The Magic Armchair Traveller in Stitches

Shadows on the Wall

2011-09-23T13:54:00.001Z

Well, I am a bit pleased with myself. Not only have I just completed a stitched textile piece of work, I have completed it to deadline as my first entry to the International Quilt Challenge, with ten hours to spare. I overcame my self-doubt and trepidation and actually did some stitched art.....

The first theme which challenged us was "Light and Shadow," and I was pursuing to separate ideas until I was struck by a beautiful photograph on a blog I follow, which completely fascinated me. I loved the shapes of the leaves reflected by low sunlight onto a garden wall, but even more was intrigued by the way that the texture of the wall was variably visible through the shadows. It had to be that one, and my other thoughts fell by the wayside.

I am pleased with the finished work, and enthralled by the incredibly beautiful and interesting variations being posted to the challenge blog as the big reveal happens. I wonder what the next challenge will be?

I am very good at sabotaging myself and my creativity with self-doubt and paralysing anxiety, but it feels so good to have risen to the challenge and made something in cloth - it's been too long.

I am having hip surgery on Monday week, and the convalescence from that will probably provide ample opportunity for thinking about how to interpret the next subject. I hope I can make an earlier start next time around and finish with more time to spare!

Heartfelt Creativity

2011-08-18T16:24:00.000Z

Last year my friend and erstwhile C&G tutor, Jan Connett, curated an exhibition: Heartfelt in Bristol's Centre Space Gallery. This year a new Heartfelt will be held at the Bradley Grant Gallery during the month of September, this time in support of the British Heart Foundation.

I have submitted two hearts for this exhibition. The brief was to make hearts which could be seen from both sides, so my first one was worked in traditional rag rugging techniques on hessian. Above, you can see the hooked side. Below the proggy side is shown and I like the way it creates a sort of fringe at the edge of the hooked side.

Mt second heart is in foiled stained glass, and I plan to make more of these in due course as it was very enjoyable to create, even if a drop of solder did leap off my soldering iron and onto my hand, so I now have a pair of scarred hands. The burn is one, and the other is my poor index finger which was gashed a few weeks ago when caught in the car door. It's still very tender and unfortunately the wound became infected so I needed a course of antibiotics. It's now virtually healed but will take a while to return to normal.

I am looking forward to seeing what other people have come up with this time around, and really hope a lot of money is raised for BHF.

More Cosiness

2011-05-20T16:04:00.000Z

I found another, naked, hot water bottle lurking in the appropriate cupboard, so decided it, too, needed to be more safely cuddlesome and that I must knit a second hot water bottle cover. This time, I decided to follow the Toasty pattern, which is knit in chunky yarn, but that I would adapt the pattern to be worked in the round rather than from one long strip (avoiding an upside down cable on one of its faces, and the need to sew up afterwards) and to decrease for the neck in a similar way to Hoot, with eyelets and an i-cord to keep it snugly in place rather than a double polo-neck.

I finished knitting it yesterday. It immediately needed washing, as the Texere Chunky yarn dye was not totally colour fast and knitting had given me turquoise hands, clothes and knitting needles. Fortunately it washed off my hands and clothing but my wooden knitting needs now have some turquoise graining after washing them: luckily it's my favourite colour, but I prefer to choose where I have it! It took three separate washes (first in silk and wool detergent, then twice with Colsperse before a final rinse with vinegar) before the bleeding stopped.

The cover has stretched a bit on the washing line too, but not disastrously so. I'm glad I decided on a necktie for it, and the i-cord certainly makes a very satisfying tie.

I like the cables very much and would certainly work this pattern again, perhaps with a size smaller needle. It seems silly to be thinking about cosying up next winter already, when we still seem so close to the last one, but poorly tums and achy backs can now be more comfortably and safely soothed as necessary.

Knitting in Jade

2011-05-12T11:28:00.000Z

In March I challenged myself by knitting Annis. It's a pretty narrow shawl in laceweight yearn, and a free pattern on Knitty. What was challenging about it was that for the first time in my life, I had to tackle nupps.

I found a gorgeous yarn (silk/cashmere mix 2ply) in a fabulous jade colour, which would go well with some fabric I've bought to make some summer clothes when my sewing mojo returns.

I found knitting nupps made me feel tense cross, so I was relieved when that bit was over - dealing with keeping 7 loops being knit into one stitch tidy and together was not easy for me. There is another way (at least one) of working them which involves the use of a crochet hook, and when/if I return to the nupp, I will try out that method instead.

Annis completed and blocked is, however, a pretty thing and the colour and feel are gorgeous. I'd better hurry up and get sewing so I've got the rest of the outfits to go with mine!

What a hoot!

2011-05-11T11:25:00.000Z

It's been a long, hard winter and I've been ill a lot with a chain of nasty viral illnesses, curled up in bed, on the sofa or in the magic armchair, unable to do very much at all. The latest bug gave me horrible tummy pains and I spent a lot of time cuddled up to a hot water bottle for comfort, the bottle wrapped in a couple of tea-towels for insulation: the brainwave of my son. This was a very good temporary measure, but I decided the time had come to make something more permanent and less Heath Robinson.

A quick search through Ravelry revealed several possibilities, but then I saw Hoot. I'm a bit of a collector of owls - what is that called? - and have been fascinated by the cabled owl motif I have seen on jumpers and other knitting projects, so this seemed the perfect pattern to follow.

I love the figure-of-eight cast-on, which created this lovely braided effect:-

It took me three days to knit the cosy, and it was very enjoyable to work. The pattern calls for working with two strands of aran thickness wool worked together on 6.5mm needles - I used a circular needle and the magic loop method.

Once the knitting was complete, I crocheted a chain tie with two strands of yarn and a 6mm crochet hook, before working the embroidered eyes.

Rather than using the not-very-cuddly buttons some people had used, or the satin stitch suggested in the pattern, I worked rounds of blanket stitch rather densely with some leftover dark grey aran yarn and I'm pleased with the effect.

Now my poorly tum is better and warmer weather persists, so I have not yet had cause to use my newly swaddled hot water bottle. But when the occasion arises again, it will be ready and waiting!

More blooming flowers

2010-10-26T16:50:00.000Z

More keep appearing, day after day. I am getting quite a flower bed together although I now need to buy more compost/navy wool to develop the floral display. It's such fun, playing with the colour combinations.

Band-wagon Jumping

2010-10-17T21:21:00.002Z

So, I was wondering how to use the leftover yarn from my Gourment Crochet Variations on a Theme Mystery Afghan Crochet-A-Long, when I saw this and this and this and this, and decided it would be good to work in rounds for a change. So, I've jumped on the African Flowers band-wagon, and I'm enjoying the results. It's a very pretty pattern - but I'm going to need to buy some more wool! Now - what will I do with the left-overs?!

Christmas Present

2010-10-13T17:11:00.000Z

I started crocheting this blanket back in January. It was offered as a Mystery Crochet-Along by Carolyn Christmas on her blog, Gourmet Crochet, and was an adventure in different fan and shell patterns. I decided to work mine in sock-weight yarn to utilise my leftovers, but of course ended buying a fair amount of additional wools, mainly Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, to supplement them. I also wanted to make my blanket large enough to snuggle under on the sofa. When the weather warmed, I lost interest in the project and put it aside, but with the advent of autumn, my crochet blanket mojo returned, and I finished the blanket this week.

I really like the shell edging on the border, which I worked a little wider than the original.

It is very cosy, and was lovely to work on during the chillier evenings, stretched over my lap to keep me warm as I hooked and stitched in ends. It is very colourful, too, as you can see! It will get plenty of use and I learned a lot while making it - different ways of joining motifs and different stitch combinations.

Of course, I now have a fair amount of 4-ply wool left over from this project. What can I do with it?!

On Art

2010-09-07T10:43:00.002Z

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science."

A. Einstein,

Plant Magic

2010-07-19T14:00:00.000Z

Natural dyeing is enjoying a resurgeance of interest, and this was an occasion when I followed the fashion.

Inspired by others I decided to have a go with materials I had to hand.

The colours here seem very "of the moment" and you might think that these pieces of cloth are steeping in strawberry juice (it not being the time of year for pomegranates).

But no, you would be wrong.

I have coloured these various lengths of habotai silk, turban cotton, cotton gauze, fine linen and other lovely cloths using something I would normally consign to the compost bin without a second thought.

This fabric has all been coloured by the peel of two avocados, simmered in water for an hour. The strongest colour has been gained on the pieces of material added to the pot after half an hour, the rest has been steeped only in the liquid or simmered in the "exhaust". Pretty nifty.

I have two avocado stones plus two more avocados in the fridge (to eat) and so more opportunities to play with this techniques are open to me.

Whoever heard of avocado pink before?!

Stitching Blues - Again

2010-07-02T10:41:00.009Z

I am currently taking an on-line course with Jude Hill. It is called Spirit Cloth, and I'm enjoying it. I took her earlier "Quilt Weaving" class as well, and I decided to put some of my learning to use for another purpose, the Virtual Connections project by J Penney Burton.

Penney says, "I came up with the Virtual Connections idea as a way that we can manifest in physical form a fabulous quilt that will represent these support networks that we are a part of through Facebook.....and it is an idea that can bring together fibre/fiber artists from all over the world! It really can't help but end up being an amazing quilt!

Here is how to take part in this project. You are invited to submit a quilt square, made of cotton or cotton blended fabric (it may be new or found material), which is decorated or embellished by the medium of your choice. (you can draw, paint, attach clay, beads, mixed media, etc....to the cloth)....

Although this square will be four inches by four inches in size, you will only use the center, a three inch square, to create your work in, which will be surrounded at the top, sides and bottom by a half an inch fabric margin. This is so I may eventually sew the quilt together.

Your quilt square is to be inspired by your own experiences with facebook, the artistic and personal support you have received from others, and your relationship with the virtual world."

Well, my virtual world is immensely important to me as I am virtually housebound by health problems, and I am lucky that it is exceedingly rich. This blue world of ours becomes much smaller and I belong to a community of textile and art lovers independent of geographical constraints.

My square is a woven base, made of parts of a soft, extremely worn overdyed linen tea towel and pieces of a thrifted, embroidered linen table runner. My virtual world is a circle of many links all around the world, which take me and show me short cuts to new and interesting viewpoints and experiences. There is homage to Jude, to Sara Lechner and to Karen Ruane therein - artists who have virtually influenced me recently in my artistic endeavours and struggles. Internet links help us to bookmark and catalogue links, so there are the forget-me-nots, and the woven frayed edges echo the blurred boundaries of this wonderful virtual world.

It is also an assemblage of materials which came readily to hand yesterday when I began to make it, and developed as it grew, but I think the meanings described are valid.

So, off it will go today to America and to Penney, for inclusion in her quilt.

This is how it should look in the quilt itself, with only the centre 3 x 3" revealed.
I really enjoyed working this piece. It can be good to work small.

And I am so grateful for this virtual world and opportunities to share and grow with people I cannot meet easily in person.

Jewellery Making Class

2010-06-30T16:08:00.000Z

What do you get when you run a jewellery making activity with 15 children aged 4 - 7 during a special off-curriculum learning college experience? This week's results included many furry monster brooches and some funky beaded bracelets and rings, a lot of fun and rather a lot of mess! Nothing that couldn't be cleared up quite quickly, though. I am impressed by the strong ideas and opinions of these lovely children. Some of them are remarkably adept at grasping the techniques involved while others need more support, but what a lovely, lively and enthusiastic bunch they are!

Pin Stand

2010-06-11T17:38:00.002Z

I have Helen Deighan's book about coiled pots and dyeing, and actually bought the wherewithal to make one (or more) from her at the Knitting and Stitching Show last year, but the energy hasn't been there since to get around to making one.

Blogland showed me a variant, and I was really lucky to win this delightful textile bowl in Shelley's blog giveaway earlier this year, and it has been in constant use since it arrived as a to-hand con tainer for my sewing equipment. One of its strengths is that it can double as a sort of pin cushion or pin keeper, as I discovered yesterday evening. Thanks so much, Shelley, for your creative kindness x

I had a lucky spell around then, because I won another giveaway - a lovely multimedia piece by Helen Suzanne Alexander who also has a website here. She made it up into a lovely sketchbook , which is going to be a pleasure to use -

at the moment it is waiting for either a special project, or else for me to finish my present book. Thanks so much, Helen, - I so appreciate your work.

Eucalyptus-dyed Silk

2010-06-04T21:39:00.000Z

I promised the results today, and here they are. Above, the fabric on the far left is the plain white habutai as I bought it. The middle piece is that which I enfolded with eucalyptus leaves before steaming for 45 minutes, then steeping overnight in the water I had boiled more leaves in. The piece on the right is that which just had the overnight steeping. The colour overall is a charming peachy-gold cream, a little like caramel or coffee. It has been hot here today and I could not face ironing the silk, but it dried on the line incredibly quickly.

Above is the darker cloth which has come out paler in this shot, but you can see the patches of deeper colour where the leaves lay against the silk. They are not clear images but darker patches. I think I must repeat this experiment without the overnight soaking in the dye water.

Here, the fabrics are reorganised with the undyed again to the left, then the overnight-soaked cloth and last on the right, the silk which was pleated with the leaves and then steamed before steaming.

The effects are subtle (though less so than the photos suggest) but lovely and would probably sit well with indigo-dyed material as well as rust-dyed - I must dig out my samples to confirm this. I have another length of habutai steeping in a glass jar on the windowsill, with the remaining leaves and their coloured water, to see what the sun will do to them. It was a great experiment to have done with some lovely results, and I am looking forward to playing some more. It's like magic to pick leaves off the ground and colour fabrics with them.

Armchair Travelling and Dyeing

2010-06-03T15:25:00.006Z

This morning I was looking at Facebook, and my cyberpal Jude mentioned some lovely cloth available in a BigCartel shop, like this, which I absolutely love but can't afford to treat myself to at the moment. One thought followed another and one click followed another, too. Our next door neighbours have a pretty tree in their front garden

which is currently strewing leaves across our lawn and drive.

I thought about using them to dye some silk of my own, and went to gather some up. I have habutai silk which has been washed ready for dyeing, thinking of an attack of the blues - or indigo dyeing. So I hunted and Googled for information, and decided to more or less follow India Flint's recipe and jumped right in. I took the silk to the garden and spread it out on the grass, then folded it in concertina pleats, layering in the leaves. I added it to a bowl of water and vinegar, and proceeded to cook it in the microwave. Unfortunately the microwave was feeling it's age and conked out after a while, so I had to think again. This time I put my precious bundle on a colander to steam it over a saucepan to steam it, which made me think I could kill two birds with one stone and so I gathered another couple of handfuls of eucalyptus leaves off the lawn and put them in the water to separate out the pigment.

The boiling and steaming is done, so my original piece of cloth is now soaking, together with another piece, in the coloured water, leaves still in place. I'll leave them there until tomorrow and then we'll see what effect this treatment has had. As you can see, the leaves have coloured the water, and the silk had also taken pigment from the leaves in situ. I risk losing the transferred colour, I suppose, in the steeping, but it's all an experiment anyway.

The good news at present that the microwave was just having a hissy-fit and is now working again - it must be 34+ years old and mechanical, and they just don't make them like that any more!

Postcard size

2010-05-02T23:03:00.000Z

A mini-quilt sized and sent as a postcard: silk dupion stitched with metallic machine embroidery threads; a development from the Bolingbroke Casket design.

Pixillations

2010-04-22T00:43:00.001Z

Thia is what you might see when you try to play a badly scratched copy of G-Force (rented from Love Film, who promptly sent another copy).

I thought it might prove quite inspirational, but maybe it's pattern recognition instead:

Slow progress, but progress all the same!

Colourful Crochet

2010-04-07T10:56:00.000Z

My Gourmet Crochet CAL blanket is growing well. However, I now need to work at a lot more building blocks before I can enjoy growing it more. I'm really pleased with the colourfulness and random elements of the design, and it is very snuggly at four big squares square, which is where I've reached now. Lots more big squares, little squares and rectangles required. Warm, woolly wonderfulness¬

Window Treated

2010-03-30T22:17:00.000Z

My living room boasts an enormous picture window which overlooks the living room. The recess is 3.12m by 1.65m. Such a large window is best covered by full length curtains, but a radiator placed under the windowsill made this inadvisable. I have been fretting for years about what to do with it, but now it is a well-dressed window and another job can be ticked off my list.

The window is covered by a single roman blind. It was a horrible sewing job and one which I would tackle differently with hindsight. Imagine wrestling all that fabric through the sewing machine throat - it was a struggle! We used a very nifty piece of blind engineering by Super Gliss which raises and lowers the blind via a chain attached to a special track. The blind tapes are fed through a tape which also houses fine fibreglass rods, which make the pleats a little crisper. I made full-length dress curtains on either side of the window, hung from a handsome steel curtain rod and curtain rings from John Lewis, and finally completed the "outfit" with a simple pelmet hung from the same pole by the same rings, which gives the illusion that the blind is also hanging from the pole. I used a textured navy cotton velvet chenille which is lined and interlined with a bonded purpose-made fabric, also from John Lewis. Now we can keep cosy and I can move on to the next projects - the living room leather sofas could do with some new cushions so cover-making will be fun to plan.

Actual Stitching Content

2010-03-24T12:05:00.004Z

I have not been well enough to get to meetings of the Great Western Embroiderers for some time, but keep in touch with their activities. I knew an exhibition of work inspired by Swindon's Borough Council's Lydiard House and was thrilled to visit there in the company of my friend, Maggie Harris. It is an unexpected treasure of a house and park. Photography is not normally permitted but, for the purposes of exhibition preparation, on this occasion it was allowed.

So much inspiration, but little time and a ginormous roman blind to be made meant I had little time to work on an exhibit. I thought long and hard, however, and revisited through my photographs a number of times. I had noticed a barrel-topped stationery chest on Lord Bolingbroke's desk in the library, which appealed to me for some reason. I wondered about trying to make one in textiles and then decorating it with a design from somewhere else in the house or in the estate church, St Mary's.

Eventually I homed in on the carved oak box pew, which is tucked away within the highly decorated and lovely church, and decided that this could be effectively adapted to adorn my Bolingbroke Casket (readers across the pond: this is not a container for mortal remains! We use the word for a small, ornate container over here).

The Casket is fashioned from a sandwich of dupion silk, pelmet vilene and black felt, and stitched in a combination of metallic and polyester threads.

I traced the design outlines onto greaseproof paper (in lieu of the tracing variety)and then traced the outlines with machine stitching before tearing the paper away. It was then a matter of free-embroidering to colour in the appropriate spaces and emphasizing some of the outlines, before meander quiliting the rest of the surface and satin-stitching around the edges. It was then stitched together to form the shape and a magnetic class was mounted to keep the lid in place

It looked very much at home in the display case at yesterday's exhibition opening by the Mayor of Swindon.

It is a very wonderful exhibition and I was so impressed to see the diverse methods employed to interpret and respond to the house and church, gardens and artefacts to be seen at Lydiard. It is scheduled to last until the end of April, but I understand that there is a possibility the exhibition period may be extended beyond that. It's such an inspiring place - a number of other items and views caught my eye yesterday! It was also wonderful to catch up with old GWE friends.

New Year, New Project

2010-01-07T15:34:00.003Z

Happy New Year! I'm having a slow start to 2010, but have been making the most of sofa time in the warm cosiness of home while enjoying the snow through the windows. I have some knitting projects outstanding from before the festive season, but I decided to join in with something new, as well. Gourmet Crochet is running a CAL which suits my needs as I have cut my thumb and it's easier to crochet than knit (or do housework)! I've just realised I crochet right-handed even though I'm left-handed - weird. Anyway, it's called the Variations on a Theme Mystery Afghan CAL, and another snuggly blanket is very appealing just now. Also, I can use all sorts of odds and ends of yarn left over from other projects. I decided to work it in four ply sock yarn, and my first squares are in an opal sock yarn I dyed a few years book before knitting Broad Street Mittens and a pair of Jaywalker Socks for myself.

This is square no: 1, made yesterday evening along with square no:2, below. It would be interesting to make no:1 in two colours to emphasize the look of rows of flowers, so I might do this in the future.

No: 2 is a simpler two-row pattern which was easily memorised and made good evening-in-front-of-the-tv work. I'm torn between making multiples of these two patterns and patiently waiting for pattern no:3 to appear on Cathryn's blog.

Other projects in mind are Dijanne Cevaal's KISS quilt project, a Slow Cloth and something for the Festival of Quilts, not to mention the roman blind for my living room and other curtains long overdue to be completed. However, this weather plus low energy levels make me reluctant to get off the sofa and so something more strenuous. And then there's the knitting. No excuse for boredom, is there?!

A Small and Feisty Sweater

2009-11-27T17:36:00.000Z

A little bit of knitted blue - a 12month size sweater knit to Stefanie Japel's pattern, Feisty. I had some trouble getting going with this, I think because I haven't been too well so my concentration was poor and I must have cast on four times! However, once I really got going, it was quite a quick project to complete. Just need to find some buttons to go with it now.

Colours for Knitting

2009-10-13T17:23:00.001Z

I want to knit a cardigan/jacket - and couldn't find a yarn which combined appeal with affordability (I take after my great-grandmother in having expensive tastes) and availability in the quantity required. So, what's a girl to do? I bought some undyed bluefaced leicester yarn from Violet Green which arrived by return of post - wonderful service - and straight into a soaking bath it went, while I dug out my small collection of acid dyes and stockpot (which is reserved for dyeing adventures rather than culinary ones) and got mixing the pigments.

After a steamy period in the kitchen, all seven skeins were dyed, washed and dripping on the washing line, suspended from coat hangers. Here's a photo of the finished product, in today's strong autumn sunshine.

I used a kettle-dyeing technique, which produced a very subtle variation of colour: teal, petrol and peacock, using lilac, spruce and blues (brilliant and sapphire) from the Jacquard Acid Dyes selection. Whereas a handpainted and steamed treatment previously gave quite specific areas of colour (when last I dyed wool yarn), there are elusive changes in shade which are clearer in reality than in the photo above, but still very gradual changes, as one might expect.

It will be interesting to see how this works out as a knitted garment and it won't be long until I cast on and start finding out.

Mirth in the Garden

2009-09-27T15:56:00.000Z

Better colours in the daylight, as promised. The shawl looks great after blocking and feels light but warm and cosy on my shoulders.

It even goes quite well with one of the t-shirts I made and dyed earlier in the summer, and the indigo-overdyed linen trousers I made over last weekend (just visible below).

My son took these photos, which is why the back point isn't too centrally positioned above. But - a very satisfying and useful project this has proved.

Doing A Stretch Inside

2009-09-26T20:33:00.000Z

I finished my latest knitting project last night, and today I am blocking it to show the lacy pattern to best advantage and for maximum shoulder coverage.

This shawl is from Stefanie Japel's new pattern, Mirth, which I worked in a sock weight/4ply yarn (Regia hand dye effect in shade 6552) on a 3.75mm circular needle. It wasn't worked in the round, but back and forth. This clever design is effectively a lace square which is divided to the centre point along one of the diagonal lines, and the shaping allows a graceful moulding to the lines of the body.

It looked like nothing until it was stretched out: the first opportunity to enjoy the three lace patterns I had worked to follow the instructions, and I'm very pleased with this shawl now.

The colours are not true as I took these photos in artificial light, so I'll snap it again in daylight tomorrow, when the sun should shine upon it and show the jewel-like blues and greens in their true glory. We may be enjoying an Indian summer at the moment, but I am sure I will be reaching for this shawl in the chillier evenings as soon as it is dry.

Time to choose another project!

New Knitting - Mirthful Blues

2009-09-09T11:34:00.000Z

Glampyre's Mirth, a raglan shaped shawl, in Regia Hand Dye Effect Sock Yarn. Yep, blue again!

Annie teaches Sue to Cable without a Cable Needle

2009-09-08T17:54:00.000Z

I am so lucky to have met a cyberpal today: Annie Modesitt has shown me (and some other really lovely ladies) how to do the twist without extra equipment. She is such a fun and effective teacher that we all acquired some very useful skills and in an extremely friendly atmosphere. Thanks so much, Annie, for sharing so much with us.

Update

2009-09-08T09:42:00.003Z

I'm still not too well: an infection with cellulitis on the end of my nose wrote off much of the past weekend. Happily it is now resolving but my gut doesn't like the antibiotics and I've been somewhat over-purged of late. GP recommends Imodium and natural yoghurt, so that's what I'm currently taking in addition to everything else.

I'm hoping to venture out this afternoon. I'd hoped to attend Annie Modesitt's classes at Fyberspates this past weekend and had to revise those plans as the journey would have been too much for my very depleted energy levels. However, I managed to get a place on the afternoon class she's running today at Get Knitted (up the road in Bristol), so I'll be thrilled to meet her at last. I've been following her blog for ages and she's a charismatic and inspirational knitting designer.

This outing will hopefully also allow me to pick the necessarymaterials up for my next knitting project, as I finished my Barcelona (my Mona Strickt) socks last evening. They are pictured in the photos accompanying this post. I'm thinking of knitting Glampyre's new pattern, Mirth, which looks to be a very wearable shawl, as well as an interesting knit. I'm not yet sure which weight I'll decide to make, but that means that the options are many and exciting.

I'm going to try out an on-line class shortly too, on http://stefaniejapel.ning.com/. I'm very excited about this means of delivering classes. I hope to take the one on recycling t-shirts into yarn, due to start next month. Should be fun.

The reality at the moment is that I'm spending most of every day in bed, doing very little, because I'm so run down post-flu. I hope to be sufficiently recovered in ten days' time to spend a day learning how to extract indigo dye from woad and other plants at the University of Bristol's Botanic Garden - a belated birthday present from my family. So it's keep on with the resting up. At least fixing a meal last evening was survivable without any new ailments occuring!

Time flies....

2009-08-25T13:54:00.003Z

In the past month I've spent a wonderful fortnight in Austria and then a less joyful period doing battle with Swine Flu and Tamiflu, so it's not been a very productive time in terms of things to show. DH had to rush off to Istanbul to see his mother, who had managed to start a week's holiday there with a fall and a broken hip, no fun when you're 87, and he took my Lady of the Forest shawl with him as a gift for her - so I'll be making that again, for me, before too long. I knew it would be well received and it was my way of sending a hug as I couldn't give her one in person. I've felt very cheated by this illness, as it meant I missed both Festival of Quilts and Fibrefest, with opportunities to meet friends real and virtual, as well as doing a bit of shopping...

However, I've been doing a lot of thinking about where I'm coming from, creatively, and I hope that soon I'll be able to leap from my sick bed and start putting some of these thoughts into action.

I've just come across an excellent quote in my latest companion book, "The Mermaid's Child" by Jo Baker:

"He that would see marvels, it behoves him sometimes to wend out of his way."
- Sir John Mandeville, Mandeville's Travels.

So here's to plenty of off-road wending in the near future!

Summer Retreat at Urchfont

2009-07-24T12:54:00.002Z

I recently spent five days at Urchfont, with thirteen friends who are teachers and practitioners of textile art in many of its forms. It was a brilliant time. We had no domestic demands or duties to distract us so could concentrate on developing our ideas, cementing our friendships and learning from one another.

Here are Gill and Penny busy at their workstations.

While Nita, Liz, Sara and Dorothy catch up in their different ways.

Dorothy kindly modelled a protoype t-shirt I'd made for me to evaluate.

While Sal dyed this fabric in glorious autumnal shades, and we developed it into a reversible top - with either a waistband or

a cowl neckline. Would you have guessed it began life as a tube of car-wash cloth?! Of course, Sal could make just about anything look elegant!

Finished Knitting the Lady of the Forest

2009-07-07T21:54:00.000Z

But the blocking awaits, so here is just a litte taste of its lovely indigo silkiness.

Dyeing the Blues

2009-06-30T10:39:00.006Z

Tiggy Rawling ran an absolutely brilliant weekend workshop at Wimbourne's Walford Mill and I was one of six lucky participants.

We were exploring both shibori techniques and indigo dyeing, and thankifully the weather was just warm enough to make this feasible. We were accomodated in a huge gazebo behind the craft gallery, thus enjoying fresh air and providing entertainment to visitors to the mill and to the excellent bistro there (which served me delicious crab salads for my lunch on both days).

On the right, above, are two pole-wrapped pieces while the lefthand sample is the traditional woodgrain pattern.

On the right above is the Japanese Larch pattern, worked freehand rather than to pre-marked patterns.

This piece of cotton velvet was concertina-pleated and then held firmly with a twist in the dye vat. This photo shows it during the process of oxidisation - the gorgeous greens disappear and gradually turn blue, can be seen below.

I loved using indigo, and plan to make up a vat at home later this week so I can do some more dyeing.

A bit of patchwork

2009-06-30T10:29:00.000Z

I made this quiltlet (about A2 sized) for our village curate, who wanted something like as part of a story to be told at a christening. I enjoyed it and really must do more patchwork soon.

Insomnia sorted!

2009-06-12T17:28:00.000Z

No, I've not been having trouble sleeping, I've been knitting a sock pattern by that name, created by the wonderful Glampyre

This was a fun pattern, and in the course of making these socks I learned to cable without a cable needle (when I lost mine on a car journey - wasn't driving, of course) and to keep a close eye out for dropped stitches when I slipped the wrong bit... Other than dealing with the backwards knitting this necessitated, I found it speeded up the process considerably, though not to the point that I completed them in two nights, as their author did.

Worked in a Fyberspates deliciously soft and cosy space-dyed sock yarn, they will be brilliant for keeping my toes toasty when the weather cools.

The colour changes in the yarn do tend to obscure the lovely cables and twists in this pattern, so I plan to make it again in a plainer yarn in the not too distant future.

I also learned a new-to-me cast off/bind off method as my normal technique was far too tight. So, in one project I learned the figure-of-eight cast-on for circular knitting, how to work a short row heel, and a different way of finishing my knitting. I also gained a great pair of socks!

Knitting off Needles, Knitting on Needles

2009-05-12T10:22:00.004Z

I finished knitting and sewing together a tunic for myself yesterday:

It's a Swing Tunic from the Twilley's Freedom Gorgeous pattern book. The yarn is a mix of bamboo and nylon which doesn't feel at all synthetic and has a lovely drapiness to it, although it can be a little splitty. The pattern was enjoyable to knit and the tunic will, I think, be enjoyable to wear, too. The colour is called Hollyhock, for reasons I can't quite fathom, but it's a lovely, gentle shade.

Naturally something else had to start on the needles, so I cast on for Glampyre's Insomnia sock and this is growing well. This the first time I've attempted a toe-up sock pattern and it's interesting. There will be short row heels, another first for me.

I was going to knit these in Handmaiden's Casbah but instead a stashed yarn from Fyberpates demanded its turn. I'm ashamed to say that I misplaced the label while winding it but it is delicious to work with.

My bathroom is being refitted this week so there is lots of noise, mess and coming and going happening here. I'm glad to have a relaxing knit to work on in the haven of my living room, especially as I'm still feeling under the weather.

Magic Stitches Part 2

2009-04-10T16:59:00.000Z

I've undone the stitching on my dry shibori pieces: this is how they are looking now, before they get washed throughly and ironed.

I used running stich in rows, running stitch on pleats and box pleats, and chevron stitch. Dye was painted on with sponge brushes once the stitches were tightly gathered. I used indigo blue, turquoise and magenta. It is interesting to see how the colours have blended, taken and been resisted on these pieces.

I want to play more with shibori/stitch resist. I have a length of pipe tightly wrapped and bound with string over calico ready for dyeing. Yesterday we bought some curtain lining/interlining fabric, which was wound onto a tube to transport home. I was surprised to find myself requesting the plastic rather than the cardboard tube offered, so I could then reuse it for this purpose. This then necessitated an explanation to my husband and to the lovely sales assistant in John Lewis, who had never heard of either this kind of dyeing nor this kind of recycling, but was intrigued. I'm wondering about clothing applications for this form of dyeing.....

Magic Stitches Part 1

2009-04-04T16:14:00.001Z

I was totally thrilled to meet a blog pal in the real world today, at the monthly meeting of the Avon Guild of Weavers Spinners and Dyers where Tiggy Rawling ran a workshop on shibori and dye painting. It's probably been a year since I last got to a meeting, my health having been so rotten since, but I was pretty determined not to miss this one, even if I wasn't at my best. I'm so glad I managed it: it was a very good, informative and enjoyable workshop and Tiggy as as lovely as I'd anticipated.

Here are Tiggy and Elizabeth discussing some of the lovely stitched shibori that Tiggy had brought along as samples and inspirations.

Oooops, Blogger has been transposing photos again. In case these are still not in the right order, Elizabeth is modelling the white lab coat, Tiggy's in both the photos and me - I'm the other one!

And here's a picture of Tiggy and me,which I'm thrilled to have! Pictures of what I did will have to wait as the two samples are batching in a plastic bag, while the pole wrapping I started is waiting on me finding some more string to complete it.

Thanks to Tiggy for the excellent workshop and to Caroline for taking the photo and organising the programme which included this session, and to Avon Guild of Spinners, Weavers and Dyers for hosting it.

Breathing Spaces

2009-04-01T21:53:00.005Z

I've been very preoccupied and occupied with a big project.

I've recently been working on costumes (designs and realisations) for a dance performance of a newly commissioned work entitled "Breathing Spaces". It's being performed at the Youth Dance England conference at the Mermaid Theatre tomorrow, and I was able to attend the dress rehearsal yesterday.

The whole project has been developed over a space of a mere six weeks, so creating designs and costumes for 34 performers has been intense and a challenge. The project is based around our community and features 32 children from the village (attending the primary and community comprehensive schools) who belong to the Yeo Dance 09 Group

Most of the costumes involved refashioning t-shirts, dyeing and space-dyeing them, cutting them up and recombining them with additions of t-shirting, muslin and other fabrics in earth colours. These were then further embellished using fabric paints and sequins. Each costume was unique but related to all the others.

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I was lucky enough to receive practical support from a dozen mothers from the school (including the headteacher's!), not all of whom had children taking part in the performance. They came and volunteered their time, and we enjoyed exploring the capabilities of fabrics, sewing machines and ourselves over four days in total, with the volunteers coming in when they could.

These are some photos from the dress rehearsal in the school hall, to show some of the costumes in action.

In the background is Elizabeth Glen, who was instrumental in developing the music for the piece as well as adding her glrious voice to the performance. She is wearing the silk wrap which I made, dyed in water/river colours.

The theatre performance will take place against a backdrop screen, on which will be shown a film made of the dancers on the Millenium Green, our Breathing Space. I have not seen this but the Artistic Director, Carolyn Savidge, is thrilled with it and describes it as breathtaking. I hope that the whole project will be performed locally so that we can celebrate the effort and creativity of everyone involved.

Progression

2009-03-22T17:48:00.002Z

I'm really pleased with my Flutter scarf. I think it's so pretty.

Now I've cast on the back of a swing tunic in Twilley's Freedom Gorgeous yarn, a very soft blend of bamboo and nylon. I can't find a link to the pattern, whuich is in a pattern collection for this yarn. I am going to cast on for a pair of socks, too, so I have a more portable project, but I'm still deciding on which pattern to use.

Sue's Needles have been Busy

2009-03-18T14:55:00.009Z

Today I completed a knitted lace scarf - Flutter by Miriam Felton - and for the first time ever I'm blocking my knitting, using a set of blocking wires I bought from Loop recently. I think it will be well worthwhile, as the process was very simple and quick to set up, and before I wired it up, the scarf was looking rather shrivelled and sad. Once it is dry, I'll steam it with the iron to set it and then hopefully I can wear it and be proud of it. It was an enjoyable knit and the yarn I used, Scrumptious Lace, from Fyberspates, was and is a delight, very lustrous and silky and soft.

My sewing needles have been quite busy, too, as I have been designing costumes for a Dance to be performed at the Mermaid Theatre in London next month. It is a community-based project within my village and is entitled "Breathing Spaces", featuring dancers from the village primary school and the local community high school. I have no photos of completed costumes yet, but it has been very busy as there are 34 people to be dressed, all in unique costumes. More about this in due course, but I've been busy space-dyeing fabrics, adapting t-shirts and making friends with my overlocker as well as working with a total of twelve volunteer mothers and helping them to be confident in using their sewing machines, teaching them new techniques and exploring their creativity. Enormous fun, but extraordinarily tiring as well, especially as we've been working in a very tight time frame. I now have plans for some space-dyed t-shirts for myself, made from scratch.

My previous make was with my crochet hook, and was another scarf: this time using a Drops pattern and yarn as recommended, bought from Scandinavian Knitting Design.

My friend Sara had made one which she wore when we met up at Liz's in January, and I decided to flatter her by imitation. It has been a while since I crochet something froma charted pattern and at times it was challenging to remember where I was and what I should be doing, but the mohair did not like being frogged, so I soon learned not to work on this when my concentration was poor! It's a pretty and cosy scarf/shawl which has already had quite a lot of wear.

I think I might give it a gentle wash and a blocking next, once Flutter is off the wires...

Meanwhile, I am thinking about making new curtains and a roman blind for our newly-redecorated living room, choosing between a shawl and a tunic for my next knitting project while also working on the costumes and my t-shirt dyeing. Sadly, I'm very very tired at the moment so it's all a bit of a struggle.

Last Friday I went up to Birmingham NEC to the Sewing for Pleasure Show. I've never done this one before, but I had a good reason to attend. As well as catching up with my friends Sarah and Gill, I called at the exhibition of Poetry in Stitches 2 where I had the pleasure of meeting Linda and Con of the National Needlework Archive for the first time, seeing the excellent entries and proudly receiving my prize for Contemporary Interpretation.

I was appalled to find myself close to nodding off on the way home: clearly the trip was a bit more than I can cope with just now. Flipping ME. So I have been taking it easy since then, trying to pace myself and get plenty of rest to recover from the feelings of exhaustion and muscle and joint aches and pains as quickly as possible. Spring is springing and there's lots of creativity to be realised as well as new materials stashed to play with.

Cyber Fyber Exhibition

2009-01-12T10:50:00.003Z

If you've not yet seen it, do visit the amazing on-line Cyber Fyber
exhibition. It's such a wonderful opportunity to see an amazing response to Susan Lenz's concept with a phenomenal range of textile techniques from around the world. My postcard and ATC are on display in some very distinguished company. I'd love to see your comments on them.

So far, the new year has not seen much creative activity here, mainly thanks to being virally challenged still (sinusitis now). I hope I can soon find the oomph to get going again.

Two ATCs and a Postcard

2008-12-30T10:32:00.003Z

This is the ATC that I made and sent recently as part of the fabulous Cyber Fyber swap and exhibition which Susan Lenz has been busy creating. It is made using cut-back or reverse applique using organzas plus machine embroidery.

This ATC is for another swap between myself and Annica Lindsten in Sweden. It is made of my own silk paper which I screen printed with the design of seed heads.

This is the postcard I made for the Cyber Fyber swap, again from the screen-printed silk paper but this time incorporating a disc of tiny-scale crazy patchwork embellished with machine embroidery.

My Cyber Fyber contributions can be seen in the on-line exhibitions here (ATC) and here (Postcard).

Other than this, I've been struggling since I last posted, having a couple of fluey viruses in quick succession. I managed to make my daughter a long dress to wear in her choir concert earlier in the month. My Christmas preparations were severely curtailed by my health problems and I did not manage to write my Christmas cards so have been thinking about a New Year card instead. I seem to have managed to miss this boat as well so will have to think again.

Wishing you all a very Happy, Healthy and Creative 2009!

Crochet Blanket

2008-11-29T18:47:00.002Z

On a grey, damp and chilly winter's day like this one, what appeals it to wrap up in a shawl or blanket and drink lots of soup and tea or hot chocolate. This blanket is one I crocheted some years ago, from scraps and remnants of knitting yarn, and it has proven a valuable friend over the years, bringing cosy comfort to my children or to me whenever that has been wanted. The motifs are overgrown "Granny Squares", and gave me gentle occupation and a sense of achievement when I was bed-bound due to high blood pressure during my first pregnancy, and later when I was capable of very little activity when I first developed M.E. 20 years ago. Although both blanket and illness have been my constant companions throughout the past two decades, the blanket has been by far the most welcome.

I Won A Prize!

2008-10-25T11:34:00.002Z

Quick blowing of own trumpet: Doormat was awarded the prize for Contemporary Interpretation! Unfortunately, it looks as if I'll need to wait till next year to receive my prize as I can't get to any of the shows before the one in Birmingham, so I need to let the National Needlework Archive know that I would like the presentation to happen there and then. Meanwhile, my ego is enjoying the massage!

Small Stitched Collage

2008-09-30T15:33:00.000Z

Shown above is another mixed media textile piece I started at the Knitting and Stitching Show at the NEC earlier this month during a workshop with Claire Martin. I like its rich colours and touches of glitz, and I enjoyed mixing running stitch with oversewing and feather stitch.

Rags Repurposed

2008-09-30T15:22:00.000Z

Once, I bought a pair of linen trousers on eBay. They were a lovely, washed-out navy colour and they proved a useful and favourite addition to my wardrobe. Sadly, in time, they went the way of all trousers...

Worn out they might be, but I was loth to throw away this lovely cloth, and I decided to make myself a studio coverall,or craft apron out of the good cloth in my trousers.

Yesterday was the day, and my new-from-old garment took about three hours of gentle activity from start to finish. The remaining cloth is tiny scraps, so not even much waste came from this refashion.

Developing a Mixed Media Piece

2008-09-18T19:50:00.001Z

A week ago, I spent the day at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham. It was the Knitting and Stitching Show and, having missed it altogether last year, I had booked this plus two days at Alexandra Palace next month. The NEC version is a smaller, more intimate affair while Ally Pally has more to see and do but is more of a scrum.

I also booked to attend some workshops there. Sadly, the person leading the first one I'd booked had broken her leg and wasn't there, but I rebooked on another with Claire Martin. She's a good tutor who runs an enjoyable session, so I took a second one with her as well. This was on mixed media work, and the pictures below are of the piece I began.

As you can see, I started collaging and patching different fabrics and papers, using glue and stitch to grow the piece, and layering up various items as I went. I have worked with paper before but this felt very different from my usual way of working, in an enjoyable way. It was interesting to make marks with stitches in a very carefree manner and to juxtapose the different textures available among the materials provided.

I worked a bit bigger than I might have done. The next stage was to apply gesso to integrate the surface elements, but I decided to do this at home once I had completed the stitching.

The gesso makes a considerable difference so that the individual elements are relatively subdued, and I am now thinking what to add next. It's one thing to follow a prescribed process and another to choose one's own direction. I'm contemplating moonshadow mist and either gilding with leaf or judicious and careful rubbing with treasure gold to emphasize areas of texture, but other possibilities, like Quink and bleach or reactive iron paint and rusting medium are also worth thinking about.

Unfortunately this day trip was very tiring and I've still not fully recovered from this excursion. However, there's no harm in taking time to think before progressing the work, and the day was so worth it.

Fibre Play

2008-09-08T21:25:00.002Z

I've been borrowing my friend Gill's embellisher again (as I didn't get one for my birthday) and I have been enjoying playing and experimenting with some of the things one can do with this machine.

This is a needlefelted crazy patchwork piece comprising may pieces of denim, some painted and printed, pieced, overlapped, cut and repieced again. There are interesting things happening with the texture of the fabric and I've learned a lot from doing this one.

This little rondel is made of scraps of natural wool pencil rovings and wensleydale locks, using the embellisher to forge joints and interconnections. The scraps are from my Doormat piece, which had a haircut after working, and I wanted to try to use the prunings. There will be more experimentation with these materials but I'm sure Gill will need her machine back very soon. She really is a most generous friend.

Meanwhile, I took the opportunity to do some Extreme Knitting yesterday, when
Cornish Organic Wool had a stand at the Soil Association's Organic Food Festival in Bristol. It was jolly hard work, more akin to rowing than knitting! However, I was determined and managed to complete a row. I woke with very painful shoulder joints this morning and wondered why - it was only when composing this post that I realised the cause!

Doormat: an update

2008-08-21T12:49:00.002Z

If you click on this link and scroll down, you'll see a lovely picture of my entry for Poetry in Stitches, The Doormat. I'm so chuffed to see it these!

Bath Abbey in Stitch

2008-08-20T11:29:00.006Z

Last week we had a mini-trip to Bath, our objective being the Abbey. Naturally, it being Bath, we found other diversions, but eventually we made our way into the glorious sanctuary and found plenty there to keep our attention. At the altar was the stunning stitched altar frontal, the details of which are below.

What a masterpiece of design and stitchery this frontal is: glorious, vibrant and rich in colour, texture and imagery.

Meanwhile, around the abbey are displayed no less than 35 diptychs such as the one below. They are all the work of Sue Symons and collectively entitled "One Man's Journey to Heaven: Thirty-five Episodes in the Life of Christ". The initial inspiration was attending a concert of St. Matthew's Passion when artist Sue lived on Vancouver Island, Canada. On returning to live in Britain some twelve years later, she decided to pursue this idea as a retirement indulgence, for her own creative gratification and did not intend exhibition.

The plan was to work on a series of panels representing Christ's life, and to work each as a decorated text (incorporating lettering, writing, pattern and intricate design work), while alongside would be a second worked in fabric and thread as a means her other interest in working in textiles.

She actually studied Calligraphy specifically for the project, having found a teacher who welcomed left-handers (as one myself, I can attest to how tricky this adjustment can be). She was clearly an excellent pupil as the written panels are extraordinarily accomplished and do not look like the work of a beginner. The textile panels are a subjective interpretation of the same episodes, abstract and using a personal symbolism. Originally envisaged to last perhaps five years, the project took over one - she started in January 2006. Eventually Bath Abbey and Wells Cathedral were approached regarding exhibitions, and responded positively, with the suggestion the panels were displayed as diptychs. Jennifer Skellet purchased them for Bath Abbey and here they are for the moment (until 26th September 2008), though may go travelling on exhibition elsewhere in the future.

A comprehensive book of the project is available, while more information about the exhibition is
here and images can be seen here.

These works are stunning but, and I feel churlish for saying this, I'm not convinced that displaying them as diptychs really works. To me, the different styles of work, symbolism, colours and pattern, fight each other, to the particular detriment of the textile panels, but to the disadvantage of both. These creations ARE masterful, however and, in my opinion, well worth a visit.

Peacock kantha

2008-07-26T09:56:00.007Z

I guess a couple of years ago or so, I participated in a round robin quilting project with an on-line textile art group, and found some wonderfully harmonious fabrics amid my material stash. The starting point for this kantha'd cloth was some of the left-overs from this project, which were too delicious to discard.

The finished piece is very roughly 18" square. The pieces include dupion silk, Liberty lawn in one of their iconic peacock feather prints, calico (US muslin) and
some patchwork prints. I searched hard for toning threads, and came up trumps with an assortment purchased via the Magic Armchair from my friend Dale in Australia. I pieced the fabrics, backed by two layers of buttermuslin(US cheesecloth?) and bound the edges with calico/US muslin. Then I started the kantha dance, using the stitch to blur the lines of the seams and to emphasize some areas of pattern and colour.

The stitching was a delight, like an act of meditation, intuitive, relaxing, centring. My father was very ill during his final illness as I worked this, and in working it I found a place of peace.

The back is also rather pleasing, showing the stitching without the distraction of the pieced and patterned fabrics.

Returning to this piece in the heat and humidity of summer, I realise I would like to work more in this way. It feeds the soul and creative spirit, is lovely to work and would make a great summer-weight bedspread, were I to choose to work that large.

This stitched cloth makes me smile.

Rusty stitches

2008-07-22T16:45:00.001Z

Stitching with rusty threads on rusty cloth.

Rusty Hands

2008-07-22T16:06:00.000Z

The rust play continues. I've obtained some henna stencils, which are wonderful to use because they have slightly adhesive qualities. Yesterday I used reactive iron paint on the fabrics I previously dyed with ferrous sulphate, including the overdyed indigo cotton and this morning I applied rust activator.

The results are somewhat camera-shy, but effective, and I'm very pleased with these experiments.

More rusting

2008-07-02T14:41:00.002Z

I've been playing with the ferrous sulphate again. I've been dyeing an assortment of threads, cotton velvet, scrim and turban cotton.

I've also been experimenting with some of the fabrics I dyed last week, but pictures of those will come later.

I've been trying to find a good contrast to these rusty orange shades, and it'a interesting to see how poorly these hand-dyed fabrics, coloured with natural dyes, go with their commercial cousins. However,
Magie Relph sells plain cotton which is indigo dyed, so I invested in a metre of this and it goes really well. I think the colours are too subtle to capture with my photography in terms of what goes and what doesn't but I might try a photo shoot on a non-raining day to see if I can demonstrate what I mean regarding natural hand-dyed vs commercially printed fabrics. Meanwhile, the cloths are busy oxidising on the line prior to a dip in soda solution, and they can do this in the rain as well as the dry.

My son is intrigued by these fabrics. His comment was that they look dirty, used and worn. I told him that was intentional, which has given him food for thought. He can sort of see the point of this. I'll be curious to see what he thinks of what I make with them, in due course.

Ferrous Sulphate Dyeing

2008-06-20T11:06:00.002Z

Yesterday, the urge to dye came upon me. This, in part, was due to the arrival of my order from ArtVanGo. Among the goodies was a bag of ferrous sulphate, looking for all the world like mouldy salt. The sun was shining, the wind was blowing. There was no time like the present, so I went for it.

Instructions come with the chemical, which can also be found here. I'd also seen a variation on the blog of Purple Missus. I did a sort of hybrid method by adding the strong tea brew to the caustic soda solution. I found this knocked back the bright colour created by the iron rust, creating a muddier greying the longer the fabric was exposed. My first reaction was that this had spoiled the effect, but now the cloth is dry and pressed, I think the effect is of extreme ageing which certainly has its place in my palette. I dyed another length of calico with no tea/tannin added and this was much brighter by the time it dried - it's the fabric at the top of the picture. As in indigo dyeing, what you fish out of the pot is not what you eventually get.....

So here's some cloth to add to my collection, and I'll have to think about what I'm going to do with this technique to move it on. It would be interesting to try some rust transfer dyeing over this base cloth to create greater variation, and to consider tie dye techniques and using the tea to create pattern on the surface by dipping, dribbling or shibori methods. Meanwhile, I have these pieces to play with.

Melting with Maggie

2008-06-17T12:06:00.003Z

I was lucky enought to get a place on a 2 day workshop (Hot Fix) with Maggie Grey on 13th and 14th June in Bournemouth. She has posted some lovely photos of students' work on her blog.

Here are some rather fuzzy pix of works in progress which I started during this very enjoyable workshop, learning all sorts of new techniques, as well as revisiting a few golden oldies.

It will be interesting to see how they progress now, and how quickly that will happen! I've sent off for supplies so I can take them forward. For example, the thread laid on the piece above belonged to another student, Sue H, (funnily enough, both we Sues are owners of Lily sewing machines, which is what Susan means). I took a photo for reference but it hasn't really shown up very well. Unfortunately, Sue H couldn't recall the thread's origin, so I've ordered some dyed threads from Stef Francis and some ready-to-dye ones from Texere for some do-it-yourself space dyeing. I hope that couching the threads and perhaps some beads will integrate the elements so that it looks less like a box of prettily wrapped chocolate truffles and more something richly organic.

This one needs some stitching, couching and beading, to emphasize and enhance the floral feature. I probably have what's needed to do that.

This piece will include stitching and beading, too. Integration and enhancement will be the idea behind this.

Not quite sure where I'll go with this crunchy rose, but there's no hurry - I've plenty to be getting on with!

Many of the techniques we used in the workshop are covered in Maggie's excellent new, hot-off-the-press book, Image to Stitch , also available from all good bookshops.

Fame at Last!

2008-06-06T15:53:00.003Z

Recently, I volunteered to test knit some yak yarn for Kerrie of Hipknits, a good piece of occupational therapy for one laid up by a virus, following medical advice to rest. This is a new line and I really enjoyed knitting this light and lovely yarn.

Today it, and my photos, are featured here. Haven't told Anna she's a web-model yet - isn't the scarf a good match with her top?!

I'd happily use yak yarn again. It sounds as if it should be coarse and hairy, but I can assure you that it's anything but. It is very snuggly for its weight and very drapey, too.

Silk on Saturday

2008-05-17T14:31:00.001Z

Last Satuday, Sarah and I had fun at the Avon Guild of Spinners, Weavers and Dyers, where our Chairman, Joan Bowie,taught us how to make vessels from silk fibre. The rather odd "flowers" above are our vessels, drying on garden sticks in the sunshine. It's always fun to play, and an interesting technique that deserves to be returned to in the future.

Not a Bag

2008-05-15T11:14:00.003Z

This is my entry to Poetry in Stitches 2, run by the National Needlework Archive.

It's my textile interpretation of a wonderful poem by Daphne Schiller entitled "Doormat" which she has kindly given me permission to post in my blogs:

Doormat

I am a doormat,
I'm brown and homespun
But my welcome's worn off.
I'm tired of taking it all lying down,
I bristle when I'm beaten.
Deep in the fibres of my being
I dream of becoming a thick-piled rug,
Fluffy and frivolous
On which seductions take place.
I'm going to let my hair down
So just watch your step.

Daphne Schiller.

It's made using a combination of techniques and materials, from canvaswork to using the embellisher machine, hooking and progging (rugmaking techniques) and some straight embroidery and fabric painting.

Materials include hessian, threads of linen, wool and cotton, merino rovings and wensleydale fleece.

After judging next month, it may go on exhibition:venues to be announced. Wish me luck!

Variation on a theme

2008-05-14T18:24:00.001Z

No prizes for guessing that it's another bag! A variation on the BQL January bag, this time for a swap on the Yahoo Group, Unlimited Textiles. This one is going to Annie Bodelier in the Netherlands.

The pouch on the right above is the bag (left in the picture) folded up into its own pocket, so it takes minimal space in one's handbag or car glovebox and is ready at a moment's notice to take shopping and prevent the need for a plastic carrier bag.

The month's theme was Nature and this bag seemed appropriate to the theme, as it can potentially help the environment. I made it from stashed calico (muslin to my American readers) which I embellished with a floral design inspired by the clematis flowering in my garden, using fabric paint with a little embroidery. I so hope Annie likes it and finds it useful.

I also have Nature as a theme for a 5" quiltie and then I need to make a box inspired by "fantasy" and my May bag for BQL. I'm very behind with these projects due to the recurrent viruses that have come my way.

At Last! Stitching Again

2008-05-02T21:30:00.001Z

Here is another bag I have made for the British Quilters' List 2008 Bag Challenge. I've had this wonderfully bright cotton patterned with multi-coloured cats for well over a decade. When I was planning this bag, I had in mind two different black denims, but this fabric had other ideas and insisted its time had come to be used. Another stash fabric proved a surprisingly good partner for it, and the result was utterly opposite to what I had originally envisaged.

The bag is again designed by Kandy Newton and it was interesting but easy to make using her excellent and clear instructions. My bags are getting plenty of use and I can see this one will be no exception

A Bag for March (BQL): Stripy Shopper

2008-03-06T12:27:00.000Z

Made from Kaufman's Potpourri Collection of fabrics plus a tan swirl print (Charms from Benartex) for contrast and completed with plenty of time to spare, this month!

More of the Finished Objects

2008-03-06T12:20:00.000Z

Crazy Passion and A Heart to Wear on My Sleeve

2008-03-04T19:32:00.000Z

Poppy Bag

2008-03-03T13:06:00.000Z

My BQL Challenge February Bag

2008-02-29T23:43:00.000Z

Finished with 40 minutes of February remaining - a narrow shave! Featuring bobbin work quilting with Madeira Burmilana and appliqued additional poppies. Definitely not a shy, retiring bag.

The Mechanics of Machining

2008-02-27T23:45:00.006Z

I was having a bit of a surf around Blogland and came across this amazing graphic by Material Mama, which shows how a sewing machine works to combine bobbin and needle thread. I think it's brilliant as well as strangely compulsive viewing: well worth a look. Some clever folk have managed to embed the graphic into their own blogs but I can't work out how, so I've linked it instead.

Nutmeg aka MaterialMama also links to this, which is more techy but less hypnotic. I believe these images will fascinate my family, who are used to sharing their home with sewing machines, accompanying accessories and essential stashes but also appreciate the hows as well as the whys.

In My Heart

2008-02-27T15:03:00.000Z

Passions of mine: stitching, texture, colour, beading, glitz, textile.....

Hooking up with a Star

2008-01-08T10:18:00.000Z

This is a hooky star: a prototype project for the village primary school. Working to the theme, "Christmas Unwrapped", the children were making decorations with recycled materials. Plastic bags cut into strips were to be prodded with blunt pencils into hessian. This one uses recycled mailing bags, as I had a small accumulation of them at home. An outline was dran onto the hessian, which was then filled with hooky/proddy. The edges were then cut back to a seam allowance whcih was folded and glued to the wrong side.

A Complementary Quiltie

2008-01-05T16:05:00.000Z

A 5" quiltlet was made for another swap on Unlimited Textiles. I made use of a complimentary colour scheme: the orange really makes the turquoise sing. It is quite heavily stitched, kantha style, which I find meditative and calming in the execution, and of course embellished with beads as well.

A bird for Christmas

2008-01-05T15:55:00.000Z

Not for the oven, but for the tree! I made two of these: one for a swap with the Unlimited Textiles group, and the other for my friend Veronika, who went home to the Czeck Republic for Christmas.

I had a lot of fun making these and, time permitting, it would be fun to make a whole flock to settle on the Christmas tree, with different markings and colours of plumage.

Stitching the Blues

2008-01-05T15:29:00.000Z

I belong to a Yahoo group called Unlimited Textiles. These items were made to swap in November 2008 for the theme of "Feeling Blue", which, as you may have guessed, is well within my comfort zone. I worked one piece of strip-pieced and machine embellished cloth for both swap categories, a 5" quiltlet and two bookmarks. As the fabric was quite heavily embroidered, I decided to work simple tie quilting for the quilt. The book marks were backed in pelmet vilene which I had painted in fabric paints and heat set.

I used these projects to try out a new-to-me Madeira machine thread, Glamour, for which specific machine needles are sold. There was considerable variation between shades in their tendency to shred and snap despite using the correct needle and it was quite frustrating. The gold shade worked best for me on this occasion. I must play with them again to see if I can get them to behave better

Busy Times

2007-06-07T11:46:00.000Z

I've just put up my second exhibition in as many months, so it has been a busy time.
This one is at the Octagon Gallery in Castle School, Thornbury, South Glos., with Thread Carefully, my Textile Art Group. After a long morning's effort, it looks pretty good and surprisingly cohesive for five artists who work independently and very differently.

The pictures below are some of the pieces I showed last month at Gallery 370 in Cleeve, and some of them are now exhibited in Thornbury.

The three above are from a series entitled "Snapshots of the Sea", where different techniques are used to capture the restless and relentless movement of the waves, and the changing colours which can be seen. I have manipulated, dyed and distressed fabrics and then used mixed media to enhance the effect in the top two. The bottom one is worked in wools using the hooky rug-making technique on recycled hessian.

This piece below is called "Dark Materials". It is appliquéd, embroidered and embellished in mixed media.

The two above are from the series: "Ancient Fragments". They combine embroidery and mixed media and evoke corroded metals.

This goldwork piece is called "Fields of Gold".

Stitchworks by Sue

2007-03-17T15:01:00.000Z

The piece above is made using felting techniques, with the inclusion of shot organza, and then embroidered by hand to add definition and texture. It is currently in hanging form, but I am considering mounting and framing it.

An embroidery showing my influence by gothic architecture, worked in reverse applique and machine embroidery, and mounted on canvas for hanging.

The design inspiration for this stumpwork embroidery is the Sanctuary Knocker at Durham Cathedral.

Seascape in rag-rugging

2007-03-17T14:44:00.000Z

This seascape is worked in the proddy, or hooky, method of rag rugging on hessian, using a number of recycled fabrics including t-shirting and woollen blanket which was previously ddyed using acid dyes. I find the sea fascinating (sea-faring is in my family tree) and a never-ending source of inspiration.

Crazy Patchwork Pincushions

2007-03-17T14:38:00.000Z

Some crazy patchwork pincushions I made for a swap with an internet group. I enjoy these techniques and ought to use them again before long. They are a great way of using tiny scraps of precious fabrics. I have a friend who is a professional dressmaker and soft furnisher, and she sent some lovely bridesmaid dress scraps my way. These contributed to a large extent to these two pincushions.

I like using a monochromatic colour scheme sometimes, with a small dash of he complementary colour to add zing: in this case the shades of purple contrasted with a golden yellow. I have used a mixture of machine embroidery, using automatic stitches programmed into my Husqvarna Lily, and a bit of hand embroidery because I love the rhythm of manual embroidery.

A few beads add sparkle to the mix of colours and textures. They are like little textile gems, precious and unique.

Rust dyeing

2007-03-17T14:36:00.000Z

This piece of cotton cloth was soaked in white vinegar, then folded and wrapped around a rusty pole and left for a day or so before refolding and wrapping, replacing the whole bundle in a knotted plastic bag to retain the moisture. This was done over the space of about one week in warm UK summer weather.

The whys and wherefores

2007-03-17T14:19:00.000Z

I am very aware that my Magic Armchair Traveller Blog has very little about the textile art and embroidery that I purport to practice, and so I decided to make a dedicated space for it, in the hope that it will be both a showroom and a workspace for this area of creativity.