Dasher

It's so hectic (not just for me of course, everyone I know is super busy too) so I am dashing off a very quick post to show off my new range of Vintage fabric totes.

I will be taking them to the Newark Library Christmas Craft Fair this weekend (more details here). Trouble is I love them all and kind of hope they don't sell so I have an excuse to keep them.

More lovely events to look forward to

So my merry band of little angels and people will be on the move again this weekend as we're taking part in the two day Kooroon Gallery Gift Event on Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd December (10am to 4pm) AND setting up our stall at the St Mary's Church Christmas Fair on Saturday 2nd December (10am to 2pm). Both are in Bottesford in the lovely Vale of Belvoir and full address and web details can be found on my events page (click here)

I'm starting to feel like we are a carnival in our own right and am hoping to feature a few new little characters so if you are in the area do come and say hello!

Happy Home

PollyWhistle at Kooroon Gallery 2017

I was delighted to hear yesterday that one of my textile collages, which had been bought during my exhibition at Kooroon Gallery in August to be given as a Birthday gift in November, had been happily received. I can now be open about it (no more secrecy) and do a little happy dance that it was well received.

The Angels are flying out with joy on their wings

Between Christmas Fairs and my etsy shop I hardly feel able to keep up and that is a wonderful feeling because I know that each and every one of my little Angels is a completely unique and individual gift. I use no patterns, just cut, sew and shape in response to the beautiful little peices of fabric I am so lucky to have found over the years. There really is a lot of joy in making these and I hope the people who they end up living with can feel some of that too.

Hawksowrth Church Christmas Fair

Such a beautiful setting and so many lovely people, plus the truly joyous Orston Rocks Choir, well what else can be said but it was a very fine event indeed.

Harby Village Christmas Fair Today

It's a busy old week for little me and my little people and today we will be at the Christmas Fete in Harby Village Hall, in the beautiful Vale of Belvoir, Leicestershire. Open from 11.30am perhaps we will see you there!

Handmade with Love at Southwell

What a wonderful day today is proving to be despite the wet and wintery start. Lovely location, lovely people and lovely stalls, what more could a person want from a Christmas Fair?

Kicking off Christmas Shopping at Kooroon Gallery

Three new little Angel art dolls ready for the Kooroon pre Christmas Special event tomorrow from 10am till 4pm. Rustic little things with homespun patchwork bodies, they even have drift wood wings from the Orkney Islands. More details on the event can be found here.

 

'Little' things please.

I am delighted to have been invited to take part in a pre Christmas small items and gift ideas event at one of my favourite space the Kooroon Gallery. Taking place on Saturday 4th November from 10am till 4pm there will be a variety of work including paintings and cards as well as other textile peices by a number of artists. It will be such a lovely event I wish I could be there as well. But as I will be at Handmade with Love Fair in Southwell (details here) I will have to send some of my little people to represent me instead!

Do go along if you can and grab a fabulous, indvidual gift for a love one (or yourself!)

Kooroon Gallery is in Bottesford in the Vale of Belvoir, Leicestershire. Details here.

The countdown has begun

It's hectic in my little workshop with Angels everywhere waiting for wings, for faces or just those lovely individual details. I must confess they are one of my very favourite things to make. I will be listing some for sale in my etsy shop along with new brooches and bookmarks, this weekend ready for Sunday evening shopping (6pm gmt).

The rest will come with me to various Christmas Fairs and events more details of which you can find here.

Work in progress

I started work a few months back on some new toy ideas. Something simpler (or so I hoped) to make than my usual animals and ones that could translate well into linen and cotton print fabrics as well as the 100% wool felt I love so much.

I wanted to be able to try them out in bright colours as well as the more natural shades and have a good all round play. So I started with some basic sketches on paper and then in calico which I felt went ok. I progressed a reasonably easy one, the mouse into colour and felt pleased that one a few adjustments would be needed for a final prototype.

Then I made the (quite mad) decision to try out one of the more complicated ones. But poor old Mr Lion is not playing ball and has still not worked to my satisfaction - not on the first, second or even third prototype. I can see progress and hope that I am nearly there so I can play around with the other 5 or 6 designs I have started and in the other materials too.











Yet with the Christmas period just around the corner and several craft fairs to prepare for I may have to put them all back in the box until the new year. I already have orders for Angels and Art Dolls to work on and a new textile collage commission to complete too. It's a lovely dilemma what to work on first when everything is a joy to make.  

This week I will be mostly....

Making new ones of these!

A box full of strange little Angel people. #newwork #wip #angel #angels #artdolls #artdoll #folkart

A post shared by Jane (@pollywhistle) on Nov 22, 2016 at 3:22pm PST

PollyWhistle Vintage

It's only just starting to become Autumnal and my head is full of Christmas (it's ok to the use the word Christmas in August when you are a maker - honestly). I'm already utterly obsessed with how I am going to display my Angels and patchwork trees, brooches and cards etc at Christmas Fairs, testing out frames and boards and an antique hatstand. In fact so obsessed my dad asked me if I had a problem I wasn't telling him about because I seemed so distracted and ditsy of late!




I'm also working on a whole new range of bags, purses, bunting and other textile treats using the vintage fabrics, lace and table linens I have been collecting over the last year. It's all so exciting that I'm having to work twice as hard as usual not to let it become utter chaos!

And here is one example of how. My brand new, old glass china cabinet. £10 plus a little for the new wallpaper and beeswax polish. A little bit battered and a little bit patched. In other words perfect for me and my vintage fabric stash.

Quick Pics from the Exhibition

It was such a lovely weekend and I am still riding high on the postive feeback and support I received so with much further waffle here are some pictures:

I'm an exhibitionist!

And now that I have your attention, strictly speaking that's not quite accurate but I am showing my work in my first ever solo exhibition. Taking place at a real gem of a space called the Kooroon Gallery in my local area from 10am to 4pm Friday 4th and Saturday 5th August.

It features lots of new work too so I am super excited!

More Pheasants!

So my pheasants proved so popular the mother of the bride ordered a Brace (Mr and Mrs) for home as a momento of the wedding. How lovely.

Hurray Hurray, It's Pheasant Day

Well strictly speaking it's actually the wedding day of a client of mine who ordered a whole range of bespoke items, including 5 life size pheasants based upon the beautiful invite design created by her illustrator cousin.

What a wonderful thing to work on. Ok at 3am, with bleeding fingers and still another 100 napkin rings to sew together, my joy was a little lower on the scale, but I have to say that as with so many celebratory events I am privileged enough to make things for, this was a real delight.

I think that as the wedding is taking place today and everyone should be enjoying a gorgeous reception very soon, it is now safe to share of pictures and head to the pub. I hope you enjoy your Saturday too.

Frantic Stitching for the Art Trail

I'm very excited to be taking part in the first Bottesford Art Trail which opens this Friday, 26^th May and runs across three venues in this wonderful Leicestershire village, right at the heart of the Vale of Belvoir. 

Since I moved here 18months ago I have been so fortunate to meet other creative practitioners with a passion for sharing their work and their skills. I am now a proud member of the Bottesford and Vale Creatives group which runs free monthly workshops in the amazing St Marys Church. 

Not only does the church have nesting peregrines with a dedicated camera, one of the tallest spires of a village church anywhere and reference to witches who were said to have taken the lives of a previous Dukes sons, it is also a lively, beautiful space much love and oft used by the local community.   

It is perhaps the diversity of the creative practice that is most exciting to me and a taster of this will be on show as part of the art trail.  Featuring Steampunk leather wearables, textile illustrations and British folk art, this small but perfectly form trail also present contemporary drawing, print and painting and has been organised to show how broad the range of artists living and working in the area is.

As well as the variety of art work to view, the event provides an ideal chance to meet and discuss opportunities for further activities, group shows and a larger Art Trail in the future. 

It’s all free and teas and coffees will be available (for a small donation to chosen charities). There may even be some biscuits! So if you find yourself in the area this weekend do come along and meet some lovely people.

Dates and opening times vary. On street parking is available around the Village. For full details visit: https://www.facebook.com/BottesfordArtTrail/

Hurray Hurray for the First of May

or should that be hurry, hurry it's already the first of May? Like so many others I am frantically busy. especially as I seem to have far too many projects and ideas on the go at once, never mind caring for dear old dad! Here's a pictorial round up.

New PollyWhistle Toy Designs

Working out some ideas for the first PollyWhistle Stall

New PollyWhistle Angels (of course)

And yes, that cushion cover still remains unmade!

Cushioning myself in florals

Oh my goodness, I have actually been making some things for myself (and gone a bit OTT on the florals.

I also treated myself to some vintage fabric and a very jolly new jug. But enough with the boasting... much work to do getting ready for my stall later this month. 

A family in felt

PollyWhistle Badger

A long standing customer of mine got in touch early last year having seen a picture of my recent fox. She wanted three little friends as Christmas presents for three of her children. It was so satisfying using my own patterns and heritage quality materials as these were made with 100% wool felt and wool stuffing.

As you can image, I had great fun and I'm glad to say they proved very popular on Christmas day. I was even sent a picture of Super Hero badger in bed with Super Hero boy.

PollyWhistle Fox

PollyWhistle Mouse

Poppies for Paige

I'm very fortunate in that much of my work is made to commission. People get to hear about what I do and get in touch with a loose idea for a gift. This often means I get to work on celebratory pieces.

It's important to me to make everything so that it lasts. Yet when I am day dreaming that the little boy whose birth is being marked by my bunting might one day turn up at a surprise 50th Birthday party to find it hung up, that commitment becomes even stronger.

I was asked late last year to make a cushion to celebrate the birth of a little girl. She was expected in December and I would receive the name and birth date as soon as it happened. Well the little minx arrived weeks early! Thankfully she was absolutely fine (as was mum) and as she was born on 11th November it was agreed the cushion should feature poppies.

As is often the case I was so excited about getting the item delivered I didn't make time to take any good photos but here are a couple of images anyway. The customer was extremely happy and even gave me a copy of a beautiful picture of the tiny new child laying in her fathers hand. It just goes to show how much giving a bespoke gift can mean.