The Art Chain

Last week over on Facebook a friend nominated me to take part in the Facebook Art Chain and post an image of my work everyday for 5 days. I enjoyed taking part and looking back on previous work (especially looking back to college days) so I thought I'd share it here too! So this is the journey of my work from 2008 to today!

Day 1

I graduated from Colchester back in 2008 with a degree in fashion and textiles. Since starting to make things when I was little I've always loved to recycle, using all sorts of bits and pieces my Gran used to give me, and my work at college really cemented my Make Do and Mend philosophy. 

For my Graduate Collection I created an installation of three, three metre long cream knitted hangings. They hung from floor to ceiling and were embellished with all sorts of recycled and found objects, from meat hooks, to nuts and bolts, plastic packaging and broken glass, all of which I spray painted white. I really enjoyed looking back on this, it was stressful but such a great time! 

Day 2

When I left college I was lucky enough to win a studio space for a year at Cuckoo Farm Studios in Colchester. I stayed on there after the year was up and in 2010 I had a solo exhibition in the gallery there. This piece is a detail from the installation of knitted hangings, which hung on the ceiling like light fixtures. I was exploring light and texture and for this piece explored the Shibori felting process to create a really unusually textured piece

Day 3

When I finished college I started making jewellery, like this knitted necklace embellished with found objects and spray paint, straight away. I wanted to capture the ideas from my Graduate Collection but in a wearable form. Louise Dawson Design jewellery was born!

Day 4

This is a selection of my knitted and Harris Tweed Button Brooches, embellished with a scattering of recycled materials. I first started making these because I didn't want to throw away leftover scraps of fabric, so I decided to make something with them!

Day 5

At the end of 2014 I was super chuffed to have an article about my work published in Green Craft Magazine. Here are my Knitted Button Rings, embellished with recycled fabrics

Thanks for indulging me on a little look back. I nominate you all to take part in The Art Chain and share your work too!

The Small Project Challenge, Knitting in the Round and Woolly Hat Day

I don't know about you but I always have a lot of crafty projects on the go. I think it's only natural that crafty people are always thinking about what to make next, but that can mean that projects take a long time to get finished/never get finished (like the Rowan Drift cardigan that's almost finished but has been sitting in my project bag untouched for about a year). 

So, in 2015, what with this being the year I'm trying to get organised, I've set myself the challenge of finishing one small project each month. This will still satisfy my need to always be making and always thinking of the next project, but should hopefully leave me time to get on with and finish the bigger projects too (cardigan, I'm coming for you!) I'm calling it The Small Project Challenge!

For my first small project as part of my challenge I thought I'd knit a hat in the round. After the hectic end to 2015 I treated myself to a set of Denise Interchangable Knitting Needles, which were recommended by some friends from work. They are so handy as they are really portable and the sizes range from 3.75-10mm. You just slot the cord and the pins together and away you go

Save for a few experiments I've never knitted anything in the round on circular needles before, but I impressed by how quickly the work grew. I made the hat in a few hours and the bonus of knitting in the round is no ends to sew in! I used Rowan Creative Focus Worsted yarn which is a Wool and Alpaca mix. I like to keep my ears warm!

These Rico Faux Pom Poms are great fun so I stitched on one of those

Incidentally, this Friday 30th January is Woolly Hat Day in the UK to raise money for homeless charity St Mungo's Broadway, so I will be wearing my hat and donating to the cause.

How do you manage your crafty projects? Do you like to to finish one before starting the next, or like me, do you have lots on the go?

New in my Etsy Shop

I've just added this Green/Brown/Blue Harris Tweed Button Ring to my Etsy Shop! Embellished with upcycled fabric pieces for a pop of colour and a perfect way to wear the traditional Harris Tweed fabric all year round. The Silver Plated ring back is adjustable to fit most sizes.

If you're looking for a quirky Valentines gift, check out my other handmade jewellery pieces here

Wordless Wednesday

Photography... Practicing

I'd love to learn to take great photos and for Christmas Mr Writer surprised me by gifting me a DSLR Camera! I'm loving learning how to use it and I figure that the only way I'm going to learn how to use it well is to practice, practice, practice taking photos of all subjects. I'm going to get this book to help me 

I live in a little town in Essex, close to the park by the river and here are the first photos I took whilst out and about on a chilly afternoon walk. I grabbed a hot chocolate to warm up and enjoyed being out in the fresh air!

Next I'm going to practice taking photos of my jewellery using my lightbox- I'll share this in a later post!

Do you have any photography tips to share?

New in my Etsy Shop

This handmade Harris Tweed Button Brooch is new in my Etsy Shop. All of my Tweed brooches and rings are made from off-cuts of beautiful Harris Tweed (this one is a lovely blue/green/brown mix) and embellished with colourful pieces of upcycled fabrics. Take a look at my other brooches here

Baking Day

I just thought I'd share a pic of the Lemon and Pistachio Cake I made this afternoon! I found the recipe on the BBC Food website, check it out here if you'd like to give it a go. Asides from crafting, cooking is my therapy, so it's a lovely thing if I get some time to bake.

I'd love to learn how to decorate cakes- the one on the website was very elegantly decorated- perhaps that's another challenge for 2015!