Crochet Lampshade

Great crochet lampshades from Thorsten Van Elten. Lots of ther fun things on his site to take a look at too.

Turkish Textiles & hand dyeing

I came across the on the Natural Dyed Textiles website . "In 1978 Dr. Harald Böhmer, a German chemist living in Turkey sparked a small revolution in the area of rug weaving. Böhmer began analyzing dyes in old rugs using a technique called thin-layer chromatography, a method devised to analyze priceless textiles with little damage. By carefully comparing the dyes in old rugs to hundreds of plant sources, Böhmer re-identified the original plants giving vibrant natural dyes. As this process had been practically forgotten it was re-taught to a group of weavers who formed a profit-sharing cooperative known as the Natural Dye Research and Development Project, or DOBAG (the acronym for the Turkish translation). The DOBAG Project now supports about 400 families in western Turkey."

The Natural Dyed Textiles website is an new international nonprofit organized to research natural dyes and pigments, share information and educate the public about the history of this rich tradition and the use of these natural materials. My specific interest in Turkey is due to my pending trip.... 7 more days. I can't wait.
The website also has a large list of natural dyeing processes...."there is wide variation in the specific steps suggested for natural dyeing. Traditions vary widely from culture to cultural and there are many ways to do things."

Today on Ebay

One of the best ways to buy embroidery thread...

Stitch School

Over at Primrose Design there are endless tutorials that show you how to stitch a Raised Fishbone (above), Four legged knot, Wheat Ear, Scroll Stitch ...and plenty more. So if you're into embroidery and you need to broaden your stitching scope then look no further. There's plenty of inspiration here.

New Buttons!

Here's a selection of the latest Miss Wolly Fabric covered buttons available to buy in pretty sets form our Miss Woolly Etsy Store, Wilkins & Kent , Meet Me at Mikes or Genki. Why not glam up your clothing with them.

Shwe Shwe

Shwe Shwe is a traditional South African print and is worn by all races and classes in South Africa. It is a really colourful, beautiful and strong textile. Everyone in Melbourne should go and check out the new Shwe Shwe store at 210 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy it's excellent for those of you, like me, who love colour. I love happy looking textiles.

Pitti Filati

“Pitti Filati is internationally acknowledged as the leading event in the field of yarns for the knitting industry, technological innovations and services for the textile industry,” says Agostino Poletto, marketing director of Pitti Immagine.

Berroco attended Pitti Filati 2007 earlier this year in Florence and here are a few of the favorite's.

Also take a look at about merino's site they have a great feature on Yarn Direction ......and the textures really are to die for. With the cold finally starting to settle in here, in Melbourne, it really makes me want to pick up my sticks and make one of these gems.

Markow and Norris

American artists Eric Markow and Thom Norris are the makers of this amazing woven glass bowl. You should go have a look at the rest of their portfolio on their site here because the colours are just great.

Philip Eglin

I came across the work of Philip Elgin in The World of Interiors magazine and instantly feel in love it.
Philip is represented by the Barret Marsden Gallery who say "He is concerned to achieve ‘... a balance between the high and the lowbrow, the reverent and the irreverent, the raw and the subtle, the sophisticated and the crude ’." Plus he's a football fan and has only just recently given up managing his local boys' team...sweet.

Japanese Temari Balls

Via our lovely friends at Craft Magazine in the US I found a great tutorial on making Japanese Temari Balls in the latest edition. Being the curious type I went snooping for more info and look what I found. I'm quite thrilled as I love wrapping thread around things and Craft have given me a reason to let loose! Watch out everyone come Christmas, guess what you're getting...

On this site there is a tutorial in the 'album' section.

Felted crochet hook cover

There is a free downloadable PDF pattern for this great felted crochet hook case over at the Berroco site. Since I am into organising my work room at the moment this little project is perfect for sorting out my crochet hooks and keeping them all together. It's in the 'easy' skill level set and you only need 2 balls of wool and a button for the project. Too easy.

Fantastic Toys

I found Fantastic Toys via a lovely felt plush mushroom cottage and gnomes on etsy. I was so excited to find that they also make beautiful hand puppets that are so great and vintage looking... Am so inspired.

I mean where do you find hand puppets today? You can even view a little puppet show. Better still there are also free downloadable toy paper puppets!!! I could go on and on but you'll just get you to head there. Oh, and the elephant on the chair.... it's a doll too.

Richard Woods

I love the work of Richard Woods, he's a sculptor and installation artist whose work is so colourful and fantastic I felt I had to share it today. Not so crafty as such but an inspiration all the same. You can get hold of details on the monograph of his work here.

Spool Knitting

I love wooden spools.
I've had a few sitting aside waiting to be put to good use.....for a few years now. So, when I discovered this fantastic tutorial on Spool Knitting over at Crafty Pod today I was super excited.....it's truely tina-tastic.

Oh my goodness! Take a look at what Noreen does with her spool. She's even started her own yahoo group dedicated to Spool Knitting. Oh.........

Tidy up time.

It's time again to sort through my fabric scraps and tidy them into some sort of order. I've been inspired by both Simple Sparrow and Mizutago who have put some order into their work rooms. Oh, how I love to see little piles of fabric sorted into colourways, all ready for crafting. They both put my boxes stuffed full of fabrics to shame.
If you are obsessed, like I am, with other craft rooms check out the Craft Rooms Fickr Group here.

Melbourne Scarf Festival

Goodness! It's nearly that time again! The 2007 Melbourne Scarf Festival is on from June 28 to July 7th so if you're not registered and knitting, weaving or sewing yet you best get to it.

There is a limit of 3 entries per person and there are entry fees for members and non members with under 17's free. With heaps of awards and prizes this years theme is SPIN - refering to the making of fibres. For more details head to the Craft Victoria website here.

Anime Bonnet

I love this little bonnet from Hello Yarn (you know I love a bonnet!). You can download the PDF pattern here. There are loads of other fantastic free patterns over at Hello Yarn, like these Muchroom Pulse Warmers and a shop full of exciting yarns.
To all our lovely Melbourne blogland readers... take a look at the Herald Sun Home Magazine today....page 11. You'll see our Miss Woolly Needlepoint Kits. Yippee and have a great weekend. xox

Gagatree

Gagatree is a company owned and operated by graphic designers. They make products that are graphically inspired with an Asian twist. Their website is pretty ace too. And by the way, that amazing piece of papercraft is a card of all things. It's inspired by the Chinese 'Magic Flower' paper toy and there are 6 to collect. I'm quite facinated by paper objects at the moment. They always make such great ornaments.

Just Friends

This Just Friends Tea Pot from Little Flower Designs caught my eye. It somehow reminds me of Fran's work over at Mrs Eliot Books and it makes me all whimsical about visiting the V & A ceramics collection, one of my favorite places in London. Oh, I'm feeling a little nostalgic this morning.

Mokimoe Organic Homewares

In a few months I'm going on a trip to the Uk and I'm busy bookmarking websites with stores and products I'd like to seek out. Joanne Murray from London has a range of georgous home accessories called Mokimoe that are made from the highest quality organic materials and are inspired by balmy summer days, strawberry picking and picnics in bluebell woods. What could be better?

Gobble, gobble.

Oh my, check out this toupee wearing snake gobbling up the little mouse...also wearing a toupee. They are made by Mochimochi Land. I found them over at Softies Central.

Things I found from Japan today

Nuts Craft!

I'd like to introduce you to Nuts Craft and as you can see by the images, some inventive type makes little shoes from nuts! Perfect.