True blue

Blue is not my colour, hence no stock! (You may recall, dear reader, that I committed to a Vintage and Handmade sale but with Blue and White stock!)

Vintage is not my thing either!

So, I'm on a mission to get a bit of work together for the handmade and vintage sale at the beginning of March. Time to go through the fabric stash and see what I have got that could be pressed into service.

And first up - some scraps of white velvet. And some white silk chiffon.

So, I applied a bit of fabric paint to the silk (nothing fancy - just using a wet on wet technique to let it all blend a bit) and then a bit of freehand embroidery onto the velvet.

These are fairly large and flamboyant ( the ruler at the side gives you the scale) - I am thinking brooches (or rather I started off thinking brooches) but I might rethink into smaller framed pieces because they are a bit large for a brooch.

I will mull on (by the way, that is a bit of painted rag paper behind to give a 'feel', but it's the wrong colour blue!)

But I cannot just focus on Blue and White for this sale - I need to release the artistic muse a bit (and those who are awake will notice that a third colour has already crept in!)

And if anyone follows me on Pinterest you may know that I have a slightly bonkers board named 'Buckingham to Godsport - and all points along the way'

Now, this sort of reflects my slightly bonkers life.

If, dear reader, you have been dipping into my musings from time to time over the last 400 or so blog posts (yes - you read that correctly! I have been fannying about here in blogland for over 400 episodes) you may realise that I am, geographically speaking, a split personality.

I work in Milton Keynes (and stay up near work during the week) but live in Gosport right next to Portsmouth in Hampshire (and by the sea!)

And, if you are sharp, I can confirm that Pinterest name is not a spelling mistake - Godsport is intentional. It is often used as a pet name for Gosport - I guess because homecoming sailors would be so relieved to see its welcoming shores (and the welcoming arms of the infamous ladies of the night - a roaring trade, I believe, when England ruled the waves!)

I often feel torn between the two places. 'Home' is a bit of a funny concept for me.  Do I live in MK or Portsmouth?

Dear reader - are you still with me on this?

Now, I am a bit of a fan of some of the quirky modern artists who do work for St Judes, the fabrics and print house. 

We are probably all very familiar with Angie Lewin, but it is a couple of the other artists who float my boat.

First of all there is Mark Hearld. Now I have blogged about him before.  I am a huge fan.

Of course there is Clive Hicks Jenkins - I am totally smitten with everything Clive produces and am saving my pennies for a bit of his original art.  I also follow his blog. 

And then there is Jonny Hannah - and the Darktown Billets Doux!

There is something dark about Jonny Hannah's work - it feels rooted in folk art and I feel drawn to that theme in someway. Hence the Buckingham to Godsport Pinterest page - a depository for all sorts of slightly strange images and objets along my route home!  (not literally - we are talking the deep recesses of my mind here!)

So, Blue and White feels like a good place to begin to explore that theme.

Watch this space!