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!

Where my mind's eye is at

Was reading Sharon's blog this morning and she asked what your mind's eye was seeing. I couldn't control my pencil. Someone painted me a picture in words recently and here it is, hope it measures up. Where my mind's eye wants to be.

Thermofax

Hia all remember the fabrics i dyed last month? Well in today's workshop we used thermofax screens to decorate them further. We tried feathers... Circles, this one is a bit of a compex cloth, I dyed, screened and then rollered and stamped with home made stamps.

Another complex cloth I am thinking about making into a bag, it is rollered, thermofaxed circles and then over stamped with a bock made from tile spacers.

Here are all my days work. I was competely shattered after todays course, I think the stress of all the uncertainty at school has had me so on edge that when I went to the course and relaxed as I worked I really felt the pressure of the last week. So far I am ok but you never know what they are going to do.

My lovely year 11's left this week and I made then the now traditional leaving gift. I made corsages in a lovely purpe shot silk and turquoise taffeta, and after making them all remembered I had a boy this year and so made him a quick denim cuff, which I forgot to photograph!

I hope that things start perking up soon, I don't know about the rest of you but I am so down lately, there seems to be nothing to be cheerful about, the world seems to have gone to hell in a hand cart!

New ATC's

Hia all, hope everyone is enjoying the bank holiday. I have had a horriby long and tedious week. People are being layed off in work, and although I am safe (so far) it is just a horrible place to be at the mo. Year 11 have just left and there is nothing much to smie about. Moan over!

That aside I got 5 minutes to sew a little today I am behind in a few things and so made a mark on a couple of things. The first is an ATC for a friends birthday, she loves colour so I used a gorgeous shot silk and did some FME on a acryic fet backing, then shrunk the backing.
This one is for a swap on my group Textile challenges, this was for a mono printing challenge issued by Cathy. I used the pastic that I used to monoprint from and stitched through it, it has a lovely quality and is much nicer in real life!

Have a great bank holiday everyone in Britain. Let's hope it is sunny.

New Journal for textile artists course

Hia all,
Well I have finally bitten the bullet and am going to be teaching an online journalling class. It is going to be a thematic journal to inspire textile artists. I am about 1/2 way through the preparation now. It is going to be through Lynda and Carol's FIBRE IN FORM web site. I am pretty excited about it all, I think I have lots of new things to show you. We wil be opening a yahoo group or ning group for the class so peope can discuss with others and me! Here is a snippet from and early lesson. Hope you want to come and play!

Colourful day!

I went to my monthy group Fiber paper arts yesterday and we had a really colourful day. Sandra did dyeing with us and Chris block printing ready for next months use of thermofax screens. I am now a part of the admin for this group which is great as I now get to teach more of the workshops! We did some piecing a la Ruth Isset and here are mine.

Love this one, plan to work into it way more. My usual rusty colouring!

These pieces were natural and stitched before dyeing. This piece of the right of the picture was underneath the one above , how lush is it!

Did lots of sorta tie dyeish effects.

Other things done this holiday were a zentangle rock to show one of my pupils.

As part of a school fundraising idea Ellie had to fill this milk bottle with pennies and decorate it in someway. She decided as they had been learning about puppets this term to make a bottle cosy/puppet.This is what she made, she did all the hand stitching herself including the buttons and the nose. She then attatched all the ribbons and stitched it up on the machine - herself! I won't say mum's hands weren't near by but she was in charge! She is 6 in May!!! Cool ha!

Journal and ATC

Hia all,
I have been quite quiet ately, it is a mega busy time in school but as of today I am free for the hols! I ony have 2 kids who haven't finished their projects too so fantastic! Another reason for my lack of posts is that I am currently teaching an onine class to the group of ladies I meet with each month locally on journaling. We have been working on themed journals. I am doing mine on armour, hoping that it will give me lots of ideas for my sewing projects later. I am not showing too much of it at the moment as I am considering being able to sel it as an online course after I have tested it out on my lovely guinnea pigs! Here is one o the spreads, on using stencils and textured backgrounds.
Do you think anyone would be interested in taking a class on this type of thing???

On another note here is the second in my series on a woodland theme, after i finished my one for Calendar girls I remembered that I had to make an ATC for a special friends 50th birthday. So I had some left over monoprint and used it to do a similar design. Excuse the photo it is really hard to photograph!

Hope you all having fun! I am off to enjoy the sunshine, while it lasts here!

A few things

Hia all I am so sorry I have been away for so long. I am at that busy point in the year marking and shouting at kids to chivy them into some GCSE's. I say it every year but they are getting worse. All I do is chase like a headless thing and they act like they have all year. All teachers in agreement say aye!
Anyway, I have been working but slow and steady! The calendar girls pic for Febuary was chosen by Sandy and was a unicorn surrounded by bubbles. I decided to work with the texture of the bubbles and stitiched kunin felt to the background and zapped it to pull up the cotton calico. I then painted it with gesso and acrylics. I then beaded. I am pleased how it turned out.
This is an ATC I made for a purple and mustard swap on my group TC. I wanted to do a stuffed piece. I think this is not as successful as what was in my head but that is probably as I was so pushed for time.

Finally my finished piece from Lynda's workshop. I added punched out copper mesh that I annealed and beaded with tiny sed beads.

This is the inside - this is a reversable design.

and this is the outside with the amazing texture Lynda taught us!

I had such a great day and was so pleased to get my piece done, it is such eye candy! I have another started and when the easter holidays arrive I will be working on my next one.

Purple Missus - workshop wonderwoman!!!!

These lovelies are what we did with Lynda today on our workshop. The workshop was called "Encrusted Blades". Lynda was awesome and taught us so well. She of course does not believe this but she was so brilliant, so giving of her time, resources and ideas. I can not tell you how much. She was so organised, it was mega! We worked backwards starting on pieces tat she had already worked for us all - way above and beyond the call of duty.

Here are my pieces that I painted but Lynda stitched. She was so thoughtful and brought all MY colours! (Thanks you Lynda for my goody bag too, she brought me a bag of turquoise treasures!)

Aren't they just scrumptious. I can't explain how wonderful it was to hold these pieces in your hands, the textures and tones are just so yummy, the camera does them justice but nowhere near as good as in real life. Inside there were hidden treasures. For this we painted tyvek paper, here are mine.
Inside were these amazing little books that Lynda showed us how to fold. They are great for holding little lucks!
Then we moved back to the beginning and we stitched the layers to form the textured scrummy base. I learnt so much bout finishing and making work that special quality Lynda has. I know she thinks she didn't teach me anything, but truely you did Lynda. Here are my stitched pieces. Ready to blast and burn, and start the next piece. I am so excited to work on these, I will be making time!

As soon as i have finished one I will post about it, we had a packed day and got a long way on finishing one, but not quite. Now DRUM ROLL I forgot my camera, but managed to get one from Sandra and despite Lynda being the shyest ever - Here we are!!!!

A fabulous day and a wonderful workshop - if this is a taste of the book then Rush out, no run out and get it, it will be SUPERB!