Set the Fibres Burning

A different sort of patchwork

2012-01-20T09:51:00.000Z

As a bit of a diversion from needle crafts I've been making some stained glass panels to go over the doors on our landing. I learned how to do stained glass many years ago but I haven't done any for ages - there's a limit to the amount you can have in any house! When we moved into this house the glass had been removed from the door lights and they were boarded up. We removed the boards about two years ago and have been living with the empty frames ever since. I've made three of the four panels and Alan is going to try his hand and make the fourth.

Happy Christmas

2011-12-22T09:24:00.002Z

Wishing you all a very happy Christmas. I hope you find time to relax and do some stitching.

Summer Sketchbook Project

2011-08-23T17:17:00.001+01:00

I didn’t get very far with the sketchbook project because I didn’t have time to do both this and my diploma work. I’ve got a couple of things to show which are similar to what people have been doing. As part of my garden theme I took a photo of a red hot poker flower and machine stitched round the edges of the petals and stalk. I painted the stitched photo with ink and printed an image. I also tried rubbing the stitching but I think my paper was too thick for it to be effective.

The images below were created by covering paper with chalk pastel and then covering the pastel with wax crayon. A piece of paper was laid over this and the picture was drawn with a biro. The result is that the wax crayon gets lifted off on the reverse of the top piece of paper and on the bottom piece the pastel is exposed.

Summer Sketchbook Project

2011-08-02T17:49:00.000+01:00

I haven't had time to do any of the sketchbook project recently but I've been following progress. I was interested to see the mention of scratching out in Sian's Day 18 post. I've got an old sketchbook that belonged to a great, great aunt. It was given to her by her bother on April 8th 1882. Some of the pictures in the book show the scratching method used to create wave effects. This picture is of Morecombe Bay (I'm not sure what happened to the horizon!)

This is a detail

Summer Sketchbook Project - Day 8

2011-07-24T17:33:00.000+01:00

I used a J cloth which I folded. Because the fabric isn't very drapey the stripes were fairly straight. I used a water colour pencil. This is what the drawing looked like before smudging with water....

... and this is what it is like after applying the water.

I wasn't too sure exactly where to smudge the lines and I think I may have gone too far with it. Doing this helped me to understand the point of the previous exercise.

Summer Sketchbook Project - Day 7 - Part 2

2011-07-23T17:21:00.000+01:00

I think this is a bit better than my first attempt but it looks more like a bobble hat than a shell.

Summer Sketchbook Project - Day 7

2011-07-23T12:45:00.000+01:00

I think I need to say that this is a drawing of a shell. I'm not sure you would be able to tell otherwise! I found this really difficult to do and I know that I haven't captured the curves of the shell correctly. And I don't think the pattern is right either. I think I'll have another go later on and maybe try using another angle.

Summer Sketchbook Project - More Day 6

2011-07-22T20:26:00.000+01:00

My sketchbook doesn't have a spiral binding and it is bound on the short edge making the open page long and narrow. So I made my own binding by stitching two pages on the long side with string. I used charcoal.

I think my practice drawing was better, which is usually the way when there's no pressure to perform.

Summer Sketchbook Project

2011-07-20T20:38:00.000+01:00

Day 6

I think I've lost a day somewhere! This is my study of tone and shadow. I did what Sian said not to do and started with my apple which is dark in colour. It was also the evening so I thought I would need to use a light. I found it almost impossible to see any differences in tone.

I then grabbed the nearest white object - a paint palette. I turned it upside down. This was better but I still had trouble seeing the tone.

I came back into the room about half an hour later when it was quite gloomy. The tones on the palette really showed up in this light. The light is from the back to the right of the palette.

I think I need to practice this a bit more but I think I've got more of an understanding than I had before.

Summer Sketchbook Project

2011-07-19T16:11:00.002+01:00

Day 2
My first subject was an apple rescued from the bin. It had been thrown away with one bite taken out of it because it was going bad. My first sketch was done using a black biro. I love using biros to draw with, probably because it's what I use when I doodle in boring meetings at work.

I turned the apple on its side and drew it using a graphite pencil.

Day 3

You probably can't tell what these are. The cylindrical object is a stub of wax crayon and the roundish shapes are drawings of a pebble seen at different angles. I used a wax crayon for these.

Day 4

I went back to my apple (it looks pretty disgusting now!) I looked through gardening magazines trying to find an article about apples with no luck. I then thought about doing "apple of my eye" and looked for pictures of eyes for a background. The headline "Why can't you resist?" jumped out at me since it reminded me of Adam and Eve. I also remembered seeing an article on the Eden project in one of the gardening magazines and so I put them together with my partly eaten apple. I thought I would use a wax crayon followed by a wash to take the "resist" theme further. The page I used had a textured backgound which made it difficult to use the crayon - it kept breaking. And the strip of paper from the magazine resisted all attempts to use the crayon. So it's not the most brilliant drawing of an apple

Back from Urchfont - part 2

2011-07-10T12:12:00.000+01:00

I spent yesterday afternoon finishing off the piece I started in the workshop. Here it is.

I'm quite pleased with the result but I have to give credit to Mary and Sian who both gave me valuable advice on how to balance the pieces.

Back from Urchfont

2011-07-08T18:28:00.003+01:00

Yet another wonderful summer school at Urchfont. I loved the workshop with Mary Sleigh. I knew nothing about Africa or African textiles before the workshop but now I have an awareness of Africa and I appreciate the beauty of the textiles. It was lovely to meet up with old friends and meet new ones. And of course there was the famous Urchfont meals and I came home stuffed with food. *

Daniela came to stay with me for a night before getting her plane home. It was very brave of her since we are in the process of renovating the kitchen and the house is very dusty and chaotic. Most rooms (except the kitchen) had kitchen equipment packed into boxes or spread over the floor. She must have thought she was in a madhouse on Thursday morning with the arrival of the carpenter and electrician and then the unexpected appearance of the window cleaners who work in a team of three.

* DEC East Africa Appeal

Chicken

2011-04-19T09:37:00.000+01:00

I've got myself a Julie Filmer original! I fell in love with one of the chickens on her blog. The one I saw had already been sold so Julie very kindly made another one for me. The chicken is so sweet!

You can find more of Julie's work at The Peacock Emporium

Diploma Theme

2011-04-13T13:01:00.000+01:00

For the Diploma I'm going to study my garden. The theme title is "My Garden, Nature's Sleight of Hand." The title comes from a haiku written by my Dad.

Midsummer magic:
Transformations overnight,
Nature’s sleight of hand.

The idea is to look at how things change in the garden. I've got my sketchbook at the ready and the next step is to decide exactly where to start - there's so much going on there at the moment that I can hardly keep up!

2011-03-22T10:00:00.000Z

I spent Sunday doing a printing workshop with the lovely Julie Roberts at her studio in Bristol. We covered press printing, mono printing and collographs. I really enjoyed myself and came home with lots of prints. Here are a few.

Wall hanging finished

2011-03-18T07:43:00.001Z

I've finished my wall hanging for module 6. It has turned out rather differently to how it was originally envisaged. Here are some pictures and a video which shows all the dangly bits.

I've enrolled for the diploma and I'm trying to decide on my theme.

2011-02-01T13:20:00.002Z

Last night we went to a concert at Bristol's Colston Hall. This is a lovely venue and it has recently had a beautiful new foyer built. We were in plenty of time for the concert so I was able to have a close look at some work by textile artist Michael Brennand Wood which covers one wall in the bar. The work isn't a textile piece but rather it is a network of metal discs which have had badges of rock and pop stars embedded in them. The overall effect is stunning.

These aren't my photos - they are links to other web sites.

By the way, the concert was excellent too!

2010-12-29T11:08:00.012Z

I was very lucky and received some lovely gifts this year. I love getting new books and these were among the highlights. First up, "Creative Machine Embroidery" by Linda Miller.

This is full of helpful tips for machine embroidery and it also has examples of Linda Miller's own work - I love her birds! (Thanks Alan)

Next, I got "Celtic, Viking and Anglo-Saxon Embroidery" by Jan Messant.

This is a really sumptuous book and I'm looking forward to reading and looking at it in more detail. (Thanks Jan)

Then there's "Plants and Places" by Angie Lewin.

This isn't an embroidery book but it is stuffed full of beautiful wood cuts. (Thanks Mum)

Finally, I received a book on modular knitting.

I like knitting but I'm finding that the finished results don't always look as good as on the pattern, so I'm going to try a new approach to knitting in 2011. (Thanks Anne)

One of the best presents I got wasn't a book or in any way related to stitching - the complete boxed set of Father Ted DVDs.

Brilliant! Father Ted never fails to get me laughing. (Thanks Alan)

Happy Christmas

2010-12-23T15:32:00.004Z

Happy Christmas everyone!

2010-11-21T11:28:00.007Z

I've been working on the middle layer of my wallhanging. I've put tucks in the space between the embroidered borders.

Then I've stuffed the tucks with red fabric.

I then slashed the tucks and added some stitching.

I've also been working on the top layer. The background fabric was covered with fabric pieces and then topped with some plain fabric.

I then stitched the circles design.

The inside of the circles was cut back and folded over the stitching to expose the bottom layer.

The fabric was stitched down.

Then the fabric round the circles was cut away to reveal the rest of the background fabric.

This embroidery business is exhausting...I think I need a nap! This sewing box looks comfy.....

....as does this wallhanging!

2010-11-02T11:34:00.007Z

I've been working on my wall hanging based on a conversation theme. I've decided to go for a theme which is very close to home and I've based it on the pond which we made in our garden this year. The idea is that the pond adds to the environment by providing a home to all sorts of pond life and by attracting birds and insects into the garden.

The design is very simple and is based on the words "above, on, below".

I'm going to make it in three layers. I've chosen to make it in a very bright, zingy green with yellow and reds which represent vibrancy and life. This is a complete change from the colours used in my previous samples so I've been busy dyeing loads of fabric.

This the backgound fabric for the "above" layer. There's a lot more to do on this layer but I can't start until I've finished one of the other layers; I'm going to use some of the waste fabric from the reverse applique.

This is the "on" layer so far. This is embroidered scrim. It's going to be stitched to some fabric which will hopefully show through the gaps in the stitching.

And this is the background fabric for the "below" layer. Again, there's a lot more work to do on this.

And finally, this is Jack with his skinny friend taking an interest in embroidery.

2010-08-23T05:57:00.002+01:00

I'm a bit footsore at the moment after a weekend of exhibitions. On Saturday I went to the Festival of Quilts at the NEC. It doesn't seem to be as good as it used to be but I did manage to part with my money and came away with lots of goodies. On Sunday we went to Bath to see the Face to Face exhibition. There was lots of impressive work to see. One of my favourites was the work by Jan Mortimer - I love her pieces based on jugs and tea sets.

Since summer school I've been battling with machine embroidery and the machine nearly won! The sighing and bad language that has been coming from my work room has to be heard to be believed. It all began when I was doing some machine embroidery samples and I decided to do a sample in whip stitch. I’ve never had any problems with this in the past so I set the machine up and started stitching. What, no loops on the surface! I tried everything but I just couldn’t get any surface loops. After what seemed like hours of frustrated trying I went back to my favoutite book on the subject, 'Machine Embroidery Stitch Techniques' by Valerie Campbell-Harding and Pamela Watts. This is a great book which takes you through each stitch in a reassuring way, giving detailed guidance on how to set the machine up. I followed the instructions to the letter and voila, perfect whip stitch. All this for titchy little samples like this!

Of course the next time I used the machine I reset it for normal straight stitch and all it would do was perfect whip stitch!

Another day, another sample. I had stitched some cable stitch lines to soluble fabric with relatively few problems. The idea was then to cover the cable with zig-zag stitch leaving some of the cable stitching clear. However, every time I tried to stitch the top thread broke. I tried re-threading the machine, changing the bobbin, changing the tension, changing the top thread and banging my head against the table all to no avail. I was in a really bad mood by this time so I had a look at the trouble shooting section of the above mentioned book and one of the tips was to make sure the fabric was taut enough in the hoop. I made some adjustments and it all started working and I was happy again. This didn’t last long. I moved on to a different section of the piece, I didn’t touch any of the machine settings and when I came to start stitching, the bobbin thread wouldn’t pick up. So it was back to rethreading the machine, tightening the hoop etc etc but still no joy. So as a last resort I tried changing the needle and miracle, it all started working again. The trouble with machine embroidery is there are so many variables: top tension, bobbin tension, threads, needle and fabric that you have to become a detective if any one of these changes. And all the books advise that you try and relax when you sew!

2010-07-10T05:55:00.002+01:00

I had a wonderful time at Summer School at Urchfont and I really enjoyed the workshop with Ruth Issett. It was great to meet up with the Distant Stitchers again - what a lovely bunch of people we are!

Here's a pictue of my finished piece, nestling in the rhubarb at Urchfont.

2010-05-25T19:18:00.002+01:00

I've had a bit of a dyeing session. I love the part where you wash the fabric and see the results.

The threads are supposed to be space dyed but the blue ones are very subtle!

2010-05-02T17:18:00.003+01:00

I've finally finished my machine stitched samples. I enjoy doing this sort of thing but it doesn't half take a long time winding bobbins and changing threads.... and unpicking the bits that get mangled.

We visited a garden centre where there was a pile of wooden sleepers. I was delighted with the sight of the ends and had to take a picture. Inspiration for a quit or embroidery I think!

2010-03-29T06:04:00.000+01:00

I've just finished Chapter 2 of Module 6 and have just started on Chapter 3. I've dusted down my sewing machine and done the first sample which is producing textual effects using straight stitch. The patterns are based on pictures of water and sky.

2010-02-14T17:15:00.000Z

These are a couple of the designs I've been working on this weekend. The one below is finished.

But this one needs a bit more development.

I managed to wrestle the cat off my weaving and finished it. It's made from wool, sari silk, plastic bags, braid and fabric.

2010-02-13T11:58:00.000Z

We did some weaving at my evening class this week. This is what my weaving looked like after the class.

Julie very kindly let me take the frame home but I'm having trouble finishing it because Jack has decided it makes a good hammock!

2010-02-07T15:33:00.000Z

After quite a long break because of upheavals in the house and Christmas, I've started looking at module 6 again. This weekend I've been cutting and gluing decorated papers to make some designs based on sea and sky.

I've also been doing another very enjoyable evening class of Textile Crafts with Julie Roberts. Last week we did some felting. This is the piece I made which I've started to embellish with running stitch.

Julie also showed us how to make felt balls, one of which I've decorated with stitches.

Happy Christmas

2009-12-23T05:37:00.000Z

Happy Christmas to all the Distant Stitchers. I hope that those who have to travel in these difficult conditions get there safely. Keep warm and I hope you get the chance to do some stitching!

2009-12-18T18:36:00.000Z

I really enjoyed going to my evening class and I'm sorry that it has now finished. I'll be doing another one in January with the same tutor called "Paper and Textile Crafts"

This is the bag I made at the class. The colours are a bit washed out in the photo.

Needle Felting for Cats

2009-11-29T12:52:00.000Z

We got our cat a new elasticated, woven collar and in a matter of weeks he has put his claws to work and has created a masterpiece that any Distant Stitcher would be proud of!

Evening Class

2009-11-08T14:48:00.000Z

I started an evening class called "Upcycling Fabrics" at a local school last week. Here's a link to the tutor's website. She's also done a video which will be of interest to those making paper in Module 5.

Gruesome Toothsome

2009-11-02T08:48:00.000Z

A bit belated, but here's a photo for Halloween.

Our poor cat had to have all but two of his teeth extracted last month and he's now got a bit of a Draculian look about him! Scary!

Not a lot of stitching!

2009-10-07T06:09:00.000+01:00

I haven't made any progress with Module 6 in the past month as other things have got in the way. Firstly, we had a weeks holiday in Jersey. I like to travel light and my suitcase was too small to include any stitching! However, whilst I was there I kept on the look out for sources of inspiration.

Then, when we got back we had an upheaval with the start of major work on the bathroom. Lots of bathroom stuff made its way into the room where I work and everything got covered with a layer of dust after a wall was demolished. The work is almost finished now and I'm looking forward to getting back to normal. So, after I've cleaned my room I should be ready to start work again.

Getting Around

2009-09-01T16:28:00.000+01:00

A couple of weekends ago I had a trip to the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham. As usual there were lots of stunning textiles to see and lots of tempting stalls. Unusually for me I didn’t come home with a new book!

I was on a work related training course in London last week followed by a weekend away so I’ve not made any progress with the C&G course work. I’ll have to try and get back into the swing of things this week.

Chapter 2 - More Crayoning

2009-08-17T06:22:00.000+01:00

Chapter 2 is about designing and the first thing I had to do was produce some papers using the methods learnt in Chapter 1. I haven't had time to do any actual designing yet.

Chapter 1 - Finished....

2009-08-09T21:58:00.000+01:00

....well almost! This week was mostly about creating relief surfaces. I've just got to paint a couple of samples and then Chapter 1 will be finished.

We went to Slimbridge today. I got some nice pictures of ripples courtesy of the waders!

I'm thinking of using Slimbridge as the conservation theme for the wall hanging I have to make for Module 6.

Chapter 1 Continues

2009-08-04T05:40:00.000+01:00

I'm still working my way through Module 6, Chapter 1. It involves a lot of crayoning, drawing and rubbing which I'm enjoying doing.

This is crayon washed with blue ink. When the ink was dry I drew lines with bleach.

This is sgrafitto - two layers of crayon with a design scratched into the top layer. You can get some great effects with this.

Soggy Sunday

2009-07-28T05:25:00.000+01:00

We went to Clevedon on Sunday so that I could take some photos of the sea for module 6. It was pouring with rain but I managed to get some good shots.

We walked down the beautiful pier and had coffee and cakes in the tiny cafe. We then visited an art exhibition in the pier Toll House where several local artists were exhibiting.

I started some of the drawings for module 6, chapter 1. These are drawings based on patterns in water and clouds.

I can't resist showing this photo of our cat. One of his favourite sleeping places is on the back cushion of the sofa. Because the cushion is filled with feathers, it slowly collapses into a V shape and Jack ends up in some strange positions!

Head in the Clouds

2009-07-20T05:48:00.000+01:00

Having finished the resolved sample for Module 5, I spent last week updating my Module 5 blog. Here'a picture of the completed tactile contrasts sample.

I really enjoyed doing this exercise and the samples were useful to look at when thinking about texture on the resolved sample. I've also been looking for pictures of water and sky for Module 6. I didn't get chance to get out and take photos of my own but I came across a couple of great sites on the internet. National Geographic has some fantastic pictures of the environment and believe it or not there's a Cloud Appreciation Society which has a web site crammed with photos of every type of cloud you can think of. I must admit I haven't been appreciating the blanket of thick grey cloud we've been under all weekend!

Happy Days at Urchfont

2009-07-12T16:52:00.000+01:00

I had another brilliant time at the summer school at Urchfont. Thanks to Sian, Janet and all the other students for making it so enjoyable. I loved what we did with Janet Edmonds and I'm definitely going to try out some more "slices" (how often have I said that!)


Paper prototype	An arty shot from above!	The fabric version isn't quite as long as the prototype!

I couldn't wait to disolve the solufleece from the sample we did with Sian. I was a bit nervous in case it all fell apart but it turned out OK - a bit ragged around the edges perhaps. It was based on a picture by Spencer Gore.

The one downside about summer school is the unpacking afterwards. This is what my room looked like when I got back.

I've spent most of the weekend sorting out all my stuff and I can see the surface of my work table for the first time in weeks!

Textile Contrasts

2009-04-04T17:59:00.000+01:00

The object of this exercise is to produce two samples based on paper designs. The idea is that the paper design is interpreted in two ways to produce a contrast in the feel of the textile. The first sample looks a bit bridal because of the netting that I used. It involves tucks, pipe cleaners and knotted string. The second, soft sample, is made from muslin, with tucks stuffed with fluffy yarn and then gathered.

New cat on the block

2009-02-28T11:46:00.000Z

These are some of my texture samples for Module 5. Despite my best intentions progress on Module 5 has been halted by a new addition to the household. Jack the cat is obviously very keen on embroidery. He grabs my samples for closer examination and insists on sitting on my knee when I'm trying to sew. After being confined to the house for a few weeks he's now allowed out and I can sew undisturbed!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-02T17:15:00.000Z

I got a new computer this week which will inspire me to update my blog more frequently - the old computer wouldn't stay connected to the internet for more than a few minutes and so it was a pain to use.

I've been busy working on Module 5 and I've made quite good progress. I've had this week off work and I've been able to spend quite a bit of time working on my samples. One advantage of this module is that it is all cream or white fabric which keeps me from reaching for the chocolate!

It's finished!

2008-10-22T12:44:00.000+01:00

Although I haven't updated my blog for a while, I haven't been idle. I've finally finished my panel for Module 4. Hurray!

The idea was inspired by a tunnel book that I made - I liked the 3-D effect created by looking the apperture. The panel is based on the sorting frames used by postmen/women with a general theme of stamps and postmarks.
A large portion of the panel is made from tissue paper which has been given the momigami treatment as taught by Cas Holmes at Summer School this year. There's also embroidery covered with paper pulp and shaped frames dipped in paper pulp and dyed.

It was quite hard to get a good photo of it because it hangs up in a window.

Part of the panel

2008-08-01T15:16:00.001+01:00

The week got off to a bad start when someone crashed into the back of my car. The car came off a lot worse than me and it is now receiving intensive care at the accident repair centre. It meant that I had to have an unexpected day off work to sort everything out which gave me the chance to spend a few hours working on my Module 4 panel. However, it doesn’t seem to be any nearer completion. I’ve been busy wrapping frames ready for dipping into paper pulp and trying to sort out some technical difficulties with the construction of the panel. This has involved a lot of trial and error – mainly error judging by the overflowing waste paper basket!

At the weekend I’m planning to:

Dip the frames in the paper pulp

Do something wonderful with white paint and kebab sticks
Make some more frames.

So if all goes to plan I’ll have some photos to show for my efforts by the end of the weekend.

Burning in Bilston

2008-07-21T05:43:00.000+01:00

"Set the Fibres Burning" is a line from a Steve Harley song and last week I had the great pleasure of hearing the man himself sing it in concert. What a fantastic concert it was too - he and his band certainly got those fibres well and truly sizzling! Just as well really since the week got off to a bit of a damp start on the embroidery front - I need some paper pulp for my panel so I had to make up a new batch. I've also made and wrapped a few frames ready for dipping in the pulp and prepared a withdrawn thread grid ready for stitching.

Inspired

2008-07-14T12:41:00.000+01:00

Attending the summer school always gives me a kick start and I managed to grab a few hours at the weekend to explore some of the ideas I got from the tutorial with Sian. My newly decorated room which I had resolved to keep neat, tidy and ordered is now hidden under a blizard of bent wire, kebab sticks and handmade paper. Every sample I ever did for module 4 seems to have found its way out of the boxes and I can no longer see the table and most of the floor. I can't even put a picture of the chaos on the blog because the camera is submerged somewhere in the mess!

Urchfont 2008

2008-07-10T06:26:00.000+01:00

I had a great time at the summer school at Urchfont. It was lovely to see everyone again and to meet some new people. As usual I pigged out on the delicious meals and I was disappointed to find that there wasn't a three course dinner waiting for me when I got home.

I loved what we did with Cas Holmes. I didn't get chance to do much stitching on my work so I finished it off last night.

This is the arrangement before it was pasted down.

And this is after the paste had dried.

I put some tucks in it which is why it appears to have shrunk and changed shape. I also drew round a leaf and embroidered it from the back.

It was great fun doing the friendship banner. Here are a couple of photos of it hanging over the staircase at Urchfont.

Last time I went to the duck pond at Urchfont I got soaked to the skin so it was with some trepidation that I ventured out. I'm pleased to report that it stayed fine and the ducks appeared gto be grateful for the bread!

Moving in

2008-03-26T08:12:00.000Z

My Module 4 work is in here somewhere!

2008-03-10T05:37:00.000Z

This week I've been experimenting with textured edges. I've only used calico and felt so far and I've concentrated on fraying and knotting and combinations of the two. The calico makes a lovely frayed edge but the felt has to be snipped to created a fringe. The felt is 100% polyester so I tried pressing it with a hot iron between sheets of baking paper to see what would happen. Nothing dramatic but it became stiff and shiny.
I'm not sure whether I'm going to get much done in the near future because we are moving house next week. The first box has appeared in the flat and I'm sure it won't be long before I'll have to start filling some more!

2008-02-24T17:00:00.000Z

I went to see the Bristol Embroiderers Guild exhibition yesterday. I like exhibitions like this because of the variety of the work on show.

Today I've cracked on with the exercises in paper texture for Module 5. The idea is to interpret the source material in paper. These are my interpretations of tree bark:

Textures in Paper

2008-02-18T06:16:00.000Z

The picture on the left show my experiments using paper to create texture. The picture on the right is paper which has been gathered using a loose machine stitch and then pressed onto glue. I was a bit apprehensive about machine stitching tissue paper and had visions of a frusrating session with lots of torn paper. However, it took the stitching very well and I was pleased with the results.

Getting Stuck In

2008-02-11T05:46:00.000Z

The first exercise in Module 5 is to experiment with creating texture with different types of paper. It involved a lot of glue. Why is it that everything you don't want to stick seems to be magnetically attracted to a glued surface yet the things that you want to stick just fall off when you hold the page up?

When I packed up my house I put aside a lot of white threads in anticipation for this module. I think I must have packed them by mistake because I can't find them anywhere. So I made a quick trip to Hobbycraft on Saturday morning to pick up some supplies. They've got an offer on at the moment - spend £20 and get a free £5 voucher. That was too good to pass up!

Getting Started

2008-02-04T07:52:00.000Z

I started Module 5 last week but I haven't got anything to show for it yet. I read through the work book, sent some photos off to be developed, bought some black paper and ordered some fabric from Ebay. There seems a lot to do!

A Change of Plan

2008-01-30T19:43:00.000Z

I've been busy recently with a house move which is why I haven't posted for ages. It's a complicated move and most of my possessions are now in storage until we can move into the new house. We haven't got much room at the moment and I can't do anything messy so all my Module 4 work has had to be packed up. In the meantime I'm going to make a start on Module 5. The theme is landscape and I think I will probably use something to do with trees as my source material. These are some pictures I took last year at Westonbirt Arboretum:

Thinking

2007-10-08T07:38:00.000+01:00

I didn't do very much last week beause I had sent my work off to Sian and I was waiting for her comments before starting work on my panel. I got her comments back on Friday and and she has given me LOTS to think about! I think my brain is going to explode!

More Paper

2007-09-24T05:19:00.000+01:00

I pressed bubblewrap into the paper on the left. I also wanted a sample that gave the impression of corrugated cardboard and the white sample in the middle was done by pressing pens into the pulp. The dyed pieces are grids dipped in pulp. The left hand sample is the front and the right hand sample is the back. These are experiments for my panel.

More progress...

2007-09-18T05:34:00.000+01:00

I did some more work on my idea for a panel.

The sample on the left was created by accident. It's paper with embedded string fibres. I put two pieces too close together and they got emeshed with each other. The samples in the picture on the right are wrapped frames dipped in pulp. I'm going to add some embroidery to them.

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

2007-09-10T09:07:00.000+01:00

What a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon – listening to CDs whilst doing my embroidery. And to round it off nicely, a Mars bar choc ice!

Last week's work

2007-09-03T05:57:00.000+01:00

The hardest part of writing this blog is trying to think of a title!

I made two lots of paper pulp at the weekend. Anyone who has made paper will know how boring it is ripping up paper into small pieces.

I also made some paper samples which are experiments for the panel I've got to make. The photo shows one of these drying off. The idea was to use the embroidery as a resist so that the impression in the paper pulp was undyed. It didn't quite work out as planned. It looked better with the emboidery embedded in the paper so I'm going to try that this week.

Borders

2007-08-28T05:35:00.000+01:00

I've mainly been trying out borders for handmade paper.

Top left: I had lots of threads which have been withdrawn from dyed scrim. I punched holes in the paper and tied the threads on. I then wove more withdrawn threads round the edge of the paper. The ends were tied off to stop it all falling apart. This sample was inspired by the wovn pattern in envelopes.
Top right: I tore stamps (very cheap on Ebay) in half on the diagonal and stuck them on strips of paper to give a pointy edge. I folded the paper in half and placed then over the edge of the paper. The strips were then stitched in place using running stitch.
Bottom left: I also made some more paper to try out ideas for the panel I have to make.
Bottom right: This sample was inspired by corrugated cardboard. Firstly I stitched a line of blanket stitch round the edge of the paper. Then, in between each stitch I made a couple of vertical stitches in red wool. These stitches were wrapped in blue perle thread.

Lots of looking but not much doing!

2007-08-20T05:50:00.000+01:00

I love seeing other people's work and so I really enjoyed myself this weekend with a trip to the Festival of Quilts on Saturday. There were a huge number of quilts on display covering the whole range from traditional to contemporary, amateur to professional. Then to round off the weekend I went to the exhibition of the finalists of the Henry Foyle Prize at the Needle Museum in Redditch. The best bit of this exhibition is that you are free to look through the workbooks of the artists to see how they developed their ideas.

I did a bit more work on the tunnel book I started making last week from hand made paper. This is a picture of the view through the book.

For the back I used a sample I made a couple of week ago (top left) This is another view where the back of the book is more in focus.

Tunnel Books

2007-08-13T05:40:00.000+01:00

I've been looking at various book formats and I thought I would have a go at doing a tunnel book. It isn't exactly a tunnel though! I bought four copies of the same postcard and cut out sections from 3 of the cards. The problem with this picture is that the piece of sculpture in the foreground is quite large and blocks the view a bit.

It does look suprisingly effective when viewed from the front. It's really difficult to capture the 3-D effect on a photograph.
I then decided to have a go at making a tunnel book using handmade paper. It's based on postmarks and stamps. This is what I've done so far:
Left: Threads were wrapped around a frame. A border of pulp and some pulp "stamps" were pressed on to the threads. Dye powder was sprinkled onto the damp paper pulp.
Right: Threads were wrapped around a frame and stitched in a wavy pattern. The threads were covered in paper pulp, leaving a hole in the centre.

Trip to Slimbridge

2007-08-06T05:39:00.000+01:00

We went to Slimbridge yesterday to see the "Flight" exhibition. It's always interesting to see how people interpret a theme in different ways. As usual we couldn't resist the coffee and cakes in the cafe! A walk down to the hides was rewarded by sightings of a spoonbill, marsh harrier and a kingfisher. And for once it didn't rain!

Here's what I achieved last week:

Top left: Handmade paper where a piece of embroidery was pressed into the pulp. The embroidery is next to it on the right. It didn't have to be beautiful - I just wanted something chunky to make an impression.

Bottom left: I finished the sample I started last week. I used the threads withdrawn from the embroidered piece above to embellish it.

Bottom middle: Machine embroidery on paper. My machine doesn't like the paper. I gave up after breaking 3 needles.

Bottom right: A sample of script "written" on the computer, printed and then embedded in paper pulp.

Right: This is a development of a sample I did last week. The idea was to make 3 pages joined together by threads. It worked quite well but the border could have done with strengthening with thread or fabric.

Pulp Fiction

2007-07-30T05:39:00.000+01:00

This is what I did last week - minus 1 sample that I put away in a safe place and now can't find and one that ended up in the bin because it went horribly wrong!

Top left: Reverse applique using handmade paper. Stitching is the "wrong side" of back stitch. There is a layer of organza between the paper sheets. This has been cut and frayed.
Top right: Unfinished sample using insertion stitches to join handmade paper.
Bottom left: Squares of paper pulp laid over dyed string. Impressed with cocktail sticks to form letters or characters. The dye from the string has seeped through the paper.
Bottom right: Grid made by withdrawing threads from fabric and machine stitching remaining threads. Paper pulp was pressed on to it. Dye powder was sprinkled on the pulp whilst still wet.

It was a lovely sunny day on Saturday so the paper pulp samples went out into the garden to dry. On Sunday we went for a walk along the river Avon. It was low tide and I took some photos of the mud as a possible design source for Module 5.

Excuses, Excuses

2007-07-25T13:12:00.000+01:00

I expect the weather to prevent me from getting home at the weekends in December - but not in July! I'm really glad that I decided not to brave the M5 on Friday since I would probably have been stranded in the floods. However, it meant that I wasn't able to do any paper pulp samples or machine embroidery on paper as I had intended.

I've also been away on a trip to Paris to celebrate my birthday. I was given the book "Inspired to Stitch" by Diana Springall so it wasn't a completely embroidery-free week!

Paper samples

2007-07-16T05:38:00.000+01:00

This is what I did at the weekend. I managed to do two samples using paper pulp on grids and fabric. I used an existing sample from a previous chapter and added a pulp border to it. The other pulp sample was a stitched grid laid on top of a sheet of pulp with pulp strips on top. It all looked very unpromising whilst it was wet but the pulp does seem to stick to the fabric. I had been putting off doing this for ages because working with paper pulp is very messy, but I quite enjoyed myself. It was far more interesting than making individual sheets of paper.

I also practised stitching into handmade paper. The paper was mounted onto muslin and stitched. I'm going to photograph all these individually at some point but here's a group photo.

This week I'm hoping to add some stitched borders and try machine stitching onto handmade paper.

Kantha and a plan

2007-07-08T16:39:00.000+01:00

I haven't done much C&G work this weekend but I've finished the kantha which I started at the summer school. It has been stitched on a fine red wool blanket which was lovely to work with.

I've also been trying to keep the mood of the summer school with me by reading "Stitch Dissolve Distort" by Valerie Campbell-Harding and Maggie Grey. I'm definitely going to try out some of the ideas in the book.

I also read through my Module 4 course book and worked out what I can do and when. At least I've got a plan now!

Group Effort

2007-07-07T20:07:00.000+01:00

Here's a picture of the Summer School group effort. It reminds me of Kandinsky!

Wish I was there!

2007-07-05T22:06:00.000+01:00

I had a wonderful time at Urchfont and it was great to see everyone. I think Summer School should be renamed to "Summer Retreat" or "Stitch Retreat" since it was so good to get away and concentrate on embroidery. Work and the Bristol rush hour came as a bit of a shock today!

I've taken the plunge and started this blog in the hope that it will inspire me to keep going with C&G. I intend to post something at least once a week - so if I don't then please feel free to give me a prod!