Happy New Year! It is still January, I can still say it...

Hello! I am so sorry I have been lapse with the blog at the moment. Though I really must encourage you to 'like' my Facebook page or follow me on Twitter @GinaBSilkwork as I do tend to make small, quick daily updates there, very useful when I really don't want to bore you with paragraphs of nothing.

I hope that you all had a good holiday season - isn't it hard to believe that it wasn't that long ago? Seems ages already. Here in the midlands of England, it has really been odd weather-wise, so very mild that my quince already has flowers and I noticed a small rose yesterday. Mind you, the wind has been terrible, and living up on a hill, wind like that can get really irritating. Still for something different, a picture of me, DH and our lovely dog Bo, out for an early morning walk the other week. (getting arty, what can I say?)

And so, on to news and other such things. We've been busy putting together the next two DVDs in the set - Making Braids & Cords and Making Frogs & Fancies. Making Braids is due out in February, with Making Frogs in March. Then we'll start on the next titles on the list! (Believe me, the list is very long...). Yes, The Making Passementerie series is going to keep me very busy this year.

We are also working on the most brilliant thing. I can't give out too much info yet, but it is practical, pretty and if you like passementerie, you'll need it. More info as I can give it out - prototypes are all working well, just a little bit of tweaking and we'll have it. We're looking at March for a launch of this.

So, as I said over on Facebook - the gods of all things electric have to play nice. (The gods of lighting already got mad and I am waiting on new studio lights, so I need to try to appease the others or my schedule will be blown!)

I have a double page spread in this quarter's issue of the Create & Craft Club members' magazine - yes, you do have to be a member to get this so here's a little pic of the spread-

And next month I will have a project in Popular Crafts magazine - so do stay tuned!

I am also currently pencilled in to join Create & Craft at the Stitch & Craft show at the Olympia in London - at the moment it looks like I'll be there on the 18th, but nothing's confirmed as yet.

And so, shows - I'll be on Create & Craft this Saturday (28th) at 2pm - and I hope to have a little project for you that uses buttons, with a pattern to download from my site next week. (Again, hoping those electric gods are nice to me..)

After that, I'm scheduled in for the 18th of Feb at 2pm (early days yet - that one could still change of course).

Do tune in if you can - I always have a little something to give away to whoever's email is drawn from the spotty potty, so remember that you can contact the show for a chance to win.

And, on top of all that, I am still working on commissions! I shall be starting a very intricate gold brocade tablet weave - based on the Taplow finds - and I am looking forward to getting on with that. It has been a while since I've done any tablet weaving it seems.

I hope that you all have a healthy, happy and lucky 2012, and thank you all for following me and my ramblings - I appreciate it!

'Tis the season!

Wow, I'm sorry it has been an age since I last updated. I seem to have been running around like a slightly mad woman, and every time I think that I should update the blog, something else interferes. And so, before the month of December totally interferes with any more of my lists, I am updating!

It's been a month of writing articles and tutorials, planning, packing, and even making a few things...

Of course, for me as with so many of you, the holidays are a time for doing other things as well - not least making sure the house is clean enough for visitors - in other words - MOVE the thread from every room! Clear the supplies from the dining table! Move the loom to make space for the tree!

All of that is now done, and I have even started the baking. Every year, if I make nothing else, I make my grandmother's nut bread. And every year I stress about it, because I don't normally make bread. And every year I wonder why I only do this at Christmas, as it tastes lovely and I would do a much better job if I was had more practise!

I will be working on New Year's Day this year - I'll be on Create & Craft at 2pm - so if you are staying at home nursing a bit of a sore head, why not join me :-)

Thank you to every one who has supported me this year. I'm working on some really exciting projects that I am hoping to share in early 2012, and knowing that many of you are actually interested is a great thing.

I hope that you all have a lovely holiday season and a very happy and healthy 2012.


...right... Christmas cards next I think....

Autumn

It's been quite a lovely autumn weather-wise here in the Midlands. Which is a good thing really - for some reason October is one of my least favourite months. I seem to always have a huge amount of paperwork, cleaning and general 'don't like' jobs, and by the time the month has finished I am usually glad to see the back of it.

But, the weather was so unseasonal that one Good Thing has come of it -we were able to take some really long walks through the surrounding fields. We are able to go onto the fields when there are no crops - but of course that usually means MUD. So, it tends to be avoided and instead we stick to walking up the road. I found some interesting bits of pottery, (though knowing nothing about pottery it is probably just ordinary stuff!)

Look how green everything is - this was only on the 28th of October!

Many thanks to those of you who have been in touch since I was last on Create & Craft - that was a last-minute decision! I shall be on again this Sunday (13th November) at 8am - with the second DVD title - Making More Buttons. Whereas Making Buttons focused on wrapped buttons in the Leek tradition, Making More Buttons concentrates on needleworked buttons such as the Dorset Crosswheel, Knob and others. (I do love the traditional names of some buttons!) . So, another early start - do join me if you can, and email into the studio! (In keeping with Create & Craft tradition, there will be a little something made by me which will go to whoever sends in the email which gets drawn from the pot).

Of course, that has meant the last two weeks have been - and still are - all about me working very hard to get interesting samples sorted out in order to ensure that the set is well-dressed! I shall probably be at it until late Saturday!

We are also busy working on the next titles in the series, and some other rather exciting things, which I really hope are able to get sorted.

Have a lovely weekend

New items in my shop and little updates

It's been a very busy couple of weeks for me, and most it isn't stuff that those of you who follow my blog will actually want to read! It is however the usual case for October, it does tend to be a paperwork month.
But, some of that paperwork has been developing new kits for the shop, including kits to accompany the Making More Buttons dvd, and thread packs.

('Candy' thread selection pack)

I've written an article, and am currently writing the scripts for the next two titles in the Making Passementerie series, as well as working on samples. And as an aside - I've been working on a puppet. Another very interesting project.... ! So all in all very busy.

However, I am hoping some of you may be able to help. Fibrecrafts used to so a range of worsted wool, 28/2 in a variety of colours. They are no longer supplying this super fine weight, does anyone know of who does? It does really need to be wortsed, as it needs to be the long staple as my intention is to use it for weaving. I don't mind going up to the next size, but a couple of my clients want the finest, as even that isn't quite as fine as some historic examples!

In case you didn't know, I will be back at Create & Craft tv tomorrow (Saturday) at noon. And a November date has been pencilled in as well. It is proving alot of fun - I am surprised how much I am enjoying it, though really it isn't very different from doing a demo in costume at an historic site. So, if you are in the mood to watch, you can see it on Sky 671 | Freeview 36 | Freesat 813 or watch online at http://www.createandcraft.tv/ShowGridView.aspx (this link takes you to the current live programme, so should work)