Philosophy in Five - on Friday

I've spent a lot of the last few weeks making cards - endless cards! I've made close to 100 handmade, stitched cards for sale at the Ramster embroidery exhibition taking place over the next two weeks, and also for my stand at Brockenhurst in April. I've been on a roll, making these little miniatures, as well as a few larger unframed pieces for the browsers.

So it's inevitable that having delivered my work to Ramster on Monday, I came a bit unstuck as to what to do next. It's not that there's nothing I should be doing, I've just lost the momentum of preparing for an imminent deadline.

At times like this, I tend to flit from one task to another, and all I can do is stick with it, keep doing, and eventually something will gather enough momentum to hold my attention for more than a day and then I'm off again.

So here's what I've been doing - and by writing them down, I realise that yeah, maybe they are more linked than random, and together I think they sum up my creative philosophy quite nicely:

1. Use what you have

In my general pottering about the studio, picking things up and putting them down again, I bought a new box of tissues. I was about to recycle the old box but I was struck by the patterns (it was no accident that I chose that brand and that box at the time). So I rummaged in my little heap of scraps for some things I could combine and had a little play. I'm not sure what happens next, but I think it'll involve punching stitching holes and using bright thread.

2. Just because something is broken and discarded doesn't mean it isn't beautiful

I've also been working my way through my growing collection of broken jewellery and beads - removing findings, cleaning up, cutting strings to get at the little lovelies. I've been starting to edge some of my embroideries with beads and dangles, and want to do more. I'll package up the surplus beads with fabrics (see below).

3. Second-hand fabric is nearly always more interesting than new

And I've been having a high old time, creating huge messes on the floor, cutting the selvedges and cuffs and collars off my stash of second-hand goodies.

I even save the little strips from folded cuffs and hems - perfect for cards and miniatures.

These fabrics will all find their way into my creations, and the surplus will go into more Creativity Packs. I made some packs a while ago (too long ago - I love doing it, so I don't know why I haven't done any more!) and they flew out of the Etsy shop - so these next packs will be for sale at Brockenhurst.

4. Buy one get one free - don't overlook the freebies - also known as Use Everything

Cutting up clothes yields buttons and trims, and I've now got a new cowl/scarf because I bought it for the lacy edge (now removed and stowed in the stash) and kept the rest! I'm wearing it today, and it's my new favourite thing.

Also, the scraps from cutting up every little bit will go back to the charity shop, because they can get money from selling rag. The best selvedges I will save and use - for tying boxes shut, tying bundles, making cords, or using in embroideries.

5. Colour is wonderful

I also took some time yesterday (OK, all day) to cut skeins of white cotton thread (from a massive cone I found in a charity shop years ago) and dye it. I dyed some cotton fabric at the same time, to mop up the excess dye. I am not an expert dyer, and I don't do it frequently enough to have a good system - which is why it takes so long! - but I'm loving the results. Again, these will be on my stand at Brockenhurst in some form or other - in my embroidery, in miniatures/cards, or for sale separately or in the Creativity Packs.

Five on Friday - Distracted by Dye

1. Dyeing

One of our many charity shops in town is having a "yarn event". I didn't even realise, as I only popped in quickly before meeting Mr Gonecycling, and he doesn't tolerate delays due to yarn...so when I saw the huge wire bin full of massive cones of wools and threads, I just had to dive in there and retrieve what I could without thinking too long.

Which explains why I now have large amounts of cotton thread that need dealing with in some way. Dyeing, that is the answer. Use it myself, take it to class, sell in the etsy shop? The possibilities are endless. Ahem. So I set to and started to wind it off into skeins. Which then sat on the end of the table until Wednesday.

On Wednesday morning I spent an hour trying to wash them. (There must be an easier way - how do you do this, people? How do you wash skeins of thread without them getting in a huge tangle??) 

Then in the evening, after class, I dug out the as-yet-untried tub of swimming pool grade sodium carbonate, and soaked the threads overnight. On Thursday, I wrung out the skeins and drained off the soda, mixed the dyes and splodged it all over (getting technical now). And then had to run around looking for more things to dye, as I still had nearly a litre of soda sitting there looking like it could be useful. This always happens when I dye...

Then Thursday after class, I spent an hour or so rinsing and rinsing the threads, and wondering how the heck to dry them all - so here we are finally, this morning, with my rainbow threads drying on a piece of string in the garden. 

The miscellaneous soda-soaked fabrics are now in a kitchen tub looking a very dubious shade of purpley blue, and the tray is full of threads again - this time with blues and greens. And I still have 800ml of soda. Sigh.

I don't think I'll be setting up my own hand-dye business any time soon...

2. Hiding

Mr G had a good idea the other day. Well, he often has good ideas and luckily gets paid for them, but this one was just for me. Fed up with me complaining about not having my own space, and either having to shut my work away in a cupboard or leave it out for all and sundry to see, and being interrupted all the time because I work right next to the kitchen, he suggested I use some sort of screen. Like this:

Genius. It folds up and sits next to the cupboard (or quietly behind an armchair when the cupboard is open and I don't feel the need to be screened off). And you can still see through to the garden, without looking over my shoulder to see what I'm up to.

And it doubles up as a screen across the bottom of the stairs, to direct people into the kitchen rather than across my yoga mat - should I feel the need to do some bendy things without being interrupted. What a star.

3. Sampling

I continue to stitch teaching samples for class, and to be honest, I like them as they are - hardly any stitch, so not what I had in mind for them at all. Do I need to start again?!

4. Painting

As well as dive into the charity shop to liberate the wool, I popped into the decorating shop next door for some F&B tester pots - completely on a whim. I had heard good things about one of the greens, and I'd also read (those 59 seconds again, see last week's post) that green is a fantastic colour for creativity. The room I work in is pink - is this where I've been going wrong?! But I'm not sure about painting the dining room green as I've also read somewhere else that it should never be used for a room you eat in, something about casting a pall over your food. Thoughts?

5. Procrastinating 

What I should ACTUALLY be doing is finishing these samples - which I started in August, sitting outside my tent in Brittany. Hmm, finishing things - what's that like?!

And if anyone could answer my burning questions (how to wash yarn skeins, and whether to paint the dining room green) I'd really appreciate your thoughts! I always reply to every comment if you leave an email address, so the replies won't show here but in your inbox :) 

Thank you for reading! Back on Monday with a different sort of post, courtesy of Hilary.

Hard sums

Whenever the Whippet has to think hard about something, such as "come here" or "don't eat that stick" or "cuddles with Mum or cuddles with Dad?" he gets confused ears, and we say that he is having to do Hard Sums.

For me, selling things - anythings - is very much Hard Sums. Same with stitching teaching samples. Which is why I get distracted and do things like make swirling vortices of marmalade instead:

or have a sudden urge to buy a red skirt in a charity shop, chop off any frilly extraneous bits (the skirt's on the bias and won't fray too much - fingers crossed) and stitch on some braid salvaged from another charity shop find several years previously...

before....

during...

 

after! 

(have you ever tried to photograph your own legs? bloomin' difficult...)

The red boots were a separate procrastination project. They were the Girl's, and she has grown out of them so when I was clearing them out of the porch, I followed a whim to try them on - and discovered that they fitted, in a slightly snug toe sort of way. So then I had to ransack the understairs cupboard for the special sheepskin washing liquid so I could chuck them in the washing machine, dry them for a week, and proclaim them My New Slippers. Girl is slightly miffed, and can't work out why her old boots that are now too small for her suddenly fit her Mother who has bigger feet than she has. I'm not complaining mind.

Emboldened by the success of the Red Skirt, I dredged from my wardrobe another indifferent bias cut skirt in an indifferent shade of beige. This was also originally from a charity shop and bought because it I deemed it suitable for "work". But seeing as I never really do much of that, I thought it would now be a fine candidate for another chopping session.

But first, to address the general beige-ness, a dunking in the dye pot was called for:

(note the teaching sample on the wrist!)

We are now at this stage and have come to a temporary halt until I stitch the braids together.

.

In between simmering things from my wardrobe, I finally did do something with all the bits that were lying on my desk.

Here they are cut into strips:

and then with added sheers

then with added hearts

then with added stitch

and finally with added mount board, ready to go into the etsy shop.

And while I was considering this bold and dramatic move, which gives me very uncertain ears, I found this little piece from last year, which I shall list at the same time:

The most Hard Sums of all involved finally listing some stuff on eBay - the carved wotnots that I found in the loft last week, which Mr G said looked a bit like some members of the Kenyan paralympic team....

So I get it done eventually, but I do find it very Hard Sums and wish I didn't. Maybe I just need to do more of it...

Warm fuzzies

The other day I heard someone describe teaching as something that could either give you "warm fuzzies" or "cold pricklies".

Wednesday and Thursday were definitely warm fuzzies!

I forgot (as always) my camera for Wednesday, so I'll have to grab some pictures next time.  We are approaching the end of the City & Guilds course and there is some utterly fabulous work emerging.  I am stunned at what people have been able to go away and do after a session of vague and waffly teaching with me...(well, it feels vague and waffly to me sometimes!  I get side-tracked by ideas).  Promise photos next week...

Meanwhile, on Thursday we have been making holes in things.  Someone told me a while back to confront my fear of teaching with craft tools that could potentially burn down the building, as it was fun...and I think I'm finally convinced!

Here is my original sample (in a sudden flash of inspiration it is backed with FOIL - I have after all got quite a lot of the stuff)

And here is Ann's piece, pre-burning of the holes - this is Ann who said she was no good at free machining...I beg to differ:

 

Angela's (also pre-burning).  I love the frayed edges of the silk that Angela has used:

And Carole has been very busy, displaying her work beautifully in a hard-backed book:

 

And Sheila has also conquered free machining and produced some beautiful work:

 

Now that we've burnt holes in anything that will stand still long enough, we've started to play with shirring elastic:

The Girl has also been stitching cut-through circles for her plant cell quilt:

Girl tacked all the hexagons, I did the triangles (because the points were fraying) and then Girl stitched it all together by hand, and free-machined and cut away the blue vacuoles.  All nuclei and chloroplasts also stitched on by Girl's hand.  Since this (blurry) photo, I have stitched it up with wadding and a backing, and Girl will machine quilt it next time I can grab her to come and use the sewing machine...

Science homework isn't what it was in my day...

FINALLY we also managed a spot of tray-dyeing in class yesterday (no wonder the car was laden to the roof!)

 

Sneak preview...

I haven't ironed it yet...