The beginning of the end? And why sampling is worth while...

At the weekend I got started on the final C&G piece - a 3D [or constructed] item. As this is the last piece there is a tight deadline – it has to be done by the end of next term or we don’t complete the course. So anyone in their right mind would choose to do something safe and simple – like a cushion cover, say.

So what have I chosen? A lampshade. And not a small lampshade – one for this light. The current shade is about a metre high and 60 cm in circumference.

Have I ever made a lampshade before? Of course not! Which is why I am feeling a little stressed. And stress in my case, leads to procrastination.

But I have wanted to make a lampshade since we started the course nearly 4 years ago. And this picture I spotted in a book of prints sparked a lot of ideas.

http://www.artsjournal.com/man/2006/06/the_sleeper_klimt.html

Klimt and trees – what more could I ask for?

I was playing around with design ideas in class before the holidays and A. took one look at what I was doing and said ‘silk painting’ and ‘batik’ – and she was right. Hence the expedition [I want to write ‘expotition’ but those of you who don't read Pooh will think I’ve gone even madder than usual] to Fibrecrafts, and the borrowing of A’s ginormous silk painting frame.

But I haven’t done a lot of silk painting and an unfamiliar technique leads to procrastination. [Can you see a theme developing here?]

However, having committed myself in public to getting started – I did so over the weekend.

I fished out all the pieces of white silk [and some polyester] I could find that were big enough. Some of them were only just big enough, so I ripped narrow strips off the edges for my samples.

I had bought some cold batik wax which I thought would be easier than having pans of hot wax around – and it was. However, I think it would have been better to let the wax dry before I started painting: – first lesson learned from sampling.

This is the rather Heath Robinson affair I cobbled together to sample the different paint colours on the strips – this is not A’s beautiful frame, but one I bought in a sale decades ago. The clips proved to be a b****r to get on and off – hence the klippits.

These are the samples drying. As you can see, I did have a couple of larger pieces of silk, and on those I tried out the colours and also did a quick Klimt knock-off. [You can also see that the sun was shining when I took the photo.]

The paler one was the silk organza I had thought about using in layers – but having tried it I’m not sure it will work. The other is a silk twill which is really too thick, so I was a bit heavy handed with the paint – but using dishwasher salt for the silk technique was very effective. [another lesson learned from sampling.]

I like the way the paint has run into the wax on the tree trunks but I am not sure how I achieved it. Possibly because the fabric was relatively thick, the wax didn’t form a complete resist – hence the colour runs in the colour samples.

The instructions for the cold wax tell you to heat set the paint as usual and then wash the wax out with warm water and detergent. The wax went a nasty rubbery yellow colour when ironed, and was a bit reluctant to come out when hand washed – so, as these are samples, I shoved them in the washing machine on the ‘Delicates’ cycle – which got the wax out. Third lesson learned from sampling.
Of all the fabrics I tried, I think the silk habotai will be the best – but I shall consult the expert when college starts again next week. A. – you have been warned!

If I have another burst of enthusiasm I may try using a freezer paper stencil for the wax instead of painting it on free hand. If I let the wax dry before painting I may be able to get it to crack which might give me that silver birch look. And if I get really keen I’ll try some of the more likely samples on the two types of stiffening material I have.

Then I need to think about some suitable embroidery stitches as I doubt I’ll get away without any.

Of course if it all goes pear-shaped I can always make a quick silk cushion cover ...

" I can gather all the news I need on the weather report'"

I don’t know why I am so fascinated by the odd weather we are having at the moment – may be in my genes, as my father was a meteorologist, albeit only circa 1939 – 45.

Today we woke up to bright sunshine – a beautiful spring day. At lunchtime it began to hail heavily, for about half an hour. The front garden looked like this.

And the metre piece looked like this.

And now [4 pm] the sun is shining again!

I am probably wittering on about the weather because nothing much creative is happening chez Cheese – well, Wensleydale is making boards for posters for the local election but I’m not sure whether that counts. I am procrastinating about getting started sampling for the 3D piece. My friend A. kindly lent me her silk painting frame, so I must get on with it before college starts again. Put it down to sheer, unadulterated fear!

I know I will feel much better once I have got started, and I am planning to do so tomorrow. Promise!

The Tuesday trip

This week’s trip was to Highcliffe Castle [which coincidentally has also appeared on TV - the Antiques Roadshow this time].

http://www.highcliffecastle.co.uk/

I love Highcliffe - it has survived some hard times and what remains is little more than the shell of the building, but it has a wonderful atmosphere and provides an excellent environment for exhibitions. It is undergoing restoration at the moment so I am looking forward to seeing the changes when it is finished.

The structure on the far left of the building is the Winter Garden. It is licensed for weddings and Wensleydale and I have agreed that is we ever get married again [!]. we will do it there. It is a double height room with walls of windows and a view of the sea – a beautiful place.

The castle also has immaculate gardens, beach access and the essential teashop.

The drawbacks are that parking is expensive [but free in the winter] and on a beautiful day in the school holidays the teashop was very busy.

The exhibition we visited was by Wessex Textile Artists:

http://www.wessextextileartists.com/

We saw some beautiful work, including a stunning stomacher by Carol Green.

After lunch in the café we walked on the beach and I did a little beachcombing. I was very restrained, only returning with two things, one of which was this pebble. The colours and patterns remind me of some of Mondrian's work, when he was beginning to move towards full abstraction. Perhaps if there are any geologists out there someone could tell me what type of rock it is?

I also took some photos. You might think this was the south of France in the summer – but no, it was the South of England in April. What a contrast to Sunday morning!

Mind you, an hour later we had sleet…

Snow? What snow?

The picture of my metre piece in my previous post was taken about 10 this morning.

This is what it looked like at 6 pm.

Glad I have the photos to prove I didn't dream it ...

All can be revealed

now that I have delivered all the birthday presents, including a last minute one.

Both my daughters-in-law have birthdays in March. I made each of them a notebook, using techniques I learned in a workshop with Brenda Weekes.

http://www.thefabricofart.com/firstpage.htm

DIL #1 likes purple and DIL #2 likes turquoise and as I like those colours too I had plenty of fabric and fibres to choose from. The notebooks are half A5 size [about a quarter of the size of printer paper, for those in the US].

Then I made an extra last minute present for Charlotte’s mum, using the Jacob’s Ladder book I made recently. [sorry about the reflection of the flash.]I put in some photos [plenty of room for more] and made a slip case. Well – actually I made 3 slip cases – the first two were too small, despite careful measuring, allowing a bit for ease and making a paper model first. The third is, of course, too big, [hence the ribbon tie], possibly because it is in flimsier card – I was getting desperate by then! If it doesn’t hold up to use I will make another and hope I can get it right.

As slip cases are [when measured correctly!] quite easy to make I decided to make a slip case for the magnum opus, [I got back it from the teacher on Thursday night with some very positive comments,] The MO is so unruly I think it needs a case to control it, although I will have to find a large piece of very strong cardboard for it.

P.S.

I said I wouldn't post any more pictures of the cherry tree - but this one is a bit different.

and here is the metre piece this morning.

I know this won't look like 'heavy' snow to many of you - but it is a lot for round here - and it seems to be thawing already.

Just to prove that my friend A is not the only one to use pink and lime green

here are two examples of recently finished stuff in that colour scheme [and a bit of red, black and white].

A couple of weeks ago I had a request for a quilt for Charlotte to use as a play mat. They have wooden floors so it is a bit hard and cold for her. Of course she already has a cot quilt, although you cannot use them with babies until they are a year old, but I was happy to provide another quilt, and offered a choice of two UFOs. This is the one that they chose. Ihave finished it and will take it up next weekend for Charlotte's mummy's belated birthday bash.

[The request was for 'a big one' but I pointed out that to a quilter that means a king size bed quilt!] The pattern came from one of the patchwork magazines - I hope Charlotte enjoys playing on it.

My second completed object is this journal. i am taking another class with Sue Bleiweiss on journal making. [No, I didn't finish the last one but that hasn't stopped me!] When I saw the instructions for this journal I knew it was an opportunity to use a piece of Japanese fabric that was too nice to cut up for patchwork.

What made me want to do the course with Sue was the things she puts in her journals - which you can see if you go to her website:

http://suebleiweiss.typepad.com/sueb/

So here we have a fabric pocket inside the cover, and a [gusseted] paper pocket on the first page. The origami kimono is my own addition.

This is a print out of origami paper from the Canon website. I have used a paper punch on the opposite page.

These are luggage tags covered with origami paper and another decorative paper that I have used for the pocket as well.

And finally - a badly sewn plastic pocket, using the same technique I used for the metre piece but with rather less success. It is made from a plastic page protector with punched paper shapes inside, sealed with sewing. I used double sided sticky tape on three sides to attach it to the page to make a pocket.

Now I have to decide what to put in my journal. I do have a collection of Japanese postcards looking for a home ...

You know you have retired

when you realise on Tuesday afternoon that the clocks went forward last Sunday morning but you still haven’t adjusted your watch …

Wensleydale and I were out on a Tuesday trip – we usually go out on Tuesdays because it is the only day we don’t normally have any other commitments. So today – because I needed some supplies – we decided we would visit Fibrecrafts and then go on here:

http://www.wattsgallery.org.uk/visitor_information.html

which is quite close by.

I have ordered from Fibrecrafts before but never actually visited them. It is a very tempting place but I firmly turned my back on the books and the spinning wheels [I would love to learn how to spin] and stuck to the shopping list. So I now have a lot of silk paint, for the final C&G piece which I am procrastinating about because I think I have bitten off far more than I can chew. I also bought some Supermend powder as mine mysteriously disappeared just after I decided to use it for the metre piece, some stuff to carve stamps and a locker hook. I read an article on locker hooking in ‘Classic Stitches’ magazine and as I have a lot of knitting yarn and a lot of canvas, decided to try it. Of course I need another textile activity like I need a hole in the head ….

Then we went to the Watts Gallery. If you watched the BBC series ‘Restoration’ you may have seen the gallery: the building is in a sad state and the pictures seem to be too. Although we lived nearby 30 years ago we have never been before. It was built by the painter G.F. Watts and his wife Mary to house his paintings, and is well worth a visit if you are interested in art, especially Victorian art. And if you go on a Tuesday it only costs £1.

After a good cup of coffee in the tea shop we went down the road to here, which was the highlight of the trip.

No - we didn't pop over to Italy - it is the Watts Cemetery Chapel:

http://www.wattsgallery.org.uk/Places_interest.html

It is absolutely amazing - very inspirational for an embroiderer – and not at all what you expect to find in a small Surrey village.