Yarndale and New Yarn Projects

I've recently finished a dress and a knitted top (will share pictures soon) so obviously I needed to replace them with more projects. So a trip to the new yarn festival 'Yarndale' in Skipton was a opportunity not to miss (I was never going to leave empty handed was I?) so I was very restrained and only bought one pattern and some yummy wool from Easy Knits (although I don't think the pattern is that easy really). It a scarf which is starts with solid stitching at one end and you gradually build up the number of holes to form a big lacy pattern at the other end. Its really unusual and I had some problems picking a yarn to create it but eventually plumped for this one with a metallic thread running through it too.

Here's some other nice photos from the event, ,the crochet bunting was organised through Lucy who runs the blog 'Attic 24' which is lovely.

I love Fred(s)

I wanted to give a big shout out to Fred's on the blog! If you have not discovered this gem...... Fred's Haberdashery is a real treat for Crafters. Don't be fooled by the size of the little shop, it really is a tardis. It's rammed to the ceiling with every sort of haberdashery you could ask for, need or want. The ladies in the shop are super knowledgeable and helpful and know the shop stock really well. I am also super jealous of the storage in the shop - such as the sliding walls to hold the stock of (many) zips. Its located in central Chesterfield and is well worth a trip to the town http://www.freds-haberdashery.co.uk there is also a facbeook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Freds-Haberdashery/108177649353578 and they do mail order too. You could also combine a trip with the 2nd hand / vintage market (Thursdays) or fabric shopping on some of the market days, or a visit to the small but reasonably priced Esbergers fabric.

Buttons Anyone?

Here is a little braclet I made with a tiny, tiny proportion from the stock of Fred's ...these will be making an appearance at one of our 'Make your Own Christmas Presents' mini workshops on 8th Dec.

Good Intentions

Hello Everyone, despite feeling bad and trying to ignore it I think people actually really like to read blogs.... for me its a time shortage, not a shortage of things to say. I would really like to share with you all about lots of things going on at Harland Works, and all the things I've made for friends and family and all the other things that I think are important in the craft, eco and fashion worlds.

For those of you that can remember I stopped buying new clothes in Jan 2012, except for basic essentials such as underwear, shoes (obviously) and long sleeve t-Shirts. This was mainly due to not being able to close my wardrobe and having so many clothes I don't really wear. Since then any 'new' clothes I have either made, or bought from charity shops to wear / upcycle, or exchanged at Sheffield Clothing Exchange. Landfill stats for clothing are shocking and the disaster in the Bangladesh Clothing Factory hopefully highlighted the conditions people work in to produce low value clothing for European markets.

So now no new clothes for 1 year and 9 months and I'm not really missing it to be honest.

So lots of things have been created since I last blogged - Circle Project (embellished and free machine embroidery), lots of little owl broaches for gifts, a pink dress in progress, a green linen summer top, a lampshade, a decoupage giraffe, a free machine embroidered new home gift, a recycled sausage dog draft excluder and lots more.... the bay window curtains are finally finished too so I will post some photos soon.