the story so far March 2008

Time is going so fast but I have been working really hard on my project ~ as I write here it is almost finished I've just been spending more time creating rather than blogging!!

So after my last post I got down to working on the logistics of the theatre and whether it would be possible to make my idea into an actual structure ~ I came up with a plan and measurements and together with Jim worked out the material list ~ so instead of fabric and threads it was wood, screws, wood glue, heavy duty matting board and paint and one or two other secret ingredients!

Finally the structure was finished and this gave me something to work with and take measurements from to make my back drop and so the process began. I looked back through my sketchbook and decided to choose the woodland scene with Alice

and explore the possibility of making the Mushroom and Caterpillar with fabrics stitch or possibly felt.


So the background first ~ I layered strips of my painted papers till I got an idea of where to start ~ brilliant idea these painted papers ~ they are one of my favourite things to do and are a brilliant design tool.


Here I love the idea of the trees and the path meandering through them and disappearing into the distance. I started by using my hand dyed fabrics ~ scrim, lightweight cottons etc and ripping them so I got frayed edges and layering the colours of the fabric till I got the idea of perspective and distance, in the mean time I painted a huge piece of craft vilene (love it) with silk and textile paints. I then started to add the fabric strips to the background and just sew and it was brilliant how it came together. Then I used a technique I learned at a workshop with Margaret Lappin ( a wonderful tutor and member of my branch of the Embroidery Guild) she is amazing and very generous with her knowledge of free machining.

The technique is really quite simple and it involves net, a hoop and thread and lots of free machine embroidery and building up lots of layers of gorgeous texture.


I cut stips of this texture and layered them onto the background and then just worked them into the background with free machine embroidery.

I used some of my favourite painted bondaweb on the path with lots of stitch


and for the stones at the bottom I made chiffon sandwiches cut them into shape and added lots of stitch.

And before I knew it, it was finished. The back had to be shaped to fit in the theatre and once I was happy with this I used mount board as a firm backing and covered the back with a piece of my beautiful hand dyed fabric, hand sewing the edges to finish.

I really loved every minute of making this embroidery. It looks really awesome in the theatre and the idea of the path leading away from you is perfect ~ well I think so! but it doesn't end here........


more to follow.

working at home

Ive really enjoyed the colour study we've been doing and decided to do a little more work with colour using photographs I found; one of my own and one from a photosharing site. The rainbow lorikeet is so bright and beautiful and like its name has all the colours of the rainbow in its feathers.

two of many painted pages!

I painted some papers in beautiful rainbow colours and using these I did some little design exercises.






I played around with the painted papers and made collages and painted the pages in my sketchbook to match ~ I cut some designs from my pages ~ Sandra Meech style, I love her books and she has some brilliant ideas in both to make your sketch books sing!! and worked away with the bird and feather shape

design with wing and feather shapes

wax crayon resist

strips and strata

strips and strata

front of book
wax crayon play, photo, paper weave, square in a square, strips and strata

back of book
wax crayon play, design, design, embellished wool tops, painte papers
back of book

I will definitely use these design pages in the future to make something bright and beautiful

24 September

I'm still studying colour with painted pages, magazine pages and threads, images are from my sketch book. I've spent more time on these at home too as I really want to get to grips with colour theory, I've played around with paint and how it mixes when really wet and then painting different types of papers and weaving them.




photograph from my garden and painted pages

zig zag sampler using a triad of colours.


What an amazing and busy day we had, last day of term and we did shaving foam marbling


and transfer dyed papers.

transfered design onto fabric

I used ready made fabric dyes which are beautiful for colouring paper and give really jewel like colours.

design exercise using dyed paper and painted paper and wallpaper

And finally I've to choose a photograph, picture or postcard with colours I love for the start of our first project we we return after the hols.

week two

Hues tones and achromatic

This week we did more colour study ~ really great exercises where a picture is used (one with quite a few different colours) and you take the colours and build up a strip picture of torn magazine pages in the quantities they appear in the photo. Then we created the oppositeOf course you are limited by the colours you find in the magazines but it makes you think about colour (the whole purpose),

Another colour study

Here we looked at how colour changes when white, grey, black and an opposite colour is added.

I also saw the computerised sewing machine which has a scanner so cant wait to draw out one of my own designs and scan it and then watch the machine create it, very excited about this!
I also used the collage Bernina a lovely machine to sew with (very solid) to do my stitch samples with.