Delicate Stitches

Life Drawing #2

2012-01-27T13:31:00.003Z

Long pose, short sketch. Charcoal

Some drawings from my second life drawing session this year. It was a quiet one again but we had some fabulous poses, I started us off with 2 minute poses and the model gave us some great, dynamic positions.

Same pose, longer drawing. Charcoal

Continuous line drawings, pen

2minute pose, graphite

Quick sketch, pen

Sketchbook Project- Finished!

2012-01-19T19:16:00.000Z

Front Cover

Woohoo! I have finished my entry for the 2012 Sketchbook Project, run by Brooklyn based Arthouse Co-op. My theme was stitches and folds which I decided to take quite literally and I used it as a chance to have a bit of a play with techniques. Two things that I've really enjoyed about this project are working on a small scale and working to a restricted theme. The theme didn't have to be restrictive, I decided to make it that way because I wanted to focus on technique rather than concept and I found that on this occassion this worked very well for me. Anyway, here are some images for you! You cane see more and find out more about the project here: http://www.arthousecoop.com/users/delicatestitches

Graphite drawing of hands smocking

Pin tucking sample

Continuous line drawing of gloves

Back cover

Drawing

2012-01-17T09:04:00.000Z

Quick charcoal sketch (5 minute pose)

Last Thursday was the first of my Life Drawing sessions of the new year. It was a really quiet group but a really good session, helped ease us back in gently! Here are some of my drawings. I'm finding it hard to work on a drawing for any length of time at the moment, I find 15 minutes is about as long as I can stick with one drawing. I also prefer my freer, shorter drawings. I suppose it feels like there's less pressure to produce a 'perfect' drawing if you only have 5 minutes. When you start working on something for a length of time the pressure mounts!

Long pose, short drawing. Graphite sticks

Pen

Detail of pen drawing

2 minute sketches. Pen

Charcoal, I am incapable of getting a drawing on one page (20 minute pose)

Wooly Exploits

2012-01-15T12:21:00.000Z

Yarn bombing Rheghed

Yesterday I went to Rheghed in Penrith to see their new exhibition, Wonder of Wool and the Art of Knit and Stitch. The exhibition features some of the top contemporary artists and practitioners using wool in the UK, including Freddie Robbins, Deirdre Nelson (one of my favourite artists) and Rachel Matthews. I've been really looking forward to this exhibition as I love all things stitchy and using traditional 'crafts' in art is kind of my thing.

There was a really diverse range of work in the show which was both its advantage and disadvantage. It was great to see so many different pieces and approaches but it did mean that the exhibition didn't really feel very cohesive, the common thread being the material rather than the concept. At times it felt like looking at a disparate collection of art works rather than a curated exhibition. However, it is still a very interesting show with high quality works and it is great to see shows of this type being put together. One thing that I think would have helped would have been more accompanying information. All the pieces were titled and credited and there was a clipboard you could take round with more information but I would have liked to have seen a bit more information with the works or an accompanying catalogue.

Of the work on show I particularly enjoyed Donna Wilson's animated knitted adventure 'I am Ahab.' A clever and highly entertaining combination of cute and gory gently prods the viewer into questioning the low value traditionally placed on the materials and techniques employed. Similarly, Freddie Robbins knitted portraits of female serial killers houses 'Houses of Crime' asks us to question the feminine as something purely soft, gentle and without threat.

Link to the Rheghed website: http://www.rheged.com/wow-wonder-wool-and-art-knit-and-stitch-0

As well as the exhibition Rheghed were also encouraging people to yarn bomb the centre, I had brought a piece of my knitting with me specially and put it up on a sad looking pillar. There were a few other bits up and I hope that over the course of the exhibition more people will join in. I'm taking my Heathlands textiles group to see the show soon so I will be able to see then how the knitted take-over is going! There were also several small 'flocks' of pom-pom sheep, part of the Flock project run by Eden Arts that I've also got my textiles group involved with.

Link to Eden Arts Flock page: http://www.edenarts.co.uk/portfolio/flock/

Flock at Rheghed

The Heathlands Flock

My piece of knitting is done in a chunky Jacob sheep wool using 10mm needles. I chose a traditional feather and fan pattern and added a row of eyelets down each side of the knitting so I could lace it onto a pillar, which I did. I also incorporated some ribbon and lace for added textural interest.

In situ

Detail of the lacing

Stitch detail

Feather and Fan pattern

Life Drawing 2012

2012-01-10T08:58:00.003Z

Life Drawing Poster

This Thursday my new set of life drawing sessions start in Carlisle. If you need any more details just let me know!

Stitches and Folds

2012-01-08T18:53:00.000Z

Smocking sample (detail)

Way back in August last year I entered The Sketchbook Project, run by Art House Co-op in Brooklyn. Since then I've been so busy with other things that apart from occasional "I really should do that" thoughts I've not got much done on it. However, last week it suddenly popped into my head and I realised it must be getting pretty close to the deadline (it is) and I better get on with it.

The theme I chose was stitches and folds as I thought it would be a good chance to experiment and play with some different techniques. Today I have been experimenting with smocking. I've had this see-through fabric for ages and thought it would be interesting to try smocking it to see what effect the gathered fabric would create.

Taped down whilst in progress

In progress

I'm pretty pleased with how it's turned out, although it was the devil to work with. When I'd put the gathering lines in and pulled them to gather the fabric it curled all over the place and it was really hard to find the pleats, but I persevered and via the gift of masking tape I got it stitched. I just did a basic honeycomb pattern using knots rather than stitches as I thought the short threads would stand out nicely against the soft folds of the fabric. The finished sample has a lovely soft, shadowy look to it that I'm very pleased with.

Finished sample

I also made a stitched button for the front of the sketchbook, using rayon thread and a plastic ring. Time consuming but very pretty!

Hand stitched button in progress

Finished button

From the side

Flock

2012-01-03T15:39:00.001Z

Heathlands Flock

Woo, it feels like a very long time since I've been here writing my little posts. Pre Christmas was a bit hectic, to put it mildly, but I've been getting together my to-do lists and getting myself organised and focused again now that the madness is more or less over for another year. I made quite a lot of presents this year and it was really lovely at Christmas to hear people say how pleased they were with their handmade gifts. It cheered me up after the make-athon that was December and I have vowed (probably foolishly) to try and make even more presents next year.

Anyway, the main point of this post was to show you some pictures of pom-pom sheep. Inspired by Anthony Gormley's 'Flock' Eden Arts have been running a project to get as many people as possible to make pom-pom sheep using wool yarn as a way of promoting wool, specifically British wool. I believe this is a Good Thing and so got my textiles group at Heathlands to make some. Today I posted them off to join the bigger flock. Check out Eden Arts website for more details (just search Eden arts.)

Flock

Happy Sheep

Scary Sheep

Wigton Craft Sale

2011-12-10T14:47:00.001Z

My stall at Wigton

My friend Helen and I did a craft sale at Carlisle Youth Zone on Wednesday evening, it wasn't very busy but you've got to try these things. In a similar vein we went to Wigton Market Hall today, again it was very quiet but I sold quite a bit and got chatting to some very nice people which for me is part of the fun! Anyway, here are a few pictures, if you like my work please have a look at my Folksy shop www.folksy.com/shops/delicatestitches

Keyrings and earrings

Swallow Cushion #2 I liked the one I did as a commission so much I've made another!

Owl hot-water bottle covers

My stall at Carlisle Youth Zone on Wednesday

Warwick on Eden Craft Fair and Two Commissions

2011-12-02T18:55:00.001Z

My Stall

Close up

The craft fair I did on Sunday at Warwick on Eden went very well; it was quite quiet but I still managed to do fairly well and it was a nice, relaxed affair. I met some very nice people and one of my friends from work came down to support me and my friend Helen (I offered Helen half my table as she wanted to do a fair but hadn't done one before.) I also was asked to make two pieces for presents, I like special requests as it means people like my stuff (always a good ego boost) and it's fun to make things for specific people rather than just making a product.

Cat head brooch

Cards and frog 'phone case

Hedgehog 'phone case

Polymer clay 'lace' brooch

The first commission was for a cream cushion with a swallow on, I'd taken an aqua coloured cushion with a swallow on but the lady wanted a cream cushion with a 'proper' coloured swallow. I'm really pleased with the way it came out and may well make something similar for my next craft fair. The second commission was for a doggy doorstop. This was more of a challenge because I really don't like dogs. However, I decided to rise to the challenge and after a bit of planning and experimenting I came up with a design, made a pattern and used this to make a little hound doorstop. I hate to admit it but I think it's quite cute! I hope the recipients are pleased with their presents, I did have fun making them!

The original cushion

The commissioned cushion

Detail of the swallow

Hound doorstop

Detail

Bird Decorations

2011-11-29T17:51:00.001Z

Hand-made felt birds

I run an art group called Create It! for Eden Mencap Society every other Monday evening and recently we've been making bird decorations. Last session we did some design work and then some felt making and yesterday we began using that felt to make the decorations. The blue bird was done by a guy who'd never done any stitching before, he quickly picked it up and did a great job. I love the colour choices and his blue-lidded eye. Next session we'll be carrying on and making some more birds, I can't wait to see what they come up with!

Work in progress

Design work

Warwick on Eden Craft Fair

2011-11-25T17:58:00.001Z

Owl brooches

I love the night before (or in this case two nights before) a craft fair. This is the time when I lay it all out, label it all, make price tags and (generally) feel quite good about all the work I've done. It's quite satisfying after weeks of slaving away to see it all laid out, I start to imagine how I will set my table out, what might sell and the people I might meet. I generally don't do anymore making as by now I'm usually very tired and happy to get everything ready then curl up with a glass of wine and a sense of anticipation.

Assembled bits and pieces

I'm going to have a stall at the Warwick on Eden (it's just outside Carlisle) Christmas Fair on Sunday but tomorrow I'm doing a craft fair up at The Heathlands Project (a social enterprise supporting adults with disabilities) and then I'm off to see a reading of Under Milkwood in Hayton so I won't have time to prepare tomorrow. It should be fun on Sunday as I've offered to share my table with my friend Helen, she hasn't done a craft fair before but is keen to give it a go.

Life Drawing

2011-11-19T10:07:00.001Z

New year, new drawing sessions!

On Thursday I ran the last of my three trial life drawing sessions. It went very well, as have the previous two, so I have booked another set for next year. If you're interested, please get in touch! It was interesting that everyone said they found some of the poses really difficult to capture but I see that as a good thing as it challenges us!

5 minute pose

5 minute pose. I'm very proud of this one as I got the whole body on the page!

15 minutes. Foreshortening, grr!

I really struggled with this last 40 minute pose

So, I did several versions. This is a continuous line drawing

I tried doing sections at a time

More continuous line

Appleby Craft Fair

2011-11-12T18:26:00.001Z

My Stall

Wow, I can't believe how quickly the past few weeks have gone. Since my last post I've run the second of my life drawing sessions, which went very well, made Halloween decorations and costumes and put up an exhibition of work from the Big Draw, including work done by our members at the Heathlands Project and our local primary school. I did mean to post about all these things but never quite round to it, the main reason being that I have been fully immersed in stitch madness. The reason for this being...

...I was in Appleby in Westmorland today, selling some of my crafts which I have been working away at making for the past few weeks. I was asked if I wanted a stall and I said yes but then had a major stress that I wouldn't have enough to fill a whole table so consequently I've been working like some form of stitching demon for the past few weeks. It has, however, been great fun and I sold quite a lot today so it was all worth it. It was great hearing people's comments and seeing what people liked and what they weren't so impressed with. I very much enjoyed today and I'm hoping to do another fair before Christmas. Having something like the craft fair to work towards has also been good because it's given me an incentive to make things and I've tried out lots of new ideas along the way.

Owl Doorstops

Cards, Key-rings and 'phone cases

Tree Cards

Bird and Heart Cushions

Life Drawing

2011-10-22T11:17:00.001+01:00

5 minute pose, charcoal

Thursday was the first of the life drawing sessions I've organised. I really enjoyed it and although it was a small group everyone who turned up was very friendly so it was a great atmosphere. The community centre we used was a great venue for us as well, nice and warm and clean and the centre manager was lovely and very helpful. I was also lucky to have an excellent model, so many thanks to her. The session made me realise how out of practise I was but I still really enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to seeing my drawing improve over the next couple of sessions. Hopefully, the next two will be busier and then I will be able to set up some more and maybe make it a more regular thing. I've posted the poster again so if you're in the Carlisle area and fancy a bit of drawing, get in touch!

20 minute pose, charcoal

20 minute pose, graphite pencil

Poster!

Playing with Printing

2011-10-18T17:44:00.000+01:00

Lino Print Bird

I've been having a bit of a play around with making some prints this week. I was given a small bit of lino to test so, obviously, I did a small bird. The lino was the easy cut stuff which is meant to be easier to cut (clue is in the name) although I'm not convinced it is. The downside to it is that you can't draw on it in pencil, so you need to be fairly confident about what you're doing and unlike 'normal' lino it doesn't have a hessian backing so is quite flexible, which is OK until you start working into it a lot. Because of this I kept it quite simple, not gouging too much out as I didn't want to go right through it.

Having made my lino cut I made a few prints on different types of paper, just using black acrylic paint as I didn't have any printing ink. I was quite pleased with how the prints turned out, I think they're quite charming in a naive sort of way. I wanted to keep the prints together but I didn't really want to do a big design sheet so after experimenting with a few ideas I mounted them all on sheets of dark blue textured paper and sewed them together to make a little book, I think this finishes them off nicely and makes them feel a bit more special than just a group of individual prints.

Book of prints and lino cut

One of the prints on an old envelope

Second print, using up ink from the previous print

I also had a go at making a really simple printing plate by using a ball point pen to draw on a piece of cardboard. This plate obviously breaks down quite quickly but I got a few prints from it and today I stitched into one of them. The stitching just finishes it off and takes it from being a simple print to a piece of work. I've been working as a support worker for Prism Arts recently, supporting a series of printing workshops which is what inspired me to start playing around and I can see it's something I could really improve and develop as part of my work. Also, it's really fun!

Cardboard plate and prints

Print embellished with stitch

Detail of stitching

In preparation for the first of my life drawing sessions on Thursday I've been trying to do a bit of drawing every day. Yesterday I had my Eden Mencap Society art group in Penrith and I wanted to do wax resist with them so I did this blackbird drawing as an example, killing two birds with one stone as it were. We were given a load of black paint over summer so for the past few sessions we've been doing a lot of monochromatic work, they've produced some lovely work which you will soon be able to see over on my website (www.delicatestitches.co.uk)

Wax and paint drawing

Ninja Slippers

2011-10-16T12:30:00.000+01:00

Nifty ninja napping

I've been promising my partner a hand knitted pair of slippers for some time. After rejecting approximately 3,622 patterns we eventually found a pattern he was happy with. Then, due to my dislike of knitting rib (the whole pattern is 1x1 rib, grrr) and my hatred of doing things in pairs (gloves, socks, sleeves; I finish one speedily then it takes me months to do it's partner) he had to wait another 6 months for me to finish them. However, a couple of weeks ago I did finish the second slipper and he now has cosy toes. I adapted the pattern from nifty knitting's kimono slippers (http://niftyknitting.com/kimono-slippers/) and used a pure wool (for extra cosiness) in dk on 4mm needles, he chose dark blue with an off white trim which I think works well. I think I will use puff paint to paint some grip spots on the sole as they are a bit slip slidy on the kitchen floor at the moment. It's a good pattern, nice and easy to follow and even though I don't really like rib the slippers grow quickly. The pattern calls them kimono slippers but my partner calls them ninja slippers, which sounds pretty cool!

Detail

Cosy toes

Beautiful Birdie Cushion

2011-10-11T19:20:00.000+01:00

Perching prettily

I've just finished my first Christmas present, woohoo! The only problem being that I really like it and want to keep it for myself. However, I think I will resist (or just make another one.) I made this birdie from a fleece blanket, I've found the blankets are often cheaper than buying fleece from a roll and they generally have nicer, more on trend prints and colours as well. I love the warm pinky purple of this one. I added some felt, embroidery and buttons for his eyes and quilted him some wings and he's ready to fly away. Or at least perch prettily on my nana's sofa! The only part I'm not sure about is the tail. I think it is maybe a bit wide or possibly needs quilted feathers similar to the wings. Overall though, I'm quite pleased with him.

The other side

Wing detail

Eye detail

My Space

2011-10-10T14:39:00.000+01:00

My desk

Last weekend we went to Newcastle as there were a couple of exhibitions I wanted to see (Nora Fok at Shipley Art Gallery; closed, boo! And at the Baltic, Maurizio Anzeri; fantastic!) Here's a link to the Baltic site with a summary of the exhibition: http://www.balticmill.com/whatsOn/past/ExhibitionDetail.php?exhibID=154

On the way home we went to Ikea as I wanted a desk and we needed yet another bookcase. When I first finished my degree I pretty much stopped making art. However, in the past couple of years, the past year in particular, I've started making work again which is great. However, I've been working on the floor, which hurts my back and the dining room table which means I can't really leave stuff out as we use it, strangely enough, for dining. So, I'd reached a point where I was desperate for a little space to use as my studio. We have a very small spare room (partly very small because it's full of my stuff) so I had to choose a small desk. It's far from my dream studio but I'm so happy to have my little space where I can go and work and leave things spread about and everything's to hand.

Inspiration board and mannequin

My stuff!

View from the door

Smocked Bangle

2011-10-06T19:00:00.000+01:00

Smocked Bangle

I made this bracelet a couple of weeks ago from a tutorial in a book called textile techniques for jewellery. The projects in the book are really good but what I most like about the book is that there are lots of featured artists/jewellers which is really inspiring. The project is meant to be done with felt but I didn't have a piece big enough so I used some wool blend fabric instead. It frays more but I think it looks cool. I'm not sure how much wear I'll get out of it but I enjoyed making it!

Detail

Wearing it

Still wearing it

Detail of the smocking before it was made into a bangle

Life Drawing Sessions in Carlilse

2011-09-28T19:29:00.001+01:00

I've been busy trying to organise some life drawing classes recently and have finally more or less got it together. I think the poster above tells you what you need to know but if you want any more information, get in touch!

Completed Stole of many Purples

2011-09-25T14:28:00.000+01:00

The completed stole

Detail of some of the pattern

Before my Shadowfolds book arrived I finished the stole of many purples and have been happily wrapped up in it on these cooler autumn evenings. I'm really pleased with how it's turned out although I think I would use thicker yarns (or smaller needles) if I was to make it again, I keep getting my ring caught in the holes! It was a very satisfying thing to make as it grew very quickly (due to the 10mm needles used) and the lace pattern was very easy to memorise. It also used up lots of odds and ends and I was really good and didn't buy any new yarn for it. Of course now I will have to go and replenish my stash...

Double wrapped

Drapey

Bundled

Pattern detailStole of many purples

Dinosaurs and children

2011-09-23T20:22:00.000+01:00

Big Draw, Big Dinosaur

As part of the Big Draw (a national campaign for drawing) we at The Heathlands Project are working with a local school in Rockcliffe. Today we worked with reception and years 5&6. The theme of this years Big Draw is 'The Drawing Age' and so my friend and colleague Helen, who has set up our Big Draw open day on 8th October, thought it would be a great chance to look at drawing from the past, in the present and how it could be in the future. So, starting with pre-history and the reception class we all worked together to collage a giant stegosaurus that Helen had drawn out and then over the collage we drew on the scales. The finished dinosaur looks great, it's really effective and the children really enjoyed working on it as did our members (we support adults with learning disabilities.) Helen worked with the older children to produce hand leaves to make a tree, each person's hand features a drawing of something important to them.

Dino Detail

Shadowfolds-New Obsession!

2011-09-22T16:56:00.000+01:00

Detail: Back lit shadowfold #1

Detail: Front lit shadowfold #1

I got the book 'Shadowfolds-Suprisingly Easy to Make Geometric Designs in Fabric' yesterday and I feel a small obsession coming on. Using 'simple' join the dot type patterns the book shows you how to produce some amazing effects. The potential is amazing, I can imagine a really beautiful installation using these techniques. Anyway, I had to have a go last night and even though it is quite a simple process it is quite fiddly but the results are totally worth it! I used a crochet edged linen mat that I got in a charity shop and it holds the creases really well.

Back lit shadowfold #1

Front lit shadowfold #1

Shadowfold #2 before pressing

Shadowfold #2 after pressing

Plane Knitting

2011-09-17T21:18:00.000+01:00

Ruffles in purple

My first trip on an aeroplane was fine, I was pleased to discover. I quite like taking off and once your up there it's really quite nice, if a bit boring. Anticipating this I took my knitting on my flight to New York. I didn't actually do much (not a lot of elbow room) but I did try out a web yarn. This is one of those yarns where you stick your needle through it rather than knit loops with it. I quite like the effect it gives although it doesn't go a long way-this is a whole ball. I'm going to do a middle section in a simple lace pattern and then do another set of ruffles at the end.

Detail of the ruffles

It's (finally) a wrap!

2011-09-17T21:05:00.000+01:00

The finished lace wrap cardigan

This time I have a really good excuse for not posting for a while, I've been in New York. We had a great holiday, saw lots of cool stuff and had a good time. More about that in a later post when I have sorted out our photos.

Before we left I finished a cardigan I'd been working on, literally, for years. It's a clover lace wrap cardigan in 4 ply cotton, with bell sleeves. I really loved the pattern, which is from Stitch Nation by Debbie Stoller, and started it, as I mentioned, several years ago. Because of the lace pattern, fine yarn and my tendency to get distacted with other things I would work on it for a while and then abandon it for months at a time while I worked on other projects. Anyway, I finally finished it before we went away, dyed it purple (me and white are not a good combination) and instead of giving it a knitted neckband and ties I used ribbon.

Detail of the clover lace pattern

This was a good move in terms of saving time but a bad move in that it left it too wide, the cardigan kept sliding off my shoulders. So, I put a little tuck in the back and this seems to have solved the problem. In retrospect I probably should have knitted the neck band but I was so desperate to finish the thing that I just couldn't face it. Typically, I've finished this lightweight cotton wrap just as the weather has started to change, but ther's always layering!

A little tuck in the back

A Stole of Many Purples

2011-09-06T15:16:00.000+01:00

WIP

In my insatiable quest for knitting knowledge I managed to buy two copies of the same book (at different times, I'm not that bad.) Luckily my friend was starting to learn round about the time this occurred so I gave one copy to her. The first thing she picked out was the thrifty stole, a wrap made from all your odds and ends in a feather and fan stitch pattern. It's a lovely stole although as I pointed out to her it's not so thrifty if you go out and buy more yarn for it than you already have, but that's by the by. Anyway, I was flicking through the book on Sunday when I came across the pattern again. My stash is beginning to get what some people would term unmanageable so I decided now was the time to make the stole. It's also been a little chill of late and the thought of a nice cozy wrap was rather appealing. So, here is the Work In Progress, with some of the oddments I'll be using up. And I definitely won't be buying more yarn for it. Well, maybe a little...

Detail

More Detail

Backwards BookJacket

2011-09-05T09:57:00.000+01:00

The Backwards Book Cover

I thought one of the projects I could do with my textiles group this term is book covers. The construction is fairly simple and there's plenty of scope for embellishment. So I dutifully began making a sample, merrily embroidering a bird and branches in sparkly thread (ooh, shiny!) I cut a lining and stitched that on, using some interfacing for increased stiffness. It wasn't until I actually came to press in the folds that I realised my minor error. I had embroidered the bird on what would be the back part of the cover. I'd been so involved in the decoration I'd neglected the construction! However, it's a very pretty bird and it really doesn't matter, I just laugh at myself every time I see it. I'm using the book jacket for my little knitting notebook as it was getting a bit dog-eared. Hopefully next time I'll get it the right way round.

Opened out book cover

The back/front!

The front/back!

The lining

Pom-Pom-a-licious Scarf

2011-09-03T21:52:00.000+01:00

New season, new scarf!

I sorted out my fabric stash last week as it was in serious danger of taking over not only the spare room but the entire house. Whilst sorting I came across a long piece of purple embroidered crinkle cotton. I was puzzled by this discovery, why would I have cut a long strip of fabric? I then remembered that I'd used it previously as a cravat type thing when I was the Mad Hatter. So, I wrapped it around my neck as I was running out of space to create new piles of fabric when it struck me that it would make an excellent autumn scarf. I had a rummage through my trims box and found some pom-pom trim and an idea began to form. I didn't have enough pom-pom trim so I put it on my shopping list. Anyway, today I went to get said trim, there was no purple but they did have shocking pink and I decided that this would work very nicely so I purchased 5m and headed home to commence makeage.

In progress

I'm very pleased with the outcome, the colours work well together to create a bright fun accessory and it's the perfect weight for this time of year. There's a definite chill in the air which I love as it means it's getting close to hat, scarf and gloves season. If you would like to make a similar scarf, the instructions are up on Burdastyle (http://www.burdastyle.com/projects/pom-pom-a-licious)

Detail

Well wrapped

More draped

Art for Babies

2011-08-31T18:00:00.001+01:00

Twin Art: Detail

Earlier this year I was commissioned to do two pieces of work for baby twins born in our family. The idea was that each baby would have a piece of work that marked their birth and that they could take with them through their lives. I think this is such a lovely idea and so personal. I spent a long time deciding what to do, working with the babies mum to make sure what I created fulfilled her ideas. It was a great project to work on and I'm happy to say that the person who commissioned the pieces is really pleased with the results. I haven't posted about it before as I wanted to wait till I knew I'd done a good job!

One of the pieces

The other piece

Detail of purple bird

These pictures are of the almost finished pieces, I also embroidered the babies names and birthdays but I didn't want to post that bit. The pieces are designed so that they work together but also alone so as the twins grow up they can take the pieces with them. I used vaguely mirror images and reversed the colours so that the background of one was the bird colour of the other. I tried to be quite loose with this though as I wanted each piece to be truly unique, just as the twins will be different from each other. They are made from handmade felt (some of which I'd dyed myself) which I then embroidered with both hand and machine stitch. I layered the felts on top of two texts as they come from a well read family. The top layer of text features words and phrases that I hope will be inspirational for them, such as hope, beauty, truth and dreams. I chose birds on a tree as I felt this encapsulated the idea of being able to spread your wings and fly but also of having somewhere to return to.

The finished pieces

Craft Stall-The Day After

2011-08-28T18:46:00.000+01:00

Our stall (my stuff on the left of the table and Gen's on the right and far left)

Well, it wasn't a great success yesterday. It was very very quiet, I don't think many people knew about it and as it was in an upstairs venue tucked away in a quiet area not many people happened to find us by accident. However, there were some very nice people there and I enjoyed talking to some of the other stall holders and seeing what everyone had on offer. It was also lovely to work with Gen a bit more and her lovely mum, Michelle. It also means that I have lots of stuff ready to list and put on Folksy so that's good!

Michelle and I were discussing the connotations of the word 'craft' and whether perhaps a better title would be decorative arts. A lot of people seemed to think some of the wares on offer were over-priced, maybe not appreciating just how much time and effort goes into making each piece. Perhaps using the name decorative arts, rather than crafts, would help to emphasise the time, skill and workmanship involved and help people understand why handmade is often more expensive. An interesting discussion!

(Mostly) My stuff

Beaded Crochet Necklaces and Owl Keyrings

Penrith Craft Stall

2011-08-26T20:52:00.000+01:00

Some of my crafty stuff

My friend Genevieve has been doing a few craft stalls recently and told me about one at St. Andrews in the centre of Penrith. Unfortunately I didn't have enough stock or time to make enough stuff to be able to take a stall. Gen very kindly offered to share her table with me and I'm really looking forward to doing the stall with her tomorrow. Gen makes, amongst other things, beautiful scarves and I will be taking various bits and pieces including brooches and bags. I've also come up with an ingenious way to display the earrings I've made using wooden picture frames and sequin waste (see picture.) So here's hoping for a sunny day!

Owl key ring and brooches

Earring Display

Birdy Brooch

2011-08-22T20:03:00.000+01:00

Birdy Brooch

Detail

Just a couple of pictures of a little brooch I made yesterday. He's made of felt and feathers and is lightly stuffed and embellished with various stitches.

Festival of Quilts

2011-08-19T19:59:00.000+01:00

Last weekend was the Festival of Quilts at the NEC in Birmingham. I'd never made a quilt before but I needed something to work towards so I made a piece and entered it into the art quilt category. For regular readers you will know that this pieces is called Not Lost but Still Searching and looks something like this:

My Art Quilt

The piece and title are about how I felt at the time I was making it. Things in my life were all coming together and starting to make sense and I no longer felt lost but still felt, and feel, that there's a lot ahead of me (in a good way, it's exciting!) In mythology, crows were believed to be the carriers of the soul and to be unaware of time; able to see past, present and future simultaneously and so they seemed a fitting motif to adopt as they are able to see the bigger picture.

Seeing the quilt alongside all the others was a slightly weird experience, the venue is huge and there is loads going on. I really liked some of the stuff but I did find a lot of it a bit samey and traditional (which isn't in itself a bad thing but it doesn't float my boat.) There was some technically brilliant work and some great ideas and I really enjoyed looking round. I'm pleased I entered and went down to see it but I don't think it's something I'd do again. If I did, I would roll my quilt before sending it as unfortunately the creases didn't fall out which definitely didn't add to the display of the piece!

On display, with creases!

I also did a piece with my Textile Group at The Heathlands Project and that was also on display. The guys were all really excited about it being on show and want to do another one next year (by which time I will hopefully have recovered from the stress!) It was great to see our work up and we've had lovely comments about the colours and how much fun it is.

The Forest

On display

I had also entered another exhibition called Textile News: Freedom and had work selected for that show early this year. The opening venue was the Festival of Quilts so I got to see that as well before it goes off to Moscow and various other places. The person who organised it, Gudrun Heinz, was there and it was great to meet her. She was very enthusiastic and told me about some of the other entries and came to see the Heathlands quilt as well. For this show the pieces had to be 30x30cm maximum and the theme was freedom. I made my piece in January and it's a special piece to me because it kick started me working again. I looked at the idea of breaking free and portrayed a bird flying up and away. The piece is called 'Rise' and looks like this:

Rise. Dyed and pieced silks with hand stitching

Rise, detail

So, that's my work from the Festival and here are a few of the things I saw that inspired me! Some of them I liked the imagery, some the humour and some the ideas.

Flying High, Claudia Watkins

The Fun of the Fair, Blackheath High School

Everything Stops for Tea, Anjie Davison

The Fun of the Fair, Kings Sutton Primary School

Billie Joe Armstrong, Charlotte Bailey

Detail of above

Spoon Fed Love, Maria Thomas

Olite, Janine Visser

I got Stitched Up, Hayley Brooks

A Sketch in Time, Susan Chapman

Profusion, Mary Morris

The Lace Space

2011-08-18T17:06:00.000+01:00

The Lace Space

This was one of the pieces I made with the Creative Textiles group during our two week community art project, Universal, at The Heathlands Project. We started off experimenting with cutting plastic bags into strips and fusing them with the iron, this produced some nice effects but the 'lace' was not very strong so we decided to knit the strips and then fuse the knitted piece. This created much firmer pieces which we were able to sew together to form the final piece. It took a lot of plastic bags and a lot of knitting, crocheting and weaving but I think the final piece is very beautiful and it is lovely to stand inside and look out.

I cut out a pattern for the piece from newspaper and used this as a guide to lay out the pieces of 'lace' we'd made. Once all the pieces were stitched together the stitching was also fused with the iron.

Laying out the pieces and stitching them together

Weaving and stitching the pieces together

Detail: Crocheted lace

Detail: Knitted piece

Stepping inside (in the rain!)

Detail: Entrance arch

Swaying in the breeze

Detail: Knitted lace

Universal

2011-08-13T22:55:00.000+01:00

My Costume

Yesterday and today we held our Space Festival-Universal-at The Heathlands Project, the culmination of two weeks work with various artists, community groups and our members. I'm far too tired to write about it now and I'm away to Birmingham tomorrow so I shall tell you that it was a fantastic two weeks, a great event and here are a few pictures to tide you over until I have the capacity to use words again!

Oi! Zip It! Creature created during the project

Another creature, the Joesoid

One of the Pom-Pomtariums, featuring giant sun pom-pom

Cosmic Costume-Dress up and join in!

The Lace Space

Detail of the lace space

Harris Re-fencing

2011-08-09T22:01:00.000+01:00

Head Space Weaving

If I could do a passable impression of a Geordie accent I would now be saying "Day 7 on The Heathlands Summer Project." But I can't so instead I will regale you with tales of weaving, sunshine and shiny things. This afternoon (in the sunshine) we used the fabric we've been dyeing to weave two panels of Harris fencing. It took rather a long time but I think the panels look really good. One of the panels is just woven in calm restful blues to create a waterlike space and the other panel features a head and 'thought bubbles' and it has a working title of 'Head Space.' These panels also cunningly disguise the bins and recycling area as well as improving the Harris fencing, of which there is a lot around site.

Weaving begins

My Able Assistant!

Weaving complete

Onto shiny things, in Costume I've been making shiny silver space hoods (I'm not totally sure what they want them for) and a Mummy Alien costume. More pictures to follow...

The Lace Space and Monster Capes

2011-08-08T18:19:00.001+01:00

How organised am I? I said I would blog about our Summer Project-Universal-and here I am actually doing it. Anyway, enough self congratulations. Today we have been outside chucking dye onto fabric ready to cut it up and weave it into the Harris fencing up around site. Another of the Creative Textiles projects I'm doing is a space (see drawing) that you can step into created from knitted/crocheted/woven plastic bags, melted and attached together. It's beginning to concern me quite how much plastic I have to knit before Thursday but I'm not alone, my able assistants are more than pulling their weight.

The Lace Space-Concept drawing

Knitted and melted plastic bags

Crocheted and melted plastic bags

One of the Costume projects I'm doing is monster capes. I made a pattern for a simple hooded cape and then decided the hoods would be good with eyes and teeth to make them into monsters. Which is what you see below. The second one even has eye holes!

Monster!

Monster with eye holes!

Stay tuned for more fun fabric based frolics!

New stuff on Folksy

2011-08-06T20:10:00.000+01:00

Embroidered Blue bird Bag

Embroidered purple bird bag

As well as being busy with Universal (The Heathlands Summer Project) I've also been embroidering bags for my Folksy shop. I've also been working on a small commission but more about that later. For now, here are the bags I've been working on. You can follow the link on the left to my Folksy shop for more pictures (shameless plug!)

Universal

2011-08-06T19:23:00.000+01:00

So, my excuse this time for not posting for two weeks is...Universal. This week we began our summer project up at The Heathlands, two weeks of arts and madness involving various community groups, volunteers and artists . Last year we did a production of Midsummer Night's Dream which was fantastic but incredibly exhausting. Our theme this time is 'space' in all its many forms (inside, outside, imaginary, outer and so on) and the title, as mentioned above, is Universal. This year we're doing things a little differently and instead of one big performance the two weeks will culminate in a two day community arts festival on 12th and 13th August. There will be all sorts of performance and visual arts and food.

You can see some of the things we've been getting up to on The Heathlands Project Facebook page, which you can find here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/The-Heathlands-Project/137242449671346 or just search facebook for The Heathlands Project, Carlisle.

I've been working with the participants to create costumes and also I've been running creative textiles. We've come up with some really exciting ideas and I will hopefully blog about them as the week goes on. In our creative textiles group we have several different projects going on. One involves weaving fabric into the Harris fencing up around site (those big metal grill fences you see around building sites.) We've had fun chucking dye around and if the weather is kind to us we will start actually weaving next week.

Another project involves plastic bags, more specifically knitting and crocheting plastic bags, melting them and then joining them together. I hope to make a cylindrical shape that you can step into from all the pieces of plastic-lace we're making. This piece is about negative space, as the plastic creates beautiful lacy patterns when melted, and also about how we perceive the space around us.

A drawing I've done of 'The Lace Space' to show how I envisage the piece looking when finished. You will be able to step inside and look through the lace at the space around you.

Detail of 'The Lace Space' drawing

We're also making pom-pom galaxies, crazy space creatures and various bits of art using textiles. It's all good fun and ideas are being sparked all over the place. Or should that be space...

Anyway, pictures to follow and if you're in the area on the 12th or 13th please come and check out what we've been up to. We'll be open to the public between 11-3 each day.

Finished!

2011-07-23T16:47:00.001+01:00

Magikal Forest Quilt. Made by the textiles group at The Heathlands Project

So, The Magikal Forest Quilt is complete and has been posted off ready to be exhibited in Birmingham. We did a presentation of the quilt in the morning meeting on Thursday and all the guys were really impressed with it and asking what we were going to do next year! It's been great watching the piece develop and everyone was impressed with how it's turned out and we're all excited about it going on display. I'm still seeing stitches when I close my eyes but it's been worth all the hard work.

Ladybird

Snail

Tigerpillar

Let the Quiltage Commence!

2011-07-18T19:16:00.000+01:00

Constructed quilt

Last Thursday we began the actual quilting of the quilt, so to speak. That is, I've sewn all the layers together and as a group we're machine quilting the piece. This is proving interesting as we don't have a quilting foot and it's quite a big piece to manoeuvre around on a small domestic machine. But, we shall overcome and it is really starting to take shape and look good.

Detail: Quilted Flower

Detail: Quilted Dog

Quilt-Yet more progress

2011-07-09T11:29:00.000+01:00

Detail: Tigerpillar

Finally, the first layer of 'Magikal Forest' is complete. Everyone has sewn on their additions; a host of ladybirds, a pair of love birds, flowers, dogs and snails to name a few. All the members involved with the project have sewn at least one of their patches on and then due to time restraints I spent my Thursday evening sewing on the rest. I'm really excited about us making it up into a quilt now, it looks so good. We got lots of positive comments about it at the tea party yesterday (see previous post.)

Magikal Forest

Detail: Bumble Bee

Detail: Love Birds

Blooming Great Tea Party!

2011-07-09T11:16:00.000+01:00

Some of the decorations on the wall

Embroidered bunting

Yesterday at The Heathlands Project we held a tea party to raise money for Marie Curie. It was great fun, we raised £371 and we didn't get rained upon! I'd spent the week making decorations with the guys and they looked great, we made bunting and big cut-outs of teapots and cups. We ran a little craft stall selling things the guys had made and that was really popular. Unfortunately, I was so busy on the day that I didn't have time to take pictures of the decorations once they were up but they looked fab.

Decorations cut out and being mounted

Decorations

More decorations!

Folksy Shop!

2011-07-04T20:16:00.001+01:00

Button Brooch-Blue and Purple

I really enjoy making stuff, it's how I spend a lot of my free time. When I get stuck with my art I often turn to making to help me relax and work through different ideas. However, we only have a small house and it's starting to get a little bit full of my experiments so I decided to take action and see if anyone out there likes my stuff and would like it to adorn their space. So, I've just opened a Folksy shop (find it here www.folksy.com/shops/delicatestitches) to sell some of my creations. It's also a really good excuse to carry on making things and experiment with more techniques and materials. These pictures show some of the things I've been making and put up for sale.

Heart Brooch-Multi coloured

Fimo candle holder

Magical Forest-Progress

2011-07-02T23:04:00.000+01:00

Magical Forest

Once again, long time no post but here's a quick one to start off with. The Magical Forest Quilt being created by my textiles group up at The Heathlands Project is progressing well. We have begun attaching the various animals, fruits and flowers to it. I'm beginning to get mildly panicked now as the deadline looms ever closer, I can see a couple of late nights finishing it off coming on! Still, it's looking great and all the guys have worked really hard on it.

Detail-One of many magical creatures!

Another Drawing

2011-06-17T19:06:00.000+01:00

Crow in flight

This is a more or less complete machine stitch drawing of a crow in flight, completed this evening. I like drawing with the sewing machine, there is a certain quality of line that you just can't get any other way.

A Drawing is Finished

2011-06-13T16:44:00.000+01:00

Pen drawing with stitching

Detail

I did the actual crow drawing a couple of months ago on tracing paper. I liked the drawing but I wasn't sure how to finish it. Today, as I was looking for something else, I decided the way to finish it was to feather stitch it to a dyed and printed paper. So I did.

Complete (I think)

2011-06-13T13:33:00.001+01:00

Not Lost But Still Searching

A few months ago I wrote about a piece I was working on for The Festival of Quilts this August. The idea was that I would post about it as I went along so people could see how it progressed. This didn't really happen as although I remembered to take pictures I didn't get round to writing posts about them.

Anyway, I finished it last night so I thought I'd post a couple of pictures. The quilt has four layers and has been dyed, painted, machine stitched and hand stitched. The crows were painted then machine embroidered then applied to the quilt by hand. All the actual quilting was done by hand. Today I have very sore fingers.

The top layer is silk organza; the middle crow is sewn on top of this layer and the other two are underneath it. The organza layer is attached to the other layers with insertion stitches.

Detail of the bottom crow and insertion stich seam

Detail of the top crow

Detail of main crow before attachment to quilt

Things and Stuff

2011-06-06T18:06:00.000+01:00

Button Duck Card

Shrink Plastic Jewellery

As well as doing my glass yesterday I also made a birthday card for my mini side-kick and I made some shrink plastic jewellery. The card combines two of my favourite things; ducks and buttons and it is finished off with some blue lace 'water.'

Shrink plastic is just fun, it's a bit like magic and essentially means you can make cool jewellery just by colouring in plastic (special stuff, don't try this with any old plastic) and baking it!

Owl Brooch

Swallow Pendant

Stained Glass Swallow

2011-06-06T17:49:00.001+01:00

I tried to post this yesterday but I couldn't upload any pictures. Now that I can, here is the post!

Bird suncatcher hanging up

I can't believe it's over two weeks since my last post, how time flies! Anyway, I've been off this weekend which has been lovely and today I've been getting back to my stained glass. It was my Nana's 80th this week so I wanted to make her something and I decided on a bird suncatcher. I did this design a while ago and decided it would be perfect for the occassion. I did swallow type colours as I had lots of bits of blue and a few bits of red and I love swallows. I think the red really finishes this bird off. I've also done the soldering on a leaded piece I started months ago. I will eventually finish it! Again, it has a bird theme (but I'm not obsessed, I just like the shapes and colours!)

Design and cut glass

The finished suncatcher

Catching the sun(!)

Space Pirates!

2011-05-19T20:21:00.000+01:00

Space treasure!

I'm fairly certain that almost anything can be made amusing by preceding it with the word space. For example, door frame is not a phrase that tends to elicit a murmur of excitement. Add the phrase 'space door frame ' to a conversation, however, and you're much more likely to get a giggle. Not that this has anything at all to do with this post, so, back to business.

Last week at work (at The Heathlands Project) I was asked if I could help the film group make some hats for space pirates (the theme of their current film.) Naturally I said I could and we created some really cool paper hats. However, they need something a bit more solid so this evening I've been making a pattern and prototype fabric hat. I wanted to create something recognisable as a pirate hat but with a bit of a twist so I extended the brim to quite sharp points. I have to keep the pattern simple as the people making these hats have very limited sewing experience. To my hat I added a space skull (see what I mean about adding 'space' to phrases?) because I wanted to have a variation on the skull and crossbones theme as well.

It doesn't show up in these pictures but the fabric is black and glittery, very cosmic.

Space skull

Super pointy pirate hat

Butterflies

2011-05-16T17:09:00.001+01:00

Butterfly in the window

I was working for Carlisle Day Services today in one of the units. One of the service users asked me if we could make butterflies, which sounded like a good idea to me. So, I cut some templates (two identical 'outlines' for each butterfly) and got the service users to cover one of the outlines with bits of different coloured tissue paper. We then stuck the second outline over the top, sandwiching the tissue paper in, and added pipe cleaner antennae. I think the resulting butterflies are quite beautiful and cheering, especially on such a wet and miserable Monday!

Person responsible for butterflies!

Proud butterfly maker

Another completed butterfly

Magical Quiltage-Progress!

2011-05-13T20:44:00.000+01:00

In out textile group we have started stitching the magical tree to the background using blanket stitch. We've got a lot of stitching ahead of us!

Stitch detail

There's a lot of tree to stitch...

The owls of Heathlands

2011-05-13T20:19:00.000+01:00

My owl pincushion

At Heathlands (a social enterprise project supporting adults with learning disabilities, please see previous posts for more details!) I run a textile group and one of the projects I designed for the group was these owl pincushions. I wanted to give them a project that would let them try basic sewing skills (cutting, pinning, tacking, machine stitching and hand stitching) but that would be easy enough for a beginner and quick to complete so they'd get a sense of satisfaction and achievement. I think they've created some great little pieces and I love that each owl has it's own character.

Owls made by the group

In their natural environment

The Owls of Heathlandia

Kaleidescope vest

2011-05-11T19:14:00.000+01:00

The finished article

I have finished the rainbow vest I was knitting. I'm really pleased with how it's turned out, I think the colours are great! The pattern has three small buttons and buttonholes to fasten it but I decided to use a press stud and sew on one big button (purple of course) for decoration.

Everything can be improved by adding buttons

My favourite colors

Radio 1 in Carlisle

2011-05-07T17:41:00.000+01:00

Me drawing away!

This years Radio 1 Big Weekend is in Carlisle and this weekend around 200 volunteers, myself included, have been helping out with community projects. I've spent the day at Longtown Community Centre designing a mural for the outside. The design encompasses the history of the area, taking in King Arthur, the Border Reivers, the munitions factories and much much more! It was quite a challenge as I wasn't expecting to be doing this and my knowledge of local history is somewhat shaky (in my defence I've not lived here that long) but with help from people at the centre and other volunteers I came up with a basic first design. I'm hoping the trustees will like it and want to develop it into a finished piece. Sorry about the poor quality pictures, they were taken on my mobile.

Detail of drawing/design

May Day Madness!

2011-05-03T20:35:00.000+01:00

Detail of the van covering

Detail of the minibus cover

We won!

Parading behind the bus

Banner of painted flowers

I was in Penrith yesterday preparing for and then watching the May Day Parade. I've never been to one before and it was a glorious day, which was lucky as most of the van covering was made of paper! To explain; I help run an art group for Eden Mencap Society (http://www.edenmencapsociety.co.uk/) and one of the things we've been working on recently is preparations for the May Day parade, with a theme of Alice in Wonderland. We didn't have a 'proper' float, i.e. a lorry, so we decided to improvise by making a covering for the minibus. We used card board and paper and then went to town on the decorations; flowers, mushrooms, flamingoes and other madness. We also made various costumes and the guys walked behind the minibus, all dressed up and looking fabulous! At the very back they carried a banner painted with exotic flowers that we had an enjoyable morning painting. To top it all off, we won 1st prize! So, a big cheer to all the people at Eden Mencap Society who all put so much hard work in, it was all worth it.

Website re-naming

2011-04-29T20:21:00.000+01:00

I think I must have had a bit of a rush of blood to the head, I got all enthusiastic and got a domain name and everything so now my website has a nice, easy to remember address: www.delicatestitches.co.uk

I've certainly learnt a lot about websites this week, not sure I really understand it all but at least I sort of have a vague idea how to do it! I still prefer making actual things!

Magical Quiltage

2011-04-28T21:49:00.001+01:00

As well as entering a piece of my own work for the Festival of Quilts I'm also making a quilt with my Textile group up at The Heathlands Project.* Last week we painted up our background and fabric for the tree and today we started stitching the tree (which I cut out) onto the base fabric. The group members designed the quilt themselves and are using the skills they've learnt in the group to make the quilt.

Here is the fabric just after being painted last week:

'Tree' Fabric

Background fabric

Here is the fabric with the tree cut out and pinned on:

Background with tree pinned on

I can't wait to see how this piece works out, everyone is very excited about it and it's great seeing it grow week by week. I do find it slightly odd that in my own work I only use muted, subtle colours and almost always have a very limited palette whereas when I work with other people we always seem to produce very bright, exuberantly coloured work.

* We work with adults with learning disabilities and run a range of projects including art, I.T., horticulture and enterprise as well as a small cafe. We believe in community and environment and all our work centres around developing a better community and environment.

Knitting a rainbow

2011-04-28T21:49:00.000+01:00

I love to knit. I learnt when I was 19 and needed a piece of knitting to destroy for a piece of work I was doing at art college so I got my mum to teach me and I really took to it. Since then I've knitted a lot; sometimes for my art but more often for pleasure. I find it very therapeutic. I go into a kind of zen state when I knit and I find I often have my best ideas when I'm knitting away and often an issue I've been struggling with in a piece of work will suddenly resolve itself as I knit and purl. I find that knitting occupies my mind just enough to keep worries and thoughts of daily life at bay whilst leaving it free enough to explore the creative pathways of my mind . Plus, I like making stuff and I love that with two sticks and a bit of string you can create pretty much anything.

Beautiful colours!

Detail of the lace pattern

My current project is from Knit Magazine (issue 36) and is called the kaleidoscope vest, it's a simple sleeveless cardigan type thing. It's a really simple pattern so is great just to pick up and put down. I'm using Rico Poems sock yarn which is a beautiful self striping yarn in gorgeous colours and I'm working it on circular needles (but not in the round). I'm just over halfway through the vest and am looking forward to completing it. Unlike in my art work I often like to use very bright colours or bold combinations.

Quilting progress

2011-04-28T21:30:00.000+01:00

So, I got my fabric dyed up ready for my quilt. I was really pleased with the colour of the organza but the mid layer was too pale and subtle to be seen underneath it. So I added a bit of detail with watered down fabric paint.

Mid layer of fabric

I also painted some crows onto organza and have begun stitching into them with my sewing machine. I've been using some extremely slippery viscose threads which have a lovely sheen and look great but are a pain to work with as they keep snapping! However, I'm really pleased with how they're working out and I think they will look very good when they're completed and attached to the background. Lots more stitching to go...

Detail of partially stitched organza crow

As the organza is very fine, when I painted it, a lot of paint went through the fabric and I ended up with a cool image on the paper underneath. I think this will be good to work into as the colours show up better on the paper than they did on the fabric, it will be a good base for a drawing!

'Accidental' drawing

Caterpillar Costume

2011-04-25T17:07:00.000+01:00

Next Monday is May Day. Which means parades, which means costumes. I run an art group every other Monday evening for adults with learning disabilities and for the past few weeks we have been working on our costumes and scenery for this years May Day Parade. The theme is Alice in Wonderland so we've been having fun creating psychedelic swirls, madness mushrooms and mystical flowers.

Psychedelic colour experiments

I've also been busy making a Caterpillar costume for one of the people in the parade. The person in question came to me with a picture of a costume she'd found on the Internet so we made a pattern and (temperamental machinery excepted) I've cracked on and made it. I'm really hoping that it fits because I'm not going to see her before the parade so if it doesn't work we could have a small problem! The body is made from jersey, with clothes line appliqued to the edges to give it a wiggly caterpillar effect. The feet are velvet and the collar, supported by vilene and garden wire, is a heavyweight cotton fabric that I found for very cheap. When I told the shop assistant what it was for she looked at me like I was insane, I then tried to explain which I think made me sound even more crazy so in the end I gave up! This is the costume spread flat, hopefully next week I can show you what it looks like on. If you happen to be in Penrith on Monday come and see it for yourself!

Flatepillar!

A brand new website is born!

2011-04-25T13:17:00.007+01:00

Having spent the past few days frying my technologically inadept brain, I have now created and published my very own website. Which is quite frankly rather exciting. I used wix as my knowledge of computery things is limited and it was recommended to me by a friend. I'm quite pleased with the results I think. I may even get really keen and upgrade it to an ad-free real domain at some point. But not yet. I'm off to do something more interesting, yay paint! Oh, yeah; here's the address! http://www.wix.com/delicate_stitches/helen-walsh
Let me know what you think (but be gentle please.)

Colour fun

2011-04-22T18:44:00.000+01:00

Part of the point of me starting this blog was to encourage myself to get making more and to share my work with people. I also intended to use it as a kind of online journal, recording the process as well as the finished outcomes. So far I've not really done that, in fact it would be fair to say that I've not done that at all. So, I'm going to give it a go and see what happens.

I'm currently making an art quilt (by currently making I mean I've been thinking about it and semi-planning it for about 3 months and have finally started on it today) to enter into the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham in August. As I said in my previous post I entered a piece in January for a touring exhibition which is showing at said Festival and it would be really cool to have two pieces on show. It would be especially good as the piece that has been accepted, Rise, is small scale and the piece I'm now working on is large but they are both closely related in terms of both concept and technique.

Organza (top) layer

Base layer-there will be another layer between this and the organza top layer

Today I have been making the most of the sunshine and dyeing the fabric for my piece. I'm using cotton muslin and silk organza, both dyed using procion dyes. I've been bucket dyeing and painting on the dyes, with varying levels of success! I've over dyed the main layer twice but I'm happy with the colour now. I like to work with coloured greys, I like the soft, muted tones it produces. I mostly work with blue and green greys as I think it gives a calm and reflective feeling, giving people chance to think about the work. The fabric for this piece is a lovely soft blue, I'm looking forward to stitching it!

Woohoo!

2011-04-22T14:06:00.000+01:00

I submitted a piece of work for selection for a textile exhibition way back in January and I've just found out that it's been selected, which is rather exciting for me. The exhibition is called Textile News and is organised by Dr. Gudrun Heinz, the theme this time was Freedom. I chose to look at the idea of breaking free and my piece took the form of a bird rising up and flying free. It is made from layered and pieced organza which I dyed in shades of greys, greens and blues. I then used hand embroidery stitches including feather stitch, blanket stitch, fly stitch and stem stitch to add detail and texture to the piece. It's an important piece for me as it got me back into creating work, giving me a goal to work towards and a bit of an incentive to get going. I enjoyed doing it and I'm now working on a much larger piece along a similar theme and using similar techniques.

The exhibition is touring and the first venue is The Festival of Quilts in Birmingham 11th-14th August this year, it then carries on to Moscow, Prague and Einbeck.

You can find out more about the exhibition here http://www.quiltsundmehr.de/TEXTILENEWS2ENG.htm

This is one of my preliminary drawings for the piece:

Ink drawing exploring the theme of freedom

Table Top Sale

2011-04-15T19:09:00.000+01:00

If anyone is in or around Carlisle on Sunday I'll be down at The Sands Centre where they're holding a table top sale. I'll be selling stuff the guys up at The Heathlands Project have made in the Arts and Crafts section. To find out a bit more about The Heathlands please visit: http://www.glenmore.org/Pages/HeathlandsFirst.html

Easter Crafts Workshop

2011-04-15T19:01:00.000+01:00

Today I did an Easter craft workshop with Carlisle Mencap's Playscheme, we made chicks, cards and collaged decorations. It was great fun and they made some really cool stuff, I spent quite a lot of time doing prep for this workshop so I was really pleased it all worked out!

Holiday Inspirations

2011-04-14T20:03:00.000+01:00

We've just come back from a few days away in beautiful County Durham, the landscape is so wild and magnificent. We went to Killhope Lead Mining Museum yesterday which was fantastic and makes me very glad to live now!

One of the ways the miners used to pass the little spare time they had was to make spar boxes; collections of minerals they'd found whilst working in the mine displayed in (you guessed it) boxes. Some of them are really lovely works of art. There is also a piece in the museum by a contemporary artist (whose name I cannot remember and who I cannot find reference to on the great interweb, please let me know if you know who she is as I would like to properly credit her and see more of her work!) in response to the site and the spar boxes. Her piece is a beautiful, contemporary take on the theme which draws inspiration from the surrounding flora and fauna.

Installation view

Detail

Cauldron's Snout Waterfall-I climbed this!

I feel quite inspired after our trip away, hopefully this will translate into action over the next few days!

Stained Glass Owl #2

2011-03-27T12:57:00.001+01:00

So, this is my second stained glass owl. I made him much simpler than the first one (learn from your mistakes!) and the combination of practice and a simpler design has led to a better finish I think. I'm really pleased with his eyes, which are glass nuggets held in place with wire. My course has just finished but I'm looking forward to carrying on and improving. I've almost finished my first leaded piece as well so I must crack on with that.

Magikal Arts and Badges

2011-03-27T09:40:00.002+01:00

Yesterday up at The Heathlands Project (http://www.glenmore.org/Pages/HeathlandsFirst.html) we opened our Magikal Arts Exhibition. The exhibition is of work produced by the students who have just completed the Arts and Crafts OCN at Heathlands. It was a great day with a great turn out and the exhibition is fantastic. During the day I was busy helping everyone who visited to make badges, we had some great designs and ideas. These are the two that I made (I did the stitching on the bird one a few days ago!)

Stained glass owl

2011-01-16T13:01:00.000Z

Last year I started a creative glass evening course at Trinity (Carlisle.) I really enjoyed it as it is quite different to anything else I've done. I've just finished the piece I was working on and although it is far from perfect I'm very happy with how it has turned out. It's done using the copper foil technique, as favoured by Tiffany, and is about 25 cm high. I'm looking forward to the course re-starting this week and having a go at leaded glass. In the mean time, I'm off to design my next copper foil project!

One more thing...

2011-01-08T11:51:00.001Z

This week I finally completed a small 3D piece that I started in about May last year. I'd do a bit then he'd be forgotten or put to the side for a bit and so on until finally, he is complete. He's built from a paper and wire frame, papier maiche, paint and lace. He's sat on my bookshelf and I think he's lovely!

And there's more...

2011-01-08T11:22:00.001Z

And here are some drawings from this week. These drawings are an exploration of the theme 'freedom' and in particular of breaking free. I was inspired by the idea of rising up from whatever is tying you down, spreading your wings and flying free. The birds seemed an apt, if obvious, way of visualising this and I also really like drawing them!

I'm really pleased with this last one and am currently developing it as a fabric piece in layers of silk organza with lots of stitch. I like the dark area at the bottom and the way the crow rises above it all, like leaving all your troubles behind and moving on.

Resolutions?

2011-01-08T11:13:00.001Z

So, its a new year and inevitably that starts with all the things that I'm going to improve on this year; being more organised, creating more artwork, actually taking pictures of my work, posting them online etc. It never pans out quite as I plan, however, every year I do get a little bit better so who knows, maybe this year I will actually start making use of this space!

To start things off here are some drawings from September last year, an expansion on the crow theme.

2010-06-01T18:20:00.000+01:00

Today I have been doing a workshop with some children supported by Carlisle Mencap as part of their Playscheme. We made cardboard automata using basic materials and lots of imagination. Here are some of the results!

Some recent drawings

2010-05-19T20:49:00.001+01:00

I'm developing a slight obsession with crows, I see a lot of them on my travels to and from work and I think they are very interesting birds. They are really quite beautiful and yet there is something a bit sinister about them as we tend to associate them with death and darkness. I find this interesting as in my own work I like to create things that are beautiful yet have a sinister undercurrent.

Art Exhibition at the Cathedral

2010-05-19T20:16:00.000+01:00

In Carlisle Cathedral at the moment there is an exhibition of art by adults with learning disabilities. One of the pieces is a large collage based on the work of Gustav Klimt that I did with a group of Service Users in one of the day services. It is all their own work and they showed great commitment and enthusiasm throughout the project.

A couple of quick pics!

2010-02-14T19:33:00.001Z

I now have a camera but still not quite got round to the regular posts thing. Never mind, here are a couple of images of things I've been up to this weekend. Two tops customised with applique, buttons and lace trim and a shirt and tie made into a bag (or a bhirt.)

Felt Workshops at Penrith Crafts

2009-11-13T11:28:00.000Z

Just a quick post to let you know that I will be running a short course in felt-making at Penrith Crafts (www.penrithcrafts.blogspot.com) in January. It will be over three consecutive Saturdays (16th, 23rd and 30th) from 11-3. The workshops are suitable for complete beginners and all materials will be provided. Please contact Penrith Crafts for more details, hope to see you there!

Pumpkin Party

2009-11-04T09:45:00.000Z

I've been very busy the past couple of weeks with various crafting projects. My side kick Ella and I spent most of last week creating various Halloween decorations for Saturday's Halloween Pumpkin Party and costumes for last night's Guide Halloween party.

I think that this blog will get a lot more interesting once I get a camera and can document what I've been up to more easily. For now, here's a couple of shots of my prize winning pumpkin and our Halloween tree.

Tweet A-Line Skirt

2009-10-13T10:38:00.000+01:00

I thought it would be nice to get some images into this blog so I borrowed my Dad's 'phone and took a couple of snaps of a skirt I've just finished. I got the pattern from BurdaStyle, which is a great resource if you like to sew or want to learn.

I made the skirt from black cotton twill lined with a lightweight floral blue cotton. I used bleach to paint a bird and swirl design onto the front and back pieces of the skirt before I sewed it all together. As I currently have no shiny pennies, I used materials I already had to make this project. To finish the skirt of I added some pretty buttons and buttonhole stitched loops instead of putting in a zip (beacause I didn't have one!)

Upcoming Exhibition

2009-10-08T09:46:00.000+01:00

So, here is my first ever post! Over the past few months I've been working (somewhat sporadically I must admit) on some new work for the Winter Light Exhibition at Altrincham College of Arts. Check out their website http://www.altrinchamcollege.com/the-gallery for more information. I would give you some sneaky picture previews but I don't have a camera at the moment and most of the work is currently sitting in Manchester anyway.

The work I've been doing is all based around tatting and knitting, I'm interested in exploring the place of 'women's work' in art and how these traditional crafts have been both a solace and a prison for women. On the one hand they have offered a sometimes rare opportunity for self expression, the chance to design and create something either functional or decorative and on the other hand for many women they have been a chore, a necessity, keeping them tied to the home.

I also just find them fascinating and I am constantly amazed by the connection people feel with textiles, particularly something that has been hand made. These textiles become almost like a second skin, another layer of protection from the outside world. Which may or may not be a good thing.