from source to surface pattern............

here is a page from my Fish Board sketchbook.....

the starting point is the photo (bottom right corner) which came from an old Aquarium magazine

this would be a pattern I would consider using for interiors

A3 sized page with ink, acrylic, watered down emulsion, plaster filler and cotton thread, there is actually some texture here, created by mixing the plaster filler into the acrylic paint for the heads of coral

never feels quite finished until there is a little thread involved somehow......

the early bird catches the worm!

I made this drawstring bag a while ago for the lovely Lizbet, for her allotment seeds. I did forget to get a photo of the complete bag, showing its wonderful dragonfly lining and still intend to so at some point but thought I would share it anyway! For those who would like to have a go at making this bag I do produce it in kit form.

beady googly eyes fastened on breakfast

I've drunk the tea and started to make at this point

for the bird and floral side of the bag I have used recycled fabric for the applique

I drew the bird on with fabric pen and carved my block for the dragonfly lining

I did use predyed fabric for the lining but used my dragonfly block with fabric dye to block print my surface pattern on it

I used the machine to stitch the bird's body on but for it's feet and some of its details I hand embroidered with cotton. The worm was done by hand too, again with cotton thread.

the strip across the bottom was a lovely little piece of vintage fabric that I'd found, so special to me that I found it hard to use it but Lizbet is worth it. I used mismatched beads for the worms eyes for a suitably worried look

the flip side of the bag has more appliqued scraps of fabric with a bit of machine embroidery for added detail, I went for a hollyhock look

recyling an old safari/army jacket for my daughter...

Now I'm finished with the Sketchbook Project I needed a new plaything and so have decided to start to recycle/upcycle an old jacket I found in a junk shop. My beautiful daughter Rebecca will be finishing her degree this month & I felt she needed a suitable jacket for the environmental scientist~hippy chick she is, so this is for her, a 'Becky Attenborough Jacket' .

I'm doing this without preplanning as I want it to be as off the wall as possible. I'm picking up/putting together anything thats reminds me of her or of times we have spent together and I wanted it to be free and quick. In a way it will become a walking sketchbook. Watch this space for the coming additions to it!

This is an old piece of fabric from scraps bin at uni, I do not know the original manufacturer but like the wildlife reference so had to include it.  I'm going bonkers with the stitiching, I think my ethos is 'what happens is what happens'.

 I'm going for randomness with the stitching, hand and machine, more of one of my favourite things 'controlled chaos'.

cheerio Sketchbook 2012 Limited Edition.............

Here we are then, the end of my Sketchbook 2012 Limited Edition, which is now sat safely in the Brooklyn Library. I just wondered what it must have been like, being there at that Royal Function (described in the newspaper clipping in the first two pages of my 'Thread and Surface' sketchbook) stood quietly in the background, watching Queen Victoria pass by, seeing all the jewles and fabulous fabrics, the fashions and designs of the day, how would that be for first hand research? Just wishing I could have seen it for myself.....

just some doodling 

what to do with a stray eyelash

my interpretation of Queen Vic, sandpapered to ghost her up a little

done

to see all pages from my Sketchbook 2012 Limited Edition, click here