a commission

A couple of weeks ago, I was asked by Laura, a fellow maker, to create a Swedish bead basket for her craft room. She wanted to feature her signature colours, turquoise and yellow, and together we decided that the bold and classic 'Mountain' pattern would be a good choice.

I'm so pleased with the way the basket turned out and I'm even more pleased that Laura is happy with it! She has filled it with her most treasured craft tools and it lives, beaming away happily, in her AWESOME craft room. (Just look at it! How amazing it must be to work in that room?!)

I love working on commissions! It accomplishes the very best of handmaking - creating an individual piece that has warmth, that connects with someone and tells a story - and that makes it immensely satisfying work.

If you have any ideas for commissions or collaborations, I would LOVE to hear from you!

Please get in touch with your idea, no matter how big or small.

(Thanks to Laura, for asking me to work with you and for the beautiful photos. 

Photography by Laura Porter.)

Finishing the unfinished

Let's call it an end-of-year resolution. Finish The Unfinished is a campaign to tidy up your craft-life and give you more space, physically and creatively. It's a simple idea: don't start any new projects until you have completed all those not-yet-finished projects. I read about it in Alessandra Taccia's beautiful blog and it set alarm bells ringing. Uh-oh. My cupboard under the stairs is a SHRINE to unfinished craft projects. There are bags upon bags of wool, two boxes full of fabric (one for yardage; one for ridiculously small pieces of scrap) a shopper filled with leather + tools and a basket of single socks. So, now that the air is distinctly chilly, I've decided to take out my knitting basket and start with the socks. Who knows?- maybe one day, I'll open my cupboard and be able to see my vacuum cleaner...

I use this basic pattern for all my socks. It's a toe-up pattern and I will never, ever go back to making socks the other way round. If you haven't tried toe-up socks before, I promise that it's not too hard and you will be amazed at how seamless they are to make. I found the designs on Ravelry here and here and I made a few adjustments so they fit with my toe-up pattern.

I've just started using Lang's 'Jawoll' sock wool and it's a pretty good go-to for everyday sock-knitting. It has a small acrylic content to add softness and durability and comes with a spool of 2-ply that you use to strengthen the toe and heel. How clever?! (If I'm making special socks, I use Koigu. Oh Koigu, so beautiful and so eye-wateringly expensive.)

Do you have unfinished craft business? 

(I bet you do - who can resist the excitement of starting a new project?)

Join in Finish the Unfinished and tell me all about it!!

'HEJSAN!' means 'Hello!'

Hello! Welcome to the little world of HEJSAN GOODS. (In case you were wondering, 'hejsan!' is the Swedish word for hello. So cheerful, isn't it? You pronounce it HAY-SAN and, in my experience, it is always accompanied with an exclamation mark and a smile.)

This super-cute illustration is the work of Yasmeen Ismail. She is a children's book writer/illustrator, based in London. One of my favourite books to read at bedtime is Time For Bed, Fred! about a naughty dog who refuses to settle down at night. Sound familiar to anyone else? The watercolour illustrations are so colourful, full of life and humour. I totally recommend it.
Whenever I thought about a look for HEJSAN GOODS, Yasmeen's pictures kept popping in to my head. So, I asked her if she would consider creating a bespoke label for my baskets and I was immensely excited when she said yes! ( I basically bribed her with chocolate. Chocolate has never failed me yet.)

The design brief was 'Yasmeen, just do your thing. But this time, with baskets.' The final image is one-part collaboration and nine-parts watercolour genius. Thanks Yasmeen; it's PERFECT.

Yasmeen's work for HEJSAN GOODS will soon be appearing on postcard, labels, stickers and business cards. If you would like a postcard or a sticker, just holler and I'll pop some in the post once they're back from the printers.

(Phew! That was my first blog post. I think it went well. Did it go well? Hmmm, I think I need some carrot cake...)