Saturday 17 December 2011

The gift of giving

OK, I admit it, my two arty buddies are my guinea pigs! I'd seen a scarf made of some diaphanous material with strips attached & as I'm a strippy sort of person I decided to have a go myself & give the results of my experiments to my buddies at our 'studio staff party' We've been working together thru the year to either carry on where the printmking class left off or to just 'knit & bitch' - well, I didn't knit I was just working towards the exhibition & both of them were so helpful with ideas for it & stuff, I felt the least I could do was give them something for their efforts ;)


 So I gathered some bits & pieces, no mean feat, that as my corner of the Eldests room is becoming the second B&B room & an 1/8th of the Middlests room will turn into the sewing corner in 'our' room, as he's away at college/sea now. I think I'll have to suspend things from the ceiling...!  It's been great stitching in the studio but it's too cold to do much in there in the winter & anyway I can't store fabric as it gets damp despite the heating, yes we need some insulation which finances didn't run to when we built the studio & house, 11 years ago last week we moved in! Never mind it's on the wish list along with a sink & tap! I remember our builder laughing  when I suggested using sheeps wool - the amount of Country Living etc awards I've seen since then!



They like purple & turquoise


& turquoise & terracotta

I sliced up the stripped pieces very thinly & stitched them on, there were 16 each scarf & it was tricky stitching satiny fabric onto silk, I even had to resort to pins & even then it slid about in a higgledypiggledy fashion, but they won't notice & if they did I know they wouldn't mind. As for going into production with them, I'm not sure!

Here they are bundled up together. 

It was interesting seeing them against their clothes, one wearing dark grey & one deep purple,  the scarves looked a little pale - I hadn't thought of 'trying them on' & stepping back to look. I guess it's a question of taste & more experiments!

Made some labels & stamped the brown paper the presents came in, for wrapping. I'd love to have my own carved stamps for next year, like the glorious ones on Letting in the Light's blog - I just 'found' her again, hiding on the dashbord thing I forget about ;)




This is the first Saturday I've had in ages to myself. Last week I joined in to a community jam & chutney day - I've made jam once & chutney never (I did see our Kirsty making a ready to eat chutney in her last year's lead up to Christmas craft show, now that looked good, as for comparing crack cocain to fme...again,  I'm not too sure!) I'm not a foody, you'll never see a recipie here & yes, I'm one of those awful peple who forget to eat but boy, when I smell food, am I hungry! (I'm so lucky to have my own Maser Chef in the kitchen ;)


The pear & walnut we made is something else. What do you mean it has to sit for a month? It's nearly gone already!

I'm off to decorate the tree, it's been anchored & covered in lights that work by the DH & Youngest - he could hire himself out as the best untangler of lights in the country. I'm so lucky to have them here, get all nostalgic with my lovingly collected & handmade decorations (I've always collected one decoration per child each year, how delighted am I to now be able to make them myself!) by a warm fire, with the somewhat confused by it all dog at my feet, looking forward to the rest of my little family arriving next week.

Have a peaceful & enjoyable lead up to Christmas, this week!






21 comments:

Cate Rose said...

Loved your post! I'm giving away a lot of art right now, and I do love it. It's so freeing to let go of our own stuff, to get it out there into the world, having "sold" or not.
You have a delightful holiday, too, Emma. Much love.

Carole Reid said...

Emma, this is such a lovely post. I can picture you sitting at you sewing machine and by the stove making your gifts. Peach and walnut jam sounds divine! Love the colours of the scarves. Have a wonderful time preparing for your family and somewhat confused dog!

Jill said...

Your scares are just the ticket for these dull days - i am sure they were loved by your friends.Have a wonderful holiday with your family up there
Jill

Jen xo said...

Hey Emma love those silk scarves...its funny as i have been trying to work out revamp for mine that i dyed up for the market that didnt sell. i made blue and terracotta too, its my fave scarf color...i love the silk but as they come premade i think they are too short and want some way of lengthening them. the jam looks yummy too....

Ro Bruhn said...

What gorgeous scarves Emma, the colours sing together. I love the packaging too. Have a lovely Christmas

Julie said...

I love the scarves too Emma and I'm sure your buddies did too.

Have a really lovely Christmas time with your family and doggy friend and keep warm by that fire.

Suztats said...

I just got our tree decorated yesterday. Wonderful scarves!
Wishing you and yours a wonderful Christmas!

Jan said...

Wow what lovely scarves! Who wouldn't be entranced by them? Wishing you a most wonderful Christmas with your family!

Iz said...

Cool scarves, a really clever idea - and I'm very impressed by your use of pins! Now that's dedication to the cause! I made Kirstie's chutney last year and can vouch for it's deliciousness. Haven't got round to doing anything this year, not even mincemeat!

Linda’s Textiles said...

Lucky guinea pigs! scarves & wrapping look great. Hope your Christmas is wonderful.

Maggi said...

Lovely scarves Emma. Have a lovely Christmas with good company and warm toes.

mano said...

wonderful post, dear emma! I love the scarves and the labels very much!
have wonderful christmas days with your family!

Anonymous said...

Nice scarves. I love your strippy look. And your sweet Christmas tags! xoxCorrine Merry Jolly...

jan said...

Lovely scarves they look great. Thank you so much for my pendant, I love it.

Peneller said...

The scarves look really good and also the chutney. I hope you have a really good Christmas and a happy and successful new year. We can't make it to Skye in 2012, but hope to the following year if the move happens although it is rather a long way from Cornwall! Take care and keep sewing!!! Penny

Katie said...

You've been busy. Those scarves look pretty neat-o...really unique.
Sign me up for jam and chutney. I tried chutney once...it definately won't be given as a gift (to anyone I like!hee!)
Hope you enjoyed a Saturday to yourself. Have a wonderful holiday!

Anonymous said...

The scarves look lovely. I really like the way the stripy strips ruch them up slightly. It sounds like you're well on your way to being very Christmassy. Jams and chutneys are brilliant to make and easier than people think. Hope you enjoy it!

Laura said...

OH Emma the colors are scrumptious!!! I hope you will consider sending me an email about what you are grateful for to add to this year's gratitude word quilt. It will be posted on my blog on Dec 31st. I am collecting expressions of gratitude from around the world. Happy Holidays to you and your beloveds.
Gentle steps,
Laura

Gaby Bee said...

Wanted to send along some wishes for a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Gaby

Robin Mac said...

Lovely post Emma, the scarves are beautiful and I was delighted to follow the link to the home made stamps - that blog is now in my list of favourites also! Hope you have a lovely Christmas and that it is not too cold for you. Cheeers

Parabolic Muse said...

Wow. Such pretties!

I hope you had a good Christmas! this is my third attempt to get a comment through so I'm going to hit publish quickly!

xo