sorry, it's paper again.....

Am I boring you yet? Driving you to distraction with the same old same old? I do apologise but you know me...when I start something i've just got to steam right ahead until it's done. Therefore I give you more paper. Not just any old paper mind, pricked paper, embroidered paper, painted paper, collaged paper even graph paper and lined paper. For these books I am going to add ''subtle'' and ''subdued'' graph and lined paper so that there is another form ready to use as an expression of whatever. More to the point it will be easier to write, doodle, deface these books, subtle and subdued are less scary than bright and colourful and cheery and pretty.

No excuse now not to make your own marks on these.

This last picture shows how I group the pieces together before putting them in my books, moving things from one pile to another, swapping and changing. I think this is how it will stay now, I am happy with this arrangement.

Looking back through this weeks posts and being in a completely empty house, apart from me of course, It suddenly dawned on me that you must all think I live like an incarcerated hermit! I wish! No seriously I do get out and do other stuff occasionally. This morning I went to the Art shop, I then went outside to hang out some washing...o.k. my own garden doesn't count. Thing is there are lots of places to go, an Antique Textile fair tomorrow that quite takes my fancy, a visit to the fabric shop to stock up is badly needed. I quite fancy the idea of being wined and dined this week and I am sure I could be if I asked nicely enough........but.......I am being good, self sacrifice is going on because 2 weeks today I am going on my holidays. So I am trying to save my pennies for all the gorgeousness Sweden has to offer. Do you blame me??

This afternoon it's paper cutting for pages, wish me luck!

inspired by.......

My text/patchwork/embroidered/white silk piece remains ongoing, more text has been embroidered and damp stretched and is waiting to be cut up and ''auditioned'' as so aptly and amusingly put by Mary Anne. Yes I like that phrase used in this context, thankyou! I wanted to share this with you today though. I am always searching for new ideas, going over old research, old sketchbooks, always feeling that there's more, something else, something different. Paper is not instinctively my ''cloth'' of choice yet I have used it a lot in the past. Mostly as a way of adding ''something else'' to my design work at UNI. For one particular module I used paper exclusively, creating wall art by pricking, embossing and stitching onto heavyweight water colour paper. Many hours and a lot of sore fingers later I achieved one of my highest marks ever. So why don't I use it more often? Because my instinct is always to reach for cloth and a needle and thread. However.....I have had a few enquiries about my little books of embroidery and why there aren't any available. Although I love them they can be a pain, literally. The thought of standing and cutting all those mounts that cover fraying edges fills me with dread, memories of aching to end all aching. No problem cutting pages, none at all, just the tiny window mounts and they take such a long time you wouldn't believe it. So the quest? To find a ground for stitch that doesn't fray negating the need for window mounts, yes, you have it, paper. The blue and white embellished paper you see here is from an ongoing sketchbook, (Rachel, these are some of my torn transfers) this piece was created about a year ago. The embroidered cloth? That's a wonderful starched vintage piece that doesn't fray (yipee) and has such a beautiful surface that it almost feels like paper.The next piece, again from my ongoing sketchbook, has finer paper that has been machine stitched creating a lace like structure. This has then been added to patchwork hexagons, (now there's a suprise!!) So where am I going with all this? I am going on a mission to make books, different books, hopefully books that have been taken in a completely new direction. The plan is that they will be just as lovely as the other ones, equally as intriguing and hopefully just as inspiring.

Don't worry though, I intend to finish my ongoing panel of embroidery on silk before I set off on my new treck but first my brain is in such a jumble that I have lists to make. Lists that I will probably lose but isn't that what they're for!!