Begin Again ... 2020 Textile Projects

Today I'm sharing a number of 'other' projects that I have completed throughout this year.  

On the Friday before the UK's first full lockdown I was lucky enough to spend the day learning to weave ... I hadn't realised that I wanted to learn but a dear friend suggested it might be fun to try.

The two pieces on the left I created on the course, top right I created on the child's vintage loom in the bottom right photograph.  We enjoyed the day so much that my friend and I have invested in a small loom to share - so more projects will follow.

I like to have small projects on the go that I can do in the evening in front of the TV, this year embroidery has featured quite heavily.  I began by trying different stitches on a narrow strip of fabric which I eventually turned into a book.

Inspired by my love of the seaside. but unable to visit because of the pandemic, I created a triptych:

Sun,

Sea,

and Sand

I played around with circles:

Sometimes an idea for a project pops into my head for no apparent reason on this occasion it led to another stitched book this time created from a piece of screen printed calico:

These projects all involved hand stitching but I have been machine sewing as well - the quilts I have already blogged about.  I've also created some useful things too:-

Pencil cases:

I created the fabric for the blue one using my gelli plate.

Finally on the textile front I have been stitching masks for family and friends - never in a million years would I have thought I would make face masks and find it sad that I needed to.

I think that's it on the textile front or at least completed projects!!

Stay safe!

Begin Again ... 2020 COVID Projects

Another post reflecting on the year ... seeking out the positives! 

I have been involved in two projects that were initiated in response to the pandemic - the idea  was to create a record of the impact of lockdown and subsequent restrictions on us all.  Both involved creating squares for a quilt.

The first of these projects was launched by OVADA (a contemporary art space in Oxford) - The OVADA Covid Quilt Project .  The brief was to create six inch squares using embroidery, stitch, applique, weave, sew, knit or print - as long as the base was fabric.  It would be a virtual quilt initially but once lockdown was over the submissions would be stitched together to make a quilt to provide a physical record of the times ... this would be exhibited at some point in the future.  Inspired to join in I thought I might create a couple of squares ... I ended up creating quite a few:

Quite an eclectic collection from hand embroidery, to machine applique and the final panel of boats is based around sashiko technique.  The two squares with hands on were both lino printed.

The final panel leads on to the second quilt project that I have been involved in - 'Same sea, different boat'.  This project was the brainchild of Sue Brown a printmaker based in Cheltenham, in the UK, in partnership with Littleheath Barn Studio and Hope and Elvis.  This time the squares were smaller and the idea was to combine collagraph printing with stitch or just stitched.  Sue offered to print a collagraph plate that others had created which would then be returned for further embellishment - again the brief was to design something to reflect our experience of the pandemic to become a social document of our shared experience. I created two squares ... the first a collagraph print enhanced with stitch:

After stitching:

The second square was just stitched:

Over 300 squares have been created and combined to make a number of quilt panels which are already being exhibited in the Museum in the Park, Stroud.  I managed to visit before the current lockdown began, hopefully these photographs will give you an idea of the scale of the project:

These are two projects that I never imagined that I would be involved in - they involve real artists.

I do hope you have found this interesting and hope you will pop back and check out what else I've been doing.

Stay Safe

Begin again ... 2020 Quilts

The upside to having time on your hands free from work obligations - is time to complete some of those projects that have been on the go and 'almost' finished.  Years ago, 2012 to be precise, I created the top of a quilt - it was the first time I had attempted a machine quilt.  That was as far as I got until this year when I was determined to finish it and I did!  I layered it up with wadding and a backing sheet and then machine quilted it - nothing fancy just stitching in the ditches, I found this quite a challenge on a domestic sewing machine as the quilt is large enough for a double bed.

For years my Mum has spent many an hour cross stitching pieces ... and for almost as long she has been trying to decide what she could do with them (there were in excess of 250!).  I thought that I might be able to incorporate them into a quilt - and that is exactly what I did! 

This shows the work in progress - I started by edging each of the pieces before then stitching similar sized panels into long strips which in turn were then stitched together.  I had to 'audition' the layout on the lounge floor as it was the only space big enough! Some of the cross stitch pieces were on two inches square!  Once the top pieces had been stitched into one piece it was layered with wadding and more of the cream calico and then machine quilted.

Here is the final quilt (double bed size) with the edges all bound and the loose threads removed.

So that's another two positives from 2020!

Keep well!

 

Begin again ... 2020 Garden Project

I have 'dabbled' with gardening over the years but never really been into growing vegetables although for years I have always grown my own tomatoes.  This year has been very different ... with the UK in total lockdown from March and having retired I just had to find something to help fill my days and get me out of the house.  So I turned to my garden ... not only would it shift my mental focus to something positive but I could also provide my family with fresh produce.  It has been hard work but so enjoyable and, much to my surprise, quite successful as well as very tasty!

First task was to remove the pond ... we decided that maintaining a large pond was not a priority so the liner was removed and the hole filled - it took days of carrying buckets of soil from elsewhere in the garden before it was full.  I was able to save some of the liner to create a small wildlife pond.

This was to be the site of a large raised bed ... while I was waiting for it to be delivered I used some wood lurking in my garage to build a small bed so that I could start growing stuff!

I'm not a natural when it comes to woodwork - it is not a thing of beauty but it works and I soon had salad growing!  I also planted runner beans in the flower bed; pumpkin and courgettes (some in amongst the flowers and two in very small raised beds also built by me); a spaghetti squash in another gap in the flower border; tomato plants in pots; an aubergine (eggplant) in a pot; and lots of herbs in pots.

The large raised bed eventually arrived in flat pack form!  I built it, positioned it and then filled it with a ton of soil!  Then all set to start planting ... so seeds at the ready in went carrots, radish, beetroot, fennel, celeriac, leeks, radicchio and spinach and the watering began!!

Was all of this effort worthwhile?  It is a resounding YES ... we have enjoyed a beautiful bounty of super fresh salad and vegetables (and still are).  I'm already planning for next year!  I'll finish this marathon post with just a few photographs of the 'fruits' of my labour:

Begin again ... 2020 Furniture Projects

In my quest to look at the positives of this year I thought I would begin with furniture projects. I enjoy updating and renewing furniture - in the past I have made new covers for sofas, reupholstered chairs and other small projects. This year I have completed a number of projects primarily for my daughter - taking battered pieces of furniture adding a lick of paint and some new fabric.

The first two projects were small storage stools:

I didn't think to take a before photograph!

The brass handles were covered in layers of paint which I managed to remove back to the brass

Next up (before the UK lockdown) I picked up a rather old tatty footstool from a charity shop, This was a big transformation for such a small piece of furniture as it required stripping completely and re-webbing!

This project was for me!

 Next up:

This very brown cupboard belonged to my parents and had been in my garage for over two years waiting for someone to need it!!  Finally it has a new home looking very different:

It now resides in the hall of my daughter's new house.

The final furniture project (with photographs) is a blanket box, as I stripped it back ready to start it became clear that I wasn't the first to recover the top!

The changes were quite dramatic -

I've also refurbished my dining room table  - removing all of the old varnish and then waxing it; stripped and painted the door and drawer fronts in my kitchen and redecorated the kitchen; and decorated the downstairs cloakroom!

On reflection I seem to have completed a few projects ... and that's not all!  I'll be back soon to tell you all about my gardening adventure!

Stay Safe.

Begin again ...

 It is almost a year since I retired and what a year it has been!   It would be fair to say that I didn't cope well with retirement to begin with and then add on top the current pandemic restrictions on life and I have not been in the best of places for much of the year.  So with the New Year looming I've decided I need to begin again ... 

I created this tag to act as a reminder to me!!!

I thought that to begin with I would reflect on the year and look at what I have been doing rather than what I haven't been able to do!  I hope to write a series of blog posts to share the projects that haven't featured on my blog so far ... to act as a record and a starting point for 2021.

Stay safe!

Although I created the tag as a reminder for myself I am going to enter in the current challenge at Country View Challenges - November 2020 - Anything but a Card.