WIP Wednesday…

It's Wednesday, so I'm linking up with Sharon at Pintangle to show some progress on my white quilt. If you haven't already seen Sharon's blog, do take a look, her latest quilt block is a stunner!

After laying out the bits and pieces I've done so far, I decided it was all looking a bit fragmented and that I was in danger of losing the overall scheme. So, for now I'm concentrating on the patchwork which will make up around 3/4 of the quilt. The remainder will be a panel of EPP hexagons (see below), and another of  individual blocks, each with a different theme.

I've also been doodling on stones again, first felting over them, then embroidering and adding beads to them. Felting and embroidering on stones has become my favourite form of procrastination, which I seem to do it whenever, I run into dead ends on other projects. I picked this stone up in Whitstable, along with a piece of tumbled glass, which I prefer to think of as a beach emerald rather than a broken beer bottle. When finished, I suspect this one is going to look a bit like a big green carbuncle!

What have you been up to?

Elizabeth,

x.

WIP Wednesday

Linking up with Sharon at Pintangle for WIP Wednesday. This may only be my second time linking up, but already I'm beginning to suspect this is a great motivator for progressing projects. I've already made more progress on this block in a week than I would usually achieve in two!

Procrastination does have its upside though since I much prefer to be in the middle of something rather than the beginning or end, and now that this block is finished, I'm forced to move onto the next. Bubbling away in my noodle is the thought that I should let the fabric take centre stage for a change. There will still be plenty of stitching but I think the texture should come from how I play with the fabric–that's the plan anyway!

I also need to lay everything out and see how the quilt is shaping up as a whole, rather than simply looking at it in fragments. I hope I like what I see!

Elizabeth,
x.

WIP or WIGSP…

For the first time, I'm linking up to Sharon at Pintangle, and her Work in Progress Wednesdays (although Work in Glacially Slow Progress would be more apt for my white quilt).

It's a great way to celebrate even the tiniest amount of progress, and can motivate us to pick up unfinished projects that have been languishing at the back of cupboards and bottom of sewing bags. I've decided to join in as it might help me inch along my white quilt, which is often pushed to one side, in favour of quicker fabric fixes.

However, this block has progressed somewhat since I last showed it; now 15 of the 24 squares in the grid have been worked. More of the rust dyed backing fabric has been revealed where I've snipped away some of the scrim, but I think I should be bolder and cut away even more–what do you think?

Sharon's blog includes some fantastic tutorials, while her dictionary of stitches is mind-bogglingly extensive–so well worth a visit!

Elizabeth,
x.

PS: Apologies for the gloomy photographs, it's very grey outside!

Threaditation…

Galvanised by all your lovely comments I got cracking on the next block for my white quilt. Again, this will be another slow burn, something I've no intention of rushing–a kind of 'thread meditation' as Queenie so aptly puts it–or threaditation as it could also be shortened to. Queenie's phrase perfectly describes how I feel about hand sewing, for me, freestyle embroidery is the ideal combination of quietness, thoughtfulness and creativity, while at the same time producing something I'll hopefully treasure.

I have to admit that I'm hopeless when it comes to attracting feedback (and leaving comments for that matter: alas well intended efforts have occasionally resulted in the wrong comment ending up on the wrong blog–doh). So instead I've come to see this blog as more of an online journal filled with makes and musings and not concern myself with stats–it's much safer that way! I accepted long ago that I'll never be an internet sensation, so any feedback (as long as it's not from online casinos and the like) is always gratefully appreciated.

Anyhow, back to the block. Over Christmas I did a little more rust dyeing. I experimented with various combinations of vinegar (white and red) lime juice, lemon juice and even apple, hoping for different effects. On some fabrics I used copper wire, on others steel wire as well as screws and paper clips. And the results…well, all pretty much the same although the white vinegar and copper wire did produce a very subtle greenish tinge, which was totally lost when I rinsed the fabric through. How come that never happens when I try to remove unwanted stains, why do they stay stubbornly in place?

I'm using one of the stronger pieces as a backing to some drawn and cut thread embroidery. My first challenge has been trying to photograph it in such a way that both the backing fabric and the scrim-like fabric are visible and don't merge into a muddy oneness.

It's a WIP, there's still
lots of
tidying up to do. 

Groovy baby! A 70s style
effect produced by placing the
embroidery hoop over a
table lamp.

The second, will be knowing when to stop, when to stop drawing the threads together and cutting away bits of fabric before the entire thing falls to pieces!

Elizabeth,

x.

A little bit of stitchery

I do like to have a slow project on the go, something that seems to have no end in sight and changes as I work on it. Intentional slowness, and changing the brief as takes my fancy are the antithesis of daily life which is all about schedules, deadlines and delivering what was agreed. I'm certainly not complaining–I like structure–but sometimes it's nice just to meander through the stitches, and freestyle embroidery is the perfect opportunity for that!

A while back I posted pictures of this block for my white quilt–which is very much a slow project (almost glacially so). At the time, I thought it was virtually finished but then changed my mind and decided it needed more embellishment. So I added some fern-like shapes but used a finer, darker thread as I wanted them to look as if they are in the distance. I also added more French knots, some whipped wheels, a daisy, a few more bits of lace, then outlined everything with kantha. Now that every possible area of this block is covered, I guess I'll have to let it go, stop tinkering and say it is most definitely finished and move on to the next one. Something combining rust dyeing and drawn thread perhaps?

Elizabeth,
x

White quilt–pollen

Here's another block I'm working on for my white quilt. It reminds me of pollen and seedlings floating on the breeze–not sure if that's a good image, or if it just makes my nose itch! I've used scraps of old lace, bits of muslin and a very thin and worn piece of linen for the background. The yo-yos are stuffed to give the block more relief and texture.

The rest of the background will be made up of kantha, french knots and bullion stitches. That's a lot of stitching, so if it starts to look a bit stitch heavy, I'll add more snippets of lace.

Elizabeth,
x.

White Quilt–some progress

It's two steps forward, one step back on my white quilt. I've completed one block, nearly finished a second, and I'm happy with both. However, as much as I liked the block below when first made, I've since realised that it can't be used as it's just too heavy! It weighs as much as the EPP strip of hexagons and the other blocks combined. I imagine, that if this block did make its way into the quilt, it would create a black hole effect–it's great weight dragging everything towards its centre! So, this block will just have to go in the samples book, or be used in another project, at another time.

Here are the ones that will make it into the quilt though…

This one is a vintage handkerchief which had a very pretty lace border. I folded the border in, added a few off-cuts of lace from vintage collars, then a little bit of embroidery.

This is a work in progress and I'm having great fun with it. The larger paisley motif, is made from a child's nightdress. The central circle is stuffed from behind (trapunto) to create a mound, which I've covered in chain stitch. Then, apart from a ribbed wheel for the smaller paisley, the rest of the stitching is good old Kantha. I do love running stitch!

Elizabeth,
x.

Eyeballs…

I like mudlarking, and collecting tumbled glass from the beach or bits of broken pottery–especially if it's blue and white. So, I was thinking of something to do with my treasures, rather than leave them in pots on window sills. A-ha! I thought, I know, I'll make them into felted stones! I'll embroider around them just as I did with the penny mats–I bet they'll look great. But they don't, they look creepy and weird.

One looks like a recently extracted mess of an eyeball, the other as I imagine Big Bird's might after a night on the sauce–or after a punch up. Much mirth has ensued around here, as we wedge the eyeballs behind our specs and take silly photos, none of which I'm willing to share!

Weird, whichever way
you look at them!

I haven't completely given up on this idea though, and with Halloween not too far away, who knows, maybe I'll make a few orange and black versions to hand out to trick or treaters? Afterwards, I'll take a more sensible approach: make them flatter–less eyeball shaped–with the bits of stone and glass off centre, then maybe they'd work as paperweights. What do you think?

Elizabeth,
x.

Lucky me!

Apart from crawling from one shady spot to the next, the last week has been spent, slowly working on my white quilt. All the hexagons are sewn together, and I've almost finished the 'barnacle' block which I'm outlining with strips of folded fabric to form ruffles around the main cluster of barnacles.

The ruffles make this barnacle
look almost rose like.

The EPP is complete.

I've made a start on another block: this one features kantha embroidery, and the tiniest bit of mola reverse applique – just a central velvet circle, surrounded by a larger silk circle, which sits on a raw edge linen circle (it's quite gauzy, so conveys the translucence I'm after). The subject is a couple of dandelion seed heads. So far, I've partially completed the first seed head, and I'm really trying to resist the urge to include some pale green for the stem – this is after all, meant to be a white quilt! I couldn't resist adding a halo of tiny gold beads however, so perhaps that's enough deviation from the main colour theme?

A nearly dandelion, and, patches
ready for sewing together.

Cutting the squares and rectangles that will form the main patchwork is taking much longer than I thought it would – there are so many of them – next time, I'll make bigger patches! But a totally unexpected, and very generous gift, from Kate, has got me itching to put my rotary cutter to work. Kate gave me a super pile of unwanted antique linens, including this gorgeous baby dress. Part of me thinks it's a crime to cut them up, but if the alternative, is for them to never see the light of day, then surely it's better they are used, rather than hidden in a stash box?

So pretty!

Look at the detail,
all done by hand too!

As if all this beautiful linen wasn't enough, Kate also gave me this fabulous indigo dyed fabric! I'm not yet absolutely sure what to do with it, but there's certainly enough to make a very striking pair of ceiling to floor curtains.

Now my friend may have a fabric stash to rival that of Liberty's, but this really is quite generous, don't you think? In fact, if it wasn't for the weather, I could almost believe it's Christmas.

Elizabeth,
x.

Crafty magazine

Oh look, it's one of my penny mats, this time making an appearance in issue 5 of Crafty magazine.

I made this one especially for them, using recycled Winter woolies that had shrunk in the wash. I seem to have a lot of things that shrink in the wash, which doesn't say much for my skills as a domestic goddess. My most annoying laundry accident has to be a beautiful pair of cashmere trousers that ended up being the backing for this mat. Before the fatal wash, I would lounge about in them, feeling utterly sophisticated and glamorous as they reminded me of something Lauren Bacall or Katherine Hepburn might have worn – long, fluid and totally elegant. However, one overly hot wash and abusive spin cycle later, and images of the Artful Dodger came to mind as the hems flapped around my calves.

Although I love (intentionally) making felt, it was fun to make a penny mat with ready made felt as it left more time for the embroidery. For this mat I wanted the embroidery to suggest barnacle covered pebbles found at the beach as the colours of the felt reminded me of stones.

I'm over the moon, to be included in Crafty, after all it's a seriously cool magazine, and best of all, my penny mats get another outing. If you haven't yet seen Crafty, it's worth checking out: not only does it feel fresh and modern, and includes great photography, but it's about crafting with a conscience and recycling as much as possible. Issue 5 will be on sale on Thursday 18th July!

Elizabeth,
x.

WIP Wednesday: the White Quilt

I've been having fun, pleating, gathering, stitching, and pricking my thumbs in the process. Slowly, the over all look of this quilt is coming together in my mind's eye. The design will be simple, a band of hexagons, top and tailed with squares of varying sizes, surrounded by a reclaimed lace border. I'll add my own embroidery and pieces of fabric manipulation, eg, the above twisted pleats, but I also want to re-use bits from other textiles, such as the satin stitch embroidery in the above photo, as well as a monogram from an antique linen pillowcase in the photo below.

I was secretly trying to make my cluster of tiny Suffolk puffs resemble whelks and barnacles, so was thrilled, when without any prompting, Patrick said that's what they looked like (he earns serious brownie points for that!). This will eventually be one of the larger squares, but I want to finish it off with an outline of skinny strips of fabric, tightly packed together to suggest something like coral.

As you can see, my so-called 'White Quilt' isn't really white, a few colourful interlopers have made their way into the scheme. But I'm going to continue to call it the white quilt–the whitish-creamy-brownish quilt, doesn't have quite the same ring!

Elizabeth,
x.

Hooked on Penny Mats.

I have become so addicted to making penny mats, that I think I might have to join Felters Anonymous in order to wean me off my felty fixation. But it might be too great a wrench - making felt feels so therapeutic, and sewing into it is such stitching bliss, that one mat is never enough! Nevertheless, it's high time I got on with making something else, so this one is definitely (I promise) the last I'll be making…for a little while, at least.

In terms of materials used, my pink penny mat bears scant resemblance to its nineteenth century ancestors. It is not made from old hats, military blankets, or bits of worn suiting, although I did use a two penny piece as a template for the inner circle. Backing my penny mat with expensive silk organza (rather than burlap or canvas) that I've nuno felted, probably doesn't qualify it as a thrifty, make do and mend utilitarian object either! But I don't care, my penny mats aren't meant to be walked on, or thrashed mercilessly with carpet beaters, all I want is something pleasing and decorous to look at!

And if that makes me shallow, so be it!

Elizabeth,
x.

PS: And I just couldn't resist making this one too!

Penny mats-part two!

One finished penny mat.

Such fun to do: I feel there'll be plenty more of these in the coming weeks–perhaps using tweeds as well as felt.

Wouldn't life be great if it was as much fun to generate real pennies?

Elizabeth,
x.

Penny Mats

I've always resisted felt making–thought it wouldn't be my kind of thing, but it turns out, it is! I think it's because felt making is a slow and soothing process, that gives better results the slower you take it. I like to take my time in choosing which wool tops to buy then teasing out the strands and laying them across each other first this way, then that, until I have a multi-coloured sandwich of fluff that is ready to felt.

There is something wonderfully serendipitous about felt making too since no matter how carefully you try to predict the outcome of your colour combinations, there is nearly always a happy surprise at how things turn out. It reminds me a little of painting with watercolours, where colour runs and bleeds produce the most surprising but beautiful results.

However, while I've grown to love making felt, I'm not so keen on the items my textiles tutor has encouraged us to produce. I'm not a big fan of jewellery at the best of times (I find it just gets in the way), so huge felted brooches or bobble necklaces really don't appeal to me! But after stumbling across a picture of some old penny mats I immediately knew what to do with my felt. I did a little research and discovered that penny mats have been around for a while–at least since the American civil war. They aren't just made of felt either, scraps of wool from old blankets and clothes are equally suitable, and as the name suggests, pennies were used as templates for the felt shapes.

Unfortunately, if you want to get your hands on an original, antique mat, you'll probably need to remortgage your house, or sell your grandmother, to do so, which is pretty ironic when you consider penny mats were initially made by thrifty homeowners looking for ways to save money by recycling. So you're best off making one, but be warned, making penny mats is highly addictive! This might be because they are actually incredibly easy to make–just lots of circles and embroidery stitches. I currently have a stack of what looks pleasingly like a plate of 40+ biscuits, and I just can't seem to stop adding to them. Ah, maybe, it's their biscuity look that makes penny mats so addictive to make, one is never enough, you always want more!

Of course, some people like to complicate penny mats by adding different shapes, and creating some truly impressive designs and pictures. As wonderful as these are, I don't think that pictures in felt can really be classed as penny mats, they are far too sophisticated and lack the charming simplicity of the originals. No, for me it's all about the circle, nature's (and the biscuit's) most perfect shape!

Elizabeth,
x.

PS: Now, I have to confess to being a bad blogger here, and issue an apology: I wanted to refer you to an excellent article on penny mat history but I forgot to bookmark the relevant blog and have lost the reply from the lady who kindly took the time to thank me for commenting on her blog!

PPS: I'd like to be a good blogger now, and refer you to Sara's Texture Crafts for one of the best colour selections of wool tops I've found in the UK.

The Art of Manipulating Fabric

Anyone who loves fabric and playing with it, be it pleating, smocking, shirring, cording, stuffing, or gathering it into anything from Suffolk Puffs (yo-yos if you're American) to flambouyant ruffles should put Colette Wolff's The Art of Manipulating Fabric at the top of their reading list. An absolute classic, photographed entirely in black and white, illustrated with basic line illustrations, and showing swatches rather than finished pieces, The Art of Manipulating Fabric is nevertheless utterly peerless for the breadth of knowledge and inspiration it contains. I don't think I've ever seen a book that offers as much to everyone from quilters to dressmakers to accessories designers: you could say, I rate this book very highly indeed!

Now that I've almost finished my Star Quilt I'm beginning to think about my next big project. Encouraged by my husband, who loves the seaside as much as I do, I'd like to base my next quilt on a strip of the Kent coast that we both love, and use some of Colette Wolff's techniques to achieve my aims. If you live somewhere exotic, perhaps near the equator even, I imagine that mention of the seaside probably suggests a sunny, golden, joyous place, and hence a quilt based on this would be a riot of colour. But you'd be wrong. I'm from England and it always rains here so the sky is usually grey and foreboding (although, as I write, a strange yellow ball is making a rare appearance in the sky). Besides, the seaside I'm thinking of isn't even the seaside proper, but a stretch of estuary mouth called the  Swale, which eventually becomes the river Thames. Call me perverse but nothing makes me happier than trudging for miles in the wind and rain across stones, shingle and mud flats and scrambling over groins to see what the tide and walkers have left behind.

Who needs sunshine!

It can be a bleak landscape: endless groins (there to prevent the beach being swept away by the tide) and a concrete sea wall (there to prevent flooding) and that's about it, no yachts or fun fairs or ice-cream sellers–maybe the occasional fisherman. The only embellishments on the horizon are windfarms: love them, or loathe them, it's hard to deny the mesmeric power of these graceful, waving giants at sea. It's such a utilitarian landscape, completely lacking in frivolity, and yet, to me at least, the Swale is one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

So my next quilt will be in tranquil tones of grey, sand and stone, which I think suits a quilt intended for a bedroom, and hopefully, what it lacks in colour will be made up for in texture and pattern. Since I want it to have the repetitve, sectional feel of the Swale I'll use a simple Chinese Coins design. I'll machine quilt the plain linen sections that fall between the coins, and try to include some of Wolff's techniques here. The colourful strips could suggest what has been washed up on the shore, and I'd like to add in as much texture as possible here.

I think I may need to do a few test swatches first, but this is my plan, let's see how it progresses.

Elizabeth,
x