Saturday, 12 April 2014

A Handbag????

The title of this post needs to be read in your best "Lady Bracknell" voice....
 
Do you remember a few weeks ago that I was inspired by the fabulous work of Lauren Shanley and as a result I devised a way of creating a similar collaged fabric and then made a bag? You don't? Ah well, never mind, I did and the result was the bag pictured below... so do read on...
 
 
I loved creating this fabric... it was such fun.

 
So much fun in fact that I went on to make a second bag... very similar to the first as I perfected the technique....

 
and tried to write out the instructions for my students in a language they could actually understand.

 
I even added pockets and labels...

 
I was actually so excited that I went on to make a third bag but this time in pink. I'm working on a collection (I jest not) which I'm hoping to have ready for Open Studios in a couple of months.

 
But just to test the water I have decided to list the pink bag and one of the black bags in my Etsy shop.

 
Now I am aware that I'm about to shoot myself in the foot and I'm unlikely to pick up any awards for salesman of the year... but the bags are a bit pricey!

 
In truth, I do think by the time you factor in all the time, planning, fabrics etc. they are not really that pricey at all and are quite good value for money... especially when you consider that each one is a unique designer item and actually it seems positively cheap compared to some bags!

 
But I'm also aware that I wouldn't want to pay that for a bag that I would probably think I could make myself. And let's face it... my average reader is pretty useful when it comes to making things for themselves. And so then I hit on another idea (prompted by a special blogging friend), that if I was teaching this to my students then I could also teach this to you!

 
So as well as listing the bags in my shop I have also got a 14 page step by step, fully illustrated tutorial and pattern listed for making both the fabric and the bag... two for the price of one!
 
So you can choose... a ready made bag... or instructions to make your own!

 
And next time I'm here I'll show you the bags that my students have made!

Monday, 7 April 2014

Fun, Friendship and Fellowship

 I've been away for the weekend... not teaching, not working but having lots of fun.
I've attended my first ever national AGM for the Embroiderers' Guild and I'm wondering why I've never been before.
 
 
There were a variety of workshops on offer and I started off on Friday morning making fairy shoes with the delightful and very funny Annette Emms.
 
 
Totally frivolous but lots of fun... even more so when we realised that dotted around the conference rooms were bowls full of sweeties... jelly beans, jelly babies, refreshers etc.... I confess I may have been just a little high on sugar and e-numbers all weekend!

 
After a wonderful lunch I took another workshop with Brenda Scarman where I learned to attach Shisha mirrors onto canvas - a new technique for me.

 
I've ended up with a delightful little pin cushion that I'm thinking will make a good project for my Young Embroiderers.

 
As well as workshops we were treated to some entertaining and informative talks, there were exhibitions to look at, books to browse, traders to buy from and best of all friends to chat and laugh with.

 
On Saturday night we had a wonderful Gala dinner - the food all weekend was excellent - with a talk by Professor Malcolm Lochhead, which was very entertaining.

 
Of course in the middle of it all was the AGM, which despite being a little drawn out and over long was still postive and encouraging for the future of the Guild.

 
And without doubt it feels time to put the past problems of the Guild behind us and move forward...
And I'm looking forward to my next AGM for more fun!

Thursday, 3 April 2014

The Year in Books :: April

Just as I seem to catch up with life, get on top of things, start to feel in control... then life seems to catch up with me and it all becomes a bit of a roller coaster. It's been a crazy week on all sorts of levels so far, but there is still time to catch a few moments to read most days.
 
 
I finished my March choice for The Year in Books, Bitter Greens early in the month and I absolutely loved it, finding it a fascinating mixture of fiction and fact. It tells the story of Charlotte Rose de Caumont de la Force who was a French novelist and Poet in the court of Louis XIV. She was best known for her story Persinette which was then adapted by the Brothers Grimm as the story of Rapunzel. Woven into Kate Forsyth's tale of the scandelous life of Charlotte Rose is also a retelling of the story of Rapunzel along with the story of La Strega Bella, the woman who holds her captive. An excellent read!
 
 
My choice for April was going to be Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, but as seems to have been my habit so far this year, it was started and finished before April began. I found this a strange and enchanting book filled with magic and illusion, that kept me turning the pages until late into the night... and then I couldn't wait to pick it up again each morning. Different from my usual choice of read but utterly compelling.

 
And so I have chosen another book to read in April... Ghostwalk by Rebecca Stott, recommended by several of you and one that I'm really enjoying... I've almost finished that too.

 
It just so happens that we had a meeting of our other book club this week... The Mucky Book Club... named because of a rather risque book chosen by one of our members not long after we first formed and were still trying to think of a name for ourselves. We are all still keen readers but we don't really read the same books or even discuss books much any longer. We are really just a group of friends who get together for an evening of good food and lots of laughter every few months. This week we had an Italian evening...

 
My contribution was a chocolate tiramisu cake...

 
At this point of the evening the conversation came to a stop... I've never known them all so quiet!
Have you read any good books... or eaten any good cakes... this month?

Sunday, 30 March 2014

Happy Chocolate Day!

I had a lovely Mother's Day treat last night when I went out for a meal in Cambridge with all four of my sons... it's not often they are all free at the same time. Good food and lots of laughs... why it still amazes me the amount they can eat I do not know!
 
 
Today it was my turn to treat my Mum to lunch so I made a chocolate cake for dessert... funnily enough three of the boys were also available for lunch today as well!

 
The recipe from this month's Good Housekeeping unfortunately supplied dietary information... and without the chocolate truffles (they are truffles not giant Maltesers) it clocks up a whopping 856 calories per slice...

 
I tell you I could feel myself getting fatter before I even tasted it... but it was worth it. And I don't even like chocolate cake that much! But it was rich, dense and fudgy and worth every calorific mouthful. And I ate a truffle!

 
We did have a lovely long walk in the sunshine after lunch to burn some of it off!
 
Whether you are a Mum or have spent time with your own Mum, I hope you have had a lovely day too!

Thursday, 27 March 2014

An Afternoon Well Spent

I was all set yesterday for a nice day out in London, meeting a friend for lunch. Left home to catch the 10.20 am into Kings Cross, bought my ticket from the machine... no such luxury as a manned ticket office during the day where one might get information and went to wait on the platform...
 
 
After 10 minutes there was an announcement that they were sorry for the delay but the train was running 6 minutes late. Not a problem! A few minutes later and the announcement changed to 8 minutes late, another couple of minutes it was 10 minutes late... and so it went on until 40 minutes later the announcement changed to there would be no more trains until further notice due to lines down at Harringay.By this time I was frozen... not being one to take my own advice of "Is that all you're wearing, you'll freeze to death, put on something warm"... and waiting rooms are another luxury we don't have out in the sticks. 

 
So home I came, warmed myself up with several cups of tea and decided to make the most of my unscheduled afternoon at home. I blame the Sewing Bee but I thought it would be fun to have a challenge... to make a skirt in three hours? The pattern (from Sew Me Something) and fabric (from Little Laura's Haberdashery) had already been bought on my trip to the NEC last week... not entirely sure how I feel about the fabric now as it was a bit of an impulse buy... I like it but not sure how it works as a skirt... but hey ho...

 
Four and half hours later I had my skirt (minus buttons and buttonholes)... and I think I quite like it.

 
It is obviously a mistake to have chosen a horizontally based pattern for a skirt with a curved hem because it looks as though my hem is wonky on the underskirt but I can live with that... I know it's straight!

 
This morning I finished off the buttons and buttonholes which took almost as long as making the skirt itself (how do they do it on the Sewing Bee?)

 
But I quite like the overall effect of the piping with the covered buttons

 
Best of all the skirt is reversible but I haven't got buttons for the otherside so I can't show you that.

 
Did I say how much I like the buttons?
So much so, I'm tempted to make another skirt... although I think my fabric choice might be more considered next time.

Sunday, 23 March 2014

As Good as it Gets

It started with some early morning baking... apricot and marmalade muffins. I can't tell you how good my house smelled... a welcome change from the usual slightly stale sock smell that always seems to linger around in a house of young men... or is that only my house?
 
 
This was followed by a mile and a half walk to the neighbouring village to buy a newspaper and share the muffins with some friends who had invited us over for morning coffee.

 
Then a brisk walk home between rain showers and just time to gets some soup cooking

 
before we were joined by my step daughter and her partner for lunch.

 
There was no time to bake bread so I made savoury cheese scones instead.... which were rather too moreish and I ate more than I intended!

 
And then in the afternoon there was time for a little bit of a play in my sketchbook...

 
... drawing, cutting and sticking!

 
And then even time to get some stitching done too.

 
Stewart has cooked supper... (under close supervision, he wants to learn to cook) which was delicious, we've shared a bottle of wine and now I'm about to relax with a cuppa and my knitting.
 
A day doesn't get much better really... food, friends, family and stitching... just lovely!

Saturday, 22 March 2014

Bag Lady

I loved making the first collaged and embroidered bag so much...
 
 
that I made myself another one, slightly smaller and more handbag sized. (The first one is in our exhibition and for sale at Art Van Go)


It has got a brightly coloured lining and a pocket for my phone

 
As well as a holder for my pen.

 
I even added a label.
There is a story to the labels. I had them printed many years ago, probably about fifteen years ago if I think about it. I was just dipping my toes into the world of making and selling and thought that it would add a nice finishing touch to my items. I made some children's clothes which I then sold at a fair at my children's primary school (which shows just how long ago it is). A fellow Mum, a "friend" in fact, bought one of my tiny waistcoats for her son but her reaction when she saw my label at the neck completely floored me. I can't remember what she actually said but her words accompanied by load guffaws were along the lines of "Who was I trying to kid... textile artist???"

 
I must have been feeling fragile because as a result those labels have remained wound up in the back of a drawer ever since... but no longer. They are coming out and will grace more of these bags... because I'm already working on my third one as well as the pattern for the bag.

 
Yesterday I wore my bag to the Fashion Embroidery and Stitch show at the NEC. It was a wonderful show with much to see...  purchases were made, opportunities discussed and I have come home buzzing. But all that will have to wait for another day... I've got a bag to finish and a skirt to make!