Sunday Project

I have found it difficult to do any artwork over the last few days - you see I was hoping to see Jane yesterday.   I know she would want me to get on with my work - so after my morning walk this morning I made some notes (yes I made notes), I plan on doing some stitching this afternoon but before lunch I proceeded to make a quick card project - maybe to sell for Valentines day.    So I did this..................................................................................... and cut these

Then I made this.............................  and ended up with these 
 DO YOU LIKE THE PLAY ON WORDS??

Scarf finished

So I have finished the 'flame' coloured scarf but the pile of stuff is still as large as it started.  In the next post I am going to vent my frustration so be prepared and if you can help then please contact me.

Have you ever.....

Have you ever been to a craft show/exhibition, watched a demonstration and decided you must have a go at that? Or just fallen in love with 'stuff' and had to buy without knowing what to do with it?

Well over the years I have done both and as a consequence have a large stash of wool roving and silk fibres.  This is just a small selection of the bags and boxes of fibres!!...

So yesterday after reading a couple of my new books and surfing the internet I decided to try my hand at scarf making ---- again!! - yes I have tried before but have so much stuff what is the worst that could happen??

I have Nuno felted and wet felted before - to make the Mustard Seed costume, for example.

I cut my bubble wrap - 82 inches by 12, laid out some scrim and the Merino wool roving with silk additions and eventually made the scarf.  The only problem was that when rinsing the scarf the colour was coming out of the scrim so this morning I re-dyed the scarf and it now looks lovely. (see working pictures below...)

 
Not bad - even if I say so myself :-) - so today it was time to start another one using up more of my stash - this one may be finished tomorrow as I am off out later. I presume you can continue day after day, until it is done?? This one hopefully will have a fringe off the scrim and will also be dyed later.

 It has cotton fibres as well as silk tops added

Have a fantastic New Year's Eve and see you in 2015

Knitting and Stitching Show

This years Knitting and Stitching show seemed to be full of felting - or at least that is what I feel I was drawn to this year.  Maybe that's what I should be making?  Felt? I will think about that.  I was particularly drawn to the following pieces.....

 Then I also liked the following machine embroidered pieces...

And I also just had to buy some books - these two on felt pieces.......

 This last one, on the left, is for inspiration for later to go with the one I already have , on the right.

maybe that's anther costume in mind??  Oh I have so many ideas in my head and not enough time to do them.  I will also show you Podley in the next post as the first two pictures are done!!

The End, Bow, Curtain Call (Mustard Seed and First Fairy)

So after 2 years and 3 months (started 26 Feb 2009 and ended 24 May 2011) - the production is complete - The End, Bow, Curtain Call. I have finally finished the 7 Fairies for Mid Summer Night's Dream - The last two being First Fairy and Mustard Seed - more pictures are available to see on my A Body of Work blog. The three volumes of notes and photos are complete....stitched... labelled and fat (my mobile gives you some idea of the quantity of 2 years 3 months worth of notes). It feels really odd to have finished after all this time. I have laughed, cried, shouted and pulled my hair out during the last couple of years but I also feel I have achieved something special and have grown in my skill. I would like to thank all my friends (esp the members of MEG) who have encouraged and supported me through this project. I hope one day that they will all be displayed/exhibited together I will keep you informed if I find a venue, but for now they are all in the wardrobe.

Busy Busy Busy and Mustard Seed

I have had a fantastic few days recently and more to come now too!!
Where shall I start to tell you... In no particular order - yesterday my daughter and I went to see Matthew Bourne's ballet Cinderella at the Bristol Hippodrome! What a brilliant production - set during the Blitz - such an original idea - it was just superb! Last weekend I attended a course at Urchfont tutored by Viv White - Learn to love your sketchbook - what a fun weekend that was - brilliant - We had to take our favourite things to draw - I took this statue - my first drawing... not bad! Then a close up - I got inspired by copies of my drawings and did several coloured versions - which then had a grid over the top - I won't bore you with the various combinations just suffice it to say I am inspired and when I have finished the costumes (very soon) I will be working on this design to see where it will lead me - possibly a panel or hanging - although I have ideas for costumes too I think I need to break away for a little while - especially as I currently have nowhere to exhibit them. OK Just one more design picture then..... Of course I had to Zentangle a version.... (This is the most inspiring for me !)
Now an update on Mustardseed.. I have been working on the seed pods, but the more I do the more I thought they were too heavy looking to hang on the bottom of the dress - then on Wednesday morning I woke up at 5am with a start the idea had come to me...... Don't have them hanging from the dress - give her an accessory to carry them in - I had to tear a piece of paper out of my diary and draw a rough idea..... but that was not good enough - I had to get up and pin a very rough idea straight away...I have also been busy hand stitching on the Volume Covers as mentioned in the last but one posting.. progress so far - all three have had some of my favourite Sorbello stitch in swirls (Little Secret for you ---- if you look carefully at the above photo you can see the covers were resting on a very rough draft of a future costume - The Queen of Hearts - but shhhh don't tell anyone!) and I have started some beading - yes beads - I don't often use beads but I have a large collection so time to use them up.
So this is what I will be working for the next few weeks -
Finishing First Fairy

Finishing Mustard Seed

Finishing the Volume Covers

Statue designs - she really needs a name - any ideas?

Queen of Hearts costume (design is in my head at present)

Blue silk Corset (fabrics collected and laid out in the workroom but not worked out yet).

This weekend (ie starting tonight) I have another fun packed weekend at Urchfont with the MEG group so hopefully some of the above may be close to done. Busy Busy Busy!!

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.

Mid Summer Update

Without my favourite old machine I have not wasted too much time recently. I have hand made and stitched Oberon's doublet buttons... and I have planned the first practice layout for Mustard Seed. I am not sure about the 'Pod' underskirt at this stage. The original plan had separate pods but I am moving more towards sculpting my felt into pod shapes which will then have the seeds inside. Lots to think about yet. Oh.... any my shrunken flowers don't look too bad do they? (only pinned on).

By the way my diary idea from a couple of weeks ago has failed - I started out with great intentions to make the pages really fun but I've lost interest and have nothing much to write about on a daily basis any more so that lasted long didn't it!! Perhaps I should try something else - journal quilting perhaps?????? Here I go again thinking and not doing :-).