Wow!

I've been plotting for some time now to find a way to be a 'proper' textile artist instead of just someone who makes stuff out of fabric that her friends like and plead with her till she gives them them...

I've known what course I want to do for some time (this one, here) and I've been frantically trying to find ways of funding it. This morning I went to future prospects and used there fundafinder database which has pointed me towards some charitable trusts that might be able to help. So, I get to spend the next couple of months filling in application forms!

I picked up some stationary stuff i needed and some sweets off the market stall that has sweets in jars that you buy by the 100g - god i miss those sweet shops and popped into the local art gallery to see the new show that was on. I haven't been in in a while as I've been rather busy but I was surprised with the reaction I got!

"Hey!Where you been? We haven't seen you months!Is everything ok?I thought you were going to bring some stuff in."
Last time I had been there it had been mentioned in passing that I might like to bring some of my work in. I never for the life of me thought they were being anything but polite! I'm to take some stuff in at the beginning of august!

That gives me a month to get some stuff made!

Where inspiration can lead!

Apologies for my extended absence. After spending a day feeling virtuous looking after my beloved while he was feeling unwell, I then came down with a severe cold. Unfortunatly this was masking a bad middle ear infection in my right ear thats been causing me problems for the last week. Answering the phone at work has been especially painful.

My beloved made sure I got a copy of Stitch when it came out, especially as I haven't been at my most cheerful for the last week or so!

And now, I will explain why why me and Stitching magazines are not a good idea....

The current issue of Stitch has a feature on this amazing doll artist called Patti Medaris Culua and she makes amazing dolls like these.

Ever since reading this article I have been obsessing, and I mean OBSESSING about making fabric dolls....I don't have half the materials I need but I'm already trying to make one.
Hers are astounding and I really wish I could make dolls like hers!
She sells patterns and I hope to buy some at some point soon. I really want to make The Goblin Princess, Olivia and the Tea Time Fairy! Though I think I will need to be at a higher level of skill before I can make those!

She also has a book called creative cloth doll making that I will buy as soon as I can afford it unless someoness feeling especially generous?!

Anyway, I'm currently in the process of making this doll - a freebie pattern on a site I found.

So, early in the week I cut her out, then hand stitched all the body parts. And have discovered machine stitching might have been a better idea...you have to do pretty strong hand stitching to withstand being stuffed.

By midweek I have a doll, who although having very shapely limbs, has a slight problem of looking rather feathery along her seams. I contemplated abandoning her and starting again but after all the work I'd already done I put her down for the evening and went away to think about it.

I came to the conclusion that I would have to stitch around the seams externally making a ridged seam along all the seams. Not perfect but am actually starting to really like the effect! I'll get her put together in the next day or so and then hopefully show her to you on monday....she might even have some clothes and wings by then!

Now.....Why is it so bloody hard to find instructions for making freeform needlelace?!

I promise...

A good sized post soon. Have a bad ear infection which is keeping me away from the computer at the moment!

Crafting with words

I haven't done much textile crafts this week as I've suddenly really got back into my creative writing groove, which I'd slipped out of for several years and it was actually starting to get to me! I had visions of being a writer when I kid and I never really lost that....one day i might even get the courage to publish one of my stories on here.

On the textiles front, I have a biscournu half stitches, 2 handbags like the red one to make, and a padfolio to make as well....and I need to figure out how to do satin stitch on my very basic machine!

Photos soon! Enjoy the bank holiday weekend all!

My first biscournu

I was inspired by this lady at Garden of Stitches to make my first biscournu.
I found the pattern here and changed the colours slightly to suit me better.
The bottom I did with just some squares of stitching.
I used the instructions here on how to put it together!

I'm off to design my own now!

Inchies Photos

These all went in the post today!
Flame
Sand and Sea Glass
Maroon, Sage Green and Silver
Red.

Would you believe each one of these took me around an hour to embellish. Who would have thought something so tiny would take so long!

Busy few days

Well, I've had a busy few days recently.

Wednesday I started my new job - this one is a maternity leave job so its at least a 6 month contract.Its going well so far.

I finished my inchies - photos as soon as camera batteries are charged. I left the damn thing on again and its runs them dead.I need to get some jiffy bags tomorrow and will get them sent out tuesday afternoon hopefully - So I'll only be a day late on the deadline! Thats pretty good for me!

I've also made my first biscornu. Photos of that tomorrow too!

I've also realised the reason I'd hit a creative standstill with my door project is because I didn't like the way part of it was going, but I think I've found a way to remedy that...update you on that soon too!

Rejoined Sparkpeople

Ok, I fell off the diet wagon completly, so am clambouring back on the wagon again! I've resigned up to sparkpeople and start my diet again in earnest tomorrow!

Things are starting to move again

Well, I've started sewing again after my little slump....I'm still working on these inchies and have started doing some cross stitch for the biscornu I want to make..

Photos as soon as I remember where I 'tidied' the battery charger for my camera and have charged them.

Today I will carry on doing a bit of sewing and then I need to start gathering bits and pieces for the dayschool I am going to on saturday.

Thankyou.

Thankyou to all the people who have responded to my post I made yesterday, both in comments and in emails.

Everyone has been very kind and helpful and made suggestions as of how to break the back of 'artists block' and I will be doing my best to try and put some into practice ASAP.

I need to sort out the pieces I need for this upcoming class in the next day or so, so I can use that to sort through my stash and sort out the bits I don't need/won't use and bought in one of those 'Well, I _might_ make something out of it....' moments.

That should start the ball rolling and I may find something to inspire me.

I think I have too much stuff and its cluttering my brain as well as my work room.

So, after that I will start experimenting again. A couple of people mentioned that I should cut up pieces that didn't quite work the way I want them to and make something new with it...I think the main issue is that I don't really do experimenting..

I'm stuck in a post art college rut of having an end goal to a piece of work and not having had the room to experiment as I probably should have.

I would love to take some of the classes and buy some of the books people have mentioned but at the moment, for the most part, if I can afford the classes I can't afford the equipment, and with us needing things like a new (secondhand) sofa and some new pans I won't be doing anything along those lines soon.I am in the process of starting a savings account in view to doing my C&G some day but at the moment its all a bit of a pipedream. Hopefully I will get something sewing related for my birthday in september.

At the moment the thing that is bothering me the most is all the wonderful paint effects and FME I am seeing - My college only taught fine art acrylics and I only really learnt watercolours at home (and I never could get the depth into my paintings), and although I am doing well at loopy designs in FME I'm still learning when it comes to the more controlled approaches.
I've also got things like angelica, puff paint and tyvek fabric and sheet that I don't really know how to use. I really want do so some stuff like Suz has been doing with her dragons and fairies but know I don't have the metal or space!

Sara pointed out to me that everyone has times when we don't think our work is as good as everyone elses and that people don't see all the trial runs beforehand!

Val pointed out something so very true that it made me cry (which I think I needed to do anyway, and she shouldn't feel bad about it! ) -which was this "I think you are your own worst enemy. Stop beating yourself up - what have you done to deserve it?! Think positive young lady, and eliminate the negative."

I do this all the time. Its part of the ongoing battle with depression I have, and as usual I haven't noticed myself slipping into a depressive state again - this at the moment is also made a lot worse by the presence of the rollercoaster my hormones go on at this time of the month. I'm a lot better than I used to be but sometimes the negative thinking creeps back in and settles in before I can catch it.

I always expect far to much of myself and then take it very badly when things don't work out the way I wanted them too. Part of it was the fact I've been learning embroidery stitches for a year now and I want to actually make something finished.

Anyway I've made a list of things I need to finish:
My Inchies - These are half finished!
My Door Project

And a list of things I want to make, mainly for myself:
Purple bags for me and S.
A box for my ATC's to go in.
A running stitch bookmark like the one on Dy's blog.
A Pincushion because I need one.
A Biscournu because I've been fasinated by them for a long while now!
A Padfolio because they are interesting.
As an ongoing project i really need to crack on with some ATC's!

Anyway, I am going to go and make some toast and a cup of tea, watch Calamity Jane and do some sewing on my inchies. If i finish those I might start doodling about one of the projects I've noted up there.

I think I will buy lottery tickets this week in the hope I'll win enough for me to do some courses!

Thanks to everyone who emailed or commented here. As isolated as I am (thats another story)its nice to know people care!

Pottering along

I've having one of those duldrums periods again where I don't know what I'm doing, or where I am going with my stitching...

I have all these things I want to do and have completly lost confidence in myself. Stitches aren't turning out the way I want them too and I am always feeling that what I've made somehow isn't good enough.

I know I can be a perfectionist at times but I'm suffering from a lack of direction. This isn't helped by my missing my Embroidery Guild meeting yesterday because of stomach cramps. This hasn't helped my mental state at the moment either.

I've got all these wonderful materials like puff paint and angelica and tyvek and for the most part no idea what do with them, I've been experiementing with them but still don't know if its all going right or anything.

I joined my textilechallenges group to help get some direction to what I was doing but I'm still feeling a little out there on my own.

I've got a dayschool at Embroidery Guild on saturday which I'm looking forward to, so that should help but I still wish I knew how to do some of the amazing stuff people around me are doing. There are lots of courses and dayschools but till I'm getting paid regularly again, I can't justify it.

Part of this is I have lost confidence in my abilities again. This happens sporadically but I don't seem to be able to pull myself out of it at the moment. I don't seem to be able to get my normal inspiration from the things around me. Its starting to really get to me!

Hopefully I can get back on track soon but I just don't know where to start!

Look what I made!

As much as I love my oriental CQ bag I am aware using it every day isn't good for it, so I've spend the evening rustling up this.

It is made of a deep red cotton with a black polycotton lining, with a black cotton bias tape trim and a huge black button. (Its hung over my exercise bike if you are wondering what it is!)



Anyway, am off to bed now as it's gone midnight and I have to be up early in the morning!Just wanted to show this off!

Tidying...

We've got a friend coming to stay tonight which means the long overdue tidying and rearranging of the living room is finally happening....on my own. My beloved will be helping when he gets back from work - though he may be getting assigned to washing up and cooking duty this evening!

So far I have moved things into the workroom ( which will HAVE to be the next thing I sort out!), rearranged the contents of shelves, moved furniture made our table so we can actually sit at it and last but not least made a heap of stuff I have to now go and sort out. Then I can hoover, and tidy the last of the stuff away.

I'm having to gear myself up to go and deal with the pile of stuff as I know there is a big brown spider in the middle of it - luckily we don't have poisonous spiders over here, but its still very big and I dislike spiders nearly as much as I dislike crickets and grasshoppers!

Ah well, at least this will knock a task off my 101 tasks! 39. Decluttering the Living Room!

Then if I'm not COMPLETLY exhausted I may get on with the bag I am making myself. Do you want to see a photo of the living room when I am finished?!

What I've been doing....

Well, I'm officially in the gap between the end of one contract at work on the Friday just gone and the start of the longer term one in just over 3 weeks from now.
I've started the I.T. Qualification I'm taking (a CLAIT Diploma for anyone who is interested) and have already completed the first two modules, one being File Management and E Document Production (how to turn it on and write a letter.....) and the other being Creating Spreadsheets and Graphs. I've taken the assessment for these today so I will find out tomorrow how I've done.

Next I will be doing Database Manipulation, then Online Communication and Finally Web Page Creation.

You have to take the first module (File Management and E Document Production) but you get to choose the others. My boss chose the first 4 and I got to choose Web Page Creation for myself :)

Apart from that I've been researching a couple of things completely non-craft related.

There's a program I've been watching called Its Not Easy Being Green, which is mainly about self sufficiency and green energy. Its something I've always been aware of, especially as our neighbours. Jenny and Graham as I was growing up were for the most part self sufficient. They grew their own veg, and even produced their own tofu (which I still loathe). They were the first people I ever met who home schooled. Quite scarily their two kids Jack and Eve are now both married with kids and are younger than me!

Anyway, back to the point I was making - me and my fella have been watching this show and wondering what we could do, as we are in first floor rented accomadation.

Those of you who have been reading for a while will remember that we have a little roof terrace which is the access to the front door and last year I had plants out there...well, this year we are going to try and grow some veggies and herbs in pots on the roof terrace.

It appears to be the time of year for green related things. One one of the websites I visit DIY:happy had a post earlier in the week about Earth Day and celebrating it . I can't believe I didn't know about this!

Lolly at Lolly Knitting Around's post Everyday is inspiring - they have a wind turbine and everything!

And finally via Lolly Knitting Around I have discovered sew green (isn't it a wonderfully pun-tastic name?!). This blog is really interesting and so are these that I have found through it:
The Worstead Witch
She Turns Slowly

Anyway, the point is, I dream of having a more self sustaining lifestyle than is possible at the moment..

In other news, I'm still working on my doors project, I've updated my 101 tasks in 1001 days blog, am planning a project which involves making myself a new bag and have 2 of my 4 sets of inchies made as far as the bases.

Final Straw

I left one of my groups today. I'm not going to say which one but there were several reasons behind this including one persons pretty much making the group for her little clique, my being preached to on several occasions, and a couple of other things but the main one being that when I made a rare visit to the groups actual page at yahoo, the welcome message has been changed to include the phrase 'family friendly'.

I happen to have a piece of work planned that involves a naked female figure (yes, I am going to do a nude - it will NOT be a self portrait!) and was going to share it with that group but oh well. I had pulled back on my involvement with that group when some changes were made but this final straw just broke the camels back.

To the friends I have made there, I will miss you.x

100 tasks in 100 days.

I found a project people are doing in which you make a list of 101 things you want to do and you have a time limit of 1001 days.

I've decided to join in and you can find more details and my list at the blog I've set up for it, here.

Door progress

I was sitting around last night wondering what on earth I was going to do with the central panel of my door piece - I'd done several experiments, none of them successful and then a weird incident occurred which solved it!

I'd sat down on the edge of the bed whilst thinking about it and putting my slippers on and the card I made with fabric paper at the Xmas EG meeting happened to fall off the shelf and landed at my feet!


I then remembered the experiment pieces I'd done when trying to make fabric paper and went and pulled them out.

This is the piece I'm going to use.

And this is it behind the surround. What do you think? Does it look OK?

I'm going to stitch and embellish it and will keep you posted!

Some good news and FME

My current work contract is due to end on friday and it looked like it would be another slog around the agencies to find some more work, but I had applied for a job covering maternity leave at the place I am working and I got it! I'll be unemployed for three weeks but then not only do I have a definete 6 months at least of work but they are also going to pay for me to take an IT qualification!

My darning/FME foot arrived today and I've done my first decent FME!


Here it is! These are some inchies I've done for a swap I'm in. I did my own first due to the fact I wasn't used to it yet but I think they have come out quite well. I'm using some clear seal on the sides to stop them fraying. I'm yet to embellish them but I can see myself doing some ATC's this way! I'll be getting on with the others over the next few days.


They are backed with muslin which has made me realise I am coming to the point of using it to back everything!

Anyway, more photos as soon as I've worked some more on the inchies!

Door progress

Well, heres the progress on this project.

I've done all the french knots, cut and turned the central panel and stitched it in place and stitched some step details in. (Yes, I am currently sick of french knots but I adore the texture!)

I've thinking about having some ivy curling up one side of it. I took the shot below on good friday.


I'm going to have a door on it as well as the panel in the door way which I need to start on soon!
For the door I was thinking of using a piece of wood (shock announcement! a door made of wood you say?! *gasp* ) but it would have to be quite thin! I'm also thinking about how to fix it in place - for that part at least its back to the drawing board!

In other news, I've ordered a FME foot for my machine and when it arrives I can see if I can sort this darn tension issue out so I can make pretty things in less time!

Wowee!

I went to my EG meeting yesterday and it was a really good day! I got some work done on my door in the morning and in the afternoon we had a talk done by Kay Greenlees the author of Creating Sketchbooks for Embroiderers and Textile Artists.


This is the book my partner bought for me for xmas after I mentioned I really really really wanted it. If you are someone who wants to develop your work using sketchbooks then this is the book I really suggest buying!

The talk she did was brilliant.

The main points she seems to be wanting to get across are:
Your sketchbook is just that, YOURS. There is no right or wrong way to use it. Do what works for you. It is fine to go off on tangents - they often produce the most interesting pieces!

She said to Catch ideas when you have them - jot them down or do a little drawing- on a recipt, a paper napkin, anything you have on you, you can draw or write on.

Seriously, I cannot say more than go out and get the book if its the way you want to go with your work!

My favourite thing she told me - that I'm not the only one who starts the piece I want to do and then does sketchbook work to go with it ;)