish off in a few hours or even days.
It takes time.
Sometimes I feel like I am living in a parallel universe where time drips away at a different pace - until I re-emerge from my studio and find out that the world is spinning faster than before.
Nonetheless, I have to admit that I find comfort in my "warp zone" - it's where I find the time to create, the time to get more ideas and the time to meditate.

Morning coffee

My sister finally moved into her new flat with her partner and this morning we enjoyed a coffee in her kitchen! The photo above this is yesterday's coffee in my studio - I need to balance the dullness of the sky outside with bright colours - these are the yarns for the next warp!

And this is my silk mini-scarf still on the loom.

Completed!

This idea of matching a printed fabric with a handwoven one is something I want to develop further - and the simple shape of a cushion helps enhance the contrast.

Now I'm thinking about another old scrap of fabric I saw in one of my boxes...

the Toile Cushion Project

Some time ago my mum gave me this piece of fabric with a very unusual toile - hills and houses!- that my grandma had bought ages ago. It's so ugly it could be truly beautiful, so I decided to have a go with it and weave some matching fabric - something stripey to contrast/complement the pattern.

So here you go, I selected my colours: cotton and viscose yarn (shiny enough but not too much)

I am really pleased with the result, can't wait to see the cushions on my sofa!

My other projects are going ok, I managed to set up the loom with some other silk miniscarves: after the blue ones inspired to the Antarctic Ice, the next natural step was to try some other colourways - so this time I used some silk dyed with onion skins and cochineal.
Will post some pics soon before the scarves disappear!

Some order

Today I was cleaning up my folders and reorganizing my photos. I came across those I took during the months spent working for the final project at Bradford College. I miss that period! It was a mess but it was also so intense. I am going to start again - I already got my brushes and gouaches out : time to be on the Antarctic Ice. PS: the International Polar Year is still on.

buttons!

I've been to a local market - I just can't resist buttons!
New project looming ahead... I want to use these laddies for a woven/felted bag.

I'm here!

Mmmmh, what else could you do on a Sunday in October - apart from opening your blog?
I'm sure this is going to be fun - lots of handweaving ahead.....

Donatella