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HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It’s the first weekend of the New Year and here we go again with more of the same but different, if you see what I mean. Over my year there is bound to be repetition but that’s just life. I do try to be forward looking, original and inspirational so hang on in here and drop by often to see what’s going on. If you have questions or comments, I am happy to respond to them; it helps if I know there are people out there listening to what I say.

A new year can be interpreted as a new beginning so I have the excuse to start on a new project. I am anxious to get back into creative mode and for me the best way is to start on something I have committed myself to. There is no specific rush for this particular wall hanging as it is not needed until next year but I have an idea in my head and I thought it would be interesting to talk my way through the design process. I have no formal training in this respect but my ‘jump-in-and-make-it-work’ method seems to have served me well over the years. Trained and accomplished designers usually work things to death on paper first before experimenting with numerous fabric samples; I tend to draft a pattern and get going. Not that I haven’t given the idea a lot of thought. And that’s where my creative process takes place ‘in my mind’s eye’. An idea comes to mind, it gets mentally mulled about until I can virtually see what I want to achieve. Nothing has been done on paper at that stage.

The project I am working on is an invitational exhibition entitled ‘IN THE RED’. You may remember last year that I took part in ‘SOMETHING BORROWED, SOMETHING BLUE’ with this little fellow, seen here in progress.

 

 

                                                Blue Tit

So here at the start of the next project is an empty sheet of paper 36” square. And there is nothing more terrifying to a creative person than a sheet of unmarked white paper!

 

                                                White paper

What I want to do is to draft a picture of a horse’s head which I want to create just using red fabrics, much in the same way as I had done the Blue Tit. So what I need to do first is get a flavour of my subject by surrounding myself with resource material from books, magazine cuttings, cards, internet pictures and so on.

 

                                          Resource material

And then comes the drawing and this is how it looked after 15 minutes. I can see straight away that it is out of proportion but at least I have made marks on the paper, the fear has been dispelled and the creative process has begun.

 

 

                                 First attempt

I continue to work on the drawing, fine-tuning the lines and then I start to add the shading detail. I can still see errors I want to correct but at least I have made a start. More of this next time.

 

 

                                    More detail

One thing I have completed this week is for a friend (Barbara Harrison) who spends time with people suffering from Alzheimer’s. She has come up with the clever idea of making an activity apron. This can be placed over the lap in order to calm them down when they become agitated.

 

 

                                            Alzheimer’s apron

The apron has lots of interest sewn onto it. There are conversational pieces in the form of pictures made as flaps that lift to reveal another picture underneath. It includes textures made by sewing tucks into a fabric and sounds can be produced by inserting crinkly wrapping paper under fabric strips. There are laces the tie, buttons to twiddle, strips to fasten and unfasten with Velcro and a zip to manipulate. Naturally these have to be well sewn, with everything totally secured as they need to be safe for the user and washable as well. Such a good idea!

 

 

                                                   Detail

And just out of interest, I have decided to sell some of my work on eBay. I will be starting with early quilts and projects and try to post something each week. You will be the first to see what is coming up. To start there will be a small Log Cabin throw which would look lovely over a settle or the back of a chair or across the end of a bed.

 

                                         Log cabin throw