I would've cleaned the house but ...

I was going to do some cleaning. No, really! I was. But the vacuum cleaner's decided to give up on life. I've tried resuscitation. Switching it off and on again. Also swearing at it. But it won't work, and I've yet to buy a replacement. I'm debating whether to buy a cheap 'n' cheerful model for about £60 or so, or splurge on a Henry at a more substantial £140. The Henry looks like it'll last longer and be robust, so I suppose I'll end up getting that. Anyway, being cleaner-less gave me an excuse to spend time on craftiness. First up was this bag. I'd decided that it needed an inside pocket.

So I dug out this denim pocket harvested from an old pair of jeans. A simple task to sew it to the bag's lining. A nifty bit of upcycling, I hope you'll agree.

Also completed is another zokin. I went off-piste with the sashiko stitching and for some reason added circles.

It'll be interesting to see if the zokin's noticeably less hard-wearing than the other two I've made. They were covered completely in stitching, whereas this has areas left unsewn.

I was messing about with making another doll as well, and finished sewing her by adding a pair of fairy wings. The doll's made of painted fabric, then embroidered and beads added. The face is white felt, as are the backs of the cotton material wings.

I'm still trying to find the ideal shape for these dolls. Haven't cracked it yet.

I had the gell plate and paints out today. Painting more fabric, but also making prints on paper. As well as my hand!

What a mucky puppy! It does look like I've got some horrible disease like a character off a sci-fi or fantasy film, doesn't it? But it was all good fun, and I've ended up with a stack of A4 sized prints. If you're wondering what I do with them all -

I finished these two art journals today. They only needed their covers glued on. The one of the left's full of gell prints made on standard copier paper.

The other book has pages made from sketchbook paper, and they are less densely coloured.

Well, that's all for now. I need to do more online comparisons for vacuum cleaners - oh the glamour of my rock 'n' roll lifestyle - and it must be at least half an hour since I had a cuppa so I'm gasping ... thanks for stopping by my blog, and maybe wander back again sometime? Though I'm not promising the place will be any tidier ...

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Fabric bowls & electrical cables ...

To add to my seemingly never ending list of works-in-progress, I've started making a fabric bowl. Or should I call it a fabric basket? I'm not sure. Anyway, I've made the odd bowl or two before, like this blue & white one that I keep cotton perle in. I decided to use upholstery material, which has both advantages & disadvantages. On the good side, it has a certain stiffness, which helps the bowl stay in shape. On the irritating side, the kind of material I'm using frays like mad, and I'm forever picking up threads off the carpet. The bowl's a simple construction, and I've used a circle of cardboard covered with brown felt for the base. It'll look much better when I've embroidered and stitched into it. I've made a start on that, and appliqued on a rectangle of plum coloured velvet for extra interest. When not stitching, I've been catching up on my reading. I finished C J Sansom's 'Dark Fire'. Real...

Threads of Freedom and charity shop bargains

It's Saturday afternoon, and I haven't done half the things I'd meant to. Partly because I spent most of this morning messing about with paints, stencils and the gell plate. Never mind, everything on today's 'To Do' list will join tomorrow's 'To Do' list ... it's hardly life or death if I don't haul the hoover around the room or pull up weeds in the front garden. I thought I'd show you what I made on Wednesday. I'd gone to my monthly StitchArt group, and this time we did something a little different. There's a project called 'Threads of Freedom' which is working with various community groups across the city. It's about creating little stitched pieces, some of which will be included in a textile panel to go on display at Leeds art gallery. There was lots of fabric we could choose from to sew with, and I picked this vintage tray cloth with the roses embroidery. My own embroidery's not a patch on those flo...

Another fabric bowl & what's starting to look like a craft room ...

Hello on what's been a beautiful autumn day. Bright blue clear sky, a chilly start but warming up in the afternoon. I've been on a long walk around a local nature reserve, not wanting to stay inside when it's so lovely outdoors. In the last week or so, I've been finishing this fabric bowl, and have started making another. But mainly I've been having a bit of a change-around in my house. I've hauled furniture from one room to another, clutter-cleared cupboards and bagged up things for the charity shop, and generally hoovered and cleaned all those dusty corners. I'd finally made a decision about turning the dumping ground of the front bedroom into a craft room. It's taking shape, though it really has taken some effort. Larger pieces of material are stacked on shelves, grouped into colours. Lower down is my Sissix machine and die cuts, and at the base of the shelving are beads and jewellery making supplies...

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