what have i been up to?

why, making christmas decorations of course...



aren't they lovely - the patterns were by jean greenhowe (as are a lot of cute knitted things) ---> they are rather delightful and a super thing to hang on the tree.


i can't decide which one is my favourite - but there is something very nice about the little choir boy (i think it's his hair!)


unfortunately my own christmas tree will be missing out on such delights as they have all been sent off to the far corners of the world (well... brighton, birmingham, bath and cardiff) for other people to enjoy...i hope they like their new homes.

here is the little christmas card i made to accompany them:



i haven't totally neglected my own christmas tree though and have been making some other decorations with which to adorn it...i'll post some pics of them soon. we are putting our tree up tonight which is quite exciting - christmas is v.v.near now!

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birds

a pelican & a puffin

some lovely blogs

the other day when i was browsing on flickr i noticed some of my pics in someone elses photostream so i went to investigate and found that my work had been profiled by holly becker on her blog decor8. which was rather a pleasant surprise.

holly is a freelance writer and interior design consultant and she created her blog to catalog some of the things that she loves - recently the blog has featured a range of lovely online shops that are offering discounts to readers of the blog, which is quite delightful indeed.

another blog i have just discovered is this one which features illustrations and crocheted creatures from american illustrator m.patrizio. i loooooove her crocheted characters (<----especially the pears in this picture) and it makes me want to learn crochet even more. it just happens that my mum has asked for this book for christmas so i will be able to have some sneaky peeks and learn the tricks of the trade - a pro in no time i will be!


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a christmas bargain

my entry into thrift thursday this week is this pair of knitted christmas stockings i tracked down in help the aged the other day.


they are for my mum and dad for christmas because would you believe it my mum has never had a christmas stocking (how sad). so this year it is all change - i am going to fill them with lots of goodies and then on christmas morning it'll be just like father christmas has popped by in the night.

the problem is i am having difficulty thinking of things to put in my dad's one. i have loads of idea for my mum but dads are harder to buy for....o well. a few extra satsumas will do it! heh, when my mum used to put satsumas in mine and my brothers stockings we used to put them straight back in the fruit bowl (naughty unhealthy children!)

i could be cheeky and try and pass off the stockings as my own knitted creations but i'm pretty sure no one would fall for that - i haven't got into knitting with multiple colours yet (that's a resolution for the new year though).















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an awards ceremony

yesterday it was the private view and presentation ceremony for the V&A illustration awards which was all very exciting.

i received the award of 'commended winner' in the student illustrator category for my origami animation. i was given a nice scroll with a certificate (and a cheque) and it was all very nice. though i am not too sure that i looked that good in the photos that were taken when i received the award - dear me, i do hope they are not shown anywhere where lots of people might see them.

the waiters at the private view were very efficient. they kept offering us more wine every few minutes - its a good thing i was sensible and didn't accept it every time or i'd have been on the floor by the end!

the main winner in the student category, chu-li chen, has just finished an MA in sequential design at brighton university (i think i may even remember seeing the work when i went to visit the MA show a few weeks ago) - which is the course i am planning to apply to for next year so that bodes well if the course is producing some nice work (that's also winning awards).

the overall winner of the whole awards is tony angell who illustrated a book entitled 'in the company of crows' <-- his illustrations of birds were soooooo nice i am not suprised it won. it was lovely to see. the exhibition is up until march next year so i'm sure you'll all want to hotfoot it up there for a peek, heh:

in the news

i have also now got my hands on a copy of the southampton daily echo from last week (now i know i've hit the big time), which had a little feature about my button phobia books in it .


it was part of a larger article about a button phobia sufferer and it was rather nice to see my books mentioned in a paper. it's mainly thanks to colette over at artists unique (formerly student unique) who put together a press release about my books.

anyway, enough about me....have a look at this flickr group dedicated to the age concern 'knitted hats' campaign by innocent smoothies. there are some wonderful photos of the hats people have knitted AND they are giving away prizes at the end for the nicest photos entered - what a jolly good idea!

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i took some nice photos in my room

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something i knitted

i had another attempt at trying to create a knitted something and came up with this (i'd say he's a penguin):


he is more successful than my previous attempts i reckon

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at the weekend

i did some monoprints


















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run rabbit, run

watch this

it's a real nice animation by run wrake entitled 'rabbit'.

here's what they have to say about it on the animate! website:

A selection of 1950s educational stickers, discovered in a provincial junkshop twenty years ago, provide the ingredients for this adult fairytale.
When a boy and girl find an idol in the stomach of a rabbit, its magical abilities lead to riches, but for how long?

I really loooove the way it was put together, and the story is quite charming too - though i am not sure how much i agree with the hacking up of rabbits and cows - those horrible horrible children, heh. i'm glad they get their come-uppance!

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innocence

<----------- look what i got

one of those darling innocent smoothies with the bobble hats - i was very lucky as well as it was the only one left at the time. (i was a tad disappointed because i wanted another but i'll keep my eyes peeled for more)

i really wanted to get involved with making the little hats but i only found out about the project just before the deadline. they are being sold with innocent smoothies to help out the charity age concern and each of the little hats has been hand knitted and sent in by helpful little knitters throughout the country. there is a pattern telling you how to knit them on the innocent website if you want to try your hand at it - i hope they do this project next year too (because i know they did it last year) and then i can knit knit knit for charity.
i really do like innocent smoothies - they are nice and fun and playful - now i just want MORE little hats.



what other news do i have?

o yes, i have discovered this new range of penguin books that are being sold with blank covers for people to design themselves and send in to the gallery. which i think is a super nice idea (if not an easy way for the designers at penguin to avoid doing much work, heh).

i want to have a go.

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knitted something

i wanted to try knitting something without following a pattern as i really really want to be able to invent nice knitted things. so here is my first attempt - don't ask what it is. my mum kept asking me what i was knitting and i just kept saying 'a thing' as i wasn't even sure what it would look like. and yup, i realise it looks quite deranged, which is probably mostly due to the mouth i stitched onto him (i thought wonky features may suit him though)
























i don't know quite what i was trying to achieve with that second image but i thought i'd post it up because it is quite delightfully coloured.

i feel quite inspired to try and invent something better than this now (surely it can't be too hard) and i have a couple of things up my sleeve...i'd better get knitting. ---> i really should finish off some of the things i have started knitting and never completed (there are two scarves and a hat on the go at the moment) but they just don't seem nearly as interesting right now. i also have some xmas related things in mind.

gosh! lots to do.

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how very exciting

today my copies of capricho magazine came in the post - i had been asked to submit one of my illustrations a while ago and now it is finally here - oooOOooo. the illustration i sent in was a montage of scenes from my necropolis animation which was created entirely using the typewriter.

it is so very exciting to see my work in print - here are some pics of the magazine...


it was a double page spread!

i think the most exciting part of it was seeing a my little typewriter men featured on the contents page:




obviously the magazine is in brazilian so i can't actually read what is said about me - though renata (who put it all together) sent me a rough translation and it was all v.nice.
the magazine itself is very delightful --> the headings on each page are embroidered and there is a lot of creative stuff in it.

a good day for post indeed.

also i was told the other day by colette from artists unique that there was going to be an article out today in the southampton daily echo (a bit random i know) about my button phobia books. luckily my brother lives in southampton so i have sent him on an errand to track down a copy to bring back at the weekend - what a good sibling he is.

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show & tell

i thought i'd post some pictures of some of the nice things i have come across over the weekend.

firstly whilst out hunting in charity shops on saturday for some new necklaces (which are yet to be found) i came across this beaut of a flower press which i couldn't resist buying.


i already have quite a few flower presses - think i will start collecting nice ones like this. i do have a HUGE one somewhere (in the loft i think) and that one is definately a keeper.
what else? o yes, i got a lovely gift from rach who popped off to lille on friday for a chistmas market. such a nice little tea jug.


and lastly here is a birthday card i made for a friend. i got in a bit of a sticky mess with the felt and it looks a lot like a child made it...but that is probably a good look i reckon.


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drawing whilst watching tv

i practised speed drawing whilst watching the telly the other day.
first i drew eyes:


then i tried noses:


as you can see some are more successful than others

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cook in

we have a kitchen !



hooray - no more microwave meals for a looooooooong while (apart from tonight as the oven hasn't been wired up yet).

i have been having a big tidy today and have sorted out my nice magnetic board - i bought some magnets the other day so now have more than just the one with which to stick things up.


looking tidy, no? give it a week and there'll be loads of scrap bits and pieces flapping all over the place.

i thought i'd post up a drawing i did today along with a photo so you can see just quite how realistically i can draw ---> that's the drawing on the right if u weren't too sure :D
















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safari

another something

i just keep finding things i feel i should share so here is another drawing with type flash toy to keep you amused.

you can create some beauts with this one:



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you have to see this!

yet again i have been wasting time browsing the internet (but i am having a tea break at the moment so at least i'm multi-tasking). anyway i found this. it is one of the nicest examples of drawing with type i have seen and i love the fact that they are animated.





i really want the book but i looked on amazon and it is a tad pricey which is a pity but i think the moving image versions on the website are enough to keep me entertained for now.

they really put my own attempts at drawing type animals to shame though.




(that is a cat at the bottom if you weren't sure) heh


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it's been a few days

and we now have half a kitchen (whoop!) - by thursday it should all be done and dusted and i will be able to get on with cooking and baking and wearing all my new aprons

here is a close-up of the lovely fabric they are made of:


v.pretty.

the other day my mum noticed owly sitting on my shelf and dug out this beaut of a book which has patterns for making a whole bundle of felt toys:



i am definately going to make some of those adorable little horses that are shown on the cover - i do like horses and donkeys

and

these two little bunnies (jimmy rabbit and jane rabbit) are also on the list of things to try



maybe i'll get making tomorrow...though i will first have to pop to the shop and get a pile of felt. i also feel i have been rather a neglectful knitter of late - need to get back in the swing of things so tomorrow i am going to have a hunt for a delightful pattern to get me in the knitting mood. maybe i will try and make my own pattern for something - - -> i'll have to give it some thought.

that is really all for now.

oh, i want to go to this:


i think it might inspire me somewhat.


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