Module 3 Chapter 3 and a Wallhanging

For chapter 3, I have been playing with paper to make braids in different ways. Above, folded strips of paper make patterns seen in old manuscripts. Next, shaped cut strips interlaced.


Finally, ways of linking cut out hollow shapes. The shapes have been chosen to reflect my theme of machinery.

I have also revisited the cogs design (see here and here for earlier thoughts). My earlier post showed a sketchbook page with a black and white design repeated three times and linked by gold lines and I decided to develop this into a hanging. Using a (borrowed) projector, I enlarged the image onto a wall and traced the lines onto paper. I split it into 3 layers and traced each one separately. I thought it would be interesting to get the shades of grey by having three layers on top of each other so I made a paper mock-up in black and white tissue. This is sized about 90x30cm. The picture was taken over a glass door so light came through the layers.

I then carried on to try out some different sheer fabrics to see if I could get the same effect by layering them. You can see the effect on the right of the picture below - there are the same number of layers in each strip but the fabrics are different weights.

And a few samples with machine stitching - first heavy stitching,
and then lighter scribbles, which I prefer as the light comes through more. These samples use shades of black and grey thread rather than just black, and I also tried the layers in different orders.
The idea is to make 3 identical panels, each with three layers, and add gold lines (not decided how as yet) to give the impression of another giant cog in front. The panels would hang staggered as in the sketchbook page. I have sent off all this work for Sian's comments before going any further - could be a lot of work.

Taking a Day Off

At last we get to join in the fun - schools closed after 2 inches of snow overnight, but it was already melting by 11am. Just time to build this...

And these...

Stitch Explorer January - Chicken scratch

Chicken scratch is traditionally worked on gingham, using combinations of cross stitch and winding. I made this needlecase and sample a couple of years ago after seeing an article in Stitch magazine.


For the stitch explorer challenge, I decided to try a different background and play with the scale. I chose a scrap piece of Black Watch tartan thinking I could use the different size checks. It was more difficult than I thought, especially the dark colours in poor January light, but gives a quite different effect.

New Look

For the new year, a new look for my blogs and website with one of my designs for the banner. This has been on my 'to do' list for ages and one of the things I have done is to update the links page of my website, which now has lots of links to suppliers, artists, museums and other info relating to textiles, art, embroidery etc. Click here to take a look.

I recently joined an ATC group on Facebook which organises a swap every two months and have just sent off my first one. The theme this time was "I believe..." so I used the dove design shown in my previous post for "I believe in peace". Can't wait to receive one back but I have to be patient until the end of February.

Meanwhile, I am working on Sharon B's Stitch Explorer challenge for January which is to play with chicken scratch embroidery and also practicing with digitising software for machine embroidery. Pictures to follow when I have done a bit more.

New Look

I have been having a bit of a sorting out week, picking up those odd jobs that should have been done long ago. Today's job was to revamp and update my website so I have changed my blogs to match. The banner image is one of my pylon designs with a bit of a swirl (you can see the original on an earlier post here) - I thought it was time I looked a bit more arty!

The main change to the website is that I have added links to my lists of useful websites - I picked out the ones related to art/textiles including suppliers, museums, historical information so I hope fellow students find them a useful reference. Click here to go to the links page.

Altered Book

This is the latest project working through Maggie Grey's online workshops - lesson two covers altered books. See my earlier post here for more information. I have completed 4 pages and I think it needs about 4 or 5 more to be complete. It is quite a small book - a little larger than a postcard but very fat. I have been using various paints to decorate the pages and adding bits and pieces such as unfinished samples. Some of the pages are machine stitched but this proved a bit fiddly on a small book.



Not so sure about the page above so this may change.

A little sample of free peyote stitch that has similar colours to the feather. Next step is to tackle the book cover.

Module 3, Chapter 2 - Plaited Braids

This week I have been making samples of different braids in thick cord to understand how they work.

4 Strand braids - from left - Bedfordshire lace 2 pair plait; mirror image (left over 1, right under 1 over 1); 2 colour braid (right over 1, left over 2).

Simple 2 loop braid (loops pass through each other); macrame semi knot; macrame whole knot.

From left - 3 variations of 7 strand twill; 8 strand plait using 3 outer strands on each side as a single strand; 8 strand square braid - over 5 back under 2.

Useful references - The Manual of Braiding - Naomi Speiser, The Renaissance Tailor, Phalia's String Page.

Module 3, Chapters 1 and 2

As it feels like a long time since I last looked at my coursework, I have spent a little time sorting out what I have already done before carrying on.

First, the visual part of the historical study on strapwork - my notes have been typed up on a separate sheet

Next, pages from my sketchbook which is being filled with notes and drawings etc on knotwork.

Finally, making a background fabric for samples by using a large scale version of plaited braid stitch as a printing block.

Happy New Year

Happy new year to everyone out there in blogland.

Christmas is still going strong in the O'Leary household - we have done all the traditional things that is

- eaten huge amounts of turkey
- ditto chocolates
- fixed the pipe that burst on Christmas morning. This was like a scene from a 1970s sit-com with yours truly opening the cupboard under the sink while wearing my best frock and getting a faceful of water. Still at least it was the hot tap that went so the water was nice and warm. This will teach me not to spend too long straightening my hair in future.

I usually do my creative stuff in the kitchen so it has all been boxed up for a fortnight while we have various people and dogs staying - Monday will be the big day when we are back to normal and I am getting itchy fingers. I was going to post pictures of some things I made for presents but I seem to have forgotten to take any so this will have to wait, but that gives me an excuse to play with the light tent my brother gave me.

Finished Fish Quilt

Coursework has been taking second place this last fortnight because I decided to finish one of the fishy quilts (see earlier entry here) and give it as a christmas present (the recipient doesn't know yet but it's OK, she isn't a blog reader). As always, it took longer than I had allowed but here is the finished article using just the blocks on turquoise backgrounds and just simple quilting. Eventually, I will make up the purple version and that one is MINE - sorry to shout but I keep making lap quilts and giving them away, so I am the only one left with cold knees. And I also have the left over blocks that will turn into cushion covers at some point so the disaster has been recovered. Just a couple more things to finish before Christmas then it is back to what I am supposed to be doing.

Finished Book Tower

Just remembered I meant to add these pictures as well - the completed vessel/book from Maggie Grey's online class (see earlier post here ).

First attempts at ATCs

I keep seeming to run out of time when I get on the computer in the evenings, so just a very quick post today. I wanted to send a thank you note to a stitchy friend so I decided to try making some ATCs - something I have wanted to do for a while as I love the concept. Here are my first efforts.

Module 3, chapter 2

Continuing the theme of strapwork, I have been researching and drawing examples of Celtic knotwork. The first photo shows sketches on graph paper of knots made using David Nicholl's method as described in Celtic Inspirations for Machine Embroiderers (Valerie Campbell-Harding and Maggie Grey). The knots in the second photo were drawn on grids from How to Draw Celtic Knotwork by Andy Sloss. The one on the right, with the black background, is copied from a page of the seventh century Book of Dimma - I find it interesting that the ends are different with a closed loop at one end rather than a continuous line. In the central drawing, I used the same design but on a curved grid, and the one on the left is an attempt at drawing a tapered knot (it is a bit wobbly!). I have played with drawing simple knots before but never done anything more with it, so I am trying to take it further this time.

Bird Book

This weekend I went on a two day workshop with the Embroiderers' Guild, Bristol, run by Frances Pickering. Frances makes wonderful decorated books using craft vilene, gesso, stitch and paper - see her website here for examples. This is the one I made, not quite finished. I still need to add a fastening and tidy up the edges of the cover, and then think about the contents. At the moment, the pages are just washed with Brusho but the idea is to fill them with drawings, words, colour, stitch on the chosen theme. I decided on birds because I had a lovely woodblock, bought on holiday a few years ago, which I used to impress in the gesso and then stitched in places. The book cover wraps over itself, this next picture shows the back.

And here it is open to show the pages.

Joining In

I have been having fun this week joining in with the online tutorials by Maggie Grey. To take part, you need to have her latest book Textile Translations and visit the publishers website. Lesson 1 is making a vessel/book - here are some pics of my work in progress. I have also been keeping my sewing machine busy making quick and fun christmas presents, but I can't show these just in case the recipients are reading.

Cogitating

A few pages from my sketchbook playing with the printed cog designs and adding some extra lines - not sure where this is leading but they seem to be heading towards some sort of hanging. Haven't done much this past fortnight partly because of half-term and also because I have let myself get distracted with other things (as usual) - will be posting about that on my other blog soon.

**Ed.s note - something very odd happened to my photos after I published this post, they went all pixelated - I have re-added them. With luck they should look clearer now.**

Just after I finished posting this morning, I was catching up on some blog reading while Sunday lunch was cooking and saw this post on A Wrinkle in the Calico about a site that lets you create giant posters. So, after lunch and after letting the children have their time on the computer- grrrrrr- I just had to have a play with the black and white cogs design (last photo on this morning's post). I am not going to print out all of it, but looking at it on screen has given me some ideas - maybe enlarge the design, split into columns then shift them out of line. Of course, I could print out all the parts and try rearranging them like a jigsaw. Or maybe print sections onto inkjet fabric and join by continuing the shapes over the spaces inbetween with machining. As usual, it will probably turn out as something completely different. Need to spend time with the sketchbook - watch this space.

Designing With Cogs

Following on from thinking about clocks, I pulled out this photo from my module 1 sketchbook. I took this on holiday in Venice a few years ago, in one of the churches. It is actually part of an old mechanism for the church bells - I am sure there is a proper name for this but I don't know it - rather than a clock but it has the lines and cogs I was thinking of. I had a little play with paper cutouts which I scanned in and manipulated in Paint Shop Pro. Here are the bits of paper on a black background.

Then I cut out some more and added some texture with gesso, gold spray paint, crackle medium and black paint on top - the picture doesn't show the gold cracks very well.

I combined this scan with a background that originated in my earlier work with pylon patterns - rubbings from folded paper scanned in and given a new colour scheme. I filled a layer with a metallic gold colour and masked it with the cog shapes so they take that colour and are slightly transparent. The second picture is the result of playing with preset displacement maps. I like the way the shapes extend out of the background in this one.

Finally (for the moment), a black and white study to look at layering the shapes. This is just the scan copied and pasted on top of itself, offset and cropped, with the layers given different amount of transparency. To make the shapes clearer and give more depth, I added drop shadows.

Adding Sound to Animation and Some Tricky Stitches

Over the last few weeks, I have changed my ISP, set up a wireless network and bought a new computer (now the children have the old one and we can stop arguing over who gets to go on the internet and for how long). It is far worse than moving house - hours going through address lists wondering who these odd names belong to and if I want to give them my new email and more hours checking all my online ids. Finally I have moved over all my favourite bits of software, found out if they still work, and sorted out the licences so they work on the new machine. Now it is all done, I have been playing with Vista and especially the Movie Maker and DVD Maker - at last a big enough memory to cope with everything at once. So, I have added some sound effects to the animation (yes, I know I said it was finished but can't stop fiddling). Here is a clip from it to get the idea - you need to imagine it projected onto the background I made.Have a look at the Coursework pages of my website to see my earlier notes and pictures. The sound is intentionally quite low so you may need to turn up the volume. It is part of my plan that if you were in the room, you might not be sure if you heard it first time.




In complete contrast, I have been continuing with the stitch sample for the Tudor historical study - having a hard time with the plaited braid stitch so I have just kept doing it. There is some very dodgy tension as you can see in this photo but I refuse to be defeated.

The sample shows basket stitch, braid stitch, plaited braid stitch, ladder stitch, detached buttonhole, knotted detached buttonhole.

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The Corpus Clock

Carrying on the theme of machinery - I heard about the Corpus Clock today on the radio and just found the video on YouTube showing it in action, narrated by the designer - click here to see it. I think this is the most beautiful piece of engineering and I like the way it is slightly frightening; it makes you very aware of the passing of the seconds that will never return, Death's bony hand on your shoulder like those mediaeval woodcuts. I will have to try and see it in real life one day.

Hmm - Could this be the inspiration I need?