My Makes

This is the last blog post of 2011, my blog has been a bit quiet since I've been taking some time off from the madness of December which included writing a journal paper, covering lessons and marking, but 2012 expects to be a bigger and busier year for me as I'm hoping to finish my thesis when my funding ends at the end of July. I already have lots of excellent things planned but thought I would finish the year with a post of some of the things I knitted as Christmas presents for people.

These are hot water bottle covers that I made using a simple garter stitch and basic pattern which I made up myself, the colours were chosen by the recipients and the buttons have snowflake details to be give a wintery feel. They were pretty easy so I am in the middle of making one for myself too.  
 

The next item is a tea cosy which was requested by the recipient, I decided to use green as I know that many items in her kitchen are lime green,  The tea pot is from Whittards and has the same star detail which can be seen on the mugs, the stars inspired me to think of a circus theme so the tea cosy design is loosely based on the stripes of a big-top tent (attaching the bobble on top made me particularly angry). I placed a miniature bottle of gin within the tea pot as a secret surprise.   

 
I hope that everyone had a excellent Christmas and has a happy new year. Although I am enjoying the rest I am looking forward to diving back into my work.

Charles Leadbeater Talk

On Thursday I went to the Cornerhouse Cinema to hear Charles Leadbeater do a talk called 'Improvers, Entertainers, Shockers and Makers: A Guide to Modern Culture'. Charles Leadbeater has been extremely influential to my thesis and I found his book 'We Think: Mass Innovation not Mass Production' extremely inspiring when I was trying to work out what I wanted to write about.

The talk was fantastic, it took a little while to warm up but when it did I remembered everything that I liked about Leadbeater's philosophies and how it applies to my own work. I found his opinions particularly interesting during the Q and A session afterward. 

I managed to have a quick word with Charles Leadbeater at the end of the session to tell him how influential his book has been on my work and he seemed pleased, I also managed to get my booked signed, my copy of this book is actually battered as I've made so many notes in the margins.

I highly recommend Leadbeater's work for ideas and information about the benefits of sharing ideas and collaboration. 

Interview with Kate Day

Of course all of my interviewees have been wonderful but I consider it to be a great privilege that I was given the opportunity to speak with Kate Day - Director of Manchester Craft and Design Centre.

The Manchester Craft and Design Center is one of those rare places that makes Manchester special, completely unique to the city it houses a community of makers and provides a welcoming space for them to sell their products.

The director Kate Day is an extremely intelligent woman, her grasp on craft, technology and their place within culture is unsurpassed. Kate possesses a deep authority on these subjects which is built on authenticity and professionalism.

The Manchester Craft and Design Centre is very lucky to have someone like Kate Day looking out for their best interests and I was just as lucky to be able to speak to her for my research, the insights and information she has provided me have been invaluable and I thank her for her time.