Wednesday, 12 May 2010
Folksy shop is open!
Taken a big step and have opened a 'shop' on Folksy. I've started by listing some postcards and cards that I had in my stock and will see how things go. Stop by and have a look - www.folksy.com/shops/CreatedbyLynn. There are some fantastic things for sell on the website as well as a variety of materials with which to create so it's well worth a look around the whole site.
Saturday, 8 May 2010
Lesson 4 complete
This week I've finally got around to finishing the samples from Lesson 4 of Embellish, Stitch, Enrich so here they are .... 
Again this is a knitted square, felted to a piece of felt with hand stitching and beads added.
The next four are more of the hand knitted squares which I have machine embroidered between two sheets of Romeo water-soluble fabric using metallic thread. This took me back years to when I did C&G Embroidery. Enjoyed it so much I think I will have to give it another go.
This next sample has squares cut from a piece I knitted using a very textured yarn. I had intended making flowers with it but it came out much thicker than I wanted so I cut it up to felt on to a piece of felt. Again I added hand stitches and buttons to finish. There are also two squares which are fibres felted from the back so they appear like shadows.
The final piece again uses the textured knitted squares which are felted to a felt background and finished with hand stitches. The second one is a detail.
Quilts at the V&A
I had a really good day today with Jo and Christine, two of my friends who quilt, when we visited the Quilts Exhibition at the V&A. It was really good to see such a range of quilts spanning hundreds of years. An excellent exhibition that I would recommend not just to quilters but to anyone interested in art and textiles.
The one thing that stood out for me is the standard we force on ourselves today, or have forced on us. So many of the quilts that were two or three hundred years old were not "perfect" in that the patches may not have lined up "correctly" or the patterns were not quite "right" or the quilting stitches were no "small and even" but there they were, hanging in a museum as examples of a craft of their time. Why is it that today exhibits in shows are expected to be perfect and up the the scrutiny of the quilt police? Time we took a stand!
Yet again, having vowed never to make another quilt, I came home full of ideas of things to do, some of which involved making quilts! Watch this space and see if it happens. Another good thing is Jo and I have finally, after much talking over a number of years, made a date for a regular get together to mutually encourage each other and share and bounce ideas off each other so that we can be more focussed about our craft. I feel very excited about the future, just need to take myself in hand and make a regular time each week for creating.
The one thing that stood out for me is the standard we force on ourselves today, or have forced on us. So many of the quilts that were two or three hundred years old were not "perfect" in that the patches may not have lined up "correctly" or the patterns were not quite "right" or the quilting stitches were no "small and even" but there they were, hanging in a museum as examples of a craft of their time. Why is it that today exhibits in shows are expected to be perfect and up the the scrutiny of the quilt police? Time we took a stand!
Yet again, having vowed never to make another quilt, I came home full of ideas of things to do, some of which involved making quilts! Watch this space and see if it happens. Another good thing is Jo and I have finally, after much talking over a number of years, made a date for a regular get together to mutually encourage each other and share and bounce ideas off each other so that we can be more focussed about our craft. I feel very excited about the future, just need to take myself in hand and make a regular time each week for creating.
Tuesday, 13 April 2010
Felting catch-up
I've managed to find some time over the last few weeks to spend on the embellishing machine. These are the samples (with details) from Lesson 4 of Embellish Stitch Enrich. There are a few more to do from this lesson and then it's on to Lesson 5.
For this first one I knitted up a plain piece using a varigated wool and then cut it up and felted it to a piece of felt. Hand stitches and buttons finished it off.
The second piece also has knitting on it but this time I left the squares intact and felted them, again to a piece of felt. The smaller pieces in the centre of each knitted square are pieces of left overs from previous samples. More of the same yarn that I used for the knitting was felted around the squares.
For the final sample I first felted some small pieces of organza and silk between felt and a piece of black lace. I then cut up the piece into squares, machined around the edges with metallic thread and felted them on to a foiled piece of felt. Stitches and beads were added to finish.
As with previous samples, I have also made a small square sample using similar techniques. The first three are all similar to the above samples.
For this first one I knitted up a plain piece using a varigated wool and then cut it up and felted it to a piece of felt. Hand stitches and buttons finished it off.
The second piece also has knitting on it but this time I left the squares intact and felted them, again to a piece of felt. The smaller pieces in the centre of each knitted square are pieces of left overs from previous samples. More of the same yarn that I used for the knitting was felted around the squares.
For the final sample I first felted some small pieces of organza and silk between felt and a piece of black lace. I then cut up the piece into squares, machined around the edges with metallic thread and felted them on to a foiled piece of felt. Stitches and beads were added to finish.
As with previous samples, I have also made a small square sample using similar techniques. The first three are all similar to the above samples.
For this last one I first knitted a very textured yarn which I felted. However, it came out much thicker than I thought it would as I had planned to use it for making some flower brooches. Having cut out a flower I'm not sure whether or not I will carry on with the plan. However, the bits left from the cutting out were used for this square which I felted to the felt background under some organza. Yet again I couldn't resist adding the buttons to finish!
Greenstede Quilter's Exhibition
The exhibition Greenstede Quilters had last week went very well with lots of very complimentary visitors. The three quilts I have on display looked good in their setting so I've inlcuded a couple of photos for you to see.
Tuesday, 30 March 2010
A few things .....
These are the luggage labels I made for Greenstede Quilters Exhibtion, mentioned in my last posting.
They were taken from "Quilting Arts Gifts" published in 2008-2009. It's got some great ideas in it including these luggage labels which were really easy to make.
I've also made another needle felted picture, similar to one I made in Lesson 2. I made it to hang in the caravan (to replace a somewhat tasteless floral picture that was there!) so it seemed appropriate that I based it on a photo I took last year at Pagham beach.
They were taken from "Quilting Arts Gifts" published in 2008-2009. It's got some great ideas in it including these luggage labels which were really easy to make.
I've also made another needle felted picture, similar to one I made in Lesson 2. I made it to hang in the caravan (to replace a somewhat tasteless floral picture that was there!) so it seemed appropriate that I based it on a photo I took last year at Pagham beach.
Thursday, 18 March 2010
it's been a bit quiet ....
For several reasons I have been a bit quiet over the past few weeks on the creative front ....
1. It's caravan season and we've spent the last two weekends away from home. It's great to get away and we do relax and enjoy ourselves but I do miss my machines. I have taken some hand stitching to do so I'm not totally idle. I've also got a cross stitch project on the go which hopefully will take me through a few months.
2. Greenstede Quilters bi-annual exhibition is coming up so I've had to get my entries ready. It only meant sewing on hanging sleeves as the quilts themselves were already finished. I've entered the Blue Batik Mystery Quilt, Samuel's Hanging and A Glimpse of Kilmt, all of which have appeared on here in the past. I also made some luggage labels for the sales table. If you are close to East Grinstead from Friday 26th March to Saturday 10th April do drop in the see a wonderful display of quilts (closed over Easter weekend).
3. Work (the stuff I'm actually paid for!) has been a nightmare so many evenings I've been too tired to create! Things are getting better and the Easter break will be with us soon so I hope to get back in the swing.
1. It's caravan season and we've spent the last two weekends away from home. It's great to get away and we do relax and enjoy ourselves but I do miss my machines. I have taken some hand stitching to do so I'm not totally idle. I've also got a cross stitch project on the go which hopefully will take me through a few months.
2. Greenstede Quilters bi-annual exhibition is coming up so I've had to get my entries ready. It only meant sewing on hanging sleeves as the quilts themselves were already finished. I've entered the Blue Batik Mystery Quilt, Samuel's Hanging and A Glimpse of Kilmt, all of which have appeared on here in the past. I also made some luggage labels for the sales table. If you are close to East Grinstead from Friday 26th March to Saturday 10th April do drop in the see a wonderful display of quilts (closed over Easter weekend).
3. Work (the stuff I'm actually paid for!) has been a nightmare so many evenings I've been too tired to create! Things are getting better and the Easter break will be with us soon so I hope to get back in the swing.
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