the glass pingle

A small universe

2011-10-27T12:43:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to all of you who came to the show and entered the little world I make.

Some shape of beauty

2011-08-17T10:30:00.001-07:00

For the past two months I have been embroidering this corset (see previous entry) ! After some considerable research I finally found what I needed which were some references in the history of the Celtic sidhe ( say 'shee') to the fact that the old ones ( or faeryfolk) woud take the form of birds , sometimes a flock of coloured birds. My previous piece was about life after death and so this one is to be about transformation and the world beyond. So , here is what I have at the moment........

a bit of a change for me with machine embroidered feathers. They are made from layers of coloured silks and organza which are then stitched and cut away .

Then , after positioning on the fabric I have satin stitched more feathers ( x72 , half an hour each )

and then added some antique sequins.

The final design is of outstretched wings with the big eye between and two more hidden in the feathers. The colours are pretty intense which has made me very nervous. It is a very anxious process to spend so much time on something and not be sure of the outcome......and to be showing it in about six weeks time!

I will be at the Knit and Stitch show again this year from 6th-9th October.

Small worlds

2011-07-30T13:17:00.000-07:00

My second stumpwork jewellery project this year is this decayed poppy seed head.

One of my favourite organic 'found objects' I was inspired by the structure as it breaks down. Sometimes you find insects inside or even a seed germinating. I have added one of my tiny toadstools embroidered in a hand dyed floss.

Corset heaven

2011-07-29T13:09:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago I taught a corset making course at West Dean college in Chichester (see earlier blog). My students worked very hard to produce their own made- to -measure corset and I'm very proud !!!!!

Circinate vernation

2011-06-19T11:38:00.000-07:00

I just love some circinate vernation !! So I had to do some of my own.......

....that all took about thirteen hours ! Here is my little uncurling fern as a lapel pin.

Lilith

2011-05-12T12:29:00.001-07:00

I am making some fortune teller dolls at the moment and Lilith is the first , literally. As Adam's first wife she gets a bad press. She had long hair and didn't want to be submissive (apparently this makes her very bad). I don't blame her for going off with an archangel.

All the dolls will be made from old kid leather gloves but she has a beaded body in a snakey kind of way. I've given her cherry red hair with snake extensions .

The fortune telling section is a concertina frill sewn onto the front which will hold the fortunes. Hers is beaded and has lines from my favourite poem 'The Stolen Child' by Yeats written on the silk.

She now has a bias cut silk dress and a dark red velvet cape lined in the same silk. Inside the cape is an embroidery of a silver apple tree with golden apples.

West Dean

2011-05-12T12:09:00.000-07:00

I have just come back from a tutor seminar at West Dean college which is possibly the most beautiful college you could ever go to ! They have a wonderfully hollistic approach to learning with really good tutors , idyllic surroundings , home grown food and you get to stay in a gothic castle with views across the South Downs . I will be teaching a corset making course there in the summer ...lucky me.

Multiverse

2011-01-04T12:12:00.000-08:00

This is a very uncertain and indulgent time of year for me.As usual I have a vague idea of my next project and spend a lot of time researching and fermenting ideas. The vague idea is flitting around in a haze of gold wings , feathers and eyes. Lalique jewellery , medieval paintings and ecclesiastical embroidery are emerging from my printer and I'm scouring bookshops for 'otherness'. The only certainty is that it will be another 'flat' corset , probably the last in this form. Underneath is a desire to express a non-scientific way to see the multiverse that we have always lived with . You wouldn't want to be in my head just now !!!!!

Keepsakes

2010-10-15T08:41:00.000-07:00

Many people have said to me that they have lovely old things from their mothers' or grandmothers' that are just shut away in a drawer or they don't know what to do with. Here is the solution !!! A Keepsake Doll. She is made in silk organza so you can see all your little treasures. The possibilities are many as she could be embroidered , beaded and filled with all your family memories and passed on through the generations. You could even give this as a wedding or christening gift filled with trinkets from the day.
The kit contains full instructions ,fabric, a paper pattern , some lace and buttons to get you started and is presented in a round wooden box. Available for £10 on Etsy

Eye Kits

2010-10-14T08:33:00.000-07:00

I have just done a range of embroidery kits all featuring my favourite image , the eye. All are done in black on natural linen and feature hearts , question marks and the purse has text. The doll kit above is £10 , the purse is £25 (see previous post ) plus some pincushions at £5 and £10.

knit and stitch show

2010-10-13T08:11:00.000-07:00

Thankyou to everyone who came to the stand at Alexandra Palace last week. The response to my work was overwhelming and very very welcome !!!!

Hello to all the new readers ! and thankyou to the regulars who said hello in person !

Finally another thankyou to all of you who have commented on this blog and the Prick Your Finger blog about my work recently. I have been immersed in stitching and have only just found some ! It is always a joy to hear people's kind thoughts.

I will be filling up the shelves on Etsy this week with a new range of buttons and embroidery kits.........

The kit range has a bag , two dolls and some heart shaped pincushions all in blackwork on linen. (price range £5-£25)

I have loved thee with an everlasting love

2010-07-25T11:51:00.000-07:00

.....therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee . (Jer.xxx 1.3)

Many thanks to Prick Your Finger for showing this. It will be up until mid-September and will then be off to the Knit and Stitch show at Alexandra Palace at the start of October.

The Ghosts of Winter

2010-07-11T11:18:00.000-07:00

'nearly finished.....

Have a look at the Prick Your Finger blog for the finished corset , private view/party on Thursday 15th July 7pm

A new world

2010-02-28T09:22:00.000-08:00

The second big project this year is to create house buttons. They are literally very small 3d houses on buttons. Here is the forest that will go around the first house shown in its various stages. The final pieces, all approx. 3cm high, will be shown under miniature acrylic domes.

( house photo thanks to my Dad !)

The Ghosts of Winter...a plan

2010-02-26T08:47:00.000-08:00

The first major project of the year is a second 'flat' corset (see' In my garden I am Queene'). I will be adding to this post as I go..........
Inspiration list:
frost , death, rebirth , dandelion clocks, geranium leaves , the green man , faerie mounds and spider webs .
This will be a layered affair with beading , needlelace and 3d embroidery.The hare above is one of three animals which will be leaping through the leaves. It took fifteen hours to complete using a hand dyed silk floss and a big magnifying lense !!!!. The finished hare measures about 12cm long so the detail shots are at least double the actual size

These images are of the actual corset at several stages, the first being the pencil tracing for the beading.

..frosted geraniums

..the first embroidery

.... a pile of dandelions

No more tears

2010-02-24T08:37:00.001-08:00

Finally, a set of eye buttons. They follow you 'round the room apparently.

Happy Imbolc

2010-02-24T08:13:00.000-08:00

..a little late I know but spring is only just starting in my garden. These are some of the new range from 'The Flower Border' to be on sale in March. The Delphinium is a four button set just like the Hollyhocks and Nasturtiums in previous posts.

The new Hollyhock set is a 'double pink' . I love hollyhocks and the more unusual colours the better.

The Universe Made Me Do It

2010-01-21T13:44:00.000-08:00

I recently discussed with Tom Lundburg the problem of how to answer people when they ask what it is that inspires you or, even trickier, where do ideas come from. We all try to give some interesting and informative reply when in fact, as Tom says, all we want to say is "the universe made me do it". So there it is , the secret is out.

Flower border

2010-01-20T08:34:00.000-08:00

In the spring I will launch a new selection from my 1930's inspired button range. I collect the crinoline lady embroideries from this era and love the gardens set around them . This button is a miniature flower border to go with the hollyhocks already on sale. In the meantime more flowers are growing.........

Secret Love

2010-01-08T10:36:00.001-08:00

A little Victorian Valentine button under a dome.Tiny diamantes from an old dress sewn onto red silk velvet. Who can it be from ? Etsy knows.............

The Immortal Nasturtium

2009-12-17T11:34:00.000-08:00

The nasturtiums in my garden were still flowering yesterday when the first snow came. In their honour I have a new set of flower buttons which are part of a new range to be launched in the spring. These ones will be £15 for the set of four.
Happy Christmas and a peaceful heart to you all.

The Secret Desires of Moths

2009-11-19T13:23:00.001-08:00

I have long been inspired by wings , be it birds or moths . When I discovered a book called 'Night Visions ,The Secret Designs of Moths ' I was in heaven !
This set of three buttons showing the vein patterns on moth wings is stem stitched onto silk and is £15 for the set. It is also the starting point for two new pieces of work which will take the best part of a year to complete !

Thankyou !!!

2009-10-22T12:09:00.001-07:00

Many thanks to all my new customers ! I recently did the Knit and Stitch show at Alexandra Palace and had a wonderful time ( and was very tired !! ) Many items sold out and I am now busy trying to make some more of the rarer items. The 'Lost Glove' button sold out on the first day so I am now searching for old gloves. The picture above shows the button before I embroidered around the edge with a lovely old rayon crochet thread.....

..and this is the finished button. They are £4.95 each .

A faerie mound

2009-09-18T11:14:00.001-07:00

This is what I made today........................if you hear music don't go inside.

All at sea

2009-09-17T05:46:00.001-07:00

The next button in my baroque phase ! This time a little galleon sailing in a needlelace sea complete with mermaid and leaping fish.

The Sun King

2009-09-04T10:07:00.000-07:00

I recently visited the Baroque exhibition at the V&A and loved the baroque theatre with its moving scenery . This has of course inspired a set of buttons which are three dimensional. The first one is of the sun behind the clouds. The sun is heavily embroidered in a baroque style onto the silk but the clouds are made in needlelace and are suspended in front on little springs.

The Earwig Mystery

2009-09-02T09:52:00.000-07:00

I recently discovered that earwigs have wings but never use them. They are folded up some forty times and this is suggested as a reason for them not being unfolded. I think that they are saving them for a special occasion and when that happens they will unfold their silky origami wings and wear garlands of dew drops and tiny silver and gold chrysanthemums ( their favourites) .......and here is the button proof available now on etsy !!!!

In the light

2009-07-30T14:31:00.001-07:00

Come and join us !!You can also contact me via this blog.

Abbey Art Centre

2009-07-29T11:27:00.000-07:00

My studio is in a secret garden in London where artists have been coming for years !!!

Come away O human child!

2009-07-25T11:17:00.000-07:00

One of my favourite poems by Yeats has inspired this embroidered ribbon.
The lines
'Come away O human child ! To the waters and the wild, With a feary hand in hand, For the worlds more full of weeping than you can understand.'
is 'free-machine' embroidered onto silver organza with silver antique sequins and owl feathers. It is then wrapped around an old wooden cotton reel

( available on Etsy from August )

View from the cliffs

2009-06-24T11:00:00.000-07:00

The colours in this button look like the coast and sea around St. Ives. The yarn is called gimp and is a little tricky to sew but looks lovely and rugged !
Measures 29mm across , £12 +postage

Little Posies

2009-06-22T10:49:00.000-07:00

These are more from my new selection of millefiore buttons........

...all are 15mm across and embroidered in various hand dyed threads on linen ,£8.50 +post each

Knot Gardens for sale

2009-06-20T10:06:00.000-07:00

I am currently working on some new buttons based on my millefiore range. These are covered in french knots using lovely hand dyed silks on linen. This first is 'up the garden path', inspired by the little pathways on the crinoline lady embroideries popular during the 1930s. The thread is wool and silk and it measures 29mm across.
£12 + postage

The next are sets of old style ball buttons with hand stitched shanks on the back. They are about 8mm wide and these are in a silk that reminds me of the sand ornaments you used to buy on the Isle of Wight.

set of three £10 +postage

...more to follow.

Two Whole Months !

2009-05-16T06:18:00.000-07:00

...from this .....

......to this...
many thanks to Prick Your Finger and Amelias Mag azine

The Private View

2009-04-29T11:11:00.000-07:00

The corset will be on display for the whole of May at Prick Your Finger and later in the year at other events.

The secret desires of moths..........

2009-04-28T11:06:00.000-07:00

There are now six moths in varying shades of ivory needlelace. Each one takes about three hours to complete.

The Boarfinch

2009-04-27T11:04:00.000-07:00

...completed , he joins the Mallardoepard , Peapuss , Marbat and Goatle in the garden.

Under the trees....

2009-04-26T09:07:00.000-07:00

The bees in the trees in my garden............

The garden at dusk

2009-04-24T09:08:00.000-07:00

A detail of one of the six moths , all done in needlelace and loose french knots.

In the garden....

2009-04-23T09:05:00.000-07:00

A little creature called a Peapuss waits under the silver apple tree

Growing the flowers

2009-04-12T09:10:00.000-07:00

..a small snowdrop in needlelace under a tree in the garden , a variety called 'heffalump' !!

In My Garden I Am Queene

2009-04-12T08:35:00.001-07:00

I have always marvelled at the beautiful samplers and embroideries from the past which were made by girls of ten and eleven. The most remarkable are those of Martha Edlin and Hannah Smith who , at the age of eleven , completed the most stunning embroidered boxes. In the seventeenth century there was a fashion for raised work or stumpwork(a 19th C. term).
So , I decided it was time to create something like it of my own on a corset. I began planning at the start of this year and began work at the beginning of March...my deadline is the first of May ! when it will be exhibited.
The design includes some mythical creatures , created for my some time ago by fashion illustrator Richard Gray , the first is a boarfinch......

Valentines and other beloveds

2009-02-05T09:51:00.000-08:00

I have been making a few new pieces for sale on Etsy..... old lockets and fob watches filled with mementos ,lace and embroidery and a little haberdashery ring . Inspired by the watch
in 'Little Dorrit' I have collected together old pieces that I could add to. Then I added some of my embroidery together with fragments of old lace or paste brooches. The sentimental jewellery of this era is a great source of inspiration to me and , as ever, what I can't afford I make instead !!!!

Goblin Market

2009-01-10T10:37:00.000-08:00

One of my favourite poems is 'Goblin Market' by Christina Rossetti and so I have been inspired to produce various pieces in response. The first was a corset , here photographed in a very old mirror and previously written about when I did a window for PYF. Now some buttons have emerged from the realms of the poem too and are for sale ( see right hand column).

The first is the berry that the sisters are tempted by , the second is a lock of the golden hair that fades as a result. Then the initial of the sisters Lizzie andLaura and the silver coin used to pay the goblins. Finally the last two buttons are a feather and some fur bursting out through torn satin.......goblins !

Happy New Year

2009-01-03T07:16:00.001-08:00

Always winter but never christmas...

2008-12-14T10:33:00.001-08:00

....through the fur coats , past the lampost , snow under foot in the deep winter that has engulfed the museum for objects of vertu. Here we find some turkish delight..............

...and then a cosy corner with tea and presents. Thankyou to all the sons of Adam and daughters of Eve who ventured through ( and also to Rachel and Louise)

Oliver Postgate

2008-12-14T10:28:00.000-08:00

alas... the mice will quiet their pingling for a while as we all mourn the passing of a lovely man. There would be no Glass Pingle without him.

sons of Adam and daughters of Eve....

2008-12-01T13:27:00.000-08:00

...soon the Museum for Objects of Vertu will only be reached through an old wardrobe. If you are a son of Adam or a daughter of Eve you are welcome on the 7th of December.
contact museumforobjects@tiscali.co.ukfor details

a christmas pingle

2008-10-24T12:11:00.000-07:00

...just a little look at christmas things on their way to Prick your Finger...

little knot gardens

2008-10-20T13:00:00.000-07:00

These are some of the most absorbing buttons to make. I use hand dyed silks and just knot and knot ! (about seventy or more)
....and they end up like this

Time flies....

2008-10-08T08:23:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to Prick Your Finger for allowing me to do their window , alas now all over. This picture is of the Goblin Market corset which hung 'in flight' above the nest I made . Inspired by Christina Rossetti's poem I made a pristine duchesse satin corset complete with little hand sewn pockets , some edged in pearls.In the pockets are a nice clean handky , a watch and a silver sixpence. THEN I savaged it like a goblin and stained it with berries!! Inside, the seams bristle with fur and owl feathers poke out from the rips. One berry pip hides inside one of the pockets and a broken silver backed comb hangs at the front.
I can, of course, make a less ravaged corset for anyone who is interested...............
As for the poem , follow the link !

'Come buy , come buy'

2008-09-26T09:03:00.001-07:00

...'just a sample of what is available at Prick Your Finger at the moment !
Above is the Millefiore button , a mass of french knots in a lovely hand-dyed thread , available in two colours at the moment. Next is a card of Heaven buttons , inspired by cow parsley and Dante !! These are made with fragments of antique lace , silver threads and beads ( and there are sets for Hell and Purgatory ! )

Lastly , a card of Hollyhock buttons. Embroidered with another hand-dyed thread and inspired by domestic embroidery from the 1930s.

...and many more at the shop , plus cards.

Get it to fit , love it forever !

2008-09-24T04:58:00.000-07:00

I will be running a class at Prick Your Finger once a month to help you resuscitate , recreate or resurrect your clothes. If you always find that things just don't fit right or maybe you've a project that you need help with , Rachael and I will be there to show you how to do it . We both have a lot of experience in making clothes and I have a passion for 'make do and mend'.
What you learn in the class will be literally tailored to your needs and you can then go away and apply it to all your outfits forever more !!
All the details can found on the PYF blog , just follow the link above.

Creating a black hole.

2008-09-24T04:47:00.000-07:00

Now that the Hadron Collider has been shut down we may go short of black holes so I have made one as back-up . All you have to do is take a pair of colliders ( knitting needles) and with some super string you can rustle one up in no time ...........which is very apt considering this is quantum physics. Once created I simply folded space ,as you can see in the picture, to prove that there are indeed such things as symmetrical particles. I think I may have created a couple of small worm holes in the process but that was to be expected. If it turns out that this one is surplus to requirements I will carry on using it as a hot pan holder.

a new window.......

2008-09-06T06:47:00.000-07:00

........at Prick Your Finger

Prick Your Finger

2008-08-29T06:24:00.000-07:00

On September 4th I will be launching my new range of handmadedashery at Prick Your Finger(see links). There will be hellish buttons ,forlorn ribbons and pingles ! The window will feature a new corset.............

Dante's 'Hell' button

' Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense' button

' Goblin Market ' ribbon

The Tulip Faery

2008-08-24T11:24:00.000-07:00

In the shop window today there is a length of trimming from a new range I am working on. This is my Tulip Faery ribbon , inspired by old fashioned paper cuts she is made from several layers of organdie and vintage lingerie ribbon. The shape comes from a tulip I pressed in my sketchbook.
The whole range will be launched soon at Prick Your finger.

.....more 'Dust Jacket'

2008-08-17T11:35:00.000-07:00

......the window in the museum . I made a papercut of the ascent of man ( he eventually turns into a lady) to filter the light. Here are the others who took part , see the links list to see more of everyones work.

Rosie Cooper

Tim Spooner

Piers Jamson

Audrey Reynolds

Dust Jacket , a cover for 'The Voyage of the Beagle'

2008-07-24T07:48:00.000-07:00

The second exhibition at the museum was inspired by my old copy of 'The Voyage of the Beagle' by Charles Darwin. It has no dust jacket so it seemed a good opportunity to make one !
I was fascinated by a passage in the book about his silk handkerchief so I recreated one from paper silk . I then turned this into a fortune teller , the creases being marked by writing the passage along each fold in ink.

Here are some images from the other artists in the show......

Rachael Mathews ( Prick Your Finger)

Richard Gray

Matthew Robins

more images to follow.....

Memento Hominem

2008-04-22T11:51:00.000-07:00

The first exhibition at the museum was called 'Memento Hominem'. I have always been fascinated by the private collectors cabinets of the 17th century and in particular those that had personal objects, ones that only had meaning to the owner.The museum has been heavily influenced by these so I asked five artists to respond with their own 'living' artefacts.................

Piers Jamson

'Untitled'
(current piece can be viewed here)

Richard Gray

'Rosa'

Rosie Cooper

'The Forsaken Woodland Show'

'Barbra'
Matthew Robins

' a trip to the Virgin Islands...'

Rachael Matthews

The next exhibition will be on the 12th and 13th of July.

The Museum fo Objects of Vertu

2008-03-31T13:50:00.001-07:00

The Museum for Objects of Vertu is possibly the smallest museum in the world ! and it's in my studio. The museum is 2m square and holds my collection of other peoples' memories and possesions . It is candle-lit , mysterious and not everything can be seen properly. This is exactly how a museum should be.
I have been collecting objects which were once loved or well used for a long time now. It is the intimacy of some of these objects which I find compelling ;the bits and bobs that get pushed to the back of a dressing table drawer, that then find their way to a flea market (still in the drawer) ,or small lengths of thread carefully wrapped around paper for when they might be useful. All the seemingly unimportant bits of ephemera that we keep , and the reasons we keep it , form a framework to our lives which is hidden to the rest of the world. The museum is like a modern Memento Hominem ,a collection of objects that remember us.

The Powdered Dress
poison bottle,textile fragments,childs spoon

from "Sweetest Tongue "
jewellery box,wasps nest,pen nibs,pins

"we will find it , we will bind it..."

2008-03-19T14:22:00.000-07:00

I have been making cards for several years now using all the lovely old bits of jewellery and trimmings that are too small for my other work. Much of the decoration is antique or at least fifty years old ! I spend hours at fairs and markets collecting my treasure together , some of it I can't bear to part with but most goes onto cards. Up until now I have only sold them to friends but now they are on Etsy.
Today in my shop window are some new ones.These are from a particularly lovely haul I got at the weekend from a lady who brings stuff over from France. Old lace motifs , handmade silver stars, scraps of beading and lots of little beauties !! I've decided to make some really special 'large' cards which would look wonderful framed..... Each one is ,of course, unique .

'Here's a pin and here's a pingle......'

2008-03-13T09:45:00.000-07:00

Ever since I was a little girl I have wanted my own small shop , bow fronted with a window display of curious objects. Since then I have also been to art college , developed an obsesssion with anything from 1870 to 1937 , become a corset maker and maintained a passion for small interesting objects. And now I want the shop !!! so a virtual one will suffice.

The first item in the shop window is a corset......

This detail is from the Faerie Corset , inspired by the Yeats poem 'The Stolen Child'. It is an organdie corset , Edwardian in shape , and decorated with the remains of a gold embroidered Victorian mat. The satin background had all shredded so I carefully remounted the trimmings and metal embroidery onto the corset along with some 1920's glass bubble beads, ribbon and feathers. I'm thinking of putting something inside as a half lining , possibly in paper .
The full size images can be seen on my website http://www.fleuroakes.com