On Instagram In December

Here we are in January 2016 already, Happy New Year! December was a very busy month and it was lovely to have a few days off towards the end. I hope you had a lovely December! Here's a look back at the month through my Instagram photos...

At the start of December I took part in The Sunday Upmarket in Brick Lane London, which was a really tiring but very enjoyable day

I also took part in the Made In Colchester Christmas Fair, which was such a fab day

Still loving my vintage suitcases for displaying my brooches

Harris Tweed, Tartan and leather denim and knitted Button Brooches

Several men have bought brooches from me recently so Mr Writer modeled a brooch for me at the Sunday Upmarket!

The London Artisan market is held at the Old Truman Brewery next to the Upmarket each Sunday. When I visited my favourite stand was from Find and Make. They make beautiful modern pieces for the home using salvaged, vintage and ethically sourced materials

Mr Writer and I celebrated 13 years together in December!

I love love love this series under JK Rowling's pseudonym and I just can't put this latest book down

Amazing giant Mistletoe Christmas lights at Covent Garden

Giant Christmas tree at the Art Centre in Colchester

My local florist's window display was so Christmassy

Spotting lovely Christmas decorations while out and about in town

Making Stollen. All I'm going to say is more practice required!

Taking time to relax a bit

Nelson does relaxing really well...

Especially after waking me up at 4.30am for his breakfast!

Starting work on some new hand knitted Fair Isle jewellery designs

So that was December! Hope you had a good month too, here's to a fab January.

I'll leave you with my Instagram #2015bestnine - My 9 most popular photos on Instagram in 2015. Thank you for the likes and sharing my love of cats, cake, craft and handmade! Follow me on Instagram here - I'd love to follow you too!

Happy New Year! A Look Back At 2015

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year! I hope you had a lovely Christmas and are looking forward to the brand new year ahead. I'm seeing 2016 as a new start- a blank canvas to fill with lovely things, but before I share what I've got planned next for the blog,  I'd like to say a big thank you for reading and supporting my crafty endeavors in 2015 and share a look back at some highlights from 2015...

In early 2015 the blog had a bit of a revamp and I revealed the brand new look! 

I started using Fenella 2ply, a beautiful British yarn in vintage colours, to create new Fair Isle jewellery. I also invested in some Knitter's Graph Paper- I had been previously writing out my Fair Isle designs and as you can imagine, it was a bit experimental, so to be able to plot my designs by colouring in the graph paper has made things so much easier

New Fair Isle jewellery designs

New colours in my Harris Tweed Button Brooch range

I started The Small Project Challenge in January 2015 and my favourite of all the projects I took up was this Fair Isle knitted baby hat. I wanted to challenge my Fair Isle skills on a larger scale and I really enjoyed making it

I continued to publish craft How Tos on the blog in 2015 and here are some of my favourites...

Liberty Fabric Scrap Shoe Clips How To

Napkins made from tea towels with a pom pom trim

This was one of my most popular blog posts in 2015, along with my Pom Pom Present Toppers How To

I've enjoyed taking part in new craft fairs and had a stand at The Sunday Upmarket in London for the first time

I also joined Made In Colchester, which showcases the work of Artists and Makers creating handmade work in the Colchester area. I've loved exhibiting with them and I'm looking forward to further events with Made In Colchester in 2016

One of my goals for 2015 was to hold some craft workshops and the highlight was holding a needle felting and fabric upcycling workshop for the Suffolk East Embroiders Guild.

I hope you all had a fab 2015 and I hope you continue to join me on my crafty adventures in 2016! Happy New Year!

Happy Christmas From Louise Dawson Design

I'm taking a break over Christmas but I will back to the blog in the new year with lots of new things to share. Thank you for reading and supporting my crafty endeavors this year, I appreciate it very much. I'd like to wish you all a very happy Christmas and a great new year- see you in 2016!

Pom Pom Present Toppers Gift Wrapping Idea

Christmas is just days away and I'm sure, like me, you are busy wrapping presents. Here is a quick and fun How To for Pom Pom present toppers to add a fun handmade touch to your gift wrapping...

1) Make your pom poms

I have a set of Rico pom pom makers which come in 4 sizes. I'd really recommend getting yourself some pom pom makers as they are a quick way to make pom poms and also guarantee they are the same size. Much quicker than the traditional method using cardboard rings and you can keep these forever, but use whatever method you prefer to make your pom poms

You could choose to stick to a colour scheme, or, as this is a great way to use up odd scraps of yarn, mix and match your pom pom colours for eclectic present toppers. I have chosen to make small, medium and large pom poms for my present toppers, but you could make them in any size you prefer

2) Attach the pom poms to your gifts

Either use strong double sided tape to stick the pom poms to your gifts, or, if you are decorating the gifts with ribbon, thread the pom poms together using a large eyed needle and spare yarn, loop the yarn around the ribbon and tie your pom poms to the ribbon

That's all there is to it! Wishing you lots of fun making pom poms and wrapping gifts. Merry Christmas!

Sunday Upmarket

Last Sunday I was lucky enough to have a stand at the Sunday Upmarket on Brick Lane in London and today I wanted to share some photos from the day. It was such a lovely day, there were lots of people out Christmas shopping and a great festive feel- hi to you if you stopped for a chat!

I was really pleased with my table set up, although I am going to invest in some fabric to wrap around the stand in the future! 

Lots of other stallholders stopped by for a chat which was really lovely

I've sold some brooches to men recently and Mr Writer came along to help me very kindly modeled a brooch for me

New bookmark display cards

My button rings- Harris Tweed, knitted, denim and Tartan were popular

I love Yumchaa tea and I always seek them out when I visit Sunday Upmarket. The teas smell and taste amazing- the vanilla and raspberry is my favourite!

Next door to the Sunday Upmarket at The Old Truman Brewery, The London Artisan market was taking place and it was here that I spotted one of my favourite stands from the day. Find and Make create amazing bright and modern pieces for the home using salvaged, vintage and ethically sourced materials. Just my thing! I spoke to Angelique from Find and Make and she was super lovely- check out her website here and her Etsy Shop

I'd definitely like to go back to trade at the Sunday Upmarket and I would recommend it as a fab place to shop for unique finds and great food too!

Louise Dawson Design at Sunday Upmarket London, 6th December 10-5

I'm super excited to tell you that tomorrow, Sunday 6th December, you will find me at the Sunday Upmarket at The Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane, London. I've been wanting to take part in the Upmarket for a long time and I have been very busy making lots of new pieces for the day.  From handmade jewellery and gifts from Designer/Makers, to bespoke clothes, art and the best food stalls (it's going to be hard for me not to be tempted!) the Upmarket is a great place to soak up the atmosphere whilst Christmas shopping!  Find me on stand 24 from 10-5- if you're out and about in East London tomorrow come and say hello! Find out more about Upmarket here