A bit of this and a bit of that........

Such an eventful week for Younique Textiles..........which included finding a venue, designing workshops, finishing projects and working on Week 8 of the Challenge!  

I am still running workshops at Coast & Country but have been looking for another venue closer to home, and I am delighted to say that I have found one, namely a room at a local Community Centre.  Strangely the room is one that I used to work in when the Community Centre was a Day Care Centre for Children.

A bit of this..........

The first set of 3 workshops will be based around adding colour to fabric.  Day 1 & 2 (Thursday 19 April & Thursday 3 May) will be spent colouring fabric with dye, paints and stencils, mark making, adding texture with hand-stitches and some free machining. 

Week 4#1 - Close up

On Day 3 (Thursday 17th May) we will use the fabrics made and a selection of your own fabrics, along with the other techniques learnt on Day 1 & 2, to make a raw edged Fabric Collage.  

Week 4#2 - Close -up

These workshops can be booked as a single workshop or as a set of 3.  All details of how to book onto these workshops can be found on the website page Catalina Room Workshops

So.........back to the Challenge...........This week I decided to do a Reversed Applique.  Firstly a new fabric was made by sandwiching together snippets of fabric between net and then free machining them into place.  

Week 8 19 Feb 18

This new fabric was layered together with 5 other fabrics.  A pattern was marked out on the top layer and stitched.  Sections were then cut away to reveal the different the fabrics.  

I decided not to add any extra stitching or embellishments to this piece, but if I do a larger one I may.

I also managed to complete the larger version of week 4.  I hadn't been too happy with it, so I had left it to one side, while I had a go at the next weeks challenge.  But it had been bothering me, so I took it out again and decided it needed a little chop, re-arrange and a few additions.  

Week 4 - A4 - Close up

Painted Tyvek, and Acrylic Tissue were added and then burnt away.  Now I am pleased to say I rather like the effect!  

Homeward Bound - My Artwork

To finish the week I have also added some new photos to the Albums on my Flickr page.  Homeward Bound was part of a series of work made in 2012, using my old favourites Derwent Inktense Blocks and Gesso. 

  

Winter Sun Rise - Inspiration

 Catching the sun rise on an early morning walk, what could be better!!

 

Thank you again for popping by

Carolyn

Weeks, Weaving & Workshops

I decided to take a different path for this week's challenge and so did a spot of weaving............I love weaving, although it usually looks a bit more like this and involves fabric and a bit of 'Bondaweb'

Book Cover

.  The book cover was made by weaving a selection fabric, paper and also handmade fabric paper together.

My Week 7 piece, is a purely yarn based weave; which once I finished it on my cardboard loom, I eased some of the wefts apart so that I could add extra texture with embroidery thread.  I haven't neatened the ends; stitched into it or added any buttons or embellishments this time, as I really like it as it is.

Week 7 - 12 February 18

By the way I decided on a book as the storage for my Challenge.  It is already looking plump seven weeks in, so goodness knows what it will be like at the end of the year.  I am going to add tabs with details of how and from what each week was made.  When I have done a few and I am happy with how it looks I will add a photo.   

Tuesday saw me down at Coast & Country Crafts & Quilts teaching the Cutting Mat Tote workshop.  It was a super day; very relaxed, with some familiar faces and some new ones too.  Thank you, Ladies for making my job such a pleasure.

The tote is really useful; I have been using mine for years.  The version that I teach includes five internal of pockets to keep the wide variety of rulers that we all seem to accumulate.

  

 I will be there next month teaching my Shadow Cushion workshop.  This is quite a different workshop, mixing Foundation Piecing with Quilt as You Go, but it does make for a stylish cushion.  

Shadow Cushion Front

  

 My website has all the details of the my workshops including the 3 new 2018 dates I have recently added at Coast & Country Crafts & Quilts.  All my workshop pieces are available to buy as patterns if you are not able to attend one of the planned dates.

Thank you again for popping by.

Carolyn

  

Snow in Cornwall!!

We've had SNOW this week!!!  

Well a light dusting........but for us here on the North Cornwall Coast that is quite a major event!!  After that it was back to rain, of course, which means the coastal path has been a mud bath and the poor dog has come home from our walks, very very brown instead of her lovely white!! 

Cornish Snow!!

As well as enjoying the weather!! I have had a good week catching up on lots of sewing.  I am running a workshop in April making the Merchant & Mills The Trapeze Tunic. 

Merchant & Mills - The Trapeze

So this week saw me finishing off the sample to be displayed at Coast & Country Crafts & Quilts and also another version that I will be wearing on the day. 

It is a lovely pattern and can be made in a variety of styles.  I have made the sleeveless (still with tacking stitches in) and the short sleeve version.  

My Daughter was at the V&A Museum recently and saw  this display of Merchant and Mills patterns!! 

I have also completed Week 6 of my Challenge 2018. 

 I promised a change in colour, so here we are........green!   

The majority of the fabric used has been hand-dyed but there is also a piece of purchased fabric included, The hand-dyed fabric is a selection of scrim, cotton, silk, Mulberry bark, and the backing paper from some painted bondaweb.  

I treated myself to a circular rotary cutter to make a 'Bullseye Quilt' a little while ago and so used it here to make the circles in different sizes.

Week 6 - Challenge 2018

Strangely, after completing this I realised that I had done something similar a few years ago!  Trebah Garden is a lovely place on the South Cornwall Coast, and is famous for, among other things, its Giant Gunnera, which I used as the basis for my work.  

Trebah - Sketchbook

The leaves were cut from a selection of fabrics and mixed media, including painted bondaweb and scrim.  

Trebah - July 2013

Well that's it for now, I am off now to ponder the technique for next week!

Thank you for taking time out to have a little look, and hopefully see you next time.

Carolyn

Week 5 Already!!

It is hard to believe that we are now into February..........the  first 5 weeks of this 'New Year' have already flown by!  

Challenge 2018 - Week 5

So..........my 'inchie' for this week is a collage of torn fabric and papers with embellishments of 'found' objects. Keeping with the torn feel, I have left all my threads and not snipped them away.  

Next week I will endeavour to move away from blue and use another colour!!  Which in the words of Mary Poppins, could be a 'pie crust' promise - easily made and easily broken!!   

My  next question is.......how to keep these 'inchies'?  I had thought I would keep them in a box until the end of the year, and then do something wonderful!!  But now I am toying with the idea of putting them all in week order, in a book with a few words on how each was made.  Food for thought I guess. 

As I mentioned in a previous post it is my intention to expand on my Challenge by making larger (approximately A4 sized) pieces, using the technique of that week.  So far I have completed 3 pieces and I am working on the 4th.  None have been given a title or indeed have been finished to display level; but to give an idea of what I have been up to, I have included close-up photos of sections  of each. 

A4 - Week 1

A4 - Week 2

A4 - Week 3

If you fancy having a go too, each week, I would love to hear from you (comments at the bottom) and indeed see your 'inchies' too (PM my Facebook page)

Thank you again for popping by.

Carolyn