Baskets!! and giveaway update

Welcome to new followers!!

Baskets seem to be popular!
I spent a happy day yesterday making more baskets and trays. I'm not really happy with the trays, as I made the bases from some .6mm veneer - two pieces glued in different directions. They were fine until I saw them this morning - they'd been in the sun and had curled a bit. Not too noticeable, but I'll have to work on improving the method.
The four black ones are Hogwarts themed colours.

Giveaway update - I have added two more basket sets, so now there will be seven winners.
See previous post for pics.

It's on March 31st - good luck!

Thankyou giveaways to followers!

I can't believe that I have 66 followers! When I started my blog I didn't really think that anyone would want to know about my ramblings and inventions. But here you are!! Thankyou!
I know that I have neglected to name you all, but I do welcome you whenever you visit, and I'm trying to keep up with reading your own blogs. There's such a lot of amazing work there!

As a thanks I'm offering five different giveaways - to enter, all you have to do is be a follower, and make a comment here - if you give an indication of your preference(s), it will help to decide the choice when I draw the names, which will be on the 31st of March.

1. Leather bucket and costrel (drinking bottle) - for a medieval, Tudor or colonial setting.
2. Wizard's set - hexagonal shag-pile rug in black and purple, and 4 Harry Potter wands 1.5" (3.75cm) long.
3. Feathers and shells - the feathers at the back are finely detailed and can be cut down like the 3 near the peacock feather. The feathers on the left are real miniature peacock feathers, and some have a green shine. The shells I gathered from local beaches - the longest is half an inch (1.25cm) long.
4. Rugs set - the thick-pile blue and purple rug is 4.75" (12cm) long.
5. Baskets set. The two baskets on the left are based on a pattern by Kat the Hat (Dollshouse World Dec 2007). See her Witchy Blog (here)
6. Baskets set
7. Baskets set

I'm happy to post anywhere worldwide.

Mini-free zone

I started by searching for something, and ended up finding things I hadn't looked at for a very long time.
This clothing is based on archaeological finds - the yellow and brown is Finnish Viking (traders not raiders!), and the white and blue is Anglo-Saxon. The fabric is linen and wool, and all visible seams are handsewn in stitches known in those time periods. The accessories are modern-made reproductions of authentic pieces. The belts are card-woven.
The flared undergowns are each cut from a single large rectangle of fabric, with nothing wasted - if you spin and weave it yourself you want to use it all!
My efforts aren't totally accurate (and the shoes are modern), but it's fun to dress up!
There are also my little hoards - the one with beads is all Viking, and the other is neolithic, Roman and Anglo-Saxon.
I never found what I was looking for.

Flowers and vases

Since I've had no joy at all this week making things - Murphy's Law - I'd like to share some flowers and vases from my collection.

The ivy and Queen Anne's lace are from kits by Bonnie Lavish (here)- I added some Flower Soft to the top of the Queen Anne's lace. It's in a vase by Jon Almeda. His handmade ceramics are amazing! (here)
The lilacs are from a kit by Ruth Hanke at Hanky Panky Crafts (here). They are in a green glass vase from Kerbey Lane Miniatures at eBay (here).
The daisies and lily-of-the-valley pots are from kits by SDK Miniatures (here). I 'mossed up' the pots with a little acrylic paint. The daisies are in a turned wood vase by Berties Miniatures at eBay (here) and his Etsy shop (here).

If you're of a witchy or medieval mind, check out the gothic furniture kits in three scales at SDK minis while you're there.

My project in print!

Check out Dolls house and Miniatures Scene magazine (#190, April 2010)- my article on how to make rush matting is in there!
Woo hoo!! I'm in print!
Also in this issue is an article on the tiniest mini butterflies by Julie Cissell aka Gods Flying Flowers at Etsy - sweet!

Journals, or What I Do When I Should Be Doing Something More Important

Very therapeutic, these little journals. Easy to make, and a great time waster!
The one with the pencil is made of possum skin. (Possums are a noxious pest in New Zealand - they kill native birds by eating the eggs and chicks, damage native plants and spread tuberculosis to cattle and deer. Here, the only good possum is a dead one!) The leather has the look of woodgrain, it's thin and feels like honey or olivewood.
Then I wasted more time by wondering why English pencils are red and American pencils are yellow. It involves Elizabethan monopolies, and a nineteenth century French gold panner in Siberia. If you're interested, read more in 'Colour' by Victoria Finlay - a fascinating book on the history of pigments.
But I digress, and I'm still avoiding That Work.

Hunting gear for my medieval man

Woke up at 6am with this in mind. I'd tried last year to make leather hawk hoods, but they were thrown in the bin in a fit of frustration. This time it's gone a bit better, and the glove has too. Hawking gloves are great - you only have to make one!!
The hood is 7mm across (.25"). Not something to be attempted with the coffee jitters! No perch or jesses yet, and does anyone know where I can find 3mm or 4mm bells?
And what would any workplace be without a cat sprawled on it? This is Sam.
And my man can't decently go hunting yet as I haven't made him any clothes.