These collages are inspired by the work of Monique Day-Wilde and one of her workshops which I attended.
They are collages of paper and textiles with added stitching. Using paint I applied prints of plants to the paper. I used tissue paper and handmade Japanese paper, which is so lovely to work with!
I noticed again how joyful it is to stitch through paper!
These socks were knitted by my husband's grandmother, who passed away many years ago.
I could never throw them away because they are a labour of love but they got forgotten somewhere in a box in the attic.
When I came across them during a recent cleanup, I decided the time had come to do some serious mending. I used my cute darning tool and some colourful yarn.
I love this job and I love even more that we can use the socks again!
my cute darning tool:
Trapunto, the "stuffed technique", is a method of quilting, originating in Italy in the fourteenth century. By this method you can create puffy, decorative features.
Via TextileArtist.org I attended a workshop with Julie B. Booth to learn this technique.
The small sample I made I incorporated in a larger piece I am (still) working on and I feel it's a great addition.
It has been a while since I actually finished a knitting project and I enjoyed it immensely.
This free pattern is called "Brick Sidewalk Beanie" which you can find here. It's an easy one, but stays interesting because of the repeating pattern. I used Hedgehog Fibers Merino DK in the absolutely fabulous colourway "Fool's gold".
I loved knitting this hat, both because of the lovely yarn and the pattern being right up my street. Very happy with my new favourite hat!
In a workshop led by Ailish Henderson, I learned to create wax drawings and prints on fabric, using the batik method. The great thing is I didn't have to buy any new equipment, because I could use my wax burner and watercolour paint.
I love the more unpredictable character of this craft and the whimsical shapes it produces : it means that you’ve got to be creative in thinking about the result.
The fire will be part of a bigger piece I'm planning. The green pattern I made into an embroidered piece on its own.
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!
This is a collage of textiles, paper, pebbles, shells and lots of thread. I used acrylic paint, wax crayons, sharpie, pencil and ink.
it's a sea-themed piece and I loved making it. The different layers of paint have given it extra texture which I find fitting here.
This piece is modeled on one I made earlier, same design, different method.
Here I used batik (on the base fabric), embroidery with threads of different thicknesses and couching. I also added some acrylic paint to the tree.
Because it both has warm colours and is a kind of wintery landscape, it has a bit of an unreal, perhaps even eerie, but also fascinating feel to it.
This project was part of the speedcrafting sessions with Helen Robertson from Shetland. I joined these crafting sessions during the pandemic and they were an amazing way to tackle feeling empty and isolated.
The patchwork clock is made from an old vinyl record, covered with fabric patches.
It’s all retro vibes here!
