LITTLE WORKS OF ART

Bright Summers Day

2011-10-04T18:04:00.000+01:00

How about this for memories of summer.

I have been experimenting with new ways of using silk in my work. Just painting it had lost interest for me so I have started to manipulate it first and then paint it. Very pleased with the result. I orginally intended to complete the centre using thread and silk cocoons but time ran away with me and to finish it in time for the latest Silk-n-Threads exhibition I had to use acrylics instead.

SKETCHBOOK CHALLENGE

2011-01-30T15:24:00.000Z

I have been taking part in the Sketchbook Challenge set by Sue Bleiweiss http://sketchbookchallenge.blogspot.com/2011/01/sketchbook-challenge-begins.html and this is my first page of doodles under the title 'Highly Prized'. I also made the sketchbook to house the sketches and I am very plesed with the effect gained by stencilling over an old purple disposable tablecloth with Markal oil sticks and Treasure Gold products. To protect the surface I acrylic waxed the final result.

THE PRESIDENT - CLEMATIS

2010-12-27T18:09:00.002Z

It has been a while since I last posted but I have been busy creating and just to prove it here is a silk embellished picture of a clematis that used to climb throughout a quince at our last house. Sadly it is no longer there as the new owner has pulled up most of the garden for an extension!! So glad I have a reminder of this stunning clematis 'The President'. I've bought a new one for a trellis at our new house.

This closeup shows in more detail the texture I achieved with the embellisher and the finishing off on the sewing machine as well as the beaded centre.

Bye Bye "End of Season"

2009-07-12T18:02:00.009+01:00

"End of the Season" has been hanging in my art room for a few months now and I had really begun to like it again. It was a piece that I completed for the Textile 21 exhibition at Norton Priory last year, before all my operations and because it was done whilst I was not feeling 100% I dismissed it. It is a peaceful piece and was a success in terms of techniques that worked. The background is a piece of dry felted velvet using silk and wool tops. In particular I liked the effect achieved by the silk noil. The stems were trusty tyvek rolled painted heated and then painted again for highlights. As with most of my pieces the finishing touches were hand stitches for the seed heads.
Well it has gone, sold at the Holmfirth Art Week. When I found out the buyer I was very excited as it is the local Yorkshire artist Jill Moynan, check out her pictures. Even more surprising was the fact that of all the 500+ pictures on show it was one of hers that I would have chosen as my favourite and given wall space to. Must contact her to share this revelation with!!

Here is detail of the seed head the smaller stems are machine wrapped cords that I then painted.

I also sold lots of my knitted necklaces and scarves, it is so gratifying to know that individuals out there appreciate my work and choose to wear them. Thankyou so much, it makes me want to continue with creating.

I'M BACK!!!!!!!!!!

2009-07-02T19:48:00.003+01:00

Been away too long, health and family got in the way as they do!

However here is my latest piece that is in the Holmfirth ArtWeek (Yorkshire) starting the 5th -11th July. Well worth a visit if you live in the vacinity. Entitled "Green Silks", fairly obvious as it is entirely silk and I used yellow and turquoise procion dyes.

This is the finished piece, ignore the shelves behind I forgot to edit before posting!!

I painted a box canvas in mixes of white, burnt senna and lemon yellow to get rid of the spark white of the canvas, works well!

I entered and was selected for the Derbyshire Open with a piece entitled 'Golden Strata' that was inspired by the Blue John stone that can be found in the Blue John Caverns in the Peak District. It is achieved by painting tyvek gold and then heating until it resembles molten metal. the bulk of the purple is free machine embroidery. The preview was last Friday and it was great to see my piece on view.

Will post more very soon now that I am back to normal!!

TEXTILE 21 EXHIBITION

2009-03-11T12:44:00.006Z

Here is my latest piece of work for the up and coming Textile 21 exhibition at the New Vic in Newcastle under Lyne from the 23rd March until the 25 April 2009.

The exhibition title 'Recollections' brought to mind colours that my mum used to favour when I was child in her work. She was a seamtress and of course like so many children of the 50s I never had anything on my back that wasn't homemade be it fabric or wool. I still have a piece of cotton guaze like fabric that she was saving for something 'special'. The day never came and my children ended up using it to dress up in when they stayed with her. I still treasure that fabric and it gave me the inspiration for this latest piece - hence its title, 'Memory Shades'.

I embellished two layers of synthetic organza with trapped fibres between, leaving large areas unembellished to creat the raised effects. Then set to work on the hand embroidery, again a hommage to Mum as she enjoyed her embroidery so.

Below is a closeup of the section of french knots that works so well.

Happy New Year

2009-01-08T12:16:00.008Z

Happy New Year to all dropping by.

I have been very naughty in not posting sooner this new year but life has certainly been busy recently.

Great family Christmas, met up with my brother and his family on Christmas Sunday for a bracing walk in Lyme Park, neither my brother or Husband is on this pic but the younger generation look suitably happy. It was very cold glad I had my hat on. My two beautiful daughters are on the far left. I was very pleased with myself as we walked one and three quarters of a mile, this was the furtherest since my new hip op in September.

Creatively I have been trying to complete the Tif challenge and this is the result. The relatively dark colour scheme was Octobers challenge and my interpretation of the theme of Storage. I compartmentised the postcard in to 24 squares and filled each one with some aspect of my storage needs e.g. beads, threads, buttone, wool, fabric. As usual Sharon stretched my use of colour and made me approach one well outside my comfort zone.This was December's colour scheme and I used the seasonal theme of Christmas. I used tiny bits of ribbon and and then machined seasonal motifs on top of the braids and ribbons. To finish off the basic design I machined squares around the edge and ontop.

I then attacked the Maggie Grey on-line workshop for November. I finished my wigwam books, the first hand stitched has some brillant colours as a result of Quink ink on Gesso, the six cords each have a different bead some hand made some from my stash.

This is a view of the back which shows the gilded finish on the trapped muslin.

This bronze and purple book utilised woodem stamps pressed into the wet gesso and those in relief are tissue moulds made from the same stamps. The pic below shows how I FME the motif. To save time I machined the three sides together, i was surprised how well my machine coped with the pelmet vilene and gesso.

Ruth Issett Workshop 'Surfaces to Dye For'

2008-12-02T10:57:00.008Z

Been so busy recently with three exhibitions and family gatherings but still managed to fit in a two day workshop at Alston Hall, Lancshire with Ruth Issett entitled 'Surfaces to Dye For'. The aim was to see how different fabrics and fibres reacted differently to Procion MX dyes. Ruth is such a special lady she is so experienced in dyeing and an accompolised embroidery women. Having been in education for 30 years myself I can always spot a talented teacher and facilitator and she certainly is that. I personnally can't understand a 'teacher' who won't share their expertise and Ruth did so much sharing of tips and hints that all who attended went away with so much wealth of knowledge, it just wasn't long enough.

This is the sample experimental piece that we completed the first night so that we could assess the suitability of our stash of fabics.

BEFORE DYEINGAFTER DYEING
We then spent a day and a half completing, in my case, two embroideries that utilised cotton, linen, viscose and silk plus a range of the 'newer' fabrics and fibres now readily available eg banana, hemp, sisal.

This was the cotton, linen and viscose piece. The fabrics tended to be heavier in weight and included muslin, builders scrim, tailors canvas, lace, binca and tapestry fabrics,

After dyeing the range of colours was amazing it wasn't until it dried completely that the subtlety of how the different fabrics took up the dye emerged.

This closeup shows the surface decoration in more detail. French knots, cretan stitch, whipping stitch, tassels, bullion stitch and some machine embroidery stitches in different thread to the couched thread.

This second piece below utilised silk fabrics in many weights, such as muslin, pongee, noile, organza and velvet. This closeup illustrates the vertical lines I achieved by laying down many threads some of which were couched, some left to dangle freely.

I choose to dye this piece with turquoise, lemon yellow and golden yellow, although it was relatively successful I now can see that some scarlet would have given some subtle burnt oranges and browns. All in all a very enjoyable two days and I learnt so much about how to utilise fabrics when dyeing.

Todays offerings

2008-10-31T15:51:00.008Z

Just spent a couple of hours playing with Gesso and pelmet Vilene in preparation for Maggie Grey's Textile Translations on line course that starts tomorrow. You have to buy the book to be eligible to take the course but it will be well worth it.

The first two show closeups of the painted Vilene with Gesso and a very open muslin that I distressed before pushing into the Gesso.

The relief effect is achieved by using a palette and pretending you are icing a Christmas cake to achieve a snowy ridge effect .

This sample has been painted with three Brusho watercolours, you can just make out the salt that I sprinkled on the piece whilst it was still damp. It reacts with the water in the watercolour paint.

This final sample below is the effect you get when you use Quink black ink. The darl areas are where the tissue paper I applied was not covered with gesso. After sealing with PVA I intend dry painting this with some Stewart Gill paints from the Galactica and Metallica range.

And finally.............

Below are two batik pictures that I completed before I went into hospital. They are currently part of an exhibition at Marple Library with the Cheshire Guild of Silk Painters. It runs until Saturday 15th November. The colours in the pics are not as vibrant as in real life, should have edited I suppose but too lazy at present.

Take it Further September 'Lists'

2008-10-14T15:03:00.004+01:00

Finished this a few weeks ago but remiss of me not to post until now.

Sharon Boggin's TIF challenge for September was 'LISTS'. I am glad that I chose to complete these challenges in post card format as they are easy to fit into small time slots and places! This was completed whilst in hospital last month and so is mainly finished by hand.
The 10 point list is all the things I choose to make lists of, in roughly chronological order. The colour scheme once again challenged me as it was outside of my comfort zone.
I embellished the base on my Janome in vertical lines and then hand embroidered in the opposite direction the 10 usual things I have found myself making lists of over the years. It was fun to remember some of them eg the most desireable attributes of boys I would most like to go out with!!!!! and those dreaded homework lists in ones homework diary!!!

Todays Mail

2008-10-04T17:37:00.005+01:00

The postman delivered a lovely selection of goodies this morning. I was having a lie in, feeling very fibro today (Fibromyalgia can strike with no warning) when 1 book, 1magazine and some knitting wool arrived. The book is the new one from Maggie Grey 'textile translations'. can't wait to be able to get going on some of the activities in this truely inspiring book. Anyone who buys it can get involved in free web workshops starting in November. The mag was the new 'Quilting Arts' and Maggie appears in this as well with an article on 'Print Magic' there is a very good piece on batik using soy wax, must try that one. The wool is some baby double knit for a jacket I am knitting for my daughters sister-in-law who is expecting later this month.

These are a group of mushrooms that have appeared on our front lawn this week. We have been taking a picture a day to monitor their progress. Some of the pics are going to be ideal for either a textile interpretation by moi or a watercolour by David.

I'm Back.... with new pieces of metal

2008-09-28T11:25:00.006+01:00

Well I'm now able to sit in front of the computer and have enough energy and enthusiasm to complete a new post. Thanks to all those of you who have sent me kind messages over the last few weeks. The operation went relatively well, I now have metal pieces that I didn't have before but my surgeon promises me that I won't set off the alarms at the airport!! Unfortunately there is a small fractute at the top of the femur which is preventing me from weight bearing on that leg for 6 weeks, only 3 and a bit to go. Crutches are the worst invention going the damage they do to ones shoulders is awful. Frustration is well and truely set in, all the things I want to do and and all the jobs I can see need doing but I am now resigned to the fact that they will all be waiting for me when I am fit. David has been a star, I am getting great meals and personal service. He is planning on designing some new cartoons in the 'Love Is' series, such as 'Love is emptying her commode' and 'Love is drying between her toes', won't publish the others...........

Lots of visitors and cards and flowers. Isn't it interesting how the flowers that people choose reflect their personalities. These were from a friend who knows that I like fushia colours and the fact that this can be put out into the garden after admiring it indoors, always the practical one is Annette.

This is from Rita my arty friend and she expects some form of representation of these great calas. Hopefully I will be able to look after them and have the same next year, managed it this year with some burgundy coloured ones

Isn't the shape and form of these plants so inspiring, reminds me of my daughters wedding last year, she had them everywhere.

Starting to get back to creating but is a bit complicated when despite the best laid plans the thread or beads you want are upstairs and you are on your own and not really supposed to go up and down stairs without someone behind you.

This bouquet is from my husbands work collegues a typical corporate gesture but what a magnificant display, however the downside is that the red ornamental cabbages have had to be removed as their smell was too over powering in the lounge especially when the door was opened in the morning.

Planning next week and what I intend to do, some designing for the next Textile 21 Exhibition 'Recollections', some knitting of my latest arty scarves for the Christmas shows and some more of my seed head cards.

I have just ordered the latest Sarah Lawrence book due out in October, her Crafty Notions website is worth a look. For those of you who saw her article in STITCH earlier this year on Wild Women you can purchsae the doll faces from her website.

New Hip Here I Come

2008-09-06T12:55:00.004+01:00

It's all last minute but I am going in hospital on Monday the 8th September for my long awaited hip replacement. There was a cancellation and I received a phone call Thursday 4pm, so much to do before then. I will have to organise some pieces to take in with me so that my hands are not idle.

Meanwhile the latest additions to the family are these two delightful ginger kittens belonging to my youngest daughter and her partner, they've called them Arthur and Charlie! What is it with the younger generation and the names they choose; no inventive cuddly names, their last cat was called Alan!

Here I am with the two brothers, one just about to go to sleep and the other off to investigate.Will sign off now and speak again when fit, could be a couple of weeks before I can get to the PC, will have to 'borrow' David's laptop maybe.

latest pieces

2008-08-17T17:04:00.009+01:00

Can never think of a catchy title for my posts but this one is just what it is my latest pieces!

Bought some Mistyfuse on line earlier this week after spotting it on lots of blogs and websites, mainly from the States. As soon as I received it I had to have a play. After experimenting with it on various fabrics I realised two main things. One it does give such a soft result to the finished piece, especially the softer fabrics such as silk, which I use alot of. Secondly it did not leave an opaque effect so ideal for trapping . The picture blow shows a quiltie (5x5inch) using threads from my bit bag.

Below is a closeup that shows how there is no obvious top surface covering the trapped threads as there would have been with bondaweb so I am definitely a convert when I want to utilise this technique. The off white top stitching was FME with cotton perle in the bottom spool.

Do still like Bondaweb where some firmness is needed though and this piece below utilised it perfectly. I made a sandwich from silk hankies which I had previously dyed. I like the ability to handle and control the colour placement instead of making silk paper. As embroideries do not need the stability that silk paper gives my technique is favourite in this case. I choose four thin sheets of silk hanklie and sandwich them with one piece of Bondaweb. Because they are so thin one piece is adequate. This is how fine they can be.The finished patterns achieved are I think better than silk paper. Using a rotary cutter I cut out a 4 inch square which I then FME and finished off with a red heart button. This will be in a black frame and is one of my collection I am preparing for the Christmas exhibition.

This closeup shows the Free machine embroidery detail.
This inchie also uses a silk sandwich which is cut into 9 one inch squares and then embroidered. I am completing a series of these inchie pictures for the exhibition.A closeup of two of the squares.

Slash and Burn ATC swop - Unlimited Textiles

2008-07-31T13:21:00.003+01:00

The theme for July's Unlimited Textile swop was 'Slash and Burn'. I opted for an ATC and this is the finished result. The sandwich consists of a base which is black felt with a middle layer of gold fabric and the top layer is a piece of polyester that I treated with a heat gun to create this bubble and hole effect. It was then loosely painted with oil sticks of gold and peacock blue. I then used my soldering iron to make further holes some going through one layer some through two so the black felt showed.
Margaret Roberts (Digital gran) will be receiving this ATC.

This closeup shows the layers in more detail.
Below is a postcard that I completed as I did make a large piece so I could add to my design/ideas book

Tif July Challenge

2008-07-16T15:38:00.004+01:00

The colour scheme for July as part of Sharon B's Take it Further Challenge reminds me of heather and the colours of Fair Isle jumpers so popular in the 1980s and 1990s. The theme 'Half Way Mark' got me thinking not of time but of other spects of half way. Half Full or Half Empty situations. I know so many people who swing from approaching a situation/trauma in a positive and then negative way. So I doodled postcard shapes and divided them into half, vertically, horizontally and diagonally, shading them in in a variety of ways and formats.
I chose my materials, a selection of wool and silk tops that fell into the colour scheme and embellished them onto a piece of white felt. The wool gave me the background I wanted horizontal stripes and the silk was them embellished on top in diagonal sections. I love the way some of the silk sits on the top in clumps giving the effect of heather/earthy relief.

The finished result is so reminiscent of hand knitted woollen jumpers.

Holmfirth Art Week

2008-07-13T16:48:00.005+01:00

David and I went to Holmfirth Art Week twice this past week. Once on our own on Wednesday so that we could have a good look around not once but at least three times, all at varying speeds to fully appreciate the art work on show. Some of the ceramics were outstanding and Jackie Walton was the featured potter and she had some stunning exhibits, I think by Saturday she had sold all her pieces. I would have given house room to any of her pots but by the time I got there they were nearly all sold!

The second time we went was with our eldest daughter and husband who turned up as a surprise on Friday. They live in Poole on the south coast of England, a 5 hour car journey. Joanne wanted to see me before I go into Hospital for my NEW hip next month. We had a great weekend and they are such a happy newly married couple.................!

As for sales we both sold a painting. 'David's Cow' or Contentment and my Autumn leaves.

This was taken before I had it mounted and framed. The camera has created indentations where in actual fact the natural cord swirls were in relief. The leaves are Tissutex painted with silk paint before cutting out.

I had put some items in the Craft Market, unframed textile pieces, embroidered cards, knitted jewellery, bucket bags and silk scarves.

This bucket bag is my own design and is a crazy patchwork of fabric, it is lined with silk. So glad someone will be enjoying it.It is so gratifying when people choose to purchase your designs and art work but then Holmfirth does get a very diverse group of people through its doors. I also sold three pics that I posted last month, 'Pink confusion', 'Tall and Proud', the foxgloves and 'Russets' the green felted piece. I didn't bring much home so my stock will have to be replenished which means lots of creating!!!!!!!!! good oh!

TIF catch up

2008-07-03T11:55:00.008+01:00

Very late May TIF contribution. I liked the pastel colour scheme

which was a change and the theme of 'What do you call yourself?' prompted me to make a list of all the labels I currently attach to myself and the one that kept coming to the surface was that of an experimenter of mixed textile media. At present I am working on creating new surfaces on which to surface embellish by hand or FME. So what better way to interpret May's theme than utilising the colour way and the theme. I cut a piece of white felt Post Card size to fit in with all my other monthly challenges and then cut strips of organza and fabric in the given colour way. I embellished them on my Janome embellisher and then hand embroidered the surface design. I chose cretan stitch as I was very pleased with the effect gained last year on Sharon's take a Stitch Tuesday. This I did whilst on holiday in Menorca last week.

It's coming along nicely.

Even later is April's challenge, this is the base for my interpretation of 'How I see change'.

Change creates a swirl effect whether its positive or negative. So this piece will be based on swirls and curves that life throws us. Very pertinent at present for us as a family as we have lots of trauma and long term chronic illness affecting family and close friends. I can see this dynamic movement of life and family situations and how it is constantly changing individuals. The best we can do is try to learn from all the experiences and move forwards...............

This is the view from the villa we rent on a regular basis from friends. What a back yard!!!This chap came regularly to soak up the sun on the rocks at the end of the garden!

Holmfirth Exhibition and latest work

2008-06-18T15:36:00.007+01:00

I've been very busy over the last few weeks finishing off pieces for the Holmfirth Art Week, 6-12th July. This is 'Pink Confusion', an embellished piece of wool and silk with FME and hand embroidery. The colour representation is so good and the relief effect achieved actually looks recessed.

This detail shows the use of beads to complete the surface embellishment of Pink Confusion.I did this piece using a single felting needle and silk tops, french knots complete the foxglove embellishment. Very pleased with this one.

Another dry felted piece. Silk net gives it a further dimension. Surface embellishment is achieved by FME and bead work.
The next two are in the Seed head series that I started for the Norton Priory exhibition

Seed Head IV

Seed Head V

The next four pics are cards in my Seed Head series they are approx 5-6 cms square. The base is embellished organza or curtaining voile and the seed head is FME. The last one has hand embroidery to finish as in the larger pieces.

These are three of the ten silk scarves I have dyed today. I call this series the Silk Crinklies as they are short and crinklie!!! They are quick and easy to do in the microwave with silk dyes. Ideal small items for sale.

I need now to play catch up on my TIF and Unlimited Textiles pieces. As I am off to Menorca on Monday I think that they will be coming away with me!!! I am in great need of some sun and warmth as I am scheduled to have a hip replacement in a couple of months and want my batteries recharged, I'm on the cancellation list so might get the call any time. Hubby thinks I should have a season ticket at the local hospital after my January gall bladder episode.

Norton Priory Exhibition

2008-06-03T20:50:00.006+01:00

I got a shock when I looked at the date of my last post. It has been such a busy month plus this time of the year is gardening time. The warmth and rain are ideal conditions for growth of everything. My first poppy of the year last week and foxgloves everywhere. Welsh poppies are so bright and cheery but so invasive that I have just spent an hour fulling them up before they seed everywhere, I do leave a few for next year's show!

The pics below are of the preview of the Outside In exhibition at Norton Priory by Textile 21. I've not given too close up a view as I'd rather you go and see it yourself!!

Three ladies admiring my 3 seed head pieces and the man in the back ground with the stripy shirt is my hero David, he also is my hubby.

This is Rita my dear friend from Silk-n-Threads. My informal mentor I usually run most of my pieces by her before signing them off. Such a stylish lady. She is inspecting my work!

Sue and Maria in the foreground having a chat. Both are members of Textile 21 with exhibits well worth seeing.David again but this time chatting about the RAF with Cliff, Pauline's husband. The large batik on the back wall depicts the sculpture in the garden of the Kneeling Monk.

Finally Claires's felt hats being admired by an invited guest with Elsa's three panels on the far wall.

Detail of one of Claire's felt hats

The preview was well received and the exhibition runs until the 14th July. The walled garden at the priory, open each afternoon after 1.30 is well worth the visit.

Norman Window

2008-04-29T16:25:00.005+01:00

Been remiss at not posting recently but life has a way of catching up with one doesn't it?! I am very focussed this week on getting my pieces for the Textile 21 Norton Priory exhibition finished

This is almost at the finished stage. I have been to organise a frame which should be ready on Saturday.

I have posted two pictures the first without flash and the second one with flash. I would say that the colour is some way between the two. The first one shows the navy background and how the reclaimed lace (with soldering iron) shows up. I lightened the window recess area and thankfully it worked!

See pictures on previous post for detail of the distressed edges. There is a Norman window at the Priory and the theme was 'Outside In' so it was crying out to be represented in some way. I have been very pleased with the way the Lutradur behaved it has been coated with many different layers of paint, acrylic and interferance and inks etc. It was a dream to solder and to sew.

Update on Norton Priory pieces

2008-04-08T13:31:00.006+01:00

After a lot of thought I decide to use my soldering iron and attack the treated Lutradur. This enabled me to reclaim the lace shapes and distress the scrim areas.

I have chosen a dark navy polyester fabric for the base as it will show up the holes in the Lutradur. I have applied heat with my heat gun to get a great surface effect.

This is the silhouette of the Dill plant. The base is embellished velvet, the stems are painted tyvek and the seed heads hand embroidery.

Closeup of Seed head still needs highlights

Norton Priory Exhibition

2008-03-26T16:15:00.009Z

The latest exhibition of Textile 21 entitled 'Outside In' is to be held at Norton Priory between 22 May - 14th July 2008. All 15 members have designed and executed new pieces based on the gardens at the Priory to reflect the theme throughout Cheshire this year 'The Year of Garden'.

I have started three pieces that have allowed me to create new surfaces/backgrounds. I can't see much else getting done over the next few weeks as I plough on with these pieces.

The first is an embellished piece on ivory cotton velvet. I have used lace, wool roving and silk tops, as you can see from this pic I played around with the arrangement.

This pic shows the finished surface before I started to create the silhouette design on top. It has been well batted down and the gummed silk has remained in relief giving a very pleasing surface pattern. The finished size will be 9x15inches and mounted around a frame that Hubbie doesn't yet know he will be making!

These are a variety of experiments to reproduce stems for my silhouette of Dill plants. Very long painted tyvek beads and painted machine wrapped cords. I will couch on both types to achieve the different thicknesses of stems.

This is the image that is my inspiration for my first piece.

The second piece is embellishing again but this time on layers of organza with trapped fibres. This pic shows the random placing of cut fabric and fibres before I embellished on my janome Xpression.

This pic is after I have embellished . I love the resulting crinkle effect . I intend to FME a closeup of the Flower head on this background. Following pic gave me this idea.

This is the start of my third piece. Lace and muslin on Lutradur after I have machined in place and painted the reverse in browns and oranges. (thanks to Carol McFee for technique)

Then I painted the right side in acrylics and interference paints.Love the shimmer effect of interference paintsFinished piece ready for the window design to be applied, haven't quite worked that out yet but think the Roman window shape at Norton will be cut out before I FME on the Lutradur.

This is the pic that gave me the inspiration for the window shape.

So back to it.............. having said that I am at a workshop with Jackie Cardy and the Macclesfield Embroiderers Guild tomorrow so it will have to all wait until Friday, then again it's my birthday so i hoping some of my 'friends' will be popping round or phoning up to take me out for lunch!!

I've heard back from most of my nominees for the award of 'inspirational blogs' and it is plain to see the positive effect it has on people as they realise how they an affect other bloggers work and life. A great idea to spread good will and creativity.

Thanks Barbara for Nomination

2008-03-24T15:42:00.005Z

Barbara at Embroidery Overlaps has nominated me for an award as a blog that brought her inspiration and made her appreciate the blogosphere! Thanks Barbara. David and I were away in Poole last week visiting the eldest daughter and husband so I am a little late in responding and choosing my 10 nominees.

MargaretR at Digital Gran

Carol at Taylors Textile Trials

Anna at Serendipity

Doreen at Creative Meanderings

Emmy at Cramzy

Julie at Mixed Media

Sue, Guzzisue, at travelfibreandthread

Maggie at Magstitch

Gunnel at Gunnels Blog

Carol at Textile Tales

and I couldn't resist adding an eleventh

Arlee at albedo

I have enjoyed relooking at my above 'favourites of mine with a different eye and they all fulfill some or all of the criteria that I would expect from an inspirational blog.

How about this for a photo taken whilst down south, it is the view from the garden of the Russell Coates Museum in Bournemouth where we spent a delightful few hours looking at the various exhibits. There was an interesting display entitled 'Flockage:the flock phenomenon' that explored the unique qualities of flock in art, design and culture. The architecture was stunning and hard to grasp that the building was once a family home by the sea.

Take It Further Challenge March

2008-03-22T15:54:00.004Z

This great selection of wool rovings and silk tops are following the given colour scheme for the TIF challenge this month. Sharon Boggon chosen colour scheme for March, the concept was to 'pay attention to the tiny details'.
As time was very precious this month due to many other creative commitments ( exhibitions by Silk-n-Threads at Tatton Park, the Macclesfield Embroiderers Guild at the Silk Museum and the Society of Marple Artists Ruby exhibition in April) whatever I did had to be achieveable in less than 24hours. So I decided to embellish on to black felt and use beads as the tiny details. The finished result works as a fluid swirling piece viewed from a far as the photo below shows. However, if you look closer you can see the tiny details of the beads that give the piece definition and surface texture.

These two closeups show the beads nestling in the embellished wool. I frequently employ beads and french knots to create small pockets of interest that only is realised when the viewer looks close up.

I machine edged the postcard and added it to my monthly collection.

Fabric Paper Workshop

2008-02-29T14:55:00.007Z

Just finished my prep to publicise a workshop tonight at the monthly Silk-n-Threads meeting.

We have a weekly Monday club that is a more informal gathering and on the 10th March I am leading a workshop on Fabric Paper. Above shows one of the pieces before I cut it up.

Below is a closeup of the FME of leaves that embellish the fabric/paper.

This is the front of the altered book that I chose to cover with the fabric/paper.

The green cord was from a carrier bag that I rescued before throwing out.The back of the book.

These five images show a range of altered pages inside the sketch book. The book was a 'Teach Yourself Chemistry' publication from the 1960s, do you remember the black and yellow covers of that series? I suspect I thought at the time that by just owing such books I would become sooooooo clever!!!!!!! I was about to throw it at the Charity shop when I thought what can I possibly do with it? I had it in my mind to keep a sketch book of my garden in 2008 so what better way than in a handmade version that utilises my creative juices as well. I blogged about the method I used here and here.More examples will be posted on the Silk-n-Threads blog at a later date.

TIF and Pink Explosion

2008-02-28T15:44:00.003Z

Finished February TIF, I used the given colour scheme and the concept of What I could remember - Cornish holidays in the 1960s! Didn't have too much time for this challenge so it is a minimalistic version but still effective.

This is what I have been working on most recently. Strips of silk woven into painted tyvek and then blasted with heat gun. this was then FME and machine wrapped cords and beads added as embellishment. It is for the Silk-n-Threads exhibition at Tatton Park 15th march to 1st June entitled 'Year of the Garden'. I wanted to create that overwhelming feeling when there is so much colour in some flower beds during the summer. I think I achieved it.
Close up shows the FME flower heads

North Yorkshire Coast & TIF latest February

2008-02-22T17:34:00.005Z

These two photos were taken in the Vale of York yesterday on our way home from a three day break at Ravenscar, half way between Scarborough and Whitby. DH thought it time to take me away for some recouperation after the op so off we went and we had a brilliant time. Unlike these two photos we had superb weather, each day being still, sunny but fresh. So this winter wonderland was an added bonus.
This was the view from our room overlooking Robin Hoods Bay. Do you spot the golf course? While he was taking in 9 holes I was enjoying the sauna and swimming pool!

I did take the latest TIF with me but didn't do anything at all. That must be a first but the hotel was so relaxing I never had time!!

Stage 1 - six pieces of cotton in the colour scheme to represent a beach, the break in Yorkshire helped fire up images.
Stage 2 - I have started in the bottom left hand corner by attaching beads and stitching french knots. The batik style spots in the fabric are ideal for creating the appearance of sand and debris.

TIF latest February

2008-02-13T12:29:00.004Z

I have found the above in my workroom and they reflect very closely the given colour scheme for February Take it Further Challenge set by Sharon Boggon. This month's concept is 'what are you old enough to remember?' So I brainstormed the concept and always came back to my childhood and its precious memories. Family holidays in Cornwall in the 1960s were the annual highlight of the year, when beach holidays meant taking everything but the kitchen sink with you. A small gas stove to brew tea was essential and salad lunches! The colour scheme is perfect for a beach scene so that's where I'm headed this month. It will be a postcard size again and probably applique in design, still working on that.

2008-02-12T14:41:00.000Z

This is my ATC swop from Susan Lenz as part of the Cyber Fyber swop, it has just arrived in the post.
What isn't visible in the photo is the glint from the Angelina fibres throughout the piece.

This is the postcard, it is such a busy piece that has such deep colours. Susan has done a great job with this initiative. I am working on the swops to return to the States at present so Susan should be receiving them very soon.

Cyber Fyber

2008-02-05T15:46:00.000Z

Visit this blog Cyber Fyber to find out about what Susan Lenz is up to. It is a blog created by fiber artist Susan Lenz for the upcoming international exhibition CYBER FYBER scheduled January 8 - 20, 2009 at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios, 808 Lady Street in downtown Columbia, South Carolina. I have just successfully swopped an ATC and fabric postcard with Susan for the exhibition. I have a month to send her my swops. Sounds like a huge task but it has been well thought out and organised. She has some interesting invited guest exhibitors including Dale Rollerson from Oz, Maggie Grey, Sharon Boggon, and Lynda Monk, plus some names that are new to me but having looked at their websites inspiring choices.

January TIF challenge finished

2008-01-31T13:25:00.001Z

This is my finished piece for the TIF (Take it Further Challenge). It is based on the microscopic image of a gall bladder which is a tribute to my missing organ!!!!! I am feeling so much better healthwise. It is postcard size and worked on felt, the couching around the cream shape is done over machine whipped cords. To see all the finished pieces go to the TIF flickr site .
or blog .
These photos show detail of the corners.

Unlimited Textiles January Swop

2008-01-23T16:02:00.000Z

This is the Art Nouveau ATC finished for Susan D in Liverpool. The image was inspired by some wallpaper design I found on the web. The image was transferred on to cotton fabric using bondaweb. I then painted certain areas with Derwent's InkTense pencils, finally embellishing with hand stitching. The colours are not my usual choice but I was pleased with the intensity of the harmonious colours. I posted it off yesterday so Susan should be receiving it tomorrow, hope she likes it.

TIF latest

2008-01-16T15:41:00.000Z

Photo of my design book for TIF's January challenge. I played around with the images of gall bladders and came up with the design top right. It will be postcard size and the base fabric will be commercial craft felt.

The cream fabric is pinned down for the top right, pleased with the shape, I will attach it down by couching machine wrapped cords, see below.

I machine wrapped three different coloured cords for the edging of the cream shape.

This shows one night's work, I couched the three cords separately and used seed stitch on the cream fabric, I might put some pale lilac on this later if I feel it needs it.
Close up of couching and seed stitch

Generally pleased with the first session of stitching. The next task is to create a loose linear effect on the purle felt, will have to go back to my TAST library for inspiration.

TAST - cover for libary of stitches

2008-01-14T14:52:00.000Z

Here is the piece of embellishing (Janome Xpression) that I have completed for the cover of my stitch library. It is on cotton velvet as I find this keeps its shape very well for larger pieces.
Click on photo for a larger view to appreciate the variety of texture.

I chose colours that were in the base colours of my TAST samples and added contrast colours of lilac and purple, organzas and lace for texture and blacks to hold it together.

The photo below shows lilac wool tops being embellished, they worked well as they allowed the base colours to show through. Left hand side is unembellished and the right is embellished.

After the embellishing I covered the whole piece with programmed stitch on my sewing machine, the area was too large for me to contemplate FME. Again the RHside shows the way the embroidery beds down the piece.

This will cover a cut down A4 lever arch file and now I need to go away and think about the best way to do that.

Health report

2008-01-11T12:35:00.000Z

Thanks to everyone who has passed on their best wishes through this blog, my Flickr and by email.
I came home from hospital 36hours after the op and have been well looked after by DH so far but I think he is looking forward to going back to work next week. Today has been the first day that I have felt like 'creating' so just paid a visit to the recent posts about the TIF challenge and made a start on my design so hopefully will be able to commence stitching at the weekend.

Take It Further Challenge

2008-01-06T15:40:00.000Z

Following on from the TAST challenge of 2007 Sharon Boggon has a new challenge that started on 1st January 2008 - Take It Further (TIF).

Each month she posts a concept and colour scheme. You can choose either or both and work on a design and take it through to completion.

January's concept is 'Somebody you Admire' and the colour scheme is below

I have a busy month this January, next week is my op and then I have to get to work on producing work for two exhibitions so I intend to start with a postcard size piece of work. I may even continue this theme throughout the year so that I can add to my evergrowing collection of fabric postcards and possibly put them together to form a book at the end of the year as I have done with my TAST samples.

I started by putting threads together for inspiration. I made a colour strip firstly from threads I had and then went out to buy the suggested DMC threads. Today in good natural daylight I saw how the two did not exactly match up. The colour scheme is obviously up for interpretation by individuals and therefore I will be using various values of all the above colours.

This selection shows a range of colour values that I intend using. I decided to use the given colour scheme as it is not one of my usual choices and would challenge my natural tendencies. I have rejected the concept however as I have something nearer to my January existence at the present. Whilst researching gall bladders on the web I came across these very organic diagrams of the muscular wall of the gall bladder and was perversely attracted to the natural undulations and curves.
The muscular wall itself has some very interesting patterns that I could easily see translating into stitch. I will have to work on a design, postcard size, next week as I must now go and pack a bag for tomorrow, I have to be at the hospital for 7.30am, and just hope that the Norovirus sweeping through UK hospitals at present doesn't close the ward I am reporting to!!!!!!!!!!

TAST library of stitches

2007-12-31T16:56:00.000Z

I have been busy collating my TAST samples and putting a spine edging on each so that I can make a library of stitches. I decided to use an old lever arch ring binder of my daughters, it is A4 size but can be cut down to the size I want. I have made holes in each spine piece and buttonholed around them for reinforcement. Using this method of book rather than signatures I can add to it a further date and it also allows for easy removal when one is needed for reference. Above are a collection of pages at various stages of completion. To view all my samples go to my Flickr pages

The examples above and below shows how I have decorated the spine with the page stitch.

My base fabric colour scheme is very festive, it wasn't intended they just happened to be the colours that I had to hand when I first started the challenge earlier this year. I have, however used a range of colour schemes on the pages. Some are harmonious, some monochromatic and some constrasting to show different effects. Finishing off these pages is for winter nights in front of the TV.

All I have to do now is make a cover for the folder, the fun bit. Embellished I think.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL.................

End of 2007!

2007-12-31T13:06:00.000Z

As 2007 draws to an end it is only right to post a blog that sums up my past year. 2007 was my first year of blogging and communicating with a whole new community. It set me targets as I had deadlines to keep as part of the networks and groups I joined through contact via the blog, eg Tast, Unlimited Textiles and Sumptuous Surfaces. I enjoyed the many tutorials and spent hours absorbing the techniques displayed on numerous blogs and websites. Already signed up for the latest Sharon Boggin challenge "Take It Further". I have been busy putting al the TAST samplers into book format, will post a picture very soon.

It's official hyperlinks are additive! I developed certain skills that had only been seen in books and even invested in new equipment, my Janome Xpression being the most expensive. Other bloggers showed embellished examples and tips by the score and I have had so much fun. In the comfort of my own home I can experiment, create and explore the internet, I have discovered Picasa for photo manipulation and Flickr for uploading my photos for sharing. What a buzz I get from receiving an email from the other side of the world from someone who appreciates my work. Also being able to comment and encourage others on their work, being a retired teacher it never leaves you, the desire to encourage and praise.

I have been trying to clear the decks, finish work and generally get ready for 2008. I go into hospital on the 7th January to have my gall bladder removed and so I will be raring to go after that on all my new projetcs. As well as on line challenges I have 3 exhibitions coming up with my North West groups that I belong to. Silk-n-Threads have an exhibiton at Tatton Park in Cheshire from 15th March to 1st June. Society of Marple Artists celebrate their 40th annual exhibiton in April and Textile 21 are at Norton Priory from May to June, so lots of work to produce!!!!!!! I have some ideas already but there will have to be alot of juices flowing very soon!

A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL.

Health Update

2007-11-27T12:32:00.000Z

Latest in the saga of my health. Just been 'released' from hospital after a week of suffering the inconvenience of an acute inflammed gall bladder. Not nice. Lots of morphine, anti sickness tablets and liquid low fat food. Lost more weight, shouldn't complain! but now I have to now wait for the call for key hole surgery. Now that it has been diagnosed with hindsight I can see that I have been 'under the weather' for months now. Nagging back pain on the rightside especially at night, general uncomfortable torso pain, feeling seedy, and drinking lots of peppermint tea! So hopefully when the offending organ is removed I will feel like a new women, here's hoping!!! Hubby is expecting his wife back!

Must get back to my workroom soon as I can get rid of this fatique. I did manage to do some stitching whilst in Hospital, Silk-n-Threads are having a Christmas stocking competition this Friday, although I won't be able to attend I intend sending my entry, this is how it is looking at the mo. Embellished base fabric using silk velvet and silk which is them hand embellished, first side finished, may have to use a plain second side to save time.

embellished base

hand embellished first sidedetail of surface embellishment

Back Again!!

2007-11-14T11:46:00.000Z

Been somewhat indisposed recently. Firstly I was very busy creating for two exhibitions that Silk-n-Threads were holding, both going very nicely up to date, see link on right. Then I managed to get a rather bad bladder infection due to some grit that scrapped the inside of my bladder. Both very painful and resulted in a trip in an ambulance to A&E and a visit from the emergency doctor. Two doses of strong antibiotics later I now feel better but if you have ever had to pass bladder or kidney stones you know what I went through.

However back to my workroom and finishing off all those pieces that have been sat around for far too long.

Firstly the finished book cover made from the fabric paper that I made back in early September. Pleased with the result as it is just the right size to fit in my larger handbags!

Back of the book cover.

I finally got around to having the Patchwork of Life embroidery mounted and framed ready for the exhibition at the Bollington Arts Centre.

Closeup of the stitching on Patchwork of life. I completed this as part of Sharon Boggon Sumptuous Surfaces course in the summer.

Lutradur experiments

2007-09-30T18:34:00.000+01:00

I've been experimenting with Lutradur recently using the details given in the new ezin Fibre & Stitch. Carol McFee takes you through the process and some stunning results have been created by subscribers to this months edition.

This was the first stage, above, when scrim and lace was painted on to Lutradur, left to dry and then played with!!!

Here I painted the surface with a selection of metallic paints, the purple (blue in photo) was added to bring life to the browns and metallics. I squeezed Luminere paint straight from the bottle.

Then I FME over the top with metallic threads to highlight the shapes in particular the areas of scrim. I then painted over some of these areas again to give more relief.

This is the final result, unfortunately the luminere lines reflect the light too much giving a false impression, in fact the lace relief areas are more pronounced than the photo would lead you to believe. Now the exciting bit, what to make from this sample!

Unlimited Textiles Swops

2007-09-21T10:11:00.001+01:00

This is the finished postcard that I have just sent off to Susan for the September swop of Unlimited Textiles. I embellished some green and purple organza on my Janome Xpression on to a base of black felt. I then FME on top in mainly circular patterns, finally embellishing with beads and french knots. The colour combination is obviously complementary and a particular favourite of mine at present.

These closeups show corners of the PC where the bead embellishment is prominent. Found the cube beads at the Festival of Quilts exhibition!This quiltie has gone to Gunnel and is 5 inches square. The base is painted bondaweb on calico and then layered with two shades of organza before FME around the shapes left by the paint. I embellished on top with hand embroidery and beads

These closeups show the colour variegations achieved by the paint on the bondaweb, ideal for FME. I was pleased with the way the different organza changed the effect below them. The colour combination is again complementary but a much more subtle one than the PC.

Hope you like them ladies!

Fabric Paper

2007-09-09T13:28:00.000+01:00

This is a piece of fabric paper that follows Beryl Taylor's instructions on the Workshop on the Web june 2007.
I used white cotton poplin, painted it with a 60/40 water/PVA mix and then played with papers and fibres to create the collage, finally covering with lilac tissue paper. Over the top of this I used some paint. Then the fun bit I FME over the surface to create contrast and tonal change. The close up below shows some interesting sections.
At the moment I think it will be a book cover.

Patchwork of Life - almost there

2007-08-23T11:10:00.000+01:00

My second and final piece for the Sharon Boggon Sumptuous Surfaces class is almost complete. Most of the squares are complete, I just need to fill in some gaps here and there but generally pleased with the result.

Concept of patchwork of life is reflected in the half empty/half full sections, the emptiness & gaps in ones life, the isolated squares, the purity of new life and the richness and closeness of family and friends.

The green squares represent the green grass that tempts us but is no where as rich and full filling as life.Tonal change reflects the wealth of knowledge and wisdom gained throughout life.

Now that summer has at last reached the UK I am off out to the garden so I don't know when I will finish it completely!!!!!!!!1

Inspired

2007-08-20T11:23:00.000+01:00

Returned last night from the NEC and the Festival of Quilts 2007. The display of quilts was phenomenonal, the range was huge and the skill stunning. It was nice to see works by people who I knew via workshops or the web. Helen Cowan, Greta Fitchett, Kaffe Fassett and Jennie Lewis to name a few. Also stalls, Ruth Brown of Stone Creek Silks, Mary Day from the Guild of Silk painters and Maggie Grey from the WOW, Workshop on the Web. I am not a quilter but thoroughly enjoyed the exhibition which I had to do in two attempts and would have loved to have had another day to go around again. It was interesting to see the contemporay quilts, many from abroad, utilising various techniques.

Whilst browsing the stalls for goodies, many of which I bought, I watched Maggie Grey dem the Janome embnellisher and it inspired me to get mine out of its box and have a go this morning. Nothing too big as I wanted to finish something so used my colours of the moment in silk tops that I dyed a while ago.

I embellished a piece of felt with a selection of silk tops and synthetic fabric from a cast off skirt of my daughter and ended up with this. Much brighter than the photo shows.

I then zig zaged strips so that I could weave them to produce this. Quite pleased with the result.

Sumptuous Surfaces Piece # 2 - Half Way

2007-08-14T11:25:00.000+01:00

I have finished the first low relief layer of my patchwork piece. The base of each square was green non woven fabric that florists use, I increased the number of layers to help with the tonal changes needed. The one inch square pieces allowed me to use a range of stitches. Click on photo to see in gretaer detail. The main challenge was to create a gradual change in tone as I progressed down the piece. Alot of squinting took place and unpicking but I think I am happy with the result so far. I expect that I will need to remove or add after the top high relief layer is finished. I have started this at the top, lilac triangle! This shows some detail of the bottom four squares, mainly dull so that they will receed rather than jump out of the piece.

Sumptuous Surfaces Week New Concept

2007-08-07T12:26:00.001+01:00

The brief this week was to think in colour. When I think of colour at this time of the year it has to be my garden. The lime green of 'Ladies Mantle' aka Alchemilla Mollis is so prevalent and with the pinks/purples of the fushia, geraniums and pertunias the complementary colours on the colour wheel come to life.
Thinking beyond that India and the richness of life in colour has to be a second best. I've never been but after googling India I couldn't help but be impressed by the saris and dyes. The use of primary colours and the matching of complementaries in saris and textiles generally is so breath taking.
Finally I thought of the work of Kaffe Fassett. I am a great admirer of his use of colour in patchwork, tapestries and knitwear. I have three of his books and they never fail to inspire me.

So I put all this together and came up with an idea of using a basic patchwork design to show off the use of colour. The first colour scheme was blue and yellow, but this was disregarded and one that reflected my garden at present was chosen. Below are the colours I found in my stash.

I played with this range both in paint and thread.
Above are my expts with altering the value of the colours as I want to change the tints and shades throughout the piece. Tints at the top and increasing in value towards the base. The sketch below shows my first attempt at a design based on patchwork squares.
Too basic I thought so moved on to playing with the grid and the sketches below show some of the more acceptable results. The top line shows the grid altered to produce a more pleasing silhouette. In the second line I have introduced triangle shapes to break up the right angles and introduce an additional geometrical shape. I introduced negative shapes in the final line and the final design is an combination of all of these ideas.

Final design incorporating patchwork squares, triangles and negative shapes as well as the colour value increasing towards the base. The stitch plan is to have the green areas in low relief stitching and minimal embellishment. The fushia coloured squares will be in high relief stitching and increasing embellishment towards the base. They will also overlap the green to soften and minimise these areas. Haven't decided how to outline the shape yet or in fact whether to at all.
Off now to transfer the design and get stitching!!!!!!!!! Looking forward this this.

Sumptuous Surfaces Sea Urchins Finished

2007-08-02T17:06:00.000+01:00

Spent all my free time over the past few days completing my sea urchin embroidery as part of the Sharon Boggon Sumptuous Surfaces class. Took longer than I anticipated but I think well worth it. I am particularly pleased with the recession and the way I managed to use a range of different stitches to capture the texture and surface of the urchins. I had never used drawn thread stitch in this random way before and will definately use it again.

Week four is about a new concept and design process so I'd better get started.

Seaside Postcard

2007-07-28T10:56:00.000+01:00

Latest 6x4 lives postcard has painted pelment vilene and muslin stuck together with acrylic paint then FME to create the impression of that part of the beach that isn't too enticing, the part where seaweed and debris meet at the tideline there might even be some oil there! The little jewels are the 3 shells bottom left and the shiny tiny broken shells in the corner. Does damp and cold English holidays sound familiar, but beachcombing always came up trumps didn't it!
The idea came as a by product of the Sumptuous Surfaces design process.

sumptuous surfaces stitch plan and week two

2007-07-25T20:34:00.000+01:00

Week two of the Sumptuous Surfaces class meant quite alot of thought regarding stitch plans and then alot of stitching. I have been amazed at the range of designs being worked on and the support being given out by people all over the globe. More pictures of work being completed by other claass members on flickr - sumptuous surfaces

Stitch Plan 1.
The background is in random pulled thread and small amount of low relief surface stitches. The sea urchins to be in high density/relief stitches. The colours are strong at the front and fade away towards the top.

Stitch Plan 2.
The background is in high relief stitches/embellishment and the sea urchins in a simpler geometric manner.

I chose stitch plan 1 as I wanted to explore ways of high density stitching in a more controlled manner than a random way as the markings of sea urchins require .

The random pulled thread has worked well I feel yet the portugese stitch took so long! I watched nearly all of the Open Golf over the weekend doing it!

This close up shows how well the pulled thread has worked. I had not done this before and I will definately use it again.

Now for week 3 reading!!!!! I suspect there is a lot of stitching again this week.

Sumptuous Surfaces

2007-07-16T20:25:00.000+01:00

This week I have been busy with lesson one of the latest Sharon Boggon class 'Sumptuous Surfaces' . Sharon has had us consider our concept for the class. After nearly a week of deliberation I think I am there. My brainstorm centred around BEACHCOMBING.

I then spent some time looking through my collection of shells and beach debris from over the years and photocopied them for my sketch book and to act as an aide memoire in developing my designs.

I started to develop certain aspects in more detail. The first was based around some sea urchins. I realised that they could be simplied into five sections and noted the different textures of the surface. I played around with design manipulation as can be seen here.

These sketches were based around shell skeletons as I realised that I had picked up just as many eroded shells as perfect ones. The skeletal form had obviously intrigued and attracted me. Ideal for positive and negative shapes and as Sharon had shown us how to develop such shapes I played around with isolating and superimposing them on to other shapes. It was then I realised that there was a difference between the smoothness of these shell skeletons and the roughness of the sea urchins.

A concept was emerging 'The response to my memories of beachcombing and collection of shells over many years. Especially that of the opposing form and texture of the perfect and the eroded structure of shells.'

I then got carried away and wanted to see whether I could incorporate beach vegetation. So these sketches utilise the solidness of the sea urchins and the flowing lines of a stylised sea holly and lichen hybrid.

So another concept evolved 'The response to my memories of beachcombing and collection of shells and beach debris over many years. Especially that of the opposing form and texure of shells and the sinuous, fibrous nature of beach vegetation.'

To finalise my design for embroidering I chose sketch A5 as I thought that the overlapping and recession achieved leant itself to an interesting well balanced result. It was necessary to add the second element though and this proved to be anything but easy.

C2 was my preferred result as it has recession, scale, overlapping, movement and balance. I'm hoping that Sharon agrees with me!!!!!

COLLAGE on CANVAS & in a T BAG!

2007-07-03T11:34:00.000+01:00

Last Wednesday I went on a day workshop entitled Collage on Canvas and in a T Bag. I just had to go on it!

The first stage was to complete a collage on A4 paper. Mine was based around some of the photos that I have of my parents that I had been meaning to do something with for so long now. A scrap book seems the obvious but not a paper version. So this workshop gave me the impetus to get going.
My mother was a seamtress so there are references to this as well as images that mean alot to me, their wedding, a holiday snap just after the war and childhood pictures of them both.

My completed collage was them photocopied on to transfer paper and them ironed on to calico. This was them embellished/embroidered. This is as far as I have got to date. I intend to add more. I did two as I have two daughters and I wanted them to have a permanent momento of their grandparents who meant so much to them.

The collage was them reduced and photocopied so it could be cut into small pieces and slotted into an empty square T bag. We waxed the Tbag by melting white candle wax with an iron (not the best one) and ironing between paper so it stiffened. I embellished this example below with thread and it will be an ideal wedding anniversary card for a member of my family.

Catch up complete

2007-06-26T13:37:00.001+01:00

At last I have caught up with my TAST samplers. Enjoyed the satin stitch and long & short stitches as I used variegated thread and they came to life very quickly.Long and Short stitch. Ideal for blocking but also good isolated in small groups.

I enhanced these blocks with back stitch

This random design just evolved on the fabric and is made more effective I feelin the variegated thread. Second sample of satin stitch again done in a variegated thread and edged with stem stitch.

POSTCARD

After the wedding it was good to get back to playing and therefore my embellisher has been busy. I particularly liked this one as everything has been coming up sunshine hence the yellow. Not the weather at present in the UK, I hasten to add, but the beginning of the month with the family wedding and all the family getting together which doesn't happen too often.

After creating the base fabric with yellow wool rovings I added the maroon and green circles. I like the way you can't control the finished shape as the wool shrinks immediately it goes under the needles. To join the circles and add more movement I FME randomly over the top. This was completed for 6x4 lives ring June entry.

And finally one I completed earlier! This embroidery entitled 'Allium' has a centre encrusted with french knots and beads so ideal as my TAST sample for french knots.

Tast latest

2007-06-18T12:32:00.001+01:00

Soooooooo behind with TAST so here are four samples to almost get me up to date, just satin and french knots to go.

Wheatear Stitch. Tried something different by making it into a filling stitch. By varying the size and thickness of stitch interest is gained.
The isolated stitches also work well.

B
Butterfly Chain Stitch completed on a piece of painted calico. The range of effects are, movement, symmetrical patterns, isolated, bunched. Variation in thickness gives interest.

Crossed Buttonhole Stitch.
Very linear this design on a piece of painted calico. Interest added by overlapping the stitches

Basque Stitch. Great for both formal and more random designs.

My stitch book is starting to look very colourful now!

WEDDING - FABRIC MEMORY BOOK

2007-06-12T17:17:00.000+01:00

It's been a while since my last post due to ill health and family commitments ie my eldest daughter's wedding on the 1st June. I spent most of the 3 weeks before the wedding completing a fabric memory book for Joanne and Mike. It had been in the planning stage for many months, designs, collecting fabric and trims and it wasn't until I had finished the alterations to the dress (two weeks before the big day) that I could get my hands on some of the fabric, lace and beads to complete the book.

I knew that I wanted a soft book and the style of book had to reflect their personalities, so not too many frills or heavy on the embellishments. The content was to be paramount rather than a work of textile genius!

Fat quarters from the local quilting shop and exhibitions proved to be invaluable. I had originally wanted to complete it in silk but soon realised that cotton was going to be more practical to work on. The book contains a lot of quotes about love and marriage and I found one suitable for the front that wasn't too soppy. The wedding itself was very informal and there were only 20 guests at the ceremony.

Machine whipped cords were couched around the appliqued words.

Material and thread from the wedding dress were incorporated throughout.

These two pages show photographs of the happy couple in the years before they met. At 5 years old, at 7 years old and finally at 11 years old.

Although soft the book can stand up, each page was padded with wadding.

They got engaged in the mountains of Morocco last year. The mosaic style heart reflects the art and culture of the area.

This photograph was taken at a family meal shortly after their engagement and the hearts are in a variety of media, stamping, collage and embroidery.

There were so many quotes on the internet that I had to include the most relevant, both deep and meaningful and humous.

This was the venue for the ceremony, the Tudor Grange Hotel in Bourenmouth, on the south coast of England. It is a friendly, family run hotel that went out of their way to make sure we had a relaxed, informal day. Joanne had small cala lilies for her bouquet hence the appliqued lilies. The two small sections of embroidery came from her dress.

The back page. A crazy quilt square that again is not to over the top but contains bits from her dress and appropriate wording.

I thoroughly enjoyed completing this project and I hope that my daughter and new son-law will appreciate the relevance and content over many years to come. I had a box made especially for the book so that they can save other mementos from the day.

MARPLE EXHIBITION - SILK PAINTINGS

2007-05-08T10:36:00.000+01:00

This year's Society of Marple Artists exhibition was held the weekend of the 27/28th April. I exhibited 5 painting in all and sold four so I was very pleased.
Still get a buzz when someone wants to hang one of my babies on their wall!
The poppies above were completed in silk dye and then embellished with free machine embroidery.

The datura lilies above were again painted in silk dyes which need to be steam fixed.

These teasels were my first attempt at acrylics. I chose a block canvas as support and these teasels sit on my work room desk and have been crying out to be painted for a while now. The texture was achieved by using puff paint whicht reacts to heat and gives this interesting surface which can be then be painted.

TAST - Palistrina and Running Stitch

2007-05-02T17:32:00.000+01:00

Running stitch is so simple and yet can be so effective if the direction and size is changed.

Palistrina Stitch lends itself to wavy and flowing lines. I used alot of variegated thread on this sample, although the subtlety doesn't show too well in the reproduction.

I have quite a collection of sample pages now, will have to start thinking about how to bind them together soon but with 7 more months to go I think that it is more a question of deciding how to divide them up into sections.

TAST latest samples

2007-04-16T11:35:00.000+01:00

The last two weeks of TAST challenge samples. See all of the samples so far on my flickr account.

OYSTER STITCH this took some time mastering but it flows easily from the needle. Works well as a bulk/filling stitch as well as a movement and more structured stitch. I used some of my Oliver Twist variegated threads.

BONNET STITCH this stitch allows for movement and in different thicknesses of thread it can be used in many ways.

Embellished Postcard

2007-04-13T10:40:00.000+01:00

This postcard has been completed from a piece of embellished felt on my Xpression. I used mainly wool rovings but there are other fibres in there. The embroidery was to represent the colours of March. This year everything is so green and so early. Fresh greens and the new shoots of bulbs, grass and shrubs. The postcard was my March contribution for the 6x4 lives flickr group. I am not totally happy with colour repo it is actually much brighter/richer than this.

NUNO FELT WORKSHOP

2007-04-05T13:05:00.000+01:00

Thoroughly enjoyed this workshop last Saturday. For full details of the whole day's events go to the Silk-n-Threads Blog. Here are my finished results.

Two pieces of white silk chiffon trapped white and green wool rovings in a grid pattern. In between the gaps in the grid pattern circles of green wool and pink silk tops. The ends of the rovings used for the grid can be seen at the edges of the four sides. If you click on the picture you can clearly see the crinkly effect achieved when the wool shrinks and is pushed through the chiffon.
The finished result is strong and has a great tactile appeal. Cushion or Wall Hanging, can't make my mind up!

In these two pieces a predyed piece of silk chiffon had wool rovings and silk tops arranged on top before felting using a traditional wet method. I feel an embroidery or two coming on!

FUSHIA

OCEAN

EMBELLISHER - FIRST ATTEMPT

2007-04-03T16:40:00.000+01:00

JUST GOT MY HANDS ON MY NEW TOY!
My Janome Xpression has just arrived and I couldn't wait to try it out. I went to the NEC at Birmingham last week to the Stitching for Pleasure exhibition and tried out as many embellishers as I could whilst there. Came home with lots of samplers. I had done research beforehand as to cost, delivery and guarantees over the internet, as well as ask as many bloggers as possible as to which they would recommend based on their usage of the machines. I decided on the Janome as it has an easy to reach separate compartment for the large amounts of fluff. It has five needles which can be removed separately with pliers to replace, I was assured, and I have already tried to do this successfully. So my first attempt was to create a motif for a denim bag that I have had for many years, my daughter was going to throw it out! I used a grey felt as the base and wool rovings, net, silk tops and novelty knitting wool for the design which evolved as I worked on it. After completing the motif I then needle felted it to the denim, it was so much easier than I thought it would be.

This closeup shows the variety of threads and fibres used and how they felt so well together. I learnt a lot from my first attempt and the potential for creating new fabrics and embellishing with embroidery seems endless. Watch this space for more creations.

TAST - Couching & Knotted Cretan Stitch

2007-04-01T22:43:00.000+01:00

Slightly behind with posting this sample. I used a combination of threads to couch and several stitches to actually couch with. The Chevron stitch works particularly well as a contrast.
I used 'Oliver Twist' threads for this group of Knotted Cretan stitches. An excellent stitch for grouping together.

TAST Up and Down Buttonhole Stitch

2007-03-16T15:27:00.000Z

This the latest TAST challenge - Up and Down Buttonhole Stitch. I particularly liked this one as it allowed for movement. To see more of these samples done by other bloggers see http://www.flickr.com/groups/56846286@N00/ .

February Fabric Postcard 6x4 lives

2007-03-16T13:30:00.000Z

This postcard was inspired by a row of bare trees from the Sunday School window. The low winter sun was shining through and I thought I am sure I have a piece of painted bondaweb somewhere that looks like that. Here it is! The crocus carpet was to represent a small piece of local ground that always has an early display of crocus and brings spring to many who pass it on their way to and from work.I am a member of the 6x4 lives group on flickr and we post a monthly postcard that represents our life during that month. Click on the link on the right.
In addition my local group of textile artists Silk-n-Threads are completing a postcard swop in April. See http://silk-n-threads.blogspot.com for results later in April.

Barred & Alternating Barred Chain Stitch - TAST

2007-03-12T09:49:00.000Z

Many TAST members found this stitch boring but after a while I mastered it (not having done it before) and it was very good at creating bulk, top of sample, and lent itself to movement as the curvy sample at the bottom shows. I have at last caught up with all 10 weeks of the challenge. I have posted them on my Flickr page, see link on right.

More Needle Felting and Tyvek

2007-03-05T11:33:00.000Z

This embroidery is a combination of needle felting, Tyvek and beads and entitled 'Metallic Fantasy'. It is mounted on a piece of silk. I used wool for the needle felting and the Tyvek was painted before being distressed with iron and heat gun. My husband says it looks like a drunken man staggering home and a friend can see a sorcerer! What can you see?

In this closeup the distressed tyvek is clearly visible in the foreground and the Christmas glitter fabric pulled until it looked interesting.

Needle Felting sample

2007-03-02T14:56:00.000Z

This is in response to Doreen who also posted a piece of needle felting she completed a while ago. Mine is a mixture of wool and silk fibres. A word of warning if you haven't yet tried silk fibres in needle felting by hand be very careful as I broke five needles the first time I attempted this technique. As silk is a very strong fibre you have to use them very sparingly and ensure that the needles are at 90 degrees to the fabric. I learnt to use wool as the base and then intermix silk along with the wool on the surface. The shiny more lilac sections are the silk fibres. I have started to machine embroider the piece but it is a WIP (work in progress) as many of my other LWOA (little works of art) are. It needs some more embellishment, hand embroidery and beads I think.
All I need to do now is to decide what to do with it, the current front runner is an evening bag.
Must go and complete my TAST sample for this week

TAST samples

2007-02-26T10:21:00.000Z

I've been attempting to catch up on my TAST samples as I have joined the challenge 8 weeks in.

Week 7 was Feather Stitch and above is my first go, I have completed each challenge in colour coordinated threads as I intend eventually putting together a Stitch Library. Feather Stitch lends itself so well to movement and I am surprised at the success of the couched wool.

Week 5 was Chevron Stitch. Again can be used in a formal and loose way, I like the tumbling shapes at the bottom of the sample.

Week 3 was detached Chain Stitch and this sampler shows both Chain and detached Chain Stitch. Lots of potential with this stitch from the fine detailed work to the looser free flow.

Week 2 Buttonhole Stitch, I remember teaching this stitch in the 70s for buttonholes on garments it is great to get away from this formal application.

Week 1 Herringbone Stitch. Detailed photo of some of the application of this stitch. The variegated thread on the wave shape works particularly well.

I still need to complete weeks 4 (Cretan) & 6 (Algerian Eye Stitch), will attempt to do them alongside the weekly challenges.

More Silk

2007-02-22T17:30:00.000Z

This clematis grows through a quince in my garden and I can get close up and personal as it is situated alongside a path. I used silk satin for the support and embellished with free machine embroidery and beads.

This anemone blanda grows under shrubs in my garden. Unfortunately the colour has not reproduced exactly in the photo, it has a more purple tinge. Each of the individual stamens are free machine embroidered which becomes the focal point of the painting. Again I sold both of these painting and I still get such a thrill when someone likes my work enough to put it on their wall.

Embroidered Silk Paintings

2007-02-22T16:49:00.000Z

I discovered silk painting in 2004 and since then I have realised how appropriate the rich colours, especially those of steam fixed silk dyes, are for the basis of a free machine embroidery.

The centre of this group of Azalea heads are free machined using a gold thread.

The above photos are a reflection of some of my work so far. The vibrancy of the colours lend themselves to flower portraits. Free machine embroidery has been used selectively for the centers of the flowers. I did these in the first year of my experimenting with silk painting and I sold all three which immediately spurred me on to continue.

I continued to use silk paint and dye on scarves and bags as well more pictures. I also joined the Guild of Silk Painters. where I gained immense support from local and national members in the skills and knowledge involved in silk painting. More examples to follow.

Paisley Embroidery Update

2007-02-22T16:01:00.000Z

These three photos show the finished Paisley embroidery for the Silk Town Stitchers I decided to fill in the paisley shape with seed stitch, which I feel holds the shape together. The close up of the tail shows clearly the subtle effect created.

The last photo details the variety of stitch and embellishment I used from the delicacy of the lilac organza to the solid effect of chain stitch in the purple metallic thread. If you click on any of the images you can see the stitches in detail.

First Post - Paisley Sampler

2007-02-14T16:14:00.000Z

After much deliberation I have finally sorted out this blog page. It has taken me so long that I have not managed to finish a project for the local Embroiderers Guild. It is due tomorrow so tonight might be a long one. Each member was given the same paisley design and had to embroider it in one or many stitches as they wanted. I am in to metallic threads at present hence the choice of rich burgundy and gold. The introduction of some orange was to add a dash of complementary colour, not sure where else I will put it yet.

The design was marked out with a fading pen on a predyed cotton that had a variegated effect

Close up of tail of paisley design, the fronds are created by buttonhole stitch in two different shades of stranded thread.