The Turret Process

more sewing - work in progress

noreply@blogger.com (Rowan) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 14:56:00 +0000

After hemming the calico backing, I drew my idea on it roughly with Inktense blocks. Derwent make them and they are fantastic; you can use them wet or dry, and when painted into fabric with water, the stain is permanent. Using Inktense on fabric is quite a long but informative video from Derwent - worth a look for water soluble crayon and pencil addicts.

The next stage was to sew landscapey stripes and slivvers of velvet onto the painted calico. This took almost a whole week because I had no idea that cotton velvet could fray and crumble so much! Every time I tried to neaten the turned down edges, more matter fell away. Shaking or vacuuming the cotton crumbs accelerated the deterioration. I used lightly applied hand-wrapped-in-sellotape in the end and tried not to worry too much!

Next, my favourite: organza. Doing this piece, I discovered that there are several different kinds of velvet and organza respectively. I've only used polyester organza so far.

Once the sheers were being stitched and scissored, I forgot all about the messy velvet.

Very pleased with this grassy limey green.

After several layers it can be confusing where to cut and what to expose.

Here is the sewing so far. 18"x14". Bit more to do yet.

pencil case

noreply@blogger.com (Rowan) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 14:11:00 +0000

I made the fabric for this pencil case using a brilliant idea that I found with the Colouricious Club videos on You Tube New Fabric from Old. Also, a lady called Jo Mcintosh has a pair of videos on

You Tube about Recycling Fabric Scraps.

Basically, you start with a backing fabric (canvas in this case, for strength). Then you randomly place scraps of fabric, leftovers swept or kept after projects are finished, onto the backing. Lay a piece of sheer fabric on top of this and machine sew everything down through the sheer. Bondaweb is useful for sticking the scraps down but it's possible to carefully move all to the sewing machine for the securing.

I added more scraps, glitter, some Angelina fibres (unfixed) and then another layer of organza. And then went spiral-mad with the embroidery foot.

I did not look for the right sized zip before I began and was too excited to wait until the shops opened the next day, so used this 20" one that I found in the button box. It was extremely awkward making it fit but now I am pleased that the pen I need at the very bottom cannot hide forever - because there isn't a bottom, just one long top with corners.

It's nice and big, 9"x6". Could encourage more pencil shopping, though.

stitched Valentine - Febuary 2015

noreply@blogger.com (Rowan) — Tue, 07 Jul 2015 22:59:00 +0000

I used recycled sari-silk waste for the first time. Still unhappy about the plight of moths, but as these strips and bits would have been swept into dustbins, it seems almost as guiltless as buying leather goods second hand. There's some cotton velvet and foiling and plenty of F1 Singer-driving here.

renewed attempt at machine embroidery - January and February 2015

noreply@blogger.com (Rowan) — Tue, 07 Jul 2015 22:42:00 +0000

cushion for Peter's Mum - August 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Rowan) — Tue, 07 Jul 2015 22:18:00 +0000

For this picture cushion, I decided to try to replicate in yarn the home the recipients live in. I'd been to Peter's parents house a few times in 1988 and could remember the house quite well - I was surprised how well when I checked on Google Streetview.

They still have a beautiful garden. This is Mr Marshall having a lie-down.

It was Bobbie's first trip to London. She loved the great glass elevator at St Pancras.

And the overlnd train to Hatfield.

Mrs Marshall escaped being photographed but hugged the cushion before returning to her kitchen.

red and yellow painting - May 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Rowan) — Tue, 07 Jul 2015 21:47:00 +0000

I made this painting last April and May - it was my first using solely acrylic paint. There's some charcoal and oil pastel too.

always atleast one tricky moment

Did me a lot of good. It's called 'Hello Menopause' 30"x24"

K1 P1 K1: Dog!

noreply@blogger.com (Rowan) — Wed, 26 Nov 2014 00:54:00 +0000

I knitted a few dogs over the Summer for charity - wish I could have made more. My dog Bobbie and I attend the local German Shepherd Dog Obedience and Agility classes which is what inspired this bout of knitting. Two of our Trainers received woollen approximations of their own dogs. I used the patterns from Best in Show by Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne. I have to say that these are not easy patterns to follow but even after unpicking and starting again (the Jack Russell had his head knitted backwards the first time and looked like a Nazi experiment!) the final stuffed, eyed, eared and tailed Dog makes it all worthwhile.

a Jack Russell (based on the sweetest little Russell called Zippy, owned by Dave and Trainer Trisha)

a Poodle (made to order for Trainer Kathryn and based on her very bouncy, young Poodle, Olly)

a Dalmatian, a British Bulldog, a Dachshund and a Labrador Retriever (vaguely!) made to raise money for a wonderful local re-homing kennels called Just For Dogs.

Clearly, these dogs are not remotely to scale with eachother. That'll teach me to deviate from the needle size and wool weights in the patterns!

Darling Terry playing Gulliver to the pack of knitted Lilliputian dogs

a Whippet (also made for Trainer Kathryn, based on her beautiful Whippet, Stanley)

Christmas Machine 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Rowan) — Mon, 23 Dec 2013 02:51:00 +0000

Happy Christmas everyone!
Arts and crafts confidence entirely deserted me this year but at the last minute, I have managed to cut and print a new Anderson Shelter Christmas card. Can't tell you how happy I am about this and how much I enjoyed the process all over again.
Putting this blog post together, I realize with amazement that the whole project took less than a week. Perhaps I should instigate some kind of deadline for the 25th of every month? Mustn't try to run when I've only just stood up again, though, p'raps.

Here's to the dear subjects in the drawing, ink and paper, and having friends to send cards to.

Tuesday 10th, early hours

Wednesday 11th, afternoon

Thursday 12th, evening

peg and line prep

Friday 13th, the first print! I confess that I stood and wept.

caught the last 2nd class Christmas post with the first batch on Wednesday 18th

second batch: Thursday 19th

Young Terry kept me company throughout the process. He is one of the kittens born underneath the telly last October (2012) - not sure I even mentioned them here! In the lino-cut, he is the cat at the top of the Christmas Tree.
If Terry could speak English, I'm sure he'd say 'God bless us, every one.'

Michaelmas Term

noreply@blogger.com (Rowan) — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 03:47:00 +0000

Very long time no blog!

It's been a strange and at times difficult Summer with the Mental Elf playing up and the Black Dog making a reappearance - all due to a muddle with medicine dosages.

The slugs eating all of my Dahlias and most of the Sunflowers didn't help. And the rain! There was hardly any macrophotography to be had as all the poor winged creatures hid from the deluge (and me). After i decided to actually kill the slugs (upsetting),who seemed to be the only living things left in the garden, i didn't feel justified in photographing them.

I've been feeling much better since mid-August so i can only excuse myself for half of this long blog-gap. Anyway, self-recrimination is no way forward.I hope anyone who reads this has had a perfect Summer - with fewer slugs!

Here's what i've been up to:

Knitting

[reverse side of cushion]

I made this cushion for a great friend of my great friend John. Ulla is a Danish forensic psychologist (among other things). She came to visit at the end of August with news that after many years in England she had decided to return to Denmark. I couldn't make it to her farewell party so i made her this cushion. Ulla is a truly beautiful person. I can't not mention that!

This is an example of 'My Intarsia Hell' ! It's always worth it in the end, though.

Bears

At long last, i got hold of some proper German mohair! I spent a whole week designing, re-designing, amending and revising a pattern for a bear small enough for one whole bear from 1/16th of a metre of fabric. It's incredibly expensive.

I don't have an entirely finished bear yet but will do soon.

I tried out the pattern in felt, first. I think it's an excellent fabric and has something sweet about it so i shall be making more bears and other animals with felt. It's also cheap and doesn't fray!

Limbs and bodies were fairly easy to anatomize proportionately but there are several disembodied heads lying around.

Painting

The canvases have gone white.

I thought this might happen one day. It's about an interest in texture. There are a couple of canvases like this, begun years ago. I thought they were waiting for colour - i took my reluctance to be some kind of block-nonsense; now i think colour can sometimes be inappropriate.

As i'm piling so much matter onto the canvases, i think it might be time to try working on wooden supports.

I've been making a lot of my photographs black and white. Perhaps this has crystalized my view.

'...a poor describer of light.'

Crochet

First crocheted blankey finished. I couldn't work out a way to square it in the end, although i did try. I think it was already too big.

It measures about 48 inches across. Kind of neither here nor there, purpose-wise. I'll try a squared one next and keep going.

Last but not least...

The livestock. Everyone is fine and they deserve a whole post to themselves, really. I''ll just mention this little treasure. She came into the house at the very end of August. We had seen her in the gardens during the Summer and were sure she lived at Number 5. However they had moved away. She is logged with the RSPCA as a lost cat but other than that i have no way of finding her owners.

Of course, we have fallen in love with her. We are calling her Dolly.

It became almost immediately apparent that Dolly had a secret (approximately 4 secrets).
Kittens due any time now :-0 !!!

(Cats 5 - Dogs 1)

not including the kittens.

....in other news

noreply@blogger.com (Rowan) — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 17:27:00 +0000

Unrelated to Morse's sudden passing (or is there ever such a thing as 'unrelated'?), progress has been quite slow of late. I am, however, attempting to coerce myself into an industrial revolution.
Here's what i have been up to:

bears in progress!

Catherine's cushion all done!

i crocheted the back using a self-patterning yarn

heart and circle details. I'm going to get a larger cushion-inner before i post it.

the red painting which seems to be becoming less red the more i find myself interested in textures.

Goodbye Morse

noreply@blogger.com (Rowan) — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 16:38:00 +0000

I can't believe i missed out June altogether! I confess to having fallen into a sulk about the weather which has been even worse than usual for an English mid-summer. I was stoical at first and then ran out of steam.
When i was a child, i would sometimes be chided for snivelling with the rather frightening phrase: 'I'll give you something to cry about if you don't stop!'. I was sharply reminded of this last week when i found our oldest cat in a strangely flattened position near the back door...
I am sad to report that Morse [The Inspector] died last Wednesday. It was 8 o'clock when i found him prone. John and i brought him inside so he could rest on my wool basket, his place, but he struggled and made a horrible crying miaow which made us simultaneously burst into tears.
There was a lot of panting and few more caterwauls over the next hour. Then his tail went limp, his pupils dilated and his breaths slowed to one every 50 seconds. It was all over by 11pm.

Morse was 14 years old. He arrived at the old house from further down the street in 1999, aged 1. He was returned to his owners twice but clearly preferred our house, so his official move was awkwardly arranged. His original name was Starsky. Always an unpick-up-able loner, his main contribution to the household was his extreme beauty. He loved sunshine and spent his last day on the swingy-chair at the end of the garden which he'd made his own. The sun shone all that day.
He is buried in the garden beside his great friend, Stevie, a fellow tabby.

I lied!

noreply@blogger.com (Rowan) — Sat, 26 May 2012 15:34:00 +0000

So much for all my talk of departing from the orb paintings last Autumn... Having over-Wintered at the sewing machine and then spent cosy Spring evenings learning to crochet (well, we didn't really have a Spring - just a very, very long Winter and now, a sudden Summer), i have, for the last 4 or 5 weeks, been enjoying afternoons with an abstract red canvas.

4th May

11th May

18th May

25th May

This poor old canvas was begun in 2010

I have not begun a figurative panting.

But i do think the orbs have become spirals! Which must be a loosening of some kind.

In Knitting News, a name cushion for Kelly's sister Catherine is under construction.

It's the longest name i've ever knitted!

crochet: project ii

noreply@blogger.com (Rowan) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 23:40:00 +0000

(Clapping hands together and rubbing them briskly), here is the exponentially growing second crochet item - a blankey! (or throw or afghan or cat's comforter...)

This is the funny thing about crochet - one minute you can't go round in circles at all and the next, you crack it and you actually can't stop! Instructions for keeping the work from 'cupping up' and threatening to become a wooly cylinder only clicked into place once i switched from joining rounds in neat circles to travelling in a continuous spiral. The maths is pretty simple (though i don't pretend that it makes sense to me): i began with a chain of 6 stitches which i joined into a ring. Then i made 12 double crochet stitches into this ring. Next round, i increased into every other stitch. Every round after this, i make an increase one further along than last time - so, for example, i am now increasing into every 23rd stitch. It's diameter is 29 inches....for now! I'm mostly using double-crochet with the odd round of triple. You get into a kind of mad race with yourself and don't want to slow yourself down with pretty popcorns or shells.
As with my knitted blanket, i'm using a mixture of very cheap acrylic yarn punctuated with the odd bit of lovely stuff. A great find has been this:

It's a chunky acrylic called Marble by J.C.Brett. This one is shade no. 27 - about a fiver but the chunky comes in generous 200g skeins. Sally made me a glorious wrapper from this kind of self-patterning wool. What's great about it in a mixed-colour item, is that you can pick colours from it to find matching plain yarns, colours you may not have thought would fit into the scheme.

And because i'm making it up as i go along, i'm finally finding a home for leftovers, erroneous choices (from badly photographed 'bargains' on ebay) and crazy, fancy stuff like this which i just bought because i liked it:

This is a shade called 'Donkey' (!) by V and A Products. The yarn is called Mo-et and is incredibly fiddly to work being a sliver of ribbon with a breath of mohair loosely twisted around it (and prone to unwind). The ball is a sensuous treat to hold - incredibly silky and slippy. I can't resist a bit of gold sparkle.

I spotted this at one of the haberdashery stalls in the market.

I'm not sure if it was a bargain or not - £3 for 100g of wool and acrylic blend by Jarol. I love the colour which reminds me of tonics two-tone fabric.

Obviously i can't carry on like this indefinitely. I'm thinking of making a series or triangles, petal-wise and then more triangles to fit the first ones, jigsaw-wise to make a square or a rectangle of it.
There's nothing so good as having a project on the go!

Many thanks to my glamorous assistant Mr Safko.

6th bear leaves for Massachusetts!

noreply@blogger.com (Rowan) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 13:34:00 +0000

A thousand bear-hugs to Anja in America who has homed yet another Bovis Bear!

The little blonde chap flew out on Tuesday (a day behind schedule unfortunately). The gang is getting smaller!

When i told him he was going to live with his great friend Valentino (a little grey fleece bear), not to mention three other of his forebears, he begged me to splash out on his airfare so he could be there a.s.a.p.
So i did!!! With any luck, he'll be having tea and biscuits with his Bovis family (and seven pussycats!) before he can say there's no place like home three times.

[On a slightly visceral note, i'm waiting for a consignment of eyes and noses... more bears coming soon!]

Many thanks, Anja - i hope the little lad is with you very soon and isn't too boisterous after his journey. X

Young bear leaves for Torquay!

noreply@blogger.com (Rowan) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 14:36:00 +0000

The tiniest bear so far (only 3 and a half inches when standing) left for Torquay yesterday. It's the first Bovis Bear to move to the West Country. He's going to love the pasties and ice-cream. Lucky bear!

Cream Teas! Sea! Marvellous!

He actually received news of his posting on Sunday but unfortunately, had been A.W.O.L since the 'Bye Portrait before last - i suspected NoNo had made off with him but during a finger-tip search of the bears' room, he was found nestling (snoringly) in their folded up photo blanket. Thank heavens for that!

We were interrupted by Safko. Must have been his turn...

Have a smashing life little, tiny bear!

the first, finished crochet item

noreply@blogger.com (Rowan) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 01:25:00 +0000

The sample i grew fond of became a bag! i made a front to go with the back, a flap and a handle. Then i picked-up-and-knitted the sides and bottom and picot-ed all around the perimeters (lovely peaceful job.)

Plenty of inevitable cat and dog hair in the pictures and the colour has been extremely difficult to faithfully reproduce. (in reality, the first photograph is the closest match.)

Last Sunday i finally got 'round to constructing a canvas inner (undyed to show off the holes) so it's bits-n-bobs tight now and quite rigid. I still need to line the handle or the bag will be dragging along the ground.

Ever helpful John suggests i branch out into crochet bags for iPads, pods, laptops and Kindles.
I may attempt a tea-cosy. And a hat!

Bovis Bears set sail for Scandinavia!

noreply@blogger.com (Rowan) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 01:54:00 +0000

Lovely news on Friday - two little bears were invited to live in Sweden!

I'm really happy for the little jumbo-corduroy bear as i felt he might not be everyone's cup of tea, bless him (and he does go on so about hydraulic mechanics). As for the very small knitted lad - i don't know what we will do without him! As his listing has now disappeared, here is his biography, so you know what i mean:

Some knitted bears have very fixed characters. This is because some knitted bears lack the anatomical addition of a swiveling head which explains their often trenchantly fixed view, steadfast will and almost stubborn adherence to duty.
If you are looking for a bear whose pleasure it is to listen attentively as you discourse upon such subjects as dialectics, hockey sticks in graphs, the Turin Shroud or the Large Hadron Collider, then this is the one for you. He will also hear personal problems but is prone to offering practical solutions rather than a shoulder to cry upon as he is only 6 inches tall (when standing) and finds such shows of emotion physically uncomfortable.

This dear little chap has fully functional button-jointed arms and legs, the shiniest black eyes and a grand nose as the olfactory sense in one so diminutive must be even greater than that of the average bear to aid survival.

It was touch and go whether he would actually reach the shop window as he is a borderline genius and has been wooed by various organizations (i'm afraid i can't go into details - suffice to say we had to sign the Official Secrets Act). However, at the last minute, he broke down, shouting "I am a Bovis Bear, not a human being" and only calmed down when we agreed to revert to Plan A, the plan that all Bovis Bears are brought into this world for - to grow up and become somebody's greatest friend and companion and guardian ad infinitum.

He is a Bovis Bear and he's ready for (almost) anything!

It's so nice for them to be traveling together. Apparently their new companion has a working steam engine; to see one is the corduroy bear's greatest wish! To make a bear's dream come true is a wonderful thing.

Goodbye bears! Safe journey!
Only 6 left in the shop now, i'll have to get busy...

new bricks and timber

noreply@blogger.com (Rowan) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 14:53:00 +0000

A couple of weeks ago (after fairly gentle but sustained nagging from Sally) i finally had my Helen Keller fountain moment with crochet. Here is my learning curve so far:


Single Crochet


Double Crochet


Bump Stitch (with sc and dc's)

Puff or Cluster Stitch


Single, Double and Treble with a line of Trinity Stitch (chunky yarn, size 10 hook)

a simple Lacy Shell Stitch


Single, Double and Triple+Cluster+another Trinity attempt with 4ply cotton and 3.5mm hook

And finally, Trinity, Single, Double, Half Double, Popcorn and a dense Shell in different colours! I'm getting attached to this sampler so it might well become my first piece of crochet work - maybe a bag with a fabric lining.

My first thoughts as i sat dumbfounded (and not for the first time) with my hooks and Crochet for Dummies book, were: this is just silly, it's like trying to knit with one arm tied behind my back. A couple of times i found myself crocheting onto the hook as if it was a knitting needle. As for the instructions, i can't tell you how many times i said "oh come off it! Never!" out loud.
It all came together for me when i put the book aside and settled in front of YouTube.. My favourite teacher is Mikey Small from allfreecrochet.com A few of his tutorials have his hands working in front of a slightly sinister baby doll. Here's a link to Trinity Stitch with Mikey

There is also a German lady called Eliza (nadelspiel.com) with a beautifully accented voice and whose hands often speed up over repeat stitches. She shows quite complex work with fine yarns and hooks - it's like watching a spider weaving! Here's a link: Eliza's Big Fan Stitch

i really like making crochet now that i can do it. No more skipping over patterns that require a crocheted border! And maybe one day i will be able to follow a whole crochet pattern.
Many thanks to Sally [link to her blog] Knits Of The Round Table who saw that i had 3.5mm and 10mm hooks and gave me a far more sensible 5mm one. Magic wand!

New Things to Do! Wooooo!

embroiderbobs activity

noreply@blogger.com (Rowan) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 17:05:00 +0000

i am succumbing to fabric and stitch in a big way at the moment and have set up an embroiderbobs-specific table at right angles to the sewing table. I knew all those catering containers Sally gave me from Pret where she earns her bread and butter would come in handy!

The woefully, rarely used drawing board (which is actually part of an ancient mangle, rescued from old Nora's [r.i.p] shed years ago) is now a kind of ironing and painting board with a bit of Daisy's [r.i.p] dog blanket stapled on for cushioning. i swear there's instant poetic/feminine/memory stuff imbued with anything stitchy. I hate to be gender-exclusive - but it's a thought?

Anyway, here's the panel i was working on when i was last trying to make fabric art (about 2 years ago):

I'd made three panels, all with themes (see Embroiderbobs page) but this one was theme-less, i think because i wanted to use it to practice new techniques. However, interest dwindled by the Spring (was re-channeled into building the greenhouse).
So i've picked up again initially making my mother's cushion, and, while i was waiting for the attic to recover a working-temperature (it was only 8 degrees up here for three weeks!), i've finally taught myself how to sew the Bullion Knot!

a Straw or Milliner's needle is advised but i couldn't get hold of either, locally, so used a basic Crewel needle. Also used small pliers here and there to pull the needle through to make the Bullion as the fabric is organza on velvet on quilting fuzz - quite heavy going. Now that i can do these, i can't stop and i find them so enjoyable that it feels like a skive. Any art that can be made in front of the telly, cosy and calm gets my vote.

The infestation of knots is growing but it's a very slow job, this being at least 7 evening's work.

Madeira thread is excellent and they have a large range of metallics including hologramic ones which i haven't tried yet. Being of very good quality, they work well in machines too. But at £2.50-£3.00 a reel, they are quite pricey.

I found a great shop on Ebay this week called carter_crafts and bought 5 huge reels of rayon metallic thread for £6.50. I think they are from India. I haven't tried them in the sewing machine yet but they're lovely for hand sewing - very bright and 2000m a reel, they say!

Good old Anchor make lovely metallic embroidery silks which are easy for threading several strands into a needle at once and are not made of silk which i won't buy new because i love moths. Also Gutermann have a range of very sparkly threads called Glitter Thread - hopeless in my sewing machine but do-able and well worthwhile by hand in short lengths.

My next move is to try and incorporate actual metal shim. This is what i love about fabric art - it's a medium where i can make sparkly,glittery, metallic aspects work, something i've tried and failed to do in paintings.

bear bulletin!

noreply@blogger.com (Rowan) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 13:59:00 +0000

This month we have had two Farewell parties down in the bears' room!

On February 8th, this gorgeous curly bear received his mobilization orders.

Boris joined the party, inevitably.

He is the first of the August 5 to leave the den and we were all sad to see him go. He is now living happily in Independence, Missouri in America.

Then this week, one of the little 10 inch gang from last June was summoned to Lawrenceville, Georgia!

The larger bears were all fast asleep - still grumbling about being disturbed in December - so it was a low-key farewell. The little ginger bear is probably in the air as i blog. Plenty of ventilation holes but i hope it's not too cold in the hold.
My geography is beyond hopeless, but as i see it, the Bovis Bear colony in the States now stretches from Washington top left to Georgia bottom right with many bears settled in Massachusetts top right (er.. the East coast!)

embroiderbobs name-cushion

noreply@blogger.com (Rowan) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:32:00 +0000

i made this for my mother for her birthday last Thursday. It took about 10 days - a few of those being temple massaging days just turning the parts this way and that and hmmmm-ing. From my own cushion experience, i know that knitted ones draw animal hairs to them better than any clothes brush (mine look like extra pets - you can't hoover them, the wool bobbles and stretches), and as Sylvia has 7 cats, a dog and some ferrets, i thought i'd try a sewn name-cushion instead.

The top, bottom and left side is blue cotton velvet, heavily machine stitched and a little hand stitched. All the parts were sewn over a layer of quilting fabric. I experimented with foiling but found it a bit bright and stitched through it and also veiled it with organza. Some of the organza was distressed with the heat-gun. I stitched the name by hand and then added beads. I really enjoyed sewing on the beads and went down to one of the haberdashery stalls in the market to buy some more and sewed bright 'Our Lady' blue ones on here and there. I didn't have time to do them justice in the end, they were the tiny ones that look best in masses.

i also sewed a few sequins on. i didn't have a clue how to do this so just used beads to anchor them. None of them are catching the light in this picture but that's them in the middle. There are some star shaped ones on the cushion and also some leaf shapes.

This section of the cushion is a Tyvek and organza sandwich: two pieces of painted Tyvek paper with two different coloured pieces of organza in between; machine sewn for a resist, and then ironed carefully both sides. The Tyvek melts much more quickly than the organza, so it pops out of the holes in the Tyvek unscathed.

I cut away Tyvek here and there and did a little bit more machining and some beading once it was attached to the backing; also added some gold embossing powder.

What larks, Pip!

Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (Rowan) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 01:16:00 +0000

Although the bears were fast asleep, they all stirred with fairly good grace from their hibernation trunk to wave a fond farewell to the little grey bear (last seen swinging on a glitter ball). He had the tremendous good fortune to be summoned by Bovis Bear friend Anja on Christmas Eve and soon after these pictures were taken, he flew to Massachusetts via the Royal Mail.

I can't wait to find out what he will be called! He'll get to live with three of his brothers and many pussycats. There is a strong oral tradition in the bear trunk so even though this bear wasn't born when his brothers left for America, he has heard many stories about them.

NoNo was perplexed by the audience that gathered around her whilst we waited for the star of the show.

In Cushion News, i made a name-cushion in December for one of my oldest friends. I was 'minded' by her Mum most days before i went to primary school so i've known Kelly (and Jonathan, Debbie and Catherine) for longer than i can remember. All the best people i know get a name-cushion sooner or later.

(the white shapes at the top are supposed to represent clouds..as i've sort of said before: perfection would probably be disappointing!)

Full steam ahead for 2012!

a little before-and-after post of The August Five

noreply@blogger.com (Rowan) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 14:50:00 +0000

More Bears

noreply@blogger.com (Rowan) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 19:24:00 +0000

Bear production is going well! Here is another medium length faux fur bear.

This one is very keen on headstands as when he rights himself, he growls!!! There's a double-growler method where you use two taped together with one upside-down so that the bear can speak without having to be tipped both ways. It would have to be quite a big bear to contain two growlers.

With his sparkly-eyed brother.

Little 9 inch jumbo-cord brown bear, his pelt was upcycled from a pair of trousers. I made him in the Summer but have only just got around to photographing him properly. The combination of the dreary Winter light and feeling that i need to take better indoor pictures of the bears had me spending a whole week experimenting with light and props. My mini-artist's mannequin seems to suit the bears' portraits.

This little grey fleece bear needs more photographs. He looks very well with the foxgloves back in June.

I think these are sweet pictures and i'll try and take them again with improved lighting.

This is the 4th of the August Five. He's 19 inches tall and weighs 1lb and 12oz. I like his pelt, it's very cheap fun-fur stuff from the local market but clumpy like a sheep. I do wonder if i should be making customer-specific bears: plastic safety eyes as well as noses for children and save the glass eyes for extra-special bears which adults might like. At the moment i'm using a mixture of bottom and mid-range furs with glass eyes but plastic noses. It only occurred to me recently that the danger of glass eyes for children may not be that they could loosen and get swallowed so much as might get bitten and shatter in the child's mouth.
Perhaps it would be best to save all the posh and potentially dangerous materials for adult customers. But then they might not get to be cuddled!

This tiny knitted bear will definitely be cuddled. I sent him to one of my oldest friends this week. She has just begun a long course of chemotherapy and Boris (as he has been named) is small enough (4 inches when standing) to sit quietly and supportively in Kelly's pocket.

Lastly, the two other tiny knit-bears seen previously in bits. The cream chap on the left is 5 inches tall and the little brown bear is 3 1/2 inches. Size 12 needles (2.75 or 2 US) - had to put my glasses on!

the show must go on, nevertheless

noreply@blogger.com (Rowan) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 16:48:00 +0000

The five sets of bear parts photographed at the end of August (for heaven's sake) are gradually achieving their potential. There was some mis-ordering of joints and eyes, and a general loss of stamina over the last three weeks since Queenie went missing..the black dog snapped at my heels but i am rallying. If anyone's going to home a BovisBear, Christmas must be a likely time so i am cracking on.

This is a lovely medium to long length faux fur. I used glass eyes made sparkly with a metallic paint which shine beautifully in the dark thick fur. Lot of heart-in-mouth scissor sculpting around the muzzle and eyes and paws.

These curly bears can't keep still - really hard to get a focussed picture of them. I'm still tinkering with my patterns but think i've got the heads right now; i'm pleased with the longer muzzles and this boy even has cheekbones.

However i think i am placing the hind legs too far apart. All of the five appear to have rickets when standing. Luckily bears spend most of their time on all fours or having a sit-down.

These bears are 20 inches tall. I need to re-work the body pattern as i found i had to set the heads further back into the hump section otherwise they hung woefully. Much breaking of cotter pins and undoing and re-sewing of the head joint - almost reduced to tears! i wonder if i should use a lighter stuffing for the heads instead of the heavy stuffing? Presumably old bears had/have Excelsior fillings, wood-wool.

I have made a return to traditional teddy-bear front paw shape for a little while. I saw a photograph of an old bear and felt nostalgic. Not certain if my realistic front paws are appreciated. I haven't given up my ambitions to make bear-like teddy bears; i shall start again (concurrently with larger teds) but on a much smaller scale.

I have also been making knitted bears now that knitting season is upon us.

Here are 3 miniature woollen bear bodies and their respective limbs in a pile beside them. I shall give them button joints.

And here is a frankly monstrous bear knitted in a chunky wool blend, quite tight with 4mm needles in moss stitch (seed stitch if you're American). It's actually a nice mustardy golden colour in daylight but becomes this dirty orange in lamplight. I feel as though i've been knitting him forever - had no idea (until it was too late) that he would be this big - 26 inches! I have to order bigger eyes!!

This is one of the last pictures i took of Queenie, before she disappeared, playing on the rooftops with Uncle Boris and NoNo (who misses her.) I'm still leafleting the area and knocking on doors and I've met some very kind people; there are now many pairs of eyes looking for our girl.