Mollie Makes

Mollie Makes is the perfect magazine for those of us who love all things handmade.  It's published in the UK and a relative newcomer on the magazine scene. It's fresh and so pretty.

 

This is what they say about themselves: 

'Mollie Makes is published thirteen times a year. We curate the best craft from around the world into a tactile, collectable and totally irresistible magazine.

We love to make – handmade is more than just a hobby for us, it’s in everything we do.

We can’t resist hunting down treasures in thrift stores, then customising, re-covering and embellishing our finds with our endless stash of ribbons, buttons, fabrics and felt.

We’re forever on the lookout for new inspiration. Whatever we do, we’re living and loving handmade.’

And in the latest issue you'll find my vintage button photo, opening the "loving" section!
Here's a sneak peek...

...another tree grows, and some crochet

I love the sharing of inspiration that the internet enables, so I was excited when Dee sent me a lovely email to tell me about the quilt she is making using my A Tree Grows tutorial. 

I don't have a pinterest account, but I had noticed a large amount of traffic to my tutorial from there, and it appears to be popular among quilters. 

I think Dee may be right when she says that I am, in my heart of hearts, a quilter... but I just don't use fabric.  (This project of hers is making me want to give it a try, though.)

I love this quilt so much - Dee, you are so very clever! 

You can follow its progress on her blog in this post and this earlier one, and there is still more to come. 

I have received many wonderful emails and comments from people thinking about creating something using this tutorial.  Please share your links if you have any images of your creations, I would love to see them!

In other news... after a long break, I finally picked up a crochet hook again.  I had lots of gorgeous Biggan 4 ply Merino left over from these water bottle holders I made ages ago...

...so I decided to re-create my Small Neat Worlds in yarn. It feels nice to have a crochet project happening again, even though I'm not sure what it will be yet... a cushion perhaps? Will keep you posted :)

Curating

This morning I was typing a quote into my phone for safe-keeping, and it occured to me that I had accumulated a lot of little idea/inspiration groupings there.  Curated collections, in a way... things I've been reading and listening to and thinking about that go together nicely get written on the same note "page", occasionally with ideas for artworks and links to images. 


One of my favourite things to do with these notes is to use them as inspiration for making etsy treasuries.  I love curating treasuries, but tend not to do it very often because it can take up so much time!  It's such a lovely way to give my thoughts an image, while saying thank you to the wonderful etsy sellers who provide me with inspiration.


You can see this latest treasury here.  I'm in awe of the amazing talent I find on etsy everytime I visit there.   

Snow-quiet, sleep-silent, only the fun-fire faraway songsinging of children; and the room was blue and cold, colder than the cold of fairytales: lie down my heart among the igloo flowers of snow.
Truman Capote, Master Misery

My soul that had fallen asleep in the cold and nearly frozen breathed once more, and sleepily spread its weak and tiny wings.
Herman Hesse, Steppenwolf

How I lived a childhood in snow
And all my teens in tow, stuffed in strata of clothes
Pale the winter days after dark
Wandering the gray memorial park,
A fleeting beating of hearts
The Decemberists, January Hymn

Me, I am always waking up
Ive been stuck here in my body
Holly Throsby, It's only Need

Take these broken wings and learn to fly
The Beatles, Blackbird

Small Neat Worlds

Small Neat Worlds I

(6x10, mixed media on paper)

Small Neat Worlds II

(6x8, mixed media on paper)

If I shared a photo of StellaViolet world headquarters right now, it would be very obvious to you that I do not live in a small, neat world!  I don't have a proper studio space so my creative mess often threatens to take over every flat surface of our house.

... so sometimes I wonder how these obsessively tidy, carefully measured and drafted little artworks appear from my hands... maybe it is a need to create order from the everyday chaos?

These two pieces had a few working titles before I decided on the final ones.  Drowning in a Sea of Unfinished Crochet Projects was a possibility until I read Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five and temporarily named them Everything was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt.  In the end though, this quote kept popping into my head:

“I wish I could write a beautiful book to break those hearts that are soon to cease to exist: a book of faith and small neat worlds and of people who live by the philosophies of popular songs.”  - Zelda Fitzgerald

I have numerous sketches for future small, neat worlds I'd like to bring to life... now to find them under all that mess :)

Northern Sky

Northern Sky

(8"x8", vintage map papers and oil pastel)

Inspired by wanderlust, star maps and this song:

I'm doing a give-away on my facebook page today, to celebrate having over 400 likers! 

There's still time to add your comment to the thread and be in the draw.  There's a link to my facebook page on the sidebar.

Also, thanks for the comments on my last post... it's so nice to know that there are lovely people all over the world still reading my blog even though I occasionally abandon it for long periods of time :)

No Geography

I'm back... where did the last few months go? I guess I should be writing my ubiquitous new year's resolution post, but words are eluding me, so I'll start by sharing some of the individual artworks from my exhibition late last year.

No Geography (Sacred Heart)

(8" x8", vintage map papers, Gocco screenprint and handpainted tree)

Much of the inspiration for my artwork comes from what I am reading or listening to at the time. Although I love the idea of keeping a visual journal, I find most of my inspiration in words.

I occasionally sketch out ideas, but mostly when I'm starting a new piece, I'll be rifling through the dog-eared pages of a favourite book or digging around to find the lyrics and literary passages I have written on scraps of paper or typed on various electronic devices.

This piece was inspired by sacred heart imagery and Truman Capote...

The brain may take advice, but not the heart, and love, having no geography, knows no boundaries...

Cottage Industry Exhibition

Cottage Industry Exhibition, a set on Flickr.

I'll be back with a longer post about this one day soon... just wanted to share what I've been busy working on lately :)