Bloomers

Or, flowers… but did that grab your attention?!

Hot off the Bernina – a batch of “Bloom” brooches, now launched in my Etsy and Folksy shops.

The design was inspired by alliums, and they did start off in suitable shades of purple, but the colours have branched out a bit now… there’s no limit really, I could do rainbow ones! Each flower head is made up of four layers, free machined on dissolvable fabric and put together to make a lacy, three-dimensional structure.  

I made the first few for Textilia’s recent exhibition at Farfield Mill, to tie in with one of my framed pieces, and they sold out. But for this new batch I’ve switched from stick pins to tiny brooch backs. They looked good on long metal “stalks”, but that effect was lost when they were pinned on clothing, and the stick pins were a bit thick anyway. These will work better on fine fabrics I think.

Only trouble is, they look HUGE in the photos in my shops – bigger than life size, of course they don’t seem as delicate and lacy as in real life. Hmm. There’s an awful lot to learn with this online shopping business.

Art for a wet weekend

It’s wet and grey outside, you can’t get on with the gardening (or sunbathing) –but it’s a perfect chance to get out and see LOTS of arts and crafts in the Yorkshire area!
I’ve already mentioned Textilia III’s “Earthly Delights” exhibition at Farfield Mill, Sedbergh. This is my work on display there:

But if you haven’t been yet, now’s the time – it’s only on until the 17th! Plus, if you use the code word from here, you’ll get a big discount on entry to “Four floors of inspiration… in this vibrant arts and heritage centre housed in a restored Victorian woollen mill”. But, warning, just don’t try and go on Wednesday 13th as it’ll unfortunately be closed due to highway maintenance.
And, if you’re in the area this weekend or next, you can combine that with shedloads (sometimes literally, hehe) of arts and crafts in North Yorkshire Open Studios. Lots of wonderful artists are taking part in the dales area, it’s easy to fill a whole wet weekend – though it’ll be even nicer if the sun makes an appearance!  

 

New work: Pollen

Here’s another of the new pieces I’ve got on show with Textilia III at Farfield Mill.

This one’s inspired by pollen grains viewed through a microscope – something I did a lot of in a previous life, long long ago.

It’s all machine embroidery, some free and some using a flower stitcher attachment. As so often in my recent work, the shadows cast by the suspended motifs are an important part of the design. I like the way they give depth and life as the piece changes with the lighting. This does make photographing the work tricky though – I can’t get the shadows I want without ones I don’t! 

New work: Bloom

This is one of the new pieces I’ve got on show with Textilia III at Farfield Mill.

It was inspired by alliums, and created by free machining on dissolvable fabric. Each bloom has two or three lacy layers with beads between to make it three-dimensional.

 

As they stand up above the background, they cast interesting shadows – one of my favourite tricks!

Earthly Delights exhibition

Yesterday we launched the latest Textilia III exhibition at the lovely Farfield Mill, Sedbergh. It’s on until 17th June, with something for everyone who loves textile art – machine embroidery (free and digitised), hand embroidery, felting, book making, jewellery.

In the little adjoining room we’ve got handling samples and sketchbooks to pore over.

As I was on the set up team, I had chance to take lots of photos with nobody around. You can see some of them here.

The other gallery at the mill has an exhibition of digital prints on fabric by Ruth Lee, so it’s a great time to visit!

Textilia III at Farfield Mill

Textilia III’s latest exhibition opens soon at the beautiful Farfield Mill, near Sedbergh (that’s on the Cumbrian edge of the Yorkshire Dales).

If you’d like an invitation to the preview on 5th May, just let me know – I’d love to see you there!

Glimpses

I’ve had very little to show on here recently, but that doesn’t mean I’ve been totally idle. In fact I’ve made quite a few new pieces, including two finished this week, but they’re intended for exhibitions and I think visitors should get the first proper look.

So here’s a sneaky peek of two recent productions…

  

No, it’s not my lack of photography skills/patience (this time, hehe) or your blurry eyes – they’re deliberately soft focus to keep a bit of mystery! Full pictures and explanations after the Textilia III exhiibition opens at Farfield Mill in May. It’s called Earthly Delights. If you’d like an invitation to the opening on 5th May, just email me.