Love it or Hate it!

I started making these little Harris Tweed soft-filled houses earlier this year. I had high hopes of making a whole street of them! I loved using the earthy shades of tweed which was quite a departure for me, and thought the sharp contrast of the black and white felt embellishments worked well.

When I photographed them in a little group like this, they reminded me of the houses of Main Street on St Kilda, which is a remote group of islands off the West Coast of the Outer Hebrides. No longer inhabitated by the original population, St Kilda holds a real fascination.

I didn't subconsciously set out to make these houses in any particular way, they just 'emerged'. I think this is a common occurrence amongst crafters, whereby creations tend to evolve and somehow magically 'work'. However, my other half can't see any beauty or merit in this particular design, and the reaction has been mixed from other folk too - but I love them! The 'naive', simplistic design isn't to everyone's taste. I know you have to listen to other's opinions and take them into consideration, but sometimes I think you have to stick with it regardless!

On a similar theme I designed a 'wee hoose' collage card which is still a bit of a prototype. I thought it might make a fun 'new home' card, but it hasn't made it into my shop yet! I enjoyed making it but like many things it may remain as a wee bit of experimentation and go no further.

If you've ever visited St Kilda and these houses bear absolutely no resemblance, I apologise! I've recently started to add a sprinkling of lavender inside the stuffing to give them a delicate fragrance. I quite like the woolly smell of Harris Tweed myself!

Have you ever made, designed, a piece of work and others didn't quite "see it"? I'd love to hear your experiences. Did you stick with it? Love it or hate it?

You can read more about St Kilda here.

"Oidhche Mhath!" (That's "Good Night" in Gaelic and there endeth tonight's lesson!)