A wrinkle in the calico

Wrapture is live and open for business!

2011-10-20T21:16:00.001+01:00

Yes the doors are thrown wide open and everything is ready to be bought!

Quite exciting!

www.wrapture.eu

Wrapture goes live!

2011-10-09T09:11:00.003+01:00

The website is up and functioning, although just for the moment it is only in 'catalogue' mode - looky no touchy! Or rather looky no buy-ey.

At the London pen show last week I sold 12 wraps, took an order for 1 and sold various small single pen wraps. All in all a success! Onwards and upwards. Here's the link to the website:

www.wrapture.eu

Pen wrap tutorial

2011-09-27T20:57:00.019+01:00

Step 1 - choose your fabric carefully. I usually pick a fabric for the outer layer, using the same fabric for the pen slots, with a matching or contrasting fabric for the inner layer (sits behind the pen slots).

Step 2 - after carefully ironing the fabric next comes cutting out. It is worth taking your time with this step. If the fabric is neatly cut then the following stages are much easier. You need an inner and outer fabric of the same sizes (about 19 x 11 inches or thereabouts), plus fabric for the pen slots (about 13 x 7 inches)

Step 3. Take the piece of fabric you will be using to form the pen slots. Fold over about 0.5 to 0.75 cm and iron this flat. Then sew two parallel lines to secure the top edge. Sometimes I add cotton webbing to reinforce this, depending on the fabric. The pen clips will be pushed over this so it needs to be strong enough to take a bit of wear.

Step 4. Turn the pen slot fabric over to the wrong side with the edge you have just sewn to the top. You now need to fold over the right hand edge and iron this flat.

Noticing that I have subtly changed pen wraps mid way through, we move on to step 5.

Step 5 - the left hand edge of the pen slot needs to be sewn onto the inner fabric. Line up the bottom edges of the two fabrics, allowing a more or less equal amount of fabric either side of the slots. The main body of the fabric is wider than the pen slots to allow the fabric to fold over the pens, thus giving them some protection.

Step 6 - Even in the process of making these wraps I have amended my process slightly. I now sew in the wadding at this stage, sewing it onto the inner fabric, beneath where the pen slots will sit. Once the pen slots are sewn on you will not see this line of sewing.

Step 7 - The pen slots. This is a bit fiddly. I have tried a couple of different methods - you will need to experiment and see which you prefer. Now I use pins placed so they line up with the lines of sewing. This takes time to place them reasonably accurately. The downside is you need to pull them out as you sew which can mean a bit of stopping and starting. I have tried using thin paper with printed lines. This is quick at this stage and is very accurate (providing you do sew along the lines!), but it is fiddly after removing the paper. Maybe I just never found the right paper but I found myself spending ages pulling out tiny scraps of paper stuck under the thread.

Step 8 - take a break, eat some biscuits, you need your energy.

Step 9 - sew the pen slot lines very very carefully, especially if the sewing thread shows up really clearly, or the fabric has clear lines in the pattern.

Step 10 - attach the wrapping cord by sewing this to the right hand side of the inner fabric.

Step 11 - pin the layers together and shape the two top corners. I am sure that many sewers of a classical disposition will turn pale and faint but I just pin stuff together and sew. I rarely go for all of that tacking malarky. It was probably my upbringing. So, the inner and outer fabrics need to be placed back to back (checking things are the correct way round if you have a specific pattern) and if the wadding is not yet on then this needs to go into the pile too. I used to used wadding the same size as the whole outer fabric but now I use it the same width but only to the height of the pen slots.

Step 12 - If you want curved corners I find now is the best moment to cut them as you can get them more accurate. So everything is pinned, you have made sure the wrapping cord is tucked out of the way and won't get sewn into a seam by mistake, and we are ready for nearly the last bit of stitching.

Step 13 - sewn nearly all the way round leaving a gap so you can turn it all the right way round and finish off.

Step 14 - turn the right way round, carefully pushing out the corners and press. This gives you a chance to ease the fabric into the right positions for the final seam round the edge - i.e so that you don't have a huge piece of the inner fabric showing over the top of the outer.

Step 15 - sew a final seam all around the wrap. This gives it a bit of extra strength and makes it all nice and neat.

Step 16 - feel darned proud of yourself!

Wrapture

2011-06-25T08:53:00.005+01:00

I am in the process of setting up a website and on-line shop, and hopefully I will be able to put up another post soon-ish with an actual link to the new website.

Here's how it all came about: My husband collects fountain pens and there are a fair number of other people out there who do the same thing. So a couple of Christmas's ago I decided that for one of his presents I would make him a pen wrap to store a few of his pens. He liked it (as every well behaved husband would!) and put a picture of it on the Fountain Pen Network (where people talk a lot about pens), and it received some favourable comments. The Fountain Pen Network holds 4 or 5 pen shows round the country through the year, and I made a number of wraps and took them to the Bristol Pen Show and just last weekend to the Lichfield Pen Show. Both were fascinating learning experiences. Although for various reasons the Bristol show was very quiet with few people attending I sold about 7 or 8 wraps. By contrast Lichfield was busier but I only sold 2 wraps. The next show I am going to is the London one which is in September.

Anyway, enough of that, here are a few pictures of some of the wraps:

Race for Life

2011-05-11T08:17:00.002+01:00

In July I will be doing the Race for Life in Reading with my 11 year old daughter and my big sister. I would be really grateful if anyone stumbling over this post could consider sponsoring me via the following link (it is easy and safe!). Thank you!

http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/kathrynforster2111

Designing an accessory - initial process

2011-05-08T16:43:00.015+01:00

I first sketched out some possible garment options with a variety of positions for buttons or brooches (drawings 1 & 2):

Then, as there has been a considerable gap since I worked on this module, I decided to work from some of the original images and do some fresh paper exercises:

Drawings 3 & 4

Drawings 5 & 6

Drawings 7 & 8

Drawings 9 & 10

Drawings 11, 12 & 13

Then I used cut out windows to audition potential designs. Here is a selection of some of them:

Drawings 14 & 15

Drawings 16 & 17

Drawings 18 & 19

Finally, I prepared some small mock-ups of how possible shapes/sizes of brooch/button could sit on the garment:

Drawings 20 & 21

Buttons and beads

2010-05-16T20:17:00.001+01:00

I decided not to tarry too long on the world of tassel making. I cracked on and made some buttons:

I was not really drawn to Dorset buttons, but I made one just to show willing. I don’t think I will make any more.

Rolling up bits of felt and suede was more satisfying though. I had forgotten just how long it takes to fray a piece of material – I like the effect but is it really worth all the time it takes? Hmmm … not sure. The diamond shape made from card and covered with material needs to be done a bit differently next time to avoid the obvious points created from the way the material was folded over. Also, if I wrap a wooden disk in the future I will do a couple of things differently. First I think I would either paint the disk or wrap it in fabric of the same colour. It is easy to accidentally move part of the ribbon out of place and then you are left with an obvious gap. Secondly maybe I would possibly go round twice – not sure whether that would be better not, perhaps not on second thoughts. Other than that I think they worked out quite well.

Then I spent a lot of time and got a lot of pleasure out of working on the bead sampler. I could have kept going for ages longer but decided it might be prudent to stop. The picture below gives an overview of the whole thing:

Here are close ups:

Picture one above: There are some fairly standard squares of seed beads and bugle beads, seed beads dotted randomly and sequins topped with round beads. The shiny tubes mid right are sections of straws. I am fond of the dark pink bugle beads topped with green seed beads to the bottom left – you can’t quit tell it from this angle but they are standing up and move as the cloth moves.

Picture two above: I rather like the piles of buttons as they move and change position as they are only secured through one hole. The only thing I would change is I would replace the small beads I have used to top them off with much bigger ones.

Picture three above: I hate the pink straws and green ‘pearls’ in the bottom right! However, I do like the horizontal bugle beads inside green straws in the top right. I also really like the effect of the bottom left and mid left ‘heaps’. The final picture below shows them much more effectively. The bugle beads are piled up like a heap of firewood.

Picture four above: There are some straws end on, and to their left some buttons with strings of beads extruding out.

The tassels get more ambitious

2010-04-04T17:34:00.001+01:00

I quite got into the swing of tassel making today. Here’s one that reminds me of a mushroom. It is made of stranded cotton wrapped around a disc and then bound with leather cord. It makes quite a handy little duster …

Then there is a very sparkly one where I have hand wrapped the head completely in silver thread so it makes a complete loop before forming the neck of the tassel:

Finally for today the most extravagant one so far. It is made from recycled sari yarn and strips of torn fabric. The top loop is twisted, then there are two necks separated by a wooden ball inside the strands of fabric:

While we are on the subject of spirals I can now show you a few of the fabric bowls I made and gave as Christmas presents, as they are constructed from a continuous spiral of fabric:

More twists and turns

2010-04-04T08:55:00.000+01:00

I have made a few more cords and braids. First a foray into plaited cords:

Then a bit of macrame for good measure. 1 is square knots, 2 is a piece of green leather and piece of pink raffia just knotted together at various intervals, 3 is a series of loose half hitches:

Then two more kumihimo braids, one very neat that is strong enough to hold a spiral shape of its own, and a second made of frayed fabric strips:

Finally my first attempt at tassels. The middle one turned out a bit fat and dumpy (and rather uneven but I have hidden that!). I rather like number three with its mix of variegated sock wool and gold thread:

Cords and twists

2010-04-02T09:47:00.014+01:00

Photos 1 - 16 are sewn cords.
1. Frayed fabric twisted then sewn
2. Pink chunky elastic cord with contrast light green thread
3. Green wool dyed by me and deep pink knitting cotton
4. Tights
5. Pink satin ribbon
6. Hemp jewellery cord oversewn with two colours of thread

7. 2 colours of raffia with bright green and deep pink thread
8. Fabric strips wrapped around a hemp core
9. Ribbon
10. Thick cotton oversewn with layers of thread

11. Sparkly green tape (dyed by me) with pale pink ribbon - one of my favourites
12. White and pink knitting cotton with two contrasting cotton threads oversewn
13. Green wool, stranded cotton and cotton perle, oversewn with deep pink thread

14. As 12 but with pink thread
15. Chenille thread
16. Gold elastic

Twisted cords
17. Thicker green knitting wool and dark pink knitting cotton
18. Sparkly green ribbon (dyed by me) with knitting cotton and boucle thread dyed by me

19. Thread dyed green and two types of perle cotton
20. Strips of dyed fabric stitched into lengths
21. Green raffia and gold thread
22. Pink satin cord and green and pink variegated thread
23. Thick wool and variegated knitting ribbon
The last unnumbered picture is my first kumihimo braid

A little bit more work to show

2010-03-14T16:12:00.017Z

First of all Sian wanted me to make a few more spiral shapes out of card, relating them to some of my sketches of spirals.

Then there are some samples of handstitched spirals ....

... and some machine stitched spirals, including cable stitch and whip stitch.

Forster's Fabulous Friday Fondant

2009-09-18T20:36:00.019+01:00

Here, for your delectation and delight, on a flippin' freezin' Friday, is my module 3 work to date. It is in a randomised and reversed order, primarily because I haven't blogged for so long I have forgotten what to do.

3-d shapes - unfortunately these have got a bit squashed so while they did look quite good, they now look like squashed card.

Dyed fabrics - this is the first time I have used procion dyes. My colours for this module are green and pink by the way.

Dyed fibres, looking like luminous spaghetti

Monoprinted papers

My sketches of jewellery:

Preliminary spiral sketches:

Diversions and distractions

2009-05-15T21:03:00.011+01:00

There is something about working with just black and white for months on end that makes you go a bit stir crazy when you are finally unleashed back into full blazing, rainbow-hued, glorious technicolour once more. Certainly something, some set of cogs, has clicked over in my head and a lifetime of procrastination has ripped itself to shreds and I just cannot stop making different things.

I want to share some of the bits and bobs I've been playing around with.

1. I've been making more felt. I got a real taste for this while I was working on module two and made some black and white and grey felt. Now I've made some really bright felt ("every action has an equal and opposite reaction").

2. I have been making some cuffs. One is also very colourful, the other two a little quieter. There are two with beads and buttons sewn onto suede. I am especially fond of the really buttony one because it makes a lovely little jangly noise as it moves. The colourful one is very much an experiment. I had something through the post (can't for the life of me recall what it was now) that was protected by a plastic mesh tube. I was idly messing around one day when I put it on my hand ... and realised what a perfect fit it was around my wrist. Yey, an idea was born. So I messed about some more with some recycled sari yarn, and the rest is history. All the pieces of yarn are simply pushed through one hole and back through a neighbouring hole. The biggest problem is that the mesh has stretched a bit with the process of pulling it to insert the pieces of yarn. However, it is fine over the sleeve of a jumper.

3. Dipping Dottie. Now first-up this is not my original design. I signed myself up for a course on the Joggles website. I saw Dottie and really liked the cut of her jib. I'd always fancied having a go at an art doll so this seemed a good opportunity. I think the original design is good - after all that is what caught my eye in the first place. I do however have some reservations about the actual pattern provided to put Dottie together. I could be mistaken but quite a few times I felt that following the given pattern would not result in the intended outcomes in the photographs. Indeed I had to make quite a few pattern adjustments as I went along to get things to work.
It almost felt as though the doll had been designed and then a pattern made retrospectively that wasn't tested to check it would work as it was meant to. Now, I have to point out that quite a few designers work via Joggles and have tutorials that are available for varying amounts of money, and the lesson part of this art doll is not necessarily a good representation of the other tutorials. I've never tried any of the others so I don't have a yardstick to compare it by.
On the basis of Dipping Dottie I would have to conclude I was disappointed in the lessons. For the money you get 4 weekly pdf files so in the end I had maybe 20 - 24 pages of instructions/pattern/photos. There were no videos for this tutorial. For the same money I could have bought 2 or 3 books on making art dolls and ended up with many more pages. So this time round, although I really like the doll design, I didn't feel the lessons were particularly good value for money. I think maybe some of the tutorials with videos would be a different matter, and as I've said a lot of designers work through Joggles, so I can't write them off. That would be the same as going into a sweet shop, tasting one gross sweet and declaring all sweets vile.

The bags won't stop!

2009-03-31T09:03:00.004+01:00

Finally THE BAG was finished - phew! My daughter has spent the last few weeks asking "when are you going to finish your bag mum?" (with increasing emphasis on the "when" or the "are" depending on levels of frustration and disbelief).

So, with the giant black and white construction sorted out I could give my daughter a bit of time and attention and help her out with her bag. She decided on a whim to go out with her dad and buy some fabric a few weeks ago. The choice was suitably glam - leopard skin and a glorious gold shimmer. The latter is being saved for another project.

We sat down and planned out something fairly simple, lots of straight lines, so that my daughter could - with assistance - operate the sewing machine. And here it is in all it's glory. My daughter loves it and is very proud of the amount she was able to do. Hm, seems to have taken a shine to my sewing machine.

I learnt a lot too. The bag is given its strength by a base of felt throughout. It is lined with black fabric. Most of it worked out fine. There is one little bit I'd do differently next time. 1. I knew I had to make the inner lining slightly smaller but then the top where it joins the outer bag needs to be more or less the same size, otherwise you get a few little wrinkles. Next time I'll adjust it properly as the lining on this bag is a little too small at the top but my daughter seems unbothered by the small pleats. 2. I should have attached the inner lining and the top differently - I confess I was trying to take a short cut to get it done, but I should have turned it all inside out, sewn together leaving a gap, turned and then finished off. That would have looked a little neater. But all in all it still looks pretty good, my daughter loves it and it is a useful bag for her. Job done.

Curse you laws of physics! And how I threw away my gusset then rediscovered my big bottom...

2009-03-18T20:15:00.014Z

THE BAG ... is complete! Ta-da! But not without much weeping and wailing, many trials and tribulations and problems to be solved at every EVERY turn.

Now, let's see, last time I was choosing fabric and how nice to look back at such an innocent moment. The final fabrics chosen were not all my favourites or the ones I thought had worked out best as fabrics. They weren't all the ones I thought I'd use. But I chose the ones that would work best for this bag. One thing I found out throughout the process of making selections is that you discard much more than you choose, and the bits you reject are as important as the things you decide to include. But you all knew that already, so I was just playing catch up.

Every stage of constructing this bag became a puzzle to find a solution to, and then a physical challenge to carry it out. I won't go into the full gory details but just give a few little snapshots so you get the flavour of it. The front, back and sides/bottom had to be constructed out of three layers of already thick felt. My Pfaff felt the pain of trying to stitch the layers together, and I encountered the problem of manouvering a large piece of not very bendy material with limited space between the needle and the main body of the machine. Then the edges had to be sealed together with bonding powder, which sounds simple enough but it took literally hours with a hot iron to get it all sealed successfully. For one thing, thick felt takes a lot longer to bond. Then the edges weren't very smooth or well finished so I then spent some considerable time giving it all a short back and sides with a razor. The rest of it, involving a leather needle and some pliers is too fresh in my mind to relive. Let's just say there was pain and there was blood.

"And then we came to the end " (a book I enjoyed by the way, very funny) and then I came to what I thought was the end, only fate had one more funny little joker to throw onto the table. And this is where the laws of physics (curse you laws of physics!) came in like grouchy aunt Gladys to spoil everyone's fun. The thick piece of felt that was supposed to form the sides and bottom would bend in one direction or the other but not both at once - it needed to bend around the bag but also to curve so that the edges would lie flat to the edges of the front and back to enable it to be sewn together. It refused point blank to do both.

So I did what any girl would do in this sort of situation and got rid of the pesky gusset all together and sewed both front and back directly together, stuck my tongue out at the bag and decided it made a rather lovely and voluptuous seed pod of a bag. Not overly practical but there was something delicious about it all the same.

Well, we all rethink such drastic action and I decided to give it one more go so with my heart in my throat I cut the stitches open and made a new bottom with three layers of thinner felt. And there it is finally, all done and finished, and my husband telling me I'm at a loose end now. It's a bag, it has a big bottom and more history than a bag needs. You could stuff a lot into and probably use it as an item of self defence.

I'm done. Module 3 here I come!

50th post - luckily and unfortunately

2009-03-05T06:53:00.004Z

No, not THE BAG yet, although I can report that it is coming on nicely even though it is the most work intensive thing I've ever made. Totally non-commercial, so it will have to fight it's corner under the label of art.

Well, 50 posts that seems worth celebrating with some whimsey. There are many blogs I enjoy reading, and one is "From down the well". Helen posted this a couple of days ago about one of those Google distractions that can be such delicious fun. She had found it on another blog, and so the string goes on through the ether, so I have no idea who thought it up in the first place. It's a thing that can be called "unfortunately ... luckily".

What you do is google the phrase "unfortunately {insert your first name}" and/or "luckily {insert your first name}". You get a strange melange of phrases. I came up with the following:

"Unfortunately Kathryn, the medication you need to treat your seahorse's affliction is a prescription drug

Luckily Kathryn proved adept at improvising with a spoon

Unfortunately, Kathryn was unaware or unbothered by the fact that the Queen is a public figure

Luckily, Kathryn using her 'telepathic powers' summons a school of fish!

Unfortunately, Kathryn was expecting the usual abilities: flying, energy blasts, super-strength and super toughness, possibly enhanced senses"

I thought that was, well, amusing. I'm sure there is someone out there who writes short stories who could make something out of that random selection. Or maybe it is a good basis for a variant on consequences, or one of those barking mad games they play on "I'm sorry I haven't a clue".

So gripping my spoon, ignoring the Queen and hoping that super strength is on form, it's back to the bag then ...

P.S. - the poor seahorse was suffering from bubbles on its tail which sounds ... I was going to say awful, but I'll admit I'm really thinking funny.

Fabric selection and this, that and the other

2009-02-24T10:37:00.014Z

I've tried out a couple of layouts for the bag. First of all the 'sunray and curve'. I photocopied different pieces of fabric to test out how they might look. I think the curve would need to have some sort of pale fringe or border to really highlight and emphasise it.

I tried this for the 'windmill' layout, then decided the big white circles upset the balance, so tried the following alternatives. The one that looks just like a piece of black fabric doesn't show up properly but it is the wrinkly fabric with circles of black /shiny thread.

I could have a different design on each side of the bag.

I made some felt. This is not quite as random as it might sound. I did entertain the idea for a short while of making the base felt for the bag itself. Common sense returned luckily, but then I thought it might be nice to explore some possibilities for extra bits and pieces to attach to the bag - dangly things to add interest and movement.

I also made some felt balls to cut up to make large felt buttons - that was fun. Might have to make some more of those too!

I had some false starts trying to sew up my strippy piece of fabric - last time this was shown just tacked together. I began sewing it together with my machine but it just didn't look right. I considered using curves of stitching but then I didn't want to lose the looseness of the strips or the frayed edges. So I've handsewn using less than tidy stitches, and using the size and colour of the thread to add to the tonal shading.

Last but not least I was looking at the wooden balls that I used when dyeing the black cloth with the white circles - they have taken the dye in places creating an interesting effect and now I'm wondering if I could incorporate them in some way. They'd have to be in some sort of net as they don't have holes through them.

So much to consider....

First beauty parade

2009-02-11T20:44:00.003Z

Here's the main contenders all together for a group photo:

That's over 2 sq m of fabric and me, being me, there is more, primarily similar to the grey tie dye to the top and middle left. Well, you simply cannot have too much fabric (what a ridiculous notion!).

The three black fabrics in the top right section are:
1. A fabric with thick yarn couched on the reverse so that you get the impression of the yarns from the stitching on the right side.
2. One with ordinary thread sewn in many overlapping circles creating a lovely lumpy bumpy surface.
3. Black thread with shiny bits sewn in circles so you get lovely lumps and bumps and some sparkle too.

I've also been doing a bit of felt making for some dangly bits around the bag - more on that another time.

It's nearly time for the auditions

2009-02-09T20:52:00.013Z

No, I'm not running late for the BAFTA's. I am dragging out this last part of module 2 into a close approximation of what infinity really looks like or eternity really feels like. Well, I'm not trying to do that as some sort of punishment - even if that is what it feels like to you. I'm just showing each and every single step of the way - and the final assessment piece is a long hike up a big hill ... in a howling gale ... with a leaking anorak ... and ... ok you get the picture. And I am rather "over-egging the pudding" as I am really enjoying it now.

It is nearly time to audition all the bits of fabric for possible inclusion in THE BAG. I'm also lining up various 'bits' that might also make it onto the bag in some form, maybe as additions to part of the fabric or as dangly bits.

1. The felt base - I am still trying to source this, but I may be close to finding something. I did at one point find myself imagining that I'd have to make it myself, and then realised that trying to create a huge piece of felt 1cm thick was a bit of a tall order.

2. The fabric.
A lot of stitching later and I decided all that snow had subliminally crept into my head and then out again onto the cloth!

Cloth created from other pieces of dyed cloth torn into strips and arranged into a tonal column of sorts.

And then I went round and round and round in circles ... I wonder what my head was telling me here?

3. The buttons (it is starting to sound like a pantomime)

First all ebay produced some goodies (and you can find these and more at Textile Garden)

Then my experiments bonding felt turned themselves into oversized buttons (4 - 5 cm across and 8mm deep)

Then I played with shrinkles plastic and made these teeny weeny buttons:
the first set are about 0.5 cm across

the second set are about 1cm

Finally I had a rummage through an old box of family buttons

So it is coming together in diverse and tangential ways. Watch this space. More is coming soon .. at a cinema near you ...

Another step or two closer...

2009-02-04T19:28:00.010Z

Apologies to anyone reading this blog who is not my C & G tutor - things must be looking a bit repetitive and dull by now. ("When will she be over this whole black and white thing?!" - trust me I am truly over it, but I still need to finish this module).

Anyway, I am now testing ways of obtaining thicker felt. I am still persisting at trying to build up thick felt from sheets of thinner felt. Here's six sheets sewn together making 6mm felt:

And here are 8 sheets creating 8mm felt (and thanks to my 8 year old daughter for her fabulous photography ... and my thumb is still there really underneath the ruler)

I have been producing more samples to create different tones in the final piece. This is some yarn that has been unravelled periodically.

Trying out a sort of darning effect:

I think this has possibilities - white thread sewn with whip stitch and then whip stitch in the alternate colour way (white underneath in the bobbin on a very loose tension, black thread on the top, normal tension)

This next piece is only the start of another whip stitch experiment. I want to add stitching and thread so that the tone graduates from light to dark down the cloth:

Yet another sample that will have more stitching probably:

I may do something more with this too:

Progress towards the bag

2009-01-30T20:12:00.006Z

I did a bit more tie dyeing, and some of the better results are below (there were many more pieces of cloth but I won't be boring and show them all):

Then I began to produce some of the heavily textured black cloth that might go into the final design. Both make use of repeated randomly sewn circles to make the fabric pucker:

Finally, Sian has suggested using some heavy duty underlay felt. I decided to experiment with layers of standard craft felt. I made the following box from 3 layers of felt, and it is very sturdy so I think this would do fine:

Zentangles and neo-zentangles

2009-01-30T20:05:00.004Z

Well, they are irresistable aren't they?

Nature does zentangles

2009-01-24T15:49:00.005Z

These pictures could have been taken a couple of mornings ago. Actually it was a year or two back in reality, but seeing similar patterns on my car earlier this week reminded me of those zentangles.

Module 2 - the end is nigh, part 2.

2009-01-19T20:04:00.012Z

I decided I prefer the fabrics with a strong pattern, and a lot of contrast...

... and with the stitched and manipulated fabric I like the extreme textures

So I will try and build my final design from these options.

Then, there were the further designs I did before deciding to alter the shape/length:

And then I knuckled down and adjusted and redesigned to accommodate the new shape and to try and make sure that none of the pieces ends up either to small to manipulate successfully or too small to contribute to the pattern effectively, and here some possible ideas:

And finally I went off on a bit of a tangent and tried alternate bag shapes, and with and without closers.

Now I guess I need to make some final decisions about which pattern and then make a trial version to test various technical issues.

Module 2 - the end is nigh! part 1

2009-01-19T19:42:00.007Z

Well, I decided to make myself a list of things that needed to be done to get to a final design for the three dimensional object.

Resolve the issue of the final size of the complete bag, and work backwards to check if the design, textures and patterns would work successfully at that scale (and adjust as necessary).
Narrow down the choice of which dyed and which stitched patterns to use on the final design.
Resolve the technical issues. First of all how to make the bag robust enough, secondly how to make handles that are functional and how to deal with the base of the bag.
Finally, narrow down the design to a final choice and test some of the fabrics to see if there are any unforeseen technical or design issues when it comes to final assembly.

For the final size of the bag I cut out three paper mock ups and posed for photographs :

Too shallow, I think
Too fat (the bag silly!)I think I like this one

Bags of beads

2009-01-06T17:42:00.009Z

Happy New Year!
The one creative pursuit I've managed to indulge in since Christmas has been beading (like many others I lose my sewing room over Christmas as it converts to its temporary life as a dining room, so whatever I do at Christmas has to be small and portable). Here are some pictures of the results:

Two big, fat juicy beads, one on a simple string of recycled sari silk and the other on a ribbon choker. On the right, some one and half inch tortoise shell ovals set off by some 'gold' beads; tiny red and silver beads on bright blue thong; and pink pony beads on a triple strand of suede and ribbons.

Below, the big piece of work which was an experiment in chevron chain beading. I had some problems with the thread and in the end tried reinforcing things with a thin piece of wire. I think it makes a little too stiff but it was a useful test. I got the basic pattern and guidance from a superb book called "The art and elegance of Beadweaving". It covers chevron chain, crocheted ropes, herringbone stitch, peyote stitch and spiral rope, and is carefully detailed so you can follow projects or adapt your own. There is also a fabulous selection of amazing beadwork to drool over. The second picture below shows three dark necklaces that could be worn singly or all together. They are a mix of black shiny seed beads and dark maroony purple chips, lighter purple chips and red ovals, all with gold seed beads.

Here the pinky orange necklaces are also designed to be worn either separately or together.

So, can't say I'm short of a necklace or two now can I?

Two quilts

2008-12-13T08:47:00.005Z

I just wanted to show you the two lap quilts I have finished. They're both Christmas presents and I am very pleased with the way they have turned out. I haven't really done much quilting so I decided to keep them simple and let the fabrics do the talking. Both are backed with co-ordinating fleece which made them very easy to sew and will make them nice and cosy for their new owners. The blue quilt is from the fabric pack I got from Quilterscloth (see post on 9th November) and a few other pieces of blue and white fabric I already had. So I now have lots of plans for future, more adventurous quilts swimming around in my head (that probably explains the cotton wooly feeling I've had in my head - or was that the cold?).

Ragbags

2008-11-23T08:42:00.003Z

I don't know whether you've come across this site but I think it looks interesting. It's called Ragbags and they sell packs of recycled fabric for quilting and patchwork. I haven't ordered anything from them so I couldn't vouch for quality or reliability but it seems an excellent idea. If anyone has tried them I'd love to know what you thought. Obviously being recycled fabrics you are taking pot luck to a degree and have to assume there won't be any more of a special fabric you really like, but if you take that as part of the charm it could be an exciting way to put a project together. It isn't any cheaper than buying fabric new but it is a little greener. They sell fabric in packs eg blue and white stripes, large floral, etc and also some kits.

Quilterscloth

2008-11-09T15:00:00.006Z

I just had to share this with you because it is far, far to good to keep to myself. A couple of days ago I was a-hankering after some more cloth for a quilting project I have in mind. I looked at a couple of the websites I usually visit and saw a few possibilities, but nothing that really screamed "pick me, pick me!". So I googled it as you do and fell over the most wonderful site ... and I am smitten, I am in love. Quilters Cloth is a shop based in Cambridge - I have no idea how lovely the shop is but the website is utterly beguiling. The fabrics and the fabric packs on offer are beautiful and the range of stock is substantial, but it is also the design and usability of the website that are particularly impressive. It really is user friendly and so well planned and organised, everything tucked away in neat little drawers with proper labels - as it were. And I love the way you get three views of each piece of fabric - close-up, mid and distant. How sensible and useful is that?

Well, I placed my order just after lunch on Friday - and by Saturday morning I had my parcel. This is the gorgeous confection I found inside:

You know you are a bit obsessed when...

2008-11-09T10:00:00.003Z

How do you know when you have become totally obsessed with craft, and making things? There might be a top ten list of symptoms to look out for, but which one is most important? The appearance of which one indicates the point of no return?

I have three that I would like to offer up at least as contenders to join the list:

Just like a toddler, you're more interested in the wrapping paper and its many possibilities than the present inside.
You see you daughter's new t-shirt covered with lots of funky buttons and already you are working out how long it will be before she's grown out of it so you can harvest those buttons...
Rather than admiring the awe-inspiring view you're focussing your camera on an odd shaped stone on the path.

Photoshop alternatives - for free!

2008-11-08T08:29:00.002Z

This is a fantastic list! It is a list of 10 free and functioning photo editors, yes that's right free! So if you are pining away without Photoshop then pine no more! All of these will do the important stuff Photoshop does, and I would figure that with 10 to choose from at least one will have the tools you would use the most. I haven't explored them all in depth but I have opened each one, and uploaded one of my photos. All programmes opened fine and all looked very good and very professional from a first glance. A couple of them required Adobe Flashplayer which I didn't have time to download, but it looks like all 10 work easily enough, and work very quickly from a standing start. Within a couple of clicks all were open. The one I think looks most fun is no.9 Fotoflexer (although you wouldn't necessarily think so from his description - makes it sound very dull). Within a couple of clicks I had applied some great effects to one of my pictures. So yet again ... go play!! (Some have free photo storage space too).

10 free photo editors

Further design development work

2008-11-05T20:41:00.010Z

First of all I tried some samples from the firmest of the fabrics I used for the stitched samples, to test if the bags could retain their shape if constructed directly from cotton fabric. They collapse gently so I need to find something to help them keep their shape.

I backed the fabric stitched samples with felt and this works. Thinking things through this is going to be the only way to do this if I use textured pieces. I won't be able to sew the felt and fabric at the same time, as one piece of fabric nor will I be able to quilt the fabric - both would affect the outcome of the textures and detract from the effect I am aiming for.

I tried sewing some of the textured pieces to other flatter fabric samples. Making the textured pieces is time consuming (the best and most interesting results come from hand stitching), and as each piece is drawn together at the end to achieve the texture, each piece ends up a lot smaller. So I think their use will have to be restricted to feature panels or even to use as part of an outward facing seam (extreme 3-d effect!!).

I drew some test patterns for the bag side panels:

Finally I started to add some tonal patterns to some of them to begin the process of finding the right final design. I need to spend more time experimenting here, maybe doing some more samples, especially for areas where I wll end up with several small pieces.

Are you left brained or right brained?

2008-11-04T09:33:00.002Z

Try this out - it's fun! Most people see it very clearly spinning one way or the other and its very hard to "make" it go the other way. I do know one person who claims she sees it changing direction... hmmm.

The spinning woman

"Craft: transforming traditional crafts" - the review

2008-10-28T13:23:00.004Z

Well, of course I could not actually resist buying myself a copy of "Craft:transforming traditional crafts" (issue 8) - see earlier post on 17th October. And I am pleased to report that it's really quite impressive. They have packed a lot into a compact size - it's following the trend of some magazines here to downsize so its about 2/3 the usual (although frustratingly its a matter of millimeters too deep and wide to qualify as a "letter" rather than a "large letter" by the Royal Mail).

There's a number of well written articles including the now compulsory contribution to the debate about the uneasy/unholy alliances between "fine art" and "craft" and whether the two terms can ever be used together for the same piece (personally I say yes and stuff all the snobbery, but that would make a short and dull article).

I don't know whether it is just conincidence but there are two separate articles about craft mixing with technology for some fascinating results. The most intersting of the two was about knitting yarn that is coated with infrared ink. As the knitter knits they can stop at various points to record videos, photos or sounds. Once the piece is complete they do some technological voodoo and you can then use an infrared camera to locate specific points on the garment that link to the recording made at that time. One person was knitting a scarf for her brother and various points along the scarf were linked to a series of videos and pictures of her baking some cookies. Another person recorded moments of resolving technical challenges in the piece (could be ever so useful for Distant Stitch!). Another article included someone who had woven a piece out of audiotape and "when you touch it, your skin completes a circuit and it generates a series of clicks".

Some things seemed ridiculously ambitious, for example the piece explaining how to create your own stained glass "over just a weekend". I wonder if that includes for time spent in the emergency department or not? Or how about making your own stilts? There was the article on making a bedcover out of vintage scarves - I had to scream "no", because it seemed infintely preferable to keep them as scarves to me.

Other items that were great and I can't wait to ty them out include build your own lap loom, make your own googlemap of places of interest in your area, create your own digital handwriting typeface on www.fontifier.com , and weaving a rug from old sweaters. Although I haven't had time yet to try out any of these and test just how robust the instructions are, they do look well written and logical and are set out in numbered steps.

My conclusion is, certainly worth buying specific copies, although a monthly subscription at £9 a time is maybe a bit steep. I'd be quite happy to start it off on a postal trip around any Distant Stitchers who are interested ( if you give me a week or so to enjoy it first). A quick calculation on the Royal Mail site gives a postage cost of 90p second class, so if you're interested just let me know.

Easyart and Photobox - a poster is not just for Christmas

2008-10-25T19:27:00.003+01:00

Here's an idea for promoting your textile art. Take a photo of your work, perhaps the piece you are most proud of and turn it into a piece of canvas art for someone's wall. Or maybe take various shots of your stitching and create a calendar ... or a mug or a jigsaw. Christmas is looming after all and every year it gets harder to find something unique. If you've "got it, baby" why not flaunt it for the world to see? And maybe you're a great photographer on the side too and have some fantastic photos people would love to hang on their walls.

1. Great idea no.1 - You can go to the Easyart site, scroll down to the bottom third of the home screen and look for "sell your art". There's a one off charge here, depending on how many pictures you upload at once, but after that they can stay there indefinitely and if they are good people may buy them - and you, the "artiste", will get 20% of the retail price. Could be a nice little earner for Distant Stitchers .... perhaps make enough to be able to afford Summer School without loading the credit card? Over the years I've bought quite few different pictures and posters and they've always turned up quickly and been good quality, so I feel very happy to suggest them to you.

Oh and while you are at Easyart, do check out the paintings of Susie Lipman (just type her name into the search box at the top of the site home page). Susie is the partner of my nephew and she is a really talented artist with a gallery selling lots of fantastic art in Burnham (the gallery is Oberon Arts).

2. Great idea no.2 - Or you could turn your "piece de resistance" into a mug or a jigsaw or a calendar. If you go to PhotoBox you can do all of these things in less time than it would take to thread up your sewing machine, or unpick that last row of knitting. I've used Photobox for several years and they are a very fast and reliable site, and I think the colours and quality of their pictures etc are really good. Its also a great place to store your photos safely (its also one good way of backing up some of your most treasured photos in case your home computer blows a gasket or sets fire to the whole house). And they can do lots of funky things like turning your once in a lifetime holiday photos into a smart little book - much easier than fighting with those gummed photo corners.

Chapter 12 - part 2

2008-10-24T13:27:00.007+01:00

For the assessment piece for module 2 I have to design and make a three dimensional item. The first phase, after thinking up a few potential ideas for items, is to make some small mock-up 3D forms - see below:

The yellow shape on the left is a cylinder with a base. My easing in around the circle was a little tight, but if you turn it on its head it has the makings of a chef's hat...

The one on the right is a rectangular vase shape.

On the left a semi-circle and this time easing in the curve has turned out more evenly. On the right is a simple pointed hat shape made of three segments.

Next is simple hat made from four pieces.

Lastly two variations on a simple bag shape.

Chapter 11 - stage A

2008-10-24T13:13:00.007+01:00

I have made three fabric samples based on the paper patterns (see earlier posting entitled Chapter 11).

I decided the first one above had turned out a bit tame so I tried adding a few more forward facing seams - see next two pictures.

Things still seemed a little ordinary so I went the whole hog and made every seam forward facing.

Chapter 12

2008-10-17T10:19:00.007+01:00

I've made a start with some sketches of 3-d shapes and possible items that I could make.

BIG POSTERS

2008-10-17T10:07:00.004+01:00

While I'm on a posting roll and before it flies out of my mind, I also thought I'd share this one with you. Its called Block Posters (http://www.blockposters.com/step1.aspx) and its a free site that enables you to upload any picture and transform it into a truly MASSIVE poster. You end up printing out a series of normal sized sheets from your printer that you can put together and use as a large version. I think you have to really want the particular picture as it'll use up a lot of ink but it might come in useful. There's a gallery so you can see some examples which are not that inspiring of themselves, but it could have some interesting uses for Distant Stitchers, apart from the perfectly normal and acceptable use of "pure playing". You could make a huge version of a picture of your work to put up on a wall to contemplate it. You could select just one sheet out of a big picture. You could probably do lots of things, but I'll leave it to you to have a look for yourself. Go play!

Craftzine

2008-10-17T09:53:00.004+01:00

In my many wanderings around the internet I stumbled across the following and thought it looked quite interesting, and so I wanted to share it with you. It's an American magazine called "Craft:transforming traditional crafts" that seems to be a great big smorgasbord of crafts. I'm quite taken with the look of issue 8, especially as it features weaving, so I might treat myself to a copy soon and see if it lives up to its promise. If or when I do (who am I trying to kid??) I could write a quick review to let you know if it's all its cracked up to be. I've seen some honourable mentions out there on 'crafty' blogs so the rumblings are positive.

I have launched another blog, a very different blog to the Wrinkle in the Calico!

2008-10-11T20:38:00.004+01:00

I decided to try my hand at a second blog. I've named it Comfort Blanket and it is about finding small doses of healthy escapism from the credit crunch and all the other nasty things out there. Do go have a look and see what you think. I am aiming to post blogs 2 or 3 times a week so it will be interesting to see if I can keep that up. Its probably a bit ambitious but we will see how it goes.

http://comfortblanket.typepad.com/comfort_blanket/

Its all about texture...

2008-10-08T21:11:00.029+01:00

These pictures all come in pairs - front then back

I got a bit obsessed with textures ...

1 and 2 - this is still a work in progress. The larger threads are 3 step cable stitch, with various stitch lengthes of whip stitch going diagonally.

3 and 4 - this thread is too thick and bobbly to go through the bobbin so it is couched on with random loops added. These could be left or cut and left as loose thread ends

5 and 6 - lots of whip stitch of various lengthes and widths in zig zag stitch

7 and 8 - layers and layers of zig zag whip stitch, varying lengths, varying combinations of top and bottom threads

9 and 10 - this is another work in progress. The spaces become raised so I want to work on this a bit more and modify the tone

11 and 12 - pure texture no added colour. Thick thread is couched onto the reverse creating a subtle black surface

13 and 14 - lines of straight stitch, with the bobbin tension set very loose. The white threads are building up a sort of ikat type pattern. The black raised sections between add texture. I also really like the subtle effect on the reverse of the looped black threads so may develop this in another sample

15 and 16 - truly crazy, lots of tight circles with the bobbin tension very loose - its actually even more textured than the picture seems to show

17 and 18 - simple black circles on black cloth, with a very loose bobbin tension

19 - a very restrained one in comparison!

Chapter 11

2008-09-26T11:37:00.006+01:00

Here are some pattern ideas made from my decorated papers.

Chapter 10

2008-09-19T09:25:00.027+01:00

So chapter 10, ... gosh, I found this unexpectedly difficult. I did spend a long time producing endless piles of chopped up paper rearranged into various patterns. I didn't like any of them, but eventually I did produce one that was interesting. So the next four pictures were alternative arrangements and I settled on the last one because it looks quite different and very random and the least identifiable as a product of the original pattern. So far so good.

So I started to cut and piece. Initially this was technically successful on the whole (although one diagonal seam did go very askew).

I randomly alternated forward facing and backward facing seams.

The first diagonal seams were ok, although as mentioned above one did slip a little(!).

The seams are still randomly placed to back or front.

The pattern was working out quite well until the point when I realised I would have to start cutting through seam lines rather than though the middle of a piece of cloth. At that point technical accuracy went out of the window. I had to cut through the line that I would need to sew along and so many seams were missing, misplaced, and at the wrong angle. But I have to say I rather like the outcome.

Trimmings, ribbons and cords

2008-09-19T09:25:00.026+01:00

Here are a few trimmings from the end of chapter 8.

My Urchfont 'works in progress'

2008-07-31T10:48:00.002+01:00

I'm still letting them incubate ....

Urchfont 08

2008-07-16T20:59:00.008+01:00

Here are a few photos from Urchfont and our wonderful summer school. First of all the friendship ribbons we made on the last morning, with everyone's names and a small momento of fabric or similar. Then just a small selection of the works produced from the workshop: -

odds and ends

2008-06-14T17:35:00.026+01:00

I decided to do a bit more machine stitching and used some of the threads that were too thick or too 'bobbly' to go through the bobbin. I especially like the raised effect on the reverse.

The result of the arashi shibori from the previous posting and two further pieces. The first piece had one pice of string wrapped in a regular pattern. The other two were wrapped with two pieces of string and in a more random way. I rather like these although they would be more useful for projects based on bamboo or zebras.

Handpainted with Marabu textil plus pen:

Monoprinted cloth. I think the squggly one is the most successful. I re-used the same pattern 3 times on the same piece - it looks like a lot snakes have escaped and squirmed all over the cloth.

I sewed zig zags of running stitch across this fabric, pulled it really tight then painted across the top of the exposed folds. It resulted in this interesting sparse pattern.

This is the front, first with the sewn spirals still in place, then after the paint has dried and they have been removed.

This is the reverse of the fabric, first with the stitching still in place, then after it has dried and the stitches have been removed

The following three are pre-printed fabrics with further dyeing added

Patterns on fabric

2008-06-10T07:22:00.027+01:00

These are my samples of patterned fabrics.

1. Dylon dye plus cold fix

I used 450ml instead of 500ml to mix the dye, in the hope of making a more intense black. I soaked the fabric first so it was already wet when it went into the dye bucket.

I stirred the fabricfrom time to time for the first 10 minutes then left it for 50 minutes total, before rinsing and washing the fabric. The best and blackest blacks came out on the old bed sheet with the commercial fabrics achieving grades of grey. (NB all of the pictures in this post were taken when the fabric was newly unwrapped and very wet. Some that look black have ended up as grey.

Here we have tiny points of fabric gathered and secured with elastic bands. The next one shows tiny zig zag stitching pulled tight.

The first sample has been ruched over thick string then tied with rubber bands. The second was a scrumpled ball of fabric tied randomly with elastic bands.

The following are two of my favourites. Both are ruched on a piece of thick string. The first is tied off with a thick knot of string. The second is secured with elastic bands.

Sample one was folded first one way and then the other to form a square parcel of folded fabric which was then secured with rubber bands. The second was two points of fabric bought together and tied together with elastic bands.

Large bulldog clips at alternating angles down pleated cloth. The other piece is pleated cloth secured by rubber bands.

Grains of rice tied into the cloth with elastic bands. Then a piece of cloth bunched in the middle and tied with an elastic band, folded back on itself, repeated until no more folds could be made.

The two sides were stitched with running stitch then bands and string were used. The other is all four corners of the cloth folded in, then repeating this until no more folds could be made.

Bulldog clips holding 'v' shapes of fabric together. Followed by diagonally rolled fabric tied into three knots and further rubber bands added.

Arashi shibori:

2. Dylon black hand dye

I used 1.5l instead of 2l of warm water to dissolve the dye in order to try and get as dark a black as possible. The fabric was placed inthe dye bath dry. I agitated the fabric during the hour it was in the dye but not to the same extent as the packet recommended. When I was rinsing the items were squeezed to remove the dye (I did not do that with method 1). Once again some fabrics took the dye better than others. The old sheet worked best, creating a 'very black' black. There was less contrast this time and more grey instead of clear white.

Redyed circles - I took one of the cloths from the first batch that had been tied with rubber bands to create circles and did this again. It is not as defined as I had hoped but still is interesting and there is scope to experiment in future. I could use method 1 for both, making sure I do not squeeze the fabric when rinsing ( to avoid the dye seeping and taking away the contrast). I could tie large circles the first time then tie lots of small circles in the white areas, hopefully obtaining spotty cirles!

Here I tied the bunches around the edges with rubber bands and then put further rubber bands around the resulting tube of fabric.

I pleated the fabric and used alternate large and small bull dog clips

I tied the four corners together then added more bands as above

This one was twisted and tied into three knots and bands added to the knots:

This one was rolled and then twisted and secured by rubber bands:

Here I used a commercially printed black and white check fabric and ruched the fabric on a piece of thick string:

This piece reminds me of a piece of agate. I took three points of fabric and bound them together with rubber bands. Some were bound further down as well.

This was one from the first batch that I redyed. I repeated the same process from the other corner of the fabric. The fabric was folded along one edge (about a centimetre), then along the right angled edge - these two edges were alternated until I was left with a fat packet of folded fabirc then secured with rubber bands.

Here I took two rubber bands and secured the roughly pleated fabric so it had three sections of equal length. I then folded this into a 'z' shape and further secured it with rubber bands.

This one was made into the traditional knotted hanky formation

Chapter 5 - Making patterned papers

2008-06-03T20:08:00.014+01:00

1. Ink marks

Made with a variety of cardboard combs and brushes of varying sizes

2. Bleach

3. Monoprinting from glass

I first tried using acrylic but quickly decided that it dried too fast so moved on to a mix of pva glue and black ink which was much better. Some of these are patterns 'stamped' onto the glass, others are paint spread over the glass then manipulated by moving the paint around or removing it. Also some secondary prints.

4. Rubbings

Rubbings from 'wire tray and pizza pan in combination', woven bin, brickwork, a round seive and the tread of a stepper exercise machine:

Rubbings from pizza tray, funnel shaped seive and the granite slab in front of my fireplace

Rubbings from a woven basket, wire basket and woven rubbish bin:

Whipping things into shape

2008-05-19T19:42:00.015+01:00

At last I have a new sewing machine, one that should stand up to the rigours of extreme embroidery with a little more hutzpah than the last one. So with little more ado I present to you some more machine embroidery samples (all samples are about 16 or 17cm square):

Onto some whip stitch:

Some cable stitch:

And a bit more cable stitch:

Some patterns from the pythons:

"Blogs that bring me inspiration" award

2008-04-12T10:43:00.010+01:00

I was as pleased as a very very pleased thing with a big smile on its face the other day to find a message on my blog from someone who had nominated it as a blog that "brings me inspiration and makes me appreciate the blogosphere" - thank you Laurence from France. So now it is my turn to pick 10 inspiring blogs and pass on the baton - so in no particular order:

1. Juju loves polka dots - you've got to admire anyone who crocheted the Italian flag for a geography project. I love this site and it was one of the earliest ones I came across. For some reason I've never left a comment.

2. papéis por todo o lado - babelfish probably doesn't do many favours in translation but the pictures are fab and don't really need words.

3. Anna Maria Horner - just those bright colours would be enough but there is so much more to enjoy.

4. Ruby Crowned Kinglette - really great photographs, some food and fantastic textile art - what more could a gal wish for in life?

5. A Garner of Stitched Thoughts - Alison is on the same distance learning C & G course, and I have become quite addicted to her blog which is a great mix of the 300 different art projects underway at any one time, progress on the course and family life as it is lived

6. Another shade of grey - only recently found this one, seems to consist of pics from Etsy of fab items, and I love and need each and every single one right now

7. Gosh darn knit - love it, a mix of her stuff and stuff she's seen and loves

8. Retro alchemist - beautiful pictures and lots of doodles, makes me happy!

9. Angry Chicken - ok so loads of people have a link to this blog but yet again I am seduced by art and cooking and all of that and its great so there

10. Girl gone thread wild - I am running out of superlatives so just visit and enjoy

"I can resist everything except temptation"

2008-04-12T09:53:00.013+01:00

I keep up a regular email correspondence with Anne who I met on last year's summer school at Urchfont, and Anne has the good sense to be very strict with me at times. Emailing over Easter I warbled on about various other crafty things I was half way through and I was roundly reproved for neglecting my work on the C & G course. Anne, there follows the visual proof of my ongoing reprobate behaviour (look on it as a sort of confessional). There's the memory blanket I'm working on made from material from some of Emily's toddler clothes (why can't grown-ups get clothes that cool?WHY?!). Then there's the Rowan cardigan I have been knitting that only needs its collar and it will be complete (I'm knitting smaller stuff after this - phew!). I tried macrame again after many many years and made a belt which I am really pleased with. And I finally got round to uploading my collection of photos of doors and windows in France, and ordering a collage picture from Photobox (http://www.photobox.co.uk/). I try to defend myself by claiming I am getting more rounded experience and one artform may inform another. Anne just thinks I am very very naughty indeed.

Module 2, chapter 2 - tonal column in stitchery, and part of chapter 3

2008-04-01T20:46:00.013+01:00

I ended up doing two stitched columns. The one on the left was the first. I kept adding to it - a bit of black here, some more white there, until it threatened to grow to several inches deep. So I tried another - and pretty much the same thing happened. There's only so much squinting I can do in one lifetime.

Onto some blackwork

I tried the sample on the left and while it gives the general idea I figured I could do better.

I drew the sheet using pink and black so I could tell one segment from another. I think it works out better and shows the concept more clearly.

Left - showing tone changes from different spacing.

Right - showing tone changes from differing thickness of thread but identical pattern.

Chapter 3 - machine stitching

Left - zigzag stitch, width 3.5 length from 0.3 to 4.0

Right - zigzag as before but adding increasing gaps between lines of stitching

More samples until the machine started to play up.

Module 2 has begun

2008-04-01T19:28:00.020+01:00

The animal markings I have chosen are pythons. To the left is a typical example.

I made some pictures based on the list of words. I intend to make a few more a little later on, but these are a start.

Top left picture (from top left, clockwise) : sandpaper, candle wax swirls, then black and white pastels added and smudged; reverse print from next picture (taken at the point when I didn't think the next one was going to work); sandpaper, wax dripped over with some gaps left, black acrylic paint poured over, wax removed when dry; wax dripped on to palette paper, black paint poured over, wax removed when dry

Top right picture (from top left, clock wise) : 'snakes' of candlewax as a resist, snakes of thick black paint, then thin white; 'hissing' flicks of white paint a la Pollock; daubs of polyfilla that refused to do anything remotely interesting like crack on top of sandpaper; candlewax resist covered by white paint

Third picture (from top left, clockwise) : boring experiment in paint shop pro; polyfilla and black acrylic splodged on - but it refuses to crack even under duress; sandpaper with swirls of polyfilla (intend to do some reverse prints from this that may be a bit more interesting); more boring polyfilla

CHAPTER ONE - TONAL COLUMNS

From left to right: a piece of dark paper was photocopied, then the photocopy was copied etc each one getting lighter and lighter; tracing paper and tissue paper strips; patterned scrapbooking papers; white pen stripes on black paper; black scribble on white paper; black dots on white paper

From left to right: black felt tip pen and ruler; flower stamp and black ink; white acrylic paint, white pen, white pastel and white pencil (a la Monet's waterlilies); black acrylic paint smeared on with piece of card; more very oredly white ink on black card; black paint splattered

From left to right: black watercolour paint on white paper with added white pencil; thumbprints in black paint; white acrylic paint; various shades of pastel; black paint applied with rag; black watercolour

2008-02-11T11:33:00.000Z

This is a shot to show how the final mounted piece will nore or less look. The thing is so HUGE that it needs two A1 sheets of card, although obviously when finally done, the border around it will not be so wide as it appears now.

I wonder if the width of the blue material still needs to be reduced a little, maybe an inch all round?

Here is a close up of some additional stitches addes to link the pieces together. They are 'escaping' from the piece on the right, or disintegrating from it.

To the right some more escpaed stitches between the other two pieces, and some detail of the stitches attaching the main pieces to the backing fabric.

Some progress, further distress, and a resolution?

2008-01-21T12:05:00.001Z

Ok, well all three pieces have been distressed much further by fraying, burning back the edges with a heat tool and introducing some holes through the felt:

Picture 1 - The top fabric has been pruned backed to show much more of the layers beneath (25cm x 25cm)

Picture 2 the straight edges have been cut and burnt back and some minor holes introduced (21 x 21cm)

Picture 3 Likewise cut and burnt back to reduce the piece (19 x 19 cm)

When laid out on the proposed backing fabric it looks out of balance to me.

So I have tried adding extra sheer fabric behind the second and third pieces, although the amount gets less for each piece. See picture 5 below:

However, are the sheer fabrics behind too straight and is there now too much going on? Do I need to remove some of the backing fabrics to lighten it up a bit?

A new work room

2008-01-20T16:30:00.000Z

I have finally completed my new work room. This has been a huge undertaking, involving putting boxes and boxes of books and stuff into storage, then decorating three bedrooms and shifting the contents of one to the other so that all three are swapped around. Then every single heavy box had to be taken back out of storage and unpacked and sorted. The decorating was predictably not simple and straightforward. Instead of the walls just needing a quick wipe down and a splash of paint, each wall had to be laboriously stripped with paint stripper and then washed down before any painting could begin.

However now I have a dedicated work room (ok its still a spare bedroom). You will get some idea from these pictures. The other exciting change is that I now have a shorter working week which gives me a day in the week I can dedicate to getting on with the course!! YEY!!

Summer in France

2007-09-11T18:06:00.001+01:00

Well, I haven't got any more pieces from module 1 yet to display, but just to prove I haven't been totally idle here are a couple of sketches done on holiday of the lovely cottage we were staying in ...

Resolving to come to a resolution...

2007-07-30T20:08:00.000+01:00

Sian has made the very scary suggestion of cutting up my lovingly sewn pieces and sewing them back together in a different order. Well I gave it a whirl ... but only via scanned images cut up and placed in different layouts as shown here.

I tried to work out a layout of all 3 pieces on one piece of backing fabric, and used paint shop pro rather badly to imitate eroding the edges of the pieces by cutting and stitching. It turns it into a nice tryptich effect.

Progress on the resolved sample

2007-07-22T08:32:00.001+01:00

I had been hitting a bit of a brick wall with my resolved sample and was not so sure where to go, so I looked back through the module and then headed for my sketchbook. I decided I wanted to go somewhere with the arms of the star being made up of disintegrating fragments, and hit on the idea of triangles/arrows in big groups, splintering out towards the ends of the arms. The red lines could be machine or hand stitching. I also wanted to look at using some reverse applique.

Then I decided I needed to prepare a few more pieces of material to work on, so I prepared some more bonded surfaces (not shown) and also some printed star fabric shown here (using stencils and acrylic paints).

Then I pinned random strips of fabric to a backing cloth and added the yellow printed fabric on top. So far so good. Then I machine stitched from theback and cut back the top layer ... only it seemed to leave much too much of huge hole in the middle...

However I still had the central piece complete, so I decided to try a rescue bid and reattached it in the middle, and then started to distress it. This is beginning to look better again.

I think I will add hand stitching in purple to the centre star to blend it in more with the first piece (see further on).

Then I worked on the idea of the arms of the star being composed of separate triangles. It took ages to place all of the traingles (pieces of ribbon) and then they were bonded along with some random bits. I've started adding some detached wheat ear stitch. I wanted a stitch that gave the feeling of an arrow, and something I could use in varying sizes. I'm feeling really pleased with the delicate ephemeral effect this is creating.

The final conundrum now is how - and maybe if - the current three pieces should be pieced together. On the left is one possibility. The left hand piece, as mentioned above, is going to have some central stitching similar to the central piece - probably looking more ragged and disintegrated though (maybe some threads hanging down). I have sprinkled a couple of offcuts from the reverse applique over the top of the central piece (not attached just lying there to test the effect). My thought is these would maybe help 'join' the pieces into more of a single item, as they are looking too separate at the moment. The final floaty piece could perhaps be a little higher, floating away from the others. I am thinking of adding some purple chiffon over part of the top of it to blend it more with the central piece.

A recent black and white doodle

2007-07-06T21:49:00.001+01:00

This was a recent doodle for the sake of doodling. I had fun getting lost in the creation of this ... who knows where I might end up using it? It was very relaxing to unwind this spiral for no particular reason and I find the resulting rhythm of it rather pleasing.

Some favourite pieces from my fellow Distant Stitchers

2007-07-06T21:29:00.000+01:00

Work by Paula, Daniella and Kaye (I think both of the lower pair are Kaye's - I'm sure I will be quickly corrected if not). There were so many excellent pieces that it seems mean to pick out only a few.

The arcane art of embroidery

2007-07-06T21:15:00.000+01:00

Jane casts her spell and weaves a little magic.

Home from Urchfont

2007-07-04T18:14:00.001+01:00

Here I am, back home from my very first Urchfont experience, at Sian Martin's Distant Stitch summer school, and my oh my what a sumptuous feast it was in every sense of the phrase.
I don't recall when I last met so many lovely people all in one go. And how often do you get a group of 20+ people and find not one disagreeable person amongst them?
The Urchfont food was absolutely amazing - again not one dud meal in the whole time, not even so much as a single boring biscuit.
And I learnt so much! True, we worked hard and long hours, but it was all very well worth it. Thank you to Maggie Grey and Sian Martin, and thanks too to all of my fellow Distant Stitchers, I learnt and took so much inspiration from all of you.
OK, way way too much gushing, let's call this a day before we all get a bit queasy and get it posted. And look at me - I'm a blogger now (didn't I promise I'd never do this?), and I've achieved my first assigned task from the 3 days.