These two pieces, inspired by a workshop led by Nerissa Cargill Thompson, depict ocean life (my abstract imaginary take on it) and there's lot of texture in them.
I used paint to make marks on the base fabric, and a lot of recycled fabrics as appliqué and Suffolk puffs, as well as some old lace, ironed plastic netting, couched wool thread, some beads and a fair amount of stitching.
Both pieces will be mounted onto 1 canvas, next to one another. Perhaps part of a future exhibition?
These bowls and sculptures are made from scrap thread and tiny fabric snippets, all waste material from previous projects. It's a technique I learned from a workshop led by Meredith Woolnough, which basically comes down to using water-soluble fabric and a lot of machine and/or hand stitching.
I love this way of using every last scrap of material as in the Japanese concept of mottainai : a caring culture in which you try to use something for its entire effective life.
Debbie Smyth is a textile artist who is famous for her "drawings" with pins and thread, and recently I attended a workshop with her and learned the very basic techniques.
I made a hanging piece inscribed with "Here comes the sun" from the fantastic Beatles song. It is a small piece so the pins had to be placed very close together which made it a bit of a fiddly job! I did not cut the threads which gives it a floaty look.
Since I didn't have a piece of wood as a base to jam the pins in, I fabricated my own from 2 plastic lids and some waste material from an iron board cover.
What I like about this piece is that the sentence gets completed as it spins. At first you only see the pins because they stand so close together and then the words are suddenly revealed 😊
Best wishes to you all for 2023!
My wishes are accompanied by this embroidered piece, which shows four seasons in one day on this planet, full of luscious greenery and delicious clear water.
The design is my own, inspired by a workshop led by Livia Papiernik. It’s a relatively small piece, 20 cm x 20 cm, but it required a lot of stitching!
I used silk thread, Jamieson & Smith wool yarn and all kinds of other thread, with various stitches and beads, mostly recycled, some of which I made myself.
Let’s hope for a lovely and inspiring new year!!
These sketchbooks are a bit bigger than the last ones I made. I went a bit rogue here and used rather bold colours for the cover and all kinds of paper, like old calenders and other kinds of reused materials. I love bookbinding in this free way, and I think the outcome is fun and unusual.
Couching is an embroidery technique in which you lay yarn or other materials across the surface of a ground fabric, then fasten it in place with small stitches.
The possibilities are endless when you start thinking about incorporating this technique in your work and wat kind of thread, cord, objects you can attach to it in this way!
This is the sampler I made for a workshop led by Hanny Newton (she has the most wonderful contemporary approach to goldwork embroidery!) :
This is my take on a workshop led by Alice Fox (an artist who works with found, gathered and grown materials) :
Inspired by the work of Sharon Peoples, I used the technique of random cross stitch to recreate the work "Ceci n'est pas un pipe" by the Belgian artist René Magritte.
the fabric is wrapped around a mount board and I also used some wadding to give the piece some depth.
It fits neatly in the tin in which it is presented.
I hope to have added to the joke the artist intended.
I made some small wall hangings, using plastic lids I covered with fabric. I then sewed trapunto pieces on them, adding beads, buttons, little roses and lace.
I find this an original way to try out new things.
This small piece is my take on the workshop led by Jessica Grady, via Textileartist.org.
The moon is cut from a page out of an old book. I folded written paper into stars and added some yellow beads.
The big blot is blue ink. I love that effect, suggesting a dark but not gloomy night.
I’m not sure yet if I’ll cut the edges and leave it in the hoop as a piece of its own or whether I’ll make it into something else.
I heard of a dyeing method using milk and tea and decided to give it a try. It’s really easy and gets great results.
What you do is this : make a pattern on the fabric using the milk and let it dry for some days. Then soak the fabric in hot strong tea for a couple of hours. After a while the pattern emerges, because the areas with the milk will dye darker, wonderful!
I'm sure I’ll find a good application for these fabrics in the near future, watch this space!
These charms are my contribution to the TextileArtist.org workshop hosted by Jodi Colella. They are made from scraps of lace, lots of beads, lots of thread, pieces of old clothes, wool and wire.
They have a really nice feel to them. Perhaps I created some nice Christmas decorations here, or brooches? Although they don't have a funcion (yet) I like them and one day, I'm sure, they will come in very handy!
I wanted to do a real upcycling/recycling project, using the sweaters we don’t wear anymore. Mainly to improve my sewing machine skills. I used the free pattern "Simple felted wool mittens" from Purl Soho.
I learned a lot from this and had fun looking for good colour and fabric combinations. But the most fun was decorating them with beads, embroidery, appliqué and all kinds of flowers.
I ended up with 10 pairs of mittens, all rather quirky and fun, definitely unique!
I decided to make a hanging plant pot from the glass shade of a broken lamp. I used a bit of the wonderful Ard-thir yarn from Kate Davies designs (in the Glamaig colourway) to crochet a structure in which the glass shade fits and added a small tassel for fun. Even small recycling projects like this deserve nice yarn in my opinion!
Like many other people, we used the lockdown period to clean out our attic. I came across this doll that a dear, old relative gave to me as a present in the seventies. I was a little girl back than and not very fond of the doll, but I’ve held on to it because of the person who gave it to me. I still think it is rather ugly and even a bit scary... But I’m also still not able to get rid of her, so I decided to give her a make-over, using fabric scraps from old clothes and a beaded necklace. Now she looks nice and happy and keeps me company in my workspace.
Projects like this I find the nicest and most rewarding. You get to be creative, look for creative solutions, use your stash to make something you are attached to beautiful again.
(And I hate throwing stuff in the bin 😊)
I had a sweater that was still in reasonably good condition but had become too small. I loved its fabric and colour so decided to walk the recycling path here.
I should have taken a photo of the original sweater, but I cut it up before I even thought of that.
From the sleeves I made long fingerless gloves. I cut them from the main body, picked up the stitches with my circular knitting needle and cast off neatly, cutting an opening for the thumb and sewing round it. Really happy with them!
The shawl neckline of the sweater was kind of special so I cut it off in its entirety and made it into a cowl. By sewing round the edge with a nice yarn (Manos del Uruguay Serena alpaca cotton blend) I managed a ruffled edge. With the same yarn, I embroidered some flowers. I added an invisible press stud so it stays well in place. Not completely my style, but I still think it is a successful project and hopefully will make someone else happy.
Then there was the body of the sweater, which I cut into broad strips, sewing them together into one loop cowl that wraps around the neck twice. Again I picked up the stitches, and added a small knitted edge in a colourful yarn (Mayflower Egyptian organic cotton Print). The colourful edge makes this a really pretty cowl, I think!
