Tuesday, 1 March 2011

SewDanish: Celebrating w/ a week of FREE SHIPPING :-)

Fabric Covered Box
I so fortunate to belong to several great teams. One of the teams is the Etsy Twitter Team which is a team dedicated to using twitter to its fullest, as the powerful networking and marketing tool it is. The leaders behind the team are working very hard in the back ground and I'm full of admiration for all they do for the team.

Cell Phone / Camera Flowers
A returning feature of the Etsy Twitter team is to be chosen as The Shop Of The Week (SOTW). This week, from the 28th February - 6th March I'm the lucky one!
Please visit the Etsy Twitter Team Blog and read the lovely interview edited by Judy from wellspringcreations Its an interview about my background, textile art and shop. I hope you'll enjoy it!

Key Ring, Mini Hexagon
To celebrate being the Shop Of The Week I'm offering a week world wide FREE SHIPPING from England in my shop SewDanish - Scandinavian Textile Art  from the 28th February to the 6th March 2011 (GMT)

Monday, 28 February 2011

The color green, 1st UWIB bloghop.

                                    Large green contemporary bowl


In this first blog hop initiated by the Unique Women In Business (UWIB) the chosen theme is 'green'.
At the end of this post you will find a list of clickable links with all the participating blogs as well as links to our blog and Etsy team page. Please join the fun and visit all these lovely blog and remember that comments are much encouraged :-) Enjoy!

Green  is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue. On a color wheel based on traditional color theory the complementary color to green is considered to be red.

                               Woven, green golden basket

The word green is closely related to the Old English verb growan, “to grow”. It is used to describe plants or the ocean. Sometimes it can also describe someone who is inexperienced, jealous, or sick. In the United States of America, green is a slang term for money, among other things.

                                         Keyring handsewn fabric origami

Culturally, green has broad and sometimes contradictory meanings. In some cultures, green symbolizes hope and growth, while in others, it is associated with death, sickness, envy, or the devil. The most common associations, however, are found in its ties to nature.
Green is also associated with regeneration, fertility and rebirth for its connections to nature.
                                    Green flowers and soap                                   

The text above is an exurpt from 'Green' found on Wikipedia.




 Links UWIB: Etsy team page and UniqueWomenInBusiness blog

Participatings blogs in this first Unique Women In Business blog hop.
Enjoy your hop :-)
jmjcreations.blogspot.com
nestlingsbyrobin.blogspot.com
bellalindadesigns.net
WellspringCreations.blogspot.com
ritascreativenest.com
AudreyGardenLady.blogspot com
pocketfullofcolors.blogspot.com
harvestmoonbyhand.blogspot.com
mommagoddesstreasures.blogspot.com
aquarianbath.blogspot.com
delicateadornments.blogspot.com
nancyswildwirejewelry.blogspot.com
vintageday.com
capecodjewel.blogspot.com

Monday, 21 February 2011

Woven Basket - Blue Jeans Recycled



I have lately been exploring and pushing the boundaries for my woven / plaited baskets that I have been making for years and lately been selling in my shop SewDanish - Scandinavian Textile Art . In December I taught a basket weaving workshop using this traditional Scandinavian diagonal weaving technique. It was a great workshop, a lot of fun and most of my students left with a finished basket. It is a great pleasure passing on this old  basket weaving technique. It is so important to keep these traditional skills a live, so that they are not forgotten.



For a long while I have been weaving the baskets using recycled Danish newspapers. I love creating something so useful and unique from a humble newspaper and as an added bonus I can have little read while preparing the strips. 


While preparing for the above mentioned basket weaving workshop I was given a pair of totally well loved  blue jeans by a friend who knows, that I can pretty much find use for anything in my work. Having been cutting and preparing an endless number of strips, I instantly saw the trouser legs cut into strips and woven.  

                          
It was fun weaving the basket as the strips kind of took on an organic way of life adding a lovely relaxed look to this rustic basket. To stiffen the basket, making it less fabric like and firm to the touch, I decided to paint the basket with diluted acrylic paint. 

Tuesday, 11 January 2011

Textiles In Focus 2011 by Pauline Verrinder

                         

I'm so exited! Textiles In Focus is just around the corner! This great event organized by Textile Artist, Author and Tutor Pauline Verrinder is a total must for any textile/fiber art enthusiast and crafter and is not to be missed. I promise you will not be disappointed! The event will take place 25-27th February 2011 at Cottenham Village College just north of Cambridge, England.

Please take a look at the programme for all details about the exciting workshops, exhibitions,  demonstrations, lecture and all the lovely vendors. This years lecture will be by Dawn Thorne on 'Transparency and Dimension'. The two textile groups exhibiting this year will be 02 Textiles and Fibrefusion
The chosen charity for the very popular tombola is Alzheimer's Research Trust 

As a member of Fibrefusion I will be attending the event on most days. Do stop by and say hi  :-)

Friday, 31 December 2010

Happy New Year from Birgitte / SewDanish :-)



On this last day of the year 2010 I want to wish all a very happy and healthy new year.

2011 is going to be a busy and exciting year for me. I'm participating in several textile exhibitions with deadlines fast approaching. In one of my textile groups, Fibrefusion, we are writing our 5th book which accordingly to plan the book is due to be published in September 2011.
My list of projects for my shop SewDanish is ever growing and I'm so excited to get back sewing after my December travels to Copenhagen, Denmark. As the photos kind of show a lovely trip, but bitterly cold! Brr.... :-)

Right now my husband and I are in the middle of planning our trips for the coming year that will hopefully include a fair amount of hiking around England. We so want to walk part of  Hadrians Wall, so that is very high on our list. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Sunday, 12 December 2010

Interview with SewDanish and her folded stars




Last week I was contacted by the DesignStyleGuide if I wanted to be interviewed about my Christmas ornaments and shop.
The interview has just been published and I thought I share the link with you if you wanted to have a look
Interview with SewDanish and her folded stars

Monday, 8 November 2010

Autumn in Bury St. Edmunds


The other day I went uptown Bury St Edmunds where I live. It was such a beautiful, very mellow autumn afternoon with soft, hazy sunlight. On my way home I decided to take a short cut through the old Abbey and cemetery. And I'm so happy, that I had my camera in my purse.
 
I haven't been blogging much lately as I have spend less time on the computer. Amongst all the other things I'm involved in, I'm busy preparing for 2 upcoming workshop that I'll be teaching in a couple of weeks. The first is on my folded stars, the second one is on my woven baskets. It will be a lot of fun teaching the two techniques. Both are very traditional Danish crafts and it will be great passing the techniques on.