New earrings...

I recently went on a very inspiring trip to Kraków, Poland.  Whilst there I fell in love with the work of artist Stanisław Wyspiański, particularly his incredible stained glass.

The colours are just amazing!

And then, for the first time in months and months, I felt inspiration creeping back, and the desire to try out some new jewellery ideas.

Apollo I

influenced by the colours in this wonderful glass:

I also experimented with some other Wyspiański-inspired colours:

Olea

and smaller pieces of embroidered and beaded felt:

Hydro

Berie

I like how these turned out - a little more delicate and feminine than my previous designs, and they all swing pleasingly from the ear when worn!

Now available in my Etsy shop :D

Inspiration...

Last Friday my sister and I spent a very enjoyable day at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham.  It was lovely to see some internet friends like Chris and Myfanwy in person (and to browse their wares!), and it provided me with some much-needed inspiration.

Looking forward to playing with these!

Pencil cases...

For the last couple of weeks I have been working on a special present of a pencil case.  I wanted it to be a 'wrap' style case with no zip, and to make it from a piece of felted, embroidered and beaded linen, and to use some Japanese fabric for the lining.

When I do projects like these I always start off with a rough sketch of what I hope it will look like, with approximate dimensions - this becomes the 'pattern' that I work from (although I don't actually use pattern pieces, just measurements).  I generally make two of anything so I can iron out any problems with the design in the first attempt.

Here's my rough sketch:

The first pencil case I made was like this:

It has a pouch for storing pencils and pens...

(the black and cream lining fabric that you can just about see is more from my vintage kimono stash that I got from Kyoto)

...and then rolls up like this.  It's held closed with an 8-tama kumihimo braid.

 Here's a closeup of the front felted area:

Fortunately the pattern worked out ok, which meant I could also make up the second pencil case - this time in my favourite autumnal shades:

 the inside has red kimono fabric:
(I used felt for the lining of the pouch to provide some extra protection for the contents)

The Autumnal pencil case has been given as part of a special present, but I am keeping the blue prototype for myself - and I'm looking forward to using it on our next sketching trip!

Phew...!

Finished! (and more besides)...

These amazing wooden settings are by brightcolorart on Etsy - I love them!

hat pins

...and now all packed and ready for tomorrow!

Colour, shapes... and a giveaway!

Over the last couple of days I have been revelling in the colour of beautiful new supplies - silk hankies from Sassalynne, Tussah silk roving from SilkAndShine, handdyed firestar from FeltStudioUK, and the most amazing 'wooly crumbs' from The Wool Peddler:

so much inspiration!

I'm also still trying to come up with new shape ideas for brooches and necklaces...  so I thought I would open it up to you!  Leave a comment on this post with your suggestions for new shapes for me to try - if I end up using any of your shape ideas, in return you get to pick an item of your choice from my Etsy shop that I will send to you as a thank you! 

I seem to prefer more abstract or organic shapes, and am limited to somewhat simpler forms (it's not possible to preserve detail in very complex shapes). Here are some shapes I have already tried, to get you going:

Thank you!

Dreamcloud...

My first new brooch of 2011 - and another experiment and attempt at working with colours I don't usually favour - this time, pink and lilac.

I had a brainstorming session trying to come up with new shapes for brooches and necklaces, and this shape was one I decided to try to see how it turned out.  While I was sewing around her edges I remembered about some labradorite droplets that had been languishing in my beady stash, and the idea developed from there.

'Dreamcloud'

Felted silk hankie fibre, cotton scrim, chiffon, organza, tencel nepps and silk throwsters waste, embellished with tiny 2mm sequins, glass beads and seed, colonial knot, detached fly and detached chain stitches.  The labradorite drops hang from assorted sterling silver chain.

I love labradorite.  It's my favourite mineral!

Autumn winds...

I've been working on another fibre art piece inspired by Autumn.  The season is in full force here - this week we've been having wonderful light especially, and the smell of falling leaves is thick in the air.

'Autumn winds' is a piece worked straight on to heavy-duty vintage upholstery linen - first of all with my embellisher and then with hand beading and embroidery.

To start, I felted abaca tissue, metal organza, wool waste, cotton scrim, linen scraps and silk fibre onto the linen:

Then I added tiny 2mm sequins, lots of glass and metal beads, including some vintage beauties, and then finally lots of hand embroidery stitches:

seed, colonial knot, bullion knot and detached fly:

running stitch in the form of Japanese stylised wind:

and detached chain stitch (the tiny gold ones in the middle top):

to make the finished piece:

I have rather enjoyed working on the vintage linen with its stains and faults - it is very satisfyingly thick and I think the irregularities add to the texture and feel of the piece.

Bosket and Namida... and believing in your own work!

I'm beginning to gear up for fully reopening my Etsy shop with revised photos and pricing.  It's something I've been thinking about (and struggling with) for a long time - the different ways to value one's work and having the confidence to do so.  After some while, and many helpful discussions with myself and other friendly ears (you know who you are - and thank you!) I have decided that it's time to support my own work more strongly.  


One of the main ways to do this unfortunately involves money - price often being construed to equal value (although often not actually the case) - but when your work is in the public sphere I do think this has to be taken into account.  There is so much information and advice available on the internet regarding pricing - what factors need to be taken into account and so on.   By the time you have factored in supplies and time often the numbers just don't add up to a feasible amount.


When I first started out, I couldn't believe that anyone would actually want to buy my work - I loved making it, but the process was the goal for me and the end result it was sort of extraneous in a funny kind of way.  Now over the months and years, I feel my skill has developed and so has my confidence (in myself and in my work) which means now that I can better value the time, care and skill that I put into the pieces that I make - pieces that I feel are beautiful and original.  This isn't meant to sound like blowing my own trumpet (so apologies if it does!) but rather it's an understanding that is very significant for me personally as well as for my work.  If I don't believe in it, who else will?!


It still feels all rather nerve-wracking though, particularly as another goal that I have set myself is to approach some galleries and boutiques in Edinburgh to see if they would consider selling some of my jewellery... *gulp*! I plan to do this after my shop is sorted out... and I'll let you know how it goes!


So anyway, back to the crafting - amidst all of this soul-searching I have actually been making things too :P - today I finished two brooches:

Bosket 

(loving this word - just learned it today - it means a clump of small trees or bushes :D)

and Namida (which is Japanese for 'tears')

Terrain...

Recently I had an experimental session felting onto upholstery linen for the first time, using small scraps left over from other projects.  ... although slightly tricky and needle-bending, the linen is very satisfying to work with, and I feel the muted natural colour of the fabric brings out the colours of the fibres.

I was working with a wonderful selection of hand-dyed fibres that I picked up at the Festival of Quilts (called a  'texture pack'), made up of scrim, viscose felt and other goodies.

I was quite surprised to find that the linen took to the felting quite well:

Then of course came the beads, couched threads and embroidery:

It measures about 11cm x 8cm. 

What I learned this time was that yes, I really should have used a hoop for the beading and embroidery (I hate using hoops but linen this thick is just such a nightmare to get flat...), and that next time I would use a slightly lighter-weight linen to felt onto.

I got a bit carried away during the linen felting session though, so I have a few heavier-weight pieces to finish first - details to follow!

Aegis...

'Aegis' is another new necklace prototype I have been working on - I wanted something a little smaller than the 'bib' idea, but still large enough to give me a good area to play with :).  I have been trying to think of iconic shapes, but steering clear of anything too figurative like hearts or stars.  Eventually I was reminded of a 'shield' shape (inspired by beautiful earrings I bought from ILDVED on Etsy) - ok so still quite figurative but more unusual, and the symbolism of protection and strength really appeals to me.

So, I tried a few shapes and sizes out in card, came up with a prototype stencil, and here is the finished result:

in situ:

I made the felt from silk hankie fibre, merino roving, abaca tissue, silk throwsters waste and cotton nepps.  Then I added couched thread, glass beads, and seed and colonial knot hand embroidery stitches.

Free time...

 As of this week my Thursdays are now free, meaning I have more time available to develop some ideas that have been brewing... .

I recently bought some absolutely beautiful hand-dyed viscose felt from the ever wonderful Myfanwy of Sassalynne (her Etsy shop is here).  As usual I have been 'sitting' on it for a wee while waiting for inspiration to strike - which it inevitably does, sooner or later, when one is lucky enough to have a store of such lovely supplies...  .  Here is the first stage of my idea - 9 versions to be precise - more to follow at a later date:

The colours and the texture of the felt are irresistible!

Another project I got to finish today is another 'bib'-style necklace - I've slightly tweaked the design with this one, and changed the parts that connect to the ribbon to a more 'pointed' rather than 'rounded' shape.

This one is called 'nightgarden'.

The felt piece is made of silk hankie fibre, cotton scrim, cotton nepps, and silk tops, embellished with many glass and antique metal beads, and colonial knot, seed, bullion knot, detached chain and woven spider's wheel hand embroidery stitches.

. . .

In progress...

Well now the show is over I have some time to work on a few other projects and to start developing new ideas. I had a very enjoyable and relaxed felting session this afternoon with my embellisher... I am definitely beginning to feel more confident with colour and am feeling more able to experiment with combining colours within pieces. This week I have had a major clearout and 'streamline' (!) of my craft stash, and during the process I came across lots of wee bits and pieces of work that let me see how things have developed since I first set off down this path just over two years ago.  It's all been trial and error really - I'm still not very good at detailed planning, I tend much more to go with my 'instinct' (whatever that is!) - but it's interesting to see a thread of continuity between pieces that I have made along the way.  Anyway, here is what I've been working on today:

The larger pieces are for attempts at a new jewellery idea.  More about that soon!

Also this week I've been able to finish another project I wrote about recently - here's the back of it:

can you tell what it is yet? :P 

Right now the finished piece is stretching its legs on the wall in our living room - more photos to follow!

Ringtastic!

I'm busily crafting away building up stock for the craft fair... .

My favourite things to make are still

rings!!

Brooch prototypes....

So here is the result of one of my recent projects: an experimental fibre brooch - this one is made from the raw materials in the first photo in my previous post.

My aim with these brooches was to explore making something less 'tidy' and more freestyle.  Fibres feel so good to touch I quite like having the edges left raw and fraying, and to be able to watch them wear over time.  I made the brooch by layering cotton fabric, fibres (silk hankie fibre and cotton nepps), cotton scrim and mixed threads. I held them together with 'magic film' and then machine embroidered over the top to trap them in place.

Here are some others that I made:

They all measure about 6cm x 6cm ish.

I'm not totally sure what I think about them, to be honest.  I like being able to feel the raw edges of the fibres but I'm so used to having neat edges, having a more freestyle look like this takes a bit of getting used to!  Maybe the idea is good but I need to develop it a bit.  I made more prototypes than this, but the 'magic film' malfunctioned a bit and they had to be abandoned (the magic film gets trapped by the machine embroidery and then you iron the piece, which is meant to make the film evaporate - but if you don't do it right it just goes sticky and that is disastrous!) - so before I try to develop the idea further I think I'll try an alternative - maybe Solvy.

Work still progresses on the other project - photos to follow soon!

Current projects...

A couple of projects I have started this long weekend:

Something green...

and something in rainbow colours...

Both hopefully will become things to wear; one is a development of a previous prototype, and the other is a new idea for me.  More details to follow as they progress!

Silver and felt necklaces... the sequel!

In Autumn 2008 I started developing some ideas for a series of sterling silver and embellished felt necklaces during my jewellerymaking evening class.  I wrote about the first prototype here, but never got around to finishing the other pieces I started.  In fact, I confess that I all but forgot about my selection of silver pendant bases that I had made that were hiding in my metalsmithing workbox.

Well, they finally made it to the top of my projects list again, (I have to admit that actually I've been a bit scared to finish them, as working with silver always seems terribly serious!) and I have made two more prototypes:  'Quezacotl' and 'Materia'  (if anyone can make the Otaku link to those names then I'll sort you out with a special prize :P).

I sawed sheet silver into a tag shape, filed the corners to gently round them, and then added a matte brushed texture and an asymmetrical hammer texture pattern.  Then I made the bezel settings from tiny strips of thinner silver sheet and soldered them onto the base tag.  The pieces of felt are made with silk hankie fibre, and embellished with tiny glass beads and hand embroidery stitches.

'Quezacotl'

I'm still not totally sure about jewellery photos featuring live models, but I wasn't sure how else to best show the necklace's scale...

And here's 'Materia':