What are you watching? Part One

Another cold, bright day, and I spent the morning indoors, reluctantly dragging a vacuum cleaner around before getting down to the nicer task of adding wadding to the back of this patchwork.  Backing fabric's now tacked on, and it's ready to be stitched.  I also squeezed in some reading.  

I'm currently immersed in 'Transcription' by ever-excellent Kate Atkinson, who can be relied upon for a well-written book.  The book I recently finished - hmm, not so good.  I'd fancied a lightweight cosy crime, something easy, quick to read, and picked 'A Pen dipped in Poison' by J.M. Hall.  Oh my, I've never come across a story in which so many people sigh.  Characters sighing all over the place!  There's a fair amount of frowning too, and one character is constantly depicted as stirring a cup of coffee, supposedly to indicate thoughtfulness.  Seriously, if I was in a coffee shop with her I'd be snatching that spoon out of her hand and yelling 'For goodness sake, give it a rest!')

As with films, where most films can have 20 minutes lopped off them and be better for it, this is one of those books that could have a quarter edited out and it'd be an improvement.  I feel mean, being so catty about this book - after all, I admire anyone who's managed to snaffle a publishing contract and has their name on a book's spine - but the blurb promised 'Fans of Agatha Christie ... will be hooked from the very first page.'  Nope.  

Never mind, the book's heading for the local Co-op's charity bookshelf, so maybe it'll find a more enthusiastic reader.  

For today's post I thought I'd do something a wee bit different.  

One of the advantages of online access - and indirectly one of the advantages of there being very little on the telly I fancy watching - is I've been viewing lots of YouTube videos lately.  It's amazing what skills you can pick up by watching makers/artists/craftspeople at work.  So I'm recommending YouTubers that you might be interested in.  (Please let me know if any of the links are faulty.  Fingers crossed they work.)  

I'll leave my current near-obsessive viewing to last, and instead start with patchwork.  

If you love the saturated colour and pattern used by the likes of Kaffe Fassett, then wander by Terry Rowland's channel.  I particularly love her Colourwash Quilts, and you can find the first of those here.  She's a good teacher, clear and concise, and has also made videos about using selvedges which made you look at your fabric offcuts in a new way.  I've been making my own stack of Colourwash blocks (as pictured above) and when I've made - oh, about another hundred or so - I'll begin assembling my own version of her pattern.  

Okay, my next trio of YouTube channels are great for those interested in printing, specifically using a gell plate.  Though they're also good for anyone who likes collaging, stenciling, and printing on paper generally.  Elizabeth St Hilaire is an established artist and has produced over 300 videos, so you won't be short of something to watch!  If you're new to gell plates or an existing user who wants sensible advice about how to look after your gell plate, watch this.  Her prints are layered and rich in detail, and her enthusiasm's infectious.    

My own attempts at printing owe a lot of her mantra of 'layers, layers, layers!'  

If you like your gell prints to have big, bold motifs and vivid colours, Drew Steinbrecher has several short videos that're easy to view and fun.  Find him here.  There is also the channel run by Gelli Arts, and I'd particularly recommend those by Birgit Koopsen (who also uploads videos under her own name.)  There're over 500 videos on the Gelli Arts channel, and they're consistently colourful and inventive.  There're sections on image transfers, fabric painting, holiday crafts and printing books, journals and cards.  Here's your link to Gelli Arts.  

I think it was a Gelli Arts video that got me fabric painting and making these dolls.  

Okay, we move on to bookmaking.  No, nothing to do with gambling and bets on the horses.  These are videos about making simple notebooks and sketchbooks.  If you'd like to learn how to make a whole range of books that can be pretty and useful gifts for family and friends, I'd send you to Kit Davey and Kirsten Varga.  You genuinely don't need to buy lots of specialist tools or have a diploma in origami to produce a wide variety of styles.  

I made these notebooks as stocking fillers for the Christmas just gone.  They seemed to be well received.  

My next choice is my final one.  I've fairly recently come across Marion's World, as have a growing number of other people as her ever-increasing number of subscribers show.  She's gently spoken, very genuine and gives us a lovely glimpse into her life and many interests.  I'm learning a lot about embroidery from watching her stitch fabric bird and flower books, and enjoying her evident love of Nature.  If you hanker after fast, frenetic videos, this channel's not for you, but if you're drawn to slow stitching and a zero waste approach to crafting, then do yourself a favour and take a look.   

I hope some of that info's useful for you, and I'm planning to add more suggestions tomorrow.  Let me know if there're any recommendations you've stumbled across and been inspired by.  Happy viewing!