TinkeringTimes

Goodnight Lily

2009-12-06T21:18:59+00:00

To Lily, who taught me to sew. I don't have the words I need, but my friend and poet Annie lent me some a year or so ago that I saved for this time... (thank you Annie)

Stars

There is a sewing machine in the sky and all the stars are stitches and Nanna says if we unpick all the stitches we can make something that’s only for her and me.

I hold her cotton bobs while she threads the needle with silver and then she lets me press my foot on the pedal.

When we are finished, we are sewn into the stars, the two of us. We will always be stitched into the sky together.

One day, I plan to sew something to go with this poem. Nothing I think of is good enough so far. But one day...

Homework

2009-11-17T10:18:55+00:00

I love working from home. I do now also work from an office 2 or 3 days a week, in the city centre. It's great as it allows me to cram lots of meetings and visits together instead of each taking a half day by the time I've got there and back.

But I love working from home, and working for myself in general. No more 'offices' which are in fact corridors from one part of a building to another; or open plan spaces where each person has roughly 2 square foot each and can't be heard for everyone having to shout over the top of one another. Or desks in a dismal basement because local authorities stick you in the bowels of the building, or glorified cupboards in the corner of a gallery that wasn't purpose built so none of it really works...

I've found a couple of groups on Flickr that open a window on to other people's home work and have made the most of Flickr's new Gallery feature to collect a few stunning examples together to celebrate the joy of being able to do your own thing.

For reference, *this* is what my town office looks like
And *this* is what my home office looks like

Hurrah for sewing

2009-10-25T12:11:25+00:00

It's been a while but I've managed to find some more time to get back to sewing.

Partly because I've had some ideas I wanted to try out, partly to get my hands on some fabric that's been waiting for an outing, and partly to get ready for a craft market I'm selling at in December.

So here's a little taster of what I've been up to. It's all in the shop and I'll be adding more over the coming weeks.

constructed textiles

2009-09-06T13:14:34+01:00

One of the things I love most about working with textiles is the ability to transform something from 2D to 3D with nothing more than a few cuts and seams. I guess it's my take on alchemy. However something I never really had any training in was traditional construction details.

After seeing the college sketchbook of a friend of mine, and admiring the freestyle linen and leather work of someone who has become one of those 'online friends', Carol aka Yorktown Road, I realised there's so much potential for me to tap into down that path.

So bit by bit, very slowly, I am trying to teach my self some starter steps and techniques. This traditional smocking technique is something I'd really love to master, it appeals to the strangely therapeutic effect measuring, folding and pressing has on me, and my love of clean crisp finishes. So to find this online tutorial by Tumbling Blocks was a very happy discovery.

In fact, now I've found Tumbling Blocks' blog, I'd heartily recommend a good twenty minutes browsing the rest of her posts if you are in any way textiles, pattern cutting or domestically inclined.

the market

2009-08-30T14:09:15+01:00

Yesterday I spent the day at this. I had no idea what to expect, how quiet or busy it would be, who would come, would I know anyone there?

As it turned out it was a lovely day all round. I sold some things, which was nice, and would have been disappointing if I hadn't. But there were so many other reasons it turned out to be a lovely day.

The church was lovely - this I knew as I've been before as a visitor to other arts and craft fairs there. Luckily the sun was shining and I was positioned right in front of a beautiful church window so my stand was in such incredible lighting. I was in between my embroiderer friend Jane Dennerley (who has no website so I can't point you there - Jane you naughty lady get online!) and two photographer girls who were very talented and good company.

It was also a great chance to catch up with some friends old and new. The lovely Mr PS popped down to say hello; as did Mrs B (and she's blogged about it too) so we had a chat about good old fashioned baking, because that's what she loves most of all. Two of my 'followers' (I prefer friends) on twitter dropped by, @catrushmore and @manchesterisace which was a lovely surprise.

And my mum, who lives about 40ish miles away, decided to bring me a cake and sandwich to keep me going. I wonder if mums ever stop being mums? Thanks for the company and the sustenance mum, it was lovely to have you there (the photographer girls had a mum in tow too, it must be the craft market accessory du jour!).

Last of all, the other reason it was a successful day was in the very quiet moments, I played around with some scraps of fabric I had brought to get some new ideas on the go and created some new brooch beginnings (above and below).

Thanks to everyone who added their few minutes of happiness to my day, it was great to see you all.

Graphic Space stickers

2009-08-27T10:36:05+01:00

Just a little post to share these amazing wall decals I stumbled upon by Graphic Spaces.

I have seen so many of this sort of thing lately on etsy and in real live shops. Some of great quality and aesthetic, others just purely mundane. Of all those I've seen I think these are by far my favourite so far. And they ship internationally.

If only we had any wall space left to put things on...

Paper cut

2009-08-24T06:57:00+01:00

Yesterday I ran away from home. I shirked family life and wandered off into Manchester.

Firstly I popped into the office to pick up something I needed, and ended up doing a bit of a spring clean to help work off a bad mood. It pretty much worked.

Then I spent far too long drinking a coffee and reading Selvedge, which is always a welcome distraction, and reminded me just how much, in a parallel life, I'd love to be making a living working with textiles.

And rounded the day off with the one thing I'd actually intended to do, visit the last day of the exhibition Procession at Cornerhouse. It was a wonderful, warming and though provoking celebration of English life, tradition, people, local heritage and the future. (More here)

And then, a lovely surprise. I stopped off in the small but perfectly formed shop on the way out of Cornerhouse, happened to pick up Creative Review which I haven't looked at for about 3 or 4 years, and opened it on a random page only to find my friend's work being featured.

Helen Musselwhite is a talented paper cut artist. It's gorgeous work, and she's a lovely lady. Not only was she invited to illustrate an article, but they've shown more about her work and studio, and interviewed her for the online version here.

As well as the illustration she created for them, the article shows more examples of her stunning work. I know she'll be thrilled, humbled and overwhelmed by having been commissioned by Creative Review, but Helen you deserve it, congratulations!

You can buy your own very reasonably priced artwork from her here

Come visit

2009-08-20T16:29:06+01:00

For the first time in a long time I'll be selling at a craft fair. It's in a gorgeous corner of Manchester surrounded by lovely cafes, independent shops and other good nooks and crannies. So if you fancy a Bank Holiday trip out do pop down and say hello.

Of course I'll have the full range of bags, purses, brooches, soft toys and textile canvas work available, and am always happy to chat. And look up there - there'll be cakes!

Sunshine and sewing

2009-08-13T15:35:47+01:00

It's Thursday. It's sunny. I am on leave.

I am printing off a new pattern and going away for a full weekend's sewing to a gorgeous place in North Yorkshire. I am leaving any troubles behind me to stitch, cut, press and turn to my heart's content. Around me will be 12 or so other friends feeling exactly the same way.

I cannot wait.

And so I thought for the first time in years I'd try and make something for me, that I really want, that I never have time to make otherwise. No little purses, tiny brooches, half made soft toys sitting in corners waiting for a snatched half hour here and ten minutes there. No, this weekend I will be attempting to make this blouse. From scratch. Just for me.

For as long as I can remember, probably about 15 or so years, I have had some vintage silk given to me by my mother. I never knew what to do with it, until a couple of years ago I thought, what it really needs is a lovely blouse pattern, something stylish but contemporary, yet with a vintage twist to honour the fabric.

Incredibly I found just the pattern this morning, in the first place I looked. Burda Style. Even more incredibly this pattern is absolutely free to download, so you can help yourself to it too.

This is the fabric I'm working with.

I am terrified it will go wrong, and I will be left with no blouse, and no more beautiful vintage silk...

The owl and the pussycat

2009-08-09T19:53:30+01:00

A little while ago a friend of mine got married and along with some other friends we made a box of gifts made just for her and her new husband. She loves vintage fabric, and I knew straight away what I wanted to make. I thought a little canvas using vintage fabric to recreate the Owl and the Pussycat would be perfect.

And then I spent a long time thinking about exactly what to do about that idea. And thinking some more. And doing some more thinking. And still nothing came, so I just started and hoped things would take shape magically somehow.

Sure enough they did. It's not the way I normally work at all, I'm not experimental. I usually start with a clear view of a finished product in my head and work back from that. This time was the complete opposite. I started with a felt body for the owl, and leaf print I thought would work for a wing.

After that I just kept trying other things until I found a way that I thought worked. So it's real mix of styles, fabrics, print, stitch and more.

I had such a lovely time doing it, all the more so knowing that the woman in question, who is a textiles maker too, would look at all the details and understand how much fun it was to make for her.