Textures

I have been away last weekend at the Stroud International Textile Festival. We missed the Open Studios and some of the other events unfortunately due to it being late on in the Festival. There will be a few photos to follow.

 In the meantime here are a some shots of textures from around my studio, or rather the small room with a view which serves as my studio. I should not be like that as having seen, at the weekend, some of the actual  small studio spaces which people work in I am really quite lucky. I am always envious of those studios though; the work always appears to be so focused. Anyway, the point of the photos is that I have been practising with my new lens and I am really pleased so far.

Cathy Cullis kindly included me in last weeks’ Mosaic Monday. If you have not seen her mosaics they are usually interesting, and worth a look, as is her work if you are not aware of it.

Finished piece - The Lay of the Land

Finished piece - The Lay of the Land, a photo by Guerilla Embroidery on Flickr.

Take a look at the finished pieces on Flickr.

Guerilla Embroidery vs Stitchworks Jackie WIP

Guerilla Embroidery vs Stitchworks Jackie WIP, a photo by Guerilla Embroidery on Flickr.

Take a look at how the Flickr Response Project is coming along.

Rare Bird

Trying to be good and contribute to the groups’ bird theme, I decided to subscribe to Spirit Cloth’s Patchwork Beasts video series. I admire her work,which is informed by her skills in illustration, and her general approach very much. Mine is I hope a humorous little bird. The videos can be watched at any time which is nice if you just want to dip in and out. I had made some sketches for a series of funny birds, but I doubt this is going to happen.

I have a new lens for my camera which is something I have wanted for a long time but it is proving a steep learning curve. There is a danger of becoming distracted with reading about how to take pictures, particularly on the net, rather than actually taking them, which I am sure is the way forward.

On Friday I am off to Cirencester with a plan to visit the Stroud Textile Fair on Saturday, which should be good as it was interesting and very varied last year.

 By the way,I can highly recommend DMTV which is excellent, great entertainment, informative and with plenty of new content added regularly.  Instead of a binding on this piece, I have followed their instructions for adding a tidy facing.I dithered for some time about treating myself to a subscription but I think I am hooked now.

If you want a laugh on a Sunday morning, picture this, I am back from last nights Hen do, partying with a group of beautiful young Polish girls, all dressed as Pirates complete with parrots, and then there was me with my plastic cutlass - a rare sight!

Manuscript

I was asked by Sue Bleiweiss to contribute to her forthcoming book which will be linked to the popular 2011 Sketchbook Challenge. If you haven’t had a look at the blog the idea is that a theme is set each month and then people share their efforts via Flickr. There is always something new on the blog and it’s usually very entertaining and informative. There is also a monthly set of prizes which can be won via tagging one example of your work for the monthly draw.

The book will have a similar idea with each contributor working on a sketch book to a set theme and then producing a piece of art related to the sketchbook work.

It was quite a tight deadline to work to, but I like that as it gets me focused. The sketchbook and stitched piece was sent off to America, and now Sue has put it all together and the manuscript is on its way to the publishers.
Contributors are:
Carol Sloan, Jane Davies, Leslie Tucker Jenison, Lynn Krawczyk, Laura Cater-Woods, Jackie Bowcutt, Jill Berry, Judi Hurwitt, Lyric Kinard, Jamie Fingal, Diana Trout, Kelli Perkins, Jane LaFazio, Kathyanne White, Kathy Sperino, Violette Clark, Carla Sonheim
Susan Brubaker Knapp, Tracie Lyn Huskamp, and Kim Rae Nugent

We have to wait until this time next year for the book to be published.
Don’t worry, I will let you know when it is, as I shall not be able to contain my excitement

Can't Resist -Sketchbook Challenge

Can't Resist -Sketchbook Challenge, a photo by stitchworks-jackie on Flickr.

May Challenge. Acrylic medium as a resist.

May Day

Apart from all the holiday distractions, not to speak of the Royal Wedding, I have been making a start on my submission for this years’ ‘We Love Your Books’ exhibition, which has the theme of ‘Crop’. I need to submit that by the start of June and feel that I am well on my way with it now. This year it will be an online exhibition only. I am quite pleased with my idea and hope the execution will be OK. You will get to see it here whether I am accepted or not; lets wait and see.

I have also been messing with bits and pieces of felt and working on some machining to raise the surface following Lisa Klakulak's  methods. She uses a ‘leg lifter’ on her machine but as I don’t have one I use my embroidery unit foot which has a very small hoop on the end. I have done a few small samples, and I think I need to make sure my prefelt is a little more substantial than in this piece. It is nice and tactile.

Flickr Response Project

Flickr Response Project, a photo by stitchworks-jackie on Flickr.

Hurry up,join this project to help Guerilla Embroidery get together work for an exhibition.

Spring Felt

I haven’t made any felt for nearly a year; I don’t quite know why, just too many other distractions I guess. If you would like to look at some amazing felt garments, wonderful colours, shapes and textures I would recommend ‘ Felting Fashion’ by Lizzie Houghton; once again try your local library as I did.

 I wouldn’t dream of trying any of the exotic garments shown, or even the hats, but it is a book which makes one itch to have a go at some basic felt. In the bits and pieces section the author shows some examples of how to make spiky brooches, I sketched some notes about how to add  spikes at a Knitting and Stitching Show once.

 They are quite easy and provide a quick fix if like me you are not up for trying one of the daunting jackets.

 I combined the author’s method with that of Lisa Klakulak's (see links) free machining ideas.


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By the way I am finding using Picassa Albums first and then downloading to Blogger to be a much faster and painless option,rather than downloading from my computer to my blog. Probably 'dear reader' you knew this already!

'Feathered Friends'

I worked on the various dyed pieces, writing, stamping and then cutting up.

I have used the curved seam method shown by Alicia Merrett in her videos. I’ve decided to put them together and make a small quilt. Its many years since I made anything like a proper quilt, and I had already read that the sort of polyester wadding that I can find in my local shop is very old fashioned, and I noticed how ‘flat’ the wadding used in the DMTV videos looked. I emailed Linda Kemshall and she kindly told me the type of low loft wadding they used and gave me the name of a supplier. It came the next day and I am quite amazed how different it is from the wadding we used to use when I made a number of quilts, from cot to double bed sized many moons ago. In fact, patchwork and quilting was my first venture into textiles and tended to be quite traditional at that time.

It would have looked nicer with a curved seam across the middle but I felt that I was going to lose too much material if I did that.

I have dyed the backing material using the last sample of dye which I was given by Dylon; hassle free, but hardly as much fun when you get such a predictable outcome. I do like the colour combination though.

If you follow Flickr you may be interested in Guerrilla Embroidery’s ‘Flickr Response Project’ which she kindly asked me to join. Why not join in or follow its progress here.

I am having a great deal of trouble uploading photos, it seems to take forever and to get 'stuck'.
I uploaded these first to a Picasa album which seemed to work much better.

'Branching Out'

'Branching Out', a photo by stitchworks-jackie on Flickr.

April Sketchbook Challenge.

Spring colours.

Mostly images today. I had a dyeing session yesterday using thickened Procion MX.

I decided to work out one method which I could try to stick to. I even wrote it all down. Dyeing strikes me as being very much like felt making as far as different peoples’ instructions go; they are all different, each person or book has its own pet suggestions, which are usually given as rules, and in the end, speaking personally, are completely confusing. I tried just to think it through and find my own logic.

I tried soy wax resist and general mark making. I found some syringes I had years ago and used them for some of the lines.

One tip from Ruth Issetts’ book ‘Colour on Cloth’ which is new to me is to place the dyed fabric in a low oven for five minutes, rather than batching it. Obviously not for the waxed material. I like her book and it has some excellent colour advice and exercises. She is also not too prescriptive about her methods, which she simply says have worked for her over the years. Try getting it from the library if you are in the UK; use your local library before it’s taken away.
I like the spring like colours, but I was trying for a more striking purple than the pinky shade.
If you go over to Melanie Testa's blog, see my links, you will find a list of tutorials, including her video one on making foam stamps.

This post has taken a little longer than expected; naively I had always thought of Blogger as absolutely free and marvelled at that, but I know that really there is never such a thing as a free lunch. I tried uploading photos only to be told I had reached my limit. For those of you who haven't got to that stage it doesn't cost much for a year to upload far more storage space than I will need. There is however a delay when you have paid; I was reluctant at first because I had to give my card details,I thought it could be a scam, but I checked through Blogger Help and this is how the system works. Hence a delay.Then even more delay as it took so long to upload each photo- but that was sort of OK as it gave me time to do some more pieces, and take more photos.

I have just signed up for Design Matters TV and the latest episode is about line on fabric. As I particularly like using text it was very timely.

Well a much longer post than expected, in every way. I won't knock blogger though as it has given me hours of fun.

Zips, Keys and the swish of paper.

I have actually been quite busy getting some pieces ready for submission for an exhibition and thinking through ideas for another piece, but in-between I have had time for some light relief. If you want a quick fix I have two great links for you.

One is for the best tutorial I have found for putting a zip in a lined bag or purse with no fuss or problems. I used to have what I thought was a simple way but this one is definitely the best I have found and is a video which helps. It is good way to use up bits and pieces of fabric which you have experimented with and on. I made a small purse and a new pencil case. I may try and source some fancy zips; like the ones Melanie Testa uses.

That link could well send you into frenzied activity if you are anything like me and just have to do something creative straight away. So now I have a lovely contemplative break for you, that is if you love the swish and sound of books and handmade paper. Take a look at Susan Mills website, it could make you drool.

I have finally finished the hanging and added keys along the bottom. They are old family keys so it is a bit sentimental. ‘She will need help in the Persian Palaces’, I think there is a fire and her old retainer is off to find the keys to the locked tower- or something like that!

We recently visited the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and because I was with my husband we looked in galleries that I would probably not have visited, for instance the ironwork gallery, where there is a whole display of keys from over the ages. They were really fascinating. These small keys don't give the clang that you get with larger ones; I know because we have just added some to a hanging at the day centre where I work. There has just been a survey which has, for some reason, found that most homes have a hoard of keys with long forgotten origins.

'Spilling Over' detail.

'Spilling Over' detail. a photo by stitchworks-jackie on Flickr.
Printing with my coffee cup lid using gesso.

DBO's Big Lake Swim

Swimming the length of Lake Windermere, in The Lake District, in September, you guessed right again,not me.
I will be cheering on the family team, one swimmer and two rowers.
You can sponsor the team in aid of the Macmillan Cancer charity by clicking on this
link; I will also put a link in my sidebar.

I'm not allowed in the boat because,apparently, I would be too soft and let him give up too easily.

'Spilling Over' Sketchbook Challenge

'Spilling Over' Sketchbook Challenge a photo by stitchworks-jackie on Flickr.

'Spilling Over' Sketchbook Challenge

A few of the saved bits and pieces I will use one day, from cereal bags, brown paper to washing machine hose. Its all spilling over.