Recap on 2010 - looking forward to 2011

I had a conversation with my daughter Karen over Christmas about reflection. She's a nurse, doing a Masters at the moment and a big part of it is reflection. She was saying how much she has benefited from this, both professionally and personally. It reminded me of how reflection was something I always did when I was training to be a teacher and throughout my time teaching but that it was something I rarely did now. So, I decided to reflect on the creative year I have just had and use it to look forward to the coming year.

I feel both years are, or will be, significant years in my creative life so to start, I went back to the resolutions I made at the end of 2009 for 2010.

Attend courses/workshops/days to learn new techniques or just to get creative amongst like minded people.
Sadly no workshops attended but I did take an online course with Dale Rollerson which really freed up my creativity with my embellishing machine. Needle felting has now become one of the main techniques I use in my textile art and I am so pleased it has lead me back into embroidery. Although I didn't have personal contact through courses or workshops, I have forged a strong working relationship with my friend Jo who inspires me, boosts me up, keeps me going and I just hope it is a two way relationship and she gains from it too. We are both looking forward to our exhibition in November and are working non-stop as we speak.

Go through books already on my shelf and list the techniques and ideas that I want to try. Actually get round to doing things instead of just reading about them.
I did start the year by going through all the books and sticking Post-its on all the things I wanted to try out but as the needle felting took over, I have not tackled this in the way I planned. However, there have been the odd new techniques that I've seen in magazines that have slipped into my work and I have been inspired by several exhibitions I've been to this year which have had some influence on my work. No doubt if and when I find myself with nothing else to do, I can go back to this one.
Post on this blog regularly each week, even it it is just 'work in progress' or my inspiration for a current piece of work.
Well there were 33 posts last year so I didn't quite make the 'once a week' pledge. Sometimes, I just didn't want to leave the creating to write about it!
Enter work in exhibitions or contests.
Thank goodness for Greenstede Quilters and their exhibition! Really should have entered more exhibitions this year but I guess I can use the excuse I was busy making for my own in 2011. I have joined a new group this year - Context, which is the Region 2 Contemporary Quilt group. We already have our first challenge which will hopefully be exhibited at sometime in the future. I did enter one online contest on Quilting Gallery and did intend entering more but somehow just didn't get around to it.
Put aside time each week to get creative.
Well I have certainly done this! I find any time I spend away from my workroom is usually resented. Definitely need to continue with this one.

The past year has certainly been good for my creativity. I seem to have grown in confidence and self belief in my work and blogging has certainly been a part of this. Receiving comments from complete strangers is really wonderful and gives me a good feeling that someone out there in the big wide world has liked something I've made enough to go to the trouble to let me know. Thank you to everyone who has commented on. This year I must spend some time looking at other people's work and commenting so I can give back some of the good feelings I have got.

One of my friends told me recently that she can now recognise my work as it is becoming quite distinctive. This meant so much to me and was a real boost.

One more highlight of 2010 was the opening of my Folksy shop and the sale of two items. Not a great start, but still a start. I must concentrate on this more in the coming year and see how it goes.

So looking ahead to 2011.

Obviously my work for the exhibition in November will take a huge part of my time this year. On the way Jo and I intend to continue to meet regularly to discuss our work, go to exhibitions and have some "play time" too. This is a huge event for us both, even more so that it coincides with our 60th birthdays which we will both celebrate in November (on consecutive days!). The hope is that this will lead to other things but if we get to the end of it and survive, we will have achieved more than we ever expected.

I'm also excited about being a member of Context. It's a new group so it's still evolving but for me to be a member of a group of textile artists - some of which I know a really good! - I feel excited if a little over-awed. I just hope I can hold my own within the group.

I'm not going to set any resolutions for this year but I aim to continue to create on a regular basis and share my creations, ideas and inspirations along the way with the blogging community.

A Happy New Year to everyone out there!

Holiday Handstitching

As my workroom becomes a bedroom for visitors over the Christmas holiday I made sure I had some hand stitching to do while my machines were 'out of bounds'.

Thinking ahead to my exhibition next year, I machine felted up some squares that after the additon of hand stitching, I will make up in to cards for selling at the exhibition. Regular readers will notice they are part of my "rust" series.

I really enjoy hand embroidery and with the addition of a few beads, I'm really quite pleased with these little embroideries which I hope will sell well.

Inspired by an idea in Quilting Arts Gifts, I made this needlefelted box, again with idea of something to sell at the exhibition. It was a bit labout intensive so I'm not sure whether it will make it as a sale item.

Pre-Christmas Creating

A few weeks ago, while clearing the way to wrap up Christmas Presents I got way-laid by making a runner for the dining room table for use over the Christmas holiday.

I don't know what started it but once the idea was there, there was no stopping me and three hours later it was finished. The end result was just what I wanted and as it was all made from my stash, I felt good that it had cost nothing and there was now a little less fabric in my workroom.

My daughter has suggested one for Easter but somehow I don't think I will go that far!

And by the way, the presents were all wrapped up on time!

And now for something completely different

Regular readers will know that we spend much of our time in the better weather in our caravan at Pagham.

This is a place much loved by our grandchildren and is affectionately known as "Nanny Caraban". Earlier this year I started to make a quilt which will live in the caravan to be used by whoever is there but mainly Eloise, Hope and Samuel.

I really evolved from a collection of ideas based on a seaside theme. My intention was to hand quilt it through the long winter months but when it came to it - as is so often with me - once the quilt was pieced I really just wanted it finished.

Being forced to stay at home because of the snow was my chance to get it finished by machine quilting.

Taking advantage of a "Snow Day"

Well the snow has once again forced me to be housebound so I've had a chance to get some things finished and to get them posted.

My second completed piece for my exhibition is made from 'left over' pieces of the rusted fabric used for the panel I've previously posted. This panel of pieces was quilted and then stretched over a board before mounting it on some naturally dyed fabric I've had in my stash for some years. This in turn was stretched over a canvas board.

The copper 'buttons' are the ones I bought from Dale Rollerson at the Knitting and Stitching Show at Ally Pally.

This next piece is squares and shapes cut from fabric I've used for a much larger piece (well large for me!) which is still 'work in progress' while I decide how I will quilt it.

The squares and pieces were stitched onto a double layered dyed background and backing and then washed to give it a frayed appearance. I have to admit I saw this idea done, probably much better, by Dinah Travis at the Hever Quilt show this year and as I had some work in my sketchbook that lended itself to this method I thought I'd give it a try.

Incidentally, this is the page from my sketchbook that inspired the quilt.

New work - Exhibition booked!

The first piece in my Rust series is finished! The hanging is strips of fabric which I dyed by wrapping around various rusted objects. An earlier post mentioned the problems I'd had with breaking needles as I tried to free machine quilt the piece. Most of the quilting was done without the feed down which meant it took much longer to quilt than I anticipated. I also planned the piece as a triptych but thankfully there was not enough fabric to go into three pieces! The pieces of rusted metal were cut from a strip of twisted metal that I found on Selsey beach which had been one of the metal pieces I used to rust the fabric. So glad to get one piece completely finished!

Another piece that is finished but still waits to be mounted when I've decided how to to do it. I find this the most difficult part - deciding how to present the finished work.

I rekindled my love of canvas work by felting some fibres around piece of canvas I had painted with some bronze fabric paint. I loved the stitching so much I might just have to do some more canvas work.

These last two pieces are experiments / work in progress .......

The first one was knitted using some yarn that I had needle felted different organza, sheers and chiffon to. It's quite thick so I don't think I will work into it any more so may well just make in into a bag.

The final piece was a piece of felt into which I cut slits and wove through silk, chiffon and scrim and then needle felted together. I think I will stitch it with running stitch - kantha style. I seem to be seeing Kantha work all over the place and it has taken my imagination. Will definitely have to do some.

And so to news of my forthcoming exhibition.

As I mentioned back in July, my friend Jo and I made some enquiries about a venue for an exhibition that we would like to hold next year. I had a call last week and it's booked!!! We're both excited, scared and slightly panic-struck all at the same time!! We've been meeting regularly each month over the last few months and the time we spend together is very rewarding and enriching for us both. It's so good to have a friend who can be supportive but push you creatively too.

The exhibition is at The Hawth theatre in Crawley, West Sussex from 21st November to 3rd December 2011. It might sound like a long way away but I have a feeling it will come round very quickly.

Knitting and Stiching Show

I spent a long and tiring but very enjoyable day at Alexandra Palace on Saturday with my friend Jo visiting the Knitting and Stitching Show.

It was, as always, a feast for the ardent crafter with so much to see and inspire. We felt a two day visit would have done it more justice. Of course there was the obligatory buying of 'goodies' ! I think I was quite restrained with just a little collection of rust themed fibre, threads and other metally bits.



I also saw these wonderful copper buttons which I bought from Dale Rollerson's Thread Studio. It was great to see Dale and introduce myself as it was her Embellish Stitch Enrich course that I took earlier this year. I was looking for some sort of embellishment to put on one of my rust pieces and these just fit the bill. They are already sewn in place and look great.


There were a few more purchases - mainly stock things like calico and buttons. I also bought some knitting yarn for my daughter. She had described something new she'd seen so I hope I;ve got the right stuff. She will no doubt enjoy playing with it regardless.

On Sunday we car booted and I purchased these lace bits for 50p - bargain! They have already been dyed orange and brown and will appear in a rust piece at some later date.