Changing my spots.

If you've been here before you will know that I am very fond of blue and green perhaps with a bit of orange, and in the last post I was trying to capture the colours of lichen and stone so murky greys were on the cards.

My second feltmaking session was to prepare patterns as 'randomly' as I could for future embroideries so I started with my favourite colours. Prefelts cut up and refelted onto a backgound.

Can you see the letter 'a' there on one of them? Perhaps this will become an 'illuminated' initial.


Then I got distracted.

My 'For the Girls' Cornishware mugs bore a striking resemblance to the colours in my big bag of new wool tops.
So a major production of plain felts in these colours just had to be made for my new brooches. Of course it all began with blues and greens again
and then I moved onto the pinks and lilacs .
I was saying in my last post how difficult it is to plan what you are going to want in your felt palette. It has to be made before you need it so its as well to have lotsof shades of felt and pre felts. So I now have my selection of new spring colours.
These little old plates that belonged to my Mother in Law and the freesias and tulips I bought for myself make up my 'Mood Board'.
I cut up some of the prefelts and re assembled and re felted them


so I've got some pastel patterns to stitch into later.

Although I love these sherbert-dolly mixture-jelly bean- blancmange clear colours, I'm kicking myself for not making some textured pieces with other fibres added, because I can't help but see them as shop bought 'craft' felt, which has its place, but to me is as bland as white wonderloaf.
I prefer my felt to be the 'rustic wholemeal'
Its drying and my legs are aching from standing up all day.

I can't wait to get stitching .


But I had to clean the house today.
You wouldn't recognise it.
We are having a visitor or three.
Shopping tomorrow, and decorating the Church after the Good Friday service so I can go to Bacup on Saturday Morning to see something very bizarre. It only happens on Easter Saturday. Its a few years since I was there.

Then back for the Saturday evening Easter Vigil, and cooking a big family lunch on Sunday.

Have a Happy and Peaceful Easter.

Three bits of sewing.

Thank you everyone who commented on my last post and said how pleased they were to see that someone else worked in a mess.
I have to inform you that I was sharing those pictures because for once my sewing room is tidy.
Thank you also to those of you who elevated it from 'spare room' to 'studio' with all the shiny polished surfaces that word implies.

With the aid of my new work tops I have been creating this week.
First, of course, and due to popular demand from here and there, more felt brooches.
Its a good job I love making them.
I have orders.



Then a small commission from my Mum, who wants to send a wedding card.

But my favourite project of the week was this bag for Helen. She sent me lots of actual size photocopies of her best loved bag and asked me to make one for her in my own style but to her pattern.

I used two gorgeous blue tweeds that I think go together really well, one herringbone and one small check.
The long pointy flap of the bag pulls through a loop rather like one of my cuffs so I concentrated the detail on here adding silk and velvet in co ordinating colours.

Because I liked it so much I even spared one my most precious straight-from-the-weaver labels, and I lined it with russet silk taffeta for a contrast surprise when its open.

It was fiddly fitting the flap and straps and lining and I did swear a bit, but I love it so much and I think she is quite pleased too.

I had a nice surprise yesterday when I was told one of my brooches made it onto the ETSY front page and was sold almost immediately.
There is a flickr set of everything thats been on the front page but this one hasn't been loaded yet so you will have to make do with my screen shot.

Its amazing what a difference it makes getting on the front page...600 views in about 2 hours.

Something to look forward to..I decided that since I am unable this year to go to the Knitting and Stitching show when it comes to Harrogate, I would look into going on the train to Alexandra Palace.
I have booked advanced tickets for Friday 9th October, do let me know if you are going to be there that day.
The train fare is so cheap when you book so far in advance, that my friend and I are coming home first class. Well, we'll be shattered won't we?
I've never travelled first class before..oohh excited!

I was tagged this week. But oh shame on me..I can't remember who it was. Thats a bit of a nuisance because I really fancied doing this 'meme' . It was about obsession.
I have almost stopped doing the ones where you just pass awards on to 6 or 7 or even 15, I hope you'll forgive me. I have so many contacts and people in google reader that I just get frustrated trying to remember the ones I want to pass them on to.
Each time I post I think I must remember to thank '?' for that lovely comment but again..my mind's a blank.
But be assured that at the time I read your comments I thoroughly enjoy them.
Thank you.
Oh, about the lamp..if I lived in USA I could have any one of a hundred similar but here in the uk no such luck.
Now..how does this facebook thing work....???

Exercise

Since coming home from our unexpected trip I have been desperate to get back into my sewing room, but I knew I had this task awaiting me.
A problem to be solved.
How to line and 'zip' this felt bag.

I made it ages ago trying, as I said before , to incorporate my usual embroidery style into felt.
Its just not possible to do the embroidery as part of the pre felt process because the velvet needs to be tumble dried to get a good finish, so I stitched it onto a strip of felt and used the embellisher to attach it to the bag.

Then added a decorative flower stitched on by hand.

There are lines and obvious separateness but I quite like that aspect.
The biggest problem is the lining and adding a zip in a professional way . I think I got it in principle. Its a piece of lining fabric..not rubber as it may seem in the picture!

Phew.
It took so long, if I sell it on ETSY it will be fiendishly expensive.
I've got one in pink, one in lilac and a duck egg one too.

When I'd finished wrestling with that I had a bit of fun with some HUGE brooches..I mean HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE.
Would you dare to wear one?
At least 5 inches high.

Even more wacky and wild.

It was such a joyous process.

Then I calmed myself down with some pinkness.
Which I have to say is a much prettier colour in reality than this photo shows;
The velvet is a beautiful rich cerise.

Not a bit orangey like this picture.

Then I finished with blue.The centre is beautiful deep rich turquoise and indigo.

.....and...breathe................................................

While I was doing this I was listening to the afternoon play on Radio 4.

Setting the scene #I
When I was a teenager I saw a tv film of a ghost story by MR James called 'Whistle and I'll come to You My Lad'. It was the most frightening thing I have ever seen on TV and always comes into my head when I stay in a B&B because the scary bit was in such a place. I have not forgotten it even after all these years.
(In fact, my older son went away to camp with school and was equally scared at the telling of it by one of his friends. Came home and told me all about it and I instantly knew what it was)

Setting the scene #II
My husband has some work he has to return to people in Aldeburgh, and I really fancy a trip there. We could stay in a B&B for a few nights and make a little holiday of it.

Action
The play I listened to this afternoon(as well as being quite creepy in itself) informed me that #I took place in the proposed venue in #II!!!!!!
M.R. James based all his Ghost stories on Aldeburgh.

How can I go now?

Now I have to prepare myself for a sad event.
The last ever episode of ER.
I think I've seen every one.
(S0b!)

Bullseye

The target of 4 items a day seemed a bit ambitious, especially since some of them were handbags.
I showed you the first of these in my last post and I have now made 4 altogether.

I just heard Anna Freud, (a poet and daughter of amazing artist Lucien) on Women's hour.
(Is that apostrophe correct? Women is already plural and the s makes it possesive...)
She was talking about her time as an embroiderer, and how she might put two colours together, say a peach and a dove grey, and the effect would be amazing and unexpected and thats why she loved it so much.
Take that peach further until it becomes orange, and the dove grey becomes turquoise, and voila!

I have devised some other bags with three 'bullseyes'. The centre bullseye is on a flap that comes over from the back to fasten it.


More unexpected colour thrills.
In this tweed below there is a blue grey thread among the weave, so I added blue grey velvet.


I've cut into the precious bright tweeds for these bags.



I loved the bullseyes so much I made a whole lot of brooches.

I sat watching TV last night fraying the edges.

(Oh I do love Matthew McFadyen as Mr Clenham in 'Little Dorrit'. Does anyone else find his acting incredible? He can change his expression so imperceptibly and subtly that you hardly notice, but know exactly how 'Mr Clenham' feels. Sorry non-UK friends who can't see it)

It seems a pity to be unweaving all the Harris tweed edges, and its very hard to fray a circle.

They were such fun to make and I kept the backs simple, no extra fabrics or stitching so I can keep them down in price.

So, thats 8 bags, 12 tweed brooches, plus a couple of hearts I've sent off for people, since Sunday afternoon.

And I was out most of Tuesday.

I hope it doesn't count as mass production.

But don't mention the housework or the ironing.

I have a wardrobe full of empty hangers and a spare room full of crumpled clothes.

I Heart Harris Tweed

I really do.

Hebridean Jewels.

At last I've made something I feel I can show. (Although the pictures are not too good, you can click on them for more detail)
Cuffs using a background of Genuine Handwoven Harris Tweed, combined with beautiful hand-dyed silk velvet



(Forgive the ropey state of the 'models' arm just look at the product!)

.

and lined with 'vintage ' fabrics, Laura Ashley here.



I've been using Harris Tweed with my dyed silk velvet for quite a while now. It all started when I was given some as a gift from the Isle of Harris. I'd had it a few years and I suddenly hit upon combining it with silk and velvet. I made a few brooches from the one piece I had and they were received well.



So I got in touch with the Harris Tweed Authority who gave me the names and addresses of 4 handweavers, two of whom replied to my letters and were prepared to sell me small amounts of their wondrous product.
In this brooch I have added some little matt beads.





This pink one is much more beautiful in reality than the picture shows

and its lined with an old Liberty Tana Lawn


They fasten with velcro

so are adjustable in size.

The velvet glows like jewels against the wool.

The little purple beads on the dark one may even be amethyst..they were in a very old tiny 'Potassium permanganate ' tin from Boots in an inherited 'stash'.

The Harris Tweed is so lovely on this scale because you can really appreciate the blend of colours that go into it to make the overall pattern.
These two older brooches are the same background fabric with different velvets .

And I really enjoyed making these loopy flowers last year

I sold them for £8 each.(I still have a few left if you are interested.)
And if you would like to see more there are some bags here and a pile of brooches here.
I have listed the cuffs and a brooch on Folksy
Thank you all for your feedback on the gift tags.
They have been featured on Cuteable
Thank you Lynsey.