Spirit Garden

Everyone has a spiritual place and this is mine. I don't live there anymore but developing this garden was the start of my creative process and spiritual journey.

Alpacas and ambitions

I really adore alpacas - they make me laugh and raise my spirits. I was really amazed to discover that when they are happy, they hum! The alpaca equivalent of a cat purrrrring. Should I ever become wealthy I will retire to the country with a gang of alpacas and a collection of snooty pussycats. I would like to run creative workshops in a tranquil setting. Alpaca wool is very soft and unlike sheeps wool, does not have scales, so it is very slippery and more difficult to spin and weave - I suppose that is one of the reasons it is so expensive. It would be really amazing to be able to use yarn "grown" on your own land. Ah, the stuff of dreams!

Obsessive bead making

I was introduced the other day to the not so gentle art of making fabric beads. It has many of the elements of guerrilla embroidery: you even get to wield a heat gun and wear a mask (unless you work in a well ventilated room!) There is something extraordinarily satisfying about using up scraps of synthetic fabrics, yarns and felt, adding a few beads or some wire, perhaps some metallic paint, then blasting them with a heat gun and watching them transform before your eyes. I am not sure yet what I am going to use them for, but I can feel an idea germinating!

More Floral Felting

I really like the way you can go completely over the top with building up texture with an embellishing machine by attaching loosely appliqued flowers. I think this would look wonderful on a fashion item.

A view from the rear

Amazingly the effects you get on the back of a needlefelted piece are as interesting on the front. for this piece I used a piece of floral fabric as a support for the felt and then embellished flowers on the front. (I seem to be going through a floral-fest at the moment!) When I turned it over this was the result!

Needlefelting with Embellisher

On the subject of techniques: I have progressed to using an embellisher. Unfortunately I am as adept at breaking needles on the embellishing machine as I am with hand held needles! Ooops! I really love the way that you can build up distressed surfaces and layers and "knock back" gaudy colours by overlaying with more subtle shades.

Colour Stories

We are encouraged at college to keep a "Colour Book" so that when we do projects we have a wide vocabulary of colour themes to use. Ideally I should be creating one new page for my colour book every week - I've been very lax, so here is one to start me off on the right path.

I love using black in my colour palettes, particularly for fashion ideas - although it creeps into my interiors and gift projects too. A visit to the Towner Art Gallery's "Dark Monarch" exhbition yesterday has certainly got my inspirational juices flowing and I think it will help me move out of my comfort zone colour-wise - despite the profusion of black and monochrome! I am itching to do some drawing and painting and to try out some new techniques.

Creative meanderings

Welcome to the very first post on Stitching by Moonlight. I hope it will appeal to textile enthusiasts. I decided to keep a record of my creative journeys and the ebb and flow of my creativity. Hopefully this will keep me enthused and motivated to add regularly to my blog. So I am starting with the waxing moon when my creative energies should be high.