Colours of Pembrokeshire - inspired by rockpools

The blue and turquoise seas of Pembrokeshire inspired me to get this ongoing piece of hand embroidery out again. Stitched on to a piece of fine cotton dyed with Pebeo setasilk dyes which also seem to work on cotton. Stitched area is approximately 20cm square.

Journal quilts continued, August, Brexit - has all hope gone?

Newspaper painted with a mix of red, white and blue giving a murky grey.

Flash of yellow fabric to celebrate the Liberal Democrat win in the Brecon and Radnorshire by-election, and to represent the conservative party majority of 1 in the House of Commons.

EU stars and blue thread showing inter-connectedness of 'just-in-time" delivery and manufacturing across the EU which the UK will lose access to if Brexit happens on 31 October.

Edged with black mourning ribbon.

Journal quilt, March 2019, Brexit 3

Twenty seven different yellow fabrics in fourteen foundation-pieced triangles. Inserted, with curved piecing and appliqué,  in to a rather crumpled and tired looking background. Union Jack fabric at the bottom, tea-stained and of nondescript shape, dissolving into tattered threads at the far right. ( This is straight - unlike UK politics, just distorted by the medium - like UK politics).

Journal quilts 2019, January, Brexit 1

A new year, a new stitching challenge. A4 size, four quits to be made with a sewing technique, four to be made with fabrics other than just cotton, four to be made using a different technique to make a background. The first sewing technique was an opportunity to re-visit appliqué of bias strips, something I have not done for years.
Initial sketch

In development, tea-dyed Union Jack fabric, and very useful, very short appliqué pins. Bias strips ( 1/4 inch) made using a bias strip maker, not essential, but saves burnt fingers.

Sewing down the strips, background is a piece of blue satin from my recent pantomime costume-making. Strangely appropriate for this piece.


Finished and quilted with FMQ, bound with satin stitch.

Does this look like my initial sketch? Mostly yes, but I made these changes

• the twisted chain was too complex in a piece of this size and with this width of strips. It would work on a larger scale
• the strip representing the UK went off the piece to the left in the initial sketch. With everything that is happening in the UK, it was a better representation that it went off to the far right
• final piece of the UK strip is tattered and fractured, linked together by a thin thread
• FMQ on the left is swirling and co-operative, FMQ on the right, where the UK strip is heading,  is a maze of never connecting boxes
• FMQ in the centre is dense and closely connected

December bling, with golden eagle

The last journal quilt of the year, in a nod to seasonal bling, is golden eagle.

Three layers of wadding in the trapunto, and I think this is the most successful amount to use to give volume without distorting the appliqué shape.

Dashing through the quilts.......not the snow

With the panto’ commitments over, I’ve returned to finishing off my journal quilts for this year.  Continuing on the theme of abstracted birds, the last four concentrate on beaks.

Crossbill.

Abstract birds, this series of four is about beaks.

 

Hand-dyed cotton fabrics. Experimenting in this series with increasing thickness of machine trapunto using water soluble thread. Very difficult to photograph the trapunto as a flat photo. One layer of trapunto wadding here.

Fungal foray

Incredible inspiration of form and colour from fungi during a walk this weekend

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Hidden inside the middle of a rotting fence post, waiting to be discovered, 

 

Bling bacteria, sleep and stitching on wood

The last journal quilt has been completed, the third on the theme of bacteria. Photographed on a sheet ( I don’t like ironing!) to show the extended, wired threads. A single antibiotic-resistant, flagellate bacterium swimming in a soup of over-used antibiotics. Bling for December.

Hand-dyed applique on commercial fabric with appliquéd threads, some hand-wired, which was much trickier than I had anticipated.

My copy of the book of The Sleep Quilt arrived this week, so I am setting aside time in the Christmas melee to enjoy that and think on how it was made. There is a superb blogpost about the project here.

A visit to Manchester allowed time to visit the Manchester Craft and Design Centre. This is lovely space, with a current exhibition of work by Kate Colin whose skill in paper folding is terrific.

Intriguing work with punched and stitched wood veneers by Jane Blease has gone on my long term wishlist.

Sculpture by the sea

One year I hope to visit “Sculpture by the Sea” in Australia. Until then, I make do with seeing sculpture in weathered shapes at British beaches

Cramond causeway, weathered U-boat defences, reminiscent of the cardinal sculptures by Giacomo Manzu.

Or with less sinister features

With a stretch of the imagination, beginning to resemble the Venus of Willendorf

Ogmore beach, wooden groynes weathered in to anthropomorphic shapes

These shapes are percolating through my mind as I have forgotten to bring any sketching or stitching materials on holiday.

Serpentine gallery, pavilion and cafe

To the Serpentine, so see this summer’s pavilion, designed by Francis Kéré, a festival of triangles, so lots of resonance for a quilter. Superb blue colour, great shapes, wonderful shadows. Apparently it is designed such that when it rains, there is a waterfall of water cascading down in to the middle.

Then in to the gallery, after a short wait to see the free  Grayson Perry exhibition. Pieces in many media, and some that were on display recently at the British Museum. There are two small cases with his sketchbooks, which I always love to see. The largest piece is the tapestry “Battle of Britain”. Ten of these have been made. For the quilters reading this, there are several quilt designs in the background of this tapestry, but I can’t find commentary about why Perry has chosen to include these. Don’t look any further if you want to go to the exhibition and find them yourself. The subtlety of the weaving matches that of the colours in the Chris Ofili tapestry, but Perry’s tapestries are machine woven by Flanders Tapestries.

Finishing off with a walk across the bridge to a cup of tea within the sinuous curves of the Magazine restaurant, designed by Zaha Hadid.

 

 

 

Good omens - spheres, hemispheres and almost circles

In these uncertain times, I am seeking good omens wherever I find them in my life. Yesterday, a charity shop find of beautiful yarn from Fyberspates, top, and Posh Yarn, 4 smaller balls. Bought in hanks and a meditative half hour last night spent winding them into balls.

Eight yolks from 6 eggs this morning (pavlova in the making)

Gloriously scented James Galway rose in bloom in the garden

Unexpectedly wonderful.......

Blossom at Swiss Cottage Library, 

EU hat at the March for Europe

Eye-dazzling euphorbia

Crystalline glaze ceramics by Matt Horne

Sunset on the River Thames

School of gentle protest by the Craftivist Collective

Wonderful British watercolour landscapes at the British Museum, free , on until 27th August. Rewards quiet contemplation.