a saved bit of christmas wrapping paper that looked nice when I dropped it on one of my fabrics.
Graphic print based on a lovely gate I saw in Wales.Well, since I couldn't sleep I decided to stay online for a bit longer. I've missed blogging so much and have really enjoyed my little burst of it and all your lovely responses. One comment was from Katherine who's blog Chatirywold got lost from my bookmarks when I changed browsers a while back. Glad to visit it again and particularly enjoyed her brilliant 100 point Bio about herself. It's open, homest and often very amusing, well worth a read.
If I had a 100 point list I reckon I could pinch about 40 of her points for it, like her No. 13. "I'm trying to buy more fairtrade/organic clothes. Unfortunately it doesn't compete with the H&M sale prices..." Ha, Katherine, that one made me laugh, and then feel guilty. And thanks for the glo4life tip which was new to me. I can't be trusted in the shop under St. John's, I always leave with way too many flapjacks and chocolate!
Katherine also linked to Cityhippy a blog about striving to be greener which, if I read correctly, she is the Edinburgh editor of, what a gal. I always strive to be greener, though I've had some lapses recently... mainly due to H&M having a sale when I became thinner!
Feeling very emotional just now and can't get to sleep so a bit of unexpected image-making and blogging should help. The word is from the back of a book and the sea is near Harlech on the West coast of Wales where Mr P and I used to hire a static caravan for holidays.
Mr P's cousin and her boyfriend came from London to stay with him this week and flew home a few hours ago. It was hard to see them go. I'll call her Miss P for the purposes of the blog. Miss P is utterly inspiring and I feel privileged to have met her at last. She has the most serious health problems of anyone I've ever met, life threatening, but she handles it incredibly and is unbelievably positive and nourishing to be around, even though she must be in a lot of pain a lot of the time.
I get very low about my own health issues and feel like I miss out on so much because of them, but she deals with so much more in a way that is really quite incredible and I feel so totally moved having spent only a short time with her. If I could have half that oomph for life I think my life would be so amazing. I will try to be more positive.
I so much want to talk about her, well both of them, cause they are an amazing couple, but I don't want to go into personal details about others in such a public space. But just acknowledging their impact seems like a good thing, this blog is so much a diary of the things I love and am influenced by that they definitely deserve a mention on it.
Ruth Singer pleated cushion
Been meaning to mention Ruth Singer a textile designer and blogger who is living the life I really ought to be living. She ACTUALLY properly makes clothes, reconstructs old clothes, makes bags (ok I make loads, but I never quite finish anything off fully). And she teaches too, she teaches at the V&A among other places! How great is that.
I like her work beacuse we have similar taste in vintage inspiration, and she too has a thing for 'constructed' fabrics. Here's another of her pieces...
I've never really shown you any of my constructed fabric pieces (or much of any of my 'real' work) but it's one of the things I'm really passionate about. At school I remember we did a some of weaving and while everyone else went to great trouble to make their piece smooth and even and perfect, I was doing my best to make it 3D by weaving in hanks of wool, plastic bags, fine thread, paper, rags, grasses and even inserting broken slices of mirror. They never understood where I was coming from but I didn't care and have continued to work like that for (eek) 20yrs. Wow, that's shocking, in fact it's more than 20yrs!
I don't do so much weaving these days (only in mid-winter, so cosy to do in front of a fire and a good film) but I like to bring shape and texture into my sewing, especially my bags. I'm always inspired by the flowing lines of the Scottish land and seascapes, and by different kinds of sky so that often shows in the way I stitch, lots of references to fields and fences, plough lines etc. Here are a couple of things I have to hand for a piccy, sorry none of my good ones are about though I think my penny pouch is somewhere in my April blog?
Cuff detail
Felted lamp detailAnd not just fabrics, paper too, I love to work with paper, folding, stitching, pleating, burning, cutting... you get the idea.
Over here is a video clip of how to 'crumple' and here is a napkin I'm in the middle of crumpling, one side is patterned and one side plain white. When I'm done I'll start to stitch into it. I plan to experiment with this in crisp translucent fabric and papers to create lighting...
But some people are better at it than others, I can only imagine the patience required to produce things like these...
Origami tesselation...
By Origami Joel
Found this one, also by Joel Cooper here
Ok folks, that's it for now, my 3 days of cramp have been bloggy bliss but now I have the serious business of a dress to make, and if I fail, the even more serious business of running around Edinburgh in hysteria trying to find something for under £30 that I can wear instead. I'll try and be online again at the weekend.
PS. Janet, yup, I got the 10% thing from Howies but too skint too buy just now, I usually get stuff in their big clearance sales online.
Neglected lily after heavy rain, the pollen stained the petals. It's making the garden smell incredible, one day I will actually plant it in the ground.
Floor detail from Edinburgh College of Art from my trip with Daphne. Daphne has her own puppychick T-shirt, which brings me nicely to my topic of the minute...I love my organic T-shirts (and other clothes) from Howies. They are pricey but they are well made and last. Plus they never seem to date so I get tons of use from them. If you care about the impact your clothing has on the environment here's a good blog The Perfect T Shirt.
Last week they cut the 4ft high grass in 'my field' (it's not mine, but I like to pretend it is as I skip through) but this is what it was like when it was still green but I was not blogging.
I nearly always walk through there when I go for the bus even though it takes longer than going to the closest bus stop. There is a constant threat to all the fields from developers so I feel I need to really enjoy this space now and count each season it's here as a blessing.
Mustn't forget about my veggies, who knew I could grown them with hearts inside. Had this selection (courgette, broccoli, cauliflower) steamed for dinner last night with soya mince and spicy lentils. Very tasty indeed, which is lucky cause I'm eating it most days just now.
Today has been a day of constantly changing sky with sun ans rain in equal measure. Only dawned on me to take a couple of photo's towards the end of the day when it got really moody and heavy, low rain clouds shared the space with bright sunshine. Thee two pics were taken within an hour of each other, it just kept changing, very beautiful.
A quick post, I've been trying to go to bed for 5hrs, and now it's full daylight outside!
Scotland is such a green country, I'm am particularly appreciating this after seeing urban areas going brown after our recent hot weather and lack of rain. I'm a gardener, I like a bit of rain each week.
The Rest and be Thankful is on the way to my Gran's house in Argyll, in the West Coast of Scotland. It came as a welcome resting place to folks in the past who used to walk their sheep (i think sheep, or cattle?) all the way up the steep slopes. When you got here, from either side, you had a good rest and were thankful knowing it was all downhill from then on.
Often it's clothed in mist but when we took a trip to my Gran's last month for her birthday it was really hot and sunny, and the clouds sent shadows dancing over the mountains.
