PATTERN CLASH

The Post Card Challenge/Pattern Party has been running over on Instagram with lots of design prompts. I never knew that tiny flower patterns were called Ditsy, or that clashing patterns were trending .My recent patchwork has ,however, been full of my own version of pattern clash.

 

Lots of improv patchwork. I like to find a new, to me, patch and try to fit it all together. Triangles, curved seams etc.. It is just something nice to pick up when the creative spirit is a bit low. You may notice that this trendy clash relies heavily on beautiful Waxed Fabrics sourced by my Ghanaian daughter-in-law She has been making some lovely bags, far more professional than mine, and is now starting to sell the fabrics she sources from Ghana.

Her website is https://www.ahuofefabrics.com/ .

AHUOFE means beautiful in Ghanaian, which the fabrics are , not only in the bright colours and patterns, but also the lovely sheen and feel of the waxed material. She is selling fat quarters, so an ideal way to give yourself a small treat.

 A diary of just a few of my endeavours in this strange year of Lockdown. How difficult at times to keep hold of the creative urge, to find the excitement. Sometimes it did come and I am thankful for it. After a cancelled Christmas it seems harder today but hopefully 2021 will bring better news.

I started the year with making an edition of 10 prints for the International Print Exchange. It proved to be quite a challenge, but was worth it when completed and I received 10 prints from a variety of countries, including Japan.

I had a few months of bag making spurred on by my daughter-in-law, who quickly overtook me, and the gift of some lovely material from Ghana. Related to this project I started procion dyeing fabric once more; certainly not something I ever thought to do again. I started making small stamps and used these both on the dyed fabric and linen. 

I took an online course in Collagraphy, and did lots of Skillshare classes. I found that improv quilting was a good way of losing myself on a 'bad' day and did quite a lot of it. I have lots of small joined pieces ready to be worked on again. My sewing machine is a project for the new year, as I intend to get it properly serviced. I think it deserves it, having been a good friend over many years.

At random someone approached me on Instagram and bought two textile pieces. This gave me ideas of grandeur and I opened a Folksy Shop ( now closed).  I stencilled with Pick Pretty Paints bought with the proceeds.  Most  recently I did a 10 week drawing course online with City Lit. 

When I look back over the  year I have tried so many different creative outlets, of which these just scrape the surface. Here are a few random pictures of some of the outcomes. I wish you all the best for the coming year.

 

Instagram QR code.

FOLKSY

If you happen to land here, probably from Pinterest, you may like to know that my most recent work can be found on Instagram (Stitchworkjackie) or in my new shop  https://folksy.com/shops/StitchworksJackie .  
At the moment this features block printed fabric items, but later I plan to include some of my textile pieces, particularly the needle felted ones, many of which have been pinned in the past. 

So still in the land of the living, and OK, as I hope you are.

Reuse,recycle.

Well, I never realised that pegboard had become so trendy. There are numerous YouTube videos of how people make and use their pegboard from craft rooms to garages. I remember talking my father into having some in my bedroom as a teenager; he even made the hooks for me. We were about to dispose of two bunk beds when I noticed that the plywood bases would be ideal as pegboard; they were already drilled, I would not have had the patience to do that, though some people do. I notice it is usually the boyfriend who does the drilling.

It took a while to get one piece painted and fixed to the wall. The mixed pack of hooks was really inexpensive. I cut some dowel and glued buttons to the ends, but he who knows better said they would not be strong enough, so we also got metal hooks.

It is proving to be very useful and I keep admiring it and looking for new items to add. The plastic boxes for soap powder tabs make good storage boxes, and I will be trying out decorated cans when I have some.

My printing has had mixed results, probably because I have been rushing. I am doing a fun introductory course on printing at the local collage. 

 I also keep up with Skill Share courses, and recently did one called ‘Collage and Go’. I put one of the results on Red Bubble. It is fun to see work printed on items, even with no expectation to sell them.

I hope you are enjoying the summer. We have a mini heatwave in the UK, bit too hot for me.

Oranges and Black Birds

I took an image from the front of a sketchbook into Photoshop and then printed it out in black and white onto TAP. Fortunately I have some Artists' Transfer Paper put aside, as I understand that it is now out of production. What a shame that is, if anyone knows of a good replacement I would be pleased to know about it.
I patched and pieced a background and then transferred the images. Silly me as I have just had a big tidy up and given away lots of scraps of dyed and printed fabric.

 Added another piece of silk and then machined in some leaves and flowers to bring the pieces together.

I took a photo on the ipad and in Procreate drew in some orange circles to see where they would look best.  

 Deciding on the thread colours prior to hand stitching. I had forgotten how much I enjoy looking at the tread colours at this stage.

 Added the lace and machine stitched it in place. Could be better with three pieces of lace, but just could not fit them into the design.

I could see this bound with a slate grey silk, but frustrated by the limited choice of fabric locally I saw the piece I had been using as an ironing cloth, just the right orange. I had forgotten how to make a binding so good old You Tube provided the reminder.

This is quite small, about 12x12 inches, but I enjoyed making it, and it was good to get out the sewing machine. I had almost, almost, forgotten how to use it! Click for a better view.

I now have some of my images linocut and digital on Redbubble. With Cyber Monday there is now 25% off.
My shop is under  http://bit.ly/Stitchworksredbubble 

I previously put this image of a linocut , now called Angel Boy, on the blog when I was talking about how great the Xcut is for printing. Here it is as a digital image. Fun to see it on a range of products.