Seeing as I've got a few heart-shaped items in my Folksy shop I've decided to offer free shipping on all items up to Valentine's Day. I think the faceted Carnelian hearts are particularly seasonal and I may have to make an extra one for myself!

www.kirajones.co.uk
http://kirajonesjewellery.blogspot.com/
http://folksy.com/shops/kirajones

Yes, I've stuck to my decision of taking a month off from making jewellery to sell and I've been getting some sewing done when I've had time instead. Last week I had quite a few teaching commitments and medical check ups so sewing time was very limited but I did manage to finish 2 projects that I started over Christmas. You can see the results on my blog. I've also been experimenting with PMC. I'm doing level 2 of the MCSJ diploma in February so I need to practice but I had done very little since last summer. I have been playing with a few ideas, though, and following a couple of tutorials. I'll post the finished items if they're good enough or maybe put them into scraps.

I will start the jewellery-making again soon and to get me ready for that I ordered some nice new beads the other day. I've been advised that I should make my jewellery in collections rather than just what I feel like at the time. I'm going to try doing this but I think it will be very difficult for me. Currently I just look through all my beads and see what jumps out but I'm going to have to start designing things properly. Well if I want to be a pro then that's what I have to do!

www.kirajones.co.uk
http://kirajonesjewellery.blogspot.com/

I've been doing loads of sewing over Christmas - it's been great! I haven't got anything finished yet because I kept coming across problems or realising that I needed a different type of interfacing or something but at least I got started. It was kind of a refuge as we had someone to stay, a relative of my husband, that I'm not too keen on. It was just easier to stay out of the way and sew. Even though nothing's finished yet I'm really happy that I'm getting somewhere and I'll try to post when they're finally done.

I also resurrected an old blog that I haven't used in years. I'd just like to start sharing my textiles and becoming more involved in the online textiles community. The address is http://kirajonesjewellery.blogspot.com/ if anyone would like to take a look. There's only 1 post on there so far, but it's a start!

www.kirajones.co.uk
http://kirajonesjewellery.blogspot.com/

So, what is it that's kept me away from DA for so long? I've just been busy really.

I've kept up with selling my jewellery at craft fairs, which have had mixed success this year but in general been better than expected in the current financial climes. I've expanded my stockists to 4 galleries which was one of my aims for this year.

I've also been teaching - first it was short adult courses but I've now committed to teaching a more formal adult education course and I've also completed a term of being a visiting artist trying to teach jewellery-making to a class of 11 year olds. That last one has been a particular challenge but I got through it and I've actually agreed to teach another term. I will change the lessons a little bit but it's amazing that I'm actually doing this now and being fairly successful.

In April I went on a resin-moulding course which was great fun and I loved being in the creative atmosphere of West Dean College, West Sussex but I didn't enjoy the amount of finishing that each piece needed. I want to re-visit the resin in the new year but in a slightly different style with hopefully less polishing required! I also went down to Cornwall in June to start a diploma in Precious Metal Clay. Again, great fun with nice, creative people and I've booked to go back and do level 2 in February - must get practicing!

One thing I was disappointed about was that I didn't have much time for my textiles work. It's lack of time-management on my part I think so that's something to work on in the new year. I need to get a better balance between all my different roles - teacher, textiles artist and garment sewer, jewellery-maker, housewife, employed gallery assistant - it seems endless! Something to focus on after Christmas I think.

Speaking of Christmas, I hope you all enjoy whatever winter holidays you celebrate and have some pleasant moments with family and friends.

I'm back! Well, I never really went away. I've been checking DA - looking at deviations and reading other people's journals, but just haven't felt like posting for a while. I've been pretty busy with a number of things, not least finding out more about myself and trying to grow into who I really am. I think I've been doing a pretty good job of it, though, and I a lot of new things have happened to prove it. I'll try to get some newer work posted and keep you up-to-date with the changes in my life. Thanks to everyone who waited for me