Lost in the Wood

As part of my ongoing attempts to refine the things I'm making and the way these curious creations are presented, I've decided to set up a new Etsy shop  http://www.etsy.com/shop/LostintheWoodDesigns . After a bit of reading about the differences between Etsy and Folksy, it's clear that Etsy has a lot more users (buyers & sellers) and I hope that may help me to get my products seen by the people they'd appeal to. While there's inevitably a lot more competition and items to wade through, I've discovered that the  things I want to focus on fit more naturally into the Etsy world than Folksy. Etsy not only has categories for crochet foods and animal heads (hurrah!), they also have lots of entries under these more niche categories. I was relieved that the process of setting up the shop was straightforwards and only subtly different from Folksy Today I've added two new items, crochet rabbit heads. It would have been three but after writing up the list...

Deviating away from the planned 'focus on making one thing' objective, this week I've fulfilled my desire to crochet an Easter inspired Egg & Soldiers set. No good reason, I just thought it'd please me to make this and so it did. After a few dodgy attempts to make a properly egg-shaped egg, I instead settled on using plastic eggs bought online from a kids' craft company. The bottom half was made to fit snugly round the egg then the rest was done with the mould in place & carefully crocheting around it ( slower & felt slightly odd but worked a treat).  I was particularly pleased with my buttered toast soldiers and my shiny spoon which although needing a bit more work on the shaping, made me happy. Setting up this little scene was sadly most enjoyable until the rudeness of my curious cat ensured it had to be whipped away before little paws got hold of any of the brunch components. Having a bit of time left before setting off to my Welsh class ...

With the last week of lovely sunny weather (admittedly it was still freezing) and pastel coloured pretty things starting to appear in shops, it definitely feels as if Easter & Spring are on their way, hurrah! While Autumn is undoubtedly my top season, Spring is a close second with all of it's freshness, places re-opening for Easter, and it's emphasis on chocolate and adorable animals like chicks, sheep & bunnies! I feel a bit too young, poor and urban to properly qualify as a target 'Land Love' magazine reader but I bought this lovely glossy slice of i nspir ation/aspiration this month as it featured lots of rabbits , flowers & Spring crafts. Last year I made a few little bunnies for family and friends (& myself naturally, they look very sweet peeping out from behind the rack of crocheted toast on our dresser) based on crochet guru June Gilbank's Baby Bunnies pattern which is satisfyingly straightforward & adaptable. My favourite t...

Following on from my musings about direction in the last blog post, I've been working on two 'woolidermy' projects which I'm excited about and feel are more distinctive of my style. The first of these are my honeycomb & bees. This year is likely to feature many, many bees (of the needle felted variety). Last summer, I had a burst of inspiration while considering what to make Mamma C for her birthday. Mum really does like bees and their fascinating ways. Indeed, she is an enthusiastic bee-keeper with several hives, acts as adviser to various individuals, allotments and community orchards, has been working with getting hives onto National Trust properties, has achieved the award of  'Expert Bee Master' via years of annual exams, has appeared (ably assisted by Dad) on 'Landward' talking about sudden colony collapse and, much to my amusement, received an email from the team at 'John Bishop's Britain' wondering if she may be interested in ...

January seems an excellent time for metaphorically taking stock and so I've been reassessing the items I'm making and my future plans. I've been feeling a bit dissatisfied recently and now I've identified why. I've realised there's a disconnect between the name/logo/feel of Lost in the Wood Designs and the items I've actually been making. The makers/artists I get excited about and the things I'm most interested in are not been necessarily reflected in the love hearts and cute cakes I'm currently making. While I am really pleased with these, on their own they don't feel distinctive enough to differentiate my work from lots of other makers out there and don't fully represent me as I see myself. The world isn't all cupcakes and flowers and it's no wonder that people are often drawn to the darker/ sinister /more salacious things out there (& in us). Perhaps it's not good or professional to admit these doubts but questioning...

Despite the bitter cold and dark nights (or perhaps because of it...), love is in the air at the end of this month and into the beginning of February. Wales kicks off the romance with Dydd Santes Dwynwen on 25th January (similar to St Valentine's Day on 14th February). The legend of Santes Dwynwen has various forms, my favourite version is this one: 'Dwynwen fell in love with a prince called Maelon Dafodrill, but unfortunately her father had already arranged that she should marry someone else. Dwynwen was so upset that she could not marry Maelon that she begged God to make her forget him. After falling asleep, Dwynwen was visited by an angel, who appeared carrying a sweet potion designed to erase all memory of Maelon and turn him into a block of ice. God then gave three wishes to Dwynwen. Her first wish was that Maelon be thawed; her second that God meet the hopes and dreams of true lovers; and third, that she should never marry' (borrowed from Wikipedia, othe...

Creating a TARDIS (correctly using capitals now after previous admonishments by my pedantic husband) has, I can confidently declare, been my second favourite present make ever (only bested by a crocheted honeycomb frame made for my bee-keeping mother). It may indeed have a wibbly-wobbly roof (angle of the above picture is flattering!), cheerfully wandering letters on the 'police box' signs and a tendency towards a leaning base, but I am sadly very proud of my little blue box. Part of the pleasure definitely comes from anticipating the look on my brilliant Dr Who-loving friend's face as he opens the box it's travelled north in. Concerned about any misunderstanding, I've taped an 'it's not shoes!' note to the top so as to avoid even momentarily confusion when presented with a peppermint green Clarkes box. Once he fights his way through the swathes of bubble wrap (it was a big box), he'll be the wondrous owner of this mini delight. I'm thrille...