winter is coming.

Ready for some colouring in...

my mittens

Very enamoured with my new clutch bought this weekend on a trip to Brighton, which prompted a friend to recommend I immediately watch the movie 'Casino'.

Thank You (pink flowers) 2008 Hand embroidery on organza by Lauren DiCoccio

New embroidery framed, better picture soon.

Detail from my beautiful bedspread I found at the lovely Gilded Lily Totnes, Devon.

I went to Budapest recently for a friend's Hen do, which got me thinking on more traditional folk style motifs.

I've really enjoyed using my Blackbird and the Owl pouch, so triangles seem an inviting shape at the moment. Plus the sunny weather London's been having has made stitching in my spare time all the more enjoyable.

New purchase from Blackbird and the Owl at Souvenir

Getting bored of these simple block geometric patterns I've been stitching.  So in a bid to investigate some more decorative embroidery techniques, I reminded myself of Australian textile artist Sera Waters use of blackwork.

 

The Evil Banana 2008

Blockage 2008 

Naughty Neighbour 2008

So I had a look on the Royal School of Needlework's website for starter courses. 

Blackwork by Jessica Grimm

found this. loved it. and it has got the ball rolling...

liberty lobsters.

inspiration for new embroidery...

rainy day

Our recent flush of sunny weather has left me rather optimistic despite today's down pour.  So I'm sorting through many half finished projects and boxes of fabric. Thank you rain.  Here's some stuff I've unearthed...

pretty ribbons

My latest hoard from Beyond Fabrics at last weekends Columbia Road flower market.  So my collection of ribbons is growing and I've yet to decide what to do with them...

fluorescent thread... gonna start a new one soon with some choral and lavender blue threads I've purchased. whoop.

New yarn, new project, fun patterns.

folklore

The popularity of folk influences coming through in so many creative areas - graphic design, music, fashion - is really exciting. There's something inviting about native prints and patterns reinvented in contemporary craft design and illustration especially.

I recently found illustrator Sandra Dieckmann, who brings her love of animals through into her illustrative work. I love her use of pattern to bring form and her fresh uplifting colour palette.

"The best folktales have a dark edge. Conversely, the best folk art pops with colour - perhaps as a visual way of whistling in the dark, perhaps a celebration of the richness of northern Europe's storytelling tradition. "

- Digital Artist Magazine

Sandra Dieckmann has a fabulous etsy shop - check it out - www.etsy.com/shop/SandraDieckmann

Sera Waters

Australian artist, teacher and writer Sera Waters draws inspiration from the uglier, shocking side of life. After her studies, she received a grant which enabled her to attend the Royal School of Needlework at Hampton Court Palace, where she furthered her embroidery skills. 

 

 Butchering : Meat Series 2009 

thread, felt, sequins, beads, cotton on linen (260 x 220 mm each)

 Much of her current work uses traditional embroidery techniques.  Black-work with its meticulous repetitive patterns gives light and shade to her chosen subject in the Butchering series. 

STAG !!

Finished.. I'll take a better picture soon.

Laurence Owen

It's not just that Laurence Owen is an old friend of mine, this man is a fabulous lyricist and musician. Go catch him live as he gears up for Edinburgh for a good evening of entertainment.

Just got me a signed copy of Tilleke Shwarz new book 'New Potatoes'. Inspiring.

stag head

Just the antlers to go... they're proving tricky.

aztec cross stitch

I fell for this All Saints top grabbing it up when it went into the sale (with the excuse that when I wasn't wearing it, it will forever hang on my wall and it does).
This Buffalo card from the London Graphics centre together with all the Aztec patterns in current fashion trends got me doodling.
Work in progress.

cross stitch sugar skull

I went for a meal round a good friend of mine recently, sitting in her loo I was met by dozen kitsch fantastic plastic Virgin Mary's, a dozen shades of tacky.

I've just started painstakingly copying out a cross stitched stag head from a vintage shirt I bought at Wolf & Gypsy in the Brighton a few years back. But the 3 shades of brown got me pinning for something a little more colourful.

This will be a challenge...

Mexican Sugar Skull cross stitch pattern from PaperSilor on etsy

minty knitting

Got some knitting yarn recently from John Lewis... don't know what to do with it though.