Album

Well I started reading blogs again and that can only be a good thing. I thought I would show you this album I made for someone recently for a wedding anniversary. Anyway just popped by to say Happy New Year all, and I hope for this year in which I wil have been married 10 years will be a wonderful one.

Bit scared

Hia all, To be honest I am a bit scared to write , I haven't for ages and have been hiding from the world. I haven't had a lot to say and have not been very creative. I have been battling with some life struggles and there just hasn't been room for anything else.

Anyway an update, I have been carrying on with the gym and have now lost 3 stone 9lb, and feel the fittest and healthiest I have felt for a hundred years :) This is how I look now

Lot better ha! I went to a military ball recently and got all glammed up in the corset I made, felt fantastic, although I now have to make another as the boning in this one is now too long as I have shrunk by 5 inches all over :)

Anyway I have done a little something creative lately, made these

e buntings for Christmas, one in Welsh and one in English for the bi-lingual household.

We went on the Santa train with snow falling and everything :) Had to show you this cute pic of my pair :)

and the 3 of us :)

and lastly I went on an amazing Christmas workshop in December - called "white until the night" with my old tutor Enid Davies. We started off by doing a drawing of Christmas things and then scanned it and printed the image off to use as a template for cutting and applique in shades of white, in a variety of textures.

We then scanned in the applique and manipulated the image with photo shop, this was just one of mine.

Then we printed the best one off on to sticky back paper and used a section of it to make a Christmas card - do you love it ???? I do ! Was an amazing course, I really enjoyed it.

Hope you can all forgive my long absence and I hope to get back to something like more regular blogging, I am still taking a day at a time, so we shall see :)

For sale

Made this bag for someone who didn't pay up, so is up for grabs... £25 has adjustable straps. eave a comment if you want it and I will arrange paypal etc.

I am ok by the way, stil in the depths of the mire

Blogiversary and new thing :)

I totally missed my blogiversary so thanks to those who noticed. Been in the depth of some personal suff and not really out of it completely.

Anyway I been stuck at one weight for ages, thinking I was getting nowhere and then I weighed at the gym and found my scales were broken :) I have lost over a stone. I have been shopping for new clothes today and bought lots of small things :) (very smily about this ). I bought a gorgeous new coat in PINK, not my usual sensible black. and I did this...............

Got a new tattoo. For me tattoo's are all about reclaiming my body, I have 2 both are small. I got the first after I had Ellie ( a E inside a C) and now this one after such a drastic loss of weight. For me this seals that I am not going back to being a big girl.

So I am not competely disappeared but have to take some me time at the moment, some us time really, as most will have guessed it is my marraige that is an issue, however we are getting there, coming out the other side, I hope :). Thanks for being patient with me.

Up for grabs

*****EDIT****** BAG SOLD

It is a lovely faux suede:) Leave a comment or email me on caroltinataylor@yahoo.co.uk with your email for Paypal.

I have doen something creative latey, just the one little zen tile. I remembered how much I ove drawing, and how I need to get down to some work. But functional things have made a tough time a little easier for me.

Tentative and quiet hello

Well I know what your all thinking..... Carol who??? and my first word is to say sorry to al those who I owe swaps to. I have firmly had my head in the shed (good welsh saying) and have no excuses for being totally rubbish of late. I have ahd a few personal things to deal with and there you go. I am still in the midst of it all and not really knowing what the hell I am doing to be honest but I will come out the other side I always do.

What have I been doing.... well I haven't been idle. I taught a workshop for Fibrepaper arts which is our local group who meet in Neath on the 2nd Sat of every month. I did fabric paper and this was my on the day sample.

I went to the ball, in a dress 2 sizes smaller than last year. :) Don't they look stunning.

I have been making these bags and selling them. Facebook seems to be my major selling spot at the moment. You can check my page out here. These are some recent ones. I am charging £20 +postage. If you are interested then leave me a comment as I am making more all the time.

and finally. I made myself a corset. I haven't got a great pic as I was taking them myself and I have my eyes shut (why i don't know?) but here I am newly size 20. Wish you could see how good i felt in it.

Update on bags

A quick update on the bags - The Sassy slouch made it's first sale. If you woud like one here are the fabrics I have at the mo, they will be £20 + postage. I accept paypal.

Couple of things at last

I have finally worked on something, which is a good thing. I have been in a weird place lately and just lots of real world stuff have taken all my energy leaving little room for the brain to work. :)

So I have made a bag for a friend who saw mine and wanted one! I also made a fabric flower to go on it as per her request. I put it on a pin so she can move it around as she likes.

I am calling it the Sassy slouch bag, and am considering selling them??? What do you think?
Here's mine, It has burgundy lining. Both have internal pockets. I used pelmet vilene in the handle and doubed it to make it really rigid and stitcheed it heavily.
I also finished a postcard I owe Mags for our Google Alphabet swap... it will be out tomorrow Mags.
This card is my offering for Calendar girls for June, just slightly late :( It was pre stamped with text and then painted and foil for the trees. I heavily stitched to give it the linear feel of the original.
More to come very soon. Got Lynda and Carol's book today and am devouring it. Has the most wonderful illustrations. I will write more when I have had time to have a proper read.

Corset course

I went on the most amazing course the last 2 days in Cardiff. Not least because it was in Crafts in the bay but was making corsets with Anna Henderson. She was an awesome tutor and showed us amazing fitting techniques that I can use with the kids. I had my frame fitteed :) so next job is one for me. But for the purposes of the course we worked on a standard 10. Using the pattern pieces and cutting them in firm card I made a model when I got home to stretch the corset for display. Worked a treat!

Don't look too close at the stitching, I was on a strange machine and there is an array of thread colour but I learnt masses.
It was a 2 day course and so for my homework I cabled some spirals and added a square sequin and bead to the centre of each.
Can't wait to make one to fit me now, just need to buy al the boning now! Yey

Kim's course

Here's Kim and I today after the course today. Kim, she of Hot textiles fame, was an absolute scream. If you ever get a chance to go on a course with her, grab it with both hands. I had the most fab day, she was just my type of tutor, so fun a real good laugh.

Here is some of her work, including a mega huge vessel. So lush.

Look at the state of the floor in the hall, there was a sea of painted bondaweb, lutrador, tyvek and vilene. It was so funny picking through it all to the back corner where mine were!

from another angle

Here is everyone working away...

I am not going to bore you with a guzzillion tyvek sampes but here is the one I managed to stitch. It has 3 layers of tyvek on the bottom, 2 heavy and one lighter weight. I just stitched with a great big stab stitch and zapped with the iron. The spirals are tyvek with the iron too and some foil to pick up the edges.

I had a ball. I am working on samples for next months workshop as I am leading it.

Another gift for a special birthday

Our textiles group meets tomorrow for a workshop with Kim Thittichai, something i am very much looking forward to. One of the adies has celebrated a big birthday and I was in charge of houseing the ATC's we a made for her. This is what I did......

and Just a quick pic to show you how much I have lost. These fit last summer!

Look who I found

The Embroider's guild in Wales had a meeting today in Kilay in Swansea not 2 minutes from my house, and look who I found!

Mags, Digital Gran ! We had a lovely lunch and a chat and I stayed for the talk by Jae Maries. Her work was interesting and she has a book coming out with Maggie Grey's pubisig house d4daisy. Considering Mags and I have never met we were chatting like the old friends we are. Was so lovley.

Holiday

In the holiday I did this.....

A birthday gift for a friend. The papers are the pages holding ATC's

Hey all

Hia all I am so sorry to have been so illusive of late. I have been working my butt off. Literally. I have managed to drop a whole dress size and have neary got rid of 2! I have started excercising again and am feeling wonderful. Thank you to those who are giving me the motivation to kick myself into doing it. I am managing to do 22K on the bike everyday so I am feeling fab.

In addition to this I am working really hard on my journal / thematic sketchbook for textile inspiration course that Lynda and Carol's Fibre in form are going to be selling starting sometime in June. I am so excited about this but can't show too much. Here is something I have been working on for it as a sneak peek. I hope it will be a success and people will want to have a go, it is going to be reasonably priced so hopefully those who have difficulty with the design side of things will want to come and check it out. More information will follow. 

So if I am quiet this is where Iam!