Urchfont, Thumbs Down and a Tick

Look at this pile of stuff - where am I off to, you ask. Well it's the time of our quarterly indulgence at Urchfont Manor. My text. 21 group (or something like that) is having a session with Jane Wild on collagraphs. I can't wait. I've bought myself a Sissix cutter/press and haven't tried it yet. I am doing a talk in Worcester, straight after (Saturday) so will report back next week.
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I am also taking the embellisher machine with a view to attacking this jacket. It's a per una (posh M&S) in boiled wool and I loved it but the sleeves and a couple of panels at the lower front are made from nasty black fur fabric. So I aim to set the embellisher on them.


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I made a couple of little bags some time ago - just velvet, silk and chiffon. Here is one.



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I love the way you can do huge hand stitches like this.



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That become part of the fabric when embellished.



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I do hope I don't ruin it!

I may be a little late at the manor tomorrow as Clive has just found a big fat tick on his back (a gardening hazard). I got it all off, but it's as well to have the doc look at it. We had a friend who caught Lyme's desease and it was horrid.

Talking of matters medical, some of you will have seen on Facebook that I have to have operations on both thumbs. I thought I was only going for my carpal tunnel check up so it was a bit of a shock. They take out a bone and that stops it rubbing and hurting. I had the following phone conversation about it with my cousin.

Me: They take out the bone and put in a bit of gristle.

Cousin: Where do they get the gristle?

Me: Oh, they've probably got a lump of pork hanging around.

Cousin: Is that why they call it a hand of pork?

Boom. boom.

That joke probably only works if you are a brit.

Thanks for asking about the book. It's running a bit late due to the hand thing but I'll keep you posted.

Jane Lemon Exhibition

I'm sure all UK stitchers know Jane Lemon's work. She is best known for her amazingly innovative church work. Heading up the Sarum Group, she changed the image of ecclesiastical embroidery over the last 40 years. Her own work took a back seat to the group so it's great to see an exhibition of eight panels of hers at Salisbury Cathedral. The work is titled Prisoners of Conscience and celebrates the 50th annoversary of Amnesty International. The Cathedral has a long history of support for this cause and their stained glass window depicting this theme is quite amazing.

I'm not going to go on at length about the panels here but I shall be doing a full review for December's Workshop on the Web and our review pages are unrestricted, so catch it then. But, if you can get to Salisbury (there is a charge to go in to the Cathedral), it is so worth seeing and they have some of the Sarum Group frontals on view as well.

The work is an interesting mix of machine embroidery, goldwork and embellisher machine.

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Jane attends life drawing classes and it really shows in the composition of the figures.

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The barbed wire runs through all the panels, silver turns to gold when the prisoner is released.

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Below you can see Jane's amazing skill - the silver kid barbed wire is a wonderful, both as a close-up and from a distance.

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Thanks for the advice about the jammy mouse. It still fells a bit sticky and the jam didn't set well this time so I think it will be a sauce and a glaze, though probably not for mixed work, Heather.

The Lynda Monk book Fabulous Surfaces has gone to the designer in Australia. As it is a new series for d4daisy, which we are calling Workbooks, she is doing a re-design. I can't wait to see the sample pages. These will be single topic books, aimed at producing wonderful stuff without spending a fortune. You won't believe what Lynda has done with tissue paper!

My new book will also be a Workbook, based on dissolvable stuff - mostly film, not too much paper this time, although I've found some interesting ways of combining the two. I've been able to get cracking on mine and spent some time gathering up all my pieces. I'd forgotten about this little book. It's made from Softsculpt. warmed and bent over two bottles to give a book shape. The 'leaves' are made from water-soluble film and I'm exploring more on the technique used. Having lots of fun.

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Comments

I remember signing your book Sabine - it was great to meet you. I think the exhibition in the foyer two years ago might have been the Pfaff one which doesn't happen every year. i agree there wasn't much happening in this area. I think it is a sign of the times that stalls selling mops and so on had crept in this year. I guess it's hard to fill when everyone is broke.

We all have to support AVG Irene - and it's necessary to keep up the paint stocks. I bought lots of their papers, too.

Diane's cumquats sound wonderful. I bet they make great marmalade.

How do you get jam off a mouse?

I am in the kitchen, catching up with a bit of blogging while making some more jam. It's the last thing I should be doing and is, I think, a displacement activity for getting on with the text for my book. Unfortunately I'm using Clive's laptop and have made his mouse all sticky with jam. He'll kill me.

I was only at the K&S show for a couple of days, doing demos in the Learning Curve. What did anyone think of the show? I loved the Textile Study Group exhibition and have devoted many pages to it in my WoW review. Purchased one of Gwen Hedley's little treasures from her Excerpts from a Visual Diary. This is mine.
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Here are some more. They looked great in a row.
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Here is a piece by Mary Sleigh, based on Kettles Yard in Cambridge - a place I love. It's a place of collections where art, furniture and fossils all sit side by side and I love Mary's take on it. The title is Not Wanted on Voyage.

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I also enjoyed the Beryl Dean retrospective - waiting on images for that one. It seemed a pity to have two brilliant retrospectives at the same show. Diana Springall's coincides with her book and was great - but could have used more space.

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I loved seeing the inspiration, design and finished pieces.

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The piece at the back of the image above was entirely worked in narrow fabric tubes.

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The graduate showcases were very good - both knitting and stitching. Who could resist a knitted lampshade? Anyone know the name of the student? I'm usually very careful to note names but missed this one.
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I felt that the quality of the exhibitions was a little uneven this year but when you consider how many great exhibitions are here, all in one place, it is such good value.

I have to go - my jam is ready for pouring. I think that the birds can have the rest of the grapes now.

Giveaway Winners

A very quick blog just to tell you that we've drawn the giveaway for one of my precious books. The winner is Jen Henley - well done.

Fiona's daughter Sophie picked our winners - we made a list from this blog and facebook and gave them all a number. Then Fiona's daughter Sophie, chose two numbers from the list, so it was all fair and square. As we had such a great response we're giving an extra prize of a Workshop on the Web subscription (or renewal if you already belong). That prize goes to Cat in Tassie. If Jen and Cat email me maggie@workshopontheweb.com with snail mail addy for Jen and email addy for Cat I'll get it all sorted.

I am in a mad panic as I'm running late with my preparation for next week at the K&S. I am doing a couple of demos as we haven't got a stand, but I got a bit sidetracked by work for my new book.

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This sample started me off down a new path and all I want to do is explore it. Ain't textiles exciting.

Wanna see my Operation?

Look away now if you're squeamish, but isn't it healing well? All the bumpy bits have been absorbed - aren't our bodies clever? Only problem now is remembering not to carry stuff. Still mustn't knit or type, but the one handed stitching works a treat.
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We recently asked our Workshop on the Web folks what articles they wanted and they were keen on one on the making of precious books from samples. Another excellent idea was a project that progressed and we could all join in with. So I've combined these two and will have a precious book article with techniques and, hopefully, a video. I'm hoping lots of people will try the ideas and we're going to have a readers section to see them all. The pic below is a layered printing method I use a lot in various ways.

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These books are so useful for those special stitched samples, like the letters below.
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The photoshoot meeting for Lynda Monk's new book went really well and Michael and I were absolutely bowled over by the quality of her work. It's called Fabulous Surfaces and who would guess that the one below is not leather, but tissue paper. I want a jacket made from it.
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There are lots of ideas for books, bodices and vessels. If you want us to let you know when it's ready just go to www.d4daisy.com and click to go on the 'let me know' list - no obligation.
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Comments

Glad to have amused you with the jam making. We made loads but the kids have pinched lots of it. Modesty aside, it is delicious. I shall put some time aside next year and make more. There are still loads left on the vine.

Cranborne Manor only opens once a week, Celia, but it is well worth a visit.

I agree about using kitchen stuff for textiles,Virginia. I think my pasta machine collagraph printer is my most successful to date.

There are more uses for a heat tool Horatio....

We've had something of a harvest festival with loads of tomatos, marrows and grapes. The grapes are the very small winemaking variety and I prefer to leave wine to the French and the Ozzies. Brenda Weeks gave me a recipe for cordial and this led on to thoughts of jam.
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Well, jelly to be precise. I'd never heard of grape jelly but it was amazingly successful. We purchased a device (like a milking stool with no seat) to strain it through. I know you can use a chair but ours weigh a ton. It said 'easy to assemble' but we ended up with Clive struggling to click it together while I frantically stirred the mixture shouting, "Hurry up, it's boiling".

Then it set too quickly, before dripping through, so I got the heat tool out. Worked a treat.
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My hand is healing well and I've seen the nurse for a check up. Feeling a bit stir crazy we had a morning at the local stately home, Cranborne Manor.
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All lovely long vistas and ancient apple trees.
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With the odd visual pun - look at the man working in the field to get the scale.

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Love this head by Elizabeth Fink and look at the wonderful stains on the marble.

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Smudge has been poorly (fighting again) and we had to visit the vet. I don't know what was in that injection she gave him but I think I need one. He now needs feeding every five minutes to get back to fighting weight.

Tomorrow we go to London for the photoshoot for Lynda Monk's new book Fabulous Surfaces. I have seen the pics - amazing - and can't wait to see the real thing. I have the text all ready, edited and copy edited so when the pics are done it's off to the designer. Can never tell with the printer but we are hoping for November. Watch this space.

Thanks for all comments and lovely get well messages - I'm sure going to try Livewriter, Celia. Blogger drives me batty.

Will announce winners of the precious book next week.

The Single Handed Blogger

Having loaded these two pics into blogger I am unable to move them. It just won't let me. So I shall post around them. They are the result of some one handed drawing and painting I did in the sketchbook I am giving away.
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By the way I forgot to say that comments on this blog will go into the hat for the book, as well as those on Workshop on the Web's Facebook page. Thanks for reminding me that we need to do both, Stitcher, but only one name per person, please.
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The pics are the result of some metallic watercolours I bought, recommended by Jane Wild, and they are lovely. You can't see the full effect in these pics but they give a great gleam and many work together for a variety of effects. Daniel Smith's Extra Fine Watercolours (got mine from Jacksons) and I will write a full review in December's WoW.
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So I'm back again, using one hand in 'hunt and peck' mode - not easy when upper case is needed. Thanks so much for all your good wishes - it's all going very well, not nearly as painful as expected. Something of a surreal experience, lying down with arm outstretched, chatting to a nurse who lived near me about our local traffic chaos while, on the other side of the screen, my hand was being tortured.
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Anyway, the big bandage is off and a smaller one applied. Quite spectacular bruises - should have photographed them, the colours were great. Arnica is wonderful for bruising so they will soon fade.
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I managed to give a talk in Salisbury on Thursday, which was fun and seemed to go well, in spite of struggling with a microphone and the laser pointer (known as Mr Pointy) in the same hand.
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Clive is great at cooking, but rubbish at blow-drying so I treated myself to a hairdresser visit yesterday and am now feeling great.

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Must go now and direct operations in the garden. I have the perfect excuse for my favourite gardening method - pointing and saying 'just plant it there'.