Oh what exciting title can i give this other than Chapter 2 continued and Chapter 3 ?

When i first got Module 2, i looked at my diary and planned how long each chapter should take and where i should be by Christmas. Christmas is coming and the guinea fowl are beckoning but i am certainly behind schedule! should be on shi-sha work by now but hope to catch up! bit of frivolity above is my answer to Sian's suggestion of working on a photograph it is great fun to do and i have more ideas!
any way back to the rest of chapter 2, using machine stitch to couch down various threads. above is a thread made from a frayed metallic fabric, twisted and made into a cord with a zig zag stitch then couched down with further zig zaging.
above a cord made from stranded threads and secured with threads taken across from the stitches on either side.
strips of fabric distressed and couched down in a similar way to the thread above.
i am very pleased with this one! firstly i machined over a pale blue wire, then couched it down with a closely worked zig-zag, pulling out loops randomly.
detail of the above.the loops can be manipulated into various shapes.
here i took a fine brass wire and worked it around various shapes and then 'loosely' couched them down with a straight stitch.
above sample worked by wrapping threads around a wire form and then securing them down with straight stitches. the wire form was then removed. it looks very 50's.
finally working again with a photograph. i was sitting in the park at a table that had been painted with leaves and butterflies etc. this one was where someone had picked off the paint from the leaf leaving the wood visible. i used a combination of cut strips of gold paper and gold tissue randomly torn after stitching. this might not be true couching but it was fun to do.
Chapter 3, traditional sample of underside couching on a double layer of linen. not easy to do!
above sample worked on even weave canvas stencilled with diamonds.
top strip worked with some ancient lurex knitting yarn i have had for years, next layer a fine machine embroidery thread, then fine lurex strip (not easy to handle) and the lower one cut up strips from my vacuum packed coffee packaging. it was difficult to pull this through to the other side!
above shows the reverse.


and now for my underside couching worked on the sewing machine. top sample is my first experiment using perle crochet cotton.
changing the stitch length to form a diamond. it was difficult to judge the distance between the rows.
again changing the stitch length.
above, changing stitch type from straight to zig zag.
i then tried metallic thread in the bobbin.
trying to do a chequer board pattern but ran out of thicker thread half way through!
randomly changing stitch length.

Opus Anglicanum, its been a mighty opus but hopefully its all stitched up!

Never one to miss an opportunity to make a book, and, after much deliberation on how to present my study on Opus Anglicanum i came up with this!
A concertina of various elements found on Opus textiles. When viewed close up it reminds me of theatre scenery!
I found the study very absorbing and also somewhat frustrating as a) the V&A's new Medieval galleries are not open yet, and it is always useful to see primary sources and b) a lot of publications have very inadequate photos. Web pages too left a lot to be desired. I remembered that in my past i had intimately known at least 2 pieces of Opus Anglicanum so there was much rummaging in the attic to find photos.
Its not easy to get everything in unless you are writing a thesis, so i hope this gives a detailed enough outline.
I decided to draw most of my images as this gives an understanding of the design elements and is somewhat reminiscent of the cartoon like designs of the period.
I firstly concentrated on the design features that enclosed images such as roundels and cruciform shapes.
I included designs inside the enclosures although they didn't necessarily go together originally so i hope this isn't misleading.

I have placed the shapes fairly chronologically, as are the architectural shapes at the end.

It was interesting to see how designs were worked from extant drawings and how often the designs would appear in more than one textile, also how design features were presented on the costume of the period.



I particularly liked areas of pattern worked with the same threads but using the stitches in different directions.
I did my samples of underside couching on a double layer of linen and found it quite tricky to get the tension correct. I also found that if the needle didn't go in the same hole in both directions then the loop was virtually impossible to pull through. How on earth they did it on velvet i have no idea and probably at speed! I have included a bibliography on the reverse side of the last 'page'. I will post photographs of the underside couching in Chapter 3. Finally back to untarnished glitter, one more sample of hand couching for Chapter 2.
I cut up lengths of 'Cello foil', crinkled them with heat and applied them to a photo of spray paint details.

Big Draw Animation 'Pavement Dreams'

last weekend as part of 'The Big Draw' we took part in a street art animation run by Animated Exeter, Stuart Dawson and Josh Gaunt. the new Princesshay development in Exeter was the venue. i was surprised they let them use chalk but it was well worth it. the plan was to fill in floor tiles with coloured chalks which would then come out from the wall eventually expanding and exploding.
animation is quite labour intensive but great fun and well worth the effort once finished. it was amazing how long it captured my son's imagination.
every passer by was encouraged to join in! but it was still mainly children who participated. its amazing how adults tend to avoid such things! you can see the finished video here.

Welcome November!

My birthday month!! hopefully happy.

Module 2 'Metallic Magic' or 'all that glitters....'

Chapter 2, asks for couching to attach 'metallic' threads both conventional and unconventional. here follows my hand stitched samples. i used a wool flannel dyed navy blue. the first few samples are 'traditional' ways of couching threads. many of my couched threads are unconventional though. i realise i put no measurements on the photos but the above measures 8cm x 4cm approx. i have used a blue DMC metallic stranded thread with a cotton perle couching thread. the silver vertical pieces are metallic 'scoobies' cut into short lengths.
next one, above: i have used the same DMC thread with cut-outs from a 'Tunnocks teacake' wrapper, mmm.... couching worked with a silk thread. 7cm x 4cm.
Next above: the wool background has been stencilled with metallic fabric paint to give added depth. the shapes are taken from shapes made by the movement of the hand in mid air when writing. the silver stranded thread was couched with silk. 9cm x 6cm approx.
a simple swirly patter that ended in a sort of 1950's triangle! threads as previous samples. 6cm x 5cm.
going for a more unconventional approach in the above sample i have used a gold card cut from a chocolate box with strips of woven metal 'fabric', all couched with a fine metallic thread. 8cm x 6cm.
above: various 'metallic' strips couched with silk thread. from top metallic Tyvek, gold 'brown' paper, vacuum packed coffee wrapper, chocolate wrapper and 'silver' parchment paper. all quite tricky to cut out but i am rather pleased with the effect achieved. 11cm x 8cm.
next one, trying to think of different ways of couching things down, the above metallic card pieces are couched with staples. 11cm x 8cm.
after my trip to ally pally i thought i would like to try knitting with plastic bags. the above is an experiment with vacuum packed coffee wrapper, which is thicker than a plastic bag and has a plastic coating over the foil. i cut strips and knitted them and then heat set with an iron. couched with silk. 11cm x 8cm.
above, the following are worked on a maroon wool flannel, twisted silver wire, couched with silk through the twisted 'purl' bits. 10cm x 6cm.
using a crocheted silver wire with random couching in silk thread. 10cm x 6cm.
above sample i have used a traditional metal wire strip from a collection of old threads used for 'goldwork' and couched it with silk thread. 10cm x 6cm.
i found these pins some time ago thinking they might come in useful and so they have! couched with silk thread. 10cm x 6cm. my next samples will be different ways of couching threads etc. using the sewing machine.

Ally Pally, what an exhausting day!

I'm not very good first thing in the morning, usually grumpy, still feeling tired and i do love a cup of coffee before getting up! so last saturday was a shock to the system, starting at 5.15 in the morning, taxi (luckily) and train to Paddington at 6.40! the reason for this was of course 'the knitting and Stitching show' at Ally Pally and cheap train tickets. the plan was i would go to the show and my husband and son would have a 'fun' day at Games Workshop and the Science Museum.
Now for the history lesson! in 1936 on November 2nd the world's first 'high' definition television broadcasts began from Ally Pally. the service originally alternated on a weekly basis between Baird's film system and Marconi-Emi's system. the above photograph taken about the same time shows two of John Logie baird's employees having a bit of fun. the one on the right is my father a Cathode Ray Tube maker. it must have been quite a time to be involved in the beginnings of television, and look how far we have come! mainly good but i think my father and Baird would be shocked by some of the trash that is now out there.
i don't visit Ally Pally very often but always think of my father working there when i do.
but back to the show! this might sound uninspiring to many but one of the highlights was seeing Kyoko Nagasawa's piece in 'The art of stitch' before i even got out of the entrance hall! such a simple idea, knitted strips of plastic carrier bags that were flattened by heat. beautiful! the next highlight was Dionne Swift's 'New grounds' work. the show was rich with figurative work, from kerry Mosley's portraits, Alice Kettle's figures and others; this will help with some of the exercises in Module 2. Seeing Sian's 'Tread softly' in the Pfaff Art Exhibition was an inspiration and i also enjoyed Christine Atkins' 'shelf life' houses, as featured in Embroidery magazine, Vol.59 Sept/Oct 2008.
there came a point at about 1.30 when i realised quite how tired and hungry i was so had to have a rest before the next enslaught. but i am now well stocked with glittery things and many ideas!
i met up with the guys at the V&A in the late afternoon to see 'Telling Tales' fantasy and fear in contemporary design, all i can say is WOW!!!!! what beautiful pieces, even my 9 year old was impressed.
got home about 11 after a much longer train ride than the morning with one of the family behaving badly, fidgeting and generally causing a nuisance (me!).

Musing for the day!

'show me a satisfied soul and i will show you a winged horse caught in a fisherman's net' Georgia Blizzard.