Days Out - Whitland Produce Market

Getting ready for our first market in Wales having been asked to hold a stall at the Whitland Produce and Craft Market.

As it's nearly Valentine's Day the theme is about all things heart shaped, so we've been busy making vintage inspired hearts with pastel button detail.  I think I've probably made enough for everyone in Whitland!  They'll be on sale for £2 each.

  

With St David's Day just around the corner I thought I should make some signature red dragon hats, bodysuits, T-shirts and aprons which will all be on sale and to order too.

And we mustn't forget Mother's Day.  You will be able to order a personalised apron at the market ready for collection the following month and in time for Mother's Day.  What would you choose to say?  SUPER MUMMY, MUMS ROCK, WORLD'S BEST MUM or MOTHER KNOWS BEST perhaps?  And of course, you can order online too.

If you're in the area do come and say hello.  We'd love to meet you.  For more details about the market, click here.

www.cobwebknits.co.uk 

Trivial Pursuits - Valentine's Day gift ideas

We’ve just celebrated St Dwynwen's Day* in Wales (the patron saint of Welsh Lovers) and with St Valentine’s Day just around the corner, thoughts have turned to some creative ideas you can make at home.

I've made a few of these as wedding gifts for friends in the past and although it takes a little time to line them up, they work rather well.  It's worth investing in a heart shaped paper punch to ensure the shape and size of each heart is identical and I've used good quality wedding wrapping paper to create most of the hearts.  
Interspersed I've added printed hearts celebrating the occasion and included names, date and place of the wedding together with other significant details or quotes.
There's a neat tutorial by someone else here.  I must do my own tutorial some day too.

Another really easy version could be something like this. Especially if you can find part of a map with particular significance.

For simple but effective garlands, check this tutorial out. Again, perfect for weddings and other romantic celebrations but cute and inexpensive if you want to make a bit of an effort over a romantic dinner at home.

And these are a great alternative and could easily be adapted for birthdays. I love the circular version with greetings on it. Check out the tutorial here.

www.cobwebknits.co.uk

*Here's St Dwynwen's story.

The story goes the Dwynwen was the prettiest of Welsh king Brychan Brycheiniog's twenty-four daughters. She fell in love with a man named Maelon Dafodrill, but her father had already  arranged for her to marry someone else. Distraught, Dwynwen prayed to God and asked for help in forgetting Maelon. An angel visited her in her sleep and gave her a potion to erase her memory of feelings for Maelon and turn him into a block of ice.  With each of her dreams coming true, Dwynwen devoted her life to God; she set up a convent on the island of Llanddwyn, off the coast of Anglesey. The remains of the church can still be seen on the island, along with Dwynwen's well.

It's believed the well is home to sacred fish who can predict whether couples relationships will succeed; if the fish are seen to be active when visiting the well, it was seen as a sign of a faithful husband.  God offered Dwynwen three wishes. Her first wish was that Maelon be thawed, the second that God should meet the needs of all lovers and the third that she should never marry.  The well has since become a place of pilgrimage for young Welsh lovers since Dwynwen's death in the 5th century.

Meet the Maker - Seasick Joe

I love the fact that my passion for knitting turned into a career and enjoy discovering others for whom the same has happened.

Seasick Joe (not her real name, which is Nicky) is one such artist.  I’ll let her explain in her own words.

'When I grow up I want to be an artist'.....seasick joe aged 8.5

These were my words, oooh <cough> 30 something years ago. I was always very creative as a child, but as I grew up somehow life got in the way and I never got to fulfil my childhood ambition, I took a totally different path and after a degree in Computer Technology behind me and a job in IT I was as far away from creative as you can get!

    

In 2010 I moved from a big city to a tiny village in South Lakes, Cumbria, one of the most beautiful places on earth, breathtaking mountains and stunning coastlines...I was inspired by its beauty, and the creative girl inside me woke up....

Whether at work (yes I still work in IT) or at home I am never more than 10 mins away from the beach, I started collecting driftwood and seeing shapes in the pieces I found, I set up a workshop in my kitchen and got crafty, making anything I could out of this beautiful strange, ocean whipped, sun bleached wood.  

This was my new hobby.....but I never thought it would be more than that, just a hobby, my way of unleashing the 8 year old artist inside of me..... but somehow my hobby turned into a small business, crazy as it seemed to me, people wanted to buy the things I made, they made people smile, which made me smile and thus...... Seasick Joe was born P-)

Her seven year old son is also a source of inspiration and his love of pirates is plain to see when you look at her fantastic boats.

You can find out more about Seasick Joe and find out how to buy her products by visiting her Facebook page ... www.facebook.com/SeasickJoe

Find out more about Su's products here ... www.cobwebknits.co.uk

Meet the Maker - Sheena Spacey Ceramics

From a tiny studio space in her Somerset home, Sheena Spacey creates hand built decorative ceramic bowls, decorations and individual pieces of ceramic and mixed media artwork.

Her work is probably best described as somewhere between a walk in the woods and reading a fairy tale, taking elements from nature and folklore and imprinting those inspirations onto clay, bringing a little bit of nature and wonderland home.

She has a kiln where she fires her ceramics, which include buttons, badges, brooches and tableware.

And her stoneware is smoke fired.

We love her HareMoon bowls.

We discovered her as she supplies one of our other secrets, the Linden Tree in Huntly, but if you don't live in Scotland you won't miss out.  You can see and buy her work on Etsy and Folksy.