Inchie's from Lynda

I recieved my inchies from Lynda of Purple Missus blog today. The colour I chose was purple and turquoise.They are so beautiful, and the variety of techniques are just astonishing for nine inches square. Not only did she send the inchies but she also sent me a duplicate of each attatched to a tag with an explanation of each technique on them. I will be taking these to school to inspire my pupils and I know that they will be inspired. Thanks so much Lynda I am very grateful.

On the me work front I have had a productive few days I have been working on some things that need to stay hush hush for now as I have been trying them out for my next challenge on TC. I have also been dyeing some paper for my C+G course work tonight and then with the left over dye I dyed some paper napkins. Our next project for C+G is colour and I have some postcards for the surface design group on a colour theory theme. It took all night but I think I got a lot done.

Doors finally worked!!!

Tonight I finally got time to work on my doors. I have only done the first, but I think the rest will come more quickly now I know what I am doing. I am so pleased with it as it is exactly how I have imagined in my head. We have had an interesting debate on Textile challenges this week about how we work and arrive at an idea, started by Leanne. This idea, though some thumbnail sketches have been made in my sketch book (which is taken apart so I can colour up all the pages!) I couldn't actually draw this piece. It is all about the surface and the texture and the sublty of the coloue for me. I rubbed the foil back with a brush to show a bit more of the sparkle of it through the emulsion. Other than that it is just the free machining. Just what's behind the door left now.

Lynda's inchie's

Lynda wanted black and white for her inchies and I had a blast doing them. The first thing I found the day we saw the peacock (regular blog readers may remember him) It was a black and white spotted guinea foul feather. I decided to felt this into a kunin felt inchie. I had a needle felt hand tool for my birthday last year and haven't really used it. I then made the centre of this felting into a nest and added a white bead egg! I did some of the stitches we did on tast and on some I decided to use the VCH emulsion technique in honour of Lynda who has trialled this on her blog. I stitched first then painted with emulsion and when dry with ink, but it all went a sluggy grey so I painted it with black acrylic and then highlighted with emulsion. It was great fun, and I loved making these.

1" art squares - Inchie's - for Judy

Here are the 1st of my 1" art squares for a trade on my group textile challenges. Judy asked for bright pink, and I was in luck! In school we dye fabric 4 times a year with year 8, I use cyan, yellow and magenta for tie dye and we colour mix. So left over from the last one I had a piece of cotton half bright pink and half turquoise ( I know Judy loves this combination as it features strongly in her work). On these i have managed to pack in a lot. Paper casting with solvy in the bottom left hand corner, Middle left is stitching and painting with emulsion and then with pink ink! Then highlighting with silver. The top right square has fabric and fabric mesh ribbon beads ( fullfilling the TC bead challenge for this month too!) There is also a bit of felt melting and printing too, and brads and beads of course. I thought I might have been squared out but I have really enjoyed these. I am nearly finished with Lynda's black and white set, just a couple more beads to add.

Easter eggs

I saw this little tool on Sara Letchners blog. I had fun playing with it. Here are two of the results.

One very happy little girl

My Mum came over yesterday to buy Ellie an Easter pressy (limiting the chocolate!!!). So we set off for Swansea to buy a barbie and look what we came back with!!!!



We now have one very happy little girl. Spotty as she is now known (Don't I have a creative daughter!!!) has a pink lead and gets to wander the garden with said happy girl. I think it is Granny's perogative to totally spoil granddaughters!
Happy Easter!

New header and "Blogger Angel"

Hi all, I want to tell you about the fabulous tutorial by Brenda on how to personalise your banner on you blog. The tutorial is here:
http://serendipitypatchwork.blogspot.com/2006/08/how-to-create-personal-blog-banner.html
Not only is the tutorial really simple, but as I am a proper techno learner I needed some extra help and I emailed Brenda. Having never met me before she held my hand through about 8 emails and coped with my official "thicky" status with aplomb! Thank you Brenda for your time and patients I am most grateful as it is something I have been trying to work out for sometime and I am ecstatic at the finished result. I am most grateful "blogger angel".

Doors challenge and C+G project 2

So no rest for the wicked! On to project 2 - Boundaries. Based on a FAT journal quilt challenge that I have submitted to QA magazine (see previous post) I made "The devil's in the details journal quilt and I researched the deadly sins. So when boundaries came up as a task I decided to do spiritual boundaries - How far will you go? I have done a lot of research into the sins and found they were links to both animal and colours for each sin. So my JQ became a sample and i decided based on the Doors and windows challenge on Textile challenges to do the doors to each sin. I knew what would do behind each door but had no idea what to do for the doors. So after looking at Rodin's gates to hell sculpture and a number of other works I decided on a gothic door. The sketch shows what I am aiming for and the other pic is of the background so far. This is my first proper mixed media piece I have used tissue and silver foil on to pelmet vilene. I stamped the top piece with a fluer de lis paper punch and stitched it on and stitched on the steps at the bottom. I printed the hands with a rubber stamp onto hand made paper and then put them under the layer of tissue and put a wash of cream emulsion over the lot. I wanted the hands to look like sinners were trying to get out! I have to put the detail in with stitch next!
As this is my first go at this I would love to know what you think, do you think it looks ok?

Water hanging - finally done

I finally finished the water hanging and what an epic it has been. I have been working on it since september! Never mind I think it has been worth it. i still have the slips to do and the button hole bars to scatter over the surface so that people can alter the appearance of the piece. I have sewn them but have the hooks and button hole bars to do. I will re photograph when I have it hanging, I am going to put it up in my classroom, as I have nowhere else to store it. It was designed for a large display space and is 3 m long.

I have been starting on my Doors to hell project, and have been laying up paper and emulsion onto pelmet vilene. I have all the pieces ready now , and need to put them together. Hopefully this will start to take shape this week, but ii must mark my GCSE coursework too, and i have Ellie home from nursery this week and next so how much I get done will be a mistery.

Peacocks and beads

I made these paper beads for my hanging and i thought I would mention how I made them. I layed up paper with PVA watered down and then scrumpled a piece of tissue and let it fall on the PVA, then smooth out with a wet brush to leave cracks. When dry i painted it with watered down acrylic in raw umber and yellow ochre, and peobo metallic copper fabric paint. Then I cut them up into long trianles the length of the paper. With thin PVA I painted the back of the paper and then rolled it up around a piece of wire. Sorry the photo is a bit grainy, my camera does not like close ups. This is the challenge for April on TC, so i thought I would get in early. But i do intend to do some fabric and tyvek ones when i get five!




































I took Ellie to the Gower heritage centre yesterday, and i am ashamed to say i have never been there before, I didn't know how much was there. Anyway it was fab! We saw this big boy! I loved him and he was dead tame I could go right up to him, like 20 CM away! As you will see Ellie was not so sure! You can see Nannie was holding her close. I got obsessed with photographing him. I could see a project! I also photographed lots of machinery and cogs and stuff as they looked like potential too.

Padfolio for Jan

Here are some photo's Jan kindly took for me as i forgot! Jan is my good friend and we were in a swap on FAI for a covered Journal, so I made a padfolio, ala Sue Bleiweiss' pattern that she has kindly shared. I used a painted nappy liner onto cotton and then a layer of black organza over the top. I free machined and then added some copper shim embossed with my ripple design from C+G.I also beaded a little. I plated a cord and attatched it and a button, and to the yarn ribbons I left long I added three strings of black beads from a necklace that Ellie broke.
I am nearly there with my hanging now and will be photographing it this week all finished. I am not having the same kind of luck with my sins behind the doors. I have failed to meet the deadline for my group Textile challenges and am mighty fed up about this. But I am determined to get it done over the holiday as Ellie is off and we can paint all day while Daddy is in work!!! Should have more to show you later this week.
I went to the Embroiderer's guild day today. I didn't think much of the first speaker, she was a fine artist not an embroiderer and while amusing I know I and others were waiting to see her embroidery, and there wasn't any! A lady caled Jean from Swansea Quilters gave the afternoon talk on her quilting journey and she was interesting and had a great selection of quilts o show, including stunning landscapes. The day was enjoyable, and the afternoon gave a lot of food for thought.

ATC's and lovely post!

Here is an ATC I have made this week for Robbie at my evening class' birthday. It is a significant one! We al make a card in our style and then Robbie will have to guess which is who's in the class. I guess she will pick mine out quickly as I decided to do something in the style of my hanging.













This ATC I have made for Val, a friend of mine as I got her card in the Fiber ATC trade and she did not get one of mine. So I had some of the fabric left over and made her one. Below your will see the card she sent me. It is a velvet background with lovely foil and bondaweb etc on it. She made it as part of the Altering the surface challenge on Textile challenges.






















This card also arrived in the post this week. It is from Jo Wholohan in Australia. I had told her about my like for al things "altered" but my lack of vision for actually making it myself. So kindly she has agreed to trade with me. I recieved this most beautiful card. I have not made one i return yet, as I really want to have a good go at doing something as delicious as this card, not my usual fall back techniques. I really want to do her justice as she was so kind to share such a lovely card for me.




















And finally as for the hanging, it is FINISHED!!!!! Hooray, well all bar the shouting. I have to finish the beads and attach them and then it would be done! So that's why I haven't added a photo as I would like to get it all finally done. It has got so large though! but I am very pleased with it. It's a big bugger though!

Padfolio for Jane's birthday

Here is a picture of the padfolio I have made for my friend Jane's Birthday. She had been eyeing mine up and since she is a Sister specialising in Diabetes she takes notes all day. I made the background by laying strips of black and turquoise under misty fuse. I then used the automatic stitches to hold things a little more firmly. I then also attached 3 squares of embossed copper shim. I made a tag for the end of the cord from shim too. I love the colour in this piece.

Hanging being put together at last!

I have finally finished all the pieces for my hanging. I took them to work today and Nick helped me to wire it to a diamond shape frame he made for me. He then soldered the joints to me so it is nice and firm. He alos drilled the holes in the perspex rod for me and I have the wires through it now. There is still much to do, and it is blinking huge! It is going to be fairly hard to free machine down to the backing as I planned so I may have to consider something else, I hope not though as it would look much better. Lord alone knows where I am going to store the monster!!!

Daffs and samples

I have finished my Daffs postcards today, and early in the week they will be off to the lovely ladies who entered my Welsh challenge for St. David's day on textile challenges, the yahoo group I run. I used the Richard Box method for the leaves, using free zig zag stitch. I then couched down a pipe cleaner for the petals, to which I herringbone wove the infill. I then couched a ring of pipe cleaner down using an eyelet stitch. I really enjoyed making these. I hope the ladies like them and their other treats as much.

The next piccy is my samples for the sin of lust for my doors project. Textile challenges girls all voted to work the same theme with the same 3 starting ingredients. The theme chosen was doors/windows and I decided to make an accordian book of doors with the sins behind the doors. This will be my second C+G project. My target is to complete one, Lust, by the end of the month to put into the challenge. So I decided to have a tortures heart behind the door and so have been playing with the felt melt thing. I decided that the red thread on red felt was not showing up enough, so you will see I switched to black, I don't know about this, I might look for a darker red to do it in instead. The plan is to have the heart held by threads, tortured in the doorway. I have also layed up some scrim and emulsion for the doors, but haven't had time for that yet.

Mother's day gift for my Mum

I have made a little gift for my Mum, for her years of putting up with me and Craig, and since she received it today I thought I would show it to you. It is a book cover for an A5 hard back book. I added 3 free machined flowers and used pearl buttons as the centres I made the cord on the machine . I love this chintz fabric, we have had it in the box at school for a while and I have been thinking what I cold do with it for a while. There are 2 pictures as the flash deadened the pattern, so one is flash on one it flash off! I hope she likes it.

Water hanging on the way

I thought I would show you that I am not hiding, but am in the process of putting together my water hanging of C+G. This was based on texture, and I chose water over the sand as my theme. Way back in the posts I showed the model, and now this is the real thing. It will be about 2.5m long when complete. I also made the slips to fix on to it. The aim of my piece was to be altered by the viewer, so the gathers can be manipulated by the viewer and some slips will be able to be moved to button hole bars, with a hook, to alter the composition of the central panel too. The centre panel is beaded but you can't see it in this picture.3 more gathered strips to do, then I can wire it to a frame the boys in work have made me, that i will couch to a piece of interlining to form the centre panel. What do you think?

Received lovelies

I have had a smashing post day today! Firstly Anna Nowicki of Serendipity blog is coming to my school to do a workshop with my kids, and has sent me a card made from a coke can. Isn't it fab, she does the most amazing work! I know that I will be her most demanding pupil!!!


Below this is the ATC's i have received from FIBERATC yahoo group. I made the leaves on the line ATC's for this swap based on travel, and this is what i got in return. One has alluded me, i have lost it somewhere, in the space of 4 hours! Typical of me, when i find it I will post this too.
Not for you to think i am not working, but lots has been getting in the way of late, and i am still working on the hanging too. i don't seem to be getting anywhere really, lots of hamster-like running, but not getting any further. Hope i wil get something done by the end of the week.

Tast - Barred chain and alternating barred chain

Hia everyone, i am sorry posts have been thin on the ground of late, work has been very high pressure at the mo, and life has been putting me in a bad mood.
Anyway here is a peek at my C+G resolved piece for texture, which is a hanging, and if you check back through the posts I have blogged on it's development lots! It is coming together now, but beading takes ages!
Also here is my TAST barred chain, I really liked this stitch, it was new to me and I think it has given a really organic feel to the sample, hence the addition of flowers. I have been stripping copper electrical wire for my hanging and have kept some of the plastic covering for "something". One is brown one is blue, I used some of the brown to couch down on this piece. I had to do the alternating barred chain in a zig zag to do this. I also used it to couch down circles of sequin waste.This was a lovely stitch to do, really textural and crunchy!

I got in! Had to do it at work though!

Hello all, just to start I would like to say something has gone scrambly on my home PC and I am having to do this post at school. But I have been a busy bee while away and have made few things. I am currently beading like crazy the cenral panel for the water hanging, but until finished it looks pooy! So have not photographed that!

Above you will find a padfolio I have made for my sister Vicky's birthday on friday, I won't say how old she is as she is coming up to the scary one with an 0 on the end! I used the lovely hand dyed fabric that Gillian sent me again and I have to say she has encouraged me to get dying too, it's so much nicer to work with the way the colours have turned out in the fabric, like on the back of the padfolio. You will also find my TAST for last week which is CROSS stitch. I thought I would love the simplicity of this stitch and in many ways I do, but I don't like my smaple very much, it is a bit blocky and no flow I think.

Lastly you will see my daffodil that was suposed to have been posted last Thursday for St.David's day, but blogger wouldn't let me in! A belated happy St.David's day to all, especially Mag's of Digital Gran as her gransone Charlie David was born on this day! Also to the girls at Textile challenges, my online group, thanks for indulging me with your welsh challenge submissions, some lovely work was produced. The daffs postcard will be one of the prizes winging it's way to some of the girls. Thanks for bearing with me , and no I haven't dropped off the edge of the world. Also just quickly to all, I think the last month has been a pooy one in my life and seemingly in a good fewof my freinds lives, online and off, and so I wanted to say, spring is coming, everything will seem easier when the sun is out and the daffs are blooming! Love Carol T

I am having big problems with blogging at the mo, am still around check my flickr if you like!

Blogger probs

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