Living to work - Working to live

What a week - and it's only Wednesday!

2012-02-22T21:23:00.001Z

Well - a week to remember.

First of all City & Guilds Creative Textiles 2 started - that is my Monday evenings sorted out for the next 20 weeks or so.

It was great to see 3 other people from the last class I did - and of course lovely to see Jane again.

And the other highlight has been London Fashion Week, and in particular Menswear day today, when a certain Mr Kit Neale presented his debut collection. (remember all that unpicking?)

If menswear is your thing (and I am guessing from the profile of my followers that it probably isn't - but don't let that inhibit you) you can watch an interview with him and others here. (Proud mother moment!)

Right - on with my sketch book and mood board. That Jane is a hard task master!

I'm in! City and Guilds Creative Textiles Level 2 - here I come

2012-02-18T11:10:00.001Z

So I am just sorting out a few source photographs.

And I found this, which I think is rather lovely. Aspirational up-cycling in action.

This is in the dining room of a rather trendy boutique hotel in Clerkenwell, London. The dining room was divided by three of these - constructed using bits and pieces from rather unspecial furniture.

I am a bit lacking in the woodworking skills or I would try to replicate this idea for my sewing room, which I am determined to 'sort out'!

For the last course I did (C&G Creative Textiles level 1) I had one photo on which to start the creative journey. This time I don't have one image. I think I will use a number - and I know its a bit cliched - but I think I will use leaves as the starting point.

Anyway, looking forward to Monday evening. So exciting. Have treated myself to a new sketchbook! And I do love a new sketchbook.

February snow and crowning glory

2012-02-15T22:15:00.000Z

It has been a bit of an exhausting few days.

Last week it was travelling, this week it has been sewing - not my own stuff, but for designer son. Actually it would be more accurate to say unpicking! That is what I was doing - unpicking waste bands and collars.

But before getting onto that, three cheers for the February snow! Sure enough, as I knew in my heart of hearts it would, it snowed in February.

This was the scene on one of our early morning dog walks.

This really was the morning, even though the photos suggest the evening.

Then we (Whippet X and I) spent last weekend grafting at the new studio in Hackney.

That is the Autumn/Winter 2012 collection on the rail.

It was a slog - we had to get lots done before a photographic shoot on Monday. Frankly, the Whippet X was not impressed.

Designer son has been getting a lot of press coverage of late, including these rather fabulous crowns (which were used in a shoot featuring Comme des Garcons clothes for Wonderland Magazine)

One thing though, I do know how to ease a sleeve into a shirt! I thought I had forgotten all my dress making skills.

The 'day job'

2012-02-14T09:37:00.002Z

Last week saw me on my travels for the day job. I packed the Whippet X into the boot of the car (resplendent on his jacobs fleece) and headed west.

My travels took me through the outskirts of Sherborne - but we did not linger, principally because I was late for a meeting. In fact it might have been difficult because as an older market town Sherborne was not designed for cars and parking and the traffic snakes its way through the town. It looks interesting and so I made a mental note to go back.

I attended my meeting (feeling rather foolish as I was late) and then headed further west into the wilds of Somerset. As I had Whippet X with me we did have to make time for a walk and found a rather lovely wood, which according to the sign is part of the Crown Estates.

And then we headed on to Taunton, and in particular the Genesis Building at Somerset College. The day was gloomy and so I did not take any pictures of my own (which I now regret though I think that even if I had I am not sure that they would have shown you much.

The Genesis Building is a sustainable teaching and resource building. From the outside it looks, well, like an educational building.

Image from BBC Somerset

When you go in you enter a large foyer area which has a cafe space, an office area, a lecture theatre and seminar rooms off it.

Image from BBC Somerset

So far, so ordinary.

But each of these areas is actually called a 'pavilion' and is built using different sustainable construction technologies. So the cafe area is made entirely from mud walls (cob blocks for one wall, traditional cob - that is mud mixed with straw - and a modern compressed earth technique for the others) with polished mud 'plaster'. What this 'plaster' looks like is a terracotta coloured paint effect with a lovely buffed sheen. What it is is mud, dried, sanded and then polished with bees wax. It is lovely to touch.

Image from BBC Somerset

The office area is timber frame, the classroom area is straw bale construction and the lecture theatre uses a clay block process where the clay blocks are held together by the thinnest mortar layer. There are PV panels on the roof and a biomass boiler provides the heating.

Image from BBC Somerset

It is a very inspiring building and demonstrates that using 'non standard building materials is not just for Grand Designs but has commercial applications as well. It was one of those buildings that ticked all of my boxes.

(For a more comprehensive report go to the BBC Report )

Dog walks

2012-02-07T21:35:00.002Z

It has to be said, a dog gets you out!

If I didn't have the Whippet X for company it is truly debatable whether I would make as much of the glorious countryside that surrounds me in Northamptonshire (the forgotten county!)

A county that has wonderful skies and magnificent sunsets.

These photos were taken in our last cold snap in mid January. It was nippy, hence the Whippet X is modeling his snazzy sports jacket.

Stitchinscience: Transferring my affections

2012-02-06T08:26:00.000Z

Stitchinscience: Transferring my affections

I have only ever dabbled with disperse dyes but if you look here you will see that there is some real potential with this technique.

I follow a couple of people having a wonderful time at Morley College, not that I am jealous or anything!

Dog-Daisy Chains: The Big Reveal!

2012-02-01T23:00:00.000Z

Dog-Daisy Chains: The Big Reveal!

Very excited to find this on the web - one of the few hard copies of Quilting Arts I actually have (somewhere).

And not only that, but whey hey, a bit of functionality I didn't know existed on blogger!

and here we are again...

2012-01-27T23:31:00.001Z

Yep - another week has gone by and suddenly February is just around the corner.

I am feeling a bit of a damp squib on the creative front. I am seeing all these fantastic blogs on my blog roll with lots of lovely work achieved and what have I got to show for January - well just that Bletchley Park is finished!!

But hey, lets look on the bright side. So what have the highlights been for this week?

Well - except for my lovely friend Ellen, I have had the house to myself. No house guests (though they will be back next week, I fear). I don't exactly run a conventional bed and breakfast establishment - if they want breakfast I point them in the direction of the kettle - but I do provide an evening meal. These guys take a bit of looking after. (They are all work colleagues who do not live in MK but come down for 2-3 days per week. When they are here I do find them a bit inhibiting.)

My daughter passed her driving test - first attempt!!

I have finished Bletchley Park

I bought a new car - bit of a impulse purchase but I feel it had my name on it and I had the help of Rob and Andy

I have been to London Paddington and Dunstable for the day job

And the lowlights

My lovely shiny new car (I should clarify that by new, I mean new for me!) is already getting the standard makeover. Mud from the country lanes and Whippet X has put his mucky paws all over the back! And that familiar pattern of Whippet X nose prints is already building up on the rear windows

Apart from finishing BP I have not done anything creative - feeling a bit blocked if truth be told

Whippet X got locked in the car - a few teething problems with the central locking (I can't use it)

Designer son has been having traumas with digital printing

I have been to London Paddington and Dunstable for the day job

If, like me, you are a dog lover, don't worry. Whippet X was finally released, and not at all traumatised by his experience.

Ps. I wrote this last night. I got up this morning and thought this is daft. I shouldn't feel blocked. So I got out a few bits and pieces and did some work on this page in the sketch book. Feeling much better.

Blooming Bloomsbury

2012-01-19T06:41:00.002Z

For the day job I sometimes have to schlep down to London Town.

Lately this schlepping has taken me, not to the realms of Victoria (ok, but nothing really going for it!) but to the delights of Bloomsbury. Ideal in many ways! First of all because it is a gentle trot down the road from Euston Station, and second because it is near the British Museum (I am a convert) and there are some fab little shops in the little streets in front of the museum.

Here is just a mini taster.

West and Skye has some lovely modern tartans and tweeds.

Satchels and Co has, well , satchells! How retro.

Abbott and Holder is a lovely looking gallery. It changes it's windows every time I see it, so always dynamic and worth peering in.

And there is also a lovely shop called Edwards & Todd at 25a museum Street. Lots of prints, papers and cards with a 50's English feel to them. No photo but this link should give you a taste of the interior.

And last of all I thought I should share a christmas present with you. A lovely bowl by my good friend Andy Douglas, one half of Rob and Andy. The glaze is stunning, inside and out (spot the hares)

Staple gunning and the end is in sight

2012-01-18T10:42:00.002Z

The background has taken longer than I had hoped. But now it is done.

I used acrylic felt as the quilting wadding. I wanted a bit of substance but I did not want the bouncy, 3 dimensional effect you get from some wadding materials.

The freehand quilting is just to provide some texture to the background. It is acting as a frame only. I could have used a 'square' shaped doodle, but chose the circles for simple contrast.

Then I stapled the fabric to the canvas (a commercially bought 60x80 canvas - I bought it via Great Art which does do some fantastic deals on art materials) using a staple gun - a bit of kit every quilt artist should possess.

Actually, this was quite tricky and I had to pull it tight and the quilting had distorted the fabric slightly. At the corners it was very tricky to get a neat finish - so don't look too hard. (If you recall, this background used hand dyed shirts courtesy the charity shop)

This is the first piece I have finished in this way (thanks to Hilary Beattie for the idea) and I like the result. I will probably use the idea again - certainly not as expensive as getting pieces professionally framed.

Charging up the faithful pfaff

2012-01-09T23:25:00.001Z

At last - I charged up the faithful pfaff for it's first outing of the new year. We're on the homeward stretch with Bletchley Park - just the background quilting to do. There will be a few house guests this week and a bit of hairing around the country but I should be able to get a lot done and maybe even finish it off this weekend, well in time! (But let's not get ahead of ourselves!)

And to prove it:-

This is the background piece that I am going to use to cover the canvas. There's a lot of quilting but since most of it will be hidden by the front (main) piece I am going to cheat and just quilt the edges.

I am keeping it all very 'flat' and using acrylic felt as the backing. Spot my latest favourite material - ground coffee wrapping. I have been attaching it using Bondaweb, though I am sure glue would work just as well, and it is lovely to stitch.

Here is a bit of detail of the main front piece. More coffee wrappings glinting there.

And again, this time the phone boxes.

Meanwhile, I did say that I had a new camera for Christmas. Well, I am just getting the hang of it (and I hope you will agree that my pics are a bit better) but I have found one fab feature on it - colour enhancer. Just look how magical it made one of our local dog walks. This was taken on the 2nd Jan - it was a dull grey day and normally such a photo would have been as boring as hell. But this effect is fab. Ok, so I know it exaggerates a bit but for me it captured the essence of a lovely wood in January.

Pottersbury Church

2012-01-05T21:22:00.001Z

You find beautiful textile pieces in the most unlikely of places. As I mentioned in my last post, we had a lovely walk on new years day. ('We' being Rob and Andy of Rob Turner China and 33a, OH, Whippet X and the love of his life, Molly.)

We had a lovely walk, starting in Yardley Gobion, taking in Pottersbury and going through Furtho, which is not on the map as it is a lost village (great names!)

In the church at Pottersbury we found a beautiful textile work.

And a stunning, modern stained glass window.

What new year resolutions?

2012-01-04T09:48:00.001Z

Quietly, with no fanfare or announcement, I decided to makethe following new year’s resolutions:-

·        To do something creative every day (even if itwas just a doodle in my sketch book

·        To up date my blog more frequently

·        To try something new every week (my bloggingfriends from across the pond seem to manage that)

Well, what a good job I did not announce those resolutionsas we are only on 5th January and I am already failingdismally! I have not achieved point 1,point 2 is looking positively ropy and point 3 is most unlikely to happen.

But I won’t beat myself up as a dismal failure – instead Iwill focus on the positives. So over theChristmas break I have achieved the following, in no particular order:-

·        Joined Pinterest

·        Had a fantastic Christmas

·        Helped daughter with more doll making

Doll wigs.

We are not tidy workers!

Made blackberry jam! (yes - in December! Frozen fruit, lots of added pectin but it didn't set so well!)

· Had a wonderful new years day walk

Whippet X and his girlfriend, plus Rob and Andy of Rob Turner China and OH

My friend Ellen gave me a subscription to MaggieGrey’s Workshop on the Web
Booked to go and see the Grayson Perry exhibition at the British Museum

In addition I had a lovely new camera for Christmas from OH,so I hope the quality of my photos will improve and my friend Fee had probably oneof the most unusual presents ever!

Oh, and we had delicious home made pickle, pickled onions and pickled plums with home cooked ham and the best ever bubble and squeak.

Curling leaves - sunflowers in December

2011-12-20T20:43:00.002Z

Well I am afraid that posts have been a bit sparse lately. And that's because all creativity time has been taken up with Christmas shopping, present wrapping, card writing, parties (the red lipstick was a success by the way) and all those other festive things that happen at this time of year.

But I have managed to keep on top of my blog reading and the other day was inspired by an entry I found on a wonderful technique sharing blog called 'And Then We Set It On Fire '. This particular entry, by Quilt or Dye (who I have since discovered is a lovely lady called Judith from Maine) described some experiments with tyvek and other substances to create leaves.

However the leaves were too flat - Judith wanted a bit of curl - and that got me thinking (and rummaging in the UFO box). And sure enough I found some leaves and sunflowers that I did a couple of years ago on a course at The Bramble Patch. I cannot remember the name of the tutor - so I hope she will forgive me.

Anyway, the technique is not so much 'quilting' as machine embroidery. A variety of leaves and sunflowers were drawn on to water dissolvable film using a felt tip pen. Then a 'sandwich' was made with bits of polyester organza trapped between the drawn film on top and another piece below. I think we used about 4-5 layers of organza.

Then the leaves and flowers were embroidered, using free hand embroidery. They were cut out and the film dissolved away. Then using a combination of snipping away some of the organza layers in part and a soldering iron to create holes and burn the edges, texture was built into the leaves.

Finally, thin wire (and I am afraid I cannot remember the exact weight, but you can certainly get it somewhere like Hobbycraft in the beading section) was stitched onto the leaves using a very narrow and close stitch, which was continued down the wire to cover it. And, voila, a bendable leaf.

You can sort of make out the technique in this rather bad photo. You can see the zig zagged wire (originally gold in colour) and I hope you can see how the leaf curls in this photo.

This one is a bit clearer. The sunflower is flat and the leaf is curled up. the fantastic holes in both are made with the soldering iron, and you can see in the petals of the sunflower how part of the petal has been snipped away to create differing areas of transparency.

This picture of the sunflower is clearer still. It glints and glistens but there are no beads, just the organza.

And this one is really rather arty - you cannot really make out the different flowers, but I actually like the photograph.

But then I got thinking a bit more about curled leafs. And I have also done another small quilt, this time a proper quilt (in that there are layers of fabric and wadding) with curling leaves.

This little quilt was done at another workshop, this time at the Nimble Thimble in Buckingham. the tutor was a lady called Ferret (yes - I am not making that up).

For Judith here is a detail of that quilt too. The leaves on the main quilt were simply quilted and then painted. The textured leave are two layers of fabric joined by bond-a-web and then stitched onto the main quilt. All the fabric was hand dyed, but some of the attached leaves also have additional painting. You can see that the leaves begin to curl a bit. The overall effect is reminiscent of autumn leaves so the curling is a lovely affect.

So, if you are inspired by And Then We Set It On Fire and want to have a go (once the turkey has been cleared from the dining room table, the washing up has been done, the presents opened and, in our house anyway, the dog has been walked) these might inspire you. If you are a bit unsure of the techniques I have described, do leave a comment and I will try to explain them better.

What is it about Friday mornings?

2011-12-09T04:39:00.001Z

Last Friday I was up and tippity tapping on the laptop before even the dog could be bothered to stick his nose out from under the blanket, and this week is just the same. What is it about Fridays?

It's dark outside, the orange glow from the street lamp was permeating through the curtains and my mind was racing so much that once awake I was wide awake. So now I have a warm coffee to set me up, my to do list by my side (all work) and my laptop balanced on my knee.

The highlights of this week have been the Daughter has been staying with her new dog, Koda. Now Whippet X does not really like other dogs, with a few noticeable exceptions. He has a particular aversion to spaniels of all shapes and sizes, staffs, Labradors (except Oscar), Floyed (the big standard poodle here in the village), puppies, other whippets, anything snack sized and buzzy - you get the picture! It is probably true to say that we have a 'bit of a reputation' both here in the village that I stay in in Northamptonshire and at home in Hampshire. So it was with slight trepidation that I said yes to Daughter visiting with Koda.

But Koda is a delight - Whippet X has adopted a stance of stoic acceptance of the 'if I really must' variety - with a bit of nose curling and tooth bearing if Koda has overstepped the mark. But Koda is just 'whatever', doesn't rise to the bait and just gets on with it. It has been a joy to have him.

He is demolishing a chew here while Whippet X is under the dining room table working very hard on his 'if I really concentrate hard enough the young upstart will disappear' look.

Meanwhile, Daughter has been working on some dolls. I have featured a few of her dolls before. She usually uses a combination of cloth and air drying clay but the latest dolls have real porcelain heads that she made at college. She has been painting them while here, and is now on the body.

She is a member of a great site called Cloth and Clay Dolls and, if the link works, you can find more photos of here work there. I am not really into dolls, but there a quite a few doll makers in the states, a few here in the UK and at last years Quilt Festival there were a couple of doll entries.

The other highlight of the week was that I bought a Christmas present. That's me all organised then!!

On my own creativity front though I am afraid I have been very remiss. Dogs, work, daughters - it has all been a bit of a distraction. But I have Saturday to myself and a bit of quiet sketchbooking is definitely on the cards.

The Workshop Sale

2011-12-07T19:44:00.001Z

The Workshop Sale is an institution!

For over 20 years a group of crafts people and makers have been getting together in East Dulwich to sell their wares - samples, old stock, bits and bobs etc. Over the years there have been some fantastic bargains.

And for the last 10 years I have been helping my friends Rob and Andy of Rob Turner China.

This year we were in a new venue - fabulous Push Studios in East Dulwich - and it really worked! We had a very successful day on the china stall! And other people also had a good day (including the fabulous Linda Miller, but unfortunately I did not take any photographs of her stall).

This was Trisha Needham's space upstairs. She does lovely printed velvet. You might be able to make out a fabulous sample for a new print hanging in the background.

Rob chatting with a shopper (actually my friend Fee)

Anna Lovell and Elaine Gough - beautiful silver jewelry.

Coco Barclay - lovely leather goods - my photo does not really do them justice. Her colours are jewel like.

And Rob Turner china!

with beautiful hand painted hearts lustre bone china mugs and teapots.

It's Friday morning and I am awake before the alarm

2011-12-02T06:12:00.001Z

Now how did that happen? Earlier this week I overslept, and I haven't done that for years and years. Even the dog overslept!

So here I am, six in the morning with my first cup of coffee, the washing on, the dog still in bed and at my laptop. Perhaps I woke so early because I think I may be having a mid life crisis! I bought a lipstick yesterday evening in House of Fraser in down town MK (great for shopping if ever you find yourself on the MK grid network, and like me from time to time, unable to escape!).

So what, I hear you cry, a lipstick? Get a grip woman! Lipstick is allowed! Well this isn't just any old lipstick. It's red, and by red I mean Kirsty Allsop on the front of her craft book red! (Have you seen that glamour photo?) Or on the front of that magazine.

Well now, I don't really look like our Kirsty. For a start she has a few years on me (in the right direction, if you know what I mean) but the picture above gives you a hint of the transformation I hope to achieve with the red lipstick. But, I don't have a professional make up artist to hand, nor an air brusher, nor a professional hairdresser (for goodness sake, I cannot even blow dry my hair without looking like some thing that has been dragged through a hedge!)

This weeks highlights (in no particular order - you can work out their priority!!):-

Bought a new dress (hence the lipstick!) I never buy clothes unless from the local charity shop and on occasion a quick whizz through M & S because my work skirts are falling apart, or Sainsburys because I love their long sleeve tee shirts (they look pretty fab with a belt!)
I got my registration form for the Bletchley Park quilt show in on time! It's real now. I have a number! This is a moment of quiet panic! Is it good enough. One of the phone boxes is on the squiff! This is because the Whippet X was not being helpful and trod on the whole piece before it was stitched, and I had not noticed that it until I held the whole thing up the other day. (If I was a proper artist, or did not need sleep! I would have made a number of pieces and then chosen the best - ah well, self doubt creeping in.)
I found how to create a fabulous new Gantt Chart on line using Team Gantt. OK I don't think many quilters use Gantt Charts, but in real life I have a heap of hairy new projects which somehow have my name on them, and I needed a tool to organise my thoughts (and keep the boss happy! He likes a Gantt Chart!)
Son No 1 has been accepted for a static at Fashion East next February for his A/W 2012 collection (what collection - he is still working on samples for S/S for ASOS!!) This is a whoo hooo moment! A very whoo hoo moment. They launched all sorts of young designers - Gareth Pugh anyone?
And tomorrow is the annual Workshop Sale in East London when I don a pinny and help my good friends Rob and Andy on their fabulous china stand.
I bought some Christmas cards!
I have been loving the fablulous work over at Six and Friends and Flextiles.

Ok so now it is time for me to get up! Off to shower and walk the Whippet X who still cannot be bothered to poke his nose out from under the blanket.

Where did those photos go?

2011-11-28T22:43:00.001Z

Apologies if you stopped by my blog today and could only see one photo for the Bletchley Park entry! When I posted the blog yesterday all photos published fine, but when I popped in this evening (and how lovely to find a comment!) most had disappeared! Now how did that happen!!??

Anyway, I have reloaded them. Let's hope they can last the course this time!

If you have popped by you may see from the blogs on the LHS that I follow Angie Hughes. She is one of my heroes - being one of the people responsible for setting me on my creative path. There is a whole 30 minute programme on Youtube which features Angie. I know that some people who have stumbled across me do not live in the UK so may not have met Angie. Well this is not quite as good as meeting her, but I think it is possibly the next best thing!

And finally, if anyone reading this is in London this weekend, and specifically south London, then you might be interested in The Workshop Sale. Its on Saturday in East Dulwich. Its a fabulous event (I have been going for the last 10 years - I help my good friends at Rob Turner China) and has a few textile persons - not least the wonderful Linda Miller - a recent star in the Kirstie Allsop craft series.

Bletchley Park

2011-11-27T22:15:00.000Z

You might recall that I committed to doing a quilt for an exhibition to be held early next year at Bletchley Park. I have had great fun doing the visual research for this project, a lot of which I have shared on this blog. Well, I am now on the final stages.

This has been a first for me - the first time I have applied to show a piece of my work. I still feel very ambivalent about it - part of me wants to share what I am doing (hence the blog) but part of me is very uncertain about the quality of my work. Is it good enough? And another part of me questions my motives - why am I doing this? Is it an arrogance or have I reached the point where I need to share my work in order to grow.

Anyhow, here are some of the latest images.

Darning foot ready and poised for some free motion embroidery.

The central panel.

Detail of the phone box (this was printed with acrylic paint using a hand made print block)

Detail of the bottom section of the panel - you can make out a scrap of mesh fabric that is underneath the organza. The silver squares are from a coffee packet.

Elsewhere, much excitement. As if I don't have enough distractions I have found another blog to follow - SiX and Friends. Go have a look. It includes some fabulous quilters, and I feel very privileged to have met a few of them.

Also - and I know my rule is to keep work and other life separate, but rules are to be broken and this stuff is getting too important - I have done a couple of blogs for work. I am pretty pleased with them. If you have a chance, stop by and have a look. I know energy efficiency can be a bit dull, but the B&Q house is pretty amazing.

I am pleased to report that the Whippet X hasn't caught any more pheasants, my good intentions to start writing Christmas cards has gone to pot and I picked more ripe (well ish) tomatoes today. It's nearly December for goodness sake. The world has gone mad.

Is it just me?

2011-11-22T22:36:00.000Z

Or do you also have random photographs in your collection?

For the day job I had to hunt back through my photo collection today and it reminded me just what a weird selection I have. Here are just a random selection of the odd ones.

This one was taken in Axminster in Devon (actually, is it? Or is it Dorset?). OK - it was the Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall cafe.

This was in Trondheim in Norway.

This one was in Seville (now why would you leave a random bunch of padlocks on railings on a bridge over the river? And why would some mad English woman photograph them when surrounded by all that glorious Moorish architecture?)

And this was in Southsea, Hampshire. And you thought Southsea was all about beaches, ice cream, piers and the hovercraft. Really its all about stacks or army jerry cans.

I have got loads. I always carry a camera with me (for work - you never know when there might be an interesting building or some interesting insulation just asking to be snapped) but I am not the best of photographers, though I did discover today that in Picassa you can straighten up images that are slightly skew whiff. Now since most of my images are slightly drunk, those nice people at Google must have invented that feature just for me.

Having said that though, blimey but Picassa is frustrating. Or then again, perhaps it is just me.

Tidying up photographs, and I found these

2011-11-17T20:23:00.001Z

It has been another of those weeks with seemingly endless house guests - it is part of my responsibility as keeper of the company house to run a somewhat lax guest house (the guests sometimes get catered for but sometimes have to look after themselves - this week was more the latter though so far no one has lodged a complaint).

I don't mind at all but it does mean that I tend to be less creative than I would if I were on my own. So I used the chance this evening to do a bit of tidying of my random selections of photographs. While I was looking through my back catalogue of photographs I found these. These stone angels are destined to spend eternity guarding a grave in the churchyard at Castle Ashby in Northamptonshire. The photographs were taken last new years day. These angels were very eery in their everlasting quest - you would almost think that they moved when you weren't looking at them.

In no particular order..

2011-11-12T08:32:00.001Z

Some weeks pass in a complete blur – I hit Friday and wonder whaton earth happened to Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. This week was one of those weeks!

So I thought it worth taking time to take stock and just remindmyself what has happened, and infact there has been quite a lot! So, from the top and in no particular order:

This week’s highlights

The fragrant Grayson Perry has stepped up to the mark – PortsmouthUniversity Arts Department is proposing the closure of some of the practicalworkshops (small metals, glass and ceramics etc)and 16 staff face redundancy.

Daughteris studying at Pompey and in frustration contacted MrPerry’s PR. She did not hear any moreand thought that it was all in vain and then this week the local newspaper carried this feature.

Mr Pwas a student at Portsmouth Polytechnic, which later became the university, andhas called for the preservation of the workshops. I have to admit that, in a week when the PMsaid that we had to ‘export more’ and following closely on the heels of thebrilliant series on ceramics, which featured Mr P but also highlighted thecatastrophe that is the British ceramics industry, there does seem some illogicalityfor loosing facilities that impart practical skills. Here’s hoping that the intervention of Mr P(no doubt with Alan Measles providing counsel along the way) will help PompeyUni big wigs see sense!

· The B&Q eco house – I am careful to keepwork and ‘life’ separate, but rules are meant to be broken and the inspirationalB&Q Eco house at Bishopstoke near Southampton is an example of when!

The house is simple in premise. A year ago B&Q (for any foreign readersB&Q is an enormous DIY chain in the UK – and Europe. Selling paint, power tools, kitchens, bathroomsetc. You get the picture.), bought apretty average 3 bed end of terrace house and set about making it fit for the ‘22^ndCentury’.

While it is eco, it’s not scarilyso. You have to look hard to find theeco features (no composting loos etc.). On the face of it, it looks like an ordinaryhouse that has had a 'nice' face lift. Scratch the surface and you find all sorts of high and low technologieslurking – all of which add up to make the house cost about £16.00 per month torun for a family of four! (that’s allfuel bills!). My work life is all about energyefficiency in property and with rising fuel bills this is something thattouches on all our lives. You can find out more on theB&Q website and I will be doing a blog about it on my work website– I’llput a link in then, but for now I thought you might enjoy these features.

The back of the house, very ordinary looking but it has been insultated and insulated and insulated some more. At first floor level cork insulation was used and then cunningly disguised by very thin bricks, called brick slips, so you cannot see it.

These really are 'brick slips'. The loft extension you can see behind was built in a factory and then delivered on a lorry.

This is the high tech 'shed'. It houses all the gubbins for the Air Source Heat Pump, which works a bit like a fridge in reverse and provides all the heating (no gas central heating).

(I should add that the shed is quite straight! It's my photo that is somewhat on the p**s)

And the furniture has all been bought at charity shops or retrieved from the local dump. All upcycled!

The paints used in the house were either Dulux Eco paints or recycled paint from a company called New Life, based near Chichester.

If you want to know more aboutany of the technology or finishes get in touch and if I don’t know then I willfind out from James Walker, the project manager on the eco house.

· Carpets cleaned – Ok, so not quite as riveting asMr P or the B&Q house, but in my book an achievement! I have a new dining room carpet (acquired atAuction for the handsome sum of £80.) It is a stunning carpet and now is asuper stunning and clean carpet. Themustard yellow now sings out and it doesn’t smell of farmyards any more. Thanks to my good friends Rob and Andy forpicking this up for me (oh, and by the way, if you are quick, they are having a November china sale. Have a look at their website.)

Curtains hung – I told you energy efficiency wasmy work. Well after last winter (and itwas sooooo cold here in Northamptonshire) I vowed that if I was going to spendanother winter in the house then I needed to try to make it warmer. Hence the carpet above and now the beautiful recycledcurtains (£5 the pair from the local charity shop and dyed using Dylon washingmachine dye) are hanging over the front and back doors. They are thick cotton. They could do with being lined, but I mightjust get some quilt wadding to add to them. Just haveing them hanging up feels cosier.

· Threadnoodle’s blog and snazzy whippet jim jams –treat yourself. Have a read!

The laptop had a hissy fit – and fixed itself!

And not so high lights:

· The Whippet X caught a pheasant! (that’s meowing the farmer £40 – it was from a shoot though had strayed! The gamekeepers told me that that is whatthey are worth ‘in the air’)

The allotment has been vandalised (hanging istoo good for them)

· My aged dad had a fall (nothing too serious buta bit alarming to have Kent Ambulance Service on the phone)

Not a lot of progress on the Bletchley Park piece– time is pressing on! That is my mainfocus for the weekend (though Son No 1 is coming to stay tonight!)

A bit of gentle dyeing

2011-11-03T07:05:00.001Z

While the main 'Bletchley Park' piece is coming together, in my head at least, I thought I should turn my attention to the background.

I love rummaging through charity shops - they can be a great source of fabric, particularly cheap fabrics for dying. We have a great little chain around here, The Willen Hospice shops. And in the spirit of thrift and re-use, which remains key to the Bletchley Park piece, I turned to charity shop treasures.

Actually the men's shirts I used did not come from the Willen shops, but never mind. I cut them up (backs, front panels, sleeves) and then dyed them in containers - you can see from the pictures that even the dye containers stick with the re-use/upcycle theme. I stuck with the procion dyes I have been using to colour the background pages.

This is a very random and serendipitous process - as you can see from the results below. I scrunch the fabrics up, pour on concentrated dye (I dissolved the powder in warm water) and then top up with the fixing solution (soda and urea). I don't want the complete contrast of tie dye, but I want a blotchy sort of background that I can further pattern.

Meanwhile, it has been another busy week of house guests, so I have had limited time for much more work other than a bit more doodling in the sketch book. This time I have used handmade paper (from a stash I bought a couple of months ago at a shop that was closing down).

I like the effect of this - the paper 'rings' around the printing. I think you will see this technique in the final piece (if you're new to this I am using communication as the focus of my contemporary quilt with the old computers at Bletchley Park inspiring patterns that will creep into the piece).

The only other distraction this week was Kirstie Allsopp on TV last night. It was lovely to see Linda Miller and for some of her work to be shown, albeit briefly.

Keeping it in the family

2011-10-29T08:58:00.002+01:00

As well as Son No 1, daughter is also a bit of a creative type. She is doing an illustration degree at Portsmouth Uni. She is not so much a 'drawer' as a 3D illustrator and she has let me share the images from one of her recent projects.

I cannot share the exact techniques with you, other than to say that she uses air drying clay a lot. This particular doll was modeled over string to give the doll flexibility at the joints.

I have helped her make dolls clothes in the past . Dolls are so fiddly because they are small.

I love her work and hope you do too.

Bill Tutte and Tommy Flowers

2011-10-25T23:14:00.000+01:00

There are lots of blog posts to catch up on, and I am sat up in bed with the laptop ready for a good bedtime read, but before I do, just a quick catch up on Bletchley Park.

There was a fabulous documentary on BBC2 this evening about the unsung heros of BP, in particular Bill Tutte, a brilliant mathematician who worked out how the Lorenz encryption messaging machine worked (and co-incidentally ended up in Canada after the war - but that's another story) and Tommy Flowers, a GPO engineer who designed and built the first computer, Colossus (because is was so big), which was used to decode the Lorenz messages.

These two men achieved quite astonishing results but had to keep their wartime achievments quiet, never truly revealing all that they had contributed. For both this must have been so frustrating, but for Flowers in particular this must have really hurt for while he invented the first computer he had to remain silent when, only a year after the war ended, the Americans announced that they had built the first computer. One reason for his silence was that 2 of the original Colossus machines were transferred to GCHQ after the war ( which became the secret service listening centre) where it was probable that they were used to decode Soviet messages. It has been suggested that as they swept through Eastern Europe, the soviet forces would have captured some of the German Lorenz machines, which were used by only the very highest ranks in the German forces, and then used them during the start of the cold war era.

The piece is formulating in my mind. I have not done much since the weekend, but I have prepared two backgounds.

Here is one of them on the (well protected) kitchen work surface. In the spirit of thrift and makedo and mend I am not buying any new material for this quilt and this background is tissue paper bonded to calico with a mix of half water, half PVA glue and then, while still wet, dry Procion Dye powder is sprinkled onto the fabric/paper.

I then used damp cling film buffed with the back of a spoon to make the powders spread across the paper. This is a technique I have used before and keep coming back to, despite other experimentation (and the purchase of that book on backgrounds.)

A very productive afternoon

2011-10-22T19:09:00.002+01:00

Saturday morning starting with a very realistic to do list - nothing too ambitious.

Saturday evening - and hardly anything is ticked off! Yet I don't feel that I have sat around all day. One item on the list is the apple jelly. A couple of weeks ago I picked a lovely crop of apples on a dog walk. It turns out that they are the sort of apple that retains its shape when cooked! And I really mean that - would be brilliant for "tarte tartin" but utterly useless for turning into a mush. Consequently the juice is taking forever to strain through the muslin bag.

The broken bathroom light chain and the broken shower door remain unfixed - so tomorrow I feel a trip to B&Q coming on.

But all is not lost. On the Bletchley Park sketch book front things have progressed and I am moving towards the final piece (and bearing in mind the time scale I am working to, that's a good thing!)

First of all I made a new batch of home made stamps -this time with foam shapes (on the right hand side of this photograph) and self adhesive foam cut to represent the Gilbert Scott classic telephone box.

Here is one of the print blocks used on a page in the sketch book. I like the squares within the circle ( see earlier photo of the amazing early computer at Bletchley Park)

I have also been playing with those lovely fluid metallic pens again. I love the effect close up, but the picture below shows how the digital camera is such a friend to the artist - they just do not work in this photo. (But I do like the effect of the writing in the back ground. This is taken from letters home written during WWII).

I have also been playing about with discarded packaging - here using wrapper for fresh coffee. Although it does not work here, because the silver of the pen is lost against the 'busy' background, I like the effect and think that this material will find a place in the final piece.

But this I really love. This is the rather unpromising print block using the classic Gilbert Scott telephone box as inspiration. I thought there would be too much 'red' - but I really like the slightly quirky final effect. Again, definitely one for the final piece.

Saturday morning musings

2011-10-22T12:21:00.003+01:00

It's been a bit of a week again in my other life. I have clocked up the miles on my poor little Mazda (which I don't really think was designed for long journeys).

Now, it is a glorious sunny morning again (we have been very spoilt this October) and the dog is walked and I am about to grapple with a 'to do' list as long as your arm.

But before I do, a quick catch up on the blog. I have not been idle on the Bletchley Park front and am still playing with background ideas. Here are a couple (acrylic printing using those cardboard print blocks over a background of splattered Procion dye powders, which are then sprayed with water. I am sticking to my limited palette of green - using Avocado, Emerald Green and Olive green.)

I have got a few other experiements which I will load later, but this weekend I really need to make a start on the background of the actual piece if I am to hit my deadline.

Meanwhile, has anyone out there got any experience with TLS -Translucent Liquid Sculpey? I have never used the stuff but there is an interesting technique in The Cloth Paper Scissors book which my daughter wants to explore. Any useful hints or tips would be very welcome.

Lutrador and Evolon

2011-10-15T09:11:00.001+01:00

If you come back to this blog from time to time you may recall that a couple of weeks ago I posted a report headed 'Not Just for Kids'. In that post I explained how a cheap children's rolling pin had inspired a bit of playing about with Lutrador and Evolon.

Well I had put those pieces aside, but last night, while in Bletchley Park mode, and riffling through my completely disorganised pile of random bits of paper and fabric, they sprung up at me. The grid pattern I had created seemed to imply some sort of order that would have been needed in the seemingly chaotic and random world that the Bletchley Park de-cryptors would have needed.

Referring to some patterns from the research so far (and I am having to keep that contained as time is so tight) I thread doodled some of the 'switches', similar to the ones I had on that collograph plate (which I have printed with and I must remember to share).

This one is on lutrador (but I apologise, I do not recall the exact weight).

This one, using bigger switches, is on Evolon.

And then I burnt it - as you do! With a heat gun. I prefer the effect above (on the Lutrador) to the Evolon below, but Evolon is more resistant to heat.

Ok, so I am not quite sure how I will use these in the final piece, if at all, but that is the point of the sketchbook - to work through some ideas to see what I like, what I don't like and what works.

If you are interested in using Evolon or Lutrador a UK supplier is Spunart. Bren Boardman is a great fan of these materials. You can link to her website via the links on the right to see how the professionals use this stuff.

Surface treatments and other things

2011-10-14T09:19:00.002+01:00

As I mentioned previously, I have bought the book Surface Treatment Workshop. My initial reaction was to be slightly disappointed, but actually, I think I need to take that back. Last night, with an empty house (whoo hoo) and the opportunity to make a bit of a mess and not have to explain what I am doing, I grabbed the book again.

I have to get this piece for Bletchley Park sorted. Communication seems to be the way my mind is going so last night I played about with a couple of 'letters home'. At the moment my thinking is that I want to merge methods of communication into the background of the piece with the switches and cogs of the computer in the forefront. Anyway, that is still some way off and I am still on that journey to find the expression I want to create.

So I turned to the page in the book headed Faux Encaustic. I pondered a while (not having any of the materials they suggest for making up the 'recipe') but then hit on the idea of using Mod Podge and acrylic ink, the idea being that you 'blend' things into the background. Mod Podge dries clear and my idea was that the ink would be 'carried around' by the medium. This is the idea that the book promulgates but they suggest Opaque or Clear Pouring Medium or spreadable gel. The book is American, and frankly I have no idea what they mean by these ingredients.

Anyway, the other thing they suggest is to use blobs of acrylic paint. This is put directly onto the page in blobs, then the 'recipe' is applied and the whole lot is spread over the page using an old knife (no palette knife was to hand).

What do you think?

This first one (above) uses quite a lot of acrylic (green and white) which rather obscures the writing too much I think.

This one probably could do with a bit more acrylic - but I can of course add another layer. I think there is something to this idea and I will work on it a bit more. (Or of course I may go back to my print blocks!).

If you are interested, this is the ink I was using (specifically the one on the left, which came out a bit too yellowy) plus the acrylics.

Elsewhere there is a new debate on When is Craft an Art? going on over at the Tate website. Being a big fan of Tracy Emin and Grayson Perry, both of whom use 'craft', this is close to my heart. I haven't left a comment yet.

Collographs and salt

2011-10-11T22:44:00.002+01:00

In my last post I mentioned that I had bought a new book, Surface Treatment Workshop. One of the suggestions in the book is to use salt crystals to pattern a dilute wash of water colour or acrylic paint. I have done this before with silk paints (with great success) but not with paper.

My first attempt with paper was not so good, but never one to be defeated I gave it another go in my new 'Bletchley Park' sketch book. And I think there could be some opportunities with this technique. The first picture below shows the wet paint with the salt crystals sprinkled onto the page; and the one below shows the dried paint.

Here is the wet paint with the salt crystals.

And here is the same page once the paint has dried and with the salt crystals brushed off.

Ok, so not that exciting, but I think you will agree that there is some possibility with this technique on paper, in the same way that there is when silk painting.

Meanwhile, as I mentioned before I have committed to make a quilt for an Exhibition at Bletchley Park. I have to get my skates on.

I have made a start by doing a bit of research using the internet. Bletchley Park was home to the Second World War code breakers (the Enigma Machine) and now houses the National Computer Museum. This has set me off on my first area of research.

Inspired by the computers and deciphering equipment, including the above image, I made three collograph plates using discarded cardboard packaging. The top plates in the photo below are not so easy to make out as I stuck the shapes with the shiny side up. I like the shiny side of the cardboard which helps disperse the paint, giving me the effect I want when I print (well, that's the theory). When I have tried some printing I will post the pictures.

After that bit of relaxing cutting and sticking, I then went down a slightly different research route - telephones. There is an old red telephone box at Bletchley Park (indeed it has a working post office - quirky and whimsy!)

That sent me off , and I found this charming picture of Richard Gilbert Scott, the son of Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, who designed the iconic red telephone box. This picture, courtesy of the Daily Telegraph, shows Mr Gilbert Scott by the phone box in his Norfolk village, recently reprieved after BT cancelled the scrapping of the box following a campaign by the village residents.

And so now have a couple of areas of research to follow. I have made a start. This is just a photo graph but using Paint.net I merged a photo of that iconic red box over that salty page! I might have the germ of an idea here!

Cloth, paper, scissors, pens

2011-10-07T08:11:00.002+01:00

I don't often treat myself to method books - but a couple of weeks ago two caught my eye. Orders were duly placed (Amazon - really sorry to any local bookshops that might have helped but I did this from my desk) and they arrived this week.

The first one to arrive was 'Surface Treatment Workshop', a manual of 'how to do' on background decoration techniques. These are aimed at paper rather than fabric (I was thinking of sketchbooks when I ordered it) .

On first glance, I was a bit disappointed. But in fact I think it will be useful to have around as a prompt when I am stuck. (Sorry - this image is borrowed from Amazon so you cannot click to look inside here. If you want to have a look go to the Amazon site. I hope this link works for you and takes you straight there).

The second one I bought was the new Cloth Paper Scissor book. It only arrived yesterday, and I snuggled up with it in bed last night, but it looks very promising indeed. The introduction suggested that a blog is a good way to be disciplined about producing art, and I can't disagree with that!

Meanwhile, this week I committed to a quilt exhibition to be held early next year at Bletchley Park. This is it! I have prevaricated enough. Now it really is time to actually make a piece of art to put on public display. (Actually, it won't strictly be the first as I have two pieces hanging in the hall of friends who run a beautiful Bed and Breakfast in Gosport, Hampshire).

So, to get the juices going, I flew into Hobbycraft last night to get a new sketch book. And while I was there I got distracted (they are re-arranging the store yet again!) and I found these. They looked interesting and not expensive.

So when I got home, walked and fed the hound, caught up on work emails (it never stops) I settled down to a bit of swift creating.

First of all I tried a couple of techniques from 'Surface Treatment Workshop' - or rather, I used it as a prompt. Here is a page from the Seville sketchbook (still a WIP) which already had a background of procion dye inks. I used a candle as a resist and then put a wash of very dilute green acrylic paint over the top. Here it is, still wet. I like the background - it looks interesting. I'll come back to this page as I decide how to take it further.

Then I applied a wash of the same dilute acrylic paint to a page in the new sketch book. (I am going to try to keep it very monochrome - the theme is Bletchly Park and I am thinking of the frugality and drabness of colour that we normally associate with WWII).

To get texture I applied a piece of cling film, and left the page to dry for a bit. Then I removed the cling film and voila. Simple and effective.

But it gets better, in a two for one sort of way. I simply applied the still wet cling film to the opposite page and got this lovely subtle background effect.

I also tried some salt, but it all got a bit messy, so I won't share that with you.

Meanwhile, those pens were calling so then I sat and did a bit of doodling in Seville Sketchbook on a page I had already started. Here the image has been applied over a background page (procion dye over gesso - the book itself is an old recipe book) using a shiva 'paint stick' and a stencil. The image comes from an old tile in a house in Seville. Before:

And after a doodling session with one of those new pens. They flow well, they don't blob and the colours are pleasing, though the dye ink is not set (it needs a final covering of 'mod podge' to seal it) so it did blur the pen a bit in a few areas.

I expect that I will share more of both sketch books with you as they progress. Meanwhile, I have not done much more with the bigger pieces I am working on - I haven't done much sewing. But sketch books are quick and easy to pick up during a busy week.

Autumn colour at Westonbirt

2011-10-04T23:08:00.001+01:00

Westonbirt, the National Arboretum, is an historic and an internationally important tree and shrub collection. It is based near the small market town of Tetbury in Gloucestershire and is managed by the Forestry Commission and supported by the Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum.

The 16,000 trees (3,000 different specimens) come from Britain, China, North America, Japan, Chile and other temperate climates.

This time of year the colours are amazing - and this year even more so because we enjoyed them in the glorious sunshine of a true Indian Summer (I don't know what the temperature was there last Sunday 2 Oct 2011, but it was hot - I am guessing well into the mid 20s - and I needed my sun hat).

These are just a few of my photographs. On the first one in particular the colours look almost unreal. If you are in the area over the next couple of weeks it is probably worth going to have a look.

There are lots of paths and tracks there and it is quite easy to spend all day there.

If you do manage to get to get there can I also recommend afternoon tea at the Hare and Hounds Hotel, just up the road. The Hotel, which is attached to Jack Hare's Bar, a rather up market road side pub, does exquisite afternoon tea. You don't have to have the full works, but can have a slice of cake or scones etc. The latter came with proper clotted cream and beautiful homemade jam. The attention to detail was perfect.

You could really push the boat out and stay over. It is a 4 Star establishment so is a real treat, but we stayed for one night and so did the dog! They take dogs. He did cost £10 but they provided a bed for him (we just took his usual bedding) and despite being the only mutt in residence that night (the rest being proper well bred kennel club type hounds) he behaved himself and did not show us up at all.

Tuesday morning...

2011-10-04T08:45:00.001+01:00

I have been very disciplined of late. Despite more house guests and other distractions (a fantastic visit to Westonbirt Arboretum - photos to follow) I have managed to do something every day.

What I haven't managed to do is to photograph it all though. Sorry about that. But if you are stopping by then have a look at previous posts or follow some of the links to the other blogs I follow.

Monday evening doodlings continued

2011-09-26T21:58:00.001+01:00

Yesterday afternoon was so successful and satisfying that I grabbed a bit more time this evening. This was the other piece I started yesterday.

This is the whole sheet (from the photo above) manipulated in Paint.net to bring out the colours.

This is similar, but from the corner extract.

And these last two pictures are pages from the sketch book, with the whole sheet cut into tiles and stuck down onto a pre-coloured page in the book.

Sunday afternoon doodlings

2011-09-26T08:22:00.002+01:00

Sunday afternoon and all the chores were done (well as many as I felt like tackling!). Dog had a great walk ("thanks for that"), I gave the garden a last haircut before the winter, I took some lavender cuttings (I have high hopes for these as the last ones I took, some pelagoniums, seem to have taken - all of them) I did a bit of token housework and washed the bedding for the anticipated next load of house guests and then, lo, I had time for me.

I should be stitching "In a Spanish Garden 2", but it's proving tricky to feed smoothly through the machine (and I find myself with gadget envy - I really want one of these! ) So instead I thought I would do a bit more with the Seville sketch book.

I was inspired by a recent post by Carolyn Saxby where she explains a recent workshop using magazines and painted backgrounds (have a look at her post here).

I did not have my water colour paints with me, so i thought I would try the same idea but with oil sticks and water colour pencils and Inktense pencils, working on some cheap A3 cartridge paper.

This is the first stage. I used circles and arches as basic inspiration from a very elegant bridge in Seville which spans the river. These are drawn with oil sticks. Then the pencil was applied dry.

Once I had watered down the pencil it behaves more like water colour, but is not quite so satisfactory as the real thing. Anyhow, I pressed on and used shapes from a colour magazine, pasted onto the coloured paper. I applied a coat of Mod Podge over the top to hold everything down (It was getting a bit messy and was easier to apply the shapes with a brush).

Then when it was dry I cut the paper up into tiles and stuck them into the sketch book - the page has already been gessoed (to hide the recipe underneath) and coloured with dilute procion dye used as ink.

I did two pages - the one below also uses tiles of shiny paper saved from a chocolate bar.

And finally here is the first page with another coloured, stitched and snipped page on top. I am not yet sure if this will be the permanent arrangement. By the way the stitching is a cheap knitting 'wool' (well it's not wool; it's all hairy and synthetic, but it is fun) couched onto cartridge paper.

And here is another one I did, the shape this time was arches. It is still to be cut up, but even like this, I rather like it!

Thursday morning relections

2011-09-22T08:56:00.002+01:00

I have been looking back at some earlier posts and found that I had recorded in June that I was determined to try to do something creative every day. Lately I have been failing dismally. I have been playing host to a number of (very nice) house guests. But they are work related so the evenings have tended to involve discussion about the day job, walking the dog and drinking wine. All nice activities but not necessarily creative ones.

I sometimes wonder why I keep this blog, and at moments like this, when I sit down and wonder where the week has gone already, it all falls into focus. This blog reminds me that of my creative side and provides an incentive and discipline.

And, it also makes me focus on the positives and what I have done.

More sketchbooking:

Beginning work on In a Spanish Garden 2:

And working on the business plan for Son No 1. (not very photographic!)

I'll come back to In a Spanish Garden 2. Mixed media (I hate that phrase actually) and a challenge to manage with the sewing machine.

Festival of Quilts 2011

2011-09-15T09:03:00.000+01:00

There are lots of blogs out there with better reports of the FoQ (check out Steph Redfern and Linda Kemshall for instance) and my report would have been more comprehensive had I not had a camera malfunction. But anyway I thought I would share some inspirational images (and my apologies to the artists - with a few exceptions I did not note down who you were - it was just too crowded to be so organised).

This one was an award winner by Hilary Beatie - check out her website (see links at the side of the page)

I loved the novel embellishment on this little quilt - all sourced from the hardware rather than the haberdashery store.

The photo does not do this justice - but it was a modern take on old samplers.

Another one by Hilary Beatie - one to watch!

I love this! A knitted quilt!

It was the colours of this quilt that caught my eye.

Three more from Hilary - another award winner. That woman has so much energy!

Not just for kids

2011-09-13T08:41:00.000+01:00

A little while ago in one of my favourite shops (The Works)I found some cheap wooden rolling pins aimed at children and I guess withPlaydoh or plasticine in mind.

They had interesting patterns in the wood and so, becausethey were so cheap, I delved into my purse and bought them. A couple of days ago I had the opportunity tohave a play with them.

They are great for back ground texture. I was using ordinary acrylic paint and atsome point I will also try some stitch and a bit of ‘burn’ with the hot airgun. But for now here is are theresults.

Late summer gardening

2011-09-09T08:32:00.001+01:00

It’s all feeling a bit like autumn here inNorthamptonshire. But it’s a fab time ofyear to go to the garden centre and pick up a few bargains while perusing thespring bulbs. As this is only a rentedhouse I am not inclined to do much with the garden other than my pots, which Ican take with me when I move on.

This gem was less than half price and is flowering it's socks off!

A heuchera and a beautiful lime green sage look stunning together

Not exactly helping, more supervising.

And a random picture of the concrete with the moss. Surely some future stitch inspiration.

and more from Seville

2011-09-06T21:58:00.000+01:00

Here is a simple but I think effective technique!

I like this tower by the river in Seville. ( I think it is calledthe Giralda Tower). It is right on theriver and was part of the old Moorish city ramparts.

I took photos when I was there last year and then usingPaint.Net (which is free image and photo editing software for computers that run Windows and has a simplephoto manipulation programme) I changed the image to black and white (in effectturning it into a line drawing), which I then printed it up onto ordinary A4 computerpaper – nothing special. Then, justusing a spray adhesive, I mounted the paper onto a scrap of pelmet vilene and simplyfree hand stitched over the line drawing in black, with black thread also inthe bobbin.

This is the reverse side – and I love it. It looks very relaxed but confident but is slightly misleading because I am not confident with my drawing skills though I am quite happy free hand stitching with the machine.

This is a great way to practise ‘drawing’with the machine (a bit like learning to write by going over printed letterswith a pencil when we were at primary school!) and I know we should all bepractising drawing every day - but you know what, sometimes a little cheating isfine!

Making background 'fabrics'

2011-08-18T08:40:00.001+01:00

I think I have mentioned before how much I enjoy working with tissue paper. For 'In a Spanish Garden' I bonded the paper with PVA to a thin cotton. I like the resulting texture so, having recently rescued more discarded tissue, I have decided to make a range of more background papers. It is also a great technique if, like me, you find it hard to turn on the creative process sometimes after a full day at work . It's simple and requires nothing more than the ingredients.

I use half and half PVA and water and literally paste the paper onto the background fabric, in this case some cheap calico from IKEA (it is not a tight weave so has a limited use on it's own). In this case I left it overnight and then before walking the dog (and much to his disgust) I mixed up Fucshia and Midnight Blue procion dyes to use as inks and simply painted them on, letting them run into each other.

Luckily no one else needed the kitchen work surface! (And, to be clear, I use a torn plastic bag to cover the work surface as the PVA does not bond to it.)

In a Spanish Garden

2011-08-16T07:14:00.002+01:00

This is not a big piece, but it feels as though it has taken quite a long time to finish. In many ways July and August (so far) have been frustrating months. There is so much going on in my 'other lives' that I have had hardly any time, and more importantly, hardly any energy to be creative.

But I did manage to get to the Festival of Quilts this weekend. It was great to catch up with Stefanie Redfern and see her stunning, and award winning, 'book' The Stone Bird. Unfortunately, because of the crush I was not able to take photos, but as many of my photos on the day failed to come out perhaps this is no bad thing.

Anyway, here is 'In a Spanish Garden'. Again, this is using my favourite material of the moment, tissue paper. It was bonded with diluted PVA to a thin cotton, then coloured using procion dyes. The images were 'stamped' using hand made stamps and acrylic paint, some sweetie papers were collaged and then the piece was machine embroidered through a layer of synthetic organza. Finally the beads were added by hand (I did this on holiday!).

If your are returning to this page, then I have posted a new photo as the first one was a bit wonky, and blurred. I think this one is a bit better!

I'm back online!

2011-08-04T22:48:00.000+01:00

It has been a frustrating 3 weeks - the phone line went down and with it the internet, so no updating the blog.

To be fair, I did also have to go to Kent for a few days and then managed 10 glorious days in the Lake District - walking and enjoying the sun (we were so lucky - it hardly rained at all).

Here is one chilled dog, enjoying the view.

I did take a textile project with me, a small piece and I finished the beading. I have a little bit of machine embroidery to finish and I will get it up on the site.

OK – lets get back to those collars!

2011-07-12T19:08:00.002+01:00

If you have stumbled across this blog a few times, you may have seen reference to ‘collars’ – and now that they have paraded down the cat walk it is time to reveal all.

Son No 1 commissioned a few collars for his final collection (menswear at Ravensbourne). He was specific about what he wanted, but I had to work out how to make them. The inspiration for both the design and the manufacture came from ‘The Art of Manipulating Fabric’ by Collette Wolf – a brilliant reference book which is available on Amazon etc. Is would suggest this is a ‘must have’ for all textile enthusiasts.

Step one – made a toile from polyester lining fabric to work out the length of fabric needed.

Step two – cut strips of habotia silk and then applied silk paint in rows

Step three – steaming the silk. I laid the painted silk onto chip shop paper (unused!) and then rolled the silk and paper onto a wire coat hanger. This was then laid over the steam bath. I had to improvise a steamer using large aluminium baking trays from John Lewis! This technique was taught to Son No 1 by Yvonne Bell, a lovely silk painter who lives nearby ( see http://www.yvonnebell.co.uk/ for more information on what Yvonne does).

Step four – I gathered the silk (hand stitching rows for gathering about 1 inch apart)

Step five – I then adjusted the gathered silk to fit onto the pattern cut from ‘Stitch and Tear’ – Son No 1 had send pattern

Step six – machine stitch collars onto ‘stitch and tear’ and then remove the ‘stitch and tear’.

Step seven – finish edges with foil covered soft leather. This was done using double sided tape. Two strips of tape were stuck to the strip of leather first, then the collar was eased onto one of the taped side, matching up with the middle, the other side folded over and the leather was then stitched close to the edge to neaten. On the back edge eyes were added to take a thin strip of leather to hold the collar together.

And here is the finished article on the models.

You can see the whole collection plus an interview with Son No 1 on Dazed Digital - Dazed is one of the worlds biggest fashion lifestyle magazines! (You might have to be a bit quick - not sure how long the link will stay up there). Craft and Fashion collide!

An alternative textile tour of London – part 3

2011-07-08T17:56:00.001+01:00

And so back to Soho for the final part of the alternative tour.

This time to a wonderful haberdashers - Kleins - a haberdashery emporium tucked just off Berwick Street at no 5 Noel Street. Unfortunately the lorry rather spoils the view in the picture.

Unlike my previous entries on the Alternative Textile Tour I cannot find any history of Kleins. I suspect, though, like DM Buttons, they have been there a while.

The shop, which only opens during the week (don't go on a Saturday) is so well stocked that it is not really a place to go and browse. I suggest you would need to have a fair idea of what you want before turning up. Apparently they carry a very large stock of zips and they also have bag and purse handles.

Take a look at their website to see what they have and you can order over the web too.

That is the end of my 'alternative tour' - well for now anyway. Soho is great and always worth a visit in my view. If you do go there, remember to stop at Berwick Street.

An alternative textile tour of London – part 2

2011-07-06T08:21:00.003+01:00

A bit of web research tells me that it was Mrs. Kathleen Cythia Frith (nee Henderson) better known throughout her life as “Toni” who was the founder and inspiration behind “The Button Queen“, a little jewel of a shop in Marylebone lane, just north of Oxford Street, behind John Lewis.

She started by selling general antiques, first of all from a shop at the bottom of Camberwell Grove in South London, and later Bermondsey Market on Fridays and the Red Lion Market in Portobello Rd. on Saturdays.

She used public transport to get aroung and because her stock had to be carried on buses she quickly geared her trade around smaller items. Apparently she had studied costume at Goldsmith’s College (also in South London), so focussed on buying jewellery, costume and buttons. .

Towards the end of the 1960’s, just as Carnaby Street took off. Toni took a tiny shop at 1 Marlborough Court, just off Carnaby St. The space, 8ft x 5ft, had been a shoe repairer’s. After some years, she outgrew the space and moved to Saint Christopher’s Place, just north of Oxford Street, and nine years after that to 19 Marylebone Lane, just the other side of Wigmore St.

This was where I first came across the Button Queen, some thirty years ago when I used to make regular trips to the Westminster rent records office for my employers. It was a funny shop as it was on the apex of a triangle.

Toni Frith retired some years ago, and became a “dog walking” a volunteer for “The Friends of Animals League” at foal farm, Biggin Hill. Later she became secretary and trustee for the charity. She was obviously my kind of gal!!

Her son Martyn carried forward “The Button Queen” business, moving it to new premises, just across the road from the triangular site at 76 Marylebone Lane, which is now being re-developed.

It is a very friendly shop - not at all intimidating. There is not a lot of floor space so the buttons are ‘displayed’ in turquoise velvet covered folders and when you have selected the button of choice it is fetched from the stock at the back of the shop.

I was on a mission, so did not have time to browse at leisure. I had to buy some beautiful shell buttons for shirts. But if you are ever in the area it is worth popping in and having a browse and I suspect you will not come away empty handed!

An alternative textile tour of London – part 1

2011-07-01T08:08:00.000+01:00

On the hottest day of the year, I was to be found traipsing round the west end of London for son No 1. It was a bit of an ‘alternative’ tour and I thought it worth sharing.

I started off in Berwick Mews just off Berwick Street, Soho – the location of DM Buttons.

Now we only tend to think of Soho as home to sex shops and other dodgy goings on, but believe me, Berwick Street is a textile hub. When I first knew it in the 1980s it was a textile haven. It did decline, but I get the impression that it may be on the up again and does have a small street market.

I understand that as well as the shops, Soho was also once home to many specialist trades, now sadly declined, and it is possible that DM Buttons is one of the few that is hanging on. You have to go to the bottom of Berwick Mews, D'Arblay Street ( not particularly glamorous) through an unprepossessing door and down some rickety steps into what was a very cool basement. Trust me, on Monday, just being in the basement was a huge relief.

I believe from a bit of web research that DM Buttons has been trading out of the same building for nearly 100 years ago. The sole proprietor is David Miller, who took over the business from his father, who took over from his great aunt. Apparently, Mr Miller senior was originally a hat maker, working in the same building with his grandfather. As well as proprietor, Mr Miller is also the ‘worker’ and when I arrived was sat at a machine in the corner making fabric covered cufflinks. (Apparently they supply a west end shop with these). The basement, which is not very large, has a number of different button hole and riveting machines – some of them looking pretty antique as well – and it all felt a bit ‘Harry Potter’

If you have ever sewn a button hole on a domestic sewing machine, you will know how long it can take and how frustrating it can be. It takes me ages just to do a row of button holes on the front of a shirt. And of course a domestic machine will struggle with thick materials.

DM Button’s special machines do this in the flash of an eye. I had two jackets which needed button holes and we had marked up the fabric on the wrong side. So while I was faffing about with some tailors chalk, Mr Miller (who had rolled his eyes as I staggered into the room thinking ‘we have a right one here!’), did the button holes in the two canvas shirts I had with me, tended to two other customers who came down and did the button holes in another shirt. I ear wigged one of the conversations and understand that he can work on any kind of garment fastening: buttons, poppers, rivets, eyelets, etc.

If you do call, it needs to be early morning – their opening hours are 7.30am to 3pm.

Apparently DM Button’s work features on stage in just about every West End show there is, plus operas and feature films. What is also great is to know that the business (whether by luck or design) ensures the continuation of the trade by linking to some of the UK’s best known art and fashion colleges. I was carrying work by students from Ravensbourne, but fashion and textile Students from all the fashion colleges apparently come to DM Buttons for help and advice in completing their graduation projects. Bruce Oldfield and Lee (Alexander) McQueen apparently first visited when they were originally college students and their design houses still use DM Buttons for their special requirements.

So, if you have a lot of button holes to do you might want to consider using DM Buttons. Mr Miller did the button holes while I was there and I did not have to wait. I guess that at certain times it can be very busy (running up to London Fashion Week for instance) so it might be worth phoning first. I don't know if you can send stuff in - you would have to ask. They also do specialist cover buttons - you can have buttons made in your own fabric.

Buying buttons and other things in an overheated London.

2011-06-27T08:05:00.000+01:00

Just a quick catch up.

Helping son no 1 finish his final collection (the show is tomorrow). This was what those collars was about (for anyone following this blog).

Today I am being dispatched, in a sudden London heat wave, to source more buttons and get button holes made on garments. I only have my jeans with me! I will cook!!

More to follow on this!

More From Seville

2011-06-20T14:28:00.000+01:00

I liked Seville very much. I went there last September. Earlier in the year I went to Granada and fell in love with the Moorish architecture. In Seville there was more ‘gritty realism’ and the architecture felt more ‘used’. I also loved the lush Spanish gardens.

Here are two more pages from the Seville sketch book that focus on the architecture.

I thought you might also be interested to see a couple of pages of the book before i started altering it. On reflection, it was a beautiful book – some of the photographs were stunning. But the recipes were very dated. Anyway – there is no point in having any regrets. The transformation is well underway.

It has been a busy week at ‘work’!

2011-06-17T08:40:00.000+01:00

Finished page (though of course I might come back to it!)

By work I mean the day job! In a way I am lucky as my day job does require some creativity – though not in a visual way. But when a lot of creative energy goes into the day job the result is that I have felt a bit ‘blocked’ and not inspired to get the sewing machine out.

So instead I have been doing a bit of gentle ‘sketchbook’ work. I have a major work in progress, inspired by a visit to Seville last year. Sitting in evening with the radio on and sketching or inking and using beautiful ‘ink tense’ pens, is a great way to keep creative and keep me going (it is my ambition to do something every day).

I find plain paper in clean sketch books a bit scary so am enjoying using an old recipe book, picked up in a charity shop, and have had some very fun evenings simply applying colour to the pages.

Page was gessoed, then paintsticks used to add background. The 'hair combs' use inktense and gold mettalic ink

The background - ink splattered onto gessoed page.

Finishing Things

2011-06-15T09:37:00.000+01:00

Last weekend, it was a rainy Sunday, so I was able to steal several hours in my sewing room!

I managed to finish two more collars for Son No1 (I will do a proper post on the collars soon, but for now you just need to know that they take a long time!!)

I also found a scrap of fabric with some experimental prints using some commercial Thermofax images printed onto a piece of dyed fabric. It was just a scrap but seemed to call out for a bit of attention. So, I got out the cording foot for my machine which I bought at a quilt show a couple of years ago, rummaged in a bag with some random balls of wool, and low – I had a border. I had not used the foot before, but it was so easy!

I backed the fabric onto a piece of felt, added a couple of lines of embroidery (using a preset stitch from the machine) and there you have it – a very simple hanging.

A great Sunday. Note to self – finish more things. It makes you feel very good inside.

2011-06-11T11:23:00.000+01:00

Although progress is a bit sporadic, I am loving my latest sketch book – loosely based on a visit to Seville last September.

I started with a recipe book from a local charity shop. It was a lovely book, but recipes have rather moved on and I needed the paper! I have gradually been gessoing the pages and then using a number of different techniques to create background colour.

For one very successful page I used Procion dye dissolved in water as an ink, then cut a stencil from Freezer paper and used Markal paint sticks to add the design (the shape is very simple and is derived from a tile in a building in Seville).

I then scanned the image into the computer and using Paint.Net just manipulated the image. The results are very satisfying, though I am not sure what to do with them yet.

I am open to suggestions!

Meanwhile, the sketch book continues to develop slowly (and I should add that the bottom photo is the original - the wonder of Paint.Net)

Using marbled papers and fabrics

2011-06-02T22:42:00.000+01:00

I am working on a sketch book based on Seville. It is a long term project and has been a work in progress for months (spare moments grabbed in the evening after work if I am not too tired and the dog allows it). I will come back to it, but for now here are a couple of images worked over marbled backgrounds.

This first one marbled on paper and was stamped using a home made stamp made from sticky foam circles stuck onto card. I stamped it using gold ink and then mounted the paper onto acrylic felt before freehand embroidery.

This sample was marbled onto calico, stamped in the same way using a green stamp pad, mounted onto felt and then some embroidery stitches from my machine were used.

Linda Miller

2011-05-27T07:15:00.000+01:00

And a quick post script to the last upload, I have now added Linda Miller to my links section on the RHS.

If you have time have a look at her lovely, lovely work. I am very privileged because I own a piece that was commissioned especially for me. I will try to photograph that to share with you.

To Frame or not To Frame

2011-05-27T07:09:00.000+01:00

That is an interesting question. I don’t know if this is just my perception, but it seems to me that in textile art, traditional framing is not often used. Textile pieces are often ‘self framing’ (the edging of a quilt usually being both integral to the design and also ‘finishing it’.)

On the other hand my good friend Rob tells me that “a good picture deserves a good frame and a bad one needs a good frame”. This is possibly not his quote – it may in turn have come from a tutor at Camberwell School of Art.

Anyway, Linda Miller (who does lovely whimsical embroideries) almost always uses simple wooden frames for her pieces. And it really sets them off. So lately I too have been putting framing finished pieces.

A couple of blogs ago I presented my latest pieces. Well here they are framed - though I apologise for the quality of the photos - not my best. See what you think (though I must admit, even without the issue of the photo quality, that in my view they are better in the ‘flesh’ than on screen – but don’t you think that is true of a lot of art – up close and personal it sings out to you?)

You can see better photos of the unframed pieces if you go to 11th and 7th April.

More Marbling!

2011-05-23T09:12:00.000+01:00

As mentioned previously, marbling can be addictive!

What makes it such a successful technique for sketchbooks etc. is that it fills a page instantly. A lot of people starting out (and that included me) find a blank white page rather ‘scary’ and intimidating and don’t know where to start.

With marbling you don’t begin with the paper at all – you start with the bath of water where you float the colour - and the paper or cloth is almost incidental. And then, because you float the paper or fabric upside down, the result is rather ‘serendipitous’.

Looking back in my albums I found some other photos of a previous workshop. We literally filled the house with lovely sheets of pattern.

In the bathroom!

In the bedroom!

On the landing!

Here is one crying out for stitch!

Twelve by Twelve - international art quilts

2011-05-20T17:19:00.000+01:00

Twelve by Twelve

The other day a book package appeared on my desk at work. I had not ordered a book so was a bit bemused - and indeed left it for a day before opening it.

But when I got around to it, what a lovely surprise! A present from my friend Ellen – the book of the Twelve by Twelve quilt group.

Twelve by Twelve are an international group of 12 quilt artists who have embarked on an amazing art challenge. Every two months or so, they each make a small quilted art piece -- 12x12 inches -- on a designated theme or Colorplay palette chosen by one of the group They use their blog to share process and progress. The results are showcased on the Quilt Gallery and Artist Gallery pages of their website www.twelveby12.org

What is great is that the participants are from different places throughout the world. From what I can make out they met via their individual blogs but what I cannot tell is if they have actually met in person (possibly because I have not got to that part of the book yet).

They have just published a book, a really well presented and well thought out publication which provides a detailed look at the creative inspirations, processes, techniques, and workspace of each of the group. There are beautiful photographs of all 144 quilts in the Theme series and sidebars offering quilting tips such as "Adapting Commercial Fabrics", "Quilt Finishing Techniques", and one on "Demystifying the Thermofax" (so I now have a hankering for my own Thermofax machine – it seems that they may still be lurking in old school cupboards!).

For any one inspired by the group there is information on how to start your own challenge group and why it's important to blog; and information on what it's like to be part of a virtual craft community.

The Twelve by Twelve quilts are currently on tour in the UK, which is how Ellen discovered them, and will be at the 'Festival of Quilts' from the 11^th to the 14^th of August.

Marbling workshop

2011-05-14T10:33:00.000+01:00

There is so much fun to be had with a cat litter tray!

Last Monday saw a group of lovely ladies gathered in the large kitchen of a stunningly beautiful house in a lovely part of the country (between Petersfield and Chichester) to have a go at marbling on a range of fabrics and papers.

Thanks to Lesley for hosting the day and for the delicious lunch (salmon en croute), thanks to Lou for organising and thanks to Fiona and Jude for contributing to the fun.

Marbling seems to be a very addictive activity. People get really absorbed and while I also planned a bit of printing (with my favourite ‘printing tools’ – polystyrene pizza bases and 'foam on cardboard') somehow we did not really get round to much of that!

Here are some pictures.

2011-05-06T23:55:00.000+01:00

It has been a hectic week at work and now I am gearing up for an equally hectic weekend. The fruit bushes on the allottment need netting and I am getting ready to run a workshop in Petersfield on Monday.

The workshop is 'Marbling and Mark Making on Fabric and Paper'. It is great fun though it can be a bit messy. I spent this evening getting all the materials together. Heading off for the south coast first thing tomorrow.

2011-04-28T21:37:00.000+01:00

Sorry about lack of recent blog updates. The Easter weekend rather got in the way and it has been a hectic week at work this week. But I have not been completely idle on the fabric front.

It was lovely to have Emily to stay last week. Together, we had a very busy couple of days making cloth dolls based on a pattern by Sharon Mitchell (from New Zealand) who has a fascinating blog at http://sfmclothdollswithattitude.blogspot.com/

The finished dolls stand about 11 inches tall. Emily turned the dolls fingers with the tools she had for Christmas and I stitched the bodies and then make the clothes.

A great tip was to use Freezer Paper and to stitch around the paper and then cut out.

That collar on the boys shirt was a real fiddle! It is tiny!

Tiny shoes before assembly.

Here are the finished dolls (somewhat spookily without their heads as Emily was doing the face sculpting elsewhere.). They stand on their own and have been a real success.

Rainbow Silks

2011-04-17T09:01:00.000+01:00

Just a quick entry this morning, but I thought it would be worth mentioning Rainbow Silks, not least because I have just spend some money with them.

Based in Great Missenden (a great place to visit because the Roald Dahl museum has a great tea shop and Rainbow Silks has a shop there - as well as an on line shop) they have a fabulous range of all things arty. Great products that can be difficult to source elsewhere. I have ordered a new line in marbling paints (to try out at a workshop I am running in a couple of weeks) - they work on fabric but are not washable. Probably best for papers and sketch booking. But worth a look.

So, I have put the link up on the links section on the right hand side in case anyone wants to have a look..

2011-04-14T09:33:00.000+01:00

Not a particularly creative week on the textiles front (all my creativity currently being poured into work).

But I thought you might like to see this. A couple of weeks ago Son came to stay. ( He is in Major Final Project hell with 6 complete outfits to make for his collection).

He has plans for a beautiful Bomber Jacket and the idea that weekend was to break the back of it. In the end this did not happen but we did produce some lovely samples. One in particular involved layering silk chiffon over silk habotai and then (using a 2 inch grid) making small, circular gathers. This was then attached to cotton/bamboo wadding with a tiny gold bead.

The photo does not do it justice! The effect is a floaty, rippling finish. Son has gone home to try printing a gold foil grid onto the silk before doing this technique for the finished article. I have not seen that yet, but I think will look beautiful.

2011-04-11T10:03:00.000+01:00

Here is the latest piece finished and ready for the framer.

Apologies - while I am getting a bit more web savvy, this is not the right way up! You are looking at it sideways.

Anyway - it uses my current favourite medium, tissue paper, as a base - 'inked' using a procion dye, sprayed with an glowing orange ink, then stamped with gold writing ink and small squares of gold foil paper are stuck on. The images are from a simple print block that I have been working with for some time. These are altered on a computer and printed onto 'computer Fabric'. The stiching is machine embroidery (freehand) with hand sewn beads.

2011-04-07T18:29:00.000+01:00

Well that was not a very auspicious start. I now feel a bit more confident with web pages so am starting again.

In January and February I treated myself to two courses at the Bramble Patch in Northamptonshire with Angie Hughes www.angiehughes.com .

The Bramble Patch is the most wonderful place for a course and attracts lots of excellent tutors. The shop is great if you are a patch-worker and quilter. For more info look at their website www.thebramblepatch.co.uk

This year, as well as keeping this blog up to date, I am determined to finish projects. Here is the piece finished from the January course – Buds and Blooms. This is promised to my Mum, who has a bit of a gap on the wall by her stairs. I plan to get it framed for her.

Angie does courses else where so if you are not near Northampton you can still enjoy her fantastic techniques. Check her website or blog for more details.

London

2010-08-20T17:44:00.000+01:00

Blowing the budget at Zetters Hotel in Clerkenwell. Cultural weekend in store.

Beginnings

2010-08-19T23:05:00.000+01:00

Well not really. This may be the first blog post but it is not really the beginning.

Stressful day spent doing operational planning with rest of the SMT and then home for an evening catching up on emails and a bit of silk painting.

Not exactly silk painting - son did that last night. This is his (and my) first foray into steam fix silk dyes and using silk cotton. So we came home via the fish and chip shop to pick up some paper to wrap the silk (it is amazng - you would imagine that no one goes into a fish and chip shop to ask for just some paper, but he did and they did not bat an eyelid!). Then I bashed a wire coat hanger with a hammer to make it straight and he wrapped the silk around the coat hanger before suspending it over a steam bath in a fish kettle.

Now if I had been an experienced blogger I would have photographed this, but I didn't so I am afraid for now you will have to imagine this.

After 45 mins gentle steaming I think we might have our first steam fixed piece of silk. Sadly, he is back to London this weekend and is taking the paints and the fish kettle with him, so if I am to do this again I will have to source my own fish kettle on ebay!

And thanks to local silk artist Yvonne Bell ( http://www.yvonnebell.co.uk/) for sharing all this with Son. Will deliver jar of home made jam next week as a thankyou.