my creative space - cardigan!

My Mulberry Tea Leaves is almost finished! I can't believe I knitted a whole cardigan :-) Ravelled here.
All that's left is the weaving in, blocking and finding the right buttons. I thought I had the right buttons but the buttonholes are quite small so I need to look again.
Also I need some advice on blocking from all you experienced knitters. I've never done it so I need some hints.
(Sorry about the colour, the dark day and this particular purply maroon makes this so hard to capture.)
A million thanks to Suse, who helped me find the right wool, the right pattern and helped me sort the button bands. And who sent me this lovely soap in a swap for some RickRack fabric she used in her beautiful quilt. I love this soap so much I am definitely going to have a try at making my own.
Here for lots of other clever clogs.

my swap brooch!

In all the excitement and organisation of the Brooch Swap I sort of forgot that I was part of it, and that I'd be getting a brooch too, so when my partner Jenny emailled that she'd sent my brooch it was a nice surprise. That was a while ago, Jenny's in Scotland so my little parcel has had to fight its way through ash clouds and queues to get to me. It arrived today though, and wow, was it worth the wait!

The photos speak for themselves, how wonderful is this brooch, and the wall hanging that Jenny has included. I just think she's so clever! Inspired by this photo from my Flickr favourites (at bottom) the little bird house brooch sits on the most wonderful applique hanging with a beautifully detailed tree trunk and bright pink blossoms. "Subirdia" as Jenny calls it, amazing!

Even better, along with so many of you Jenny says that the swap has inspired lots of creative "goodness" in her work. To see more of her wonderful creativity go and visit her blog and keep an eye on her Etsy shop for more wonderful pieces that you can make your own.

Thank you too Jenny for taking on swapping with the organiser of said swap. We all know that's an extra level of pressure!

And no, I haven't forgotten the montage post, I'm just waiting for a few more brooches to find their way to their new homes, slowed by postal strikes and ash clouds and other such things. Thanks for your patience.

my creative space - sunprints

Along with my solar dyeing I've been having fun experimenting with fabric sunprints lately, inspired by Mary from Mary & Patch's experiments which she shared on our creative space a couple of weeks ago. If you are interested in having a go she has really clear directions on how to make these graphic prints.
I'm not sure what I'm going to do with these, but I'm having lots of fun playing, including sewing this piece above for a brooch.

p.s. I did my first dying with a lamp as it was dark and rainy, and I prefer the silk paint on the right, the other separates on my cloth.

Thanks as always to Kirsty for giving us this space to share.