Edinburgh Yarn Festival

Let me start by saying this: Woooooooooool!
...um, and some other fibres too, ha ha!

The first Edinburgh Yarn Festival was a grand day out for fibre fans, that much is certain. It was a properly dreich day but we still patiently queued in the rain - this very much set the tone for the day. Not in the respect of the damp weather, but more in the respect that people were generally very good-natured, considerate and patient.

...Which is just as well really, because by the time I got there (very late morning) it was mobbed! Though after a bit, me & my friends decided to grab a spot of lunch at a nearby quirky and - I think - recently opened bar on Leith Walk, a good choice as it turned out both in terms of timing and food! On our return things at the festival had thankfully calmed down a little and it was much easier to get around and see more of the stalls up close.

It was really great to see yarn spun, supplied and hand-dyed from all over Scotland (and a few from further afield). I am pleased to say that I have noticed a real upturn in the availability of Scottish wool [and other fibres] - something I am personally quite passionate about and I try to support whenever possible.

I was also intrigued to discover that Yarn Pony not only offers beautiful hand-dyed yarns but courses on how to kettle-dye your own too!

I was very restrained in my purchases on the day but I did see a lot of lovely things on the day - I could have happily gone on a giant fibre-y shopping spree! Instead I chose a few choice pieces and used the opportunity to do a little research on suppliers I can (and likely will) purchase from in the future.

This Pac-Man woven ribbon is so, so amazing! I also love the Space Invader one from the same shop (Textile Garden) shown below. There's no way I was leaving without a little of each of them :D Their stall had lots of interesting trims and buttons for your every need.

I loved this stall's selection of pretty wooden buttons, many different designs too. I think they are done as some kind of transfer. (I just wish I could remember what the name of the business was so I could visit their website, argh!)

[EDIT: I have since discovered the buttons are from Skybluepink-Designs! Yay!]

(I also got some fab things for a yarn swap, but I don't want to spoil the surprise for my swap partner so no pics here of that stuff, sorry!)

Resources
Tin Can Knits - pretty patterns for adults, kids & accessories
Textile Garden - notions galore
The Thread Room - hand-dyed yarn in fabulous colours from Oz
Yarn Pony - scrummy yarn hand-dyed in Edinburgh & yarn-dyeing workshops
Avery Homestore - Edinburgh shop selling craft materials & homewares
Skybluepink-Designs - specialist supplier of unique yarns: rare breed wool, plant dyed, recycled, handspun
Strathearn Fleece & Fibre - raw fleece, batts, rovings and spun yarn from this Perthshire farm
Porcini & Button - handmade crafty things from Edinburgh
OwlPrintPanda - THE cutest little knitted fox purses, a fanastic selection of stitchmakers and earrings for the crafter in your life!
The Yarn Yard - yarns and fibre hand-dyed in Midlothian
The Border Mill - small-scale mill in the Scottish Borders, mainly processing alpaca fleece (I recommend visiting this site for the wonderful illustrations and "meet the herd" page!)
Alpaca Loft - lovely alpaca yarn and alpaca products
Ripples Crafts - yummy hand-dyed yarn from the Highlands
Shilasdair - yarn shop, dye house & exhibition on the Isle of Skye
Crafty Ally - knitting project & notion bags handmade from pretty fabrics
Cairngorm Bags - knitting bags made from fabulous fabrics
Fibre Forager - wonderful dyed fibres for spinning & felting

More info about the event here.

Thinking of Japan

I am truly shocked and saddened by the events unfolding in Japan in the aftermath of the 8.9 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami. My thoughts go out to those affected by this, and their friends & families, it must be devastating.

Japan has been very much in my thoughts of late and so I have decided to try and make a little contribution of my own...something to help the relief efforts. (I've been inspired by Laura at Lupin, or the Bugs and Fishes blog and Mochimochiland's silent auction for Japan!)


For the rest of March, I will be donating a percentage of the sales from any Space Invader item sold to the Red Cross Japan Tsunami Appeal.

[EDIT: I have extended this to include any Space Invader purchases in April too.]

If you buy one of my Space Invader scarves, in either style, I will donate £8 (per scarf) - and if you buy a Space Invader badge, I will donate £2.50 (per brooch).


You can find these items on DaWanda, Folksy and also in my Bigcartel shop. Alternatively, you can always choose to simply donate via the Red Cross if you prefer.

A little WildCat Designs update

Well, it may seem as though it's been a little quiet lately on the WildCat Designs front. Fear not, dear reader, I have, in actuality, been a busy bee!

The WCD website has had a little facelift for the new year, I'm pleased to announce. See it here: www.wildcat-designs.co.uk.



During January and February, some of my Space Invader creations resided in the Craft Shop at Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre as part of their 'Space Craft' exhibition, very exciting for me, even if I unfortunately didn't get the chance to go down and visit. The exhibition also included science fiction-inspired jewellery (such as robot rings), Saturn bowls and futuristic glass.



I have also recently visited one of my stockists, Flux, in Leith, to deliver some stock. They now have some lovely new lacy scarves, just in time for Mother's Day on Sunday 15th March.



There are a few other gift ideas for Mother's Day in my etsy shop, including lace shawls and pretty textile brooches. You'll find them in the new section entitled 'For a Lovely Mum.'

Retro Romantic

As an 80s kid, I'm simultaneously horrified and delighted to see some familliar sights from the past back in fashion. The neon colours I am really not that fussed about, and as for leggings, well, having not worn them since doing ballet classes at the age of six, I don't intend to wear them just because everyone else is. What's with the weird-looking metallic ones?! Is is just me, or do they look more than a little bit odd... Plus the whole 'baggy' look isn't exactly flattering.

Anyway, the delighted part - I wholeheartedly love all things kitsch, so the 80s revival in that sense is great!


Speaking of kitsch, I love these heart-shaped bangles from topshop- they fit right in with this theme.

I feel that the way to give a nod to this trend is through funky accessories - it shows you are aware of it (but don't want to look like an extra from Fame). Try some colourful bangles, a fun pair of earrings or a great little bag.

So with that in mind, I've been working on some retro designs of my own, namely these bad boys:



I'm really pleased with this collection of four different space invader badges - I now have them listed on my etsy, dawanda and folksy shops. Please see the links on the right :)

In other news, I have also been working on a new commission: a Pac-Man inspired scarf featuring Pinky the ghostie!



See my flickr photostream for more wip pics - I'm back on the crafting 365 wagon!

A Quick Update

This is today's handywork...a few more fun space invader badges! They resulted from an überfelted scarf disaster, which I decided I had to reclaim somehow. I cut around the individual little motifs and they naturally seemed to suggest 'badge' to me, so I've sewed a brooch back onto some felt backing.

These funky brooches and other knitted, felted goodies can be found at my WildCat Designs stall, which will be at the Wardie Primary School Christmas Fair on Tuesday 18th November from 7-9pm, Granton Road, Edinburgh.