A week of #SeptTextileLove Days 4-10

Another week of sharing love for textiles with the Seam Colelctiv'es social media cahllenge #SeptTextileLove....

Day 4: PLAY

Most days , I play with materials , but I do love art and craft play dates with my grandchildren. All four of them and I have enjoyed creative play - these pics are ten years apart(2022-2012), so they suggest I am still playing and fabric dyeing has obviously been a ‘messy’ favourite .

The tie dyeing kits are great for easy play - the squirt bottles can be managed by all ages. and the results are instant!

Day 5 : PATTERN

Over the last couple of years I have been experimenting with a technique which uses the decorative pattern stitches on a sewing machine. Using overlapping and layering different colours and patterns on scraps of fabric, with varying distances between the rows of stitching, a completely different patterned fabric is created. So, in a sense I use various tiny patterns to create a whole pattern . I am using this technique more and more to create unique textured patterned backgrounds.

Day 6 : LOOP 

 One of the first things I think I learnt with wool was to make what I called chains of loops . The idea was to practise until the loops were the same size and the same tension … from the ‘Basics of Crochet’ … ‘every single crochet pattern that you will ever try to follow will include the phrase "draw up a loop" so it is important that you learn what this means and how to do it early on in your crochet journey. ‘ Getting the loops just right seems to help with these quirky birds 

Day 7 : COLOUR  Red has power, the power to change the story 

Day 8  INSPIRATION/INFLUENCE 

‘ What surrounds us is what is within us’ . Most of my work is influenced by my surroundings , where I live … the trees and  plants in my garden and my own beautiful neighbourhood . 

Day 9 : ‘THREAD’ 

Temari  (hand balls, sometimes called thread balls ) … ‘Temari  are a form of folk art that originated in China and were introduced to Japan in the 7th century. Originally, they were made from herbs and leather, and noblewomen of Japan developed theirs from silk and kimono scraps. The temari is a symbol that represents great loyalty or a valued friendship. In modern day Japan, mothers make them for their children as part of New Year's celebrations…’

 Day 10 : DRAWING 

Drawing … I don’t think you need a reason to draw … some days it’s with a pencil and some  days I use my sewing machine to doodle - just for fun. 

Watch this space for further updates as the month rolls by.... Next week Days 11 -17 

Stitched Gardens and Magpies

Magpies are always around in our garden , strutting, poking about for insects and having a splash in the birdbath. They often call if the water is at a low level in the birdbath until one of us replenishes the water supply. It is no coincidence then that they have figured prominently as part of recent little works in the stitched garden series. I also like to include human figures in my gardens, especially taken from old photos of family members. This "impressionist ' stitched garden features my husband's great aunt, Sarah Ann Bath. I like to think of her in this abundant garden , when in reality, she grew up in the early 1900s in rather cramped living conditions in Birmingham UK See more and read more about my stitched gardens - other posts: How does your garden grow with stitch? How does your garden grow with crayons?

Dotee Divertissement

Dotee by Wendy Anderson What is a "dotee' doll? ... A dotee is a mini art doll, meant to be traded or swapped. The dolls 6 inches /15 cm tall or smaller, but the hanger or tail can exceed that measurement. They have a face, but do not require arms or legs. Dotees have a loop for hanging, and come with tails (tails are fibres, ribbon, charms or other string-y things that add to the theme of the doll). Dotees can be made from a variety of materials - fabric, felt, paperclay, yarn, beads, gourds or any other material/media that you can make a doll from. Most dotee makers add buttons, beads, sequins, embroidery, or charms to embellish the doll. Dotee dolls by Wilma Simmons At the February meeting of Gumnut Dollies Newcastle, the group activity was to revisit these little dolls, which were very popular for doll swaps around the world about 10 years ago. As our theme for 2020 is The Twenties, the little flapper girl face buttons were a good start.... Dot...

Landmarks Revisited

" Landmarks " is the current theme for the Tag Tuesday challenge. While I made a tag celebrating the Sydney Opera House last week, I remembered an art tag I made for the "Italy' challenge a few years ago and it used a landmark! I am not sure now exactly the process used making this tag back in 2013, but obviously some background stamping and painting with a cut out of the Mona Lisa face and the leaning Tower of Pisa. And to complete the connection between landmarks and Italy. I am very excited to hear that a textile "map" of Newcastle ( Australia) created collaboratively by NCEATA ( Newcastle Creative Embroiderers and Textile Artists) will be exhibited in Italy next month. Already this textile art work has been travelling around various countries, but will be on display at Perugia University 10 - 17 September with other maps interpreting "where I live". Our Newcastle map shows many of the local landmarks ...

Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

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