a while ago..........

this was something I did a while ago but I thought it somehow went with the buttons below..........

velvet corduroy, chiffon netting, a bit of slashing and machined thread

ooooohhh, shiny.......

Bought these beautiful Victorian buttons from, wait for it, The Button Society.

They are so lovely I will have to think
twice about where and what I use them for.

The smallest round one is about the size of a 10p

still trying

thats it, Easter is properly over.

found the secret to finishing my Business Paper. stop writing it and refocus and start again.
I feel like Mrs Finnagain Beginagain but I'm sure its for the best

note; no rubber chicken was harmed in the taking of this photograph

time is ticking

well the Choccy Eggs & Bunny's may have been eaten but it still feels like Easter.

Still plugging away at my paper, just haven't got the balance quite right yet

Memories tag

memories

memories reverse

the back of Daisy

This is the back of Daisy the dog tag and there is a secret inside it, you have to lift the 'e'  handle to see it

remembering Daisy the dog tag

the veil over Daisy doesn't really show her off that well but I quite like this one all the same. It crinkles in your hand like a dry leaf.....

the back of a 10cm high motif on the reverse of a 3 meter length....

8.5 cm tall, silk damask seat, so cute

single chair

and a set of three

another chair

ooops, slight miscalculation!

hello World,

had a bit of a horrid realization this am, it's not really 32 days to blast off now, its ONLY 25!!!
I hadn't allowed for the setting up of the show, prepping the area and oooh dear, it is certainly making me focus on what I have to do!

any way today's effort includes yet more wiring and then some fun artwork around chairs, but this time some minature ones I've managed to get, not sure why but extremes of scale has always fascinated me, like the giant knitting needles held by a couple of heavy machines like JCB's actually knitting with heavy gauge cables, saw it in Fibrearts a while ago, and now to the other end of the scale, tiny chairs, my embroidery scissors are in some of the pics to show just how tiny the chairs are.

...35 days...

this is a snap from our end of year show last year

(my three mixed media heads on plinths in the middle)

I'm already narrowing down my options for this year,

in terms of what I should and shouldn't display,

one things for sure, I'm looking forward to finishing it all!

36 days til I have my life back..........

yep, a whole life instead of one spent in a workroom, night and day, with only Elvis Beany for company, much as I love him, sometimes he just plain smells........... and not in a nice way.

well today is about the last business module session with the paper still to complete, and then some more mixed media embroidery AND more chairs........drawing, photoshopping, taking apart and on it goes but then perversely I feel so priviledged to be in this situation.

....and there is always the close peg on the nose approach for those special Elvis Beany moments

37 days to go............

37 days, really, is that all?
seems much less when I think of my scary 'to do' list!
today's first job will be working from my gingham source, I think I will 'create' a fabric out of three others ready for printing onto.

My business report is shaping up nicely thanks to the lovely people at the Beetroot Tree, thanks again peeps

and from my life other than degree work, my assistant ~ Elvis Beany urgently requires a haircut.....maybe he won't mind to much if I just give him pigtails instead......I think he's looking worried

38 days to go!

Well another day sat in front of a computer, this time writing my first draft of my final paper rather than Photoshopping. Can't belive there are only 38 days to handing  my work in and then a few short weeks to our Degree Show. Having said that how has the British ritual of Tea drinking and the Conversations during it, managed to hold my attention for so long?

Now all I think about are chairs, empty chairs (where is that person, who is missing them?), capturing snippets of revealing conversations, tea paraphenalia like cups, tea bags, some with strings, some without, embroidered tea cloths, gingham tea cloths and the connections made while sharing the activity with someone, sometimes even just thinking about them in their absence.....oh dear my head is nearly full up!

I'm glad its raining

It's pouring down outside and I'm glad, if it was sunny I would be messing around outside instead of working on my degree show as I'm meant to be doing right now!

I did have a jolly over to Clitheroe on Saturday, buying up linen and cotton jackets to work, more research in two nice tea shops there~ Mollys and Tchaikovsky's and had a look at Northweaves work in the Platform Gallery. Some lovely pieces, my favourites being Alison Carthy  and Vasiliki Skepetari's work.
Well worth a visit and here is a link just in case you have to make a virtual one............

http://www.ribblevalley.gov.uk/platformgallery

its Friday before a Busy Bee weekend!!

Just ready to start writing my final degree paper, same old worries, have I picked the right subject, do I really understand the difference between a dissertation and a report, have I researched enough, what have I missed?

This degree is almost the same, (not quite, no gas and air available) as having a baby except the pregnancy has been of 3 years duration...............
This weekend is course work, writing and art work. I think I shall be using my embellisher machine to finely felt layers of fleece onto muslin which will then be embroidered, picture coming soon!

and IF there is any time left over also a bit of gardening and sitting in the sun hopefully, maybe with a little tipple or 2....or 3...?

and IF there is any time left over also a bit of gardening and sitting in the sun hopefully, maybe with a little tipple or 2....or 3...?

Hurrah! I won something

If your thinking of studying textiles but are wondering if age is against you, don't worry just give it a go!!!
Yesterday I heard that my wonderful good fortune of winning the Undergraduate Bursary Award from the Textile Society in March
 http://www.textilesociety.org.uk/bursaries-awards/student-bursary-winners.php
I especially like them using my 'Voices' piece as a banner for the page as it is one of my favourites.

Even had a write up by my Uni for their website although I'm not sure I appreciate the photo.....
http://www.uclan.ac.uk/news/uclan_student_honoured_by_textile_society.php

The Beetroot Gallery and Cafe

FAB day yesterday, we went to the Beetroot Tree Gallery and Cafe in Draycott in Derbyshire. It is isn't a huge place but so much packed in. I need to do some research for my Business module and it sure delivered. The Beetroot Tree is owned by an Textile Artist, Alysn Midgelow-Marsden and is manned by other Artists and it shows. Everyone is very welcoming and the gallery is very atmospheric.
We enjoyed our beverages in the wonderfully homely Cafe, nice fresh food on offer if your hungry, and a small but interestingly stocked art supplies section. Every nook and cranny has something interesting to look at.
If your interested there are workshops in a variety of textile, glass, jewellery and other courses. I shall be making online purchases from now on too!

Nearby is the Sawley Marina, a fantastic place for repeat patterns and photographs, I never seen so many boats, canal boats and others, inland before.

7 weeks to end of final year.....

I'm scared now, just 7 weeks to go before Degree work hand in, why won't my brain work?
why is making a cup of tea, patting the dog, putting a load of washing on more riveting then getting on with creating my designs?