Slow progress...

This is how the piece for my bedroom is looking. I know, it looks just the same as it did last time but trust me it is bigger. I have created more cutwork and Marimekko to go behind the hearts and it is growing steadily, should be damp stretched and edged by the weekend, (fingers crossed). Here I have placed some patchwork text cutouts alongside it. It is in my head to make a narrow strip of patchwork, longer than the heart piece, and then cut into that too, perhaps with lace revealed, no colour. These two pieces will not be joined, just placed next to each other somehow. (haven't quite decided on the complicated bits yet!) My only worry is cutting into the patchwork strip, I'm not sure how stable it will be, will it be up to a lot of handling? will it damp stretch as the patchwork pieces will only be joined by hand? Lots of will it won't it, only one way to find out! If it turns out to be a disaster I promise I will still show you then maybe we can all learn from it.Now, do you remember this? I said if I told you what it was for I would have to kill you?? Well I can tell you now. This was all for a very prestigious embroidery for fashion competition, could have meant giving up the day job, could have been amazing, fame and fortune.............................well, I didn't get through. To be honest I am not really suprised and not as dissapointed as I might have been. I had the entry form and brief since last november and what with work and everything I didn't start anything until the end of June with a deadline of July 31st, not very organised or professional. I have seen some of the work that has made it to the next round, there is some really amazing stuff there and some pretty average stuff too but what they have that I don't is substance, research, back up material. For instance, I designed and created a pocket, it's here, last image. What they have though is a design for say a dress collar, actually placed on a completely hand made dress. I didn't have time to make a shirt, jacket or anything and I am not sure I would know how so the plan is..... get next years forms in November, start working on it in November.
What do you think anyway? There is nothing lost, I still have these lovely samples in my portfolio and I did get a lot of pleasure following the brief even though I didn't spend nearly enough time on the whole thing.

Now I have to give a lot of thought to the edge of my bedroom piece.......I like those french knot beads.......................the brain is ticking!

What I've been up to

I am feeling so much better, thanks mostly to you and your wonderful supportive comments and e-mails. Misery doesn't generally hang around here for too long anyway, life's too short and all that. Truly though I have had so much encouraging input, see what I mean about blogworld, it's an amazing place!
This is how my piece is progressing, as promised. I am using the work I showed you last time as a ''reveal'' behind cutwork on silk. I had in mind to maybe make bunting, lots of different triangles strung together. That idea is no more and now I am thinking just go with the flow. In my mind I picture several rectangular pieces, different sizes, joined somehow. This section, well the piece of silk, is around A4 size. The embroidery I showed last time is nearly all gone, cut up and put in here so I may have to make more before this first section is even finished. Guess what? It's not going to be finished any time soon! I'm already thinking edges, I like dangly, textured, you know what I mean, so I made some of these too. I am really excited about this whole piece, the possibilities are endless.

My mood has also probably improved because it's nearly time for me to go on my holidays! Last December we celebrated a special anniversary and this is our big celebration trip, the reason I got a ''real'' job, lots of saving up and scrimping. So, on August 9th, I am off to San Francisco................I really am excited although a little daunted by the distance and the length of travelling time. I just read a blog post from someone who has been to America recently and the magazines she bought! Oh my the magazines! I am going to have to check my luggage allowance again. How much does a suitcase full of magazines wiegh?? If you are in San Francisco can you recommend anywhere for me to visit, embroidery exhibitions or similar and where do I buy glorious magazines???

Last post I got a comment from ''genial'' in Indonesia. I just wanted to say thanks and I have been on your blog and tried so hard to leave you a message but can't, no matter how hard I try, so sorry about that and I will say thankyou here.

Right I'm off, embroidery awaits, see you soon.xxx

Summertime blues

I nearly didn't post today and I know I have been away quite a while, for me anyway. The thing is though, I love blogworld and the people in it. Mostly like minded individuals with similar aspirations and motivations. I have been so fed up this week, no motivation at all, none, gone completely. I know, or at least I think I know that we all must get like that from time to time and when I read this post from Jackie I realised it is a common emotion amongst us creative types. I probably had more empathy with the private e-mail she sent rather than the actual post but you will get the drift. Basically it's ''what's the point''. Now that's where you come in, not for sympathy or encouragement but from a practical point of view. I have listed and re-listed around sixty things on etsy over these past couple of weeks and not one thing has moved. I have all but stopped following my heart and making my ''wrapping cloths''. I have made cushions, pincushions, brooches, dolls, samples, small pieces, turned myself inside out looking for the thing, the one thing that people want. I know we are in the middle of a recession but I also know that there are people out there who as soon as they list sell out. I am not saying they are more or less talented than me, I am saying what is the ''thing'' they have got that allows this to happen for them? So, I want to ask you......what do you think I should be making?....what do you think is missing here? and I also want to ask...have your stats dropped, and I mean really dropped? have your comments dropped? Yes I know, recession, holidays etc etc but no visitors, no comments and no sales makes for a very hard to motivate maker.
Hence these pictures, my latest doll, damp stretched yet unfinished, can't be bothered, what's the point.
To hell with it I thought last night. Who is the one person you know who desperately wants a piece of your work to hang on their new bedroom wall..... me! So I have started this piece for myself, no firm plans I will just let it evolve. Some of you will not fail to notice the inclusion of Marimekko fabric, oh my, Marimekko fabric, me and Marimekko!! O.K. Karen calm down! For those of you who don't know, I have a Marimekko obsession. I never leave Sweden without a visit to the Marimekko store in Stockholm and amongst other things Marimekko fabric. Consequently I have a drawer full of it, some has been used for cafe curtains in my kitchen, some on cushions but I have a stash, and a very healthy stash too. This piece has been stitched to plain cotton then embellished with cutwork and french knots with a little vintage lace. I damp stretched it last night and today it has been cut up, yes, cut up and used for more cutwork on silk. At the moment I love how it's coming on and other stuff is being added to the silk so I hope to show you the progress next time.

So that's me and my week, how was yours? I hope you have a fantastic weekend, see you soon, honest!

Two more!!!

I am liking this holiday business!! Two more dolls finished and in the shop. These two little ladies are a tiny bit cheaper because they are smaller than the others, no less lovely though. Just a note on the images here. It has been so dark today, almost like night time so I wondered if a halogen bulb would help. Husband was duly despatched to buy one and this is the result. I don't think they are the best but trust me, they are better than I could have hoped to get in today's light. The first doll has the vintage lace edge, a very quick way to get a delicate and nostalgic finish. She also has a pretty lace cap, you can see it better in the second picture.
The second doll will be completely new to you, I haven't uploaded any of her ''in progress'' images. She has the old reliable, cutwork, with vintage cloth peeping through. I had so many ideas for the edge of her dress but had to restrain myself because if she got too complicated and time consuming I would have to price her higher. I do think that simple blanket stitch is right for her though, I think this one is a simple country girl and if she had too fancy an edge to her dress it would only get muddy and can you see the flowers in her hair?

So that is how I have been frittering away my time, very decadent with my holidays, loving every minute of it! Can you believe there is another doll in the making, very, very different, not a flower in sight. I hope she will appeal to someone out there. I am off ''up north'' family visiting in the morning, only for the day though so not much time away from my needle thankfully.

Remember Jamie??? Well Jamie got in touch today.........could he please buy an embroidery hoop off me!!!!!!! A convert!!! I am gifting him a hoop, I'm so excited! Nice one Jamie!

Hold on tight, it's a long one

Busy, busy, but still better than being at work! Scrap bags are now in the shop along with a single extra big scrap. I have also listed more pincushions, brooches, buttons, both dolls and other stuff, it's all a blur. I am thinking of introducing a new condition to medical dictionaries, ''etsy upload induced psychosis'' (it appears I am medically obsessed at the moment!)I know lots of you have it too, don't be shy! I wasn't able to make up as many bags of offcuts as I had thought, so there's only a few, obviously didn't have as much clutter as I thought!Now for the exciting bit, a new doll. She is quite plain in comparison to the others, very muted, really influenced by pale cloths and lace doilies. The main body is embroidered and stretched and I got to thinking about the edge of her dress. I had a root around and found a very raggy edge from a table cloth with gorgeous lace, so hey presto, I salvaged and embellished and here it is.She will definitely be finished in a day or so and I have purposely made her smaller so she will be less expensive, no less lovely though. Whilst she was damp stretching I started another one so I hope to have two to show you later in the week.
I have something really exciting and unusual to tell you now. Meet Jamie......Jamie is an unemployed father of three desperate for work. To promote his enthusiasm, get exposure, prove his commitment and staying power Jamie is embarking on an innovative project. For 365 consecutive days he will do a different job! So far he has been a barman, a hairdresser a shop assistant, loads and loads of different things and ............ drum roll........ for day 49 he worked for me! Yay! It was so much fun. He embroidered as if he had been doing it for years, (could end up as competition!) and sped through the dreaded etsy listing like a seasoned professional. Please have a look at his site, he really does deserve the support, encouragement and a sainthood for working for me!

How much excitement can a girl take, especially when she is recovering from swine flu! Thanks for your comments on that, you made me laugh! x

Gratuitous self promotion!

I have started a massive shop update. Last night I thought it would all be done, no chance. Connection problems, image problems, by 12.30 a.m. I had only added four brooches! Freshly snoozed I started again this morning, is it me or does it take a lifetime to list on etsy?? Anyway, lots of stuff has gone on today but I will keep adding over the wekend too, light permitting. (for photos) I made this mosaic as a form of light relief to while away the hours whilst I waited for my images to upload. These are all in there now, only another five weeks of uploading to go!! To my shame (and intense frustration) I have not done a tiny bit of embroidery since the weekend. I had to get through three days at work and I have been so tired. Then I thought the shop update was more important. I do have these to show you though, pretty little beads to fill my gorgeous jars. These ones are very tiny and delicate, masses of french knots, highly textured, not for sale because I have already used them on something!

Then more of these, yet in some way very different from the usual ones. I don't know why really they just have a different ''air'' about them. and here they are in one of my jars. I went back to John Lewis whilst I was in London to get more of these and damn it....they had been in the sale that week and were all gone! I felt like saying ''how dare you??I came hundreds of miles for these!!'' So I will have to be content with the four I have.

Work is over for the summer so I am loooking forward to lots of embroidery, lots of catching up with blogs, lots of reading and lots of examining my mental state. For example. bear with me, it's worth it....

Yesterday afternoon I was in a class with 32 year seven children, (age 11) Someone came in from the office and handed me a pile of letters to give out to the children as a matter of high importance, essential they gave them to their parents. The letter said we had confirmed cases of Swine Flu in school but blaa blaa...in accordance with government guidlines blaa blaa we were staying open, no need to panic. Well I swear that within 30 minutes of reading that letter I was ill....I was ill all night, sore throat, headache, nausea, you name it I had it. This morning, bright as a button, fit as a flea. It just goes to show the effect of the power of suggestion when accompanied by an overactive imagination! I hope you are laughing, my family are in hysterics!

Have a great, Swine Flu free week. x