Wednesday 30 July 2014

Custom orders available from Louise Dawson Design!

If you're looking for the perfect piece of jewellery to accessorise with your new dress or to give to as a gift for a friend in their favourite colour, if you can't see what you're looking for in my Etsy shop I'm more than happy to make a custom order to your specifications. Drop me an email at the address found in the "About" section, or click "Request Custom Order" in my Etsy Shop to discuss your requirements!


Sunday 27 July 2014

Learning Fair Isle with a beautiful British wool!

Earlier in the year I began experimenting with learning Fair Isle Knitting and this weekend, with my mind on a Winter jewellery collection, I have taken up my needles again to make some more Fair Isle samples! I'm not sure where this collection is going to take me yet, so I'm just trying to master the basics and then I hope to mix it up a little!

I have discovered a beautiful new yarn by Wendy that I have used to create these pieces.  Ramsdale is a pure wool, Double Knit yarn, born, bred and made in Yorkshire and it's lovely to work with - I'm very excited to be using a British product and I'm looking forward to experimenting with it more later in the week. I'm gradually buying all of the colours in the range so it's going to get colourful! I also think it'll make great felt so I'm planning on felting some pieces later in the week and also incorporating some cables into the Fair Isle. I'll post some updates later in the week!




I think I'm getting the hang of stranding the yarn on the back between colours-  it's getting neater!




Wednesday 23 July 2014

New handmade brooches available in my Etsy shop!

Here is another installment of my latest collection that I've just added to my Etsy shop! My handmade brooches are Aztec/Carnival inspired and are created from scraps of lace and fabric (including beautiful Liberty prints) that I have dyed vivid pink and neon yellow using eco friendly inks. I machine stitched the fabric pieces together and then hand embellished with gems, beads, sequins and a touch of hand embroidery. I've had a lot of fun making these and they are equally fun to wear- I like to wear mine with my summer dresses and they make a real statement! I'm gradually adding to this collection and I'll keep you posted as I add more pieces. Check them out in my Etsy shop!






Sunday 20 July 2014

Louise Dawson Design Etsy Shop- new listings!

I've just listed a selection of new rings in my Louise Dawson Design Etsy shop

Something super bright for Summer, these handmade statement rings are inspired by all things Aztec and Carnival and are handmade from recycled scraps of fabric I have dyed vivid pink and neon yellow using eco friendly inks. I then machine stitched the pieces together and adorned with hand embroidery, beads and sequins. They are very quirky and fun and I hope they can bring some sunshine whatever the weather! 

Don't forget, all of my jewellery arrives in a beautifully hand branded gift box too, making them the ideal gift.

Happy weekend everyone!







Wednesday 16 July 2014

A beautiful English summers afternoon in the garden

A beautiful sunny afternoon spent stitching in the garden. An English summer at its best!















Saturday 12 July 2014

Great gift ideas for teachers available in my Etsy shop

I've recently had a couple of lovely Mums buy pieces from me as end of year gifts for their child's teacher, so I thought that I'd share with you some pieces from my Etsy shop that would make make a great gift for a teacher (or anyone with a love of quirky handmade accessories) and would be something special they could always keep long after the wine and chocolates are gone!

My handmade, knitted button brooches are embellished with recycled fabrics and I make them in a variety of colours (I welcome custom orders if there's a specific colour you would like that I haven't featured) and they arrive presented in a beautifully hand decorated gift box too, making them the ideal special present to treat a teacher (or yourself) to! Check them out in my Etsy Shop!






Wednesday 9 July 2014

Embroidery Class- Learning Shadow Work

Here are a few photos from embroidery class today! I have yet to finish the embroidered Toad stall we had been working on (sadly not enough hours in the day at the moment), but full steam ahead with learning and today we've started on a piece of Shadow Work. I'm fascinated by the technique- I'd never tried it before, but having seen our very talented embroidery tutor's examples of how to apply the technique, I'm keen to experiment!

Firstly we traced the bluebell design onto a double layer of Organza fabric and secured with an embroidery hoop



We then started to fill in the outline of the design with tiny back stitches


To colour the design we used tapestry wool and a crewel needle, sandwiching lengths of wool between the two layers of fabric, within the back stitched outline. You poke the ends of yarn into the fabric pocket with the back of your needle to give a neat finish to the back



This is how it's starting to take shape!


This is one of our embroidery tutor's examples of a shadow work embroidery piece she has made- a really inspiring example of how the technique can be applied! 

I'll keep you up to date on the embroidery progress- hope to have a couple of finished pieces to share with you soon!

Sunday 6 July 2014

Louise Dawson Design on Instagram

I love using Instagram to capture snapshots of day to day life and here are a selection of recent photos of things I've been up to lately. Follow me on Instagram here!

Seafood lunch at The Company Shed and walking on Mersea Island


A week off spent by the sea with friends, in the garden and enjoying lovely food


Capturing the Summer outdoors


Colour inspirations, shelfie, Blogging research and a very chilled out Daisy the cat!