Pop up shop

An overview of the pop up shop and a closer view of my little area. The enterprise has been extremely successful and a good showcase for artists in our county.
We have had such encouraging comments from customers many of whom would like us to be there all the time.
Last day is this Saturday.

I have been reading blogs, many people are so busy producing beautiful work, experimenting and doing a lot of thinking. I am having a little time out at the moment but still stitching quietly on pieces for next year.
I would like to wish my followers and those whom I follow a happy Solstice, Christmas or whatever you celebrate.

Pop up shop

My little area in the shop, not very good photos as taken on my phone. My camera chose that moment to run out of batteries. The beautiful bulrushes are by Hayley ? I must check her surname, her work is beautiful. The ceramics are by Renee Kilburn, these are also very beautiful but difficult to see. When I next go in I will try to get some decent photos.

Back in the studio

Sea washed shells

In progress

Waiting to be washed, purple carrot dye

I am so pleased to be back in the studio, we have had a heating malfunction and it has been very cold in there. I am making a few small pieces for the North Somerset Arts pop up shop.
As you can see I have also been doing a little dyeing, we only get purple carrots in the shops at Halloween though I did try and grow them recently without much success. A vast difference in colour, the darkest blue is nettle yarn, the palest silk and the purple/browny colour is wool. I am hoping they will keep their colour once out of the washing machine.

Pop up shop

I was behind the counter on our first day, it was an amazing day and although totally exhausted had a great time. It was extremely busy with a constant flow of customers all day, most of whom were very complimentary.
Although I didn't sell any of my own work it was great to see individual artists work selling so well.
I was so busy I didn't get a chance to take any photos but I am there again on Thursday morning so will try to take a few then.
In the mean time I am producing a few smaller pieces that usually sell well, just to cover my costs.

Weaving

Detail

Detail

This is a piece I am working on at the moment, I am still experimenting with eccentric weave and now with slits combined. When this come off the loom it will not lie flat, how exactly it comes out I will not know until I release it from being tensioned, I am very much enjoying doing these types of pieces and using up lots of small lengths of yarn at the same time.
I may have to put this on one side for a while though as I want to start on a larger piece. I have been invited along with my good friend Liz Hewitt to put on an exhibition at a disused quarry near where I live. It is now a nature reserve with artists studios and a cafe with gallery space. However this piece has been a fortuitous and invalable experiment into the style I wish to use for the larger piece which will be based on the cut face of the quarry.

Procrastinating

It is time to stop procrastinating, stop reading blog posts, blow away the cobwebs and DO SOME WORK.
I am putting it off, why, because I collected my work from Ilminster on Saturday and hadn't sold anything, not even a card, it lowered my confidence in my work, which is never high in the first place.
I don't specifically produce work to sell but it still feels good when you do and bad when you don't.
Anyway I have to get over it, I am taking part in a pop up gallery which opens in two weeks, so I need to pull my self together and get going.

The dyeing time of year

 I haven't posted for a while as I am quietly working on pieces for an exhibition next year which I can't really show but now autumn has arrived and the leaves are turning. Unfortunately it is also wet and windy so we may not have them for long.

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These are dyed with Sumac leaves, which just happened to belong to a branch lying by the side of the road. I would liked to have been able to collect more but I could sense I wasn't very popular with other road users.

The colour is slightly brighter than these pictures but I haven't washed them yet.

I also have a bag of oak leaves which my mum and aunt collected for me and I am hoping to do some prints on paper with rose leaves.