22 November 2015

Design ideas.....for the Green Dress

I’m having a thing about Hares.  Have you noticed?
Yes, I thought so!

I want them running and jumping around on the green dress.

Possibly stencilled using oil paints… gold work appliqué ….. crewel work?

Well I know one thing I really want to start with - three hares running across the shoulder towards the front panel. 

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These are the threads I’ve picked out for the first stages.  
Autumn influences…. 
…. back to using a Goldwork style. 

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Cutting out felt for padding….

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Having drawn the hares onto gold silk organza the first stage is to stitch down the padding, piece by piece.

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Nothing is more inspirational than a blue sky.
With a storm brewing in the distance.

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21 November 2015

20 November 2015

The Green Dress for Autumn (working title)

Starting a new project, which design to choose…….

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Fabric all prepared, washed and ready to cut.
Two pairs of very old and very heavy cotton velvet curtains from the antiques auction.
Light faded in the most beautiful way.
No one else could love these curtains the way I do! 

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And so to “fussy" cutting…..
to give the deepest green on the centre panel. 

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17 November 2015

Sold!

Sold!

That feels good.

1 On the Forest Floor

16 November 2015

Yule / Christmas cards for sale

Yule for displayDisplay Yule 2015

 

Yule / Christmas Greetings Cards, printed on 350gsm gloss laminated card. Blank inside. Quality brown Kraft envelope. Exclusive and high quality.

1-4 cards £2.50 each 
5-9 cards £2.40 each  
10-19 cards £2.30 each 
20-49 cards £1.80 each 
50-99 cards £1.50 each 
100+ cards £0.90 each 
Includes UK postage.
Send me a message or leave a comment to buy. xxx

The Foundling Museum

Its taken me a long time to write this post.

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I’ve been thinking about what to say….. on a place that has deeply touched me.

The Foundling Museum, set up in 1739 and still in operation (in a different form) as a charity helping children today.

With a charter from the King and support from Hogarth and Handel it also became the first public art gallery.

It is simply heartbreaking.  You can read more here.

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Initially entry for your baby was by ballot - as the hospital was so over subscribed, as the Victorians took over it became a matter of petitioning the board to have your child accepted.  
You had to prove you were a woman of previous good character.

Often the babies were left with a small token - as their names were changed on arrival, this was the only way for a mother to identify her child should she wish to reclaim it (sadly very few were).

As a result the museum has the most wonderful collection of scraps of fabrics and ribbons from Georgian England.
There are also many trinkets - opera glasses, broken bracelets.
A fascinating insight into the lives of normal people. 


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At the time I visited there was an exhibition of Victorian painters on the theme of “The Fallen Woman”.

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So sad and heart wrenching.

 

I had an hour to wait before the train so walked through Bloomsbury (had I a spare £2 million I would buy myself a flat somewhere around here).

Bloomsbury

And spent time in the British Library looking at their “Treasures Room”.  From an original Beowulf (this was the highlight for me) to manuscripts by my favourite composer Purcell to Shakespeare (of course) to ancient Indian manuscripts.

A lovely way to end a wonderful, if absolutely exhausting, two days in London.

BL