statements, motifs and birds...

Last christmas I was planning to make christmas presents. but I hated what I had made. 

I planned to make this kind of bird, bunting, mobile thing. I wanted someone to maybe hang it in their house. But I was really dissatisfied with the birds. I mean, I like a couple. But I don't really know what I was going for. Anyway, they've been sitting in my 'things which are yet to be completed' box since then. I'm not sure what I'll do with them, but I thought it was about time to take photographic evidence of their existence. 

I quite like the seagull. I'm going to be honest there. I might try some more of him. I think I was disappointed with my stitching, for the most part. I'm not sure. I can't remember.

Anyway, the cat thought that the picture would be better if he was in it, and who am I to argue with a creative genius?

I also started all the following embroidery earlier this year. I've tried to get into using the hoops a bit more. I quite like how simple they are to pick up and put down. and I find the simplicity quite therapeutic actually. I'm not trying anything too ambitious, so I feel quite alright about what they look like. Not that I intend to do anything with them; apart from maybe chuck them in letters.

  

A statement.

A unicorn.

Something to put on a postcard...

I plan to applique this on to a cushion at some point. It's supposed to be a raven. I can't stop thinking about them ever since I read King Crow; which, by the way, I fully recommend http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jul/22/king-crow-michael-stewart-review

This review says it is a thriller, but I don't think it was... but I'm not sure I could describe what genre I think it is. I'll have a think about it.

I'm currently reading Hope: A Tragedy http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/mar/04/hope-a-tragedy-shalom-auslander

I haven't finished it yet, but so far it's really good. The story is brilliantly weird.

The guy who ran the fiction section at the bookshop I used to work at, recommended it. He is so damn good at recommending books. He's a genuine encyclopedia of contemporary fiction.

Take care, friends. 

A Rose Brooch

Hello world. 

Last week, a lot happened. It was simultaneously really productive and then interrupted. My friend Siobhan turned 24. She lives in my home town and I didn't get to see her, which makes me pretty sad. we send each other packages on our birthdays though. I've always been really poor, it seems to me, so I send her something I've made usually and try to buy her something if I can. 

This year I made her card which was fun because I've bought some card making bits and bobs. I'm specifically referring to some lovely recycled pre-cut card and envelopes which I bought on Etsy and some ink stamps that I bought from a local craft shop I often visit. HOWEVER, I don't think I took a picture of the card and my BLOOMIN' camera won't let me look at the photos I've taken. I will make another one and put it on here before I sell it. Promise.

I also made her a brooch. I found the tutorial here: http://dozidesign.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/paper-flower-tutorial.html

I made my flower and practice flowers out of book pages. It's a book called The Legend of Zenda, and if anyone has tried to look for and read this book and subsequently not found it, I sincerely apologise for destroying it in the use of craft. In my defense, it had pretty much fallen apart when it arrived in my lap (my mum loves hoarding second hand books, I have no idea where she finds some of the gems she finds, she's a bit magical). 

I made three practice ones and one final one to send to Siobhan. It was tricky getting the paper tight at first, and then when I decided to glue the bottom, that was a bit tricky too. I ended up glueing the bottom of each curl with Copydex so it all stuck together and then stuck the brooch piece on with SUPERglue. 

So that was the beginning of my productivity. Then I started making a sleeping mask for the partner of my boss. Apparently he likes snorkling so it was sea themed. I kept getting angry at myself for getting things wrong, so I quit and thought I'd continue the next day. But the next day I found out that a friend had passed away. It was completely unexpected and it's shaken me a bit. I always knew life was fragile, but I guess I never quite saw it. I simultaneously want to see everyone I know and love but can't fight the desire to stay at home and hide away from the harsh reality of real life.

I'm not certain of how my friend died. But he leaves behind a wife whom he loved with more heart and soul than I've known anyone to love. He moved to America to be with her and they have three beautiful children who he was enthusiastically proud of. He was only 24. He spent a great deal of time of internet forums; he was so computer smart. A forum has been made in his memory and it's full of people sharing their condolences; people he had never met, but people who he had spoken to online and helped, conversed with, or befriended in someway. It was so reassuring to read the words. and knowing he touched so many people he had never met, I felt so proud to have known him and held him as a friend. We were at school together.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz9Cub-C9nc

Adam, who will always be in my thoughts.x

Sleeping Mask

Hullo!

My friend Lauren is super talented. http://lauren-watson.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/brighton-university-ma-illustration-2012.html

I went to her MA show last week, she's an illustrator, and it was bloody amazing. A couple of weeks (months, maybe years) before, she asked me to make her sister a sleeping mask. I did. 

I thought about ideas for sleeping masks. Lauren's got a particularly good one from here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/swiedebie/sold?ref=shopinfo_sales_leftnav

My ideas included the following themes:

Pacman

Dinosaur

Fox

But I may have been feeling hungry, because I settled on Jammy Dodgers.

I used 2 layers of black fabric, one layer of lovely floral fabric that my wonderful neighbour gave me and felt for the Dodgers.

I like after you stitch, the back kind of tells you what's happened on the front, but doesn't tell you everything.

Jammy dodgers.

I had considered putting more stitching on the dodger to demonstrate the biscuit-ey grooves on the biscuit, but I got scared and didn't. Someone who saw the mask prior to giving it to Lol recommended that I do next time, just so there's no confusion about what the monkey the circle heart filled shapes are.

This was my first attempt. I stitched the dodgers on the floral fabric first and then stitched the mask together (inside out technique). But after I pulled the material all through so the outside was on the outside and not the inside,  it had misshaped the Dodgers. So I scrapped it (I didn't really, it's in my collection of rejected makes, or lessons learned).

So I tried it without the Dodgers to see what the monk was making the fabric go a funny shape. I have to do things in practice because my theoretical brain can't always keep up. I realised it was the nose curve making the fabric crease...duh!

So then I thought, OFF WITH THE NOSE CURVE. and just did a block-ish shape.

And voila, the final piece. Must remember to put the Dodger bits on the Dodgers next time.

And from attempt 1 to the finished product. Just in case the four individual images were not enough. 

I hope Lauren's sister likes it. I enjoyed making it. I'm going to make the dinosaur one next, and maybe a Sega remote one after that. We'll see.

Renegade Craft Fair

Hullo!

I think it's important to clarify that that I DID NOT MAKE the Renegade Craft Fair. I just went there. ok?


I went to the Renegade Craft Fair last weekend. It was really lovely. It was everything I had been hoping for and I spent far too much money. But I'm GLAD. I felt really uncomfortable taking pictures of people's stalls and products and I hope no one minded too much. I'd been waiting to go since way before Christmas and I honestly just wanted to make the most of all its glory. I don't want to steal your ideas. I will try really hard to link to all the correct people and that when publishing these photos. 

So this was the first stall I saw:

This is the work of Sean Mort http://www.seanmort.co.uk/ 

Isn't it brilliant? He's worked with some pretty cool bands.  

THEN I saw the store next door:

Mellybee on the right http://www.mellybeeillustration.co.uk/

and Hello Dodo on the left http://www.hello-dodo.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Hello Dodo made a really lovely blog post summarizing the event, which is certainly worth a gander  

http://www.hello-dodo.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/renegade-o.html

After that, I came across this fella:

His name is Bob Motown, or that's what he seems to call himself at least: http://blog.bobmotown.com/

On the left, we've got Birds in Hats (which is a genius idea): http://www.etsy.com/shop/birdsinhats 

And on the right, you can see the work of Adam Pobiak: http://pobiak.com/gallery/silkscreen/ 

I really loved this illustrated map of London by Lovely Jojo's: http://www.lovelyjojos.com/blog 

These are the prints of Ink and Sword: http://www.etsy.com/shop/inkandsword

These are pictures from Debbie Greenaway Illustration's stall. I love her style of illustration and was really glad to be able to buy some brooches! You can find her blog here: http://www.theimaginationofladysnail.blogspot.co.uk/ and her website here: http://debbiegreenaway.com/

I also really liked the brooches and illustrations of Kayleigh O'Mara: http://folksy.com/shops/kayleighomara 

This was the stall of Miwary (where I bought this BRILLIANT postcard): http://www.miwary.com/Showcases-my-work%282422205%29.htm

This was Miso Funky: http://shop.misofunky.com/

I've really liked her work for a while. Cross Stitch is great.

This was the stall of The Stitch and Make Studio: http://thestitchandmakestudio.blogspot.co.uk/

I really, really, really liked Superfumi's stall!! Their website is here: http://superfumi.co.uk/page2.htm

This was Jess Quinn's stall: http://jess-quinn.craftlaunch.com/ AND http://jessquinn.wordpress.com/

This was the stall of Helen Steel, which was beautiful.

Her website can be found here: http://helensteeldesign.com/categories/

And this was the brilliant stall of The Cat in The Shoe: http://www.thecatintheshoe.com


A list of all the artists can be found here: http://www.renegadecraft.com/london-artists

This was some street art outside the Truman Brewery. That's where the fair was. It was really fun. I definitely recommend following Renegade, because it's such a brilliant organisation of events, and it's great to give independent artists a platform. I really enjoyed it.

Thanks guys.

biscuits

give me all the bacon and eggs you have.

playing with pacman/dinosaur/general animal shape cookie cutters

I have tried 3 times to upload this picture the correct way round, and see no way to solve the problem. Therefore if you want to view this picture, you will have to tilt your neck. I hope that you will not hold me responsible for any injuries sustained...

wedding card

A card made for a wedding of two friends of my partners. I didn't know them, and they and their friends made me feel wholly welcome. They then text the boy to say that they very much liked the card I had made, which made me feel very happy for a while.

When the card opened, the knot tied.

Unconventionally, a message was left on the back of the card.

I wholly apologize for the terrible quality of this picture. Who makes a phone without a flash on the camera, anyway?

Rather than a wedding cake, the couple had a tier of cupcakes, which were absolutely beautiful and tasted amazing!

The wedding was really lovely and I wish I had taken more photos, but many others were taking pictures whilst I was able to enjoy the event, so I don't feel too bad about it.

embroidery

I've been playing with the idea of making cards, this was the only real finished attempt. By finished, I mean this exists, it hasn't been put in to or on to a card...

A game with the sewing machine. My first piece of machine embroidery, actually.

and my second attempt at machine embroidery. i should probably have cropped the photo so the bad sewing at the bottom isn't visible, but there we go...