Claire's blog

Amanda’s Necklaces

Claire — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:09:20 +0000

I was teaching a netted necklaces class down in London a couple of weeks ago for the Beadworkers Guild, and asked everyone to send me photos of their finished necklaces. I always ask, but don’t usually receive anything, so I was bowled away when I received this stack of photos from Amanda Tinkler (who’s been [...]

Japanese Thimble Making

Claire — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 20:29:13 +0000

After drooling over all the glorious needlework at Ma Mercerie blog I decided to try my hand at Japanese thimble making this weekend, using the instructions kindly posted on the blog.

My first Japanese thimble

Overall, I’m quite pleased. Sure, my stitching needs work (and I’d use a totally different thread next time), but for a [...]

And she’s finished!

Claire — Tue, 03 May 2011 20:54:42 +0000

Drum roll please….

I’ve finally finished the doll I’ve been making!

All done

(click on the pictures to see larger versions)

The bodice gave me some trouble, but was finally completed. It’s made from silk, embroidered with beads and couched metallic thread, and trimmed with hand-dyed lace (that I prepared at this workshop – knew it would come [...]

New doll commission

Claire — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 20:32:39 +0000

Back in 2005 I made a doll as my entry to the Beadworkers Guild Challenge. The theme that year was ‘In Full Bloom’ so I made a flower fairy, and named her ‘Bloomin’ June’ – and was thrilled when she picked up the prize for ‘Member’s Choice’ that year!!!

June is busting out all over...http://www.bearlybeaded.co.uk/blog/wp-admin/post-new.php

June [...]

Antique Textile Fair

Claire — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 18:38:49 +0000

Headed off to Manchester today to visit the Manchester Antique Textile Fair organised by the Textile Society. I’d never been to anything like this before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. It was quite a strange experience, with some stands piled high with scraps and oddments jostling for space with expensive antique dresses, embroideries [...]

Millefiori Goldwork

Claire — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 20:22:00 +0000

No posts for a while, as between Christmas, moving house and starting a new job I’ve been pretty busy. But last weekend I headed down to Hampton Court Palace to take a course at the Royal School of Needlework, and that seemed like the perfect opportunity to start blogging again!

It’s a wonderful place to take [...]

If you go down to the woods today…

Claire — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 19:00:02 +0000

I’ve taken the plunge, and I’m joining in with October FolkFest over at Folksy (where you try and list one item every day for October) to fill up my Folksy Shop. I should think I’ll be doing a blog post later about some of the great stuff that’s being listed, but for today I’m writing [...]

Visit to the Festival of Quilts

Claire — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 19:35:17 +0000

Last Saturday I went with Mum for a day out at the Festival of Quilts at the NEC. I’m not a quilter, but you can always get me along to a textile or craft exhibition and after seeing the fabrics, threads and books for sale together with the amazing exhibition and competition quilts I really [...]

Profile in Bead Magazine

Claire — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 20:48:54 +0000

I picked up my copy of the latest issue of Bead Magazine on my way home today, and got to see my profile in print! They’ve written a lovely article about me, and I’m really thrilled to see it. There’s also a project/pattern from me giving instructions to weave my Daisy design.

I forgot [...]

Bishops Castle, Chester and batiks

Claire — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 20:31:03 +0000

It’s a glorious weekend, so we headed out for the day. I’ve been hankering after making a patchwork quilt for a while, and with our interest in batik raised by the class last week we headed off to visit Textile Traders in Bishops Castle.

Bishops Castle turned out to be a very pretty village, if [...]