Arts and Crafts

Some Textile Art

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I apologise in advance for the not very good photos of my textile work.  I’ve not worked out how to get good photos of it – the sparkles, shimmers and iridescence don’t make it easy, that’s for sure.

For the Princess Royal

This was presented to the Princess Royal when she opened a new care home near the school where I teach on 14th Feb 2011.  I hope to have pictures of it being presented to her sometime soon …

I was asked to make a small piece for her on the Tuesday before and it had to be finished by the Friday for framing.  So, a lot of time was spent on this.  It took around 15 to 20 hours of work, and it seems every available spare moment I had when I wasn’t sleeping, eating, driving or working was used.   It is just 9cm x 9cm in size.

I am pleased with the final work, and the photograph really does not do it justice at all (and for me to say that is a huge step forward in my self-esteem and self-belief!).

Looking for a title…

I finished this one not long ago.  It’s around 7cm x 14cm.  It’s been a source of relaxation and pleasure during a major stress-out this week.  I think think my stress levels have been steadily rising over the last few weeks, between one thing and another at the ‘college of knowledge’, mostly the behaviour/attitude of the pupils.  I’ve never known it be so bad.  Yesterday I hit my limit of stress, and passed through that barrier to release it, and last night and today I have paid the price for it – headache, upset tummy, extreme tiredness.  So, today I have spent completing the above piece of de-stressing, relaxtion therapy.  Over the past several days it has taken around 20 hours or so to complete.  I’ve stumbled across a way to make the large, rectangular ‘sequins’ on the picture.  The photo doesn’t show how the colours change and the work shimmers and sparkles as you view it from different angles.

Solstice cuff/bracelet and Indian food

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Solstice cuff/bracelet

I finished the above cuff a little earlier on this evening.  It’s not a good photograph; I’ve not managed to work out how to photograph my jewellery well, yet.

I spent most of yesterday afternoon and evening working on it, the same this afternoon.  I got so engrossed in the intricacy of the work and the enjoyment of it that I lost track of time and finally made it to bed around 1 am!  It certainly stopped me from being bored!

It’s most probably around 7½” long and around 1½” wide.  Silver ‘Japan’ thread, various metallic threads, sequins, and silver-lined Japanese seed and bugle beads were used to create the pattern on the top and to edge the piece.  Black felt is used as the background as it doesn’t fray and gives a wonderfully dark, matt background in contrast to the sparkle and shimmer of the surface decoration.

The design flows out of me intuitively.  Curves and spirals feature in much of may artwork, and this is a piece of art to be worn for sure!

The blue, green and silver seem appropriate to me at this time of year, reminding me of the sparkling snow, the bright green shoots that will soon appear as the world turns on once more.  Blues and purples just remind me of the winter night sky, sparkling stars and glowing Moon set into its velvety darkness.   I’ve called it the Solstice cuff as is an expression of how I feel at this Solstice.

It’s been a long time since I created any textile jewellery.  I seem to have lost myself in watercolours and pens and pencils and abstract art for a long time.  Sometimes it’s nice to do something different.  I certainly reminded myself of how much I enjoy creating such things as this cuff.

Indian food

While writing this entry, I have some pans of Indian food cooking on the hob.  The smells coming from the kitchen are delicious, even if I say so myself!

I’m visiting friends tomorrow and taking the food for the day with me it seems.  Dahl and potato curry flavoured with fenugreek and garlic are the two dishes I’m making at the moment.  My friends’ daughter asked me to make a bucket of dhal, and so I have, though the bucket is the largest pan I have!  The potato curry also has peas, mushrooms and aubergine in it.   In the morning, most probably, I will make bhajees and pakoras as well as the mint raita.  Onion bhajees of course, but also onion, aubergine, pepper and mushroom pakoras will be made.  I’ve cheated and bought naan breads and ready cooked popadams.

Why Indian food?  Well … I’m rather good at cooking it, apparently, and also its a total change of flavour for those who have feasted on the traditional Christmas vittles, something I’ve not done.  When I take the time to cook for myself, I often cook Indian food.  However, I’m lazy when it comes to looking after myself properly, and that is something that will have to change sooner rather than later.

I enjoy cooking for other people, and I don’t do it often.  I’ve become more of a recluse than ever in the last couple of years, and that is worrying me.  I had to go out shopping today in order to cook this wonderful yet simple feast.  It was strange being where other people were.  The snow here gave me the excuse to stay home and not bother with other human beings much at all.  Now the rain has come, the thaw has begun and I have few excuses to stay away from people.

Well, I’d better go and stir the pans on the hob, or rather stir the contents of the pans, now that I’ve stirred up some inner issues within me.

Sixteen squares

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My first sixteen squares for KAS
Sixteen squares.

Sixteen squares done!

These have been knitted or crocheted in either double knitting, aran or chunky yarns for Knit-A-Square.  Some are kitting in stocking stitch with moss stitch or garter stitch borders.  Others have been knitted with a textured design on them, again with the borders.  One even has a flower on it – stocking stitch and reverse stocking stitch are the contrasting stitches – a pattern adapted from “Blankets and Throws to Knit” by Debbie Abrahams.  A couple have been knitted diagonally in garter stitch.  And there’s even a couple of crocheted ‘granny squares’!  I have spent time keeping notes of what sized needles I’ve used, the number of stitches in a square, the patterns used, in a little notebook.

Crocheting is not a skill I’ve been able to come anywhere near perfecting.  I can just about manage granny squares.  Simple edgings too.  But that’s it.  Knitting is more my thing.  I must admit it was fun to knit the flower from the book as a textured pattern rather than in colours – I need to seriously practice my intarsia knitting!  I did try to make it in colours, but I got holes and uneven areas; it’s been a very long time since I did any such knitting.

I’ve found a lot of fun and joy and pleasure in knitting these little squares.  They let me practice different techniques, play with different yarns, and learn new tricks.  They’re small enough that they’re finished quite quickly and the materials/tools are easy to carry around so that knitting can be done on trains and so on; to take the blazer I’m knitting with me would need a large bag and plenty of room to accomplish job – not always available on a train, for instance, and not always sensible to take a huge bag of stuff with me anywhere.  I’m hoping that their small size will allow me to become more creative with the designs as time goes on…with the limited number of stitches to make a square it’s a challenge!

The other good thing about this for me is that the size of the project is not overwhelming for me.  I’m not making a huge number of squares of a certain size in order to create a blanket/throw/shawl.  Each square is a complete item in its own right, and will become part of something much larger.  I do have a problem with projects that overwhelm me with their enormity, such as knitting a large number of squares to make a blanket/throw, or writing a story (let alone a book), or a large and complex piece of art or jewellery or clearing the garden.  Something I need to work on turning around … and until then, I’ll work on projects that either don’t overwhelm me, or I can push myself a little bit into something bigger than I would usually do, or sneak up on ones that would ordinarily overwhelm me and surprise myself!

Once I shake this cold/flu/pharyngitis off then I’ll no doubt start to practice contemplative knitting as a way of developing mindfulness, with the aid of tips from the book “Mindful Knitting” by Tara Jon Manning.  But that is for another day.  At the moment I’m still coughing, sniffing, blowing my nose and generally feeling off-colour still.

 

Rainy Saturday

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I love the sound of rain, I really do.  There’s something very soothing and calming about it when indoors and warmly cuddled up under a noo-noo (cuddly blanket) or quilt.  I will have to venture forth later to acquire some vittles (there isn’t a single banana in my humble home, which is serious!).

I am on the mend from the tonsilitis/cough/flu that has given me a horrid case of pharyngitis and the doctor has signed me off work until 1st November.  I’m feeling better today, though a little woozy most probably from the drowsy version of Benyllin cough mixture which did give me some hours of sleep last night.

All the down time has given me a chance to do a serious amount of knitting – I have a small pile of squares for KAS done, and another gown or three for Cuddles.  But with no charged batteries for my camera, I can’t take any photos of them!

Sicky, poorly, baaaaad.

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Yeuch!  I’m ill!

I’ve been off work for the last week.  It started with a cough and a sore throat and has turned into tonsilitis, a very sore throat and a wracking cough.  I’m on antibiotics and on the mend, but feel as if I’ve been through the wringer.

To cap it all I lost a filling Friday night, so that involves waiting to be seen by my dentist as I’m not in pain and it’s not an emergency.  My DVD player broke on me yesterday which wouldn’t normally be an issue, but when I’m like I am now all I want to do is to cwtch up under my ‘noo noo’ (a thick and cuddly fleecy blanket) and watch nice films/programmes and sip warm drinks and nibble nice foods.

Knitting

All this quiet time has given me the chance to just knit while I watch DVDs.  I did buy a set of circular knitting needles and a set of brightly coloured aluminium crochet hooks from Knitterknacks on eBay.co.uk, and I was amazed when the items were delivered this morning!  Now, there’s service for you!  I have a good range of sizes now to keep me busy.

I have made a few tiny baby gowns and blankets for Cuddles and I will be seeing to finishing the last couple off and getting them in the post soon.  I also have some 8″ squares to send to Knit-A-Sqaure so they may be made into blankets for needy children in South Africa.  I’m also knitting a moss-stitch blazer for myself in purple aran yarn.  I try to split my time evenly between the various projects, which is fun for me as I don’t get bored doing the same thing!  The squares and baby clothes are fun to do as they are much quicker to complete than my large blazer (I’m not a tiny nor thin lady …).  I have forgotten the pleasure I get from creating this way.  In time, I’ll find the confidence to create my own patterns … more so as I shrink in size when the time is right for my protective layer of fat to be lost.

Sunday wittering

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Trains

Anyone would think Mercury is retrograde with all the transport problems I’ve had lately!

Today it  continued.  I had a talk to give in Cardiff around 11am.  I’d checked train times and there was one from my local station at 10:09 that would get me there by around 10:30am – perfect!  I also have a talk in Merthyr this evening, and so was going to travel by train there.   I wandered down to the train station for around 10:00 to give me time to get tickets for both journeys.

I got there to find that all the trains between Cardiff and Treherbert, Merthyr Tydfil, Aberdare and Rhymney had been replaced by buses.

Wouldn’t have been a problem except the bus journey takes twice as long as the train and I’d be too late for the talk this morning.  So, I phoned the organiser (thank goodness for mobile phones!) who was gracious enough to say not a problem she’d sort something out.  I think phoned the organiser for this evenings talk, and she said she’d come and pick me up and bring me back again afterwards.

Its no one’s fault really.  I knew I should have checked for engineering works over the weekend, and didn’t.  Ho hum!

Personal Progress

It’s at times like this, when I recognise how I would have reacted in the past to these kinds of situations, that I realise how much positive work has been done through the counselling sessions I have.

In the past I would have been blaming myself, really taken myself on a guilt trip that would lead to a dark place.  I wouldn’t have slept, would have worried myself stupid, found it hard to organise myself or do anything by myself.

This time, and this is not the first time I’ve had a car die on me, I’ve coped really well.  I do need to find my insurance details so I can arrange the insurance for the Corsa. I need to find the log-book for the SmartCar so I can arrange for it to be sold for parts/breaking/scrap.  And I need someone who can take the radio out of the SmartCar and install it in the Corsa for me.  I’m fact, I’m quite pleased with myself, and that in itself is a big step forward for me too.

Knitting

I have a couple of premature baby wraps and funeral gowns now made to send to Cuddles.  I have, and am, enjoying the process of knitting.  The book on Mindful Knitting arrived on Friday, and I’ve quickly scanned the introductions and some of the sections about how knitting can be a mindful practice, and I recognise much of it as a process I enter into when I find myself lost in art, not that I’ve done much art lately – wool, knitting needles, patterns, finished items and other paraphernalia of the craft cover the table I usually use to do art upon.  Today, though, I got a small wicker laundry basket that has a linen liner  to keep the yarns and stuff in in an attempt to have them easily to hand but also neatly in one place instead of scattered all over.  That purchase was one of the good things from not going to Cardiff this morning and walking through my town to do some shopping.  I don’t think the basket is big enough on getting it home, but it will help to organise things, so long as the puss-cat doesn’t decide they are there for him to mess with!

Wittering

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Faff

Well, it’s the very last day of September, another month of the year all but gone.  Time seems to be flying by.  Grey, gloomy starts to the mornings of late, and not just weather wise either.  It’s been a fraught week at work.  I’ve been left feeling exhausted by the constant treadmill of behaviour management, which I don’t think I’m managing at all well, yet others think I’m doing fine.  I’m still putting too much pressure on myself to be perfect…

I went to buy some new skirts yesterday.  I do like the current fashion of long lengths – that’s always been my kind of style!  Drifty, floaty, off with the fairies.  And I do wish they wouldn’t put huge mirrors in changing rooms … but I did stop myself descending into a dark gloom about my size, and I did avoid comfort eating too.  Which is a little success for me.  But if I think about it … I’m in danger of seriously beating myself up about it.  It will sort itself out as counselling untangles the old learned attitudes towards myself and replaces them with better ones, bit by bit.

Knitting

I’ve been crocheting over the past couple of days.  I have one teeny wrap for a premature baby done, and am working on a blanket.  Crochet is a challenge for me, more than knitting, as I’ve rarely made anything by crochet!

I’m also enjoying the relatively fast gratification of completing a project.  It’s also nice to see the project grow so quickly.  It’s not that I’m sort on patience, its that I can be short on time, as well as having a lot of other interests.  But crafts such as crochet and knitting I can take on my travels with me, though I did chicken out of crocheting on a train last night as I travelled to and from a talk I was giving.  I’ll get over that as I got over my extreme shyness at drawing/painting in public.

The current wraps and blankets will be going to Cuddles and are based on their patterns.  I’ll just get a few more done before I pack ’em up and send ’em off.

Knitting for charity

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A quick google found this site – Knit a Square.  I think I’ll have to see about getting something like this into school …

And another one Loving Hands Charity Knitters even seems to knit coats for chickens!

Cuddles provides clothes and blankets for premature, stillborn and miscarried babies.

Bonnie Babies, again for little ones and keepsakes for parents who lose a baby.

Handmade gifts for vulnerable children – does what it says on the label.

And these are just a few in the UK …. where to start?

Labels, work, stress and knits.

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Jam Jar Labels.

I got some labels done for a friend for their home made jams and chutneys.  They are chuffed with them, and I’m pleased that they like.  They liked my illustration for my Harvest Moon blog entry, and wanted their labels in a similar style.   The first one below is for the larger jars, the second for he smaller jars.  It took a while to get the first one ‘fit for purpose’, but I’m really pleased with it.  It gives visual hints as to where the produce was grown and collected for the preserves.  I also am pleased that my rather simplified style of art has found a ‘niche’.  The smaller label works just fine too, similar design, but the landscape faded out so the information about the contents can be typed over it.

A friend at work asked if I’d design some for a relative of hers as a Christmas present, as they are always making jams and preserves too.  So of course I’ll do that.

Work, stress and knitting.

Three weeks back at the chalkface (though no one uses chalk in the classroom anymore!) and the stresses of dealing with uncooperative, disrespectful teens and managing a workday that is like climbing on a treadmill that has been set by someone else who is calling the tune, and running to keep up with the changes in pace until eventually you are thrown off as your feet get in a tangle.  Well, that’s how it feels once more at the moment…despite the help I have once a week, I’m not yet able to break the cycle I’ve managed to get myself caught up in over a lifetime, and of course when things go wrong, or at least aren’t perfect, then I blame myself and beat myself up with it once again.  But it’s not as bad as it used to be, it just seems a long journey to get to where I’d like to be.  And one straw was added to the burden that’s built up since the return to work on Thursday that caused me to lose my temper briefly.  That led to me having a very upset digestive system for the rest of the day night, and a thumping headache that was with me most of Friday, Ibuprofen only just taking the edge off it.

This lead me to feeling I needed to find an activity in the evenings that relaxed me, didn’t require a lot of concentration and that I could just pick up and put down at will.  I love art, but when I start on an art project I can get consumed by it, stay up later than is wise for me as I totally lose track of the time.  I wanted something that wouldn’t need my eyes to work in sharp focus (note to self – opticians!). Something that didn’t need a lot of concentration.  Something that kept my hands and eyes busy but left my mind free to think or to follow a film.  And that reminded me of why I used to love to knit and crochet so much.  I was doing something, something creative, but something that let me be still and calm, to just ‘be’.  I knew I needed projects that could be either finished quickly or were made up of smaller individual pieces which could be finished quickly.  Projects where I could utilise my own creativity, perhaps even learn about free-form work, and maybe even combine all of this with other forms of art that I love to do to create mixed media works or jewellery.   I wanted things I could do while too tired, too stressed out to settle to anything else.  Something that would help me settle when like this, and perhaps small enough that I could carry it with me.

Well, in quite a synchronistic manner, one of those emails containing recommendations of books from Amazon appeared in my in-box, and on it were books of knitting and crochet.  I followed them, and added a large number of books to my large-ish Amazon wishlist, and I ordered two books that really caught my eye.

One was the ‘Prayer Shawl Companion’ by Janet Bristow, which caught my attention because of the contemplative, spiritual aspect of knitting, and gathering together with other like minded souls to create to gift to others in need, to send out thoughts for healing, love, peace and help to where it is most needed.

The other was ‘Mindful Knitting by Tara Jon Manning’ which appealed because it talks of the contemplative, meditative aspects of knitting.

Both of these books are on their way to me, and I hope that they are what I hope them to be.  I may post pictures of the projects here.  And it may be that like-minded people may gather together with me to create to help others.  I don’t know…yet.

I do know a friend at work has asked me to teach them to crochet.  So, after work on Thursday, I wandered through my local town to the only shop that now sells yarns, knitting needles and crochet hooks, to get some light coloured chunky wool, a large hook so she can see easily what to do, and can hold it more easily in her hands – she has rheumatoid arthritis, but she thinks this will help to exercise her hands and give her something creative to do.

Of course, I have been knitting squares of various stitch patterns and using coloured yarns, all of a similar size, just to keep me occupied while I await the arrival of the books.  And hopefully the books will also inspire me to be confident in creating my own things.  I’m particularly intrigued by ‘free-form’ crochet, as I am with ‘free-form’ beading.  But, we shall see what comes of this.

I do create textile jewellery from time to time – many examples can be seen at Artwyrd.deviantart.com, though I’ve not created any for a long while now, having a stock of them and nothing to do with them!  Finding the right market for them is a problem as they are so unique I suppose.  Maybe I can make use of my knitting/crochet skills to create different ways of wearing my beaded/wire/textile art … that’s something to think about at least!

I did have an interesting time trawling through eBay looking at the knitting yarns available and seeing some rather exquisite, and expensive, examples.  And with some of them my mind went to making small, heartfelt gifts not to wear but to keep.  Something to do for Yuletide/Christmas gifts p’raps.  Now that’s a thought.  And it’s more or less time for me to start thinking about creating my Yule cards.  For a good few years now I’ve made my own cards for that time of year, and it does take quite a bit of time to create them!