If You Are My Sister, Look Away From The Blog!

Everybody else, you can look, but don't tell anybody, especially my sister!!!  Yes, Frank and Kate, that means you too!  I sat last night and finished a lap quilt for my sister Jane.  She loves autumnal colours, hence the leaf motif.  At the time she said she wanted a quilt from me, she had a cat, hence the small cartoon block of cats, and the similar binding.  Each fabric has its own quilting pattern, mainly leaves; the gold borders need quilting, but that'll be done today, just with some abstract squiggles, methinks...  I forgot about them when I added the binding, and thought I would be as well to finish that before finishing the quilting.  I may live to regret that... but it's too late to worry about it now.  Even mitred my corners...

I very rarely make useful quilts, and I'm wondering why, to be honest, I thoroughly enjoyed making this one, and the two cat lap quilts I made for my son and daughter in law as birthday presents (there will be photos when they come back from honeymoon).  Meanwhile... see what you think of Jane's quilt.

Felting...

is becoming something of an obsession.  This is a shawl collar, made from Nuno felt, with stitch round the edges of the collar, to give it some definition.  I'm quite pleased with the way it turned out.  I'm not sure that it looks great on my chair, there, but on a person, it looks great.  I'm now trying to decide how to fasten it.. perhaps frogging, perhaps a loop and fascinating button... perhaps a vintage brooch. I'd love to know what you think.

As well as the coaching I do, I work as a volunteer mentor for people who are starting small businesses.  I met a new mentee today, and as always, it inspired me to do more coaching.  It is not a part of my work that has ever really caught on, though I have had some success working with people who are in some way stuck at some part of their creative journey.  I'm working on a new workbook, intended to help people find their own symbolic visual language, which I'm finding quite interesting.  Actually, it's more of a work bag, as you get a journal as well as the book in E-book form, and some other bits and pieces.  I hope it'll be fun to do. 

I've intended for some time to start a creativity blog; even made one here on Blogger.  I've held back from working on it for some reason, and my recent experience with Spunbond Sensations! is making it even more doubtful.  I had hoped that people would participate in Spunbond Sensations, as I can't answer questions I'm not asked...it's a bit like talking to yourself.  Perhaps it is just the blog structure... you can comment, but you can't blog on someone elses' blog, unless they allow you to.  I'm aiming for a cross between a blog and an email list; so far, it much more blog than conversation...  Perhaps if I started a list to support it? 

Scrap Bag Blues

...or greens, browns and yellows, not to mention the occasional red.  I'm struggling with depression, and the best thing I've found for that is to take bits and pieces of fabric that might not get used for anything else, and turn them into something meaningful.  The theme was spring... but as I pieced, I found myself thinking more and more of the Highlands.  Maybe it's because a friend from the Strath found me on Facebook, and connected... or maybe it's the colours, all of which I've seen in the hills.  I think these wee blocks are snapshots, Highland snapshots.  Though there's no deep green for the forests, there is the odd strong yellow for the oil seed rape, which doesn't come out up there til May, though here in Norfolk it has been blooming for a couple of weeks already, a very early start.

What to do with them?  If the depression continues, I'm likely to add to the pile.  As it is, I'm wondering about making little quiltlets out of them, and hanging them together.  Or I could sash them in deep brown, and make a small quilt. Or stitch them all together and put a couple of borders round them, dark green and brown, probably.  Decisions, decisions.  Thankfully, I don't have to make them all at once.

I've Started (Stitching)...

so I might as well continue.  This is a lino cut, stitched with more of Dale's lovely variegated threads.  When I made the original print, I looked at it and thought, There's too much white space in that, it'll never hold together coherently.  And yet, it does.  I used two similar threads; the darker version to delineate the flower heads, the paler version to explore the surrounding areas.  I think it works.

I think it's an object lesson in trying things out.  Those prints have been around for ages, but because I felt disheartened, I didn't bother trying to make them work.  I'm actually really pleased with this piece, and actively want to get on with stitching some more!

Stitching Up A Storm...

...or, more precisely, a lap quilt top and some quilting on small pieces.  I'm having a shoulder break ( I don't know why I sew with my shoulders, but I do...), and showing you one of the small pieces.  This is one of the 'Cracking Up' images that I took a couple of years ago, intending a series.  This one, an image of a very old brick wall, has been manipulated and printed out on Evolon.  I'm really grateful to Dale Rollerson ,who, some time ago, sent me a load of her variegated threads to try; I'm using them here, and they are lovely...great colour combinations, gloriously subtle.  They definitely did the job here ( I used Barrier Reef and Cradle Mountain on this piece, and they worked beautifully).  The only other thread I've used on this piece is a dark Madeira metallic, to emphasise the crack in the wall, and some dark madeira rayon in the bobbin.  I don't think it looks quite so much like a wall now; more like an inner landscape.  The colours may be gentle, but the stitch is spiky and sharp; I'll leave it to you to decide what that means in terms of mood.  I've tried to vary it quite a bit... see the close up, below.  It gives you a good view of the thread, too...isn't it yummy?

It feels good to be stitching again after a long time away from it.  Partly, the impetus is from Spunbond Sensations!, and partly from the need for work for an exhibition in the summer.  Either way, I'm happy to be back to work. 

Silk...

...is just so lovely to work with.  This is a piece of Habotai, about 13" by 36", which I made many years ago.  I came across it when tidying up the cloth studios, and it seems to be holding its own very nicely.  It is made from layers of fabric screen printing inks, acrylic paints and mediums, with feathers and leaves working as both resists and printing blocks.  I like it a lot...it has the sheen of silk about it.  I have to say, it looks better in the flesh, as it were.  At the time, I couldn't think how to stitch it.  Now, I think it needs some hand stitch... another one to add to the pile.

I had forgotten this particular piece; it comes from a time when I did a lot of screen printing.  I was using up some inks that I'd made some screen prints with, and serendipitously produced this painted/hand printed piece.   Like everyone else, I'm guilty of stockpiling techniques, and then abandoning them for new ones, despite having written a book that talks about NOT doing that!  I think you teach what you most need to learn...  I do have some screens in the workshop, but haven't used them in a long time...maybe now is the time.  I had also forgotten how much I enjoy surface design work; would like to do more of that, too.  I spent a chunk of today ironing colour onto Evolon and Lutradur, ready to stitch.  I would be stitching, but Robin is in bed recovering from a really nasty fluey cold, and my sewing machine is right above his head.  So instead, I'm remembering all the different bits and pieces that I have ready for stitch, and contemplating going upstairs again, to cut batting.  After all, he can't spend the whole weekend in bed...there's football on Saturday!  Or maybe it's time that silk piece met a needle...

I'm also hoping to take possession of A New Toy on Saturday...more of that when I get it in my sticky paws!  Have a wonderful Easter, or Pesach, depending in what, if anything, you celebrate at this time of y ear.

One Of Those Days...

where nothing goes right. I started stitching an interesting photograph, but couldn't settle to it.  Then, I started something else..that didn't work, either.  Finally, I picked up an innocuous monoprint of a leaf on Lutradur XL...and this is what it ended up as.  Happy?  No.  

I wanted texture... the good news?  I got it.  But it's unbalanced.  The yellow is too yellow, and the stitching outside the central motif isn't strong enough to balance it.  What it really needs, is a fine yellow cord.  Now fortunately, my friend Clare makes great cord... so with a bit of luck, she'll have some bright yellow threads to make some with...  in the meantime, I'll just have to brood.

Sometimes, when I'm depressed, as I seem to be today (it's been a two bar of chocolate sort of a day...I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions...), work is Just The Thing to get me out of it.  Today, though, it hasn't been.  As a rule of thumb, if I get more and more frustrated with what I'm doing, instead of getting sucked into the Zone, then the best thing to do is to go for a walk, or, in this case, go have a cup of coffee with a friend...preferably one who makes cord!

Machine Embroidery...

...or embroidery by machine?  I spent a large chunk of yesterday, and a lot of thread, stitching these, which will be made into bags or flowers or....whatever... It's pretty monotonous work, and I was reminded of a conversation I had with a friend, last week.  She said that she had bought an embroidery machine, with module, and had never really used it, because she realised that she didn't like setting up the machine to do something, and then walking away from it.  I had said, at the time, that I thought these machines were great if you wanted to make a large number of identical things, like embroidered sweatshirts, but otherwise, I really didn't get the point. Halfway through the stitching on the larger piece, though... I wasn't so sure.  Wouldn't it be better to programme a machine to stitch in circles, and just leave it to get on with it...?

Well, no.  Partly because the 'circles' I'm stitching here aren't really circles.  They vary in size and shape, and most of them wouldn't pass muster as a proper circle...  Many of them overlap.  It's what gives the fabric its charm.  And partly because I wouldn't hear the prompts the motor was giving me... that bit is thicker, so we're struggling a bit... and that meant, to me, that I needed more stitch in that area, to be sure that I had secured the bits and pieces underneath the cloth.  But mostly because if I left it to a machine, it would have no soul.  Throughout this stitching process, I'm constantly paying attention, making decisions, caring for the cloth, doing what it needs.  Machines don't have soul.  But the combination of machine plus maker produces magic. 

Amazing What You Can Do...

... but you have to try.  Just thinking about it, won't do it, though a certain amount of thinking time is definitely desirable.  On Thursday, I wrote a post about the beginnings of a fascinator; you can read it here.  On Friday, I did what I said I would, and put more stitch onto the petals.  Today, though, I assembled what I think will be the final shape, though it's difficult to tell.  The photograph above is undeniably abysmal, but is the best I can do at the moment, partly because the fascinator doesn't have a base yet, so has to be held up, and partly because Robin is in bed with manflu (again...), and isn't around to take the photograph. 

The close up, above, is a bit better, and gives you an idea of what the additional stitch on the petals looks like.  I'm fairly happy with this piece, though I want to add some more of those beige feathers round the edges.  And then, it will just need to be added to its base.  I love doing this kind of thing, it's frivolous and fun... and will be a big part of Myrtle and Rose's output, to boot.

Collaboration...

is a wonderful thing.  How do you like this wee clutch bag?  I made the fancy fabric, my friend and collaborator Clare Hedgeshttp://www.traditionalpassementerie.co.uk/ made the bag (that's her, in her best cycling gear, modelling the bag).  Collaboration means that we do the bits we like best, and are good at.  We each play to our strengths...and that can only be good.  And the rule of synergy says that 1+1=3; in other words, our combined strengths are more, together, than they are as individual makers.  More of that lovely development I was talking about yesterday...http://artmixter.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/glitz-and-glamour.html.  And given that there are three of us in this equation, with Jill Arnold also in the mix, I wonder what 1+1+1 equals... six, I think... Hmmm...

Of course, synergy applies in all sorts of situations.  Online, I'm hoping that synergy will work in a BIG way for my new blog, Spunbond Sensations!  I planned the blog as a being interactive; so 1+1+lots.... must equal Even More....  Please do have a look, and don't be afraid to contribute.  I'm looking for questions for Wondering Wednesday, and for images for Photo Friday.... please do get in touch.  And of course, if you're looking for a clutch bag, you know where to come!

Glitz and Glamour...

are much underrated, as I'm discovering as I learn to work with feathers, furbelows and frills...  This is a prototype silk paper and feather flower for a fascinator.  I love its exuberance.  I'm also grateful for having done a few floristry classes; there is a lot of similarities between hat making and floristry, when it comes down to it. and learning how to wire things properly has been a real bonus.  Now, I have to put this lot to one side, and contemplate it for a while... where will I add the beads (for there will be beads...)?  Are the colours appropriate?  Does the silk paper require more stitch (yes, probably).  Is the construction method right (no, not yet, but I know what to do about it).

Am I having fun?  Hell, yes!  And developing skills in one area, means that you automatically improve in all the others...competence is like a net; improve your handling of one type of material, and the whole of the net will shift, improving your handling of others, too...  And it encourages you to be open to  new things.  Go on, you know you want to try something new... what's stopping you?

Sample Stitching

I've been a bit of a tart when it comes to thread, mixing and matching to suit myself.  A bit like a child in a sweetshop, I've bought a bit of this lovely lemon, a bit of that tantalising turquoise... ignoring the brand, except where I've had problems; one problem means no more thread from that manufacturer.  It isn't very forgiving, perhaps, but I don't want the hassle of complaining, too much time and effort.  I'd rather buy from manufacturers who won't give me problems.  But there's been so much fanfare about Aurifil over the last wee while, that I thought I ought to try it when I saw it for sale on Sunday at Chilford.  There wasn't a huge selection, as we were at show end, rather than show beginning, so none of my beloved variegated threads, but I did buy three spools...the three spools in the picture above, to be precise...  I couldn't resist the purple, and the other two seemed interesting, so that was that.  It was only when I got them home that I realised they don't really go with anything I'm working on at the moment...right colours, wrong shades.  An object lesson in thread buying, really. 

So I looked out a piece of very vintage linen which I had dyed, and started trying out the threads on that.  I had bought the heaviest of the threads available; I'm not a traditional quilter by any means (actually, I'm not a quilter at all, except in that I have a tendency to work in layers...more of that in another post, maybe).  I draw with my threads, and I like them to contrast well with what's on the cloth, and to be distinctive.  The thicker the better, really.  And here's what I made of them. 

Really, all I wanted to do was a bit of mark making, but as I made some circles to start with, echoing the circles on the cloth, I found myself looking at a cairn.  I was really impressed by the thread; no problems whatsoever with machine embroidery, even where things started getting denser.  In fact, there are four layers of stitch on the cairn area, as I tried to make up for only having three colours.  I wanted a shadow effect, but the purple by itself was too strong, so layers of the other colours were added to break it up.  It's not the best piece I've ever made in my life (it'll probably end up in the bin...), but it really did serve its purpose.  Now, of course, all that remains is to get more Aurifil...  watch this space.  I think it'll be ideal for the stitched photographs, just the right weight.

Bertha Gets Busy...

...with a bit of help from me.  I'm starting to work towards an exhibition called 'Blossoming'; it's no surprise, then, that I'm making flower images.  This one is being printed out on canvas on Big Bertha, my Epson 7880.  At 24 inches, this is the widest I can print to, with no limit to the length.  This means that I can work reasonably big, but also generate a lot of small images simultaneously.  The ink is eye wateringly expensive, and as you can see, there are ten cartridges to replace...fortunately, they don't all run out at the same time.  I'm contemplating offering a printing service for textile artists; please email me if you are in the UK/Europe and might be interested, so that I can see if there is any demand. 

Up until now, Bertha has lived at the Gallery in Dereham; now, though, she lives at home with me.  It's good to be able to work when I feel like it, though she does take up rather a lot of room.  I think it's worth it, though.  Not being limited to A4 is great.  Every home should have one!

Buttons...

are wonderful things, so I thought I would show you some more of my collection.  These are chocolate brown Art Deco glass buttons (or that is what they were sold as...they certainly have an Art Deco look about them).  One of them is slightly chipped, but the rest are fine.  I love the way they curve and catch the light.  Delicious.  Almost tempting me to use them...but not quite. They are the only coloured glass in my collection, and were the most expensive.  The collection, such as it is, is still in its infancy, and I've been lucky enough to find inexpensive examples.  It's not about the money, though... you won't find me on Antiques Roadshow any time soon!

And thanks to Lizzie for recommending a book on buttons; I immediately ordered it, and it came yesterday.  Looking forward to learning more about buttons in general, and some of mine in particular. 

Health and Safety...

is everybody's favourite whipping boy.  Extensive European legislation has meant lots of work for lots of people.  I'm here to say, though, that you can't legislate against stupidity.  I stuck my arm in a Burco boiler and got it scalded for my trouble.  What was I thinking???  Not a lot, clearly.  I've been working a lot with boiling water, over the past week or so.  I've been acid dyeing and felting, both of which mean really hot water.  We forget how dangerous that is...until we have to stand in  front of the sink for an hour, repeatedly soaking one's arm in cold water.

I haven't had many injuries relating to textiles; however, the one rule I never break is wearing a mask when working with dry dye powder.  After working with dyes for three or so months, I was diagnosed with asthma.  I was using Dylon dyes, and it doesn't say to wear a mask.  I think it should.

Meanwhile, I have a basin full of  cold water next to my chair, which I can dip my arm in if and when it hurts.  Which at the moment is every five minutes or so... wish it would go away...  And was it worth it?  Won't know til I rinse out, wash and dry the cloth.  Let's hope so.  Meanwhile, off to Google scalds...

Living Vintage...

...that's me, apparently.  I went to a vintage fair today with a couple of friends.  Held in a large church hall, it looked for all the world like the worlds' most expensive jumble sale.  There was the occasional gem...like a Frank Usher top, far too small for me but incredibly beautiful; if Robin had a Proper Job, I would have bought it...would love to collect beautiful clothes... sigh.  Mostly, though, it was stuff that was masquerading as vintage like a Primark top which could only have been a year or two old.  It does, however, make you realise that you are getting older... particularly when you recognise the clothes you used to wear, never mind those of your mother or your grandmother.  Etsy defines vintage as anything older than 20 years, which covers a multitude of sins. 

Vintage is really fashionable; everybody does it.  I find myself looking to earlier times for inspiration for Myrtle and Rose, things that are gentle, feminine, flattering, flowing.  I'm still not convinced by the vogue for using vintage imagery in art, though.  It has become ubiquitous, a whole Somerset Studio type style, using rubber stamps and copyright free imagery.  It started, I think, at least in part, because people were worried about copyright issues, and felt it was much better to take images from the past, that were out of copyright, rather than risk being pursued for breach of copyright from living artists.  It's a pity, I think, that people use this type of image instead of being inspired by their own work.  I think it shows a vast lack of confidence in our own abilities.

I guess I'm musing about this because I'm doing something I said I never would (yes, again...); using vintage inspirations.  But they are exactly that.  I'm not copying vintage clothes or hats or bags, just looking back at a gentler, less complicated time and making work that is mine, but with a different feel to it.  Not sure if I'm making any sense, here, but I dare say that's not unusual.  I'm happy to use vintage fabrics when I can find them; they dye better than contemporary fabrics, and are often of better quality.  In addition, they have a feeling of story behind them.  Interesting to repurpose them, to give them the amount of usage they were made for, albeit in a different way to what was originally intended. 

If I ever work out what my relationship to/with vintage is, I'll let you know.  Meanwhile, I'd love to hear what you think about this phenomenon... will it run and run?  I chatted to one of the stall holders, a woman around my own age (most of the stall holders were in their twenties, interestingly enough, which perhaps explains why so much of what was on offer did not seem to be vintage at all...).  She said that it is becoming increasingly difficult to find vintage clothing and jewellery, and it is becoming increasingly expensive, because it has become so fashionable.  But, she said, it won't go on for ever.  When it stops, prices will drop and things will flood back onto the market.    I'm tempted to think that it is one fashion that won't go away; the market for nostalgia is unlimited.  What do you think?

Dyeing...

is one of my favourite occupations.  I have only to do it to wonder why I do anything else, if truth be told.  Up until recently, I stuck to Procions, but working with Evolon, which has nylon in it, made me experiment with acid dyes.  The thought of steaming or simmering on a stove top just didn't appeal.  Err...it does now.  The wool tops here have been dyed using acid dyes in a pot on a heat plate in my studio.  My friend Moira, who lives next door, had bought some undyed tops at a car boot sale (it never happens to me...).  She wanted to learn how to dye them, and kindly swapped me some wool for some silk tops, which we also dyed.  I'm in a purple phase, as is she, but we both liked the looks of the scarlet when we made it up, hence the bright red wool.  The other clump of wool is really a lilac colour, though it reads in this photograph as grey.  Either way, I like it a lot.   I'm looking forward to felting with these tops, and the other, darker tops I dyed later this afternoon. 

I've never really liked working with flat colour, and most of the pre dyed tops you buy are exactly that, flat colour.  These have a certain amount of variety (mostly because of the total lack of stirring, as heat and agitation and water equals felt, not dyed tops...).  I also dyed some silk cloth; the image below is of some silk organza, dyed lilac/pink/turquoise using Procion, this time, and some darker lilac/turquoise/green cloth, which needed more turquoise in it for me, so I overdyed it.  You can possibly see that the darker cloth is a much heavier silk satin, with a wonderful sheen.

Silk will allow itself to be dyed using either type of dye, and you can, of course, use a procion like an acid dye, with vinegar instead of soda ash.  Those in favour of using acid dyes say that the colour is superior.  I'm not sure that that is the case, but I dyed some cloth in an acid bath today, and liked the results. 
It's wonderful, being able to try things out, take a risk or two, learn something different.  It's what I love about art making.  There are no limits.

Button Up....

I mentioned that I am starting to collect old glass buttons.  Here is a selection of the buttons I have found so far, along with a dead fly that somehow got caught in among them; didn't notice until I'd uploaded the photograph...

I did buy these with the intention of using them, but I find them so lovely that I just can't bring myself to do it.  I love the variations in shape, pattern and design.  They really are delicious!  I don't know enough about them yet to be able to tell you anything about them.. but I'm planning to do some serious learning.  I've never really collected anything before, but once the work situation has been resolved, I intend to go Buy A Book.  Meanwhile, a click on the image should enlarge it, so you can have a closer look.

ps No, I don't collect fabric.  I like fabric, I use fabric, but no matter how much I like it, it either gets used, sold, or given away.   Ditto with contemporary buttons...unless I find some interesting glass ones, of course...

Fascinated By Feathers.

They are just so incredibly beautiful.  The colours, the sheen, the variations, the texture and that incredible softness.  These are natural colours, no dyeing involved here, though some dyed feathers are really interesting.  Because we are working on making accessories with hand dyed cloth, I thought I might like to dye feathers, too.  It looks really very simple, a combination of acid dyes and alcohol, as feathers may not be boiled, too delicate.  I'm wondering if that combination would work on cloth and fibres, too...much less steam in the studio... 

These particular feathers are ideal for fascinators, and I'm designing one around them right now.  The dark areas in this photo read as dark brown or black; they are, in fact, a beautiful green.  Subtly beautiful; Mother Nature really knows what she's about, doesn't she?

The Economics of Dyeing.

In a recent post, I asked you for feedback about pricing hand dyes.  Louise said, "I think you're wrong to try to compete pricewise with commercial fabrics. You should instead educate ppl about the individual nature of hand dyed fabrics and quality of fabrics you use so you can get a decent return on your investment in materials, time and expertise. Otherwise you might as wrap them up with a bow (because you're giving them away and not honouring your own work). Just my opinion."

Thanks, Louise. You are absolutely right, in many ways.  However, it does depend what you think the cost of commercial fabric actually is.  Dyers in the UK are working at a disadvantage compared to dyers in the US; our raw materials cost us significantly more here.  Mind you, commercial fabric for quilting, much of it imported from the US, can cost up to £15 a metre; that's $23.50 at time of writing.  E-Quilter puts the price of a yard of Hoffman Batik at $11.50, less than half.  A typical quilt shop price for a similar batik (I checked) would be £13 or just over $20 per metre.  There's a statement to make your eyes water.... 

Most quilt shops in the UK offer Fat Quarters at about £3.  That's the price I also charge for my simple low immersion dyed cloth, like this piece here.

 I'm not disrespecting my work; I'm setting the price at what the market will stand.  I'm about to make a sweeping statement here, and I'd love to be corrected, but I believe that the average UK quilter doesn't value hand dyes above commercial cloth.  Explaining that it's unique, unrepeatable, complex, takes a lot of time and effort to do, just doesn't seem to cut the mustard.  People here buy on price.  Which is why I don't think I'm likely to sell much cloth that requires more than one process, no matter how lovely I think it is.  I've put a couple of Fat Quarters up on Etsy of double dyed fabric, like the piece at the top of the post.  I'm charging £4, just to see if anyone will buy.  I should probably be charging upwards of £5, but I doubt if anyone would pay that in the UK (or anywhere, come to that)

Despite rises in the price of cloth, I've not been able to raise my prices since I started doing this.  I have, of course, got much better at it, and therefore faster, so my time costs are probably lower.  Actually typing this, I'm beginning to wonder why I bother, to be truthful.  I have no intention of stopping; I just think that I'll stop trying to sell it, and dye for specific projects.  That may sound defeatist, but at the end of the day, I have to make what sells.  If it doesn't sell, I can't buy more fabric or dye, and on it goes.  In a recession, it becomes harder and harder to make money as an artist or craftsperson.  I love being able to inspire people; I would love it even more if someone bought some of the inspirational fabric or work from time to time....

I'd love to hear what you think about this topic.  What is it about hand dyes that makes them difficult to sell?  If you want to see more detail shots of the fabric at the top of the post, you can see them here

Buttons..And More Buttons...

I went into a charity shop recently, and asked if they had a button box.  Err...yes, sort of, they said, we've got a button bag.  It was donated last week.  Err...do you know what kind of button you are looking for... they said, humphing this bag up onto the counter.

I grinned... and asked how much for the lot.  £3, they said.  Money well spent, I thought.

I love buttons, and have begun to collect antique glass ones.  The collection is tiny at present, but I'm working on it!  Not a glass button in sight in this little lot, just lots of them!  So I've been gradually sorting them out, and had spent a couple of evenings doing so, until I realised that a. the boxes I was using were just too small and b. artificial light makes it really difficult to distinguish between colours, and the black were mixed with the blue... sigh.  There are buttons with shanks, buttons with holes, buttons with neither.  There is the occasional boot button, which I suspect may be Victorian.  There are plastic buttons, wooden buttons, fabric covered buttons and even a few tortoiseshell buttons.  Lots of black, brown and white, but also some yellow, pink, blue, green and even some purple.  Some fab Sixties buttons (I think; I'll need to get Jill to have a look).  Buttons that remind me of my gran.  A lot of individual buttons, the spares from particular outfits, but often maybe as many as six of some of the nicer ones. Yummy.  Now, though, having got them all arranged by colour, I want to USE them... so all I have to do now is Think Something Up.  A bag and a hair clip of some kind, I think... mmm...

Snapping Up A Storm.

I'm taking lots of photographs at the present.  Most of them are to put onto Etsy, either in the Artmixter shop, or the new project, Myrtle and Rose.  I've been learning a lot about how to take an interesting photograph.  I've also been finding things out about the things I've been making.  I'm exploring the design of hats, fascinators, hair slides.  I've even been wearing the odd one, though I have to say, I'm not really sure that they suit me...to be honest, I think I'm just too old to wear some of them at least.  Frilly little ribbon clips just don't do it on a fifty-something... sigh.  They do, however, look fab on a twenty-something...especially one who looks as good as my friend Gemma Samson Munday, who blogs as Norfolk Homemade Mum.  Doesn't she look wonderful in these photographs?

The top fascinator is made from a felt rose, with wonderful orange feathers.  The second is made from black satin ribbon with more, slightly different orange feathers (well, if you're going to do it, you might as well wear this season's colours...) .  The last one is cute, I hope... a brown ribbon bow on a comb, with some yellow ribbon beneath it, and a yellow gingham button on the top.  Great fun!  Now to make more felt...

Not all my fascinators are this frivilous...or this colour!  I just love orange!

Spunbond Sensations Is Here!

well, more correctly, it's here.  I've thought for a while that it was time for a blog 'about' spun bonded fabrics like Lutradur, Evolon and the new Zeelon, so, given I've written books about two of the three, I thought I'd start one!   I think there are far too many people around with Lutradur in a cupboard because they don't really know where to start.  I'd like to change that.  Hence Spunbond Sensations.  I've said over there that it is a bit like an interactive book; you ask the questions, I do my best to answer them.  And I hope to have interviews with other artists who use these materials, including some of the artists featured in the Exquisite Evolon book...not that I've actually talked to them about it, yet...oops!  But I do think it'll be interesting to see what they are up to now, and how their use of Evolon has changed in the intervening period.   If you are an artist using any of the spunbonded fabrics, and would like to be interviewed for the new blog, drop me an email or leave a comment here.  I'm also looking for images to use on Photo Friday, and you don't have to be a 'name' to have your work featured here... just let me know and we'll talk.

It feels great to be back to some semblance of normality.  Depression puts a fog on your brain, which activity helps to lift (I talked about that here).  I know that it is lifting because blogging has once more become a challenge, and exciting, instead of something I felt guilty about because I couldn't bring myself to do it.  The same with Etsy; I'm about to list the quilted photograph you see above, with optimism rather than pessimism.  I hope someone will fall in love with it, and buy it, which is a big difference in attitude from, 'it's not worth it, nobody likes my work enough to buy it...'.  And so on, 

When I started the business, several years ago, I considered myself recovered from depression.  I was wrong.  I am recovering from depression...but it still limits me to a significant extent, if I'm honest.  What it doesn't do,t hough, is stop me from doing things completely.  It just makes them harder to do than it might be for most people.  That, of course, is the definition of disability.  And I believe it helps to embrace it, rather than try to either evade or outright reject it.  This is who I am, and I am proud of what I have achieved so far.  Let's see how much further I can go...

ps if you are reading this in a month's time or more, and want to visit the Spunbond blog, make sure you read the introduction to the blog; it'll help you understand what's going on!

Getting Technical, or The Art Of Dyeing.

I said I would revisit some of the dyeing terms I used yesterday.  If you haven't tried dyeing before, you might be thinking of the immersion style of dyeing, when you put dye into a lot of water, and then stick your fabric in, swish it around regularly and hey presto!  the fabric is another colour.  That works really well for single colours, but what if you want to have more than one colour in a cloth?  Clearly, pouring three colours into a bucket of water is going to produce...well... mud, probably.  A grey, or a brown.  You have no way of keeping the colours separate.  And of that desire, low immersion was born.  You use a lot less water, and introduce the colours carefully to the cloth, so that you get the kind of results that you saw yesterday, and in the cloth pictured above.  I'd like to say that there's a lot more to it than that, but, other than getting the chemistry right (ie, adding the soda ash at the right time), that's really all there is to it.  The dye travels around the cloth, mixing as it choses, with a little white cloth left in places where the dye hasn't quite managed to reach.

Taking low immersion cloth out of the container it has been dyed in is always thrilling.  You never really know what you have created, until it is out of there, rinsed and washed.  You do get some wonderful surprises, and the occasional shock.  The good thing, though, is that no matter how unhappy you are with a piece of cloth, you can always overdye it to create something you are happier with.  It is a very forgiving medium.

But what if you want to make patterns in your dyed cloth?  There are lots of ways of doing that, of course, but the one I mentioned yesterday is discharge dyeing.  That involves taking a piece of dyed cloth and removing dye from it, usually with bleach.  You then neutralise the bleach and admire the results.  The images here are of brown cotton sateen cloth that has been discharge dyed using bleach.  I wanted to have a really organic, natural look, so the marks are fairly random.  In the piece, the result is really impressive; however, cloth like this is always really interesting cut into strips and then reassembled. Think of the look of a traditional block using fabric like this... really unusual.

So there you are, yesterday's technical terms, explained.  Any questions?

The Only Thing Better Than A Piece Of Fabric...

...is a lot of fabric...

...and the knowledge that you have yet more fabric to play with. I just took delivery of some silk organza, to add to the silk velvet I already have.  Guess who's going to be dyeing shortly?  I spent much of the weekend cutting and ironing fat quarters, some for the gallery (the image above was taken there...the FQs are sitting on one of my bed quilts, which Judy has appropriated to cover a large chest.  It was one of the first quilts I ever made, long before I learned to dye. I sleep under it in the summer, so Judy better find something else to cover the chest by July!

I'm mulling about whether or not to start selling more complex hand dyes.  The ones you see above are low water immersion, but I have just cut up some discharge dyed fabric, which takes a bit more work than a simple low immersion piece.  I try to keep prices as low as possible; at the moment, a simple FQ costs £3, which is directly comparable with commercial fabric, and I use the best quality fabric I can find, which is usually a higher thread count than most commercial prints.  I don't know whether people will pay more for more complex fabrics, but I'm going to try them out on Etsy this week.  If you're wondering what all the fuss is about, I'll show you some of the fabric tomorrow (haven't photographed it yet!).  And I'll talk you through the technical stuff, if you are wondering what I mean by low immersion (which has nothing to do with a bucket on the floor instead of the table...).

I'd be grateful for any feedback you have about buying handdyes, and their price...

Moving Things Around...

is a good way of seeing them with fresh eyes.  This textile piece has been sitting in the conservatory, but at such a height, and with so many other things, that it was difficult to actually look at.  Now, here it is on a clear wall, and it can be seen for itself.  To good effect, I hope!  I forget what I called this piece, which is alarming.  Usually titles stick with me, but clearly I must have got the title for this one wrong.   I'm tempted to call it 'Palely Loitering', not entirely sure why; probably something to do with the abstract figure to the right of centre.  We'll  see if that one sticks.

I like this piece, partly because it has a lot of movement in it. As part of the tidying up process, I looked through a couple of large sketchbooks and found these images in one of them, along with several black and white versions.  I realised that the feeling of movement in the textile piece is mirrored by these earlier sketches.  Interestingly, though, I find myself wanting to use them in a very different way, now, as works in their own right, and I'll doubtless ruminate about that until it's clear in my head, just as I must have done, unconsciously, with the sketches.

I've been ruminating on the other blog about not getting things done; this has been moved because I'm making a space for Big Bertha, my large scale printer, in the conservatory.  Mainly, I'm doing that because I'm about to go on a dyeing and felting frenzy, and steam and damp are not good for the printer.  But it does also mean that I might actually be able to sit in the conservatory, once I've finally finished tidying it up.  It is probably my favourite room in the house, simply because of the amount of light in it.  Of course, all that glass means that it's very warm in summer and cooler than I like in winter.  At the moment, though, I'm ironing hand dyes, and the coolness is very welcome.  More of the handdyes later...

Going Away...

for a few days, to stay with my friend Terry and her menagerie (one dog, three cats, two horses and a parrot).  I'm meeting up with Mervyn from Spunart, too, to discuss a possible project surrounding spun bonded fabrics in general and lutradur and evolon in particular.  Watch this space...

Robin is, of course, holding the fort here while looking for the next job.  The cats won't be pleased, but they will, at least, get fed, watered and stroked.  He'll probably also be answering the door to the postman; I just ordered a lot of silk organza to dye, so that I can make more of these pretty little bags.  This particular one is made from a piece of hand dyed silk organa which has been felted, creating the lovely textures you can see in the photograph.  The hand made silk flowers are also made from my hand dyed organza, and it is lined in silk, also.  I'm going to be making quite a few more of these little bags with my friends Jill and Clare, for our new venture, Myrtle & Rose.

The idea behind Myrtle & Rose is to create accessories for special occasions from hand dyed fabrics, all of which are made from the same materials.  So, for a wedding, we might make one of these little bags for the flower girl, and make her a headband from the same materials, as well as shoe clips with tiny versions of the flowers.  It's always difficult to get things that match, much less are made from the same materials.  Guess how I know... I was really lucky to get my bag and fascinator from the same place, but the shoes were...challenging.

But I digress.  Actually, I'm not sure I've finished digressing... I'm having such fun making these pretty, happy little things.  It's fun.  I've been talking for ages about making happy things, and now I'm Actually Doing It, it's even better than I expected.  Just goes to show... we should stick to what we want to do, not what we think we ought to be doing.  It makes such a difference.

Learning New Skills...

takes time.  Working in three dimensions, after years of working in two, is great fun, as well as challenging.  The image shows the fruits of a couple of afternoons work...though I forgot to photograph the bag that I made from silk paper.  The rest of the time, of course, was spent tidying up.  Feathers get everywhere, unsurprisingly taking flight at the slightest breeze; so every time the door opened, whoosh!  But I am now set up to make some more silk paper, this time to make flowers with for fascinators, as well as a couple more bags, methinks. 

My favourite is the black flower, but I've always been fond of a bit of glitz... what about you, any preferences?

Brightening Up Bags...

seemed to be a good thing to do on a dark and depressing winter's day.  You know, the little cotton ones that you tuck into your handbag before you go out shopping, just in case...  I've been hand dyeing some, and they have come out really well.  I thought that I might embellish one or two, and provide the means for embellishing others in the bags themselves, and sell them as kits with full instructions.  I have something of a money focus at the moment, as Robin is still looking for work, and it's a bit scary.  I don't earn all that much (surprise, surprise...) and may have to go back to the Day Job to help with paying the bills.  Meantime, though, these little bags will go onto Etsy, with and without embellishments, along with some tshirts and other hand dyed bits and pieces. 

Meanwhile, I've started another book, a follow up to 'Finding Your Creative Focus'.  This one develops the theme of where you get your ideas from, which I talked about in the first book, and looks at creating personal imagery.  As I did with the last one, I'd like to set up an online group to work through the text; you get free tuition, I get feedback on what works...and the occasional quotation!  I'm looking for five guinea pigs...I mean, volunteers... if anyone is interested, please email me direct, thanks.

Now, hopefully, the shed will be warm enough for me to work in.  I was working with soy wax yesterday, making samples for my talk tomorrow to Kings Lynn Embroiderers' Guild, 'Waxing Lyrical'.  Hopefully, they will have dried enough for me to add the second layer of wax and colour...

Mixing It Up...

is arguably what I do best.  But even I didn't expect to make hats...or anything to do with fashion.  Though one of the few memories of my childhood I have is making 'clothes' for my sister's Cindy doll, using tissues (the only 'material' I had access to) and endlessly 'designing' clothes for badly drawn mannequins.  It's funny, the things you remember.  And of course, when Andrew was little (he'll be thirty this year, how time flies...), I made quilted waistcoats and jackets to sell, which were quite popular at the time.  Unlike my friend Sandy, though, I don't have a fashion training, so I thought no more of it.  But here I am, learning to make hats.  This is my first fascinator, nearly finished (but not quite).  I can't imagine anything more joyful to do.  On Friday, I met with my friends Jill and Clare, who are learning with me, and compared notes with them.  Jill took lots of photographs, so I'll let you see some more when I get the images.

This one is quite straightforward, really, but I'm planning to work with lutradur and evolon, silk and felt, and lots and lots of stitch, to create art to go to your head...as it were!  Watch this space!