Another Altered Book!

Apologies for the delay in posting. I have a myriad of words due for this week and it has been difficult to find time for blogging. Oh essay season, you are delightful...

I made this altered book for my very good friend Beth. Our little posse decided to do a crafy kris kindle at Christmas time as we are all terribly impoverished! Ah... The toils of student/graduate life! I decided to make an altered book because I really enjoyed making the last one and think they look quite lovely!

The green backing paper, dried flowers and the paper butterflies are from Daintree Paper, a beautiful paper shop on Camden Street in Dublin. The owl is of course from the painting by Albrecht Durer and I just printed it out onto a piece of card.

I think that the real benefit of altered books is that they look very impressive and are such little effort to make. They can be made very quickly and provide an excellent blank canvas on which you can get really creative! If you want to make one yourself, I have written instructions here.

Thanks to Beth for taking the photos for me. You are a star!

I hope you all have a lovely week.

Brid x

A Virtuous Young Woman?

Since the theme of this blog is all things crafty I thought it might be fun, and a little different, to highlight a painting in The Wallace Collection, where I am currently a student, called 'The Lace Maker' in today's post. 'The Lace Maker' was painted in 1662 by Caspar Netscher, who was from the Netherlands and a contemporary of the famous Vermeer.

Netscher's painting depicts a young woman, seated and wearing simple clothes. As viewers we are directed around the painting by Netscher's clever use of light. First we notice the ray of light on the girl's bowed neck which in turn leads us to her shadowy profile, set against a stark white wall. Our gaze follows the sitter's gaze, down to her lap where her hands, emerging from the shadows cast by her red jacket, work skilfully at lace making.

The painting appears to depict a virtuous young woman engaged in a craft that will bring income to her family. However a closer reading of the work points to a deeper level of meaning, characteristic of such 17th Century Dutch genre scenes. Notice how the girl is surrounded by various objects. Each one has been included as a symbol, intended to be considered and thus an understanding of the girl's personality or circumstances drawn.

The mussel shells on the floor are a motif more familiar in brothel scenes. Shellfish were considered aphrodisiacs at this time and so are provokers of lust. The inclusion of the broom resting against the wall could be an indicator of the housework that fills her days but it is also a reminder of the story of The Prodigal Son which was well known at this time. In one episode of the biblical story the whore uses a broom to beat out the prodigal son once the inheritance is spent. Finally the shoes, which have been cast off untidily, remind the viewer of the act of undressing. They are meant as an indicator of the girl's questionable moral compass, which, it seems, isn't exactly pointing north.

Natalie Voorheis

Simple Shoulder Bag

Hello!

So my friend Jenni, crochet-er extraordinaire, recently taught me how to crochet. My first project was this shoulder bag for Clare. Getting the knack of the crochet-loop business was the only hard part, because the pattern could not be easier. You go around in a circle for a while, increasing the size, and then you stop increasing and just go around in a circle....forever. Or until you've reached desired size.

It's a great one to start crocheting with, and, because the pattern is so straight-forward, it's a great one for collapsing in front of the tv/radio with after a long day. Plus the circular rhythm of crocheting is pretty damn satisfying.

God it's just such a handy bag, now Clare can carry the essentials with her when she's cycling through her non-space!

My crochet on this was quite loose, I'm just on my second project now and am working on making it tighter. Clare is planning on lining the bag with some old fabric, which will make it a bit safer for coins and pens. When it came to the strap I decided to use an old leather belt, which I picked up in a charity shop for a euro, and then just raftily (/craftily) sewed on.

So yeah, give it a go! Crocheting is definitely the new knitting. (You heard it here first.) If you haven't crocheted before, you can either ask a friend who has to sit down with you till you get the hang of it, or you can go to youtube.

This isn't the exact pattern I used for this, but it's very close (and you don't need to consult it that much anyway).

If you happen to have a helluva lot of dreadlocks this pattern will make you a really nice hat too. and when you're just having one of those days...

So versatile.

Happy Sunday!

Joan

A Wee Elephant

I've always loved elephants.  Majestic and imposing giants one moment, adorably lumbering and awkward the next.  They also happen to be a delightful little knitting project.

This little guy was very quick and simple to make, taking only a couple of lazy winter afternoons to whip up.

Unfortunately the blog on which I found the pattern for this little fellow has been lost to some great internet purge.  Thankfully, however, there will always be a demand for little woolen elephants and so here's a link for an equally lovely pattern.

Happy crafting!

Emma x

Tea Cosy!

The ritual of tea-making is such an important part of everyday life. It is a balm for all problems, from exhaustion to bad news. Offering a cup of tea is a gesture of friendship, and the best way to welcome a visitor.

Increasingly, however, making tea only entails dunking a teabag into a mug of hot water. We believe it's high time the teapot was dusted off and returned it to its former iconic status- dressed up in proper ceremonial robes, in the form of a lovely handmade cosy.

This was my first foray into crocheting, and it turned out to be much easier than I had expected. I would definitely recommend this pattern to anyone looking for a simple beginners project. It is made entirely using double crochet stitch. The pink and yellow colours make it look a bit like a Battenburg cake- ideal for afternoon tea...

Here's a link to the pattern- you may need to alter it slightly to fit your own teapot!

I'll leave you with some words of wisdom from Billy Connolly:

“Never trust a man who, when left alone in a room with a tea cozy, doesn't try it on. ”

Clare x

Emily The Dinosaur.

This is my friend Fionn. Fionn and I spent a great deal of time together drinking tea, eating biscuits, chatting, listening to jazz and knitting dinosaurs.

Fionn had never knitted before and this was his first project. Pretty impressive eh? He is most definitely a natural.

Isn't she just lovely? Fionn named her "Emily" and now she is his beloved dinosaur friend.

 We have plans to knit sea creatures together in the near future so watch this space... An unholy knitting alliance we are!

We're going to be implementing some changes on the blog from this week going forth. Nat and I find ourselves so swamped with our Masters that we have not had enough time to dedicate to our beloved blog. We have decided to rope in three of our crafty friends to help us out.

Clare, Joan and Emma are all very talented knitters/crocheters so you'll be seeing their work on here as well as ours! Very exciting. It also means that you will see at least one post per week from Crafty Students. Now isn't that something to look forward to? I am mighty pleased and I hope you all are too!

Have a wonderful week!

Brid x

Merry Christmas from Crafty Students!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Natalie and Bríd. We hope you've all had an amazing day. Thank you for keeping up with the blog and for all your lovely comments!

Here are some Christmas cards Bríd made from vintage Christmas stamps.

Best Wishes,

Bríd & Nat