What have I been doing??

Sorry I have not blogged for a few days but I am still excited and nervous following my announcement.  I go on Monday to set them up and I hope they will be well received!! In the meantime - in what have I been up to?

Well I had a great day last Saturday with Maggie Harris (click HERE to go to Maggie's blog), playing with collographs and the Big Shot. I did just a couple of prints... very subtle,  and I have been stitching on some of the previous ones (will show you another time).

This one was stronger but its second print was delicious.

 

QUEEN OF HEARTS

I have started a new idea for the Queen of Hearts costume.  I needed first to create a back ground fabric. i need 3.5 metres of black cotton - so I dyed my own and for once it actually came out black!! (Sorry photo is sideways - I hate this new Blogger post writing thing!!)

PIECED QUILT

 I have finally put this quilt together.  The photo does not give it justice - look at the photos HERE for the correct colour way. 

SARI SILK BODICE

I purchased two bundles of recycled sari silk.  

Spent a whole day ironing the stuff - that was an exciting exercise as several of the pieces looked boring until ironed.... see this tangle ...

became.......

 This tangle was

  really exciting when ironed....

  

 Then I stitched the strips to a backing fabric 

and added some sari threads....

Today I cut out a bodice but there is nothing much to show just at the moment. So that's up to date.  I have loads of ideas and not enough time to work on them!!

Another outing and update on First Fairy

Had a bit of a traumatic time mentally and financially on Wednesday - daughter, driving boyfriends car, had a flat tyre so 'bank of mum' paid for that to be replaced before it caused an accident and then in the evening whilst I was taking young Rocky out for a walk we got 'hit' by a Land Rover. I say 'hit' in inverted commas because it was not like a major HIT. Basically walking along a usually empty quiet lane I had just shortened his lead as we approached the main road when suddenly an old style Land Rover being followed by a Police Car hurtled its way round the corner. A dog in the back of the LR barked and Rocky went for it - I think he was just clipped by the front of the LR but in that split second all I saw was Rocky flying across the verge and the lead ripping/burning/cutting through my fingers and wrist.
The LR did not stop, the Police car did just long enough to shout 'you OK' and for me to reply 'think so'. Rocky sat cowering on the verge for what felt like a life time whilst I tried to establish where the blood had come from on my arm. The couple outside whose house we were came rushing to see if we were OK. I gave Rocky a treat to try to calm him but he just spat it out and did not want to get up when I tried to move him. So I carried him home, crying (me not him) I really thought he had broken bones or a head injury - daughter and I took him to the Vet immediately only to find he was fine!! Just badly shaken with a couple of minor scratched under his shoulder and a small cut on his ear. So that trip cost 'bank of mum' again - for an antiseptic pain killer and some eye drops for an earlier tennis ball incident (for Rocky not me :-) ). It turned out I was more injured than him!! The base of my thumb is very badly bruised, my fingers and wrist have deep, very sore burn cuts. I am just thankful that Rocky is OK. Hand this morning - cuts looking much better but still very sore....So today I decided I needed another outing. Jumped in the car and drove to the other side of Bristol to see two exhibitions which are part of the North Somerset Arts week (click Here for more details on all the events). In particular I decided to stick to just two textile exhibitions. 08 Textile Group (venue 14b) where there were some lovely pieces - especially Patricia Brownen's jewellery - (click here to go to her website) - I had a lovely chat with Patricia before venturing on to Ashton Court Visitors Centre to see Gordano Textile Artists exhibition. What a stunning collection of work!! I particularly liked this felted vessel, the work on ice and rust by Sally Sparks and the corset based work by Jan Connett (click here for her website). I had a lovely long chat with Jan and purchased a book compiled by her which focuses on life-changing moments - well worth purchasing. On my way home I popped into the Wiltshire Scrapstore and collected a lovely bag of 'stuff' for the princely sum of £2 ! It consists of two huge cones of red thread (wool type), lots of scraps of satin based fabrics, a very long narrow piece of what feels like a satin courtil type fabric, a couple of thick pieces of foam (possibly to make some sort of stamp), a heap of felt flower shapes and the negative shapes - ie the felt pieces from which the flower shapes were cut. I have lots of ideas springing into my mind for using these on a corset/costume but need to find a way of noting the ideas - must practice the drawing sometime. I had a really lovely day out. Now its back to the workroom and more on First Fairy. This is how she looked yesterday afternoon - well on the way.

Some Progress

I am spending a few days just doing textile stuff !! Yippee - It started on Friday evening when I went to Urchfont to join my friends in MEG for our weekend meeting. Then Monday through Wednesday at home until I go to Urchfont again tonight (wed evening) to join my friends in Textile 21 until Friday. Progress has been made on the remaining three costumes. I am hand stitching the cords onto Oberon's breeches, making mustard seeds and pods for Mustardseed and have started ideas for First fairy.
Some photos for you... The making of a mustard seed... some completed mustard seeds and the first completed pod.. Here you can see (at the top of the photo) the bodice for First Fairy and the fabric selection for the remainder of the costume. Other news - the hairdressers have given me a full refund. My son's knee reconstructive surgery went well last week.

Next Corset - and another sneak peak

So here it is - the next corset - green/gold. It is simple but I think rather lovely (even if I say so myself!!) Front view, back view, close up. And a sneak peak at the next one - already well under construction!!

Today's Stuff

This is a sneak peak at my latest piece of work - it will be complete tomorrow and as usual I am already sewing the next project. On my walk this morning I noticed something that made me chuckle.. I would not usually take pictures of a neighbours 1st floor bathroom window but I could not resist - I know they have a new baby - last nights package must have been very powerful!! What else have I done - well I made a really nice lunch today - baked Chicken breast stuffed with spinach and mushroom - yummy!!Back to the sewing now!!

Sooooooo Tired - but here's a new project...

I am so tired of this interview attendance game - I have been to interviews every day now for two weeks and I am soooooooo tired - BUT that has not stopped me starting yet another project - a Green(ish)/Gold Bodice/Corset!!!! I have started with a piece of velvet that was dyed many many years ago and looked like this.... Chose the gold organza and a lovely metallic thread.... free machine stitched it in a sort of tear drop shape like this....... and before I left for this afternoon's interview I burnt it back with the heat gun, so it now looks like this.... when I get back from tomorrow's interview I will be cutting out the pieces. Then we will see what happens next.

I have uploaded photos of my wearable art on to the new 'A BODY OF WORK' Blog. - Now I rest!!

Starting the Hardest Part

This morning I put the Titania bodice back on the mannequin and it feels too big even after adjusting the mannequin! Question should the thing have net sleeves? - basic try out here - they would, of course have embroidery and cuffs. Now I am starting what I believe to be the hardest part - my idea of a wire only Rebato - I have made a basic framework as a try out on which I will then add my curls - like the iron work piece. Not sure if it is big enough yet? Viewed from the front and from the back.

The Pile Grows

Edging complete and eyelets inserted into the red bodice - the silver looks so stark so it was time to mix the alcohol inks to blend pepper red with butterscotch to colour them like this.... Of course, it's complete now and ready to add to the pile..... (by the way the plastic bag at the bottom has my costumes from historical heirlooms!). What else am I to do with my costumes/bodices/corsets? - why do I keep making them? Soon I will have to move the pile to another room!!

Weather and art Update

I had an appointment in town this morning but when I looked out we have had yet more snow over night - the back garden now has a good thick covering and this is the view out at the front As the car is snowed in I decided to walk into town - usually takes 30mins - today it took 50 - walking in snow is hard work but also a good workout - my bottom really feels it now!! Of course when walking you tend to notice things - like these foot prints.... and tire tracks., aren't they interesting.... Then when I eventually managed to walk back - look what had appeared at the end of my footpath (my front door is on the left under that arch)... Next an update on my art... I have been hand stitching on the rust/red bodice and left it on the mannequin over night - isn't this an interesting combination over the black/shot bodice??