Friday 19 October 2007

Alpacas


hello, originally uploaded by Knitwit..

For my latest college project I am sourcing yarns from the UK. Today I visited a lady who breeds alpacas and spins their fleeces to make the most beautiful yarn. The yarn is so soft and silky .

Alpaca facts:

* Young alpacas are called 'Cria' and adult males are called 'Machos'.

* Alpacas like to hang out with other family members. Young alpacas can get stressed if separated from their mothers.

* They live for 15 to 20 years

* Alpaca dung is good for the garden.

* There are two different breeds 'Huacaya' and 'Suri'. Suri alpacas have long silky dreadlocks and Huacayas look a bit like teddy bears.

* There are 22 different colours of alpaca fleece.

* They are amazingly super cute and if you look into their beautiful big dreamy eyes you are bound to fall in love with them - I know I did.

Sunday 7 October 2007

Clay Play Sunday


, originally uploaded by iant °.

Today was a very creative day. I had a wonderful Sunday afternoon at my friends house messing about with clay. The idea was to make clay heads of each other. It's much more difficult than you first imagine. I was struggling with the eyes and lips. How are you supposed to keep it simple whist trying to keep a likeness of the persons head you are modelling? I enjoyed myself so much that I want to learn more.

I am now thinking about working in the style of another artist. I have decided on Picasso...watch this space.

Thursday 4 October 2007


I went to the Origin London Craft fair at Somerset House today. We had a lovely time and saw lots of exciting things.

Here are a few of my favourites:

Claire Cole Designs

Florrie

Louise Gardiner

Reny Van Der Kamp

Ruth Martin

Laura McCafferty

Wednesday 3 October 2007

If I owned a magazine


If I owned a magazine, originally uploaded by Knitwit..

I made this today on Flickr. I messed about with it but can't seem to get the right size font and colour so it is a bit difficult to read...but you get the idea. My magazine would be like Heat but for knitters and feature articles such as:

All the leaves are brown....
....what to wear when the skies are grey

EXCLUSIVE How to Drop a Needle Size in 10 Days

SHOCK Maureen drops a stitch

Boys who knit FREE poster inside.

Any other ideas on what this mag could include would be gratefully received.

Tuesday 2 October 2007

Preparation....


In November myself and members of my knitting group Outcast are taking part in a Craft Fair/Christmas market at South Hill Park in Bracknell on the 17th and 18th November. During my long Summer holiday I have been knitting madly on my knitting machine to get enough stock ready to sell at the Market.

The picture above shows a handwarmer in progress and my favourite book of the moment. I keep borrowing this book from the library. I love it so much. It has provided so much inspiration and keeps me entertained as I loving look at the wonderful pages and plan out future projects. Just not enough time in the day :(

Monday 1 October 2007

Who am I as a designer and why do I choose the things I do...




I'm a student just about to go into my 3rd and final year - eek. During my studies my college has always asked us to reflect on what inspires us and why. I am still experimenting and trying out new ways of approaching my work but after looking at my flickr favourites there seems to be a theme running through the images I like such as bright colours, nostalgia, domesticity, pattern, traditional costume, Eastern European Folk, Fair Isle knitwear etc. So perhaps this is who I am as a designer?