Making progress with my Textile Art Journal

On Saturday it was back once again to a ridiculously busy Leeds city centre - can't abide it when it's busy! too much noise, too many people - and to the Art Gallery for the second of four classes on making a fabric covered book. (We'd the option of making a fabric cover and paper signatures inside, but I've opted for a wholly textile book.) With this second session people had more idea of what their individual journal might look like, and it was great to see how many different interpretations we had.

Some were working on their embroidered covers, but I opted to concentrate on making my pages. I've four double pages in total, slightly different sizes & mainly made of upcycled upholstery swatches. I began adding extra smaller pages, like this lovely cream coloured material, and more pockets. There's only so much you can sew in a two hour session, so I carried on over the weekend.

This material was originally curtain fabric from the look of it, and I used it to make a pocket, particularly liking the selvedge which is emphasized by using it at the opening.

I used another cream coloured swatch to make a double pocket, machine sewing it on to the page. (By the way, their sewing machines are Berninas, and it's the first time I've used a Bernina. Oh my giddy aunt! I want one! It's like the Rolls Royce of sewing machines, a real contrast to my basic workaday Brother. If I ever win the lottery - unlikely as I never play it - I'd shell out £1,500 for one of those beauties.)

I later added one of my homemade boho style beads to the double pocket.

This cream insert has a piece of braid added over it. I used the back of the braid as I liked that as much as the front. I sewed this braid at the top and base of the page, so it acts like a band.

Here's the front of the braid on another page, where it forms yet another pocket.

Finally, I've started embroidering the front cover. So far, there's fly stitch, seed stitch, lazy daisies and running stitch. My library of stitches isn't that extensive, but I'm learning gradually and am pretty pleased with the cover so far.

Hope you enjoyed that glimpse of how my book's being created, and I'll be back in a week or so's time with the third class and how I've got on. Bye for now.

Comments

Sari scraps, PVA, a couple of books and a necklace

I'm typing this as snow's falling, and has been steadily all day. It's not settling to any great extent, though I bet by tomorrow morning the paths will be slippery with ice. Which always makes me paranoid about falling over and at the very least looking undignified, but at worst breaking a bone or twisting an ankle. Oh well, it's ideal weather to stay inside and craft, isn't it? I finally got around to listing packs of sari scraps on Etsy this morning. I only made up six bundles as I've no clue whether they'll sell or if I've set a reasonable enough price point. Time will tell. This is a link to the listing, if you're interested. This vaguely pink fabric isn't from one of my Etsy packs. It's from a bit of experimenting I was doing yesterday. I'd seen a post on Instagram showing how a DIY version of batik could be done without using hot wax. The Instagrammer used PVA instead, and I wanted to try this out....

In praise of wool

Just a quick post today. I'm offering you a short but peaceful break from the overwhelmingness (is that a word?) of Christmas. By now you've probably eaten your bodyweight in sweets//roast potatoes/pigs in blankets/cake/After Eights ... whatever your festive indulgences are. You're under-exericsed, over-stimulated, feeling broke and possibly guilty about an argument with a relative or friend you've never entirely got on with. So, here's something to take your mind off all that. I've two videos to refresh and revive, and they both concern wool. Interesting fact. Well, I found it interesting. About 1% - yup, one per cent - of the world's textiles are made of wool. Out of curiosity, I also googled how much is made of cotton. That's higher, but it's only about 24% and that's heading downward instead of up. Synthetic fibres are the bulk of all textile manufacture. Anyway, back to woolly wonders. My firs...

Abstractuary ... no, I hadn't heard of it either

Goodbye January, the month that feels like it's stretched out to be extra-long, the month we have to plough through to get to February and real signs of Spring. You may know, if you've wandered by this blog before, that I'm beavering away at Ann Wood's 100 day stitchbook challenge. That's still going strong. Three pages done and I've started page four. But I've also stumbled across another monthly challenge, and this one originated with Tori Chatfield, a.k.a. Kool Kooky Kreatures. You can find her on YouTube and Facebook, and she runs something called Abstractuary. Tori's produced a list of prompts for each day in February, and the idea is that you produce something arty or crafty based on those prompts. You can stitch or paint or collage or use whatever kind of materials you want. I won't commit to following these prompts every single day of Feb, but I'm certainly going to use several of them. Tori's also produced a Pinterest...

rubykittyruby

Search This Blog