Autumn Colours

 Because the  weather  has been reasonably dry and  warm for the time of year the autumn colours have been beautiful. These photographs were taken in my garden.

Some of the leaves are dropping now and leaving a crackly carpet on the ground.

Medieval Market

 On Sunday 19th October I helped at the Medieval market held at the Heron Corn Mill. Beetham. by demonstrating textile weaving.

This was the culmination of a Linen Project which had taken place at the mill over a few years. The project included the growing of flax and the various treatments needed to turn the flax into a thread which could be woven.

I had helped with the project by embroidering the plant madder on the linen cloth which produces a reddy -orange dye.

There were displays of all the things that could be done with linen.

Outside there were various medieval stalls and demonstrations of working with flax.

It was an interesting market with displays of linen work and despite the rain it was an enjoyable day.

Altered Books

 I found some interesting altered books on the internet. Fungi had been added to  the book, to make it look as if the book was  disintegrating with the fungi growing out of the book!

 The fungi on the internet were made with paper. I thought I would have a go at making the designs in textiles and my first try was the Amanita above. 

My completed altered book is below with an Amanita, bracket fungus, fairy cups and ink caps.

The next book I worked on was about Lichens and this I decorated with hand embroidered and crocheted Lichens as if they were taking over the book!

Fossils is the next book I am working on so Watch this space!

I have now finished the fossil book. I made some ammonites from soft sculpt and then attached them to painted pelmet vilene. I them embroidered around them.

I then used paper clay to make an impression of a plant fossil and finally a fish from lutradur

The Myth of Kente Cloth

 I became interested in Kente cloth after I saw a young man weaving the cloth on a horizontal strip loom. I was fascinated by the way he used his feet to apply tension. The cloth is linked to the Ashanti who now live in modern day Ghana in west Africa.

Kente cloth is so important that it even has its own myth and it was this story I decided to weave.

Two weavers went out into the forest and while there they found a beautiful spider's web full of patterns. They decided to take it home with them but it disintegrated as soon as they touched it.

Design for the forest

They went out the next day and searched for the spider's web and after a while they found it. This time the spider was present on the web and showed the weavers how to make the patterns. They took the knowledge of the patterns back with them and from that day on Kente cloth was always brightly coloured and made up of geometrical patterns.

weaving of geometrical patterns.

The colours and the patterns and are of great significance to the Ashanti and all mean something.

weaving of spider's body

completed spider with wrapped wire legs

weaving of lower half with wrapped vines

weaving of the geometrical patterns

left half of completed weaving

Completed weaving with spider and web.

close up of spider weaving web.

Ikebana Flower Arrangement

 It was suggested to me that I did a picture with flowers. I was feeling a bit tired so decided to embroider a minimalist picture of a Japanese Ikebana arrangement. Although they appear simple to look at, it appears to be about balance.

I made a quick sketch about where I would place things and worked out the number of pieces I would need to make.

I made the flowers first by using an oval wire shape and then pulling  silk chiffon snugly over the top and securing with thread. When the petals were made I painted pink at the base and covered the stems in green silk.

The stamens and stigma were made by rolling narrow pieces of silk in the fingers with a little glue. The container was made with hessian and raffia over the top. This was filled with curly wool to look like moss.

Leaves were cut out and wire attached for the vein and the stems.

Several pieces of wool were zig zagged on the machine to make the branch.

All the pieces were  put together in an Ikebana type arrangement with some embroidered Japanese writing.

Loving Earth Project 2

 I decided to make another panel for the Loving Earth Project. I love walking down an English country lane whatever the season. There is always something of interest to see and the seasonal change itself is always full of surprises.

According to which part of the country you are in the lanes are different. The edges can be made of hedges, ditches, drystone walls, Cornish hedges, verges. All of these places are home to plants, fungi and animals and need to be looked after if they are to survive for the next generations to enjoy.

Please look after your country lanes so others can enjoy them.