What's behind the door??????

Well Mags has received here page now so I am revealing what's behind the door. I thought of her and her flame colours and as she is the only Welsh speaking textile artist I know I could not leave the chance to add some Welsh to it. I decided to use the phrase "Calon lan yn llawn dioni"
which is from a hymn but is a Welsh anthem sung at all our rugby games etc. It means a "clean heart is full of goodness" So I had to use red but wanted a clean feel like the quote so chose a lace in cream.


Mags tells me she likes it and was even good enough not to pick up my welsh spelling error!

Proud of myself

I hope you will all indulge me in a bit of back slapping. In my day job teaching teenagers it can be a bit of a struggle at times and I don't always feel I am getting anywhere.
However I often upload my work to a teacher website that allows people to share their work. A few weeks ago they asked me to fill in a questionnaire about my work and this week a write up of me and my work has gone up on the main home page. This is a major deal for me to be recognised for my day job and not my textiles I am feeling so proud! If you are nosy and want a look have a look here:

Teacher resource exchange

Thanks to all my blogging friends who influence my daily work with the kids, and keep me inspired and energetic. Many thanks.

Mags' page

Mags is my partner this month, and her choice of theme is doors or gates. Now as those of you who read regularly here will know I did a whole series of doors not so long ago. So I wanted to get a little away from what I did then. So I decided to use fabric instead of paper, which was different to the last lot. I decided to use up a piece of fabric I tea dyed a while ago with fruit teas and had a very pale pink-ness to it. Now I have taken a lot of inspiration from Ruth Rae, who's work is just fab and I have been reading her blog for a while now and really love what she does. So without wanting to copy her I decided to use some of her style like layers of fabric and paper, buttons and other fab little treasures trapped under things. This is how the page looked last night. Now I knew it lacked something but wasn't sure what, so today I rummaged in my paper stash for the elusive "something" else. I found a metal tray from one of Craig's fish and chips ready meals that i had been harbouring and decided to emboss that. I tried annealing it with the gas flame but it was having none of it! I also found a piece of paper from a stash trade I did years ago and decided to use that. Some buttons and paper punched pieces in paper and metal later and this is what I now have, and pretty much think it is complete.
I love the paper punched pieces. Craig thought the door didn't stand out enough so I did some hand stitch there in a pale colour as i didn't want it to over dominate.

As for what's behind the door????? Well I decided to leave that as a surprise for Mags and will share it with you after she has got it. Hope she likes it now, I chose the red as a contrast as I know she loves flame colours. I also hope it is not just a rip off of Ruth and it has a bit of me in it.

Doodle sample done!

I managed to get an hour on the machine tonight after Ellie finally gave in and went to bed. The little monster has been a pain in the butt ever since the fireworks, and she does this every year, but it has proved vocal and long winded this year.
Anyway never mind, remember my doodle for TC's Novemeber challenge. Well this is what I made with it. It is a sample for my C+G file and is a little literal but I quite like it. I used foil from Fibre in form, a great site run by Carol and Lynda, who's prompt service and constant support are a credit to them.
I covered the sheet in bondaweb and then cut the shapes in foil and then bonded them in place. I then watered down acrylic paint and washed this over. I also finished this sample from earlier having been and bought better thread for FME. I am quite pleased with this, however as I am not sure where I am going with this work I don't have that sense of satisfaction that I thought I would have. I have to make an accessory for the last unit of C+G and had thought of doing jewellery but still don't feel anymore excited about it. Haven't had the lightbulb moment yet, it will come!
Thought I would show it with the flash on to show the lovely foil!
Hope your all well and I wanted to thank you all for such lovely comments and kind words of late, I always try to get back to people personally but some people have the no-reply enabled and then I can't, so to those of you who have not had replies consider this my thanks for your words!

Alis' page for me!

I recieved my first 7 inch page for the FAF swap this week, and how lovely it is! I chose the theme of "Symptuous surfaces" for my pages and I think you'll agree that Alis has hit the nail on the head! I also stipulated that the technique the person uses should be new to them and fun! Alis used carrier bags in layers with manmade fabrics like organza. I love this page!I decided to show you the side view as it is so crunchy and yummy. There are also a lovely group of beads made from carrier bags and organza, they are so lovely. The colours are soooo me, and the project I am working on.
Thanks so much for this lovely start to my book Alis.

Shape challenge

For this months challenge on Textiles challenges I set a design based challenge, with no set outcome planned, but left up to the person taking part. I set 3 tasks that people could choose from. One of the challenges was to make something based on design shapes that recur in your work. Here are two doodles I did using shapes relating to my recent project on industry, however my favourite diamonds have come through again.
This is my attempt at another of the challenges which is to doodle all over the page and to colour in shapes that catch your eye. I think there are some interesting parts here that I could work with.
I don't know if this is going to be a success, but I am quite enjoying playing and being free with it. Even though the top two pictures look contrived in comparison to the last I didn't have my source material in front of me and I just allowed the shapes to dominate and control where i placed things, though admittedly I do have a thing about balance and symmetry! I hope others in the group are enjoying it too.

6 Inch page swap

I decided not to miss out on FAF's page swap this time round, as I had joined too late . My first trade is with Alis and she asked for an Egyptian theme. I wanted to do something that looked as though it had just flaked off the tomb wall. So this is what I did.....I used the last of my tea dyed fabric and cut it into random sized strips. I wove the strips together and then bondawebbed it to the base. I then marked out the Egyptian woman with pencil and put a layer of organza on the top and FME'd it all. I then blasted with the heat gun and stitched by hand adding some beads. Now down the right hand side you will see that i added some colour wanting it to be like the tomb paintings, but the colour was too strong so I toned it down with white acrylic over the stitches.
Now Ellie May has not been cooperating and going to bed so well since it is so close to bonfire night and all the local thug/oh I mean children are setting off fire works ever 5 minutes! So I couldn't get on the machine this week so I hand stitched the edges and stitched on a plated cord around the top edge. I finished it off with a tag I made in the summer.
This is a little close up for you. Hope you like it Alis, I really had fun doing it. It's in the post in the morning.

Lights

Well here as promised is my next light. I have had murder with this, I thought it was going to be easy and I would just stamp as I have for other recent things and then work over with doodles. But this didn't work out, I hated the first piece you will see and so ended up colouring up another piece of lutrador and starting over just doodling this time. I used the first one as a test for making a join with the soldering iron, and it does work, but isn't great as it was really hard to hold the two pieces firmly together along the whole edge. however it has held.
Here is the printed piece.
and this the doodled piece with a metallic marker
The printed one lit up
The doodles one lit up
and finally the doodled one in the light.

I don't know, you tell me was I right to just doodle it??????????

On the off chance any UK based textiles, RM or child development teachers read this i have set up a yahoo group for DT teachers to be able to bounce ideas off of each other. Here is the link.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/design_technologyteacher/?yguid=263564517

New Light!

A new light has come on in me this week too, I am desperately trying to catch up my design work for C+G, last unit I really let it slide (Truth be told it was the last 2 units!). So with the light I made earlier on the weekend working out quite well, I thought I might do the one for the resolved piece for my colour unit in the same method. Well, on lutrador anyway. I am not supposed to use textiles as it is for design, but I am not going to use any stitch, and am going to treat the lutrador like paper and print and doodle on it rather than stitch.I thought I would have a play with the lutrador tonight to see what I could do. I had a lot of success in soldering it together to make a join, so that will work out, but I have a back up of wiring it too. I used fine liner pens on it and crayola Metallic markers on it too. I am going in to school tomorrow to retrieve my stamps that I had taken in to show the kids, and then forgotten!Now what to put on it, this was where I had gotten lazy. This work is all based on mandala's and so as part of my book I was supposed to have looked into personal symbols and meanings for me. Now I always had this planned but hadn't been bothered to get off my butt! But then I saw Susan D's Art of textiles blog this week and she inspired me to get moving.
She had been doodling with ink and sticks, so I thought I would have a go and here is what I did. I didn't think too much about it, just tried to use things I doodle in the staff room when the Head is talking! or when I am on the phone.
Next I moved on to fine liners. In my mandala (which I have cheated and already made!) I used circles and radiating lines over woven strips. So I stared with the idea of circles.
Here are some of my favourite bits.

Thanks Susan for getting me fired up again!

Vessel finished

After showing you my vessel yesterday I have now completed it! I stitched down the join and then distressed the top with the soldering iron. I liked how the soldering iron worked so much I made some holes in the length of the vessel too, giving great casting of light as you will see in the photo's above. I am really happy with how this has turned out and have already layed up some in reds and orange to do for my light for the resolved piece for design C+G, it shouldn't be made in your main skill so no textiles, but I thought If I print onto it and use the soldering iron to join parts etc then it won't be all about textiles!

Vessel and Needle felting with foil

Inspired by Lynda, Purple Missus, I have been having a go at using foil and needle felting. I don't have an embellisher yet, note the empahsis on yet as I have asked all my reli's for hard cash for christmas as that's what I am going to get!!! So in the spirit of not being able to wait till then i have had a go at it. I painted bondaweb with orange in darkish tones and then ironed that onto a pretty lightish orange felt. I then foiled in patches as my theme for this term is industry and I have been looking at rusty things, like rivets and screws and plates that join metal etc. I have an accessory to make and i can't decide whether to do a bag or some jewellery. So anyway here is the piece after I have added a piece of turquoise organza and then needle felted it with the hand tool that Craig got me for christmas last year.
This is a piece I showed you a few weeks ago now, which has been sitting waiting to be finished. Well this is a multi tasking piece of work, it is using Carol M's (Textile tales) lutrador and lace technique used in the first edition of Fibre and Stitch. It is also going to be made into a vessel for this months challenge on my group Textiles Challenges. I intend to make it into a light to play up the translucency of the lutrador. I free machined it today with some strong orange and turquoise thread. I have pinned it up to see what it looks like as I am waiting for the rub and buff to cure.

I am really pleased with it so far. I think i am going to cut the top edge with the soldering iron, maybe even burn some marks into the lutrador too. i am enjoying playing with this stuff.

Trip to Ogmore by sea

Hia all I am still around, school has been a bit mental even after the inspection, and to be honest I Have been a bit of a drip and under the weather. Everyone in our house has had this horrid tummy bug. I thought I would show you the quilty I made last month for Sandy on the topic of colour combinations. You can't really see it in this photo but the "White" background is really orange.
Here are some of the lovely pictures that I took of Ogmore by sea, which we went to on Sunday for a family dinner. My sisters were home from England and so we couldn't resist getting together. Great views and of course my daughter loved the princess castle and I couldn't resist taking a piccie of the slip way which was really eroded by the see and showed the metal grid inside, which had gone all rusty and lovely!


Have a great weekend all, I am on half term next week and really hope to get lots done!

Thanks

Hi all, I just thought I would pop in ans say Hi and let you all know that the inspection went really REALLY well! We are now officially the best school in swansea!!! We got 6 outstandings and a very good. I am so pleased, we all work really hard everyday and this is just a confirmation of what we hoped we were! Thanks to all of you who have wished me well and sent me some pretty strong good vibes. and because I hate a post without a piccie, here is a card I made for a swap on unlimited textiles, which was for Alis, thankfully she took a photo for me, as I forgot.

A quick plea for help???

I was wondering if any of you who stop by here could help a pupil of mine. She is wanting to make swimwear for her major project and I have never done this before???? If anyone has and has any advice, could you leave me a comment. Also anyone know of a good fabric supplier for swim fabrics??? Thanks

Colour

Saw this on Anna's blog, weird I thought the questions were vague but the dicription is pretty good!

You Are Grape

You are bold and a true individual. You are very different and very okay with that. People know you as a straight shooter. You're very honest, even when the truth hurts. You are also very grounded and practical. No one is going to sneak anything by you. People enjoy your fresh approach to life. And it's this honesty that makes you a very innovative person.

What Color Purple Are You?

Hello strangers!!!

Hello all, yes I am still alive!!! I am in the murky depths that is ESTYN school inspection. It all kicks off on monday and I thanksfully am being seen on monday so it will be over and done with and a little less painful I hope!
I have made the ATC above for Chris in my C+G groups unmentionable birthday. It was the glimps I gave you the other day but couldn't show you all of it as I hadn't given it to her yet. It is with her now so it's all good, Happy Birthday Chris if you check in here.

In the mean time I have had my hands on something other than paper work. I have been going to design class for C+G and have been really enjoying myself, at least it was nothing too taxing ESTYN having stolen my brain! We have been doing some block printing. I have been looking at rust and industrial remnants, a hint at a life once full but now gone to seed. I have been particularly enjoying this flickr members photo's:
pixmaniaque

Here's what I produced:

This one above is on fabric so may get turned into a sample.
Then I have also been fiddling with the lutrador and lace from Carol M's article for Fibre and stitch. I also took a collograph of this which is below, one on paper and the other on tissue, which i intend to stitch into at some stage too.

I also wanted to thank Summerset of Pins and Needles Blog. She has done me a big huge favour. Ever year my GCSE kids find it really hard to get advice from experts, especially USEFUL advice. You would be shocked at how many sorry we can't help emails they get every year. Summerset not only answered Zoe, one of my girls, questions with gret detail but put it on her blog, which i have to say made Zoe even more happy. She came skipping in to tell me that it was there and we had the whole class huddled around the scree to read what was said. I can't thank you enough for this act of kindness, you are a gem Sumerset and will forever be a total star to me. Thanks so much for enthusing kids and making one young lady feel so special.
Have a great weekend all, hope your all off sewing!
PS, I for got to say it is also the 1st anniversary of my group Textiles Challenges. Things have gone a bit quiet there at the mo, maybe down to my long absence and lack of attention at the mo. If you are a member, we miss you, come and play in a vessel/3D challenge. Prizes are being given this month since it is our birthday.