Where had I got to?

I have to admit I had to sneak a peek at this blog because I didn't have a clue what my last post was! Now I'm up to speed here's what I've been up to.
Firstly, it's no longer a cloak, I've become a proper art student and I'm making an installation! I've been fighting it because I thought it was too typical and I wanted to be different but this piece needs to be an installation, so there we go. The main piece, formerly the cloak, is well underway. The floor tiles, windows and arches are all stitched on and now it's awaiting embellishing to create a stone effect. The photos show 3 possible fabrics for the altar - a beautiful green blue shot silk, a hideous green that is so awful I'm embarrassed to post it and a pale green jacquard which I like the best. I'll post again to explain my new direction a little more.

More Stained Glass Patchwork

Gone to pieces!

I decided to combine the crazy patchwork technique from my last project with the stained glass patchwork technique I've been experimenting with. At Winchester cathedral there is a huge window which was destroyed by Cromwell, and restored at the Restoration (ha ha!) What's so amazing is that all the pieces have just been put together in any order - you can see where bits might have gone together and you can see glimpses of what it's supposed to be, but the window is like a giant crazy patchwork. I wanted to recreate this so I drew a design, copied it and cut pieces of both cotton and satiny materials. 

Pinned and ready to go

 Here I've got all the satin fabric pinned on - excuse the pictures, they're taken with my iPhone and look washed out in one corner for some reason! Anyway, everything is pinned and ready to be stitched. I used a small zig zag stitch on the cotton and a large zig zag stitch on the satin material. Both times I used invisible thread.

Stitching

 This is the cotton being sewn. It was tricky sewing the satin as it was prone to fraying. The cotton behaved much better but didn't look so good. The satin looked more like glass because it's shiny.

Cotton

Satin

 
The final stage was adding the  bias binding. It was complicated making sure ends were tucked under the right parts. I used thicker binding on the satin and thinner on the cotton. I am really pleased with the results, but definitely think the satin gives the look I want. I would like to combine it with some heat transfer press printing as this would allow me to create images on shiny fabric which could then be cut up for my window.

Stained glass patchwork

I had my first try at this today, using the Bible story about God leading the Israelites with a pillar of fire and a pillar of smoke. This is the result. It's very easy and I can see it would be addictive!

Sad Little Cherub

Not sure which cathedral is home to this little fella, but he is so sweet that I had to include him in the research for my Cathedrals and Pilgrimages project. I created my own version in Procreate on the iPad, using layers. I imported the photo first, added a new layer for outline, a new layer for grey tones and finally a new layer for the background. Then I hid the photo layer and re-ordered the other layers so the outline is on the top. I'm really pleased with the end result.

Final Major Project

After strict instructions to spend half term 'project free', I'm now beginning to think about my final major project! I'm so amazed to have got here, and am determined to make the most of this last project. (Part of me is looking forward to sewing something without having to make a sketch book first!)
Anyway, I've picked the theme Cathedrals and Pilgrimages. Feeling inspired by Grayson Perry, and my favourite place on earth, Canterbury cathedral.
No artwork of my own to post yet, so a couple of images which inspire me.
One is the altar in Canterbury cathedral which marks the spot of Thomas Becket's murder. I love this space in the cathedral, still full of impact even now. The other image is St Clare of Assisi, patron saint of needlework. If you're thinking about saints and pilgrimages and intend to create some textile art, she needs to be here!

Green Knowe Quilt

My penultimate project is due in on Tuesday and is not quite finished, much to my frustration. I am discovering that textile art finished to the quality I want is very time consuming, and I could quite happily spend another month on this piece.

The starting theme was Landscapes, but the discovery of crazy patchwork mid way through the project led me down some unexpected paths. And here is the end result. It's a crazy quilt based on the Green Knowe books, by Lucy Boston. I created a special piece for each of 16 patches using a variety of techniques; cross stitch, fabric crayons, printing using a pc, crewel work etc. I then used fabrics suggested by the books, especially The Chimneys of Green Knowe where patchwork features in the story. I included velvet and 'satin', printed cottons and linen.  The photos show the patches in blocks of 4, then all sewn together. As you can see I haven't managed to embroider all the seams, and I have ideas for further embellishment. Backing and binding would also be desirable but way out of reach for Tuesday!

If you want to read the books they are available from Amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/green knowe books

Topiary and Roger and Toby's patches

St Christopher, Alexander and Susan and Jacob's patches, the peacock's tail feather

Oscar, Ping and Ida and Linnet's patches with topiary animals

Tolly's rocking horse, Neptune the carp Chinese style, the witch ball and Hanno the gorilla

the whole quilt, as yet unfinished but you get the idea!

Tag Tuesday

Ok, so not officially college work, but still creative. I am taking part in a Tag Tuesday challenge to create a tag on a different theme every week. I've managed three so far, and it's great to see my work alongside the work of others. I've given myself the extra challenge of only working on the tag on Monday night, so it doesn't take over. Here's my latest tag, on the theme of vintage.

Made using a card of darning wool from mother-in-law's workbasket.

To find out more go and have a look at the Tag Tuesday Blog. http://tagtuesday.blogspot.com/