Discover DaWanda!

If you haven't already checked out the DaWanda website, which is essentially the European equivalent of etsy (prices are in Euros), then it's about time! In fact, this week would be ideal, as many sellers - including myself - are taking part in its Discovery Week.

During this week, every item on the site showing a little palm tree/desert island logo is 15% off the regular selling price. The promotion, which runs from Monday 22nd June (today) until Sunday 28th June, gives you this special discount when you purchase from a shop you have not previously purchased from before.

...All the more reason to get shopping, and find new & exciting goodies! :)

DaWanda is a great little marketplace for lovers of art, handmade items and homewares plus you can even view the site in your choice of three 'flavours,' namely English, French or German. Bonus!

A little sneak peek at a WildCat Designs creation from my little DaWanda boutique:



The Heart Brooch, in Lilac & Raspberry lambswool, started its life as a piece of knitting (created on my vintage mechanical knitting machine), was then felted and stitched to transform it into a cute wearable heart.

Wishful Thinking

Lately I've been thinking about some of the things I would like for my birthday (it's fast approaching, as it's in early July!) and somehow, it always comes back to the same, or similar things....I am of course referring to my knitting habit.

Naturally this is not necessarily a bad thing - and here are some wonderful reasons why. May I present to you - drumroll please - my wish list!

To start this off, I always seem to go back to my two favourite yarn shops on etsy for inspiration.

First are the creations of Veronika, aka Snowberrylime (great name). There are some to-die-for handspun yarns in her shop, including this one.



It's a beautiful silk and merino blend and the photograph just makes me want to reach out and squish it. I suppose it's a tactile-impulse thing, I can't help it! :)

A little closer to home, Sheffield-based Shunklies offers a truly delectable idea. Namely 'design your own yarn' and she will spin it for you. What more could a knitter ask for?



See shunklies.etsy.com for more goodies.

If you're knitting, well, then I suppose you'll be requiring a set of sticks. I found these today...I think they're fab!



Kitsch and colourful, this pair of acrylic knitting needles is handmade by annetastic.etsy.com.

I also love these candy cane stripe handpainted pins by arachknits.etsy.com.



What better way to finish off a gorgeous knit than some of the lovely unique buttons designed and handmade by Laura Walker. I particularly love this one, it's such pretty colours and the lacy surface patterning is to die for, if you love lace as much as I do.



Visit Laura's etsy shop here: veronicabuttons.etsy.com.

Weekend Excitement!

This weekend was exciting on two counts, but essentially for the same reason...




As you can see above, my little corner of this month's Papernstitch exhibition was the featured shop! It also got a nice mention on the Papernstitich blog:



I feel rather thrilled just to be a part of it all, but to have my shop as the featured shop of the day was awesome. All the more so because I just got proper home broadband installed, and I was just having a quick check on my laptop, so it was a nice surprise :)

Thanks to Brittni of Papernstitch.

In other news, I seem to have misplaced my pictures from the most recent fair outing, but I have got something to show you, a pretty new banner:



It's based on my new sign which is stitched on cheerful, colourful and summery bunting!

Newsflash!

Some exciting news for all you scarf fans out there...after a last-mintute 'oh what the hell' submission, I was delighted to be accepted for the next Papernstitch exhibition!

It starts on the first of June, ie tomorrow, runs until July 12th and my little slot will be here when it opens: www.papernstitch.com/shop/wildcat-designs



Enjoy! :)

Pictures from today's Spread the Word Fair coming soon, plus a fun freebie felt tutorial in the pipeline. Watch this space...

Mental May

I know it has been pretty quiet from me on the posting front lately...here's why. This month, I have been mostly:

- working on a wholesale orders for new and existing stockists
- preparing for craft shows (see below for details of my next one)
- working on a *brand new* online shop: http://wildcatdesigns.bigcartel.com/
- developing exciting new product ideas (watch this space!)
- improving my packaging designs
- researching courses in order to hone my creative skills
- updating www.wildcat-designs.co.uk
- trying to get my records sorted for my tax return *groan*
- pondering new yarn colours...

So there you have it. More often than not this translates as knitting & sewing like mad, and then trying to find time for everything else!

Upcoming Event:

Come and see WildCat Designs & WildKittens goodies in the flesh at the Spread the Word Fair.

Location: Paul Randall Building, 21 Albert Street, Edinburgh (just off Leith Walk)

£1 Entry



Hope to see you there! :)

Blue Love

Before you ask, the title is *not* a reference to the band! I mean blue the colour. I really do love it. Turquoise, royal, indigo, duckegg, sky... all wonderful in their own right.



I have a gorgeous silk dress in midnight blue which has lighter blue flowers printed on it - and since decided I would wear it to my sister's wedding, I needed to accessorise! Not having a suitable necklace, but possessing crafty skills I made my own.



Using two strands of blue tigertail wire and beautiful Swarovski crystal in varying sizes, I think I managed to coordinate the different hues in my dress nicely.

Here are some other lovely things in blue...



"The Key to my Heart" Cameo necklace by LunarraStar - whom I just realised is also based in Edinburgh, as it happens!



Scottish Sea Glass Print by Artisanne. I love the range of colours :)



"Porcelain Pendant with Glass - Rainwater Craters" - A stunning pendant by the highly talented Lisa of Seaurchin, I'm sure you'll agree!

Purple Soup

I decided, for one reason or another, that Saturday would be the day to dye. There's a pretty cotton knit I made a while ago, and I wanted to breathe new life into it. Note the very slight smudge of blue on the cream (argh!) in the photograph below, which I did by accident... I hoped that dyeing it a darker shade would redeem the wrap.



So I of course realised I didn't have enough salt in the house, which meant a trip to the shop. I walked and as it was a lovely day and wandered through the beautiful grounds of Lauriston Castle, an Edwardian stately home, as a little detour. Which turned out to be well worth it as the cherry trees in the Japanese garden are in blossom, and when the wind blows it looks like pink-tinged snow falling. Very pretty!



After having weighed the fabric dry, washed it and left it damp, I prepared to dye. First I had to get a bucket, filled with enough cold water to comfortably cover the fabric and be able to agitate.

Next, I pricked the little pot of dye and dissolved that in hot tap water and added it to the dye bath. Then I dissolved the salt and dye fix in hot tap water and mixed it into the dye bath contents.



At this point the damp fabric gets added. I just loved the inky deep purple colour I got in the bucket, it looked like some kind of odd purple soup stuff.



For the next 10 minutes I donned rubber gloves in order to "swish" the fabric around in the dye bath, aka bucket. Sore arms!!

The knitted fabric was in the dye mix for around an hour, with regular swishing intervals. I rinsed out the dye with cold water and then stuck it in the wash (separately!) to get rid of any excess dye remaining.



I'm really happy with the result, as the dye took really well and it's a nice saturated purple now :)



Colour is one of those things that makes life worth living, don't you think?

Doing the "I do"

Well, it appears wedding season is truly upon us... I recently discovered that my little sister is getting married next month and I have to say I'm ever so slightly excited!

I already know her wedding will not be a traditional one, and am decidedly curious to see how she and her fiance go about their big day.



It has also meant that I've been noticing lots of wedding themed items lately (and has even got me daydreaming a little, I'll be honest!).

Here are a few pieces of inspiration and some helpful links for those who may need it...



I came across Green Union, which has a whole host of resources on planning, budgeting and organising a wedding which won't leave a great big hole in the ozone layer. Eco-friendly couples need look no further: www.greenunion.co.uk is here.

Rings, you say? Well here's an unusual idea - how about this custom sterling silver ring with hearts imprinted upon it:



See Chris Parry's online shop for more details.

Etsy has a whole series of short articles on doing-it-yourself weddings here: www.etsy.com/storque. There's a great one here on natural skincare tips for the bride-to-be (and a few for the groom-to-be too!) on the day and leading up to it.



If you're getting married, well, you'll be needing a cake then, won't you! Vogue featured Konditor & Cook in their Secret Address Book a while back and you can really see why if you take a quick look at their website. This London bakery makes some really wonderful cakes and other yummy-looking edibles which, quite frankly, make one's mouth water.

Then there's the small matter of The Dress. I spotted an utterly gorgeous dress on the front page of etsy earlier today, and it's handmade by UK designer Lizzie Jayne. Visit her blog here to see how she went about making it.



As for accessorising, you need not break the bank to finish off the look. There's even a nice range of reasonably-priced but pretty party pieces in New Look at the moment. See www.newlook.co.uk for more info.