art equals happy.

Pink and Green. :: Dyeing & BA Illustration.

At college- we are preparing some work for an external exhibition, at a pretty famous design agency in London. There are several restrictions that all of our work has to conform to. It's got to be presented in a white frame and we are only allowed to use two colours- Pink and Green. A lot of people are doing prints, where the colours can be overprinted to create a kind of grey/purple, and of course there's always the question of how opaque do you want the colours to be etc... 

To make sure that I could really control the colours, and that they would been consistent- I decided to dye my wool! As Green is one of the hardest colours to achieve in Natural Dyeing- I opted for the quicker 'dye packet' method. I know, I know... but I've never tried Woad or Indigo dyeing before, and as it's a pretty tight deadline, I just needed to get it done. haha. Still- I managed to 'mix' the colours nicely until I got the perfect shades. I took some process photos too, to share with you:I did a lot of experimenting. Some were too yellow or taupe, and the navy mix never really lightened enough to be green. haha! Eventually I got there..It was incredibly fun to play with the ratio of water to dye, and how long to soak and mixing the yellow and different blues. I also tried mixing the pink and green dyebaths, but they didn't really come out- so I'm sticking to this lot (down below). I got the colours approved by the curating team- now I just need to actually knit the designs I've been making. eep! Here they are all spun and rolled into balls/cones- ready to be knitted up!
Love you, Kimxo

Today at college... :: BA Illustration.

I've just got to share this with you because I've been filming all day and I'm really excited about it! As part of Channel, one of the productions is an Under The Sea Music Video. My friends made the set and organised everything- I was just being the camera woman today (which I LOVE doing). It's so so so so nice to be behind the camera for a change. haha. And we were filming Dave- a good friend with a great beard, so that was a plus. The set is super amazing, all handmade props out of cheapo stuff that really makes it look and feel like a coral reef. We used bubbles and crazy lighting effects too. 
Ok- It's time for a rest and then our year is doing another fundraising event, this time it's called QUIZZARD. Basically, a pub quiz, but wizard themed. (No- I didn't come up with it. But it's the kind of thing I would, huh?! haha. Wizards.)
Big loves, Kimxo
(Photo taken with instagram.) 

Story Socks. (Stage 2) :: Knitting Adventures.

(See stage 1 here.) One of my favourite parts about blogging- is giving myself an excuse to photograph things half-way-through. I always like finding out more about people's process. Seeing as I shot these socks right at the beginning, it was only fitting that I took a few more snaps along the way.Each line or section of these socks has different colourwork on it- which should remind me of what I was doing at the time. :] It's been a super fun experiment and these are the longest socks I've made so far. I'm now on the second one and it's still just as great. Sometimes, you've just got to make it up as you go along...

Wool display. :: Flat 5 & My Life & Workspace.

So- after 2 years of living in my little flat, I am finally getting things up on the walls! Haha, I'm so bad, I know. I've needed a good way of storing my little odds and ends of wool, and since I'm running out of floor space, I couldn't just have a big bucket of wool. I love organising my things by colour- especially wool, so this is what Mum and I came up with!
The baskets are a good size, because they don't stick out that far from the wall either way, and are a simple design so you really notice the colours. We just hung them on nails (two for each) and I can easily take them down (lets say, if I was working on something with lots of greens) for projects.There's no magic tricks here- you just need to pack as many balls of wool so that none fall out- they will hold eachother up. [:It's so pretty to look at, and gets me inspired everyday when I wake up! Negs isn't too sure about it though, becuase it means less balls that she can play with. haha.Love, kxo.

p.s. how fun would it be to have a whole big wall full of different sized baskets all hanging with wool in them! <3

Madder Test Dyeing. :: Natural Dyes.

Hi everyone! I've set up a little dyeing station in my house. [: Now I have the perfect place to hang skeins of wool that are drying. I'm secretly hoping that the drips stain the wall a rainbow of pretty colours too! hehe.In this batch I tried dyeing Madder for the first time, some tea bags and the leftover dyebath of some bark from this day.The madder came out much pinker/oranger than I had hoped- but I think my chalk-to-root ratio was off.So here we go, some close ups... Madder:Tea bags: (it's more brown in real life)And the left over bark dyebath:Love, Kimxo

Test Dyeing with Emma. :: Natural Dyes.

I've been talking about Natural Dyes a lot lately- and a knitting friend of mine- Emma loved the idea & collected some bark and leaves to try. We made a day of it and dyed some pre-spun 100% wool. I did a huge batch of Mordanting the day before, and we had the bark soaked already- so we cut up the leaves and simmered them seperately from the barks & tried it out...It was really exciting to see the results. We kept little pieces of paper in the pots to remind us which dyebath was from which plant- and it dyed the paper too, which was handy for identifying afterwards. :]It's amazing the colours in nature! kimxo

First Timers. :: Natural Dyes & DIY

If you're thinking of trying out Natural Dyeing- I highly reccommend getting a book or two on the subject. Although there is a nice section in my college library about this- not any one book really did the trick. Get a couple and cross refernence- It's such a subtle science (kind of like potion making!) that everyone has thier own favourite ways.
One of the books that I found was about Dyes from the Kitchen- and this was a great, inexpensive (and quick- some plants and bark need to be soaked for 24hrs- 2 weeks. So check ahead!) way to try my hand at Natural Dyes. Jazz came over and we spent all day playing! The one thing you will need is a Mordant! (It's the stuff that opens up the wool/fibre/fleece/fabric and lets the dye really get stuck in.) I used Alum- and it was pretty simple- if not long-winded. 

There's a lot of waiting around with dyeing- especially if you're Mordanting as well. But it's worth it because it's mysterious and exciting. The great thing about using stuff from your kitchen, is that you feel like you're doing something green! Instead of throwing your fruit peels into the trash or straight onto the compost- they can be used!We tried out lots of little batches- Orange Peel, Banana Skin, Spinach, Tea, and Coffee.The colours came out super light- but they look beautiful together, and it was a great first attempt. [:

What's In My Pencil Case? :: My Life & Workspace.

As promised- here is a peek into my pencil case/bag! I like to work with a lot of different media- so I found this really hard to write, actually! [: I decided to just show you my everyday supplies- like the things that always stay in my bag- the 'basics' if you will. I take these to all my lectures, meetings, outtings, classes, studio time etc.In my bag (minus keys, phone and DSLR)

1. Water bottle. I usually carry a snack with me too- in case I get faint.
2. Pencil case- This is getting very old now. I got it the first time I really explored London (2004??)
3. My Oyster/UAL cards. This gets me on the buses/tubes and also into college. Couldn't live without it!!
4. Wallet. Thrifted. :]
5. Pouch with extra lens. My friend Anna crocheted this pouch for me. <3
6. Masking tape.
7. Tissues, hair band, and pain killers. (Gotta be prepared!)
8. Watercolour packet.
9. Gloves for cold days/rides on Louie.
10. My two most trusty pens that are always clipped to the outside pocket of my bag.
11. Sketchbooks/Notebooks. Pictured here is my personal notebook, my blog book and my current project book.Here's a shot of the 'creative bits & what they look like in my bag....And below is what's inside of them!
-Crayons! I love the texture and easy application of these.
-Pencil Sharpener.
-Extra Memory card. (I usually have an extra battery too!)
-50mm Lens. I pretty much always carry this guy and my 18-55mm lens everywhere.
-Watercolour pencil crayons. Looooooove these! Newest obsession!!
-Little sharp scissors. They are called 'Cutter Bee' and are super super sharp. I like that they have a little protector & are light.
-Masking tape... Did I say that already? haha. Essential! Especially for in the Studio at college, for putting stuff up on the walls.
-Watercolour set! It's usually messier than this. haha. I use those squeezey tubes on paint just on top of the old little pot ones.
-Water brush pen! These things will blow your mind if you've never used them before. Seriously the best invention ever! It means that you don't have to carry around brushes and a pot of water with you- really handy for drawing out in the city or at galleries.
-Black Ink brush pen.
-White pen. (Perfect for writing over watercolour)
-Various Pencils.
-Big graphite stick for workshops/quick drawings.
-A brown coloured pencil (double sided).
-Slightly thicker felt tip. Favourite.
-These super super fine tip ball points are really universial, and actually make my writing look neat sometimes. haha.

I know people are probably going to ask me which kinds of pens I use- like the brands, but my advice to you is to go to your local art shop & try out some. Everyone writes/draws differently and this is the biggest thing in liking a certain pen. There are really good quality pens out there that I personally don't like using because of how I hold my pen/how hard I press. haha.
But- I will say that the Brush Pens are awesome! They can be kind of expensive- and if you're using Ink in them- make sure it's waterbased ink or it can get very sticky/messy or not flow through properly. They are usually available at art supply stores or try online.  

Well, I hope that was useful and interesting? I don't know. haha. I'm all about practicality. I've also had the same style of bag for ever. Also- just to say that I usually have some kind of knitting/crochet thing with me- but that totally depends on what I'm working on/where I'm going. 
Love you <3 

To ply or not 2ply- that is the question! :: Wool on the Wheel.

Hello! This is a blend I made- originally to be half of a yarn that would be used in my first jumper- but now that it is all spun up it's almost too pretty to combine with the turqouise below...What do you think? I wanted it to be playful and vibrant (as this will be the only handspun in my jumper, and the rest of the colours are browns, creams and mossy greens)- which is why I added in lots of touches of other colours. In the 'Apricot & Mustard' blend, I added bits of orange, yellow, grey and a teensy bit of red. And in the 'Turqouise', there are hints of apricot, mustard, jade(mohair!), grey and a pale lavendar.No idea if I'll ply them together or not. It was really really fun to design, card and spin so no doubt I'll make some more in the future... or something similar at least! Kimxo

p.s. Wool is so soft. <3 

Recent Lecture Notes. :: Camberwell B.A. & Sketchbooks.

I've been spending my free moments in the library looking up new processes I want to try. [:
I've beem drawing little things my friends have in thier pockets.
I've been doodleing possible knitting designs.
I've been going to some fun lectures.Kimxo