A Visit to the V&A

12th January 2016

I went to the V&A to see the Fabric of India exhibition only to find it had finished on Sunday!!

A lovely morning, such a pleasant change from the usual rain....

....looking up at a London Plane tree....

......

...loved this new art sculpture outside the V&A, an abundance of kitchen utensils!

Visited the SHOE exhibition and found it really interesting, especially the shoes from China from the time when they bound their feet, they were so tiny and pointed! Sadly no photographs allowed.

Went to the cafe for hot chocolate....

....sat in the Green Room...

....and had a few odd glances as I took photos of the ceiling....

......and walls....

....not sure whether this was worked in plaster relief or an embossed paper, then hand painted!

I particularly enjoyed the patterns in these screens...

....mosaic floors in the museum corridors...

.....so many statues but this is definitely a favourite...

.....a very pleasant day and many ideas for creative work!

Sketchbook Update....

3rd January 2016

Greetings from a VERY WET Blackpool!

I was supposed to be yarn bombing the park this weekend but it had to be cancelled due to the weather......

I have been watching Netflix, the first series of The Bridge which I missed on television and knitting a baby blanket....

....also using my cotton yarn oddments to crochet another baby blanket.

>>>>>>>>

Last March I went to Cornwall on a course with Anne Griffiths, beach themed, and made a sketchbook...

....today I added some of my beach themed work....

....stitched collage...

.....prints and stencils...

....my own photos and weaving...

.....machined organza strips and fish made using recycled threads and soluble fabric...

....oil pastel rubbings...

...my own photos and machine appliqué of starfish prints...

....love sea horses...

....layers of organza free machined...

....weaving using various yarns and  coral, free machining on water soluble ....

....one of my favourite pieces, simple sea horse Shibori on indigo dyed velvet, took ages to prepare and even longer to remove the stitches but I love the effect, must try this again....

....my first drawing in YEARS!!

This brings back happy memories of my week at Oxford Summer School, the group decided to have a 'round robin' postcard, everyone started with a background then it was sent to the next person on the list to add something, great fun to do....

....paper and free machining....

.....hand dyed silk, free machining...

.....the rain is still teeming down and the lights have been on all day but I have enjoyed my trip down memory lane!

Not All Experiments Work!!!!

1st January 2016

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL.

I woke up wanting to be creative......

...went through my fabric stash and made a cushion...

....think it needs a new cushion pad!

......

I had this left after the festivities....

....half a red cabbage covered in tin foil as we had retro starters with our Prosecco on Christmas Day, remember pineapple/cheese on sticks??

I started my experiment by soaking a strip of cotton in a white vinegar solution....

.....amazing pattern from nature....

....sliced red cabbage...

....thick strips laid on the cotton...

....the rest of the fabric folded over with  thin strips added...

....this was then tightly rolled around a copper pipe....

.....tied...

.....then boiled for 2 hours in salted water...

....the disappointing result of a blotchy pale lilac strip of cloth!!!

I thought I might have had deep colour marks from the strips of cabbage!

Can't win them all, but the fabric can be re-dyed so not much wasted.....