Small worlds

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

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

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

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.

Multiverse

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

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

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

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

.....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

'nearly finished.....







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