I've done a little more on the 'Becky Attenbourough Jacket'

Whilst trying to squeeze time in for working on my beautiful daughter Rebecca's recycled 'Becky Attenborough Jacket' is like trying to teach my little dog to sing, almost impossible, but all the better when it finally happens......
I've been able to get a bit more done but I'm not sure it's going to make her birthday, more like Christmas at this rate.

  

The back is a 'Tree of Life' piece, the tree has bark made up of strawberry and barbed wire fabrics (reminds me of her when she was a teenager), the owl has been included as she is quite wise and has been since a little mite. Plenty more to do on the tree but the photo shows where I'm going I think. 

 

I wanted a couple of medals for her, one is for her heroics in looking after her little brother. These were many and varied but one particular time springs to mind.... we were living in Zimbabwe for a time and John (her little brother) had a favourite pastime of catching lizards, on one notable occasion he thought (who knows how 9 year old boys brains work?) that it would be a good idea to kiss one, a largish one. Mistake. It caught hold of his lip and hung on through his screaming and running about. Despite tugging at it neither of them could dislodge it so Rebecca filled the bathroom sink and plunged her brother's head into it, luckily the lizard had to let go or drown so a wet John was saved. A babysitter was in attendance but Rebecca at the age of 10 was oh so much more sensible.

  

 

Another badge is one for her love of cats, this is for one cat in particular, her beloved Oscar.
Rebecca also adores the colour purple so had to include a little splash of it for her.....

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'.

a bit of fun with calico......

I love working with calico and these are some little clutch bags I made a while ago. 

First I dyed raw calico with good old Dylon, some black and some turquoise, in the washing machine.

Second  I created a very basic floral surface pattern which was then heat transfer printed onto the blue dyed calico, using it for both lining and appliqued embellishment along with a few black beads for the flowers centers. These bags measure 28 x 16 cm.

Black bag with appliqued flowers. The fastening cord is strips of claico rolled and machined stitched.

Another particular favourite of mine is contrasting lining.

Floral Turquoise lining of black bag

Blue Bag with crocheted cord and button fastener

black lining in the Blue Bag

original floral drawings for the heat transfer print

some of my sample records showing a little of the  transfer printed cloth laid over the original transfer print

another fun piece - Burlesque Quilt Square #2 completed

Smiling is ok, it is meant to be the stage that the performers strut theirselves on, I'm hoping that when its shown in context with all the other squares of the Burleque Quilt it will be prehaps a little more obvious! I'm still not sure whether to add stage footlights or not..........any thoughts?

Burlesque Quilt Square #2, ready to go, with some photos of my ongoing projects sketchbook

heres everything ready for my next square for the quilt, & if I'm lucky the centre square...

my sketchbook page for square #2 where you might be able to make out that I'll be amking a stage and banner for the group

the orignal sketches and samples when considering the first square

I really enjoy the freedom of a sketchbook, anything goes!

I liked this basic idea but preferred the stockings more in the end

this shows my original drawing and the 'patterns' for the undies and stocking tops, which is stapled in over the first 2 pages, I like to keep related work together no mattered how clutterd it gets

I enjoy the sample making process, quite often very small ones, this one is only 6 x 5.5 cm

Vintage - Tag Tuesday

here we are then another tag for Tag Tuesday although I have to say that I did make this one a while ago but its one of my favourites, (I've even named her Flora) and so wanted her to have an airing!

I don't know about you but I sometimes the feeling of history and age in even the smallest found item can give me a real buzz, unfortunately I find it very hard to get rid of anything with a personlaity, the roof rafters are groaning!.

Flora is only 9cm (3 inches) long and almost 5cm (2 inches) wide. She is made with a found photograph, vintage fabric from an old sample book (not mine) and has a couple of wrens feathers (found in my garden) for embellishment. I wish I could make out what her brooch/corasage is.....

Flora may have been Scottish I felt and so added this scrap of old tartan tothe back but nodded to Wales with a tiny daffodil pendant, another found item, a tad rusty but it adds to its charm some how. The other two pieces are from an old earring and an even older bracelet, both bootsale purchases.

and for a little bit of burlesque quilting fun....

Another week has flown by plenty of projects on going but here is one I've done for fun.
The North West Burlesque Society http://www.northwestburlesquesociety.com/ (they're also on Facebook and Twitter) requested donations of burlesque themed 12" squares (+half an inch allowance for stitching them together) for a charity quilt and I thought I would join in with a small contribution.

I decided to make a square based around the saucy lingerie that is so pivotal to burlesque.
As I love the 50's style I took my inspiration from the lingerie so beautifully made by
'What Katie Did ';   http://www.whatkatiedid.com/src/about_us.php

I have been advised that true Burlesque is a celebration of the female at her most tantilising and despite misconceptions and confusion with stripping never reveals all. Also that every good act is based on a planned out storyline, often with humour.

I also felt that every true Burlesque artiste is a star in their own right and so it seemed natural to use a star stitch as a decorative filler.

I drew the image and then replicated it by machine appliqued taffeta, silk and nylon stocking onto calico and sandwiched in some wadding with another layer of calico

the reverse of the the first piece of applique,
I don't know why but I'm always fascinated by the back of hand or machine stitched work

all done, I love red shoes but wanted the impact from the silk stocking tops so had to subdue the shoes, sorry shoes

I embroidered the stars which seemed to decide where they wanted to go all by themselves
and I decided to back it with a third layer of calico to protect the reverse of the stitching

the reverse of the stars, which have mysteriously developed a slightly Oriental allure

Dedication

appliqued table piece

Found this oval cotton table centre (35 x 30 cm) in my favourite junk shop. Its colours are very appealing with these flowers and branches as a full border. I love the simplicity and its tiny stitches. I can't help but wonder at the pleasure someone must have felt completing this and then seeing it on the table it was intended for....

sketching with hand and machine embroidery

I did this embroidered sketch a couple of years ago but misplaced it until I was looking through my fabric stash yesterday, I had  wondered where I had lost it! I think it is time to really sort my workroom out now as I have also lost a block I've carved and one of my sketchbooks. Hope the rafters in the loft can take more storage!

another Sketchbook 2012 page...

This page is dedicated to my husband, Alan. (I've nicknamed him 'The Everpresent') I've had a small op recently and Alan has taken on the role of District Nurse in changing the dressing and he has been super efficient about it. Thank you Alan. x

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

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.....