Alice in Wonderland - White Rabbit

Just realised that I have not shown you the completed White Rabbit and his Pocket Watch from my Alice in Wonderland series... I finally found a way to stand the pieces up - they are on a tissue paper covered pizza box :-)

 Watch open

 Taken again with a pen in front to give you an idea of the scale of this piece.

A week away

I have just come home from a fantastic week away with my friends in the Txt.tiles 21 Group (at last I have the group title spelt correctly - so that people don''t think I belong to the north England group Textile 21!!).  We spent a week at the Kingcombe centre ( see Maggie Grey's blog here too). Being with my friends, with no job to rush off for, no cooking or household chores I always work really well.  We had very suitable weather (rain when inside and sun for the bbq), fantastic food and a really good laugh.  To show you a bit of the work I did - On the left is the jacket back when I went to Kingcombe - on the right is the finished back -

 I stitched the silver panels, added more spirals to the purple panel, added pink and blue panels (below as a work in progress) to the top and did the two long gold side panels. I made a cord for the back lacing.

 When sitting out in the sun I did some hand stitching on the White Rabbit's Pocket watch - I mounted it over hardboard, covered the back with rusted fabric and stitched cord around the edges of the main watch - still need to finish it off and join the front case on.

 

 Wish I could spend all my time doing this - but sadly I have to go back to work tomorrow!

A reflective Sunday - White Rabbit and Klimt updates

Three sections to today's post plus a few photos to enjoy - A reflective Sunday, White Rabbit Pocket Watch update and Klimt Jacket Update.
A reflective Sunday:
I have lived in this house since February 2002 - when I purchased it newly built - I don't consider myself a great gardener but I have planted things over the years and love how the colour changes season by season, how it smells delicious season by season (from lilly of the valley, through lilac and sweet peas to honeysuckle and lavender). How I grow veg year after year (this year being the most prolific) - see all the pics below.  Oh and  I pulled my first baby carrot to see how they are doing in the new 1 metre veg bed:

Tomato and French beans and the 1 metre veg bed

 The reflection is that when I opened one of the bedroom windows I looked out onto my busy garden and thought how very sad my neighbours garden is - they moved in about 6 months after I did and have done NOTHING in their garden - how sad is that:

 My garden on left and next door on the right.

White Rabbit Pocket Watch Update:
I have started cutting out the excess from the case of the Pocket watch and started the prep for the actual watch itself - free machine stitched the numbers and edge. Cut out rusted fabric cogs and started a rough layout.

Klimt Jacket Update:
I have made 65 metres of cord - It had three passes through the sewing machine so has taken a week to produce (no surprise there!!) Stitched the first outline shapes - cord thin at the top, doubling in the middle and triple by the time it reaches the lower edge.
Laid out the first section - the reds and stitched them down with a metallic thread - I think it may need more work here but will wait until I have done all the other sections to see where the extra is needed:

It's been a while - but I am still about

OK so I have not felt much like doing much !! If that makes sense. What have I done? Work on three things:  Firstly I have been working on the White Rabbi's pocket watch - only the case done so far but the inside is a work in progress (sorry no photos)

Secondly I was very lucky to get a last minute place on a course at West Dean with Wendy Dolan.  I was phoned on the Sunday lunch time to say the course was starting in the afternoon - only a 2.5 hour drive away !!  West Dean is awesome especially as this was the first week of June - all that glorious sunshine!!  Wendy was brilliant and her work is lovely (see her website here: http://www.wendydolan.co.uk/).  I had a fantastic three days ending on my birthday :-) This is my 'final' piece - it is still a work in progress needs some more stitching.

Here is Wendy during our end of course mini 'exhibition'.

Thirdly I have done more work on my Klimt jacket - the back pieces are stitched together, fabrics  sorted and so far I have laid out the first section (red) at the bottom back - this is going to be another long project but I have also started work on the usual many many miles of cord :-)

White Rabbit Pocket Watch, Klimt etc

I have tried to keep busy this bank holiday. Lots of photos but not much progress as I keep going from one thing to another.You may remember I made a few miles of cord ready for the White Rabit's Pocket watch - (which I lost interest in) so I thought I aught to get on with the watch.


Here is stage one - this is the outer watch case (cover) - I am machining over water soluble fabric and rust dyed twinkle organza (which I may burn away). The design is drawn on the water soluble.

 Stage two - lots of stitching....

 Stage three - the brown stitching done.

Next it was stitching the outline cord.  First centre circle.








Currently on the spokes - this is soooooooooooo time consuming!!

I have also cut out the Klimt Jacket - (fabric laid on the kitchen table) not done much else with it yet...

 I hope to use up these....... on the jacket.

I also cut out another top - trying the pattern once again but this time using a stretchy fabric. Not done much else other than cut it out!

Alice done

Forgot to show you Alice complete:

Short update on Alice

In the last post I mentioned that my mannequin is too big for Alice - so I am trying something creative :-)  I purchased an age 10 T shirt from a charity shop - today I stuffed it with a pillow in a plastic bag (as I hope to retrieve the pillow)

I remembered I had a box of Mod Roc 







so here is what I hope will turn out the right size for Alice........

Alice and the White Rabbit

I have just spent another wonderful weekend with my friends in MEG. I always produce more when I am with like minded friends.  Alice is so very nearly finished already - just needs lining and a zip. 
Here are a couple of pictures:  Full view (bear in mind it is rather stretched - the dress is for an age 11 girl but my mannequin is an adult size and also the skirt will be puffed out more when done).
Here is a close up of the ribbon I made - its machine embroidered (thread only) done on water soluble

So I have started on the White Rabbit's Pocket watch - keeping that secret (ish) for now (my friends in MEG have seen the idea) for now as I am waiting to get the zip for Alice - guess what I have been producing by the mile - yes you guessed my favourite CORD to be used on the Pocket Watch!!










PS - someone asked about the photo on my wall in the last post  - well it's one of my favourite pics of my daughter when she was a mere babe - she is 26 next week (and some would say a different type of babe :-) ) !

Update and Mad Hatter Jacket finished

Happy Easter to all -  I have not done much this Easter break - I have been thinking :-)

In the last few days, however I have made two more Kindle pouches:

  And whilst looking for something - obviously the room got turned upside down.........

 I did not find what I was looking for however I did end up clearing the work surface to make it more user friendly!
And I did find something interesting - that I have not seen in years and years,,,,,, When I first started my C&G courses back in 1992 I was a guinea pig for Empress Mills and their new selection of threads box idea (they don't do this offer any more - obviously). I purchased their offer of a box full of threads of your choice  - 34 reels for £75 - a bargain at that time.  I found these threads so special that I hardly used them - and look - they are still near perfect !!

My daughter was here for lunch yesterday and we spent the afternoon making this - we had seen one in a garden centre gift shop a couple of weeks ago and were sure we could make our own with the buttons and beads I have collected over the years !

Now to the Mad Hatter - yes I have finished the Jacket..