TinkeringTimes

Coal on Cotton

You may know I'm from a gritty part of Northern England where the textile industry dominated the landscape and families of every town around. I grew up in a three storey house built in the 1700s, where the top floor, my bedroom, was formerly the place where looms were kept for the family to work on.

Like everywhere else in Lancashire, the industrial revolution swept through and took home workers into hundreds of thousands of factories across black smoke soaked hills and valleys. Where once mills stood on every corner, now precious few remain. Fewer still in working order, as global textile industries have moved trade elsewhere. 

However, the Queen Street Mill, just a few miles from my home town, still runs. Still churns and chugs and judders and jolts. You may have seen it on the film The King's Speech. It's an unglamorous place tucked away behind an unglamorous run down old town. But it's a gem. An insight into what runs through many Northern families like mine and shapes the way we feel about the past, our families and our landscape.

I didn't know how much this background ran through me and shaped me when I was little. Hints of it started to show in my degree, when I wrote my dissertation about the Indian influence on British homes in the form of decorative textiles, and I learned more about the strange relationships between the two countries.

As part of Manchester International Festival, Indian artist Nikhil Chopra is creating a performance which explores these same relationships. Coal on Cotton will take place in The Whitworth Art Gallery - itself home to a rich collection of historical textiles including many that illustrate the relationships between Britain and India.

Above, is the video of Nikhil visiting the tucked away Queen Street Mill. It's a little thing but I'd like you to know the mill is not in Manchester (an error in the video) but in that small tucked away, seldom visited corner of East Lancashire. And I'd encourage you to go there for yourself. 

You can visit Chopra's performance for yourself in July: http://www.mif.co.uk/event/nikhil-chopra 

 

Secrets & Codes. The Finale

The hard work from the Secrets & Codes project has all paid off. 30 ten year olds were able to show off their hard work in front of their friends, family and local community at the launch of the Hadfield & Padfield Heritage Trail. After a busy few weeks pressing, framing and labelling back at Tinkering Textiles headquarters, all the textile pieces were displayed alongside work from other schools in the village for the official grand opening of the Trail. 

The embroidered lines represent an architectural feature of a nearby Victorian school (forerunner to the children's own school.) The buttons, stars and yo-yos show points on the map of the village where something significant took place historically, or to the children and their families. Though the work looks abstract, for the children, their teacher, myself, and the families of those involved, they are rich with life, memories and history.

Click here or on the photo above to see all the individual pieces one by one.

How I learned to draw from an 8 year old: aka finding Zentangle

For work, I was visiting some schools to look at the work they do across the artforms. At one junior school I was given a few sketches some 8 year olds had done. I was staggered. The intricate, complicated, beautiful patterns they had managed to create was way beyond any expectations for their years, probably even for a 15 or 16 year old they would have been impressive. It wasn't a fluke, there was page after page after page, from every child in the class. Something staggering was going on. 

Secrets & Codes, an ending and a beginning

So Secrets & Codes is nearly complete. After 8 or 9 workshops the pupils' works are almost finished. Soon I'll be framing all their textile pieces, and putting together some sort of interpretation booklet.

In the meantime a consultation event will take place, sharing the work of all the local schools involved in the project with their local community. Here's ours. I'm so proud of them all, they've found parts of it challenging in different ways and have all wanted, so wholeheartedly, to persevere and get it done.

But this isn't an ending, as my work comes to a close, the village will open a brand new heritage trail which all the children and teachers involved now own a piece of through their efforts and endeavours. The future and the past of the village are all theirs to look after, and a new heritage trail will soon be launched to commemorate the area.

Sewing Suffolk Puffs / Yoyos with Year 6

Last Friday's Secrets & Codes workshop was all about starting actual sewing, at last! After some prep for the children's artwork two days earlier, in which they began to draft their final designs, we finally moved on to cracking out the needles and thread.

Firstly I must say someone has done an excellent job of this with them already as they were able to thread the needles beautifully and knew what a running stich was, which saved us all a lot of time. They were very excited about being able to choose the colour of felt for their Yoyo (as it's known in the US - Suffolk Puff in the UK). I took along this little sample (above) which I'd prepared so they could pass it round and scrutinise it to give them some gist of what to expect; and a few of Jennifer Collier's paper versions to give them a feel for some more creative options. 

It was wonderful to see the few who felt they couldn't do this at the start proudly finish their little works and ask to take them home, we did start off with a few 'I can't sew' murmurings, but I promised them they would be able to by the end, and they worked hard to see if actually they could. The teacher said she really enjoyed the session and found it very theraputic (which was also lovely, as the group is quite pleasantly excitable - I imagine a little injection of calm now and again is no bad thing for Miss!)

To make life easier for everyone I prepared a cheat sheet which we had up on the smartboard the whole time. I thought since I'd made it, why not make it available for any other teachers or stitchers who wanted to try it alone or with their class. So you can see it below or download it here You are welcome to make copies and use it as you wish, though please remember to credit the source if you do, thanks.

Mapping stories: a school textiles & heritage project

Session 1 of Secrets & Codes.
After looking at a variety of visual codes and coming up with as many different types of codes as they could, we moved on to the preparatory stages of mapping and pattern making. The children (year 6 / Age 10) got into the gist of the idea well and start mapping some stories by thinking of a special place in their village, writing a story about it, then hanging a corresponding tag on the map where there story took place. Their knowledge of the village geographically, their ability to read maps and generate ideas, and their pride in the things that are important to them were all hugely impressive. The children will continue adding their tags until I go back for session 2. It was really interesting that of those we got through, all but two were in a big long line down the middle of the village.

Next week, weather permitting, we'll be going for a walk to the local, abandoned church hall, which used to be the school, before the newer one was built. I'll be asking them to look at details of the landscape and architecture with the aid of viewfinders, and to use their imagination to think about what it would be like inside, and what the walk to school might have been like in the 'olden days'. I wanted to find a local guest, a member of the community who went to the school, to bring the place to life for them and talk about their experience of it. A quick chat with the headteacher soon revealed that he would be the very person. Serendipity...We might walk a bit further to look at the 1960s estate nearby and talk about why those houses were built; or the big old house on the corner which used to house the family who owned the village's mills. They'll have disposable cameras to photograph the things that are visually attractive to them, for when we start developing our abstract patterns via image transfer and textiles later on.

Secrets and Codes: a textiles and heritage school project

 

Secrets and Codes is the name of a project I mentioned a few weeks back. I wanted to find ways to entice the children into becoming keen detectives of their local area, both geographically and historically. I'm employed as the resident textile artist for the project and will be working with them over nine sessions and curating an exhibition of the work involved (mine and theirs).

We'll be using session one to start thinking about the hidden messages carried in visual codes, and how pictures and symbols can tell us more than we first see.

I have a huge map of the children's village which I'll be asking them to plot events and stories onto, and we'll be exploring some specially made bunting, in which each flag shows a different code. We'll be talking about the use of codes and how they work, and what codes the children can think of themselves, which hopefully we'll have time to add to the bunting. I'm hoping that we will also be able to draw in the wider community by collecting stories from parents and grandparents so we'll be starting that process too.

I want the children not only to learn about thinking visually, but also to understand that heritage is a human thing, something to be connected to, proud of and inspired by. And so one of the flags of the bunting will use the piece above. At first glance its just a swirl of coloured lines, and this is what will be shown on the bunting. As we talk about what this might mean, I'll explain it's actually a map. A map of solar eclipses over forty years. It was charted by my grandfather in 1954. The coloured lines I've recreated are the movements of the sun in each of its eclipses. And I'll be taking the original map in for them to look at too.

I want them to feel the vibrancy of the project, but also to feel something precious all around them. I hope this simple felt tip line drawing and a shabby old special map will help them begin this journey. 

A Brief History of Bobbins

Tour of a Victorian Bobbin Mill, Stott Park, Cumbria from Richard Elen.

Whilst looking for a film about the cotton producing process for a school project, I came across this film from a museum in my region about the history of the beautiful wooden bobbins made for the textile industries of the Industrial Revolution and into more recent times. Despite having heard many many times about the intensity of life and work in those times, it's still an eye opener. Wonderful work from Stott Park Victorian Bobbin Mill in Cumbria. 

Stott Park Bobbin Mill was opened in 1835 to supply the cotton mills of Lancashire (of which the Lake District was a part at the time) with bobbins to carry the thread which was spun into cloth. It was originally powered by a water wheel, later by a water turbine and then by a steam engine. Ultimately, electricity arrived. The mill finally closed in 1971 and then reopened in 1983 as a museum.

Today, Stott Park Bobbin Mill is in the care of English Heritage. The video gives a 20-minute guided tour of the mill by one of the English Heritage staff members to see the different stages of the bobbin-making process, including some of the machines being used by a veteran mill worker.

You'll see the steam engine and get a feeling for what life was like for the mill workers – who, in this case, came mainly from the workhouses of Liverpool and Manchester.

 

Textiles and the Trail

I had an interesting and very exciting invitation out of the blue. Would I like to do some work in a rural primary school, working with children to explore a new heritage trail that is being produced guiding walks around their village and the neighbouring one. The school has worked with textiles before and think they'd like to do more in this project. That was pretty much all I was told, except for "oh, and we really like the QR project you do, could we incorporate something like that, maybe with QR codes?"

It was a lot to take in, and to be honest, a tad vague. So I went over to the village to walk the trail and talk more about it. I came away in a complete creative spin - so much potential, so many ideas. It's a stunning place and the school sounds wonderful. We may or may not stick with QR codes but I'm fairly set on codes generally, and some sort of wayfinding, trail marking, navigating, signposting type idea.

The photo above shows the disused church hall which is attached the church which is attached to the school. The more I look at it the more I feel there's something special in there waiting to break out - lost stories, pieces of missing architecture, changed usage. Like a secret waiting to be discovered. I hope it will feature a lot, though I want to work with the children to see what ideas they have and what they find interesting so we may move on from this. But it calls me. 

Meanwhile a hundred textile ideas rush through my head faster than I can catch them. Exciting times. I'll be keeping photos as the work progresses right *here*.

Quietness

It's been a bit quiet here, I know. What that means is I've been hectically busy out there in that other world, the one that sits on this side of the computer screen that you can't see. There are new and unexpected sewing and textile and project plans a plenty. There is exciting progress with this and some work with a school here and some things on eight wheels with these people and more than likely some more of these. There will be proper updates soon, including an explanation of the picture above.

Hanging Around

You might remember a little while ago I mentioned this, and before that, this. Well the end result was this wall display shown above (You can see it in a bit more detail here). The image has been floating around Facebook for a little while and a few people have asked how I did it. So, here's how...

It's really very simple, and quite versatile. I wanted to use plants just because we don't have plants anywhere else inside, but you could just as easily use them to hang jewellery, toiletries and beauty products, or in a different room for pens, paintbrushes, haberdashery etc.

You just need some pots with holes in them. These were a mix from IKEA and handmade from Etsy.  

UK DIY report

Some of you may remember me doing a research project a few years ago called UK DIY, which spawned its own blog and a programme of exhibitions, projects and events.

Since I researched the DIY / subversive / counter culture - call it what you will - craft scene in the UK in 2006 I've been promising to share the report I wrote. It's now available over on my work blog for all to read.

To give you a flavour the contents page reads as follows... Defining DIY :: A Potted History :: Textiles :: Gender Stories :: Inclusivity & Anti-elitism :: Anti-consumerism & The Individual :: Political Crafting :: Interdisciplinary Content :: Street Crafting :: Sharing, Authorship and Currency :: Art & Anti-Art :: Entrepreneurialism :: Quality :: Exhibition & Project Potential :: Options and Recommendations

The UK DIY blog has been quiet for the past year or more but I think that's fine. It started something amazing, and now other projects, networks, blogs and more have sprung up all over the country in ways that suit the times and spaces they populate. I don't think it would be either possible or necessary to try and document it all in one place anymore, there are so many other good blogs covering the variety of activity in so many ways and that's such a good thing.

So I'm pretty much letting UK DIY go, putting it to bed, or rather taking the seed that it was and bedding it back in the soil to see what else grows from it. I already have lots of ideas that I know came as a result of that work, and I think there will be many more in the very near future...
 

Connecting Craft & Community

While you read this, I'll be at an extraordinary event in London. Connecting Craft and the Community is a two day workshop based at The Women's Library. 

Before I go on, I should say, if you've never been to the Women's Library, it is well worth a little trek off the beaten path to this hidden gem in the hustle and bustle of East London. They have a beautifully and poignantly curated exhibition and events programme; every time I've been I've seen something truly unique, compelling, always stunning, sometimes disturbing, and at times humorous. The current exhibition, which I look forward to soaking up is Hand Made Tales: Women and Domestic Craft "...focusing on the role domestic crafts play in many women’s experiences. The exhibition will allow visitors to explore and learn the stories of crafts and the women involved in them through personal tales and fun interactive projects." 

So... Connecting Craft and the Community is a project which aims to create a network of people interested in craft in all sorts of ways, but which has a particular emphasis on participation, community, and all that is wrapped up in what has emerged from what was a minority craft culture (of the DIY, subversive, counter culture ilk) but these days has become much more mainstream.

Post Craft

What is post craft? Where are we in time if craft is the past? You know, I have no idea, I really don't. But at last I can share my excitement about finding out. I've been bursting with excitement about this for weeks and now I can blurt it out to the world!

I will be chairing a panel discussion at this year's Future Everything festival eyeing up the future of craft in a DIY-hack-break-down-the-walls-of-the-institution type chat with some fellow craft / future / hack heads.

The conference organiser introduces the topic thus:

"In an increasingly post-digital world, there is a move towards a pre-industrial landscape. Eased by global connectivity, cottage industries are sprouting up everywhere. People are creating their own products, services, and art. They are rediscovering the satisfaction of creating a tangible product, the process of making, the lessons from making by hand."

Now I know much of that is true (though are we in a post-digital world already? heck where does the time go?) and it echoes much of what I discovered in my UK DIY craft research a few years ago. So I'm thrilled to have been asked to be part of the panel. (I suspect I'll come away ever more confused of course, shh don't tell anyone ok?)

*That picture up there, by the way, is from Datadecs, one of the projects of one of the other panel members, interaction designer Andy Huntington. Do have a look at his website, he does some very cool stuff turning data into beautiful and fun things 

A Little Q&A

I was chuffed to have been interviewed by the UK Handmade team about my work and what fuels me. It was interesting being interviewed, it made me think about things in the kind of clarity I haven't done for a long time.

So if you're remotely interested in what inspires me, where I started with the whole craft and sewing thing do have a little look *here*.

And if you're not remotely interested in that, I have mentioned a few other women who inspire me so you might want to skip straight to that bit.

The hardest question I was asked was, "In your role as arts consultant what do you feel the cuts in arts funding will mean for the arts in the UK?" I can tell you that's a very tough one to answer in only two or three sentences...

Command Team

Some exciting news, I was approached to become part of the 3M Command Team. From the logo I'm feeling all Charlie's Angels / A-Team.

In reality it means I, along with my two team members, are responsible for providing interior design and styling ideas that make use of 3M command products - hooks and general 'putting things on walls' kit. They are a bit special because they don't leave any marks on the wall (which when you've only just decorated is a bit of a relief quite frankly).

The ideas we create will be spread around interweb world via the magic of facebook, digital TV, and will also pop up in real life at next week's Ideal Home Show.

So watch the facebook page and keep an eye on my blog for easy and stylish ideas about sprucing up your home or office. And remember that secret project? You'll be seeing more of that soon...

Lost in Lace

I just can't wait to see the exhibition Lost in Lace, a partnership between Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, and the Crafts Council. It won't open until October, then it runs through to February next year.

Birmingham's website says it will be "an ambitious exhibition featuring twenty international artists, designers and makers who will explore the relationship between textiles, specifically lace, and architecture through site-specific installations"

You'll see on the website it will be held in the museum's Gas Hall. For me that's as much the thrill as the craft content, it's an incredible airy, atmospheric hall that gives such a special feeling just walking through it. I know the combination of the exhibition and the space will be incredible.

Luckily I'm working with Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery for the next couple of years so there's every chance I'll be there when it's on.

Image: Moucharabieh + Jardin de lit, lit de jardin by Annie Bascoul 

Sneak Preview

Just a little sneak preview into a secret project I'm currently working on. More will be revealed very soon but this was just such a lovely little village of pots I couldn't resist posting them now.

And, because I don't think I'll be able to throw in a plug in the actual secret project, I did just want to share the beautiful handmade smaller vases - they're available on Etsy from the lovely Wendy Jung (she went out of her way to find me exactly what I wanted and whizz them over to me poste haste! Thanks Wendy).

I do like them just as they are, but there will be 'stuff' in them when it's all done. Watch this space... 

Not really a bunch of jumbled text at all

Now I now this looks like a bunch of jumbled up random words, but it is, in fact, my brain working through a textiles project. This is part of the very early research stage. For me it's a sort of map of all the things I need to remember and piece together when I start thinking about the real thing.

I'm hoping, funding and a million other factors permitting, one day there will be something much more real and stitched to show you. But for now - here's the contents of my textiley brain - enjoy, make what you will of it!

I'd be interested in what sorts of ideas or images they conjour up for you, let me know in the comments?

Hella Jongerius. A Misfit.

There are certain designers I could talk about in the sort of detail that would win an Olympic medal (and quite frankly I really stretch the patience of family and close friends wittering on about them!) Usually because they sort of rose to 'fame' or at least financial prestige and media reputation during the few years I worked at London's Design Museum. Which means I was in the almost unbelievably fortunate to position to get paid for things like reading Elle Deco and talking to amazing designers (remind me - why did I leave? anyway...) so I had more time to study that particular group of people than I do these days.

One such designer was Hella Jongerius. Such a varied designer who really teeters on that line between the unique handmade and design for manufacture; between feminine curls and lines in embroidery (on vases - genius!) to big square masculine furniture. She holds that balance with perfect class on both sides.

So imagine my delight when I found out a book of her work is being launched. A hardback came out in Autumn so I'm assuming the new launch is either a paperback, or a higher print run following a limited edition release maybe? 

I know it won't exactly be pocket money priced, but if you have a birthday coming up or deserve a treat (or can count it as a business expense - even better) then Hella Jongerius: Misfit will be out in February, priced around £29.95.

Image: Hella Jongerius, 300 Unique Vases

Elizabeth Gilbert on nurturing creativity

If you haven't come across TED talks yet, do scout them out. Some of the most inspiring viewing you'll find on the web.

This one stood out for me as being relevant to makers / crafters / designers (even though it's a writer talking). It is around 20 minutes but stick with it, you'll find yourself being pulled into a story of wonder, and feeling verified towards the end, no matter what your creative process is, how much of a struggle it may be, and however successful (or not) you find your outputs, work, pieces, objects - whatever you want to call them.

What favourite item would you hang on a hook?

I recently asked people on twitter what favourite item they'd hang on a hook and why, and maybe where or any other details they wanted to add. (There was a reason for this strange question, which will become clearer in time!) But the replies were so colourfully wonderful and strange I wanted to find a way to list and share them so here they are...

One of my favourite responses was from Lu Summers (or @Lusummers) who said she'd "display a collage of all the mirrors I've been collecting in my hallway." I found a few other examples of people who'd had that same idea like Ula's bedroom collection and Haskell Harris' Hallways set:


And this set which Naomi found on Anthropologie:

 
I happen to know Lu lives in a farmhouse and is a dab hand at design so am looking forward to seeing her own take on this idea eventually.

So what were the other replies? OK here goes - get ready for some really random ideas! 

@RachelCockett, a museum strategy / development type person has many favourite things on hooks already including a Naga necklace, a World War 1 bayonet, a bronze fish shaped bell and a hand forged copper and silver spoon. (Her house sounds like a fabulously fascinating place. Any photos please Rachel?!)

Artist educator @K8ieSmith sent me a photo of her rather sweet and dainty toy poodle dangling from her hook rail.

Figure from history Sir James Pennyman (Leader of an English Civil War Regiment) - yes you read that right - told me his mum's boss at a nursery in the 1950s really did hang naughty boys on hooks for such crimes as hanging your coat on the giraffe peg when you know you're an elephant (phew thank god times have changed!)

Textile designer-maker and author @RuthSinger hangs 'just a few' vintage handbags on hers. I suspect that 'few' is way into double figures on the quiet right Ruth?

And more traditional home comforts like dressing gowns, aprons and pictures can be found on the hooks of designer-maker @laurafallulah and craft follower @jenimartian 

Rather boringly in our house we have nothing other the occasional mirror and a guitar hanging on hooks. Must do something about that! So what favourite item would you hang on a hook, and why and where? 

Pattern in life sciences

A long time ago I shared my love of pattern in atomic or molecular structure in this post, and it appears crudely in these pieces. It's a theme I've been revisiting lately and I wanted to just note it down to keep reminding myself about it. 

Through working with organisations like Manchester Science Festival, Nowgen and the Manchester Beacon I've since had the delight of getting know a bit more about science researchers and some of the topics they are exploring. This insight has somehow made my interest more real, more tangible. Though I can't pretend to begin to understand what on earth it's all about. 

But I've started to see ways it can be made understandable, through work with artists, designers, writers and others. If they can do it - it can be done, maybe I can think about how some of the microscopic images could start influencing my textiles work in ways which is a little more authentic than the crude and entirely fictional atomic references. 

Images courtesy of University of Manchester Life Science research groups:  1. GFP-tagged cytokeratin expressed in a human tissue culture cell, 2. A human tissue culture cell labeled for the Golgi apparatus (green), microtubules (red) and the nucleus (blue), 3. Intact and burst algae cells (C. reinhardtii) showing accumulation and release of stained lipid bodies, 4. Microtubules in a leaf cell, 5. Mouse cortical progenitor cell differentiated in culture showing a transcription factor localised to the cytoplasm (red), 6. Growth cone of a cultured primary Drosophila neuron stained against actin (green) and tubulin (purple), 7. Latex beads: Adhesion of latex beads coated with Lewis X to the AGS gastric epithelial cell line, 8. Pylori: In situ adhesion of H. pylori to mucosal epithelial cells in a biopsy sample from the antrum region of human stomach, 9. Insulin expression in pancreatic islet, 10. Sensory neuron growth cone (green= beta III tubulin, red=actin) (Natalie Gardiner), 11. Drosophila photoreceptors expressing channel opsin-2 labelled with Alexa fluor 555 (Helena Baines), 12.cell1

Autumn

Autumn, as collected by a three year old, in the safest and most precious place he knows.

Technorati Tags: autumn,conker,England,trike,childhood,play

Embroidered Digital Commons

 
Occasionally I receive invitations to show in exhibitions. Mostly I don't have time to produce the work but this was an invite I couldn't ignore...

"I have been approached by Dr Ele Carpenter (Lecturer,Dept of Art, Goldsmiths College) to coordinate an embroidery art work for an exhibtion she is organising which will be curated by artists anrdrea zapp and simon blackmoore, and be shown at the AND Festival in Manchester in October.

I need a team of creatives to embroider a series of words on to a patch. The size of the patch will be 25 x 25cm and I will provide you with the words. All the patches will get photographed to create slide show and then appear in a series of exhibitions".

I decided I could just about manage a 25cm square piece of embroidery. And I do love how the AND festival has been developing over the past couple of years so was really excited to think my little contribution could become part of it. 

Why I love my job...

This, I feel, succinctly sums up why I love my job.
Because other people love what they do, as a result of what I do. What more motivation could you need?

This is a wordle of the feedback I got from an event I ran at the weekend as part of the Unknown Pleasures festival in Macclesfield, including a photography tour and a screen printing workshop - both focussing on pattern in architecture. There are some photos of the events *here* (some great screen prints especially).

The next workshop coming up as part of this fantastic programme is the *Zine Workshop* on August 7th
Please come - it's going to be great. See you there.

Printing

 
    
For my *proper job* I'm managing an arts project that crosses over music and design. Specifically fashion and graphic design. I'm not allowed to say any more (ooh how exciting!). Suffice to say I wanted to find some talented people to run fashion and graphic design workshops. I have a rule that I try not to employ anyone I haven't seen in action - it's a quality control thing. 

So, by chance someone with just those exact skills had emailed me a few weeks ago just on the off chance it might be useful for us both to find out more about one another's work. They seemed ideal but just to be sure I asked if I could pop by a workshop they happened to be running.

Homework

I love working from home. I do now also work from an office 2 or 3 days a week, in the city centre. It's great as it allows me to cram lots of meetings and visits together instead of each taking a half day by the time I've got there and back.

But I love working from home, and working for myself in general. No more 'offices' which are in fact corridors from one part of a building to another; or open plan spaces where each person has roughly 2 square foot each and can't be heard for everyone having to shout over the top of one another. Or desks in a dismal basement because local authorities stick you in the bowels of the building, or glorified cupboards in the corner of a gallery that wasn't purpose built so none of it really works...

I've found a couple of groups on Flickr that open a window on to other people's home work and have made the most of Flickr's new Gallery feature to collect a few stunning examples together to celebrate the joy of being able to do your own thing.

For reference, *this* is what my town office looks like
And *this* is what my home office looks like

Story time cushion tutorial

A couple of days ago I posted a little piece on the parentdish blog about making a felted cushion together with your child to encourage them to calm down and join in reading at story time.

You can find the bare essentials over there. However there are a couple of extra bits I didn't have space to include there so in case anyone would like them...

The felting works best with an old jumper or cardigan that is 100% wool. However other mixes that include 50% or more wool will also work but you may have to experiment with the washing temperature. If it's a wool mix it's likely you'll need to go higher than 40 degrees.

Felting will also work with other animal fibres, except for silk.

If you'd also like to add pinwheels to the cushion there is a great tutorial for fabric pinwheels on Chickpea Sewing Studio.

The sockmonkey was also one of ours, made a by a certain toddler boy's proud dad. There's instructions on making one of your own here.

A new adventure

A lovely something came my way. A perfect and rare chance to really combine all the things I love. Children, the internet / social media, craft, design, art, learning, museums and galleries... you get the gist.

What is this magical thing? I will be writing three times a week from now on for AOL's parenting blog www.parentdish.co.uk

Sounds great! And it sounds easy but I know it won't be - eventually I fear inspiration may run dry, so if you have any suggestions of short pieces I could create related in any way to the subjects listed above, please do pipe up with suggestions, links, ideas, press releases, products, events, research reports and other interesting bits and bobs.

The image, by the way, was one I found whilst trawling for something suitable. It reminds me of all the mixed emotions I had when pregnant, setting up my little one's room. The excitement and fear in equal amounts that has never gone away. (Although the cot has recently made way for a big boy's bed).