On the Subject of Collecting

Someone asked me a few weeks ago whether I collect anything.

At the time, I think I said, "Well, I er, collect books..."

"Yes, but lots of people collect books," he said.

Oh. After a bit of thought nothing else had come to mind, so I declared myself, when it comes to collecting, a rather boring sort of person, and said that no, I didn't collect anything, really.

Later I realised that this isn't strictly true, and that actually, collecting is a rather subjective term. What makes a collection, a collection? And what makes a collector, a collector? It's a question that has been ambling round my head ever since.

I thought about the jars I keep on a shelf. One houses buttons, another shells, another washi tape and another ribbons. I think of purchasing for these jars as 'keeping up the stocks'; making sure I always have supplies in for my next craft project or commission. (Yeah yeah, great excuse!) But their contents have been collected and curated, bit by bit. I also have bags of yarn, tubs of beads and pots of paints.  Does that make me a collector?

I thought about the vintage plates I use to furnish my glass desk. I bought them so as to make my desk aesthetically pleasing... but in doing so, did I become a collector of plates? Do I collect vintage crockery, or do I just happen to own a fair amount of it?

My brain really got going then and I thought about the mountain of jazzy socks I own because they're always wandering off, the DVDs in my bedroom and the Beatrix Potter-related items dotted around my home. What about the fact that I have more teapots than the Mad Hatter? Does a collection simply mean 'having lots of something', or does it constitute a certain amount of curation, seeking items sharing similar qualities? Does a collection have to be proudly displayed and boast its own dedicated dusting apparatus to qualify as such?

In the end I came to a conclusion (you'll be relieved to know this).

1. Collectors are always interesting, though their collections may be interesting to many, or only to themselves.

2. Collections comes in many forms, but to qualify as a collection its items must have been gathered with a certain element of pride and joy. The fun is in the collect-ing, not just in the collect-ion. That's why we all owned so many Pogs back in the day, and why some can't ever open the drawers under their beds for fear that the TY Beanie Babies will finally burst their vacuum pack bags and the secret will be out. To qualify as a collection, its owner must be proud of it or find joy in ownership of it.

3. It's never okay to collect porcelain dolls. I'm sorry, but this is my blog, they are scary and stare-y, and that's just a fact. Moving swiftly on...

Am I a collector? Why yes, I am. And if my collecting ever goes too far and I stray into the category of hoarder, it'll be the books that are my downfall. And I actually own a fair few collections within my book collection, too. I own every book Roald Dahl ever wrote, I leap on 1970s Enid Blytons wherever I find them and have a hefty shelf packed full of children's books (I so wish The Gruffalo had been around when I was a kid.) I also collect craft materials with a certain amount of pride. If you ever pop round for a cuppa, don't ask to see my fabric stash. You'll be there forever.

So, are you a collector? What do you collect? And is it something you'll admit to next time an intellectual type challenges you at a cocktail party?







PS: I'm not an intellectual type, so you can tell me :)

PPS: next time I am put on the spot with that particular question, I will now be prepared. I shall sniff, examine my nails, and say, "yes, I collect bodies. I have lots in my cellar at home." And then smile cheerfully and sidle off to admire the buffet.

A Day's Crafting at Hope & Elvis

On Saturday I was lucky enough to spent a day crafting to my heart's content at Hope & Elvis, in the beautiful grounds of Welbeck Abbey in Nottinghamshire. 

I first read about this magical workshop space in Mollie Makes issue sixteen, when I had one of those, "ooh, that's local, why haven't I been there yet?" moments. Past and future guest teachers include such big names of the craft world as Tiff Fussell (Dottie Angel), Rachelle Blondel (Ted & Agnes and together of the book Granny Chic), Julie Arkell and Tom of Holland. It's been an ambition of mine to visit for a long time. And so it was with a skip of glee that I journeyed along on Saturday, to be taught how to make intricate nostalgic jewellery by the talented Judith Brown.

Isn't Judith's work stunning? She uses fine wire and beads, as well as fasteners, hooks and eyes and other haberdashery items to make her delicate, lace-like pieces with a vintage feel. I think the beauty of this workshop for me was that at the start, when I ambled over the admire Judith's work, I couldn't even begin to fathom how we were going to go about attempting to make anything similar. And as Judith says, the story behind her work is that it isn't immediately obvious what her jewellery is made from; it's only on close inspection that the familiar components make themselves known.

As you know, I love the idea of making something new from something old, so this notion really appealed to me.

Fancy a look around the Hope & Elvis studio? Here we are...

As you can see, Louise Presley, owner of Hope & Elvis, has a real eye for collecting vintage materials, and she also uses this space to make her own creations. 

...Sigh. Meanwhile, back over at the workshop table, I had made my first attempt at 'sewing' with fine wire. My piece turned out rather... 'loopier' than I anticipated (stop that), which surprised me slightly, as I'm often saying that all of my crafts tend to be detail-focused and intricate. Anyway, the Gods of Craft are fickle beings, and on this occasion I ended up with quite a bold effect, compared to others' more neatly sewn creations. I'd never worked with wire before, or made jewellery, so it was great fun to give a completely new craft a go.

That's a bra ring, in the middle there.

Here was my afternoon effort - a work in progress. My nan recently gave me the lace sleeves from her wedding dress with attached pearl buttons, with the instruction that I have to turn them into something (no pressure!) so I intend to finish below with a pearl drop button, and one of my other grandmother's traditional pearl buttons in the middle. It will be a celebration of grandmothers!

Others in the group managed much more sophisticated techniques than I, and I think we were all impressed by the collection at the end of the day!

Thank you so much to Judith for her patience and excellent teaching skills on the day - it's never easy to teach small, detailed work to a group. And thank you to Louise for making me feel so welcome, providing a fantastically yummy lunch, and allowing me to amble around her studio with my iPad snapping photos. I'm so pleased to have been able to visit at last!

Visit Louise's website to learn more about booking your very own Hope & Elvis experience.

Hillarys Blinds Country Crafts Competition Entry

When I saw on Craft Blog UK that Hillarys Blinds had launched a competition for craft bloggers, I thought it would be the ideal chance to throw myself into a sewing project for the first time in... well, about a year! The brief was simple - choose a sample from their new Country Retreats fabric range, make an original design, and write a blog post about it.

This beautiful fabric, 'Bird Parade' leapt out at me straight away, especially as it would give me the perfect excuse to make and paint a peacock button to go with it, so all I needed was to decide what to make.

The next day I was at work - I work in a large college - and it was pouring with rain. We sell Pink Pig sketchbooks (made in Huddersfield - I love them), and I was trying to find a large carrier bag for a student, who was upset that her portfolio had not only got wet, but was getting repeatedly bent at the corners from being carried back and forth to college every day. I'd just stocked up on fresh sketchbooks myself the day before, and so it hit me - I'd make an A3 sketchbook folder, to protect my Pink Pig when out and about!

So I used my shiny new Pink Pig to sketch out a design...

...And visited my local market to buy delicious ribbon and cotton thread. As I was waiting to pay I admired a huge carousel of stunning embroidery threads, and it gave me an idea for adding embellishment to the back of the folder.

Using my sketchbook as a guide, I cut my peacock fabric and the inside grey cotton to size. The Hillarys fabric was already nice and thick, so I just added fusible interfacing to the lining fabric, and then used spray starch to give both pieces some extra structure. 

Someone decided to 'help', of course!

Before I could start sewing I needed to add the embellishment to what would become the back of the folder. I settled on a large, sweeping peacock feather design. This is where I was nearly defeated, because it turned from what I thought would be a couple of hours' worth of embroidery into fourteen hours' work over the space of two days! I was worried I wouldn't be able to finish the project before the deadline, but I took my embroidery hoop to work with me and put my lunch breaks to good use.

After that there was lots of pinning, a bit of arm flapping as I got nervous about running the fabric through my sewing machine, and eventually the project came together. I made the button and enjoyed using fluorescent blue paints to give Mr. Peacock a bit of grandeur.

I added a magnetic popper as a fastening, which was interesting as I've never used one before...

I knew I wanted to add quite a bold rosette to the front of the piece to make it look like the feathers on my handmade button were extending outwards. The latest issue of Mollie Makes provided me with an idea for making a rosette out of felt, so with a little improvisation I had what I wanted. 

I gave the finished folder a last spray of starch so it can easily be wiped clean.

Phew! It was great to get stuck into a sewing project for the first time in a while, and it was good to remind myself of the importance of taking my time in ironing and re-ironing my fabrics, measuring, and paying attention to getting nice straight hems - something I've always struggled with! I love using bird and animal motifs in my crafts so using one of my buttons allowed me to add in some extra personality.

Now my beloved Pink Pig sketchbook won't be getting wet and bent next time I'm on the move!

You can see the other fabrics that were available to choose from for the competition here. 

Have a crafty week!