The Answer

Papaver 'Patty's Plum' still one of my favourite flowers
15 flower heads this year

Detail of a rust piece

Whilst struggling to hand stitch wearing a wrist splint for Carpel Tunnel I have answered a question that has been troubling me for a while. Whether the work I produce should be practical and useful. I answered myself today, it just doesn't matter, if you can you should do what you love while you can.

Here's something I made earlier

New version (square)

On the right a piece I made a few years ago from rusted cotton and rusted yarn on bark cloth. Last week I worked up the courage to cut it up into strips and alter it.  I used Jude Hill's method of woven patchwork. This meant I lost some of the stitching but managed to save some odd woven bits to use for cards.
 I have consolidated the piece by adding new stitching. New piece on the left, I will try and get a better photo sometime. this piece will be framed.

Old version (long and thin)

This is from another piece I am cutting up. This is complete as it is and will also be framed,  I will then use the rest of the original for another piece.















Detail of another piece I have just finished which is made up from old denim pieces I have kept over the years. It is a wall piece or throw.

At the moment I am into stitching I am sure I will be weaving again soon so will update on the branch piece soon. Not the best photos but the weather has been very dull.

Conundrum

 How do you tell when a black tomato is ripe? I can't find the packet so don't know what they are or how big they are supposed to get. We have had glorious weather recently so I have been out in the garden most days.
Still managing to do odd crafty things as well, two dyed scarves curing before being washed, hope they will retain the colour.

Dyed with mare's tail and hibiscus

 Rusted covers for notebooks awaiting their waxed finish

Rusted washers and tin lids

 Another one hopefully rusting away

disposable barbecue found on the beach

 Woven friendship type bracelets

Cotton ribbon and silk threads

 Bundles in an indigo bath heating in the garden.

This is a liquid indigo extract that I bought from http://www.dtcrafts.co.uk/

A couple of days before the weather changes and it starts raining, desperately needed, but a few more sunny days would have been appreciated as I have quite a lot of clothing waiting for the dyepot.

20/20 exhibition

On Wednesday evening I went to the opening of North Somerset Arts 20/20 exhibition, all work had to be 20 x 20cms. A very successful evening, loads of visitors and the exhibition looked great, a brilliant concept and I hope they will repeat it. You can see from my photos how it was laid out and also there are close ups of my pieces. I will be visiting again when its quieter so may get some images of the rest of the exhibition.

Rusted Hearts

Mapping Contours

I've got my weaving mojo back

 Ok there might not seem like a lot of growth between photos no 1 and 2 but thats four hours work, a lot in one day for me. This piece has been struggling for a while and now its turning out differently from what I was expecting mainly due to me coming across a weaver whose work I had never seen. Juliet Martin http://tsgnyblog.org/index.php/2013/12/juliet-martin/ Her work is based on Saori weaving in which I have been interested in for a while but never thought of it in any other way than as another way of producing cloth in a more messy(free form) way. I could relate it to some of my own work but it didn't really click until I saw her work. I feel I am getting somewhere now, my work is moving on from tapestry weaving. I probably shouldn't call myself a tapestry weaver any more in fact I think freeform weaver covers a multitude of sins anyway and I quite like it. So now I am a freeform weaver with a background in tapestry weaving, sounds ok for statements etc. to go with my work, or maybe just a maker which I also like. Anyway I am rambling on a bit, just so pleased to have finally got back to weaving.

Detail

Rusted silk and stitch

Here are two more works to do with the exhibition 'Shoreline' in which I am taking part at Weston Quarry in July, along with Lizzie Matthews and Liz and Dominic Hewitt.
Lots more work in the pipeline, will keep you posted.

Eastbourne Beach

Alice Fox last day

Today was a day of unbundling and collating our work, printed and rusted papers were collected together and made into books. I forgot to take photos of a lot of work before it ended up in a book but I have some photos of some of the fabric pieces.

Rusted papers

Pamphlet book with plan paper and waxes rusted paper cover

Practise book with no sew binding

Pamphlets ready to be stitched

Spines

Rusted fabric

The pamphlets have now been stitched and the cover waxed.
This was a great course, if any of you in the UK get a chance to do it I would highly recommend it.

Alice Fox Part 3

A somewhat delayed part 3, things going on.

 It was really windy on this our third day, so a decision was made not to go for a walk. Most of us spent the day weaving, it was very quiet everybody was concentrating so hard. These weavings were all made with stuff found on the beach.

Alice Fox workshop day 2

On the beach again in the morning up at the end where the fishing boats are kept, lots of interesting finds, in the afternoon printing, something I haven't done before. There was a printing press available which I didn't use but I had lots of fun printing using rollers. Something I can do easily at home.

More rusty bits

Sea weed and rusty nails

Prints from sea weed and pampas grass

Prints from bits of found metal

Prints from a drinking straw and rubbings from shells

Alice Fox workshop day 1

Close up of Groyne (sea defences)

I have just got back from a four day workshop with Alice Fox,  http://www.alicefox.co.uk/ She was amazingly patient and calm with us all, we learnt loads about lots of different process and had a great if exhausting time.
Our day started with coffee and tea and then a walk on the beach collecting rusty metal and other flotsam and jetsam.

Rusty bracket on Groyne

I

Eastbourne beach

Collecting Day One

Rusty bits

More collecting day one

Wrapping and dyeing rusty bits

more rusty bits

and even more

In the afternoon we wrapped fabric and made marks on paper with the rusty bits we had collected which were thoroughy wetted with tea.
I had driven down the previous day and visited Charleston House near Lewes. I have been wanting to see this for years but somehow never managed it, it is a fascinating house where Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant lived. They were members of the Bloomsbury Group, Vanessa being Virginia Woolf's sister. The house is full of paintings by members of the group, even the walls and fireplaces are painted. I stayed with my good friend Liz (also taking part in the workshop)and her husband in a house we had rented on the marina, so great accomadation and company as well.