A WHOLE ARMY OF SOCK BUNNIES

I have been fairly busy (as well as making cards and such for Christmas) creating more sock bunnies, they will eventually hold sweets and be wrapped up as presents for friends and family. I think I got a tiny bit carried away however! There seems to be a lot of sock bunnies invading the lounge. They are so quick to make though, worth a go if you have a spare few minutes. I have also invested in Sockology by Brenna Maloney, which is a book filled with other animals that can be made out of socks! Forget the degree, this is what I will be spending all my spare time doing. Who knew you could make a hammer-head shark out of just two socks? More pictures of these sock-creations in the new year!

FESTIVE CREATIONS

My friend and I had a go at creating out very own reindeer. The antlers were certainly a challenge! But at least he was there to keep my door open over Christmas, he is however currently sat on my bed. He isn't particularly Christmas-y in colour, therefore I thought I could probably get away with having him out all year, he can be my reindeer-in-residence!

WELCOME TO THE WORLD SOCK BUNNY

A fun afternoon at the Craft Society that involved making these gorgeous little sock rabbits. They are so simple to make and look adorable, I have invested in some patterned socks to turn into bunnies so watch this space. We also made a stuffed dragon, who needs stuffing as he is a bit flat at the moment (he will be appearing later in the week hopefully). For now, just enjoy the sock bunny!

A PRODUCTIVE WEEK

Hello again, this week has been my reading week at uni, so I have enjoyed a week without lectures and therefore plenty of time for art (rather than reading which is what I should have been doing!). These are some small comissioned pieces that I completed for a teacher/friend, rather than reading Homer (which is way less interesting than sewing!). She was really pleased with them, which is always good, and I really enjoyed making them. As you can see from my posts (or absence of) I aven't had much time for sewing recently and it was great to get everything out and get sewing! I love that feeling of accoumplishment when I've finished. A good week all in all, even if I didn't actually get that much reading done!

COMPLETED QUILTS

Hello, this is my first post for a while- I am now away at Uni and am an Art History student rather than an art student, so I spend a lot of my time reading. These images, however, are from over the summer when I completed the quilt from my workshop at St Aidan's school in Preesall (see post July 7th). This is the finished product! All those squares on the floor have become two quilts that can be hung in the school. I think they look brilliant (even of I do say so myself!). I also turned my demo-pieces into a cushion that my sister has or should have taken to university. Here then are the photos,enjoy! Hopefully more posts will be coming soon, how that I am settled in and will hopefully have more time to sew.

HIGHLAND CATTLE

It's not Scotland without a few photos of these!

YORKSHIRE SCULPTURE PARK

I know it has been a while since my last post, but I have moved! I am now in sunny St Andrews studying Art History (however that has not stopped me sewing or bringing all my art junk/bits and bobs with me). The week before I came up here (Monday 12th) I went on a trip to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, which was fantastic and well worth a visit if you have the time or are nearby. The exhibition by Jaume Plensa was brilliant and really made the day and visit for me. I love the way he bases his work on verse and literature and how, to him, sculpture should be interactive, something you experience and not simply look at. Be prepared for some walking, it is quite a way around the park- I don't think we made it to every single sculpture but we certainly saw the ones we wanted to. Anyway, here are the photos so that you can see for yourself!

GARSTANG ARTS FAYRE

As part of the Garstang Art and Music festival I was at Garstang Arts Centre on Monday 29th August. I would like to say thank you to everyone who called in and said hello. I had a brilliant day and will be returning to the fayre next year- lots of constructive feedback that I can use to develop both my cards and my work. I hope everyone enjoyed the day as much as I did (despite the weather) and please feel free to leave a comment or email me. I would love to hear back from other visitors!

DOLLY DOORSTOP

Yet another member has been added to the sycamore doorstop/stuffed teddy family (although this one is a present for a friend so is not a permanent member). This is one of the trickiest pieces I have completed, as the stuffed arms and legs always seemed to get in the way! She is also filled with pebbles from the beach rather than rice, as mum got sick of me using up her supply! Never mind, she looks fairly even as I passed the stones with teddy bear wadding first.

WELCOME HOME

One of my sisters has just returned from a long stay in Scotland, in the Highlands, where our uncle has a quest house (the same one that stocks and sell my postcards). Anyway, on her return Claire and I decided we needed some banners to stand at the station with as she got of the train, so I made two; 'Welcome' and 'Home'. This way they can be re-used! I am pretty happy with them and Rach loved them. A sucess alround, although we nearly missed our slot as the traffic was bad, so we had to run through the station in order to stood on the platform as the train pulled in!

CATH KIDSON CUSHION

This cushion is out of the Cath Kidson 'sew!' book and I absolutely love it! The pattern shows the cushion as flowery blue and pink but I preferred green as it will match my bed spread and will look very sweet sat there. I am really pleased with it, I think it turned out very well and it was relatively easy to make and didn't take too long. Any thoughts?

NEW ADDITIONS TO THE FAMILY

No not babies, but new additions to my doorstop/ stuffed animal collection. My sister requested a chicken, so I made her this little rooster doorstop which was very fiddly but totally worth it. Hopefully she will think so too! I added a zip to the bottom of the rooster, as I wasn't sure how else to be able to remove the stiffing, plus I need to learn how to do these things, especially if I want to move on to making clothes! I also wanted to be able to remove the rice which is waiting it down, seen as it is mum cooking rice and she may want it back (don't worry the rice is inside a completely sealed plastic bag so it is fine to be cooked and munched). I also made this lovely little frog doorstop for a relative who likes frog, another success I think. My other sister has requested a stag of some sort, although I have a feeling she may be getting it in the form of a cushion and not a doorstop (simply because the thought of sewing all the antlers and stuffing them and turning them inside out makes me queasy) and I would also like to make a dolly doorstop for a friends birthday that is coming up. Have no fear! I will keep you posted! All comments and feedback are welcome.

THE FINAL CUT

These are the finished pieces from my artist in residency week at the Blackpool Grand Theatre. The week in my opinion went very well and I have enjoyed experimenting my technique- the rigid architecture and straight lines contrast well with the more feminine lace and buttons. I also experimented with drawing with the sewing machine, working over white lace (usually I coffee stain and die the lace) and a more simple background so that the outline of the building would stand out. I also believe that focusing on sections of the building, rather than the whole facade worked very well and is in my opinion more effective, as it only gives you a glimpse, an insight into the building rather than telling you the whole story (so to speak). One more piece will be on the way, I am simply sewing the last few beads onto the roof- just adding a bit of glam (it is the theatre after all!). The circular one is definitely my favourite- what do you think?

WORK FROM BLACKPOOL GRAND

Over the last week, I have been completing work inspired by the exterior of the Blackpool Grand Theatre. By tomorrow, I will have finished all the pieces, as tomorrow is the end of the week's artist in residency, which is very exciting! There will eventually be an exhibition, but we have yet to decide on a date. Perhaps next week. Anyway, I am very pleased with this weeks work- the stitch and architecture has worked very well. I like the contrast of the firm lines and the soft lace, they go surprisingly well together. Any thoughts?