HobbityDog Gets Down To Business And Introduces A New Friend

I’ve been thinking long and hard about where I want to take HobbityDog.  My trouble is that I’m a bit of a jack of all trades - as long as it’s creative and tickles my fancy, I’ll give it a go.  Which is probably why when I launched my Folksy shop, it was a bit of a jumble sale to start with.

That and a lot of the little cross stitch patterns I used on the buttons were adapted from existing sources which didn’t fulfil my need to do something original.  There was no distinctive style or theme to my work and this became more and more apparent when I started analysing what I liked about other people’s shops.

Therefore, I have decided to be more disciplined, have a more focussed approach to my products and create my own original style.  Although it pains me, “Less Is More” and I realise I need to rein my enthusiasm in a bit.  No more dabbling until I get really good at what I can already do.  Bleurgh, sounds terribly un-creative but it’s a necessary evil if I want to get this right.

In order to get inspired, I’ve been looking through old folios, photos and past projects and picked out the common themes.  One definitely stands out: flowers.  Whether it’s been drawing, stitching or photography, flowers are a recurring subject.  Another is that I do seem to have a thing about hearts.  It is also obvious I am far better at drawing animals than humans.  None of my live subjects appear to have faces!

With inspiration sorted out, I turned my thought to what media?  Having now played about with a lot of artistic disciplines, I find I keep going back to three in particular: drawing, photography and embroidery.

So (and I know I’ve been saying this for a couple of months now), this is how HobbityDog will look over the next few weeks.  The main strands to my work will be hand-illustrated crockery and embroidered wall hangings.  I will also be producing notecards with my photos on.  After all, there’s no point investing in a decent camera and just storing the results on the laptop, is there?.  I can’t promise that other bits of loveliness won’t sneak in now and then, but I shall try to be good!

I think the crockery will mostly be flower/natured influenced limited editions in black and white, perhaps with a hint of colour.  I am very pleased to say that I have already received my first commission – a pair of espresso cups decorated with cowslips.  And I have already started designing “heart/love” embroideries, the first of which seemed to go down really well when I did the giveaway a few days ago.

All this leads me nicely onto HobbityDog’s new friend I mentioned in the title.

I designed a bunny wall-hanging a couple of months ago which sold quite quickly.  I liked him a lot but looking around, there are an awful lot of bunnies already out there!  It also wasn’t quite “me”.  I remembered a book from my childhood and some of you might recall it, too.  “Masquerade” was a magical beautifully illustrated work of art by Kit Williams and, interestingly enough, the golden hare was buried in Bedfordshire where I live.  I’ve always like the hare motif and think it is more in line with my style – it’s a bit more grown up, mystical and lends itself to graphic interpretation.  I have started sketching some ideas but haven’t decided yet whether it’s for pen or needle – perhaps I’ll do both.  Anyway, the name I came up with for this new character is HoppityBob.  Hopefully, he will be making his debut in May.

HobbityDog will be going into holiday mode for a few weeks now while I build up new stock and take proper photos.  I’ve already discovered our new decking makes a brilliant stand for saucers.  I will be posting progress on Facebook so stayed tuned.

Lara x

“HobbityDog”, “HoppityBob” and the HobbityDog logo (c) Lara Poyton 2012

Stitch & Craft Show, March 2012

A friend of mine visited Olympia1 a couple days before I was due to visit the Stitch & Craft Show at Olympia2. She observed there had been a large number of women who looked like they lived alone with five cats and suggested I dress in a similar fashion to blend in. Frumping up, she called it. Cheeky monkey!

When I arrived on the Saturday morning, there were indeed a troop of ladies in pastel anoraks, polyester skirts with elasticated waistbands and sensible shoes, descending in great numbers on the knitting stalls. Throughout the morning, I kept spotting small huddles of them with Tupperware boxes on their laps, full of limp sandwiches, supping tea from tartan flasks. Obviously seasoned event-goers.

This was my first time at a craft fair and at Olympia and both were a pleasant experience. I had realised, once I was on the train, that I’d left my entry ticket at home. The very nice man behind the ticket desk reassured me that I could claim the cost of the second ticket back and I was amazed to receive this morning said cheque.

The place was packed but there seemed to be an unspoken understanding that if everyone went round the floors in a clockwise direction there would be no bottle necks. I went round the show once, purse firmly stuck at the bottom of my bag, to check out what was on offer. I did eye some of the workshops but it was so hot, I was afraid that anything I touched would wilt. Second time round, I went a little bit mad with the shopping but I also got to meet and chat to Jane Greenoff, Michael Powell and the very lovely Margaret Sherry. She is one of my favourite designers and she told me how she’d started off as medical illustrator before a friend asked her to illustrate some children books.  Very inspirational.

Signed freebie from Margaret Sherry

My haul of goodies!

My bag slowly filling up with ribbons, fat quarters, patterns and freebies, I decided to head upstairs to discover a lovely quilt exhibition. There were some beautiful pieces there but when I asked if I could take photos, the curator rather curtly suggested I buy the book. Rude.

I left the show in awe and inspired. As soon as I got on the train, the drawing pad came out and I was scribbling down ideas. Here are some photos of some lovely 3D embroidery for your delectation...

Thinking Is The Death Of Creativity

This pearl of wisdom turned up in a Facebook conversation between a group of crafters and it is a very valid point I'd like to explore a little further.  This same person mentioned that she found it hard making the reality look the same as the idea in her head.  Another wise member advised not to think about it too much - just let your hands get on with it.  And she's right.  Once you know what you want to do, just keep doing it until there is direct communication between your subconscience and your hands.  It might not be exactly what your conscience had in mind but trust your "backroom brain" - it does know what it's doing.

I had been mulling along these lines over the last few weeks.  My Folksy shop was in a bit of a mess and I came to the realisation I needed to develop the HobbityDog brand, for want of a better word, and build on my strengths.  Or turn my perceived weaknesses into strengths.  It was hard to identify my strengths (through a perverse sense of modesty) but I arrowed straight into my main weakness. OCD - obsessive compulsive detailing.  My husband has always said this is one of the reasons our relationship works; he is the big, broad brushstrokes and I'm the pen and ink fine detailing.  Combining my love of drawing and new-found love of doodle-stitching now seems the most blindingly obvious thing to concentrate on.  I can't believe it didn't occur to me before.  So, I will be taking a breather from the shop for a few weeks and shutting myself away in HobbityDog Central to sort things out and re-launch in the Spring.

When I started crafting semi-seriously (serious being defined as that point when you decide to give up the day job), I threw myself in head-long and started making all sorts of stuff with no real plan.  Once my Folksy shop was up and running and I made a couple of sales, I got a little more confident about committing to crafting.  I also started doing some proper research and realised I had gone about it all @#$£-about-face!

I found the items I liked all had a strong, unique creative identity - not just assembled pieces that anyone could do (which made me realise that's exactly what I was doing).  There is an awful lot of "same-iness" out there and when one thing hits the mainstream imagination, everyone jumps on the bandwagon.  I mean, who'd have thought cupcakes would become such a massive industry?

If I can give you one gem of insight, it is this: stick with the research.  You will go through the depressing, debilitating and discouraging phase of thinking everyone on the planet is so far more talented than you.  They are not.  They are just "differently talented" or simply more experienced.  See?  Thinking IS the Death of Creativity.  Instead, look at the big picture.  Have a look at other people's shops and catalogues.  You will soon see that the ones you like have a very distinctive style expressed in a small handful of themes.  They have not spread themselves too thinly but have honed and developed their own signature.

So, trust your own instincts and take a leisurely meander down a road of your own making.  I can guarantee it will be a much more interesting journey!


"Is It Nearly Spring Yet?"

To paraphrase Yoda: "to snow or not snow, there is no try".  This winter of nothingness has left me yearning for Spring, where it might bluster and rain but at least there is a promise of good things to come in the garden.  it's just cold and dry and grey at the moment so to hurry things along, I thought I'd pick out some favourite things from Folksy to cheer us all up.  The theme is Blue Birds...

Little Black Heart

Lotus Blossom

Bluebirds Glass

Littlebirdy Designs

Planet Penny

Artwork by Angie

Bizzy Lizzy's

Fiona Cameron Designs

New Year, New Projects

As the wind and rain batters relentlessly against the house, here I am snug in HobbityDog Central (the attic) already thinking about Spring and, dare I say it, Valentine's Day.  I'm torn: I should be stitching cards and hearts but a brief respite in the weather at the weekend meant I had a chance to potter about the garden.

As the chickens rummaged around my feet (they always have to be where you're standing), my mind was already seeing the new decking we've got planned and the routes I have prepared for the rambling roses, honeysuckle and jasmine.

I was particularly glad to see the magnolia tree we got for our wedding three years ago is absolutely dripping with flower buds and I spotted the first inch of green daffodil spikes poking out at the foot of the wild cherry tree.  Even the very badly mistreated hydrangea that I just plonked into a pot last August and abandoned at the back of the flower bed shows signs of life.

Our poor old wild cherry.  Where it stands it gets the full blast of weather, losing branches to the gales and suffering alternately from drought and flooding throughout the year.  And yet, every Spring, it rewards us with a mass of blossom that always flowers the week of my birthday and attracts birds into the garden when its fruit arrives in the summer.

It was this that inspired this weekend's stitching...

If you would like to own it, it is for sale from HobbityDog at Folksy

In Defence Of Crafting

"Macaroni stuck on a bit of card and covered in glitter is all very well when you're five," said the sniffy, aspirational yummy mummy, "but making stuff yourself is a bit cheap, is it?"

A few seconds passed when all I could do was blink in aghastment (is that a word? it should be).

"Well, er, um," I stuttered, not really sure how to answer her question.  It occurred to me that the question might have been rhetorical but - dammit - now my shock had transformed into irritation, there was no way I was going to let her get away with such a silly remark.

"I suppose not everyone can afford to buy imported, mass produced catalogue crap," I observed, quietly impressed with my restraint - believe me, that was restrained.  I walked away before I made her cry.

I was still pondering on this conversation well after I got home this evening.  Is it cheap to make my own cards and gifts?  Does not spending a fortune on Christmas mean that I love my family and friends less than someone whose credit card gets a pounding each year?  No, I don't think so and I bet a million crafters out there would agree.  If anything, spending hours thinking about something special and personal and then actually making it shows you really care enough to notice what other people like and what's important to them. So what if it looks a bit "homemade" - that's because it is!  And you know it's going to be around a lot longer than some bit of soul-less tat.

And then I got to thinking about the macaroni.  Seriously?  Is that the impression people get when they hear the word "craft"?  There is some beautiful stuff out there.  You only have to look in places like Etsy and Folksy to find crafters who are bursting with talent.  People who are dedicated to quality over quantity, and have the creativity to adapt and develop their work to make unique pieces each time.  I am even sure there are people out there who do great work with dried pasta, too.

So, here's to all you crafters and creators, for keeping old traditions alive, bringing them into the crazy twenty-first century and filling our lives with your wit, beauty and imagination.

Wishing you all a fantastic 2012.

Lara at HobbityDog x

Just A Little Teaser...

A sneak preview of a table runner I'm making for Christmas.  I was inspired by the printed fabric from Stitch Me Lane, on Folksy.  It's a great mix of random patterns and block shapes which are good to cut out.  There's no plan, it's a kind of organic design so it will develop over the weeks.

Where Did The Last Few Weeks Go?

Last thing I remember, it was the middle of October!  Still, they say time flies when you're busy.  I have managed to finish stitching a baby blanket for my newest nephew.  I did start it in May, when he was born, but got distracted in the summer - the garden and vegetable patch were too tempting to spend time sitting indoors.  It wasn't until my brother gave me four weeks notice of the christening that I thought I'd better get a wriggle on.

I swear I ironed this before I took the photo!

I've also started embroidering a Christmas table runner for my Mum and the Christmas cards are now done, so I've been busy.

Forced to tidy up my crafting space in the loft due to an imminent visit from the plumber (the access to the cisterns is up there), I was rather alarmed to discover I must be developing into a real crafter.  The clue?  I have STASH!  A pile of fabric scraps that I have picked up along the way, all with a grand plan attached to them. I've even caught myself looking at clothes in my wardrobe thinking "I could recycle that".

Even more alarmingly, I have used the iron more in the last month than I have all year.  The reason is Bondaweb, the one thing the amateur appliquer cannot live without.  This stuff is marvellous.  You draw your image on the paper side, iron it onto your fabric, cut it out and then peel off the paper backing.  You're left with a shape that you can iron onto whatever it is you're decorating and stitch round it.  I've even used it to applique onto a greetings card.

I usually wear a Remembrance Day poppy from the first of November but fed up with losing numerous paper poppies each year, and not forgetting the time one ended up in the wash, I decided to make my own.  I had quite a bit of red felt left over from last Christmas.  Using iron-on interfacing to reinforce the petals, I cut out two flower shapes.  I then attached a nickel brooch pin onto the back of the larger back piece and waddled a running stitch in a circle in the centre.  Pulling the thread tight a bit forms a shallow bowl, giving the flower a nice shape.

The smaller top piece just has black long stitch to add some texture.  The whole thing is finished off with a black button.  The first poppy has a self cover button with black aida.  I used spotty black buttons for the others.  I prefer these personally and they are just less fiddly.

When I get organised, I'll made a load next year to sell to raise money for the Poppy Appeal.  Afterall, it's the least I can do now that I'm not spending money on replacing all those lost poppies.