Another beautiful day.

Boning and Topstitching....

….are not my favourite jobs at all!

But I survived the topstitching without any wobbles.  Thank goodness.

The Bunting

Another piece of work to be installed in Wallington House was inspired by an inscription in the conservatory / greenhouse.

 

Taking most of the wording…. and lovely pretty fabrics I’m being all girlie and loving it.

The Edwardian Dress - second instalment

Pinned together to see how it looks.

The little bustle on the back is embroidered with black crows.

 

The grey fabric will form a long train that’s painted to match the bodice.

I’ve now got the lining and boning ready to cut and put together for the corset, and I need to put that skirt together and onto a waist band.

Next instalment soon!

Painting the bodice.

Cut out or not cut out?  That was the question.
I decided it would be easier to see what was what if I cut the pieces of the bodice out before painting them.

To keep the rather slippery fabric still I taped them to card, found the stencil I wanted and the Markals oil sticks.

 

Markals are oil paint in stick form and perfect for fabric decoration.  It takes a little practise, a steady hand and nerves of steel.
It couldn’t go wrong, there is no spare fabric (don’t ask, not my fault, more mis-sold with marks that I wasn’t expecting and had to cut around).

 I used two colours - silver and charcoal, blending the two colours as I went along.

Leave for 48 hours, iron well (cover with parchment paper and use a hot iron) and then they are fixed permanently.

 

The Edwardian Dress

For the Wallington exhibition I wanted to create, for my own satisfaction, a centrepiece of my work.
I wanted something that I would love making, that would stand out and that I could utilise in future teaching and lecturing.

The theme and inspiration was along the lines of “WW1, the end of the Belle Epoque era, death and destruction, poppies and pacifism (of the house owner)"

So the only way to go was to start with red.

And crows.

And a corset top.

And a bustle.

Get the idea?

 I’ll post more photos over the next week.

From SE Pakistan....

….To my sitting room.

Remember I said I bought a lovely piece from John GIllow at the World Textile Day in June?
Here are the photos to enjoy, I make no excuse for there being rather a lot of them!

 

Bees at work

Off out for lunch at Floors Castle Garden Centre.
Fabulous food and flowers.  Perfect combination.

Bees on Eryngium Jos Eiking.

 

Barter Books

Impossible to visit this second hand book shop without bringing part of it home. 

Nothing better for a Sunday and yes thats my boy. :)

Foxgloves

 Seems we are being over run with Foxgloves this year.  

I LOVE them, so more the merrier.

 

You can see more gardening pictures here.

Sketchbook work in Mixed Media/2

Two works using silhouette ideas.

 

"Let your artistic soul fly"

Colour

Nothing makes my heart sing more than the right colours bouncing and zingy off each other.

I took this photo yesterday and realised all of my favourite colours were in there. 

Along with a favourite flower.

 

JQ March 2014

Continuing with the theme of a "sense of place", "trackways",and a "personal journey" within the Land of the Far Horizons.
Interpreting the Northumberland landscape, with special reference to the archaeology and history.

Hand dyed fabrics, oil paint rubbings of ancient deer, thoughts of rituals involving antlers, the hunt and the chase.
Hand stitched with silk threads.

Think I have the urge to get the dye pots out again…..

 

Sketchbook work on Holyhocks

I wonder if I should just paint….. however I love textiles too much.

But I do sometimes get worn down by not being recognised as a “serious" artist (and not making much money!)

Some Hollyhocks for you to enjoy, mine are about 5 inches tall in the garden, but I am a proud “grown them from seeds” gardener.

 

Sketchbook work in Mixed Media

 

Mini Samples and Journal Quilt

 

Continuing with the theme of a "sense of place", "trackways",and a "personal journey" within the Land of the Far Horizons.

Interpreting the Northumberland landscape, with special reference to the archaeology and history.

JQ for April 2014

Generic view of the rolling hills with reference to the cup and ring carved rocks found in this landscape.
Hand painted canvas, FME.