Purple Missus

Fen Edge Textiles

2012-01-31T16:46:00.001Z

Went to my first meeting with Fen Edge Textiles on Saturday mentored by Pauline Verrinder.

A really friendly group and they made me feel very welcome.

I managed to get away without doing any work at all this time, although I have a feeling that will have to change.

I spent the day just going around and chatting to everyone about what they were working on for the planned exhibition ‘Diversity’ in 2013.

Came away with my head buzzing with ideas and have now got to work my way through them all before starting on my own pieces. Twelve months away seems like forever but I know it will creep up on me before I know it. Scary.

There was a jumble sale, if thats what they still call them, going on at the college in the afternoon, run by the Scout Association by the looks of things. Great fun. Haven’t been to a jumble sale in years.

Having been given the nod by Sharne I managed to pick up a bag full of old sheet music and music books. Itching to do something with them. Will make a change from dressmaking pattern tissue.

I never was very good at spotting a bargain at places like this, always too busy ‘people watching’. I love seeing all these ladies rummaging through the clothes and bric-a-brac, it never fails to raise a smile and bring Beryl Cook to mind.

And don’t you just hate it when…..
…..you find out your glove had a hole in it!

Have started to put together another couple of bodices from some of these fabrics I have been creating.

DH groaned and said ‘not more bodices’.

But I wanted to make something to show that this fabric can be used for wearable art.

I just feel that if I were to make a top or a jacket I would want to make it in my size. Apart from the fact it would need twice as much fabric, the fabric itself would then start to lose its appeal.

Could be wrong but some of you will know what I mean when I say that you go into somewhere like M&S and see a fabulous little number on the front of the rail in a size 8 but by the time you flick through and find it in your size it just doesn’t look quite the same.

So its either bodices or lose weight – and I sure as heck know which one is the easiest option.

These two samples are also made from the same fabric.

Am off to the ICHF show ‘Creative Stitches’ in Bluewater shortly and meeting up with Pat. It’s on from Thursday 2nd to Sunday 5th. Ideal location. A chance to get my ‘fix’ with textiles/art/crafts and then into the shopping centre for retail therapy of a different kind – although most probably just to look at those size 8’s!

Have decided to leave off the :) and the *LOL* as you should know by now that most of this is written tongue in cheek with absolutely no offence meant to anyone.

Paper casts

2012-01-27T17:04:00.001Z

This is Shirleys method of making the paper casts that I showed in a previous post.
As Shirley says, this technique isn’t new - she just experimented to get the results she wanted. Her way is simple, no mess and ready as and when you want them.
You need some of this:Along with some of these:
Some of this:
And finally, this:
Warm the plasticine up by putting it on a plastic lid near a gentle heat source. This warms it up brilliantly and doesn’t grease your hands.
Roll it out quickly and press the item you want to make a cast from into the surface. Make sure the plasticine is level around all the edges and smooth around the immediate edge.
Now put it in the fridge to harden. When hard carefully prise the object off.
To use the mould, make sure it is hard from the fridge. Dust with talcum powder then using slightly diluted PVA and the toilet paper create a papier mache cast.
Use a stiffish brush and small pieces and make sure they go right down in to the tiniest places. Making the tissue very mushy helps on the first layer. Build until required thickness.
This can vary as you can create flimsy pieces or part pieces which look like relics or broken finds.
Leave overnight. Do not try to lift off until thoroughly dry.
Its a good idea to put it back in the fridge again before prising the cast off so that it doesn’t distort the plasticine as you do it.
Keep the moulds in a tin and put them back in the fridge to harden next time you want to use them. Or just warm them up again, roll out and make a different mould.
As you can see, the ones I made are not as clean as Shirleys – in fact, they are not as good, period. Why? Because I was far too impatient and they were not quite as dry as perhaps they should have been plus I didn’t put them back into the fridge before pulling them away from the plasticine. Lesson learned.Once painted you would never know – maybe :)
You can create all sorts like this using old jewellery, brooches, buckles etc. Hours of fun. :)

Final mention of Lottie.
This is the birthday girl in her Tinkerbell costume getting ready to blow her candles out.
My daughter always makes the birthday cakes for the children and this is what Lottie asked for this year – a fairy house. She’s fairy mad at the moment.Charlie, her brother, had Dennis the Menace and Gnasher playing pirates last year - this is my favourite, I love Gnashers teeth.Chelsey also makes birthday cakes by request for friends children along with fancy cup cakes and the latest craze, cake pops.
Everyone tells her how good they are. This is obviously where her artistic talent lies. We keep on at her to take it further but she says she doesn’t think that what she makes is good enough!
Now I wonder where she gets that from. :)

And no, I didn’t win pass the parcel. Somehow all the children managed to get a prize on the way round, wasn’t that a coincidence, and Thomas ended up with the final prize – a set of Moshi Monsters. I could have done with those. *LOL*

‘Fabulous Surfaces’ lesson number 3 is up on the d4Daisy website if you want to take a look – let me know what you think. :)

Workshops

2012-01-21T20:48:00.000Z

I’m shattered. Had a great day at Southend EG today. We were only a small group but it was brilliant. Everyone was so eager to learn and really pleased with what they had achieved. Couldn’t have asked for more.

After seeing some of my samples at Chelmsford EG on Monday evening Diane left a comment on here saying that “I could spend a whole week on a textile retreat with you and not get bored with all your fabulous techniques”.
Little did she know that I will be teaching a week long Summer School at Missenden Abbey from 5 – 10th August this year. The brochure is out now and can be downloaded from here if you are interested.

I thought I would also let you know about two of the two day workshops I will be teaching at ArtVanGo.
The first is on Tuesday 27th and Wednesday 28th March. Its ‘Scrim, Screens & Scrappy Bits’ – a two day version of the two hour taster workshops I will be teaching at Textiles in Focus.

And the second one on Tuesday July 31st and Wednesday August 1st is ‘Fabulous Surfaces’ with some of the techniques and extended techniques from the book – of the same name, in case you were unaware. :))

And in case you miss me at any of these I will also be at the Fashion, Embroidery & Stitch show at the NEC from 22nd to 25th March demonstrating and showing some of my work and will once again be giving a free workshop, organised by Kim Thittichai, on each of the four days.

I’ll remind you of all of these nearer the time. :)

Tomorrow is the party, 6 adults, four young children, a two hour drive and Lottie has insisted that I play ‘pass the parcel’ with her, which is OK as long as I win – I’m a bad loser. :)

And here is something else I have been playing with. Looks very much like ‘scrumpling’ but is something totally different. No stitching and no steaming involved. You just need a scrap of fabric, an iron, Bondaweb and a scrap of something else. :)

Lace fabric

Polyester VelvetSilk dupion

The second of the free online lessons for 'Fabulous Surfaces' is now available on the d4Daisy website.

Enjoy!

And yet another posting

2012-01-18T12:41:00.000Z

I feel like a London bus. :)
Had a great time at Chelmsford EG on Monday night.
They really are a very friendly bunch and all pulling in the same direction. Thanks mainly due to the lovely Nickie who is the Chairman and her excellent committee.
Sharne has put some photos up on the Chelmsford EG Facebook page. She is always snapping away with her camera wherever she goes. I try to avoid her but still she seems able to catch me unawares. Makes me realise that resolution number two is not yet taking effect. *LOL*

Also had another invite to another exhibition from the group that Diane is a member of:

Again, I know a few of the people in this group so I know it will be another one worth going to see.
Take a look at the Material Girls blog here and the website here.

I also wish…

2012-01-17T12:23:00.000Z

…I had thought of doing this:

Another friend, Jean from New Zealand tried the metallic effects surface using kitchen towel from the article in Workshop on the Web. She then embossed the surface with a Cuttlebug machine and rubbed it over with silver Gleam, which I am assuming is similar to Treasure Gold (?) and this is the result.

Another great idea that I hadn’t thought of doing. I’m still in two minds as to whether or not to get a Big Shot machine to have a play with.

A couple of years ago I met up with Carol (McFee) at the NEC where she was looking at these and eventually bought one. So of course it went on to my ‘must have’ list but I wasn’t sure if I really did want one or just wanted one because Carol had one. *LOL*

So I never did get around to getting one but that could change now I see the possibility of adding another dimension to these surfaces.

Going back to the samples I have been working on for ‘Scrim, Screens & Scrappy Bits’ at Textiles in Focus next month I kept thinking that this particular sample vaguely reminded me of something:

Then when I was sorting through a box of bits I came across these and it clicked:
I bought seven of these from Dales stand at Ally Pally about three (or maybe more) years ago, dyed in these three colours:
Hadn’t got a clue what I was going to use them for, and still haven’t, but just had to have them. :) They are Cane Toad skins. Of course DH, a fountain of trivial knowledge, knew exactly what they were all about and I found them even more interesting.

If you are curious you can google ‘cane toad’ and find more. This excerpt came from Wikipedia:

Bufotenin, one of the chemicals excreted by the cane toad, is classified as a Class 1 drug under Australian law, alongside heroin and cannabis……………………………… toad licking could result in serious illness or death.

Well, I’ve heard about kissing a frog but never licking a toad!

As for DH – a kissed frog now and again but mainly toad :) - well, I knew it was a mistake asking him in the first place but I still went ahead. Asked him to pick up a birthday card and this is what he came back with:

All about having a drink, party shoes, dancing the night away. OK you might be thinking, rubbish card but….?

The ‘but’ is even if I wanted to I wouldn’t be sending this card for at least another 14 years. It’s for this little lady who will be 4 on Saturday.

He claims I forgot to mention who it was for, I just said something ‘pink and girly’. Will I never learn?

And what does Lottie want for her 4th birthday? Xia-Xia Hermit Crabs and make-up !!!!!

The lucky girl is having two birthdays this year. Her official one on Saturday with friends and a family party on Sunday as I am teaching a workshop for Southend Embroiderers Guild at Westcliff on Sea on Saturday.

I’m looking forward to the workshop….*LOL*

I wish…

2012-01-15T11:50:00.003Z

…I had thought of doing this.My good friend Shirley Sherris took a liking to the metal embellishments I have been using on some of the pieces in ‘Fabulous Surfaces’.

She managed to get herself some and rather than use them as they are – like I did – she made paper casts using toilet tissue paper of all things and then painted them – and then sent me some. :)

Aren’t they brilliant? And so much more in keeping with the theme of the book.

So I grabbed the folded pocket book:

Took the piece of metal off the front and then replaced it with this:

I over-painted this piece with turquoise metallic paint and did the ‘white spirit technique’ on the top to match the 'fabric' of the folded book.

I think it looks so much better.
Shirley also sent me these pieces she made to have a play with.
I’m after some plasticine now. :)

Take a look at Shirleys blog. Full to the brim with ideas and interesting stuff and she’s very willing to share.

Talking of bloggers. I went to ArtVanGo last week to arrange some workshops (more about those next time) and stock up on supplies and I bumped into Gina and Gill who were busy organising the advertising for this exhibition.

The exhibition will most certainly be well worth a look as I know some of the people in this group. I have my invite here for the private view ‘Tea Party’ with tea and cakes - Gina’s cakes! Pop over to Gina’s blog for more details.

I will be at Chelmsford Embroiderers Guild tomorrow evening (Monday 16th) demonstrating and showing some of the pieces from ‘Fabulous Surfaces’. Get in touch with Sharne for more details if you fancy coming along.

The free online classes are up and running at d4Daisy. You will need a copy of the book to gain the passwords to access the lessons. Hope you enjoy them.

And remember, any question, big or small about any of the techniques in the book or the online lessons please don’t be afraid to ask.

More samples

2012-01-10T19:38:00.001Z

One of the ~~disadvantages~~ advantages of not working is being available at any time for childcare.
Mind you, I shouldn’t complain as Libby, who has just turned 10, has started to show an interest in anything textile related - unlike the three daughters, one of which wouldn’t know what an embellisher was if it came and bit her on the bum!
Not that it really bothers me but I do often wonder what will happen to all my 'stuff' when I'm gone. I hate to think that all those beads, threads and bits of fabric that I have had for years, never used but lovingly handled now and again, would end up in a skip! Then there are the boxes and boxes of samples and finished pieces. And as for all the books - at least they know how I feel about them as they still fall about laughing at my long-ago statement that 'I have a great respect for books'. Never did realise what was so funny about that considering I am not the only one who will never buy a book or magazine from the top of the pile and can only at a push use the library for reference books - wouldn't dream of picking up a novel from there.
DH buys a lot of his novels from the charity book shop in the town where I insist he takes them back as soon as he's finished!

Anyway, last time Libby came over for the day she decided to have a play with the embellisher first before having a practise with some fancy stitching on the sewing machine.
This is the end result of her embellishing – not bad for a first attempt and she was very pleased with it which is the main thing.
She also has a couple of folded pocket books on the go – tissue paper bonded, coloured and left to dry which she will finish off next time.

Meanwhile I have been busy working more samples for the ‘Scrim, Screens and Scrappy Bits’ workshop at Textiles in Focus in February. Possibly looking very familiar but it is something quite different. :)

Simple technique, lots of texture, hand stitching optional - ideal. :)

Wrong link

2012-01-01T15:32:00.000Z

Wrong link for the 2012 programme for Textiles in Focus.
Try this one here.

New Year Resolutions

2012-01-01T15:28:00.000Z

Well, it’s that time of the year again and to be honest I really don’t know why I bother to make any resolutions when I know that as sure as eggs are eggs I won't stick to them. :)
Just looking back in my notebook and I have had the same ones since 2008, just keep changing the year at the top of the page, and even now there is only one of them that I have actually kept.
Cutting down to three this year. First two are the usual but number three, and the most important, is all about blogland.
I spend far less time on the internet now that I no longer work than I ever did when I was there – even though we were not really allowed to use the internet for personal use!
I have lost touch with so many really good people and some really good blogs. I blame Google Reader for making me lazy about commenting on blogs. It’s so much easier to just read one and then move on to the next.
I know a lot of people spend more time on Facebook and Twitter than blogging nowadays but neither of those are for me I’m afraid.
So starting Thursday (when hubby goes back to work) I intend to spend an hour each day just surfing, emailing, commenting and blogging at least once a week.
Not that anyone reading this will be remotely interested, just thought that if I put it down in black and white then maybe, just maybe, I would stick to it. :)

Have been working on some samples for the workshops I will be teaching at Textiles in Focus in February. Follow this link here to get the official 2012 programme. I will also be demonstrating throughout the three days of the show.

Checkout this blog, courtesy of a link on Liniecats blog. Fabulous. I want, I want.
Happy New Year to you all.

Craft Arena

2011-12-15T16:55:00.000Z

I shall be at Craft Arena at Barleylands this Saturday and Sunday, 17th and 18th, with lots of samples and pieces from ‘Fabulous Surfaces’.
I will also be demonstrating some of the techniques used and showing what I am working on at the moment.
Hope you can come along, have a chat and stock up with all those supplies that you really do need to see you through the Christmas holiday. :)
Check out the Craft Arena website here

The ones that got away….

2011-12-06T16:20:00.000Z

I have been overwhelmed with all the wonderful comments about ‘Fabulous Surfaces’. Thank you. :)
Just thought I would show you some of the pieces made using techniques from the book – all tissue paper of course.
Some of them didn’t fit in because of the space and well, some just didn’t fit in!
You know what its like. You start on a project and you know its not right but still you keep battling on. Well, thats what happened with some of these pieces. I’ll let you make your own mind up about which ones.

And this is the hanging in its entirety, a part of which appears on page 31, and yes, it is tissue paper!
It measures 30 x 31 inches.

The crease at the bottom isn’t part of the design – it’s just the way I have taken the photo. Mind you, the edges are unfinished – as ever.

I’ve managed to keep my hands and nails spotlessly clean for the past few days. I am teaching a workshop in BSE tomorrow. Today I have been painting and using Walnut Ink. You can guess the rest.

Harrogate

2011-11-29T17:00:00.010Z

Bit or a rush post I'm afraid - apologies for any typo's.

Had a wonderful time at the show in Harrogate. Met some really lovely people and had some very interesting conversations.

This is my poster from the ‘Artists in Action’ stand. I bought it home with me and it’s going up on the wall in my workroom – how sad is that? :)

And what a welcoming and friendly bunch the other artists on the stand were. I was alongside Pauline Verrinder, Sue Chapman, Lizzie Houghton, Sarah Burgess, Dionne Swift, Fiona Wilson, Val Hughes and not forgetting Jill Flowers – like me, an avid ‘Strictly’ fan. The work they were all producing was stunning. I didn’t manage to get an awful lot done–spent far too much time talking. :)

And I just need to clarify a couple of points as I think I may have mystified a few people. Firstly, ‘Zap’, a term which I believe could be of Maggie Grey origin, meaning to melt back. I assumed that everyone uses this word now but obviously not by the look on some faces. Secondly, when I say I use a ‘paint stripper’ to melt back I actually mean a hot air/heat tool – not liquid paint stripper. This wasn’t questioned until the Sunday so I do hope no-one went home and brushed copious amounts of Nitromors on their surfaces. *LOL*

I could write reams here about the show but suffice to say I really enjoyed it.

The comments about ‘Fabulous Surfaces’ have been amazing and are very much appreciated.

I have an article in the December issue of ‘Workshop on the Web’ which shows you how to turn this:

into these:
or this:
which you can then go on and turn into these:
Do hope you enjoy it. :)

Message for Jean from NZ: We met at Ally Pally and you gave me your address - which I cannot find anywhere, sorry! Do hope you read this and get in touch.

Knitting & Stitch at Harrogate

2011-11-23T13:06:00.000Z

Just a quickie to let you know I will be at the Knitting & Stitching show in Harrogate for the next four days on the ArtVanGo sponsored 'Artists in Action' stand.
If you get chance do come and say hello and take a look at what I am up to. Would love to see you.
And this will also be at the show:

I've just received my copy and it looks great - am really pleased with it. d4Daisy have done an excellent job yet again!

Cardiff & Ally Pally

2011-10-05T09:00:00.001+01:00

The show at Cardiff was fantastic albeit very hot. Met some really wonderful people – exhibitors and visitors.
I was so lucky with my stand. It was sandwiched between Katie Pierson and Jeudis and opposite Not Necessarily Sew and Sheila Davies – how good was that. I did take photos of the stands, plus my own, but they have all come out with an orange tinge and just don’t do justice to the amazing work that was on display. (Could only find a website for Katie)
Cardiff is a very nice city. Some really wonderful buildings. And everyone was so friendly which makes a pleasant change.
Met with Liz ‘Dreaming Spirals’ Plummer. A lovely lady who has her hands full at the moment. Do hope you get some time to yourself very soon Liz. :)
Next stop – Ally Pally. I shall be there for all four days this year. Saturday and Sunday I will be on the ArtVanGo stand. On Sunday I will be demonstrating, amongst other things, the technique used for my ALQS6 entry, so pop along if you want to have a look.
Hope to see you there.
By the way, if you want to be kept informed of when ‘Fabulous Surfaces’ is published then put your name down on the d4Daisy website.
Thats three in a row without any photos – I’ll make up for it in the next post. :)

2011-10-02T07:16:00.000+01:00

A longshot here but I'm hoping it gets a result.

Did you or someone you know leave a large bag of goodies on my stand at the Cardiff Show?

If you did, please email me purplemissus@aol.com and I will let you know where it has been stored for safekeeping.

ICHF Show in Cardiff

2011-09-27T09:00:00.000+01:00

Just a quickie.

I shall be at the ICHF Creative Stitches & Hobbycrafts Show at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff this coming Thursday (29th) through to Saturday on Stand ZL08 and giving a free 'Quick and Easy' Workshop on stand Y10 every day at 11.30 - 12.30.

(3 sessions with 6 people per session - no need to book - just turn up)

Please come and say hello if you are going to be there. :))

ALQS6 - again

2011-09-10T17:18:00.000+01:00

Another contender for ALQS6.
Its a new technique I have been working on and one that I am going to adapt for the ‘Quick & Easy’ workshops at the ICHF Show in Cardiff at the end of this month.

Needless to say, the colours are so much better than shown.
The leaf idea came from one of my lovely students on the 4S summer school I gave recently. She had made a book using the technique in the Workshop on the Web article. It was really wonderful and I was so taken with it that I decided to have a go at autumn leaves myself. I shall be seeing her again soon at a workshop in Acton so hopefully she will bring the book along again and I shall ask if I can photograph it and name her.
Take a look at the ALQS6 blog as there are photos going up already of quilts that are being swapped – and it’s still not too late to put your name down!
And have you seen the new book cover? It really is fabulous. :) Not long to go now.

Well, I am an avid ‘Strictly’ fan – first show tonight – but I must admit the line up this year doesn’t look too promising. There’s a few that I have never heard of and a couple I am not too keen on. I did meet Anita Dobson several years ago and she is a really lovely lady so I shall follow her for the moment but we will see. :)

ALQS6

2011-08-13T14:10:00.002+01:00

Thanks to Kate, ALQS6 is now on the go. Deadline is Monday 3rd October so plenty of time to sign up. Check here for details. It really is a great swap to be part of.

This could be my submission, not sure yet as I still have a couple of other ideas I want to try.

Plus I have to work out how to put a backing on this one, something I am useless at which I am sure past recipients of my hangings will confirm.

Its titled ‘Plus Four’ which will become apparent when you know the story behind it.

Just by way of explanation, the brassy lines are not quite so bold, the flash on the camera has really picked them out.

And they are supposed to be wibbly-wobbly. It took me ages to do that. I had to tear masking tape in half and stick each half in position before running a line of gilt cream down the centre. Then I had to wait for each one to dry before I could move on to the next. There is probably a much easier way but sometimes my brain refuses to function logically.

Close up of the background:

And a close up of the studs. US 5 cent pieces. They are actually buttons which Doreen sent me ages ago and fit in just right.

The inserts:

Again, the ‘bling’ is a bit more subtle than shown here.

The text, relevant to the story, has been translated into Latin. Unfortunately, there is one particular word which when translated ends with a very rude word. I have tried to make sure the torn edges get rid of most of it.*LOL*

If you are curious, type the word ‘entail,’ complete with a comma into Google Translator here.

Had some great news the other day. Our eldest granddaughter Libby, coming up to 10, has had a poem of hers selected for publication due out on December 31st but we will be lucky enough to get a pre-publication copy sometime in October.

Its called ‘How to make a rabbit’ and as I have asked her not to read it to me until I see it in print I am very intrigued as to what it is all about. Hopefully we have the makings of a JK Rowling here who will be able to keep me in a manner to which I could soon become accustomed to in my dotage.

And talking of publications, (how’s that for a subtle lead) take a look at the d4Daisy website.

New book ‘Fabulous Surfaces’ due out in November. All very exciting.

Liverpool Lou – I have tried to make the photos so you can click on them and enlarge and I think it is working for the last four, but no matter what I do the first one will not open where it is sited even though it is exactly the same photo as this one below, which is just for you. Enjoy!

Workshop at ArtVanGo

2011-06-08T07:03:00.000+01:00

Had a fabulous couple of days at ArtVanGo last week teaching ‘Tissue Textured Surfaces’. We did lots of experimental surfaces and took a couple of the techniques further to create these to store the samples in:

Hard cover booksPostcard size folded pocket books

This time I did remember to take photos and just couldn’t believe it when the camera battery failed so I only managed to get half of the wonderful books that were created. Such a talented group of ladies too. So if I haven’t shown yours, please send me a photo and I will share it with everyone.

AnnSue

Liz

Jenny, who kindly showed me the way to go home – I get lost very easily. :)

Marilyn, who is totally new to all things textile and mixed media, how exciting that must be for her with all those new techniques and materials she has yet to discover.

and Maureen, who travelled miles to get there!

The other six are just as stunning as these. The folded pocket books hadn’t been embellished and some of the samples were unfinished at this point, everyone was really worn out by this stage. :)

I’m back down in Surrey next then at the end of the month it’s a ‘Vessels’ workshop in Cornwall, a place with the lovely name of St.Issey.

Recently had the news that I have been allocated a stand at the ICHF show in Cardiff at the end of September where I will also be taking some ‘Quick & Easy’ workshops over the three days. Hope to meet some more of you there. (Note for CarolT – my emails keep bouncing back, have you changed your addy?)

Many thanks for all the emails about the article in Workshop on the Web, pleased you enjoyed it.

And for anyone else that wants to know where you can get book screws from, they are available from most bookbinders stores. In the UK, amongst other places, you can get them from Shepherds or J Hewit & Sons. If you ‘google’ make sure you put in ‘screw posts’ rather than book screws.

Wanted to show you this, fuzzy picture of a Bosch Sensixx B7 Iron:

New purchase. Would really like one of those big steam contraptions but have nowhere to store it so went for this which had high ratings in the Argos catalogue. All I can say is ‘Bosch stick to what you’re good at – Power Tools – and leave the domestic stuff alone.’ Have heard that their washing machines are useless so would now like to add irons to the list!

Workshop on the Web

2011-06-01T16:33:00.001+01:00

I have an article in the June issue of Workshop on the Web out now, which I hope you will enjoy.

Lots of fabulous articles as usual and amongst them is Gina and I had to laugh. The pair of us are both on the front page here and as we seem to be following each other around the workshop circuit at the moment, to both be in the magazine at the same time and on the front page too, made me smile. :)

This close up is another book cover made using the technique in the article and with what I call the ‘white spirit’ technique on the surface.

And these next photographs are the same technique but using different background fabrics.

As you can see, lots of mileage with this technique.

I’m off to ArtVanGo teaching a workshop tomorrow for two days and really looking forward to it. I just hope I remember/get chance to take photographs - getting tired of taking the camera with me every time and always coming back with an empty card!

New Online Workshop from Fibre in-Form

2011-05-03T08:09:00.001+01:00

Inspired Surfaces – ‘Out of the Cupboard’

Join us to create surfaces such as these.....

using everyday materials you are sure to have in your workroom!

3 Lessons each with 3 chapters*

Several bonus sections

and an invitation only Yahoo group for subscribers

Starts Friday May 6th

Follow this link to find out more: Inspired Surfaces

*Please note: Lesson 1 of this workshop includes the free taster ‘A Fascination with Foil’ also available on the Fibre in-Form website

Sampling…

2011-04-28T19:08:00.001+01:00

…the bit I like best of all!

I got the idea for this technique from Kim at Nid-Noi and have just been playing around with different fabrics and seeing what happens.

You layer up Vilene Dissolvable (Solufleece) with Bondaweb and put your fabric on top, machine stitch in tramlines then steam. And what you end up with is a lovely scrunched up fabric.

I bonded foil to all of the pieces of fabric before stitching and steaming.

This one is lightweight Lutradur with a copper foil.

I usually like to ‘tidy’ my samples up and mount them as I think it can make them look better but in this instance because of the ruffled edges they look better as they are – so I will just have to restrain myself from making them neater. :)

The next three all use this fabric sent to me some time ago by a very good friend.

Organza has been laid over the top of this one and then zapped after ‘crashing’.

Bronze coloured foil has been used for this one again with organza over the top and then zapped. I then lightly ironed on Fuse FX and applied gold foil on the surface and zapped again.

Did the same as above with this one using a copper coloured foil underneath and on top and on a plain red background.

Going to take the soldering iron to them next and see what happens. Great fun.

Am off to Enfield EG on Saturday to teach a workshop. Really looking forward to it.

And tomorrow? Well, I can think of better things I should be doing but ………

A busy day…

2011-04-17T18:08:00.001+01:00

…yesterday.

Went down to Otford in Kent to take a look at the Sevenoaks Embroiderers Guild 10th Anniversary exhibition.

Two reasons for going that distance – firstly Pat ‘Altering Thoughts’ Thornhill, a good friend I have made through blogging is chairperson of this branch and secondly it was one of the first places I taught a workshop and all the ladies were really very nice so I just felt I would like to go and show my support.

The exhibition was well worth seeing. Spread over two halls it showed a wide range of the work produced by the groups talented members and all of it to a very high standard. There were lots of pieces that caught my eye – the Punch & Judy dolls were absolutely amazing – and I took several photographs of course.

I did ask permission for taking photographs but didn’t ask the individual makers if I could publish them on the blog so feel I better not, with one exception that is. I am sure the maker, found here, won’t mind but if she does then hey, sue me. :))

It took 18 months to complete this quilt called ‘Don’t tell the Quilt Police’ and when you look at the close-ups and see the amount of stitching that has gone in to it then you can well understand why.

I do know that I for one would never have finished – it would still be a WIP!

Before I travelled down to Kent I went across to Colchester first to visit the Bright Ideas Scrap Scheme.

I met with Liniecat at the NEC and she was telling me about the ‘Scrap Store’ that she visits regularly – I didn’t even know these places existed and felt sure there wouldn’t be one down our way. But I googled when I got home and found one practically on the doorstep. Check out the Scrap Store website to see if there is one near you. The charges probably differ but the one here charges £1.50 per visit or £7.50 for the year when you can visit as many times as you like.

And this is the booty I came away with along with a large number of cardboard tubes in all sizes to use as formers for vessels.

And this was all for just a few pence. Scrim, Paper Sticks, Calico Tape, small rolls of Foil and Sequin Waste.

I know there appears to be a lot of sequin waste, about 80 odd metres altogether, and goodness knows what I will use it all for, but you would not believe the amount that was there, just rolls and rolls of it. Because I was in a bit of a hurry I didn’t get the chance to have a real good rummage around, but next time…

And some pieces to leave you with. You would be forgiven for thinking you have seen them before as they are pretty much the same as some others I did using Transfoil with coloured Tyvek and with rusted Lutradur, but the shiny,shiny background in these is something different. :)

Surfaces

2011-04-08T16:39:00.001+01:00

Take a look at these.

Who would have thought you could get surfaces like these from kitchen towels that have been used to mop up colour!

They looked pretty good and I didn’t want to throw them away so I ironed on some foil then used PVA to bond tissue paper to the foil.

Top photo shows the front, but I much prefer the second photo which is the back. This is an ‘arty’ close up of the back. It looks like it has been run under the embellisher.

With this next one I used an acrylic gel medium and didn’t get such a good result which is unusual. Not sure about this one at all – looks like a blood stain. :) The back isn’t very exciting either. And here’s another surface that looks good even though the colours are not very appealing. And a close up.I should offer a top prize to anyone who could guess how these markings were made because I’m sure no-one would.

Its Evolon coloured with procion dye then dabbed with a baby wipe (by accident to start with) – certainly worth exploring further.

Now you may remember that I had an incredible urge for home-baking when I first finished work. Well, that has worn off somewhat, after all, Mr Kipling does it so much better.

But, my daughter dropped this book round and I couldn’t resist flicking through it.

Now Carrot Cake has been around for years and I’ve been making chocolate and beetroot muffins for sometime but these recipes use vegetables that you would not believe: Aubergines, Courgettes, Sweet Potato, Swede and even Turnips! And they are all dessert cakes too.

I have just finished off a Cappuccino Cupcake – made with sweet potato, delicious.

Harry Eastwood, female by the way, heads up each recipe with a short description of the finished cake(s) as if they are little people.

“Cappuccino Cupcakes

This cupcake will come down to dinner wearing a Chinese Silk Jacket if the fancy takes him. Although he’s kind and smiley about the eyes, don’t presume to know what he’s thinking. He can be anything he wants...because he’s magic.”

Brilliant book to read through even if you never get to making any of the recipes.

And heading back to textiles…something to whet your appetite with a taste of things to come….. :))

NEC

2011-03-30T16:54:00.001+01:00

I really did have the most amazing time over the four days of the Fashion, Embroidery and Stitch show.

I went up to Birmingham on the Wednesday to set the stand up – and took these photos but the lighting wasn’t on fully so they are a bit on the dark side.

Never thought to take one of the fascia with my name on it – would have been something to bore the pants off the family with, if they weren’t so bored already. :)

There were five tutors throughout the day all teaching workshops using Vilene products. I showed how to create these folded pocket books made from Spunbond (Lutradur) and using gesso and silk paints to colour the surface. Everyone thought they were fabulous, the workshop was fully booked for the whole four days and the few spare kits I had made up were snapped up on the first morning!

If you were one of the unlucky ones who didn’t manage to get on the workshop or buy one of the kits just drop me an email and I will put some more together.

I took the camera intending to take hundreds of photos throughout the show. Oh no, I hear you all yelling, well lucky you, I forgot all about it again until the Sunday but managed to snap some of the ladies busy constructing their folded pocket books.

I also demonstrated the technique I used to create these..

This is a simple technique with some amazing results. The technique for creating the surface and using it to construct a simple hardback book as in the top photograph should, hopefully, be in the next edition of ‘Workshop on the Web’.

The same technique was also used to create these oversized beads – about 4” (10cms) long. They were just a bit of nonsense I made with some offcuts of my very first batch of fabric using this technique. And the reason I am telling you this is because someone run off with one – just the one. Those of you that know me will believe me when I say to that person that if you had asked me, you could have had all of them. I had to smile though as goodness knows what they intend on doing with just one of them. :)

I did, of course, meet some fantastic people over the four days and received some really wonderful comments. I met bloggers, old friends and new – Gina, Gill, Julie, Lyn and Denise. Some of the other exhibitors, traders and demonstrators all came over to say hello and showed an interest in what I was doing. I met ladies from three different groups that I have workshops booked for in the coming months plus some from workshops I have already taken. I also met Gill from an online group and some ladies from the EG in North Wales that are all friends of Carol. I surprised one lady when I recognised her from last year while I was demonstrating with ArtVanGo. I know she reads my blog, so hello again and I hope you managed to fold the papers from the sample I gave you. I’m pretty good with faces – it’s just everything else that eludes me. :) So if I have forgotten anyone I do apologise.

I also had a ‘strange request’ – in the words of the lady herself. She asked if I could email her a photo of this hanging. She has been looking for some floor tiles for some time but has been unable to explain to anyone exactly what it is she is looking for – until she saw my hanging that is. :))

And thank you Pauline for such a lovely comment on my last blog. :)

2011-03-19T07:41:00.001Z

Just been putting together a little number to wear at the NEC next week……. In my dreams *LOL*

It’s not the corset shape that is the focus here but rather the fabric I have created it from.

It is on a base of Evolon to give it a reasonably soft feel whereas these wearable art pieces, same technique, use Pelmet Vilene.

I shall be demonstrating this technique on stand P24 at the NEC next week, Thursday 24th to Sunday 27th.

When I downloaded these photographs I found this one lurking on the camera card. We went to Bluewater on Christmas Eve to do some Christmas shopping – yes, I was way behind this year – and I saw these in the window.

Boots to me are like red shoes to Dale. :)

I couldn’t justify buying them though as I was supposed to be present buying for other people so I took a photo and had every intention of going back after the holiday to get them. But as it turns out I didn’t have to. There they were, the black ones, all wrapped up nicely waiting for me on Christmas morning – see, he does listen to what I say sometimes. And they are the most comfortable pair of boots I have ever worn.

Where did I ever find the time…

2011-03-12T19:53:00.001Z

…to go to work every day!

I thought I might miss the companionship more than anything else but the phone seems to be ringing constantly and the days just race by. I’m having a whale of a time. No serious housework managed as yet although I have been doing a fair bit of home baking – a bit of a novelty at the moment which I am sure will soon wear off. :)

And what else have I been up to?

I have been frantically trying to get prepared for the Fashion, Embroidery and Stitch Show at the NEC later this month, details here. I will be teaching free workshops, with all materials provided, organised by Kim Thittichai and alongside some really wonderful artists. This is what we will be creating in my workshop: My workshops are scheduled for 11.15 a.m. on each of the four days and you will need to register beforehand by coming to the stand as soon as you can and putting your name down. You will find me on stand P24 (thanks Julie) where I will also be demonstrating some different techniques.

Details of all the workshops are on the ICHF website here. Unfortunately, my name does not appear under the list of demonstrators either on the website or in the leaflet as thanks once again to AOL a number of emails went astray and not only did I miss the deadline date it was by a complete stroke of luck that I didn’t miss out on the whole thing altogether! (I really must get around to changing my service provider especially as I noticed recently that my monthly charge went up by £2.31 a few months back and I was not informed – I am sure that isn’t allowed.)

Anyway, I shall be there from Thursday March 24th through to Sunday March 27th from 9.30 to 5.30 (5.00 on Sunday).

I am also really excited about this technique I have been working on, so simple yet very effective. A really rusty, distressed surface created using a layering technique. I shall be taking some of these samples with me to the NEC if you would like a closer look. Hope to see you there.

Disperse Dyes - can anyone help me here?

I wanted to do some transfer printing with disperse dyes through a thermofax screen.

I thickened the dye with a disperse dye thickener, screened it onto copy paper and it worked a treat. Left it to dry until the next day. All looking good so far. Then I ironed the print on to Lutradur. And ironed it and ironed it and ironed it – and absolutely nothing happened – except the copy paper started to turn brown with the heat from the iron!

I must admit I have had the disperse dyes and thickener for at least 7 years, possibly longer. Do they have a shelf life? Can anyone throw any light on this for me please?

Where have I been?

2011-03-06T20:06:00.001Z

Well, where do I start?

I have been really busy with workshops, talks and demonstrations in the past few months. Had a family crisis at Christmas then just recently I was ill for about three weeks. Swine Flu some say but the Doctor said Bronchial Virus so I’ll go with that. Never felt so ill in my whole life, took a while to get my strength back. But the best news is I finally decided to no longer be in paid employment. Almost 22 years in the same job - Phew! Feels very strange at the moment. DH keeps saying I am retired and I keep pointing out I am ‘between jobs’ and I still have a few years (and a few more than I should have thanks to the powers that be) before I can draw my pension! Bless him. :)

And my point is? You are going to see a lot more of me on here very shortly. I may even get to grips with Facebook – you never know. :)

I just finished my ALQS5 which went to Sharne who was very pleased with it by all accounts and yet again I was really lucky with my swap partner. Unbeknown to Kate (the organiser of ALQS) it was someone that I have known a while – Glenys from New Zealand. Glenys made her quilt using some of the fabrics from her erosion bundle. This is her description that appeared on the ALQS5 blog:

This quilt is made up of the materials from my erosion bundle. I love the earthiness or organicness (if there is such a word.) The main fabric is cotton with 2 colours of organza and the hessian and ribbon. All these were in the erosion bundle along with the lace. I have also used rusted bottle top and agate beads.

It is amazing and I am really pleased to have it in my collection.

This is always a really good swap. Keep an eye out for when Kate, as I am sure she will, announces ALQS6!

Glenys also sent me some other goodies. A couple of bags of beads..

A wonderful wooden stamp…

And a huge bar of dark, mint crème filled chocolate….

Yes, all gone before I had chance to take the photo. *LOL*

How does that saying go ‘A minute on the lips, a lifetime on the hips’???

I have also been working on a technique which will appear in the June issue of Workshop on the Web. Here’s a sneak preview.

And lastly, I don’t tend to do much family stuff on here but just couldn’t resist showing you this. Meet Miss Lottie Sas aged just 3. It’s her nursery school photograph. Isn’t she an absolute sweetie? Butter wouldn’t melt? Don’t you believe it. *LOL*

Time on my hands

2010-10-03T21:36:00.001+01:00

We are both off work this week and had planned to go down to Bath for a few days (before Ally Pally), somewhere we have always wanted to visit but never quite got around to, but with the weather being as it is have decided to give it a miss this time around so consequently I actually have a few spare days on my hands.

I really should knuckle down to some serious housework, something that has been sadly neglected these past few months, luckily I have a very understanding husband. Mind you, he did have a bit of a rant a few weeks ago. He does his fair share of meal preparation these days but was bemoaning the fact that he couldn’t get his Yorkshire puddings to rise like good old Aunt Bessies. And then we discovered why – the sell by date on the bag of flour was October 2008. Ooops!!!

Pleased to report, a new bag of flour and his batter puddings are wonderful. :)

Thought I would share a few of the pieces I have been working on lately. Some new bits are coming, just need to get them right first.

I have a thing about wording at the moment, latin phrases in particular but not the well known ones. (I went through a stage a few years back of putting ‘nil carborundum illegitimi’ on almost everything). I really ought to hang these pieces when I photograph them. This was laid on the floor and taken from above which always makes the edges look very wonky. I ‘distressed’ the words in Photoshop before printing them off.

And what do they translate as? ‘Life is too short to dance with ugly men’. How profound is that? *LOL*

This next one I showed some time back. I want to make a large scale piece, not quite like this, but I have an idea with something along these lines and I want to practise on a small piece first so that I don’t end up wasting my time.

This is Tyvek attached to Cotton duck with recycled blanket attached to the back. (yes, I still have about 70 of them left). A few French Knots here and there to make me feel better about incorporating some hand stitching and then a wash of walnut ink. Quite liked it as it was so left it there. In the next one I did some darning/weaving between the pieces of Tyvek – I used Tyvek fabric on this and the next one rather than paper, far easier to stitch in to but I think I prefer the texture on the paper Tyvek. After the walnut ink stage I added a layer of Transparent Red Iron Oxide. Again, quite liked it as it was. And in the final one, exactly the same procedure but with Quin.Nickel Azo Gold and Paynes Grey added along with fragments of latin text. Still not what I want, text is totally wrong, but I’m getting there. Will have one more practise before I start on the big one. These ones measure about 50x50 cms, I hope for the finished piece to be at least four times that size. :)

Still with Tyvek, these are all close ups of postcard size pieces. Quick and easy to do and a good way of practising painting and finishing techniques and they do look very effective. Have got into the habit of making most of my samples into postcards as they look so much better when finished off. I have about 50 of these now so this really is a very small selection. :)These ones all have a rust solution added.And this one has a verdigris finish. On this one I grated some metallic wax crayons into the gesso hoping it would stay in place and act as a resist to the medium I was going to put on the surface but it still kept crumbling off so I used the heat tool to melt the wax before spraying with Brusho Sprays.Carolyn, Love Stitching Red, let me know that on the last post the link to Sharnes blog didn’t work for some reason so if you didn’t manage to blog-hop here is the link again.

Denise also came along to the same workshop and finished off her vessel too. Denise is the owner of Craft Arena, a fabulous textile art studio selling lots of the things we all use. She kindly gave me some acrylic felt to try. It is much thicker than Kunin so I only need to use one layer instead of two and the fact that it zaps slightly differently makes it all the more exciting. It doesn’t burn back quite so quickly as Kunin so instead of lots of holes you get a lovely stiff textured background which prevents the gesso or paint soaking right in to the surface. I’m still playing around with it and will show you the end results once I am finished – but I am liking this felt and if the rumour is true that they are going to make Kunin felt flame retardent then this will be a perfect substitute.

Talk-Talk

2010-09-29T20:01:00.002+01:00

It feels very strange blogging after such a long, long time. Feel like a bit of an interloper, but I’m sure I will get over that. :)
I have been so busy these last few months but I have been having such a great time and meeting some really amazing people.
I have given several workshops, all of which were very well received, more about them later. Also demonstrated again on the ArtVanGo stand at Art in Action in Oxford recently and actually sold two of my vessels to a very insistent, and ultimately very happy, customer.
And then of course, it has been the harvest season. Not sure if it was just me but as far as I am concerned this has been the busiest one ever in all my 21 years in the industry. The weather certainly didn’t help - along with several irascible customers. Although I can empathise with them, after all having a machine down costs them money, I just wish that I wasn’t their first port of call when they are all fired up. Still, it was my last one so I should have made the most of it really.
As I said, the workshops have been going really well with several more booked for next year, most of which are due to recommendations from previous students, which says it all.
What pleases me most though is the fact that lots of vessels and hangings actually get finished off once the class is over. I can’t recall ever actually getting around to finishing anything started in a class – then again, maybe that’s just me. :)
And several students are putting their own spin on the finished vessel too and these are just a couple.
This one is from a real character, Pam Oliver, a fantastic lady who has been on a couple of my workshops and she bought this along to the second one where I took a photo of it, but the lighting wasn’t right. Pam has used lace in places and painted the vessel in metallic colours. It looks splendid, the colours really glow. Pam creates some wonderful work and I have been trying to persuade her to start a blog so she can share it with us.
Sharne also created her own vessel inspired by this one.
The music score is from the Beatles song ‘Yesterday’ ………and the Mary Quant style cut outs have small aged photos of the Beatles inside.
Very nostalgic. Of course, I can’t really remember the Beatles – much – the Monkees were more my thing. :)
You can see the story of the vessel starting here and if you read the comments you will see who it was that run off with Sharnes tube at the end of the workshop. *LOL*
I have three more workshops coming up in November which I am really looking forward to. If I remember to take my camera (see below) I will keep you posted.
I also have a workshop at ArtVanGo at the beginning of December. Its called ‘Vessels’ but on reflection I think it should really be called either ‘Choices’ or maybe even ‘Extremes’. Intrigued? Well, maybe I will see you there then. :)
I went along to the Festival of Quilts in August. There were some really wonderful pieces of work on display and I recognised the names of several bloggers which made it all the more interesting.
Also managed to spend a fortune at the trade stands although I was convinced I didn’t actually need anything!
And I still find it very surreal looking at the bookstands and seeing one with my name on the cover. I have an incredible urge to point it out to people and say ‘thats me, that is’. :)
Marion Barnett was demonstrating… …and so I popped along to meet her for the first time. I waited until the little group she was demonstrating to had dispersed then asked if she would sign a copy of her book for me. I asked her to dedicate it to ‘Lynda Monk – Purple Missus’. OK she says, all nonchalantly and then the penny dropped when she realised exactly what I had said, so there was a lot of shouting and hugging going on – I’m sure several people wondered what an earth was happening. A really lovely lady, very friendly and very free with her knowledge. The book..... is brilliant. Not least because it has work by a couple of blogging friends, Sandy and Tracy but also because it has given me plenty of ideas on how to use Evolon rather than just rust dye it, which I seem to do a lot of because it always comes out really well.
So I have a couple of practise pieces on the go at the moment and will put them on here when I get to finish them. The book is well worth having, its packed full of different ideas for using this incredible fabric. You can order it direct from Marion here.
As for the camera mentioned above, well, I bought this just before I went to FOQ.. So that I wouldn’t have to cart this around. And yes, you’ve guessed it – I forgot to take it with me!!!
I will have it with me at Ally Pally though – not long now she says excitedly. Hope to say hello to lots of you there.
As the title of the blog suggests, this one is just talk, dipping a toe in the water really, as it has been so long. Will be back soon to ‘show and tell’ about some other things I have been up to lately.
One last photo. On the way home from work I saw this in the churchyard down the end of our road and rushed down to take several photos of it before the kids decided to kick it to bits. There were two of them, fungi that is, and they were both about 18” across. Evidently they come up every year in this place but I’ve not noticed them before.Anyway, that will teach me to make assumptions about ‘the youth of today’ – it stayed intact for a good two or three weeks before it finally died.

Good heavens……….

2010-06-13T20:10:00.001+01:00

……………………has it really been that long!!!

I have just had a couple of comments on my blog which need my permission to publish them. Thought someone had been tinkering with my settings so I took a look and realised they were set so that comments needed to be approved after 28 days!

Doesn’t time fly.

It’s been really, really hectic here lately. Lots of family stuff and other things going on (more about those later) and I have been getting everything together for a two day workshop I am giving at ArtVanGo on 23rd and 24th June. Really looking forward to it.

Totally forgot about the hangings on the last blog and must admit I haven’t actually put the backings on any of them yet.

Looks like No.4 came out on top to go in the ALQS4 swap.

Kate said I could put two in the swap which is what I am going to do and so I will give the other two away.

I numbered all the comments on the blog entry plus the two emails and put them in Random.org and this is how it came out.

Number 48 - Corryna Janssen and number 6 - Lins Artyblobs.

Many thanks for helping me decide and for all the lovely comments.

If you’d like to email me your addresses and let me know which one you would prefer out of 1, 2 and 3 I will send it off to you as soon as I can – quite possibly around the same time as I send off the ALQS ones.

As I can’t write a blog without photos these are close ups of a couple of others I needed to finish. Yes, I know, those words again – told you I would do them to death.

And then there is this one. Was aiming to try something different with the painting and this was supposed to be the undercoat but I may leave it as it is. Yes? No?

The flash has made these close ups look a different colour when they are really the same as the main photo. I am also having real trouble with my emails. For a start I have found out that several people haven’t received replies I have sent them, and some being replies to emails that I hadn’t actually received – if you can understand that bit of double-dutch.

And even more amazing is that I have received emails from way back – one was almost two years old and it’s not as if I had saved it either.

Mind you, the provider I am with is useless. Sometimes I can’t go online and sometimes it just cuts me off in the middle of a session and says there is no connection so I switch to IE and off I go again. I’ve been with the same one for about 15 years now but think it’s about time I had a change.

Just finished a brilliant book - ‘Cutting for Stone’ by Abraham Verghese. Started it twice but couldn’t get in to it but finally had to when I ran out of books and am so glad I did. Absolutely fascinating reading. Went to Waterstones on Saturday and stocked up, 6 books £32 (buy 2 get 1 free) – but what a price! Only wish I could go to the library but I have this thing where I can’t read a book that someone else has read. I’m OK with text books, it’s just novels. Even the new ones have to come from the back of the shelf – same with magazines too. Unfortunately, have passed this ‘affliction’ on to all three of my daughters. Very weird. *LOL*

And with that bit of information I will take my leave of you. :)

P.S. So what I should have said after that bit about the emails is that if you have emailed me lately and would have liked a reply and didn’t get one then please email me again – wouldn’t want anyone to think I was ignoring them. :)

Help please!

2010-05-07T16:43:00.001+01:00

I have now made 4 hangings for the ALQS4 swap would you believe. These are the two that I have just finished.

Yes, I know, I have come across this phrase from Spenser's The Faerie Queene,and now I will use it to death. :)

Close up:

And the final one (which is my absolute favourite. The finish has turned out really well – a near perfect ‘rusty’ effect) :

Close ups:

And now this is where I need help. Which one to send? Can I ask you to vote for one? I will then put the one with the most votes in the ALQS4 swap.

Anyone leaving a number in the message box will have their name put in the ‘hat’ and if you would like one of the remaining three I will gladly send it to you.

Here then are the contenders. All on a Duck Cotton Canvas background, with batting & backing and machine stitched. Sizes are approximate as the edges all need turning and backing!

NUMBER 1

Dressmaking Pattern Tissue Paper, acrylic paints. Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold and Paynes Grey background. 60 x 60 cms.

See here for larger version and close ups.

NUMBER 2

Pelmet Vilene lettering, Scrim. Transparent Red Iron Oxide and Paynes Grey background. 64 x 44 cms.

NUMBER 3

Foil, Fusible Webbing, Dressmaking Pattern Tissue Paper, Organza, rusted metal buttons. Transparent Red Iron Oxide background. 48 x 40 cms.

See here for larger version and close ups.

NUMBER 4

Scrim, Xpandaprint. Iridescent Bronze acrylic. Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold and Paynes Grey background. 52 x 46 cms.

Remember, they all look better in the flesh! Especially number 4, just can’t seem to get a true photograph of that one.

Look what I got in the post today:

The latest d4Daisy book. And I can tell you it is fabulous. Really lovely photography. The back says it’s a book for the coffee table and the workroom – and that is so true. Its another ‘must have’. If you order it from d4Daisy you stand a chance of getting a package of goodies from Maggie Grey.

I’m off to Kent tomorrow to give a ‘rusty’ workshop to Pat and her fellow EG members. What, nervous? Me? *LOL*

ALQS4

2010-04-25T17:02:00.001+01:00

This is contender #2 for ALQS4. (Unfinished as yet – in case you didn’t notice.)

Its foil, fusible webbing, tissue paper, organza, stitch and half rusted buttons.

Close ups:

Have got another couple of ideas I want to try out, if I have time, then I will need help in deciding which one to send off. :)

Also been putting together a few samples for a workshop I have coming up in a couple of weeks down in Kent. I think you can guess what the subject is.

And that’s about the sum total of my week!

Unfortunately, this lovely weather we’ve been having means the pace at work has started to pick up – and I have started to slow down. *LOL*

2010-04-17T21:00:00.001+01:00

I’ve not had a very good week with these vessels. :(

I have tried using shapes and textures from the Pollen, Seeds and Fruit books – shown on here a few weeks back. I still wanted to use the same technique and/or the same (favourite) colours I have been using but with a bit of a twist.

With the first one I have got as far as the white paint stage and that is where I think it will probably end.

It stands around 30” tall and looks like an instrument of medieval torture!

The ‘spikes’ are made from Modroc moulded around a shape and inserted through an opening cut in the Kunin felt.

While I was in the garage searching for the Modroc I came across a couple of bowl shapes I had made some time ago and decided to give one a coat of acrylic paint.

In the meantime I had put together another vessel using a base of Kunin Felt on which I couched down a thick cotton thread and applied Xpandaprint before zapping the felt. This is how it looked after a coating of gesso.

I was quite taken with the colouring on the bowl – a base coat of Transparent Red Iron Oxide with Paynes Grey over the top – and decided to use the same combination for the vessel. Unfortunately, because of the texture it just wouldn’t work properly and this is what it ended up like.

So out came the white paint again.

Hopefully it will look better second time around. :)

I think I know exactly what I will be submitting for ALQS4 but I still wanted to have a play around today and see if I could come up with something a bit different.

I decided to ‘distress’ some Lutradur. These are just a few of the pieces I created, some of which I have taken a step further.

These ones have all been created on 30 weight white Lutradur.

This one…

… was later bonded to black Kunin felt.

And this one…

…had encaustic wax melted on top, was scrunched up then rubbed over with black writing ink…

…before being ironed out smooth again.

This one was also bonded to black Kunin felt.

Half of it was used to burn shapes out with a soldering iron which were then placed back down on the other half and machine stitched in place with a metallic thread.

This piece has been bonded to white Kunin Felt and machine stitched using an inbuilt pattern with two rayon threads in the needle before adding beads.

It has then been made into a notebook with Khadi paper signatures and a machine stitched cord to hold it together.

I’ve also got another encrusted vessel on the go but not finished enough to show here and I have a feeling this one is going to look even more strange than the one at the top of this page. :)

Shabby Chic Roses

2010-04-10T21:04:00.001+01:00

I got this from Pat, who got it from Ati, who got it from Anni, who saw the tutorial on Roben-Maries blog here – and just couldn’t resist having a go at it.

Lots of people are having a go and some really good ones are being created. I stitched the centre pieces on my ones as I seem to be a bit messy with glue. Doreen had a great idea – she used a covered button in the centre.

Started off with some rusty ones:

Then used some other scrap fabric:

The fabric used for this one is actually a piece cut from here:

I’ve had this fabric for what must be 15 years plus, bought from John Lewis in Oxford Street at £3.99 a metre and I have about a fat quarter left.

It started life as a much more colourful piece of fabric than this but I had dipped it in a weak solution of Potassium Permanganate – and I loved the effect, so much so that I think just about every scrap of fabric I had was dipped and turned a shade of brown in varying degrees. Obviously where my love of rust stems from, funny thing is though, brown as a stand alone colour does absolutely nothing for me!

I remember all this because I thought I had an original snippet of this fabric stuck in a book back from my City & Guilds days – but could only find a space where it had once been, although all the details were still there.

I then spent (wasted?) a whole evening looking back through old notebooks and sketchbooks and reminiscing. Took loads of photos of different bits but decided to spare you all sharing my memories with me. *LOL*

One thing though, I used to go to lots of exhibitions and used to keep all the brochures and buy loads of postcards and keep detailed notes about them – (these ones look like they are all from ‘97). It was quite entertaining looking back through these.

Anyway, the point of this story is that when I was looking for the snippet of fabric I came across this picture from a recycling project I was working on way back.

I decided to Google the name of the maker of the corset (and the winner of Green Magazines fashion competition in 1992 as the text explains) – Alison Bailey Smith, and found her website here. It really is well worth a look and if you use Google Images you can see other examples of her work. Make sure you catch the bit on how to dismantle a television set. :)

I was talking to a lovely girl at the N.E.C. who was very excited as her handmade card business was starting to take off for her and we were chatting about using resin. (Sorry, I know you read this but I didn’t get to ask your name). I had bought some resin several months ago but just hadn’t got around to using it as I keep meaning to see if I can get a book on the subject. I bought it from a fibreglass supplier instead of in kit form from a hobbyist shop and the instructions I have are very scant to say the least.

I remember being bowled over in 2007 at Ally Pally with the installation ‘ The 9 Pillars’ created by Helene Soubeyran and wanted to try resin casting myself – on a much smaller scale of course. I don’t think Helene has any fear of competition with these pieces – even without the air bubbles and fingerprints. *LOL*

I started off with a postcard size textured sample. As you can probably see, the mould is the bottom of a plastic lunch box. It was a good start though because the colours look really wonderful.

This is a small sample which I have shown on the blog before, not sure if I told you how it was created though – will leave that for another time. This one looked better outside the resin.

These are hand made beads – although you would be forgiven for thinking it was a goldfish come to a sticky end. :)

This experiment is made of rusted baby wipes. Four of them rolled up together each time and then cut in to about 2cm wedges. It was quite tricky to place them all without getting covered with resin.

And here’s a close up:

Next came one of the shabby chic roses minus the leaf – it wouldn’t fit in the mould. You can see how the colours of the fabric have become much more vibrant.

A couple of different views:

My original idea was to make a cast of a complete ‘Encrusted Blade’ but have a feeling it might be a bit on the heavy side. So I think that this is more what I would like to concentrate on. Its a piece of coloured Lutradur embedded in a thin layer of resin. Would like to try and get the layer thinner still, embed several of them separately and then attach them in some way. And of course, make sure they haven’t got a lip around the edge. Watch this space. :)

ALQS4

Kate has decided to do another round of this very popular swap. Rules are a bit different this time. Its a great swap – I have been really pleased with the quilts I have received each time. Check it out here.

Fashion, Embroidery & Stitch Exhibition

2010-04-02T19:05:00.001+01:00

I was absolutely shattered on the Monday but I did have a truly wonderful time demonstrating on the ArtVanGo stand at the N.E.C. last weekend.

Would like to say a huge thank you to all the lovely people, many of them bloggers, who stopped by to say hello and to have a look at what I do. It was very much appreciated and just goes to show how friendly the blogging community can be.

Also saw a couple of old friends: Sharne who was busy shopping for the girls that couldn’t make it and Anna – although this is the first time I have actually met Anna I feel like I have known her forever. :)

I took this latest encrusted vessel along with me but thought I would show it here as it stood up on a high shelf on the stand and the lighting made it look almost black.

The 5 ‘leaf’ (?) shapes have thick wire on the inside so that they can be bent in to shape. This is the first in what I hope will be a series loosely based on ideas from the books I showed last time – the seed pods especially. Lots of close-ups here to show the different shades from just the two Golden paint colours – Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold and Paynes Grey.

This is also another one I finished recently using the same technique. This time I used black gesso and then dry brushed Iridescent Bronze acrylic paint over the surface (although it seems to have taken on a pink tinge in the photos).

It looks like old beaten metal and I promised someone I met at the N.E.C. that I would show it as she might be using this technique for an ongoing project.

P.S. A great big thank you goes to Celia – this ‘Live Writer’ is brilliant, far easier than typing and uploading straight to Blogger.

A very long post.....

2010-03-14T16:08:00.001Z

.....but hopefully not too boring. :) Do you realise this is only the 4th post I have managed this year and we are already halfway through March - where on earth is all the time going these days? Mind you, blogger is a lot to blame - it's a nightmare having to upload every single photograph seperately.

Anyway, on with the post.

On her blog last week Sharne showed a terrific vessel she had made using Tyvek paper which had been coloured with the Caustic Soda Rust dyeing method. And then to top it off she stencilled some shapes on the surface with gel medium, sprinkled them with Rusting Powder (from Crafty Notions) and spritzed them with white vinegar. I hadn’t thought of putting motifs on the surface so I decided to have a bit of a play. This certainly has a lot of potential.

The backgrounds are all Tyvek paper but I used a Thermofax Screen rather than a stencil. These first two pieces are on rust dyed Tyvek using Micaceous Iron Oxide paint, which will also rust slightly given time.

On this one I sprinkled some Bronze Metallic Powder on part of the paint and the rust powder on the rest. I waited until it was totally dry before spritzing with vinegar as I had already used the same technique but sprayed it while it was wet and the metallic power ended up in a big puddle!

The background of this one has been coloured using Walnut Ink and the motifs have been stencilled on with black gesso.

The background of these next two is walnut ink with sea salt sprinkled on. Once dry the salt is removed and the surface painted with Golden Fluid paint in Paynes Grey and Transparent Red Iron Oxide. The markings are from where it has been laid face down on a plastic sheet and left to dry. (If you buy the book ‘Stitching the Textured Surface’ you can access free workshops on the d4Daisy website where you can find full details of this surface and ideas on vessels to create using the coloured Tyvek paper). The top motif has been screened on using Golden Fluid Transparent Red Iron Oxide mixed with a small amount of Gel Medium to thicken it up and the bottom one is a stencil using the same paint mixture.

Same technique as above used for colouring the background and for the motif but I used the paint neat from the bottle to screen on a few lines of text so it was quite runny and didn’t make a very good print.

This is one of my ‘arty’ shots. :) An acrylic painted background and this time I used a stencil to push Pumice Gel through before covering with Rusting Powder and spritzing. Now this really is rusty!

I had been playing around a while back with Tyvek paper, one of my favourite surfaces, and decided to use up some old bits. These are scrappy bits where I had previously stencilled a motif on the surface with either gesso or molding paste and then coloured them and I thought I would see what they turned out like if I heated them using the iron – again well worth playing with some more.

I stitched this one down to a cotton duck background, lightly covered it with gesso and then painted with acrylic paints, Quinacridone Burnt Orange and Paynes Grey this time.

And these are other pieces of melted Tyvek paper that I have stitched onto cotton duck, covered with gesso and then painted with acrylic paints. The Tyvek pieces were scraps from other projects that had already been coloured but I just went over the top of them with the gesso and acrylic paints - and of course, a bit of Treasure Gold in these first three. :)

The stitching on this one could do with blending in more but it was the background I was pleased with. I had sprinkled sea salt into the wet gesso before adding the acrylic paints.

These ones are Quink (writing) Ink sprayed or painted on top of the gesso and the first one has a bit of Interference Blue added to the Tyvek surface.

The 'glitzy' bits on the top of this one is Creative Sprays 'Autumn Gold'.

One of my daughters sent me this book for Mothers Day.....

... to go with the other two she gave me at Christmas.

They are fabulous books, really fat and heavy with loads of lovely colourful close-up photos – excellent source material books – and I know you’re not supposed to do this but I just couldn’t resist showing you some of the terrific photos, and not necessarily the best ones either. As it’s not for personal gain but more as a way of promoting the books, I am sure it will be OK on this occasion.

There are loads of books on Amazon similar to this sort of thing and the next one on my list is 'Inside the Body' - it looks amazing.

I have also been creating more vessels using my favourite technique of the moment and these really are terrible photos, the colours are so much nicer. The vessel stands over a metre high and I just haven’t got the room near a good light source to take a decent photo.

I wanted to try something different. I stitched wire into the top of the vessel before burning out the shapes as I wanted to make the top bendy to give it a more distressed feel. Not sure it looks right though, not only because I think I should have made the whole thing bendy but mainly because my dearly beloved (?) looked at it and with pity in his voice said ‘Oh no, what went wrong’ !!! *LOL*

Do you think it’s back to the drawing board on this one?

And now for some really great news which deserves to be in bold lettering as I am so excited.

ArtVanGo have asked me to demonstrate on their stand at the NEC show, Fashion, Embroidery & Stitch (details here) at the end of this month. So I shall be there all day on Saturday 27th and Sunday 28thMarch.

Please come and say hello if you are going to be there, I would love to see as many of you as possible – just make sure that you say ‘hello’ in my good ear though. *LOL*

2010-02-21T17:00:00.000Z

Thanks to Sandy (Dangling By A Thread) I had a wonderful day yesterday. She had arranged a workshop with Dijanne Ceeval, her good friend who is staying with her, and invited me along. I only live about half hour away from Sandy and this is the first time we have been able to spend some time together so that was a bonus too.

Dijanne showed us her technique of transferring colour to Lutradur and talked us through the amazing quilts she had brought along with her. She not only explained to us the stories behind the quilts, which was fascinating in itself, but also spoke about the techniques she had used.

I took some wonderful photographs but if you pop along to Dijanne's blog you can see them in much better detail.

She also let us use some of her amazing lino cuts to take rubbings of.

Two other friends also managed to get there Pat (Altering Thoughts) and Sue (Magic Armchair Traveller) - both had really long journeys and Pats was made even longer because her SatNav decided to have a bit of fun and sent her on a tour of the Suffolk countryside!

I just couldn't resist becoming the owner of one of Dijannes pieces of fabric. It is gorgeous and will hang on my wall just as it is until such a time as I can use it to its best advantage.

Thanks Dijanne and Sandy, it was a brilliant workshop.

Speaking of workshops, I need to get my head down now to prepare for the one I will be giving at ArtVanGo on Thursday March 4th. :-)

Many thanks too for all the good luck wishes for the talk I gave last week. It went very well considering how nervous I was. Chelmsford Embroiderers Guild really are a very friendly bunch, They made me feel very much at home. My SIL David came along to help as he has to do a lot of presentations in his line of work and apart from DH, who doesn't have a choice, he is the only one of the rest of the family who is always very interested in what I do - maybe I should have wished for three sons instead of three daughters!!!

If you take a look at Sharnes' bitsnbobs blog here you can see me in action.

2010-02-14T17:00:00.002Z

I’m giving a talk tomorrow evening at Chelmsford Embroiderers Guild. Everyone that knows me really well is amazed that I actually agreed to it but I thought that to be able to stand up in front of an interested group and speak on a subject that I have a passion for is an opportunity that I couldn’t let pass me by. Wish me luck. :)

So for the past couple of weeks I have been rummaging around and gathering together several pieces to take with me – and I happened across this:

It’s made from the fabric I created on the embellishing machine for the article 'Pinked, Puffed and Paned - Elizabethan Dressels' which appeared in Workshop on the Web in June 2008 and has been sitting there ever since.

Apart from rusty surfaces and Tyvek the other thing that ‘floats my boat’ is corsets!

These are a few of the patterns...

....and a very small selection of the books....

...that I have collected over the years on this subject. And every time I see the latest one of Annas' fabulous creations my fingers itch to make one of my own – but of course, I just never seem to get around to it. So I thought that after all this time I would try and finish this one off - today. The lining is a deep red silk dupion.

Photographs taken at 4.30 this afternoon - I'll say no more. :)

Front panel is beaded - three beads at each intersection. Couldn't bead the whole thing as I didn't have enough in this particular colour!

I also finished off these two pieces this week. I have this urge to work bigger for some reason but the logistics of creating vessels of this size still needs working on - they are not as sturdy as I think they should be.

This ‘blade’ has turned out too stubby for my liking. I’m really after something tall, elegant and graceful – not short and fat *LOL* Mind you, it’s not that short, it is a metre high to the tip of the blades.

This one is also a metre high. The colouring didn’t quite work out how I wanted although that could be sorted quite easily and at least it has given me several other ideas to work on. The camera has made the top of the vessel look too dark.

Carol has just uploaded ‘Lutradur and Lace’ on the Fibre in-Form website as a freebie workshop. This has been adapted from her article which appeared in the first edition of the online magazine Fibre and Stitch in August 2007 and was a huge success. Take a look here.

Crisps, Men and Corsets!!!

2010-01-17T15:00:00.000Z

I have mentioned before how I have been collecting crisp packets for Tracy(take a look at her blog and you'll see some of the amazing pieces she is creating).
I now have two dustbin bags full of them - not bad for someone who never eats crisps - so I thought I would see if I could put them to use somehow.
I tried putting them in the oven like the children used to years ago (why?) to shrink them but found they came out too hard so decided to put them between two sheets of baking parchment and iron them. They melt in pretty much the same way as Tyvek.
I also tried zapping them with the heat tool but not sure I like the effect, need to work on that one more.
I then used acrylic paints and Creative Sprays on the surface.
This is the foil from inside of the bag.And these two are the outside of the packet. I used a McCoys mixed six pack. The colouring shows through well underneath the acrylic - Quin.NA Gold and a very small amount of Paynes Grey were the only acrylic colours I used on the front of the packets with a quick spray of Creative Sprays Autumn Gold.Close up.This one is a Walkers Sensations packet with Creative Sprays only - Copper and Autumn Gold - sprayed on the surface Look out for more experimenting with these. :)
Something else I have been playing with at the weekend is this - Men in Corsets (unfinished)Old dressmaking pattern tissue has been used on the painted surface. The metallic paints on the corsets are not quite as light on some of them as they appear in the photo, especially the baby blue one. :)
And just a reminder that you will find these......in the fourth and final freebie workshop that accompanies 'Stitching the Textured Surface' on the d4Daisy website tomorow, Monday the 18th. Enjoy!

2009-12-18T20:00:00.002Z

If you would like to know what these vessels, shown in my last blog are created from, you’ll find them in Lesson 4 on the d4Daisy website, the freebie lessons for anyone who has a copy of ‘Stitching the Textured Surface’. This lesson is not due out until Jan 14th but I will tell you that they are not rusted fabric.

Hope that keeps you guessing for a bit longer. :)

Also on my last blog I mentioned how I was going to take some better shots of the wasps nest. So off I trotted to the garage only to find that it had been manhandled – although this has been strenuously denied – and the outer casing is now in a dozen different pieces. Still, at least it saved me the trouble of slicing it open to see what was on the inside, which is this.

More about the wasps nest in a minute.

I’ve been sorting, mounting and labelling a whole pile of samples and finished pieces ready to take with me for the talk I am giving and came across these rusty pieces.
This one is just a background of rusted cotton fabric with rusted scrim on the top, which has been stitched down then slashed.

This one has also been stitched and slashed. It is rusted baby wipes, ten of them piled on top of each other before being stitched. This has really altered the colouring and the feel of the wipes. I’m sure it would be hard for anyone to tell exactly what the fabric is.
But it was this one that caught my eye. Again, it is rusted baby wipes, dozens of them put through the pleater/smocking machine using fine wire as the thread.
This is a close up without the distraction of the wavy edges and the wires.....
.....which put me in mind of a way of interpretating this, the wasps nest, into a textile piece.
Different colouring of course and possibly different fabric – definitely something to think about.

I’m off to see some ‘wine angels’ shortly. I’ll try to take some photos. I would have given my eye teeth to do this (when I was younger and slimmer and more athletic). Where’s ‘Jim’ll Fix It’ when you need him. *LOL*

Free Workshop

2009-12-12T18:40:00.000Z

Apologies for using the blog to advertise the Fibre in-Form website, especially after not posting for so long, but just wanted to tell you about a freebie workshop that Carol has just added. It’s a taster for a new workshop planned for early next year called ‘Out of the Cupboard'.This one is called ‘A Fascination with Foil’ and explains the techniques that Carol has used to create some really great samples using kitchen foil. Follow this link to download: Free Taster Workshop

I too have been busy creating. Am beginning to wonder if I will ever tire of ‘rusty’ surfaces and effects. Maybe I ought to make a new years resolution to put a bit of colour back into my life!And some other 'rusty' surfaces.

I intend to save these two pieces for something special - not sure what though.
And doesn’t this just make your eyes pop? Looks like the turquoise is floating on the surface.
Had a lovely treat in the post a couple of weeks back. It was from Gloria who came over to the UK for a few weeks and we had made plans to meet – several times – but for one reason and another it just didn’t happen unfortunately. Hopefully next time. Anyway, she sent me this:As I said to Gloria, this must be one of the sweetest things I have ever tasted – it was absolutely delicious. Gloria called it a biscuit but it was the size of a cake. It’s just a good job they don’t sell them in the local supermarket!

Also received these from Tracy.Made from crisp and sweet bags. I’ve been sending (empty) crisp bags over to Tracy – she loves the Walkers Sensations and the McCoys bags – and this is what she does with them, and is making quite a name for herself too. Tracy sells them in her 'Squiggle Chick' Etsy shop and has also been featured in several places. They really are fun things to have, everyone comments on them.

One of the guys bought this in for me the other day. Photos not very good as they were taken in the garage, I intend to take some in the daylight as soon as it’s a bit brighter. Can you guess what it is?It’s a wasp nest. Amazing isn’t it. It is very fragile. This one is about 2 feet wide by 18 inches high and was under his thatched roof. This is a piece that fell off the end. Once I have taken some decent photographs of the outside I’m going to slice it open and take a look at the inside. I thought I might preserve a slice of it in resin. I certainly want to use it as source material to create a textile piece. I just think how amazing it is that something so unsavoury can produce something as beautiful as this.
It’s amazing too how much I have learned about wasps since this came into my possession. If I were to appear on Mastermind this would be my specialist subject. *LOL*

Is it me or is 'Strictly' not so exciting this year? All seems a bit of a farce. Very disappointed. Even bought a new flat screen TV to replace the dinosaur we had - what a waste. :(

2009-10-18T12:43:00.005+01:00

Creative Surfaces

‘Simply Salt’

‘Simply Salt’ is the first in a series of ‘Creative Surfaces’ workshops from Fibre in-Form allowing you to pick and choose which techniques you would like to explore and take further.
We all know how life can sometimes get in the way of our creative endeavours so these workshops have been designed to enable you to start and finish them at your leisure.
‘Simply Salt’ will take you through the process of creating an amazing surface on a background of Lutradur using gesso, ink, silk paints and salt.
This surface can then be embellished further using machine or hand stitch, beading or other embellishments but is equally decorative enough to use on its own to create vessels, book covers, bags etc.
The workshop includes five chapters with 77 colour illustrations.

Please make your way to Fibre In-Form to subscribe.

New Group

2009-10-14T16:49:00.002+01:00

There will be a new group to take in the free classes available with 'Stitches, Straps and Layers' and 'Stitching the Textured Surface' starting soon.

Make sure you visit d4Daisy on Friday to find out more.

See you there. :)

P.S. The links for the slinky fabric paints on my last post did not work - I have now amended them so please make sure you visit the website and Lauras blog, you won't be disappointed!

Ally Pally - What a nightmare!

2009-10-12T17:00:00.001+01:00

The Friday afternoon drive home that is. It took just over the hour to get there in the morning and 4 hours to get home. Crawling most of the way, there were three ‘incidents’, it was dark and absolutely tipping it down with rain – not a very pleasant journey at all.

Met up with lots of fellow bloggers all of them lovely, lovely people. Its great to be able to put a face and a voice to the blog. Carol and I did a couple of demos on Maggies d4Daisy stand which went well. It all felt very surreal - having been a spectator for the past 15 years and then appearing on the other side of the stand. I also had a terrible head cold coming on which didn’t help – I just hope with all the hugging going on that I didn’t pass too many germs around. It was wonderful to find so many people who are really interested in what you do.

It really was a wonderful time. And then Saturday my cold, nay ‘flu, really came out. I was hoping to perk up a bit so I could go back to AP on Sunday to meet up with a few other blogging friends, but I just felt too ill. I was really disappointed especially as they all came from different parts of the world. Plus I didn't get to see much of the show and spent very little money - most unusual - so it looks like Harrogate is on the calender for the first time this year. :)

And then there was the question of my jacket. Quite an old one, several years old in fact, but a well loved one. One of those items of clothing that seem to grow with you, if you know what I mean. Well, I put it in the cloakroom on Thursday and promptly forgot about it. Decided to collect it on Friday but was back in the car park before I remembered so I just thought I would be able to collect it on Sunday.... Oh well, hopefully all lost property gets passed on to a charity shop and someone will make good use of it. – I’m sure its got a few more years wear in it.

Couple of things I am really excited about . Firstly, these paints. I have wanted to try some of these for ages and managed to acquire some. Jacqueline has used them a lot in her work and it always looks amazing. These colours are gorgeous. I’m going to try them with the Thermofax screens to start with.The website for these paints is here where you can download free techniques and Laura who runs the website also has a blog here – both of them well worth a look.

And secondly, this new exciting product available from Dale. Its called ‘Crash’. I looked it up here so I could tell you more about it. Have you ever seen this website? So much information.Dale has created some gorgeous samples with this Crash already. Look forward to using both these products in the next couple of weeks. Will show my results.

This is a flavour of the samples I was demonstrating on the stand at AP. (More pics on the last blog post)The full technique with lots more info and samples will be available for downloading from the website, Fibre in-Form, sometime later this week when our Webmaster returns to base. Will let you know when it appears.

And how about this (sort of) arty pose? It’s salt that has been used for this technique – just shows how I never throw anything away. :)

It's that time of the year!

2009-10-03T15:33:00.000+01:00

Don't you just love this time of year?

You can stay indoors without feeling guilty.
You can wear lots of layers to cover up your big bits.
Strictly Come Dancing is back on the TV - aren't the two Rickys wonderful in their own ways?
And best of all - it's Ally Pally time.

Carol and I will be demonstrating (and book signing) on the d4Daisy stand along with Maggie Grey on Friday at 11.30 and 2.30. Stand TGE6. If you haven't been to Ally Pally before its through the entrance doors in the hall on the left.

These are some Lutradur based samples of the really simple technique I will be demonstrating.

All created using the basic techniques and materials from the book 'Stitching the Textured Surface' - and believe it or not, no rust dyeing included. :)

I've also got a stack of postcards showing this technique, with the details on the back, to give away.
Please come and say hello if you can, it would be great to meet as many of you as possible.

I'll also be at the show with Shirley Sherris (Embroidered Jewellery) on Thursday and will be visiting again on Sunday - not sure yet about Saturday. If anyone has got 10 minutes to spare to say hello just let me know.

I'm off down to Brighton now for a few days - now that the weather has turned really cold and windy. :)

Photofest!

2009-09-07T13:30:00.000+01:00

You can tell it’s been a while – prepare yourselves for loads of photos in this post. :)

Visited friends in Aldeburgh at the weekend. Such a lovely day decided to go to Southwold and have a cream tea on the pier – wonderful.
Wonderful views too. In one direction these:
In another direction this:Unfortunately, in the distance this:Sizewell Nuclear Power Station.

Popped in to the shop which sells Cath Kidston merchandise and couldn’t resist buying this. Love the whole range but thought this was just that little bit different.Will be ideal for my Ally Pally purchases, which will need to be plentiful as I wasn’t able to make it to FOQ to stock up on supplies. Missed a good exhibition too by the sounds of it.

In the post recently I received my swap for the ALQS3. Made by Jovita from Lithuania
and is brilliant – it’s as if she made it especially for me.A close up of the great little buttons she has used.Still on the rust theme have been working on some more ‘rusty’ surfaces using the technique from the ‘Stitching the Textured Surface’ book and the ‘Encrusted Blades’ article in WOW.Also used the same technique for a metallic surface – doesn’t show up too well in the photo though.On the subject of metallics, am still trying to develop the fabric I used for the bodice shown in the last blog post. I’m getting there. :)More detail on this technique when I can get it exactly how I want it.

Also in the post I received the Calendar Girls postcard for August from Val.
The calendar page was actually chosen by Val this month and she has captured it perfectly.My August card is for Doreen and I’m afraid I’m a bit behind. No real excuse, just been suffering for a couple of weeks from a debilitating virus called ‘Lazyitis’. *LOL*
I know I haven’t done the card justice. If I recall, its called ‘Shower of hearts’ or something similar, so I have taken the hearts and worked on them.
I used a small heart stencil and also made a thermofax screen using the same stencil. They are not finished yet, some need stitching, zapping or maybe even a touch of Treasure Gold :)
Brief descriptions follow - if anyone would like more, please ask.
Gesso was used on duck cotton then again through the thermofax. Ink sprayed on and salt sprinkled on the surface. Same as above but gesso pulled through a stencil. Red and black ink sprayed on the surface before sprinkling with salt. Swore I wouldn't do rust but couldn't resist it. Gesso on Lutradur this time. Red and black ink.
Look at the other wonderful patterns made on the Lutradur with ink and salt. Gesso on Lutradur again, sprayed with ink, stitched then zapped. Light spray of diluted silk paints then applied. More of the same, before zapping. Xpandaprint through a thermofax screen on Lutradur sprayed with red and black ink. Even the back of this one looks pretty good. Xpandaprint, Lutradur, zapped and sprayed with diluted silk paints. Same again, different colourway. Gesso on Lutradur sprayed with diluted silk paints.
Molding paste on Lutradur, diluted silk paints and Crafty Notions Creative Sprays. As above. And the back. One of these will be finished and in the post to you very shortly Doreen - then I will start on the September card.

2009-08-02T14:30:00.000+01:00

This is what I have been working on this morning. It’s not the shape that I wanted to show you but the actual fabric I created. It started life as bog-standard inexpensive gift wrap tissue which has then been painted, bonded, sprayed and waxed, several times and in different sequences to end up as a soft fabric with a metallic leather look to it.
These photos were taken outside but still don’t really capture the metallic sheen on the fabric. I have left this first photograph quite large so if you click on it you can get a better look at the fabric.
Front:Back:Side view:And a couple of close ups:
And speaking of tissue, I have also been trying a new product: polyester tissue. Its amazing. It reacts to heat in the same way as the Tyvek I use but is so much easier to stitch into after melting – no hard edges.
Ignore the colours in these samples. I am trying to be frugal and using up all the odds and ends of the colours I have which don’t normally get used – which makes me wonder why I bought them in the first place. I’m sure you all know what I mean. :)
This sample is just a plain piece that has been heated with the heat tool then painted with metallic inks.On this one I screen printed Molding Paste then sprayed with silk paints. The thick white lines are where the piece was laying on plastic sheet to dry. Don’t really know why I used Molding paste through the Thermofax as I know it doesn’t really work!
And you can see here how it didn’t. The lines of the original design are vaguely discernible.I also tried the molding paste through a stencil – which does work! And once heated I tipped on various ends of acrylic inks and just let them puddle into each otherI haven’t had chance as yet to play more with this polyester tissue but I know I will do as it really has got great potential. You can buy it from the Gallery Textiles website – yet another mail order site to get carried away on. *LOL*

I needed to order some more Iron Gall ink this week and while browsing saw this and couldn’t resist it:
A Chinese Ink Stick. Quite probably most of you will have come across these before but I must admit that I haven’t and I just couldn’t believe how detailed they are. The design on the stick is raised, and goes right around the back along with Chinese wording at the top, and all in its own box. And it wasn’t just me – I showed it to the chaps at work and they were all intrigued too. When I first saw it I had to check the invoice because I thought ‘for heavens sake, how much have I paid for this?’ and was amazed when I saw it was only £1.70. !!
Still haven’t any idea what to use it for but sure I will think of something. :)

And saving the best bit until last, also received this book in the post this week.Its a fabulous book. Only wish I could show you some of what is inside. I’m not one for making jewellery but there are a few pieces in here that I am determined to have a go at but for me it is the techniques used to make the jewellery that are really interesting, lots of ideas. Its already had some really good reviews.
And what makes it even better is that its written by a blogging friend, Shirley, whose blog you will find here. Well worth a look - both the book and the blog. :)

2009-07-19T17:10:00.000+01:00

Went to a very wet, windy, cold and very muddy Oxford to see Art in Action. Such a shame for the exhibitors as the weather obviously affects the turnout.

I suppose that the only plus side is the fact that you do get a chance to see things up closer with not so many people around.

It was really good to see the work of some really well known textile artists up close. And it’s always inspiring to see pieces of work from all the different disciplines. Just wish I had the wherewithal to buy some of these pieces.

But I did manage to buy a few bits in what they call ‘the market’.
This product caught my eye:
Along with a couple of other things which I will show when I have had chance to play with them. Plus some more wooden blocks to go along with the other hundred. Well, not really that many, but you know what I mean. :)
There was also a Mexican Art tent and I couldn’t resist buying this bag – a combination of blue silk fabric and cerise plastic. Makes me feel really ‘arty’. *LOL*
As for my own work, haven’t had much time this weekend but did manage to make a start on this one surface.
I’m speaking singular here because although there are 7 samples these are all from the same basic technique just with different finishes.

2009-07-12T16:50:00.000+01:00

This really is my last post. :)

First few photos are close ups of a couple of different techniques which appear in the book – so I won’t explain them because hopefully you will all have bought the book by now. *LOL*

This piece just didn’t make it into the book. I may use it for the ALQS3 if no-one minds getting a ‘reject’. Once again, techniques in the book.

And speaking of ALQS3 this is another half started one which may be a contender. Long way to go yet but I quite like how its looking so far - just need some texture on there. Seem to be a bit obsessed with grids lately.

Something else which has yet to be finished is this:

May not seem like it but this Encrusted Blade stands over 3 feet high. Still quite a way to go on this one too. Where the points bend over I intend to hang mini blades on the ends – reminds me of Fuchsias (a bit).
Technique for base fabric of Encrusted Blade is also in the book and shows other uses too.
Close ups:

Also working on another one where three of them nestle inside each other, each one taller than the one before. Beginning to look like some exotic flower. :)

May put photos up next weekend all depending on how it shapes up.

Well, that's my weekend almost over and done with. How come weekdays at work don’t fly past like this?

Footnote: Reading back through this post I notice I have mentioned the book 5 times (well, 6 now) – not intentionally, promise. *LOL*

2009-07-11T18:38:00.000+01:00

Still playing with the Rusting Powder I bought from Crafty Notions – this time on metal shim.
All have been spritzed with white vinegar. I have tried water but it didn’t seem to work too well.
This is puff paint sponged lightly on to the metal.Moulding paste through a stencil on this one. The reason for the patchy look? The vinegar was lying on the top, it had really gone rusty enough but I poured the vinegar off on to the work surface then laid the moulding paste side face down in the puddle with the result that when I went back later and picked it up some of the rust had been rubbed off. Lesson learned. :) Puff paint again, this time through a Thermofax screen. This time I left the vinegar to work its magic for a while then I got the hot air tool out again and dried it off. And although the shim starts to change colour slightly with the heat the vinegar just takes it that bit further.These next two lots of samples are my favourites.
Spirit soluble paints were dripped on to the surface and tipped so they ran into each other. Rusting powder has been sprinkled on while the paint is still wet and I also sprinkled on some of the metal flakes, spritzed it with vinegar, then heated with the hot air tool. Definitely a mask or outdoor jobbie if you try this.Same paints for this one but this time I heated the paints until they were dry causing this effect.I then applied the Rusting Powder using Matt Medium and once again heated it before spritzing with vinegar and leaving to dry.I thought I may have to coat the surfaces to stop the different mediums used from rubbing off but this doesn’t seem to be necessary. Obviously the rust feels a little bit gritty and the metal flakes come off if you rub them too hard but other than that everything seems to stay put. Not sure what the effect will be if I do use a coating on the surface but may give it a go to see what happens

Crafty Notions

2009-07-10T20:48:00.000+01:00

I really feel I must sing the praises of Crafty Notions. I put in an order yesterday morning at 6:10 and received my goods this morning – how’s that for service!
The reason for ordering so early is because I was copying the link to the website for one of the students on our Textured Surfaces workshop who had been asking about the Creative Sprays that were used in some of the samples.
And when the home page loaded this stuff jumped out of the screen at me:Now how could I possibly resist this. *LOL*
So as soon as I got home this afternoon I started to have a play.
The instructions tell you to use acrylic wax or acrylic matt medium for the best results and you can use it on fabric, paper or metal.
For these two samples I used Goldens Matt medium through a Thermofax stencil onto some used transfer painted paper. While the adhesive is still wet you sprinkle the Rusting Powder on the surface and then spritz with water or white vinegar. I used white vinegar. The rust effect works really quickly.I also ordered puff paint so in the next sample I used it through my ‘rusty words’ screen onto a piece of Lutradur previously rolled with gesso and sprayed with silk paints. The Rusting Powder was sprinkled on the top before I used a hot air tool to puff up the paint. I could have waited until it was dry and ironed from the back but I also wanted to zap some holes in the Lutradur.
Although I only used the puff paint through the screen the rusting powder didn't just adhere to this it wouldn't shake loose from the background at all, which was good. Not sure if this was due to the gesso or the Lutradur surface itself.I knew from previous sampling that the words on this screen were far too small but I do have the habit of just grabbing the first thing that comes to hand when I want to try something out. :)
I gave the piece another spritz with vinegar a few minutes ago and its starting to look even more rusty. Will photograph it for another time.

The stencil I have used in the next samples also comes from Crafty Notions. In this first batch I have used puff paint stencilled onto Lutradur that has been rolled with gesso.After expanding the paste they have been sprayed with Creative Sprays in Rain Beetle, Copper and Autumn Gold .The same stencil has been used with puff paint but this time the Lutradur has been coloured first with silk paints.And again sprayed with the same Creative Sprays as before.And lastly these, Metallic Flakes, also from Crafty Notions, but not in with this order. Have had these for a little while now but haven’t got around to using them – need to find a special project to use them on.

2009-06-30T12:20:00.000+01:00

I’m in the middle of making a ‘rusty’ journal using the pieces I have made with my mystery fabric and wanted to use some text at the front of the book. So I took the definition of rust from the dictionary, made a Thermofax screen and used an oxide red acrylic paint to transfer the text to the page.
I also used the screen to print onto a rusty background. This one is acrylic paint.And this one is Metallic Iron Paint with a Rust Activator over the top – but it didn’t work. I think maybe the fabric used is too porous.
Last year at Ally Pally I was very taken with this piece of work by Sally Paton in the students exhibition and had been meaning to try using text on fabric with Xpandaprint.So I then decided to use Xpandaprint through the screen. I have a few ideas in mind and thought I would play around first to see what effects I could get.
This first one shows white Xpandaprint on a rusty background after it has been heated. The close up shows more clearly the Xpandaprint standing proud of the surface.I wanted coloured Xpandaprint but am not quite sure how to do this without it affecting the qualities. This sample has been mixed with acrylic paints – from a tube. The mixture was slightly runny – I wonder if the heavy body acrylics would work better. The colour does of course come up much lighter as I only used a very small amount.The next idea was to use fabric paints. I didn’t have the colours I would have liked so mixed some yellow with black and added a small amount of gold metallic. This time I mixed the paints first before using some of the mixture to slowly add to the Xpandaprint. I was only using a small amount of Xpandaprint at a time as not only is it far too expensive to waste but it needs to be worked with quite quickly.Then I got to wondering if perhaps I would get a darker colour with a powdered dye without it affecting the consistency of the Xpandaprint. I used Brusho powder but strangely enough the mixture went very runny – maybe it is the actual mixing process that makes this happen.This wasn’t very successful at all. The screen slipped and when heated the Xpandaprint text just merged together in places. For this next sample I mixed some disperse dye thickener (Manutex?) in with the Xpandaprint and Brusho – and at last I seemed to be getting somewhere. This print is on duck cotton. Seems to work well as the surface isn’t so porous.The next one is also a duck cotton background but it has been coated with white acrylic. The screen slipped all over the place on this one. I haven’t been mounting my experimental Thermofax screens in a frame, just using duck tape around the edges as per the Clare Fenton DVD.
I decided to paint over this one – spur of the moment, so not so good. I know I could get texture by using a stencil and even using a different product i.e. molding paste but with the screens the edges appear a lot sharper, especially with text. Obviously, I wouldn’t bother to colour the Xpandaprint if I were going to paint over it.And this is the crow stencil I used on the painted hanging I showed recently.Definitely a process that is worth investigating further.
But this here is more like what I have in mind.
Screened on to a layer of rusted scrim placed on a rusted cotton fabric.And what also appealed to me was when heating the Xpandaprint I had a mini-bonfire in the workroom – results here:I shall try again with this but making the text at least twice the size it is at the moment which I think will help to get more definition. I think too, that although the scrim was lying relatively flat it may have benefited from being hooped before printing.

2009-06-25T09:50:00.002+01:00

**STOP PRESS**

Sorry, not a proper blog entry as such, just wanted to point you in the direction of the d4Daisy site where you can read all about the fantastic giveaways that are happening with the book launch on Tuesday June 30th.
The book looks amazing. Maggie, Micheal, Liz and Drew have worked really hard and the results are fantastic.
To all of the 300 or so textile enthusiasts that have taken the Fibre in-Form workshop to date, I just wanted to say if you enjoyed the course then you will love the book. Lots of fresh ideas and plenty of ‘eye candy’.
Carol had a promotional table at her local Embroiderers Guild on Monday evening which went really well. She was showing some samples she had created based on the ideas from the book which everyone loved. Take a look at Mags blog to see Carol in action.
And just remember, as with the workshop, once the book is released if you have anything you want to ask either of us then you know where we are.
Enjoy!

2009-06-21T20:50:00.000+01:00

Hooray! Back online at last.
PC was playing up all week, constantly crashing and sometimes wouldn’t even turn on so have spent most of the weekend moving all my folders on to a spare hard drive then formatting the computer. But the bit that takes the time is then reloading all the software and hardware, configuring it all and sorting out the conflicts.
And you know why? Because this one is now just over a year old and of course, I didn’t take out extra cover. This always seems to happen to me, washing machine, tumble dryer and even the toaster. A Kitchen Aid one, two year warranty, one week after the warranty runs out and it just won’t work anymore.
Its vacuum cleaners I get through the most though. Have lost count of the number I have had in the years I have been married. With my mum it’s kettles, with my daughter its irons. Are we just a weird family or do others have certain appliances that they seem to need to replace more often than is necessary?
Anyway, waffling on a bit here as per. Didn’t seem to achieve a lot this weekend. Weather started out quite nice so I thought I would have a go at the Caustic Soda Dyeing with my ‘mystery’ fabric.
Unfortunately the weather changed as the pieces were drying so all had to be moved into the garage. I have found that the best results are obtained when the weather is really hot and sunny, tends to dry the fabric out quicker allowing the immediate colours to remain rather than turn a rusty brown all over.
I did get a few good results though as I put some of the dryer ones into the tumble dryer – not to be recommended though, it needed scrubbing out afterwards. Possibly one of the reasons why appliances don’t seem to last me for long. :)I made a bit of a change to the original ‘recipe’. I kept the teabags separate from the Caustic Soda and I also put table salt in the mix. I left the fabric to soak in this, probably for about twenty minutes before dipping in the other two mixtures.
Started to work with some of the pieces and this is a close up and several closer still photos of the piece in its early stages i.e. unfinished!And I just had to show you this photo. Thought I would do some embossing but run out of clear so added some Pirates Gold to the melting pot. This is how it looked when I was mixing it once it had melted - photo taken looking down into the pot.Would have looked good if it came out like that on the pieces I embossed, but of course, it didn’t.

2009-06-14T17:20:00.000+01:00

Two non-contenders for the ALQS3 swap.
Don’t you just hate it when you waste most of the weekend doing something that hasn’t quite worked?
This is the first one:Very dull and boring and very little stitch either!

And the second one just wasn’t right from the offset. Don’t really know why I persevered as I had no intention of submitting it but I wanted to try something out with this one – and in the end I’m glad I did.
I knew it wouldn’t be going anywhere once I put the layer of gesso on as the fabric lifted and puckered right in the centre and there would have been no way to disguise it.
You can get away with a lot of mishaps with a coat of acrylic paint, but not this time.
Reluctant to show the whole piece as it is just far too ‘busy’ – but would like to share the close ups.
I really like the colours I ended up with and the design reminded me of something industrial, machinery, cogs (rusty, of course) etc.
I Thermofax printed the cogs with heavy body black acrylic into the circles. My laser printer has run out of yellow and because of that it won’t even print in black. So I used a Koh-I-Nor charcoal pencil to fill in the shape before I run it through the machine – and it worked perfectly. (That tip thanks to Guenther
here.) I then painted on Metallic Iron paint and when that was dry spritzed it with Rust Activator.

Just as a by-the-by. I bought the HP Laser printer, new, several months ago for around £130. It has four toner cartridges. A well know PC store wants £85 just to replace the yellow cartridge alone!!!
And there was me thinking I had got a bargain. I might just as well buy another printer.
I shall order online where I know I can get the toners for far less than that.

2009-06-11T18:40:00.001+01:00

This week I have been working on some pieces for the ALQS3 swap organised by Kate.
I prefer to work on more than one piece at a time and then decide at the end which one I like best. I shall show the others as I go along.
This then, is contender number one. The wording at the bottom of the hanging says 'Folklore says a crow with red thread foretells fire'.
Take a look at the close ups at the bottom of this post to get a better idea of the detail.

For those of you who I know are interested in where my design ideas/inspiration comes from, read on.
I sandwiched a piece of cotton duck with recycled blanket and medium weight calico. I originally intended to create an abstract piece and for want of a better idea, machine stitched some wavy lines and a circle. Gesso was applied with scrim and molding paste was added in places on top. The raised circles above the wavy lines were made by pushing the lid of an ink bottle into the wet molding paste. This was followed by layers of several different colour acrylics – in all my usual colours of course. :)
When I had finished I felt it looked vaguely like a fiery landscape scene. I decided it needed a focal point and was just going to work some hand stitching on the surface. But anything for an easy life, I thought I would try a Thermofax screen print of a silhouette of something, possibly a flock of birds going along the top. After much thought the print turned into just the one crow as I was reminded of various country sayings that my uncle, a farmer, used to constantly regale us with as children, and the crow plus red thread one seemed perfect.
I used heavy body black acrylic for the print. Because of the raised edges of the circle the print just skimmed the surface so I had to fill the dipped parts in using a brush. The wording was printed on to dressmaking tissue paper using a laser printer and adhered to a scrap piece of gesso and painted cotton duck with Polymer Medium before being attached to the surface of the hanging. The entire surface was then given a further two coats of Polymer Medium.
This piece evolved as it went along, which is how I usually work – it used to drive my C&G tutor nuts!

2009-06-10T17:35:00.000+01:00

I was quite taken with the way the Micaceous Iron Oxide paint just sat on the surface of some of these fabrics and decided to see what I could do with them.
The subject matter is irrelevant – I just wanted to use the samples I had made with my practise run on the Thermofax.
This first one is the print I did on the pre-coloured Tyvek paper. I zapped it with the heat gun to within an inch of its life! The outline of the print still sparkles when the light catches it. This piece is probably a bit too solid to integrate it into a larger piece with stitch.On this one a thermofax printed piece of organza has been placed over printed Tyvek paper. It was then freehand machine stitched in a circular motion all the way around the outside of the shape before zapping with a heat gun.I put a close up of this one in to Photo Shop and started playing around with the filters. I could play all day with this – it often gives me other ideas of what to do.I particularly like these two:This is black organza, zapped and then placed over a white background for the photo.The base of this one is the rusty stencil on top of rusted polyester fabric. I transfer painted a sheet of Lutradur using a brown transfer paint, placed it on top of the stencil and zapped with a heat gun.These will go in my techniques library ready to explore again when I find a more suitable subject.

2009-06-07T16:00:00.000+01:00

Two bits of luckiness (?) this weekend.
Firstly, I won the lottery - well £10, but even that's better than a kick up the bum. :)
And secondly, I have been given this on 'permanent loan'. Isn't she a beast?Its an industrial twin needle machine which has been used for sewing air bags (safety mattresses) used on building sites.
It will sew through virtually any really heavy material. I could even sew my own marquis now. *LOL*
I shall have fun with this - once its been cleaned and oiled and converted to a single needle machine. It's staying in the garage for the time being though as it needs two strong men to lift it and I doubt if the floor in my workroom could take it.

I was fiddling around with this today: It's Lutradur with three different treatments followed by FME. Something different for me again. Spunart have recently bought out a new Lutradur weight - Heavyweight XL. Lots of possibilities with this, well worth playing with.

And I bet you can't guess what this is? Obviously, its been through the pleating machine, but I think you may be hard put to tell what the fabric is.
I'm meeting Pearl tomorrow, all the way from Oz. She's a friend of Doreens, they live close by. Pearl is staying with her Aunt in Colchester and we originally planned to meet up as she wanted a signed copy of the book - or maybe she just wanted to save on postage. *LOL*
And speaking of the book, I have just seen the draft of the final section - it's brilliant. You're going to love some of the techniques you see in there.

2009-06-05T19:30:00.000+01:00

Thanks to the lovely weather lately, until today that is, I've been creating outside - things that I'm banned from doing indoors. :)
So I have been making paper, trying out different techniques. I rusted these ones as they were drying on the felts. I think they would have rusted more but after nearly a week I got a bit impatient waiting for them to dry.

And how’s this for a sort of peeling paint type texture?I was working with gesso recently, had some left over, so rolled it onto the underside of a piece of bubble wrap. While I was dying I dipped this in a spent Indigo Blue dye bath. This made the gesso pucker up and go plasticky. When it dried out, it looked like this.
I also dipped some teabag paper in the same dye bath – and this time when pressing it flat I didn’t make the mistake of trying to save time by ironing several pieces together. *LOL*

I decided to try the basic Arashi Shibori technique I have been learning about in Wil's workshop on a piece of cotton duck that had already been folded and dyed with Indigo Blue. You can vaguely see the stripes , it would probably have worked better had I used the Mustard dye first.In the same Mustard dye bath I put in the piece of back to front velvet - but I think I preferred it as it was.I also loosely folded and put these other pieces in, the first one is duck cotton and the other two are velvet which had already been folded and dyed in Indigo Blue. The Mustard colour looks so much nicer on the velvet.I just can’t resist this colour combination.

2009-06-03T08:37:00.002+01:00

2 Posts - 2 Boasts.
I do apologise, just can't help myself. Feeling very excited :)
Maggie sent Carol and I a draft of the book yesterday and it is superb! The layout and photography are excellent. Maggie and Micheal have done a wonderful job.
I have had to delete the draft from my PC in case I am tempted to show someone - no, make that, show everyone *LOL*
Won't be long now.

2009-06-02T08:09:00.002+01:00

'Encrusted Blades'

Many, many thanks for all your lovely emails about my latest article in Workshop on the Web. Very much appreciated.
I do hope you will have a go at these vessels. Although the instructions look a bit longwinded they really are incredibly easy to create.
Any questions then please feel free to ask - you know where I am. :)

2009-05-31T17:20:00.000+01:00

Decided to have a break this weekend and have a day out today (Sunday) – you know, all work and no play... :)
Drove down to here:Leeds Castle in Kent.
It’s been on my list of places to visit for sometime because they have a Dog Collar Museum which I was desperate to look at but this was a bit disappointing I’m afraid. I managed to get several photos through the glass cabinets – I was hoping they would have a book of some sort to go with the collection, should really have taken a sketch book.
Lots of inspiration here though:Unfortunately, (or fortunately whichever way you look at it) there was a jousting tournament going on.There’s something quite appealing about a man in a helmet, a bit like leather clad bikers. :)
We were also treated to this splendid display:Her friend in the righthand corner was also having a go but he didn’t look anywhere near as impressive.The highlight of the day though was travelling down the M11 at 85 mph and not spotting the safety camera set up on the bridge. No excuse really, (for the speeding that is) except I was going downhill with the wind behind me. Needless to say, I have slipped down a few notches with the camera v guttering saga. :(

Quickly moving on - I still had time to start on some samples for the Arashi Shibori workshop I am taking part in with Wil. It’s a really good workshop. Wil has given us loads of ideas in the first lesson alone.
I started on the basic Arashi using some cotton duck.Not sure how this leaf shape got here.I also tried a piece using cotton velvet but, silly me, I put the pile side on the inside so ended up with a lovely pattern on the underside of the fabric:And nothing on the front:So I tried again and ended up with this lovely piece of fabric.Have another batch on the go at the moment so more of this later.