Gillian Lee Smith

A wee gift to myself

A wee gift to myself, originally uploaded by gilfling.

A couple of posts ago I mentioned that one of the things I wanted to do this year was to make more time to make things 'just because'. I do find, as somone who 'makes and creates' for a living, that often (if not all the time!) making things for myself is always last on my list of things to do. Infact if I was to be honest, I don't always make things for my loved ones either and I would definitely like this year, to remedy that.

So in an effort to kick start this more relaxed approach to creating, I gifted a few craft books to myself and am itching to begin making time in the evenings, cosied up under a blanket crocheting and knitting things for my home, accessories for myself and gifts for friends and family (infact I have already started!). I am a 'Novice Knitter' (note the capitals for emphasis!) only knitting and purling to a beginners standard with no clue of increases and decreases and yarn cross overs and such like. As for crochet, which I have used in many of my accessories, I only have a rudimentary understanding of how the stitches work and much of what I do is by luck rather than understanding a pattern.

So this year I have a few things that I definitely want to make - a granny square blanket, a pair of socks, a hat and some wee homely things to perk up our rather plain, neglected and boring decor. Amongst all this is a desire to gain some balance between my work life and down time and enjoy the leisurely, relaxing process of taking my time over making things ... just because I can.

PS - the books above are, from the top to the bottom

Lacy Crochet by Chronicle Books
Luxury One Skein Wonders by Judith Durant
200 Crochet blocks for blankets, throws and afghans by Jan Eaton

(links are all to amazon.co.uk)

I have already started a crochet doily and small mat from the lacy crochet book, bought some gorgeous silk yarn on sale to make either some wrist warmers or a scarf from the luxury yarn book and planning to sort my yarn out and figure out the colours I still need to purchase in order to begin the collection of granny squares I need to make that blanket! So I am well on my way and have been loving curling up on our new sofa and just enjoying the slow rhythm of crocheting.

(Next post I will show the few art books I have also purchased to aid me in my journey back into painting!)

New Studio!!

New Studio!!, originally uploaded by gilfling.

Well it is hard to believe that we have now been living in this house for over a month and my studio has been set up (in a fashion) for most of that time. It really was a priority for me to get this room in a workable state as soon as I could and although I am getting there, boxes are still to be unpacked and spaces are still to be found for things.

As vast as this room seemed on first sight, I am still suprised at how easily it has been to 'fill it' and every corner is home to something or other. What space does afford me, however, is the ability to actually move around and spread my work around without feeling inhibited or as if I am constantly tripping over something (other than the rug which I have put down to protect the cream coloured carpet for when I am painting - this rug stubbornly refuses to lay flat and curls up creating tunnels under which threads gather, and over which I am constantly and fustratingly tripping).

This room in the house was, I guess built for the purpose of being the main bedroom and is on the second floor. Apart from the staircase up to it and a small cupboard outside the door, it actually fills the floor plan of the entire house. Behind this photo is another 5 or 6 feet of floorspace only made smaller by the sloping ceilings. Indeed I feel very fortunate to have this space and it has been and is a joy to work in - just far enough away from the main body of the house so as not to be too distracted by dishes and other chores, but with the much wished for access of stairs rather than the dreaded and dangerous (to me) ladders of my last home studio space! I still need to completely clear my painting studio (a 'must do' job for this week) and my painting area will be to the left of the photo above which is nearest the one and only window in the room (the only teeny weeny negative aspect of the space as the window is quite small and the light only really reaches half of the room so lighting purchase have been made which do help a great deal).

If you have a look at the image on my flickr page you can see my notes describing the various storage in the shelves and I hope to take more photos soon of the other sides of the room once I have a few more boxes unpacked! I had almost waited until the room was 'tidy' to show you but actually I soon realised that this is my 'workspace' and as such it is never going to be beautifuly neat and 'publication worthy' so best just get on with it and show you it as it is meant to be!

We are away camping for a couple of days this week so I do hope you are enjoying your summer days no matter the weather and I will have more photos to show you soon!

Take care

A wash out, a result, and a discovery

Hello! I do hope you had a wonderful weekend. (aplogies for the picture-less posts, time and creativity are in short supply around here at the moment!)

So Sunday it rained and it poured - our plans of a day out in sunshine to the Southwell Folk Festival ended up a complete washout unfortunately.  Being Scottish I would not normally let the weather bother me that much (we have been known to take midnight walks in torrential rain in summer clothing just for the delight of feeling that freedom of not caring) but with the beginnings of a potential cold, sniffles and the fact that it was so bloomin freezing I whimped out and we ate our picnic in the house amongst the packing boxes and mess. It was a shame as Mark had made a trip to our favourtie deli for lots of nice cheeses and pate and other treats and my other early birthday gift was a picnic set! Still it was fun nonetheless and we played card games, chatted, laughed, talked about 'new house stuff' and listened to music against the background noise of the rain outside. Ho hum - I am sure we will get the full use out of that picnic set during the summer though.

So using the random number generator we have a recipient for the print in return for comments on my new website. Really I cannot thank you enough for all your feedback - not being very creative in terms of internet and graphics and layouts I was so unsure of how my website would be received but really I have had some lovely comments. In particular on the colour scheme, design and ease of use which is encouraging as I wanted the background to be simple in order to show off my work (hopefully) so, really, thank you ever so much.

So the name and number drawn to receive a print is Tricia Scott. Tricia's blog is actually a new discovery for me, but is a peaceful, serene place to stop by and her artwork is beautiful. Tricia I shall email you for your details!

And another discovery is this fabulous store. In my part time job I can end up driving through lots of little villages in Nottinghamshire and stopping for a sandwich I was delighted to find this absolute treasure trove. Packed floor to ceiling with offcuts and vintage furnishing and upholstery fabrics I cannot wait to begin planning the decor of our new home. I do plan to make most of the curtains and blinds (gulp!) and with a limited budget and no real idea of how to even begin this task, this is a find indeed. Once we are moved in I can begin to think about colours and textures and as we cannot paint for at least the first 12 months it will be wonderful to think of personalising the space through fabric - tell me I am not over-optimistic please!! After all, I have not made a curtain or even a cushion cover in my life before - I do figure though that if I can make a costume, I should be able to make a curtain don't you think?

See you soon. x

On the Move!!!

Taking over, originally uploaded by gilfling.

Hello! Well today I am beside myself with excitement as...................

we are moving house!! Ok so not for another month yet, and of course we have to go through the absolute trauma of packing and actually moving but at this point I don't care about all that, I am just excited!

It is a new build which as anyone who knows me.... knows.... I am more a lover of old buildings full of character and victorian fireplaces and lots of wood and bumpy, marked walls which show their age and the remnants of their past inhabitants....uhm yep just like the house we are in now infact. But....... this house new house will be a real step forward for us in eventually owning our own home so it is the perfect time. There are so many other bonuses too!! Three storeys which means I get the room at the top all to myself (this space is huge in comparison to my workroom right now) and it has stairs to it!!! Right now I am climbing ladders to my workspace and have had a few bad falls down them trying to carry too much so this is a real blessing.

Also I will be giving up my painting studio and combing both workspaces which I am over the moon about. Right now I don't have room in either space for everything but I have been far from clever about using my painting studio lately so really this is a dream for me.

We will have a small garden and a kitchen which is a decent size for actually cooking, also room to entertain and have friends over which has been difficult up till now. I love the house we are in at the moment, it's character and quirks and charm and painted walls and tiny overgrown garden and will miss it, but really this is a huge step for us. I just want to be there already!! I can't wait to get in and see how everything will fit and to really enjoy having lots of space to work in and feel newly inspired - I will make sure to take photos of it as we go.

Unfortunately we can't decorate for at least a year so it is 'magnolia city' but I am looking forward to the challenge of making it 'our own' on an extremely limited budget (when I say limited, what I really mean is non-existent). Also with the potential that someday in the near future it could actually be 'ours' rather than just 'somebody else's' I am inspired to put our stamp on it with furnishings and accessories - so any advice, hints and tips will be much appreciated! I do have plans to make as much as I can myself, such as curtains and cushion covers which will really be a first for me but it is time that I worked on some things for us and not just for 'work'. Unfortunately things like fridge/freezer and washing machine have to take priority in our list of purchases but we are off to the auctions this weekend, not to buy, but just to look to see what kind of things are available and then will hopefully go back once we are actually in our new home.

Can you tell I am having trouble sleeping by the amount of exclamation marks I am using at the moment!!!!!

Oh and the above picture is not our new 'home to be' (whew!) but one of a few photos I took whilst visiting my family last month - some of them were the inspiration for Gwenda's story.

The tour continues inside.......

Good morning to you!! I hope you all had wonderful weekends, adventures, misadventures, relaxation time and general all round loveliness going on. My weekend mostly involved work as after having my family down to stay with us last week and my up and coming weekend away (more on that later) and the fact that I am still trying to catch up after the house move I really just needed to get my head down to some work. I had a wonderful day at my studio on Saturday which mostly involved me trying to get past the panic and fear of the work that I am trying to do at the moment (sometimes pressure is a good thing, sometimes it sends me into a state of panic - this is completely normal and I actually think in a way necessary for me - all part of the madness of the creative process) but it meant that I did loads of sketchbook work and I think that is what I really needed to do - I have a million and one ideas brewing for new artwork and this time of development is just as, if not more so, as important as the actual creation of the final pieces. I have a big project on the go at the moment which is really important to me and I really want to create my best work yet for it - I will be revealing details soon!!! I don't like having to be so secretive but I don't want to jinx it either! I think I may take some updated photographs of my painting studio as it has changed quite a bit in the time that I have been working there recently!

Yesterday was spent working in this lovely space which is my new loft working space!! (Excuse the wonky photographs - the first one was taken from the ladders which lead up to the space). I have been so excited to show you this as I am really in love with it. It is a great room to work in on my commisions and costumes and as you can see it is just spacious enough to not feel cramped or overcrowded. However I really need to keep my painting studio too!!! Mark is exasperated with me at the moment as I had promised to give it up to help facilitate the house move but I have a whole room full of stuff down at the painting studio and the thought of bringing it all home to here and crowding this lovely room up with easels and tables of paint - well I just cannot bear the thought - I really need both spaces!!!!

Does that sound selfish?? I hope it doesn't. The fact is I know how lucky I am to have either one and I adore them both. It feels like a good balance and I know that it is good for me to get out of the house to another space for a few days a week too. So we shall see what the future holds!!! I do apologise for the childish tantrum.

It's funny - I see so many photographs of beautiful studio spaces where everything looks as it has been placed there for a reason, it all perfectly co-ordinates, the shelves are stacked neatly, everything has it's place - and mine looks like a bit of a jumble compared to those!! But nevermind. I adore it all the same. Yes there are still boxes to unpack, yes there are those hideous but perfectly functional plastic storage boxes (I have yet to find the perfect, aesthetically pleasing but holds everything I want it to hold-storage solution) but this space functions just as it is supposed to. Perhaps it is my lack of photography skills that means this space does not look like those spaces I admire - as to me, this space feels just as wonderful as they clearly are!

There are corners of this home that I am looking forward to developing and beautifying even more. The bedroom (the colour of which has taken me a wee while to get used to - but I am getting there) needs warm and inviting rugs and definitely more artwork. My small and ever increasing collection of vintage handbags will hang on the wall along with a selection of prints which I have yet to purchase (the heart is willing but the funds are low at present) and I am also playing with the idea of making a wonderful blanket for the bed - I just need to decide what form it shall take - crocheted afghan or ripple effect blanket such as the one here or my very first quilt - Mmmm decisions, decisions.

I have never really had the space or had the freedom to have lots of things around me and to express myself  by decorating my surroundings as much as I feel the desire to at the moment. Inspired by homes I see in blogs (I mean how can you not be inspired by homes and spaces such as this and this (and so many more) and all the wonderful creations I am constantly exposed to at the moment is really encouraging me to want to be much more expressive in the way that I view my home - so watch this space!!

Ok my dears, I best be off and back to work (in the loft today - currently working on a medieval dress and that wedding commission simulataneously) so just to finish and let you know that this piece (Collecting the Past) is now available as a reproduction print from my etsy shop. I am still catching up on the weeks of blogs that I could not read so am not able to comment on blogs too much at the moment but I am till visiting!!! Have a wonderful day whatever you might be up to. xxx