Merry Christmas

Wishing you all a very merry Christmas, with plenty of lovely presents, good food and great company! :)


Gorgeous Christmas (post)card by Belle and Boo.

A little shop update

Hello! It's been a little quiet around here lately, apologies for that...mainly because I have been somewhat inundated with orders (not to mention college coursework & assessments!) in the last few weeks. This is no bad thing, however, as it has meant I've achieved my 200th sale in my WildCat Designs shop this week! Hurrah! One great big goal for 2010 achieved! Even nicer that it was actually a friend, the lovely Ali of Ali Bali Jewellery (do check out her work, she makes some fab things!).

It's also been really rather wintery here in Scotland the past fortnight or so - the amount of snow we've had has turned Cramond into Narnia! Check out the icicles that appeared in front of my window:


...looks like the work of the White Witch to me! Even my local post box didn't escape the weather, and is now wearing its winter hat:


I'm just putting out a little shop update to let you all know that if you wish to receive items in time for Christmas, please place your order by this Saturday (18th December) at the latest, as this will give me time to pack it up and post it out to you!

Please note, this applies to UK orders only - for all other locations the last posting date has now passed, sorry. I am currently still accepting orders from customers outside the UK but cannot guarantee they will arrive before Christmas.

I'd also like to announce that all of my online shops will be closed for a short break (I feel I've earned it!) from Wednesday 22nd December 2010 until Wednesday 5th January 2011. My shops will re-open on Thursday 6th January.

Thanks to all of my customers and WildCat Designs/WildKittens fans (you know who you are!) for supporting my little business this year and also in the past, I couldn't have done it with out y'all. I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy and healthy 2011. This year has been a bit of a rollercoaster but you've got to have a few lows to appreciate the high points after all!

Cyber Monday Madness!

A little treat for you, my lovely readers...for one day only, receive 10% off your order from my WildCat Designs etsy shop when you enter the coupon code 'CYBERMON' during checkout!



I've got some lovely handmade knits to keep you and your loved ones cosy this winter, so do check out this one-day offer :)

It's also the perfect opportunity to stock up on pressies - my last order dates for Christmas are fast approaching! See this recent post for details.

P.S. For those who prefer to shop in €uros, there's a special discount running today over at my DaWanda shop too!

Have a Handmade Christmas!

I know some of you have probably already started thinking about your Christmas shopping...so I thought I'd take the opportunity to post up my last order dates for WildCat Designs and/or WildKittens goodies to arrive in time for Christmas - for my local, national and international customers.


UK

Saturday 18th December
~~~
Western Europe

Saturday 11th December
~~~
Eastern Europe,
USA, Canada & Japan

Wednesday 8th December
~~~
Australia, New Zealand,
Hong Kong/Asia
& the rest of the world

Saturday 4th December
~~~

Please note that these order dates do not apply to custom-made items. Last order date for custom items before Christmas is Sunday 21st November.

I *will* be accepting orders after these dates but please be aware that items may not arrive in time for Christmas, after all, it is a very busy time of year!


Find my hand-crafted creations in one of my UK stockists:

Edinburgh: Flux or The Spider & The Fly
East Lothian: Peter Potter Gallery
England: New Ashgate Gallery, Surrey

...or alternatively, shop online at etsy (here & here), DaWanda or folksy.

Of course, if you prefer, do feel free to come and 'meet the maker' at the Magpie Market! :)

Winter at WildCat Designs

Autumn seems to be briskly turning into winter around here... so it must be time for cosy knitted things - my speciality! ;)

This year marks a big milestone for my little business - WildCat Designs is 5 this November! With that in mind, there will be more lovely felted scarves, brooches and hand knitted lace wraps and this year I've added to my range with cute stripy fingerless mittens and there are even hats on the way. I'll also be writing more knitting patterns for the little sister label WildKittens.

Image above & below: courtesy of Clare Dakin Photography.
(Click to view larger)

I'm also pretty excited because another goal is within sight - namely 200 sales in my WildCat Designs etsy shop! Currently at 186 sales, not far to go at all...so I'd like to announce that whoever my lucky 200th customer is, they will receive a fantastic goodie bag, packed with lots of lovely freebies.



In other WildCat Designs-flavoured news, I have a new stockist! May I introduce to you: The Spider & The Fly! It's a fabulous boutique full of wonderful things made by independent artists & designers, handmade and vintage loveliness - find them on Edinburgh's Bread Street, at number 65.

I'll also be setting up shop at the next two Magpie Markets, the first of which is on Sunday 14th of November at the Lot, 4-6 The Grassmarket, Edinburgh. The following one is on Sunday 12th December at the same location. Do come along between 12 noon & 5pm, it's sure to be fun. There are even goodie bags for the early birds!

For more information about events I'm doing/taking part in, check out the new Events tab on my blog :)

Winter Contemporary Textiles Exhibition

Hi there, I thought I'd share some exciting news with all you lovely readers!

My work has been selected to be included in the Winter Contemporary Textiles Exhibition at the New Ashgate Gallery in Farnham, Surrey - a gallery specialising in Contemporary Fine Art & Craft.


The exhibition will run from Friday 19th November 2010 (Private View) until Saturday 22nd January 2011.

Happy Knitting Week!

Hurrah! It's National Knitting Week here in the UK - a chance to celebrate all that is fibrey and fabulous. It also feels like the perfect point in the year to start thinking about new knitting projects and doing a little bit of rummaging through The (ever-growing - well at least in my case) Stash. With that in mind, here are some lovely things to get those creative juices flowing!

These tags have a fun graphic knitting print on them - perfect for labelling your handiwork. Tags and 'I'm a Knitter' card above both by Tea and Ceremony.


I really like this pattern by Claire Crompton for a bag knitted on the bias, what a beautiful and useful way to use up leftover scraps of yarn.

For those who like a little side serving of sewing with their knitting, how about this?



Lovely vibrant print of some rather funky knitting needles from Stitch Me Lane Fabrics. Happy Knitting! :)

Magpie Markets!

This autumn/winter sees a return of the always fabulous Magpie Market, on the second Sunday of each month from now until Christmas. Oh, and did I mention you can pick up WildCat Designs/WildKittens creations (and other goodies) there? ;)

(please click image for larger version of flyer)

Free goody bags for the first 50 early birds through the doors on the day. Come see all the awesome things: illustration, art, design, craft, jewellery and vintage. (Perfect for getting gifts sorted.)

The first is this Sunday, 10th October from 12 noon til 5pm at The Lot in Edinburgh's Grassmarket - hope see you there!

Velo video

I'm doing a little train travel to London & St. Albans this weekend, as my uncle is getting married, and am very much looking forward to it. I also have some exciting news to share when I get back, so watch this space ;)

Here's a little something different for the weekend...enjoy! (via here)

No Gears to Belgium from No Gears on Vimeo.

The Big Knit 2010

Innocent - the people behind those delicious smoothies - are once again running the Big Knit! This year they are raising money for Age UK.


How does it work? Well, you (and anyone else you can rope in!) knit little hats for their smoothies, send them to Innocent towers and for each behatted smoothie sold (in Boots or Sainsbury's) this winter, they will donate 50p to Age UK, a charity dedicated to helping improve the lives of older people in the UK.

The deadline for all hats this year is Friday 15th October, so there's still time to get involved - get knitting, use up some stash scraps, have fun *and* raise money for a good cause, all at the same time! Bonus!

If you don't know how to knit, or aren't yet very confident of your knitterly skills, don't fret - they have downloadable 'How to Knit' guides and even feature the 'Hat Pattern of the Week' on their blog if you're in need of a little inspiration.

P.S. They are also looking for student knitting ambassadors to encourage folks to get busy with string and sticks - find out more information right here.

Finders Keepers

I adore this stop-frame animation/film...and not just because the music (a song called 'Sleepwalking' by A Fine Frenzy) seems to marry perfectly with the visuals. You may have seen it before on etsy or elsewhere, but it's such an inspiration that I thought I'd share it here anyway!



Have a fabulous weekend... might even see some of y'all at Magpie! ;)

Crafty Roundup!

Sooo... there's been rather a lot of crafty happenings lately, and some of them really do sound like fun. Here are my pick of things in and around Edinburgh at the moment!

The Spider & the Fly is hosting a new exhibition called "Foiled" which opens next week, and features "biscuity drawings" - I do like the sound of that. All things biscuit are good in my book! More details here.



DK: Knit is an exhibition at the Danish Cultural Institute, exploring all forms of knitwear from the traditional right through to the (experi)mental. It's a travelling exhibition though so won't be here much longer (until Wednesday 15th September) - I'd best get my skates on then!!



The next Magpie Market is almost here! Crafty, vintage and handmade goodness in the heart of the Grassmarket.



I'm very much looking forward to checking out the goodies at The Lot on Sunday already ♥

Paper Dreams

Now, just so you know, I don't consider myself particularly a fan of Paloma Faith...but I stumbled across this, entitled "In all the World I Dream in Paper" and it intrigued me, what can I say. I very much like the idea of paper as a medium for sculpture, dreams and inspriation. Enjoy!


Art Direction by Petra Storrs.

Support your local poet: In Memoriam

In memory of Edwin Morgan who died earlier this week, I would like to share with you Scottish Fiction. He was appointed as Glasgow's first Poet Laureate (1999) and Scotland's first Makar in 2004 (Makar means Scottish national poet).

The song "In Remote Part/Scottish Fiction" from the album "The Remote Part" by Edinburgh band Idlewild features a recording of the poet reciting his poem.




Scottish Fiction

It isn't in the mirror
It isn't on the page
It's a red-hearted vibration
Pushing through the walls
Of dark imagination
Finding no equation
There's a Red Road rage
But it's not road rage
It's asylum seekers engulfed by a grudge
Scottish friction
Scottish fiction

It isn't in the castle
It isn't in the mist
It's a calling of the waters
As they break to show
The new Black Death
With reactors aglow
Do you think your security
Can keep you in purity
You will not shake us off above or below
Scottish friction
Scottish fiction


R.I.P. Edwin Morgan 1920 - 2010, a great Scottish Poet.

The Summertime Hop!

Wanna spice up your Saturday? Come on down to the Made in the Shade Summertime Hop!




I'll be there this Saturday with my wooly WildCat Designs creations, along with some WildKittens goodies too. Not only that, I'll be sharing a stall with the lovely Claira of Vertiline in Love! Gorgeous vintage goodness abounds!

Come along & say hi! There are lots of other talented creatives coming too, including Gillian Kyle, Wooden Tree, Lizzy Stewart, Magic Alice and Angharad Jefferson. Check this blog post to see the full list.

That's not all! There will be live music from The Meat Men, tea and cake provided by Auntie M's Cake Lounge, not forgetting Flora the Tombola... and as if that wasn't enough, pop in early enough and you may get a fabulous goodie bag!

It's sure to be a blast. So this Saturday, from 10.30am til 5pm, the Roxy Art House (map) is where it's at! Be there or be square! ;)

Friday I'm in Love...

...with this wonderful stop-motion animation :)



(found via I like you)

See more of Kirsten Lepore's work here: www.kirstenlepore.com

Have a fab weekend!

A Kindle of Cats

I do love the English language for the amusement that the collective nouns for animals provides. An army of ants, a congress of baboons, a charm of hummingbirds, a mischief of mice, a parcel of hogs and an ascension of larks. How delightful!

What prompted me to ponder these was a review I recently came across of an exhibition of work at Haunch of Venison (London) by the lighting designer Stuart Haygarth entitled "Found" in Grafik magazine.

Image via Grafik

I like the way the ornaments wouldn't be significant on their own, but because they have been collected, ordered and arranged in a particular way, they become an object of interest. Also makes for a very unusual and interesting lamp!

Image via artnet

What can I say?

...I was surprised and, I have to say, very flattered to discover on Saturday (totally by accident too!) that I'd received a Beautiful Blogger Award from the lovely Mimi of www.eskimimiknits.com. I'm honoured to accept it, with thanks, even if I do feel a little unworthy!


So... I understand the way it works is I now tell you 10 things you may not know about me and nominate 10 worthy bloggers for the award!

Well, here goes.

1. I used to be a Girl Scout (of the USA variety, though I am not American myself), but in a lone troop overseas in Antwerp, Belgium. I still have all of my old patches that I earned and the handbook :)

2. I am somewhat obsessed with all things pirate-y...so much so I once had a party on a little island, complete with pirate fancy dress and plenty of rum!

3. I've been blogging and making websites since I was at school, in other words, I've been writing stuff online for something like 10 years or more (cripes!). My first 'proper' website was a tribute to my favourite band Feeder :)

4. I lived in Germany and Belgium as a child so can speak German, French and Flemish (v similar to Dutch).

5. For a short while, I played bass in a band! I still have my awesome purple metallic (kind of glittery purple) Fender/Squier P Bass, I really love it. I had to order it specially as I'm left-handed, and it was sooo worth it, it's a joy to play.

6. If I had to live anywhere other than Edinburgh (home for a good 15 years now), I think I could quite happily live in Brighton. It's such a cool place.

7. I'm a (punk) rock chick, and I'm not ashamed to admit it! :D

8. I dream of going on a cider holiday to Devon & Cornwall. They have such lovely yummy cider there, but they drink it all themselves, it's *that* good! One day I will do it, for sure.


9. I believe Feeder decided to release their newest studio album "Renegades" (their seventh!) today because it's my birthday tomorrow - that's my theory and I'm sticking to it, because it makes me do the happy dance. I also think it's pretty cool that they're releasing it via their own label, 'Big Teeth' - yay for DIY!

10. Nothing makes me happier than having colourful hair. Which is why I'll be dyeing it again soon.

...and the nominees are (in no particular order):

Sally of http://tinkeringtimes.typepad.com

Kat @ Rock 'n' Roll Bride

Zoë of Conversation Pieces

Laura aka Lupin of http://bugsandfishes.blogspot.com

Ez of www.creaturecomfortsblog.com

Lori of Rarely wears lipstick

The lovely Princesses Michelle & Marie at Kingdom of Style

Kate at http://little-doodles.blogspot.com/

Beatie of http://beatiefox.blogspot.com/

Fifi Lapin

Analogue Love

Q: What is Lomography?
A: It's analogue, baby!!! Cameras, Photography...the old school way.


"Dreamer" - an apt name, I'm sure you'll agree, for such a dreamy-looking camera. It's a special edition Diana F+ camera in pretty pastels, nicely tied in with the current sartorial trend for bleached out, watered-down, soft summery colours.

Images above from Urban Outfitters
This is a cool little camera, and it takes medium-format (120) film, which is a bit bigger than ordinary 35mm film. You get funky square shaped prints from it - a little bit retro :)


Nothing beats the thrill of waiting to get your prints back...and I do like digital photography, believe me, but I enjoy the more hands-on approach so much. This is my Diana F+ Hong Meow (phoenetic translation of the Cantonese for 'Panda'):


The "Golden Rules" of Lomography:

1. Take your camera everywhere you go
2. Use it any time – day and night
3. Lomography is not an interference in your life, but part of it
4. Try the shot from the hip
5. Approach the objects of your lomographic desire as close as possible
6. Don’t think
7. Be fast
8. You don’t have to know beforehand what you captured on film
9. Afterwards either
10. Don’t worry about any rules


Find out more about Lomography here and here.

P.S. If you're looking for the Dreamer camera, it's on the Urban Outfitters .com or .co.uk sites :)

Wave of Nauticalia

I do love a pretty nautical stripe (as you might have guessed by now!) so as you can imagine, I am very happy indeed that there are so many in the shops right now! It makes for perfect summer fashion. Here are some of my favourite nautical picks...


Anchor Pendants by Cherryloco


Pirate Ship Notes by Presents for Pirates


Sailor Clutch by Cut out and Collect


Baker's twine from Overspill


Pirate Ship Scooner printed t-shirts by Happy Family


Tattoo Swallow Silhouette Necklace by Heatherly Designs

Edinburgh's Etsy Craft Party!

Event on Facebook

RSVP on Meetup.com

Knitting in Pub(lic)

Things are finally winding down, so I will be back to crafting, blogging and creating more regularly again. Hurrah!


I am excited about Worldwide Knitting in Public Day, coming up in June. Some knitters will undoubtedly be aware of WWKIP Day! It has been running since 2005, grown in popularity every year and (in my humble opinion) is a wonderful way of celebrating this most tactile craft. Normally taking place on the second Saturday in June, this year, it's any day you choose to observe it between the 12th and 20th of the month - to fit around any other events in your calendar.

To get involved, check out www.wwkipday.com, or look out for events in your local area. The general idea is to knit somewhere out in the open (weather permitting!) or just out and about. I love the idea of a Knitting in Public Picnic :)

Print by Laurie Nadeau
Now to the PUB part! I'll be knitting in the pub tomorrow evening. If you fancy learning to knit in a relaxed environment and are based around the Edinburgh area, come along to the Auld Hoose from 6pm. (I will have yarn and needles for folks to play with!)

A Brief Hiatus

Hello, dear reader.

Firstly, an apology - this and my WildKittens blog will be on a little hiatus for the next few weeks, as I am finishing off my HNC college course in Interactive Media at the moment. This means exams and coursework a-plenty for me right now! So I just wouldn't be able to commit the time and energy that the blogs deserve, and rather than some half-baked posts, I will be back around the end of the month/early June with some fab fresh new things for you.



In the meantime, here are some of my favourite blogs, just in case you need a good read!

Bugs and Fishes

Color Me Katie

Eskimimi Knits

Fifi Lapin

Creature Comforts

Kingdom of Style


Enjoy!

P.S. I do hope you also like my yarny colour wheel above :)

Knitting up a Storm

Here is a little treat, in the form of an animated knitted clip. I just love this video for Walkie Talkie Man by Steriogram. So much fun!

I hope you enjoyed Knitting & Crochet Blog Week as much as I did. It was a challenge to write about some of the topics but I'm glad I took part and it was great to read blog posts by the other participants. Kudos to Eskimimi for dreaming it all up!


It's also got me quite psyched up about starting a few projects and designing some new knitting patterns. I'm considering offering more PDF patterns in my etsy shops too - I currently have some baby shoe patterns over in the WildKittens shop, in case anyone's interested :)

Yarn Love

Day Seven: 'What a Yarn'

Yarn. Where would we be without it? Well, we wouldn't have very much to wear without any, that's for sure!

I've been mulling over this topic for a few days now and I have to say, choosing just one yarn to mention is pretty tough, there are so many incredible fibres, colours, blends and brands out there in today's marketplace. I guess us crafty types are really lucky to have so much choice. Sometimes perhaps overwhelmingly too much choice, one might even say.

I studied textiles for four years, so as you can imagine I am always interested in hearing new developments in the kinds of fibre available to design and create with. There always seems to be some exciting new kind of yarn to play with, how wonderful. I could probably write an entire novel on my love of yarn (but I won't. At least not here.).


The yarn I have chosen to write about is bamboo. It's a really amazing fibre, and the plant grows exceedingly quickly, making it a truly sustainable resource. Did you know the growth rate of a bamboo plant can be up to a metre a day?! Regrowth occurs from offshoots, thus reducing the need to replant from scratch. Amazingly, compared to an equivalent amount of trees, bamboo produces 35% more oxygen and takes in nearly 5 times the amount of greenhouse gases.

I particularly love knitting with this fibre as it is lovely and soft with a natural sheen to it. It's got a very slinky feel when you wear it next to the skin, almost silk-like. Garments knitted up in bamboo also have a really nice drape too. As if that weren't enough, the fibres are very breathable and they are also thermal regulating!

The shawl above is my lace border wrap, knitted in the lushest blue Bamboo Soft. It's a Rowan Classic yarn and made of 100% Bamboo Viscose. This means it's produced in the same way as viscose, except with pulped up bamboo fibre and then extruded to create a dreamy soft yarn :)

Eyelet lace patterns seem to come out really well in this yarn, giving a nice stitch definition once the finished piece has been blocked.

Blast from the Past

Day Six: Revisit a past F/O; Bring the fortune and life of a past finished project up to the present. Document the current state and use of an object you have knitted or crocheted, whether it is the hat your sister wears to school almost every day, or a pair of socks you wore until they were full of hole. Or maybe that jumper that you did but just didn’t like that much…

The 'Finished Object' (FO) I've chosen is one that ended up being quite significant. It was also a project that was a departure from what I usually make. It was actually a special request from a lovely lady who had seen pictures of my Space Invader scarves. These are made from Merino lambswool on my vintage mechanichal Knitmaster knitting machine with Fair Isle aliens, then felted, and the floats cut. So quite different really to an equivalent hand knit. She asked if I could design and make a Pac-Man scarf.

I said yes, of course. Nothing like a challenge to get your creative juices flowing! Ultimately it was agreed that the level of detailing required the scarf to be hand knitted. What I love about the old-school games is the simple pixel images translate remarkably well into knitting patterns because of their geometric composition.


I had not hand knitted many motifs in this manner before that point, so it was a great way to build up my confidence getting the balance of tension right between the different yarns and stranding the non-working colour across the back of the design.
It's a design I spent quite a bit of time trying to get right, and it was definitely worth it.

After that, I suppose it was only a matter of time before someone asked me to make a scarf with the ghosts on it! I was glad to be asked because it was an idea I'd actually had floating around in my head for a good while before being asked to design it.


Turns out it too was quite a hit! One incarnation of this Pinky scarf even ended up in the UK DIY exhibition, I'm very proud to say.

Location, Location, Location

Day 5: Where do you like to indulge in your craft? Is your favourite arm chair your little knitting cubby area, or do you prefer to ‘knit in public’? Do you like to crochet in the great outdoors, perhaps, or knit in the bath, or at the pub?

I'm a complete fidget. I cannot sit still for any great length of time. So on many occasions, where I go, my knitting goes too. It keeps my hands and more often than not, my mind, occupied. I am really quite addicted to knitting, but that's just fine by me! At least it's a productive obsession. :)

One of the best things about knitting is that it can liven up an otherwise dull journey. Travelling the daily bus journey that I have done so often I hardly even have to look up to know where I am (useful when I am in the middle of a row, definitely.), it's nice to have something interesting to look at and alleviate any impending boredom. I also love to knit on train journeys, especially ones that are a bit longer, as it's dedicated time where I can settle in and indulge in my favourite craft without (too many) interruptions. My recent jaunt up to Aviemore was just great for exactly that reason, well, that, and the fact I got to ski, on real snow, in Scotland, for the first time in years.


My favourite place to knit is at home, curled up on the sofa in the living room where I can catch the last rays of afternoon sunlight at this time of year. It can be cosy on winter evenings there in front of the television too, if my pattern doesn't require too much concentration. I often find knitting a great way of soothing my mind, especially when I have a lot going on. I like to knit in bed, as it has helped me to get to sleep in the past. In truth there are few places I won't knit, and that includes sitting in front of the computer reading blogs.

I am also not a stranger to knitting in public, and have been known to do so on a park bench on my lunch hour in Princes Street Gardens on Knitting in Public Day. One particular time I was working with a vibrant fuschia yarn and even managed to attract a very young admirer and passing butterfly!


I also like to get together with a few like-minded crafty types most Monday nights from 6pm for a knit/craft/scribble, a natter and the odd cheeky pint at the Auld Hoose. If you live around Edinburgh and are that way inclined, it's on St. Leonard's Street (behind South Clerk St in the South Side) and you are more than welcome to come and say hello. Just look for the 'chicks with sticks' huddled in a corner, nursing a pint or two...

Search for the tag 'knitcroblo5' to find other blog posts for today's topic in Knitting & Crochet Blog Week.