The Butterfly Effect

I found this project when I was browsing the internet. The idea is to make 1,500,000 butterflies one for each of the innocent children

who perished as a result of the Holocaust. The link below will tell you more.




http://twodressesstudio.blogspot.com/2010/08/butterfly-effect-open-is-calling-you.html

I Never Saw Another Butterfly


The last, the very last,
So richly, brightly, dazzlingly yellow
Perhaps if the sun’s tears would sing
against a white stone....

Such, such a yellow
Is carried lightly ’way up high.
It went away I’m sure
because it wished
to kiss the world good-bye.

For seven weeks I’ve lived in here
Penned up inside this ghetto.
But I have found what I love here.
The dandelions call to me
And the white chestnut branches in the court.

Only I never saw another butterfly.
That butterfly was the last one.
Butterflies don’t live in here, in the ghetto.

Written by Pavel Friedman, 4 June 1942
Born in Prague on 7 January 1921
Deported to the Terezin Concentration Camp on 26 April 1942
Died in Aushchwitz on 29 September 1944

there's plenty of time to make a butterfly you have till 31st December 2011

                         

This is a bit scrunched up as it is all on the one needle. I am hoping it will become a rug (eventually). This is approximately 3hrs of knitting. You can what some of the others got up to over at Tizduster

So I used an Emma Bridgewater mug to give some idea of the size of it all

The mug is one of the larger ones.                                    

Big Needles = Big Knitting

Here are some photos of the rug I started at the Big Knit night, hope you like them Michelle!

 

You don't really get an idea of the scale of the needles here

                                                        

BIG KNIT NIGHT coming up

Our ARTy fARTy pARTy is approaching fast. My friend Fiona got the idea from Jen over on Painted Fish Studio in the USA. She and her friends get together every so often and over a few bottles of wine they have a crafting pARTy. We decided to get a group of friends together and give it a try. I went to the Knitting and Stitching Show last October and spotted Giant knitting needles but at the cost of £20 -£40 depending on how gigantic you wanted them we thought them a little pricey. So some of us have decided to have a go at making our own from broom handles or sticks whatever was available. Mine still look like sharpened broom handles but Fiona at Tizduster has really gone to town and created two sets of beautiful needles, she has used polymer clay to make multi coloured ends, can't wait to see what she'll be knitting.

Windfalls

This was one of four bowls of windfall apples from my small tree in the garden

I seemed to spend an age peeling and coring, but didn't want them to be wasted, thank goodness I have two very large saucepans, by the end both were filled to the top. I have bags of cooked apple in the freezer, we had crumble for tea and I then went on to make 3 large jars of apple and green tomato chutney.
Today I went into the garden again and there are even more apples, need to look for some more recipes.

The Chateau in Josselyn

House in Honfleur

and another

Basket shop at Rochefort en Terre

Windows and doors

I seem to have taken a lot of photos of windows on holiday this year

Kim's Hot Textiles: The Final Day

Kim's Hot Textiles: The Final Day: "The work included in this post was created by - Marilyn Donovan, Ann Davies, Vonnie Huguenet, Charlotte Pugh, Helena Mundy, Teresa Surtees, ..."

Just started following Kim's Blog. Here is the link to her four day workshop which is based on techniques from her book Experimental Textiles I am hoping we will be able to try out some of these design ideas next year on our City and Guilds Course

Photoshop

I can see a machine embroidery in the making here, I have only just used the basics on photoshop but I am loving it. This was a photo I took of a vase of flowers picked from our allotment last year.

Playing with Photoshop

Can you guess what it is? A good starting point for a textured background

photo editing

having been shown a little yesterday on how to use photo shop I had a go with the image used at the top of my blog here are the results, I can really see how these could be incorporated into textile pieces. I love the colours.

I then turned it into mosaic just by clicking the mouse!

Already thinking about the next module

I an going to make a large tassel for my next module, but I want to make it look like one of those ornate wired birdcages at the top. So did a little research and found this fantastic tutorial over at The Adventures of blue girl blog. I will try this technique out, but I want to add a base to make it more like a traditional wired bird cage and then cover it with fabric to hopefully create the tassel top. It has to be funtional so my tutor has suggested adding lights so it becomes a lampshade of sorts. Not sure how the electrician husband will feel about putting lights and fabrics together! I might need to use solar powered lights,watch this space

paper cut video

I hope this works I have just found a Rob Ryan paper cut video called timelapse I hope the link allow you to view the speeded up process which took 7 days!

Paper cuts

I have been enthused by a friends paper cut work over at Quirky Dreaming she has used this technique several times recently for Poster designs, 6ft lobsters and brochure designs. I wondered if this was a technique that could be translated into textile work, whilst browsing my favourite textile bloggers I came across this artist Sarah Morpeth whose work I think is beautiful. I am going to try to produce a bodice using paper cut work as an inspiration for the sample module I am working on at the moment. When I began this course back in September I started doing some historical & cultural research and came across Polish paper cuts, but haven't done taken it any further. I will try this idea out in tomorrow's class will post pictures in next post

Modern Quilts

I was hoping to see this in the exhibition its a quilt by the textile artist Louise Gardiner it was made in conjunction with the V & A Quilt Exhibition but was on display in Liberty's Window.

You can see more of her work on the quilt here. A real modern take on quilting I love it!

Trip to the V & A Quilt Exhibition

Yesterday our group went to the V & A British Quilt Exhibition. I was blown away by the intesity of the colour of the quilts from the 1700's they would not have looked out of place in a bedroom today and the craftsmanship was incredible. We we not able to take photos and sadly the images online don't do them justice, I need to save up to get the book which went with the exhibition showing every quilt in the exhibition as well as the accompanying story too. The image on the right is the centre-piece of The Rajah quilt 1841 which is huge and was made on board HMS Rajah by Women convicts on their long journey from England to Australia. The whole thing is made up of handsewn bedsheets and any other materials they could lay their hands on, and was worked on in complete secrecy. It's amazing that it has survived at all. There was also video footage of inmates of Wandsworth Prison who have taken up quilting through a group called Fine Cell Work their finished quilt 2010 is also part of the exhibition

Brooches

Pieces of handmade felt machine stitched and made into brooches

A few pieces made for my range of acessories module

I have been working on a range of acessories and here are some of the finished pieces,above is a necklace made from sheers and handmade fimo beads.

I wish I had this view from my studio

I was sent this peacock image by Margaret who is doing the same course as me, she saw my bag and emailed this image over. What inspiration to have wandering around your garden, she took the picture from her workroom..lucky thing.

A close up of one of the stitched daisies

hopefully I will be able to post a picture of the finished bag soon

A close up of a sheer braid before being cut using a soldering iron

Bra bag!

We have had to make either an accessory or a collection of accessories for this module. I started off with a necklace (which I haven't photographed yet) mmmm a lttle tame what else can I do... I know make a bag from a bra why? Why not so here are some images of the bra/bag transformation

Six foot lobsters in North Norfolk what ever next!

The North Norfolk Seaside Towns of Cromer and Sheringham have linked up together to create The Cromer and Sheringham Crustacea Crawl. 6ft crabs and lobsters all hand decorated will be situated in and around the two towns, the idea is to try to encourage more visitors to visit the towns over the Easter Holidays and encourage people to get out walking.A friend of mine has set up this blog Quirky Dreams to show case her design work on one, she is a very talented lady so I can't wait to see the final lobster in all it's glory on top of Beeston Bump!

First attempt at blogging
Well here we go my first ever attempt at blogging. I am going to use this space to track my progress through a two year City and Guilds Course in Creative Techniques and life in general. I have been studying since September this year but it has taken till now to pluck up the courage to blog. The last couple of weeks we have been working on tassels, here's my first sample tassel